Well, I hadn't posted before now because Tom said the browser was all in Japanese but it seems to be working fine for me. So, where to start... the beginning I suppose:

Our last week in San Diego was so busy. The kids were pawned out to different friends houses every day as well dealt with selling the car, sorting, packing, moving, etc. But it all went quite well and I felt so blessed to have so many people willing to help us. There were lots of stressful moments but when the dust settled it seemed that everything was in order. We stayed at a hotel the last few nights and we tied up loose ends and prepped for the flight. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with the way the flights turned out. All our lugage fit on one of those carts you can rent and we got all the carseats and and gear on top of the double joggin stroller. Brooke, it reminds me a lot of your plan. It worked well for us so I hope it works for you as well. Hayden and Danica were great, no problems at all. They watched movies, ate, slept, played. Alyssa did as well as a nearly crawling baby could and only at one point did I have to just let her cry for a few minutes in order to fall asleep. The hardest part was actually the lay over in Tokyo because after getting through customs and immigration and all we still had a few hours to kill and it was nearly 2 a.m for us, but the middle of the afternoon for them. We had gotten up at 3:45 to go to the airport so you can imagine that we were exhausted. We let the kids run wild while we slumped in our chairs wishing we were dead (or asleep.) But it was fun to realize we were in the Japan. The bathrooms were something out of the future. Hayden was amazed to see they had so many buttons you could push for things like a water spray to clean you off, a fake flushing sound and more...they were quite nice. The last flight was just three hours and all 5 of us slept the entire time. It would have been better if it's weren't the middle of they day so they could have dimmed the lights or something but we were so exhausted it didn't matter much. It was 8pm here when we finally arrived, greeted by our sponsor and a friend from Cleveland. Between their two cars we were able to get all our luggage and us to the hotel here on base. Which is where we continue to live. "Home" as Danica calls it. We got lucky and were given a corner room which is actually quite a bit bigger and I got things all situated so we are really quite comfortable. It's a suite so Tom and I and Alyssa sleep in bedroom and the kids sleep on the pull out couch.

Since arriving it's been a mix of going crazy sitting in the hotel and being busy doing things like buying a car. We have been fortunate to have some friends from Cleveland, who were at Pendleton this last year, come here as well. They arrived the day after us and it's been the biggest blessing. They have three kids as well and we have been able to watch each other's kids so get things done like car shopping, housing, driver's license testing, shopping, etc. I don't know how I would have survived with out them here. Sure, it's a bit tiring to have all 6 kids in the hotel room, again and again but we manage. They have a small play room we try to utilize. There is also a playground outside but we usually regret going out there because it's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO humid and hot! I wish I had been warned about this because it was a huge shock for me. We stepped off the plane and it was thick all I could think was "What have we done!???" It's easily 2-3 times worse than Cleveland, much worse than Chicago or anywhere I have been. But they say it only lasts until October... every time we go do something outside we are soaked clear through our clothes by the time we come back in. And we aren't trying to play out there, we are simply walking! I've decided it's just like Cleveland in reverse, you don't go outside in the winter there and here you don't go outside in the summer!

We spent the 4th of July with some friends that have liked here in Oki for the last 2 years. We knew them in Cleveland before that. They had a BBQ with several friends from the branch so it was nice to get to meet some new people. There are lots of other young families which is always nice. We tried to watch the fireworks from a park but ended up in the wrong location and couldn't see them. That night we met a family, the Wilson's and talked with them a lot. On Sunday they invited us over for dinner which turned out to be another great blessing. They picked us up for dinner (because of course we can't drive, even if we had a car we couldn't drive it without a license which we couldn't get until today.) Anyway, we LOVED their house compared to the other duplexes we had seen. I had just figured we would live in one of the duplexes near our friends who had the BBQ. But the Wilson's live on another camp in a single family home that was great. So when Tom went to the housing breifing on Monday he asked if there was any way we could live near them in one of those houses. We were told the housing office would just laugh at us if we had a request but she listened and that night called and offered us a house just down the street from the Wilsons! It's too bad we won't live near all our other friends but it will be so nice to be a house! We'll post pictures of the house soon, we can't move until next Tuesday. And when I say I "Loved" the house, keep in mind, this is compared to my other options. It's still a small rectangle shape concrete thing designed to withstand typhoons. But it has new floors and cabinets and an extra room making in like a 4 bedroom! It's all one story which I really like. It makes me feel like we will be living on the island in Lost... you'll understand when I show you the pictures with all the beige colored buildings and the dark green vegetation everywhere.

