Here it is for those who want to start now to look:

Kids:
Isaac = Andrew
Taylor = Noah
Parker = Danica
Morgan = Sawyer
Jane = Makenzie
Sadie = Taylor
Ellyn =Isaac
Sawyer =Hayden
Noah = Alyssa
Hayden = Morgan
Danica = Parker
Alyssa = Melia
Andrew = Sadie
Beck = Jane
Melia = Ellyn
Makenzie = Beck

Adults:
Mike = Peter
Brooke = Adina
Dave = Treven
Adina = Tom
Brent = Kimberly
Buffy = Dave
Tom = Marnie
Tracey = Brooke
Marnie = Anne
Anne = Brent
Peter = Tracey
Kim = Mike
Treven = Buffy

-Anne

Hello family, yes it has been a while since I have blogged but volleyball and traveling was insanely crazy for the past 2 months that I now have the free time to think about blogging.

The house is still up for sale. We have had a few showings but no offers to buy it yet.

The weather is getting to be awesome here and so I have finally pulled the pool out in the backyard and let Andrew play in it a little this morning. He likes it but the water is cold so all he does is splash and throw his toys around while standing up. My goal is to go to the park as much as we can this summer especially since Andrew is big enough now to climb and such on his own without much help. He loves it when we send him in the back yard to play. And we love it too because it keeps him busy.

Beck is 3 months now and is smiling and giggling more. I can't wait until he can sit up and I don't have to constantly be holding him. But it will be a while before then so I might as well get over it. He has lost some hair but not much. Peter wanted to cut it the other day and I said no because I love his hair and everyone else does too.

Andrew is a riot and does funny stuff constantly. He has started a habit of dancing with Ellen when I watch that show. He loves it and claps along with the audience also. I finally moved Beck into the room with Andrew and so far so good. Sunday morning was the first time Beck was still in the room when Andrew woke up and Peter and I were awoken (via the baby monitor) to Andrew noticing Beck was there and getting up to say "HI Beckee!" over and over. Andrew loves Beck so much and is now beginning to try to pick him up. He is really helpful in letting me know when Beck is crying and he also likes to act like he is tickling him too. It is pretty awesome to watch them interact even with Beck being so young. Beck smiles so big when he sees Andrew and I cannot wait until they are older to be able to see them interact on a higher level.

Yesterday in Relief Society we had a lesson given by our rs president. She gave it on Family History and gave a really good idea of how to keep a current history of what we are doing now....sooooo...I would like to start do it. Everyone in the family(every person including kids) must write up about what happened to them in the last year and send it to me but Thanksgiving. So basically it would be from Thanksgiving last year to this year. I would then put it all together and everyone would receive a spiral bound book of everyone's together. I loved the idea and want to start it. You can include pictures and whatever you want to kind of tell your own history over the previous year. Let me know how you all feel about it. I know we have the blog but I thought this would be a fun idea to do also.

Volleyball ended great. We took 35th place out of 160 teams in our age group at the Reno National Qualifier. It was fantastic and that is the best I have ever placed at a national qualifier both coaching and playing. The girls were great and we had minimal drama(and that is big with 9 girls who are 14, 15, and 16 year olds). I am sad the season is over but am looking forward to next year where hopefully we will have most of the same girls at the same age level.

We love you all and I will try to get pics and videos up later today.

-Anne

You should all see Iron Man. It is a really great movie and definitely one that should be seen in the theaters -- for best sound and picture quality. As you all know, I like my superhero movies but this one is really great and I think you would all like it. Iron Man is a solid superhero and his gadgets and cars (how about the new Audi??) are amazing. Robert Downey Jr. does a great job -- the studio heads who didn't think he'd be a good superhero are eating their words right now. The movie is very well written and you don't have to know anything about the comic it is based on to enjoy it.

So anyway, check it out!

And an extra little tidbit: If you see it - stay till the end of the credits. ;)

It has been a little while since I posted and this will be short because Ellyn is playing with my arm and Sawyer is kicking at the key board but... thought I would give a little update. All is going well here. My mom and Meagan flew in last Thursday and we have been playing hard. We went to Prague on Saturday and had a wonderful time. Prague is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. I love it. It is amazing. Jane took the one pic with no one in it. I would love to spend a week there some time. But we have been lucky to make it over a few times. Saturday was crazy crowded.