Now the only downside to the house is the HUGE spider that lives in the back yard. When I say huge I really mean HUGE!!!! It’s web went from the house to a tree in the yard and it was hanging out in the middle. I wish I’d had my camera. It was a bannana spider or wood spider and was about the size of my hand- yes I said my HAND! I couldn’t stop shuddering. At Orientation they said if you see these spiders just show them away with a broom or something! Yeah right... it’s not poisonous they say but the bites hurt because of the size of the fangs....I made the housing office say they will spray the yard for spiders. We also had a gecko in the house, just laying in the middle of the floor. But I’d been warned about these and they are not nearly as terrifying and they are pretty little. Ugh, I can’t get the picture of that spider out of my head...

Okay, so another random note. We experienced an earthquake on Tuesday! The hotel shook for about 10 seconds. I was on the bed and thought one of the kids was shaking the bed or something, it was crazy. It was a 5.8 about 100 miles away. No damage luckily because 100 miles away is the middle of the water and it didn’t cause a tidal wave or anything. The island is about 65 miles long and only 17 miles wide at it’s widest point. We are down in the bottom third portion of the island. We can see the ocean in the distance from the base we are on but haven’t actually been to it yet. As soon as we get our cars I want to go there. We did buy two old, cars from people who are leaving. Tom is meeting with the registration office right now to get the paperwork done. My vehicle is this really old mini-van that we only paid $1,700 for. It couldn’t be more different from the Odyssey I loved and sold but I am convincing myself I love money more than cars and will enjoy my clunker. Tom’s car is actually pretty nice, it includes a CD changer and Japanese nav system. It’s got a nice interior, etc. He paid $2000 for his. I have decided that if I really end up hating my clunker I reserve the right to resale it and buy something really nice... like one that costs $2,500.... :)

So here are the last of the random details because this doubles as my journal entry so I want it all in here. The commissary is nice and we were thrilled to find they carry our beloved Bisquick. Our waffle iron is in the express shipment so hopefully that will be here soon! Alyssa has been sick with an awful cold, just horrible, but finally seems to be doing a little better. Hayden is enjoying all the Japanese stuff. At primary on Sunday they sang to the new kids and instead of singing “Hello, Hello” they sang “Konichi Wa” and Hayden couldn’t stop talking about how awesome it was. The branch is nice, not huge but with probably 8-10 other young families. Danica and I were invited to join in with a group of other mom’s who are doing joy school in the fall. (it’s where we take turns doing preschool at our house) I am so excited for Danica to have a chance to play with the other kids and up her learning potential. She is talking a lot more, says pretty much everything now, but still uses broken sentences and needs more practice. Hayden can’t wait for Kindergarten and the school is right here on this base near our house so that is awesome! There are 5 different camps here for the Marine’s. We will be living on Camp Foster which also has the PX, Commissary, bowling, etc. Our other friends will be living at Camp Lester just about 10 minutes away. Tom will be working at Camp Schwab, about 30 miles way, but it takes over an hour to get there because of traffic and slow driving. Luckily, he can catch the bus right here on Foster so he can read or whatever and not waste all that gas as well.

Okay, I need to stop typing now. We are doing well. I’ll admit the first few days were tough because we were tired, the kids were waking up at 3am do to the time change, it was so humid and we felt so lost I was really wondering why we decided to leave my beloved San Diego. But things are better here. And although I think I will always miss San Diego because it’s so “perfect” I can already picture myself being really happy here. The people in the branch have been great, they have been driving us around places, sometimes going back and forth like a shuttle because there were too many of us, and have offered to help in so many ways. After today we should have our cars and life will get so much easier! Then on Monday-Tuesday we begin the move in process. We don’t have anything yet so I am not really anxious to move in but they will loan us a lot and we want to start painting and such so I guess we’ll get moving!

Good luck with your move Brooke, we’ll be thinking of you a lot! And for the record, even with the memory of the long flight and the jet lag so fresh in my mind I am still planning to come next summer so we’ll see you then! Good luck Kim with the new baby, I hope she comes just when you are planning! Marnie we miss you already and are wondering if you want to study abroad in Japan in stead?? Everyone, keep the posts coming, we love reading them and feeling close to everyone.

Sionara! Hmmm... I need to learn the right way to spell that.

Yes that is right... 2 more weeks until McKenzie's due date. I am definitely wanting her to come just because of the pain and exhaustion I am having, but she needs to wait until at least the 18th..after 9 pm. I think the fact that I have been a lot more active with this pregnancy has made the contractions start earlier. I had them consistently last night for 4 hours every 7 minutes. But I decided since they weren't closer that I would just go to bed. After I went to bed, I had about 3 more contractions in a 7 hour period. I have my 38 week appointment tomorrow morning and they will be checking to see how far I am and all that fun stuff.
School will be done in 7 DAYS!! I am so excited! It is definitely weird to think that I will be done with my classes all together. All I have left is student teaching which will be a blast. It definitely will be a quick 13 weeks.
July 4th was fun! Treven was busier than ever with Pepsi... it was ridiculous. He got over 50 hours the week before and the week of the 4th. But we were still able to head down to Idaho Falls in the evening with some friends and watch the fireworks. On Saturday we were able to go to this swimming place called Monkey Rock. Let me tell you, Melia is a little fish... The water was SO COLD and she just ran in up to her chest and did not care at all. Then she realized that nobody else was there with her and ran back in and pulled Treven, Matt, Katelyn, and I into the water. I could only get my feet in. It was freezing! But she loved it. Treven and I are going to take her to the swimming pool up on campus tomorrow night so that she can go swimming a little more. She tries to get in water anytime she can.
We finally got her off the binky. She still takes it to bed with her but she hands it to us in the morning and doesn't ask for it until she goes to bed. It is a wonderful change.
We can't wait for mom and dad to come out here! Even though we aren't able to pick them up from the airport. Treven and I both have finals at the time they fly into Idaho Falls. But it is all good. That just means they will get into Rexburg right when we should be getting done with our finals.
Well I am just going to post some pictures from the 4th. We will have more coming soon of when we went to Monkey rock and such. I will even put a prego pic up for you EVEN THOUGH I took it on one of my longest days of school so I am exhausted.
Love you all! Can't wait to see all of you sometime soon. T&T, I hope everything went well with the move and it has been a smooth transition. Brooke and family, we hope everything is going well with you as well. Hope we can see you if you are able to stop by Rexburg!

Kimberly

PS the prego pics I absolutely hate... no make up... didn't do my hair.. had played softball and soccer on those days.

As much as Lake Merwin looks like a blast, I think we need some new posts on this puppy. That's where I come in! :)

All is well down here in sunny (well, cloudy right now) San Diego. Tom and Tracey have left so I am once again the lone San Diegan in the fam...and holding that title! Mom has told me that TT&fam made it to Japan though so that is good. Can't wait to have them back online and set up in their new home - as I am sure they can't wait either!

For the 4th of July weekend I got to spend a lot of time with my friends. We went to the fair on Friday which was very crowded but still fun, although it took us two hours to leave the parking lot at the end of the night. We were stuck in our parking spot for about 1 1/2 hours of that. No traffic control - survival of the fittest or biggest SUV/truck. Pretty crazy, especially at 1am. But we finally made it home. Although we had to postpone the at-home hang out until the next day. We also made a trip to our favorite (and some of yours, too) China Fun - delish!

This week I am back at work. We have hired a new person for (most of) my position and she will be starting next Monday so I am busy preparing her desk and organizing my brain for the best way to conduct her training. I have moved into a new office since the new person will be taking over the receptionist responsibilities - much bigger with a door and a big window that get lots of natural light and a lot of sun in the afternoons. I may even get a tan at work! It is very nice and I much prefer it to the front desk. I am also busy trying to complete two pretty big and important projects that both have to be done by the end of the month. We'll see how I balance training a newbie and publishing the materials for those projects at the same time!

Outside of work, it is July, so that means I am in countdown mode for a few different things.