The kids are all great. Sawyer is doing "the caterpillar" to get to everything now. Everyone is loving being spoiled by their aunt and grandma. Me included. Well the day has begun. Jane and Meags are awake. Today we are hanging out, going into Amberg, the town closest to us, and tomorrow we leave for Italy for a few days. At the risk of sounding spoiled, it makes me kind of sad that these could be our last excursions in Europe for quite a while. I'm just happy I have travel buddies so I can make a few more trips with all the kids. We love you all and miss you. love, Brooke

Just thought you would all be interested in knowing how everyone did...
Kenn placed first for his division for the 5K walk,
Terry (Buffy's Mom) placed 3rd for her division for 5K walk,
Leanne Bennett placed 2nd for her division for the 5K,
Adina placed 1st for her division for 10K...

You can look at pictures on the blog, Sean's Run From Autism. Images 1043, 1086, 1100, and 1128 have our group in them...

I turned 29 on April 29th, officially my golden or magic birthday. I remember when I used to think this birthday was so far away! I am thinking it is officially my last birthday since apparently no one wants to turn 30. I can’t really blame them, I don’t know how I feel about actually getting “old.” I had one of the best birthday’s that I can remember! One day after returning home from Sacramento I left for Utah to attend my cousin's wedding and see extended family before the big move. I stayed a a week and got home Monday the 28th. We were all so happy to see Tom after our long trip and we celebrated my birthday on Monday night after we got home. Tom baked my favorite cake for my birthday- Rainbow Chip (imported from Utah on my last visit.) He surprised me with several great presents: a really cute Nike running outfit, a nice new cookbook with lots of tips and advice for people like me who don’t really cook, and a fun surprise of Guitar Hero! I love that it is something fun Tom and I can do together when the kids are in bed!

Tuesday morning we got up and headed to Disneyland for my birthday. Not only was it a fun way to spend the day together with Tom off work, but it saved me from the unpacking, laundry and cleaning that were waiting for me back home! We got there when it opened and stayed until closed. The kids were great and we had a blast.

The first ride we went to was Finding Nemo because Danica is so obsessed. The line was really long but everytime we tried to convince her to go on a different ride she refused and kept saying “No, Elmo Ride!” Yes, she still calls Nemo Elmo, I don’t know why but at least she is talking! We all really enjoyed the ride and felt it worth the wait! Here is Danica looking out her little window in the submarine!



Then we headed over to California Adventure to hit Hayden’s two favorite rides: Soaring Over California and Tower of Terror. Two great ones we enjoyed as well. I think Tower of Terror might just be my favorite ride as well. Then we went around the rides at California Adventure because we hadn’t seen them all. We went on this Ferris Wheel that has swinging gondolas. When our gondola would start swinging Alyssa would throw her arms up in the air and Danica would tense up, grab the side walls and make the funniest scared face. I was laughing soooo hard! She was happy, but terrified, my kind of thrill seeker! After the ride we asked her to re-enact the look and this is what she did:



All around she was quite the ham that day and had a lot of fun. Here she is posing again while waiting for Hayden to go on a ride and thinking she is so cool in daddy’s hat and glasses:




Hayden enjoyed doing his “rad moves” on the surf board in the play area. We made a funny video of it.



I wish we had taken more pictures but we were having too much fun to worry about the camera. We asked a nice lady to take one of us in front of the Mickey flowers, we are bit ragged looking but at least it’s a picture of the 5 of us!



Lastly, we enjoyed the Pirate’s ride and caught both of the girls having a good time.



Everyone was happy and we enjoyed ourselves immensly. We used parent switch on all the big rides so Tom and I both got to go and Hayden went twice. He kept telling me I was going to be so scared on Space Mountain that I would wet my pants. Luckily I didn’t. Danica got to see The Little Mermaid but was too scared to go up to her. Alyssa just enjoyed watching everyone and smiling at everything.

It was a great birthday!

Coldplay has a new song called "Violet Hill". If you go to www.coldplay.com and click on the song section they will send you the song for free to your e-mail. I love the new song. It is different, but I really like it. Just thought I would let you all know.

Kim

Isaac has had a few big days, so I thought I would share...