1. 8 days to The Dark Knight: My friends and I will be attending the first (midnight) showing of the new Batman movie "The Dark Knight" in IMAX next Thursday night/Friday morning. I know that most of you don't keep up on movie news like I do but this movie has been getting CRAZY buzz so I am sure you have heard something about it. I don't know if I have ever been this excited to see a new movie. It is going to be amazing. People are comparing it to The Godfather II. I am sure we will be sitting in line for quite a while so I will be taking lots of pictures of the crazies - including myself. ;)
2. 10 days to my friend, Nicole, visiting San Diego: Nicole always comes down for "The Con" and this year is no exception! I get to have her here for over a week! I'm very excited. :)
   
3. 14 days to Comicon: I am always excited for Comicon but it is coming down to the wire and they should be putting up the programming schedule any day now so I am very anxious to start planning the weekend. I have already heard a couple of announcements for who is going to be there including Keanu Reeves, Gerard Butler (300), Simon Pegg (Run Fatboy Run), Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind), Chris Evans (Fantastic Four) and The Rock. And that's just Thursday - which is the slowest day! We are starting to train for the early mornings and long lines but I am sure that this year will be the best yet!
4. 22 days to the roommate switch: As always, my living situation can never stay the same for longer than one year! My current roommate will be moving out and a new buddy will be moving in on August 1st. I'll just be moving to the other (bigger) room so it won't be too much of a move for me. All I really have to deal with is switching over the lease and utilities and all that. It'll all be fine in the end but, of course, it has to happen when I have so much else going on!
   

And, while I am living it up this summer while I can, I am also starting to prepare more for school. I start classes on Tuesday September 3rd and register for classes next week. I will have class Mon-Weds and work Thursdays at my office. So that means I'll have three day weekends free of any work or school commitments so, if I ever get time, I'll be open for weekend trips to Monterey, Vancouver or maybe even Boise! May be too short for a trip to Okinawa though! :)

I believe that is all for now...can't think of anything else and I think that's enough! Love to hear from you all!

The 4th of July was great - spent at Lake Merwin. It was not exactly the weather we were hoping for, but we did have a dry Friday and got in some tubing, skiing, and wakeboarding. Brent & Buffy came up and spent the day with us. We got rain on Saturday night, which ended up soaking the Schickie's tent and sleeping bags, and with more rain in the forecast, we decided to leave a bit early. Not to mention, we had some neighbors (Dave, Todd, Amanda, Becky - to be exact) that liked to get plastered, then come back at 1:00 am and talk/shout til 4 am - and we were a bit sleep-deprived. The Schickedanz's went on home and we ended up staying at the Salmon Creek B&B until Sunday. We played games, watched some Shasta footage, ate s'mores and did some hot-tubbing. All in all, a great 4th of July. There ya' go.

Adina

Ready? Set? GO!!!!!!!... To Calfornia!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, don't choke. I am actually blogging! I feel,(and you probably too) like I haven't blogged in 4-ever. I love blogging but we have been busy. We have our flight scheduled for 9:45 in the morning... from Frankfurt. The train does not start that early, so luckily we have a good friend. Today is our last Sunday. I got a extra loaded peanut butter cup and a bracelet from my teacher. I was sad to leave her. I am so excited to see everyone, Luv Ya!!!!!

So, Thursday 3 July, our clinic manager wants to treat the staff to Arby's (which I don't like anyway) to the special 99 cent specials and goes out and purchases 20 of them. We jump on the catch at 1215, each have one and maybe squirt some Arby's special secret sauce and horseradish on the top. Everything is going fine until 1345 while I'm working on a patient and feel a little uneasy, maybe worried more about the ticker and not thinking about Arby's. I have one of the assistants take my BP which is 114/72...so, off I go back to work. On to two patients later, about 45 mins and the waves start to come in. A short run to the restroom and upchuck the first of five (memories of the Moose Lodge) portions of Arbys. Okay, now I feel better for 10 mins and then back for more. So, I work through my last 8 patients and to shorten the story without the nitty gritty highlights....
at 1755, my staff calls 911 and I'm off to Adventist's Hospital because I cannot get up from my desk. I'm alert but not feeling too hot. An IV line, 1 litre of fluid (Perrier, I think) and a dash of Zofran and I'm startin' to feel better. After some bloodletting and a stay at the hospital, Barb and I leave for home with me now able to drive and get home at 2100. I'll leave the camping stories to the rest of the family and just note that I still have a queasy innards and hope to let things settle throughout the weekend. And, no, I did not go boating...so you know that there must have been something wrong. Arby's....ten thumbs down and a report to the Multnomah Co. Health Dept. Kenn