Last weekend was the Camporee and he was able to fire black-powder rifles and throw tomahawks - I'm pretty sure that's every 12-year old boy's dream. Tuesday was the Court of Honor, where Isaac was given his swimming, dentistry, and snow sports merit badges, and also earned his first and second class. He was managing the attention fairly well until it was time to pin the first and second class pins on Mom - probably the most embarrassing part of being a boy scout. He became very flustered when he realized I didn't have a lapel, and he couldn't find a suitable place on my t-shirt for the pins. I handed him the bottom of my t-shirt, much to his relief. To top it off, I grabbed his shaggy head and planted one on his forehead. He may never forgive me.

Yesterday was his Honor Roll assembly - and he was also given a Quality Student Award and one for achievement in all of his classes. Most kids got the achievement award for 2 or 3 classes, but Isaac had a "full deck", receiving the award for all classes. I'm not proud or anything.

And yesterday was also his first track meet in Ridgefield. He ran the 1600m (1 mile), the 800m, and did the javelin. The weather wasn't great, Isaac was shivering, and I really had to resist the urge to 'mother' him too much. But he has exactly 0% body fat, right? Anyway - his first event was the mile run - with about 8 other boys. He had a good solid start, then got tripped up on someone's feet and went down hard. It was so hard to watch. But he got up and ran on. He was dead last after the fall, but ended up passing 4 or 5 of the boys by the end. He was disappointed, naturally, but he still did it in 6:34. Not too shabby. He took second in the 800m, getting passed only at the last moment by a teammate. He's really enjoying it - and it is fun to see him interacting with his friends - especially girls. He remains completely oblivious to their flirting and devious ways. At this point, he still just finds them annoying.

Lastly, he refuses to cut his hair. Oh - it will happen, regardless, but he loves that his hair has gotten truly shaggy. He walks around everywhere, shaking and tossing his head, and driving Dave absolutely crazy. I have to remind Dave of some of his more adventurous hair-dos in his earlier years. We will have to reach some compromise...soon.

I'm done. Hope you are all well -
Adina

I guess I'll post since the blog has been rather slow lately and I haven't in a while.

Let's see...this last weekend was pretty fun for me. On Friday I went to Disneyland with Kristy to meet up with my old BYU roommate Brenda who was coming down from Provo with some friends. It was the first Dland trip for a few of Brenda's friends so that is always fun. I still think it is a different experience when you come for the first time as an adult as opposed to going as a kid. But I finally have a pass again!! Yay!! It had been way too long ('bout a year and a half). We only ended up going on like two rides because we went up after I got off work but the fireworks made it worth it. They always give me goosebumps. I am hoping to go again very soon and will at least be joining Mom and Dad when they come down next Friday.

On Saturday I got to sleep in (which is always a highlight of my weekend) and then my friends came over for a night of Rock Band. My friend Joel just bought it for his Playstation so it was the first time for most of us to play it. It was really fun but I wish there were more songs that I knew for the singing. We ended up making fudge and snacking on nuggets and tots. The night ended with an awesome doorbell ring from one of my probably peeved neighbors at a little before 1am. It is Mission Valley and it's Saturday night...come on!

Sunday morning, Marisa ran the La Jolla Half Marathon so I went down with her family to meet her at the finish line and support her. It was blazing hot. I don't know how she did it. At 8am it was 95 degrees outside! Yikes! We even saw a woman cross the finish line and collapse and start shaking. Pretty scary. Marisa said that people were fainting all over the course.

This week hasn't been too exciting. Mostly just work, rest and some working out at home. I am hopefully going to meet with my boss' this week sometime to discuss my working situation when I go back to school. That will help me to plan a little better for what I will need to do with a bunch of different things.

What else?.......AI was boring last night. I don't like Neil Diamond songs. LOST was amazing last week (as always) and I am very excited for this week. 30 Rock was also pretty dang awesome last week. And Iron Man comes out this weekend -- which I will hopefully get to see at some point.

And that is all I can think of. :)

One of my earliest memories of you: we were taking a family picture at Kenn & Barb's in San Diego (must have been shortly after/before your wedding) - and all of us sisters-in-law were sitting on the couch - and Brooke and I could not compose ourselves. We started laughing at some remark Brooke made (something about our relative size to you and Buffy) and could not stop - and I remember thinking, "This Tracey is going to think we are so lame." But we laughed on...

Welcome home - hope you have a fabulous day. I sent a card, but it will be late - I am terribly ashamed. Anyway - happy birthday!

Adina

Well school has started and it is my last semester of actual classes. I am pretty excited about that! Looks like my two hardest classes are going to be exercise physiology and motor development. But I have friends in all my classes so it will be easy to have study partners. Treven's classes are going well except he has already started to have A LOT of busy work so he is going straight to the library tonight to finish it all or at least most of it! We found a babysitter for Melia on Wednesdays and Fridays since the babysitter we currently have can only do Monday, Tuesdays and Thursdays. We love this new babysitter though and may just switch Melia to just having this babysitter. She has worked in daycare with infants and toddlers for the last 4 years and she wanted to start her own daycare from the home. She is also willing to watch McKenzie in the fall when Treven has to work and I am student teaching. Her parents live right around the corner from her and they have a play ground and kiddie pool in their backyard that is fenced in so this summer she is going to take the kids there and let them play. Melia will have fun! It is something we really have been praying for and searching out because of our last experience... We feel really good about this one and it seems to be a great fit!
We also are really looking into Treven transfering to WSU Vancouver starting Spring 2009. We have been going back and forth on the idea, BUT I would be able to work more in Vancouver and possibly secure a teaching job. I would probably start just as a substitute at first and interview around. We have been looking at it more since the trip to California and Washington. It is impossible to get teaching jobs in Eastern Idaho for my content area. Then Treven wouldn't have to work while going to school and he would be able to take more classes. We requested information from WSU Vancouver and they were very specific on what they wanted to know about Treven. It looks like you can enter as a freshman there so it doesn't matter how many credits he does have. Anyway, we are researching everything and will keep everybody up to date on what will be going on.
I find out exactly where I will be student teaching in the next couple of weeks. They just e-mailed us to let us know that we have to start when the school starts which can be as early as August 15th (AH!). We will get out earlier, but they want us to be there on the first day of school. It will just be a little hard with how young McKenzie will be, but I need to get my student teaching done and get it out of the way.
We had a doctor's appointment the other day and everything is looking great. Measuring right on time. My doctor did say that McKenzie was breach at her ultrasound so they will be checking again at 34 weeks. He said that if she is breach at that time, then they will first try and push her into position and if that doesn't work then schedule a c-section. Hopefully she will just turn on her own! I am at 28 weeks now so I will know in about 6 weeks.
Anyway, enough of my rambling! Loved seeing the family even though I was exhausted both physically and emotionally! Melia was so beat from the trip, but has now caught up on sleep and is back to normal. She makes us laugh every day!
Love you all,
Kimberly

Oh! The pictures are the bed head twins before church one Sunday and the other is just a cute one of Melia when I got her hair into pigtails.

Shark attack off Solana Beach’s Fletcher Cove

April 25th, 2008

SAN DIEGO– This morning during a group swim, it appears one of the swimmers was fatally attacked. While shark attacks are EXTREMELY rare in the waters off the San Diego coast, we all know this is their home.

More information to follow once it is confirmed.

Don't anybody choke on their fine home cooked chicken broccoli casserole now. I am actually going to sit down and blog.

Dave, Anne, Brent, Kimbo, Tom, Dad Happy Birthday. I think I missed every one. I am still missing all the nieces, nephews and in-laws. Shame on me. I wish I could have sucked down some oysters with you.

Brent and Buffy, congrats on the boy that is soon to come into your home. I was extremely happy to hear that news.

As for my condolences to the family for the loss of our sweet Grandma, I think we are all happy to know she is happy and has returned with her loved ones and free of the pain and confusion she was plagued with in those later years. Still, I know it is a tough time for Dad and his siblings to see a woman who meant so much to them pass on.

I finally recovered from whatever it was that hit me and went out today only to be greeted by a large riot I had to quell because the Iraqi Police had arrested one of their favorite people. So I assured the crowd (yelling middle-eastern crowds aren't the most approachable people) after a lot of hand waving that I would ensure the safety of the guy. So I left to talk to the police chief and visited the guy with whom I took a nice smiley picture and then returned to the crowd and everyone was hunky dory about it. Then Friday noon prayers became all important and standing out in the 110 degree street yelling seemed less important. The rest of my day, like most days consisted of talking to anybody and everybody that needs something from the Americans. And, since I am the senior American for this particular city of 200,000 I am that lucky guy that gets bribed with warm "Pepsi" (cold if they really want something) and threats that I must stay and eat lunch (which I refuse to do now that it is warmer and bacteria are spawning everywhere). My boss of course has to deal with the city as well from time to time but his area of focus is several hundred square km larger. Right now, we are just trying to get this police force to be fair and impartial so they can be trusted by both sides (Sunni and Shia). By the way, I have been reading a lot about both sides lately since this city is about 50/50 and last summer were very much killing each other on a regular basis. I think I can explain it like this:

Sunni people are like major non-denominational groups in the US. They believe like Shia that Allah is the one true God and that Muhammed the Prophet (peace be upon him) is his messenger. From there things kind of went both ways. Sunnis pretty much leave Muhammed and the Q'uran as the sole religious authority with nothing else that can come after. This reminds me of born-agains and the claim of the Bible as the absolute authority. Shia believe it was the half-brother Ali who received the authority of Imam to continue to be the connection between God and his people after Muhammed died. Almost the same role as our LDS prophets. Anyway, there end up being 12 Imams and they are all highly revered. Iraq holds many of their tombs and shrines so you can see why it is a very contested place. The 12th is a bit of a mystery and is supposed to come forth out of occultation and save Islam prior to the return of Christ. Now there was a lot of confusion in the doctrine it seems when the Imams reached 12 sometime prior to AD 1000. There was no longer any transmitter, or interpreter for God to the Shia people. So kind of like apostasy but they obviously don't see it that way and there is a lot of doctrine to explain it. Anyway, quick lesson on Sunni/Shia which doesn't even scratch the surface. Suffice it to say that the Sunni believed in Kings and Caliphates which pretty much constantly beat up on the Shia throughout history and now the Shia are ticked off. Oh yeah, and they (the Shia) don't believe in Kings and worldly governments, that is why you have the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran and I believe a lot of Shia grumblings here in Iraq. Anyway, I am now done with my lesson.

Life is better here and I am hoping I do not have to leave command anytime soon. I have a pretty nice setup and my company is finally used to me and my style and I think we all pretty much like each other. Another friend from home just moved here to be in this unit so we now have an LDS group that can actually meet.

I had a great time with my family. Sawyer was a pure joy, as were all the kids. Brooke is doing such an amazing job with the family at home. I really think she has the more difficult part of this deployment. Actually, it is not even close. If I need something done, I have about 175 guys to do it for me. Brooke has...well...herself and Jane...and Sadie (kind of). I am just extremely proud of my wife and her ability to manage it all.

We are trying to work with my assignment officer to find a place to suit Ellyn's needs prior to the school year starting. He brought up Monterey as available but we are still waiting on word on how sure a thing it is before we start the paperwork. It would be great to be on the West Coast with everybody next year. Heck, Tom's family may even be there is Japan kicks the US out of Okinawa!

I miss everyone. Sorry I do not stay in touch. Not my forte. I would say I will make a better effort but I probably won't. Sometimes I just want to spend the time chatting with Brooke. I think you all can relate. It does not mean I do not love all of you.

Dad, what is that bracelet you have? Mom, I read that peace book and although a bit manipulative, I thought it addressed some great means to successful relationships, thanks. I am finishing a big book on Shia Islam and then I think I will finish a book I have been nibbling at called Marching Powder about a bizarre prison in La Paz, Bolivia. I get to play some games of MLB 08: The Show with some of my platoon leaders from time to time (Tom and Brent, greatest baseball game evah).

I will try to take my camera out and get some pics and post some of the lovely area:-)

Mike

Found 'em!! These were some of my favorite shots from my Europe trip.

Hope you had a great day yesterday. You are a great brother, uncle, friend, and we love you!

All is well here. Just really busy. Ellyn and Sawyer's sleeping has been off but last night they did really well. Jane and Sadie are doing soccer and they are really enjoying. Our weather is finally starting to turn a little spring like. We are so ready. Last night was New Beginnings for Young Women's. They welcome all the incoming girls-that would be Jane. She was so excited. I can't believe I will have a Young Woman.

My mom and Meagan come next week and I am so excited. Hopefully we will get to do a little traveling!

I will post more sometime soon but I have to take advantage of the kids sleeping and get some cleaning done!

Brooke