Moving Time!!!
So we finally got our orders for our move late Friday afternoon. Monday morning I went straight over to Transportation to set up our movers. We have them tentatively scheduled for the 9th and 10th, a final housing inspection on the 11th and then hopefully we will be out of here on the 12th. They won't know if can get the movers that soon until either Thursday the 3rd or Monday the 7th- the 4th of July is very inconvenient for me this year:-). But... my home teacher works with the civilian side of all the moving contracts and he came over yesterday and got a copy of my paperwork and a copy of my orders and he is going to make sure it is a priority and make sure there is a quality assurance person out here with the movers. They go to about 50% of the moves and he thinks mine should be one of them. I agree. Why are we so anxious you might ask? They are trying to hold housing options for us for Ellie, school starts in Monterey on the 4th of August, and we want to get home in time for a trip to family while we have absolutely no household goods.

Last night we bought a Honda Odyssey Touring minivan. I scanned all my info., we discussed everything on the phone, I had to get copies of Mike's ID and license, and they are fed ex-ing all the paperwork. It will be ready for pick up when we arrive. That is a huge relief. We got, what I think, was a really good deal with a 2.9%. Not quite as great as Kenn and Barb's 0% but I don't think Honda is as desperate as our American car dealers either. Mike and I are now dealing with the fact that he won't be getting a sporty little coupe and I am now officially a "soccer mom." It hurts in a way, I'm not going to lie. But it will be awesome. Poor Sadie has been sitting next to Ellyn in Mike's little Beamer and is sporting several scratches, a bite mark, a few missing chunks of hair- she will be the happiest I believe (these are all when Ellyn's happy by the way).

Sawyer has a few of his own bumps and bruises but those are all from different sources- his attempt to scale the kitchen baby gate, his run in with a dining room chair, and still his sore below his nose from his porta crib. I don't know, all these baby proofing objects causing injury. We should do a 60 Minutes investigation.

We have our pre-inspection today. I'm hoping against hope that they don't make me re-paint my front entryway. Chances of that are very slim.

I've cleaned out the girls huge bathroom upstairs and that is where we are putting everything we will be taking with us. I'm going to mail a box of stuff this week. We are going to have to take the train to Frankfurt to get on our plane. The shuttle is booked and we are too big and it's too far away for people to take us. So... it will be me and the kids, the double jogging stroller, Sawyer's carseat, the girls' boosters,two suitcases, the dogs in their carrier, and a couple of backpacks. KILL ME!!! But it won't be totally impossible and I think we will have a non-stop to San Francisco. We can't book our flight until Monday, when we find out about the movers. Funny that Sawyer and Ellyn won't even be in their stroller, Sawyer will be in the front pack and Ellyn will be walking!

Well Ellyn didn't get the memo that today we were going to sleep past 4:45 so I am looking forward to a day of feeling like I've been hit by a truck. I was up till 12:30 working on the van and talking to Mike. She should crash just about the time she gets to pre-school but she's sure a happy girl right now. OK, time to get a move on- hey literally! Blog out!

Well, I've had on my to-do list for several days to write on the blog so I better do it to get it off the list. As always, I really enjoy reading all of your blogs and then realize how long it has been since I have contributed.

I've been thinking a lot of Tom and Tracey and their exodus to Okinawa. I hope the trip went better than anticipated and that you can get settled in quickly...I'm sure it won't be too quickly since you have to wait for your household goods to get there...get a car etc. Of course, Brooke's tackling the same sort of task within the next week or so...remember her in your prayers that she'll get the dates for the move that she wants....and the house that she needs in Monterey.

I think all of you saw the pictures of Brooke Wakefield's baby--another Kay-Kay and Wa-Wa great grandchild. McKenzie is next! Hopefully not too soon, I have to sub for RS on the 13th---and we have our plane reservations...and the graduation on the 18th so she needs to wait until then.

We told some of you but not all that we noticed in the church news that PQ stake got a new Stake Presidency. Ken Ellsworth is the new Stake President with Bob Riding as his first counselor. Delbert Stapley is the second counselor but I don't think most of you know him. Marnie said the new bishop of PQ3 is Bishop Olson---not someone I knew from when we were there.

The houseboat was a trying---but fun experience. Most experiences like that get better as time passes when the load-in and load-out and Dad's stress while driving and docking fades into the background, and the swimming, laughing, game playing and talking comes more to the forefront. I appreciate all being such good sports...and tolerating grumpy parents at times.

We were over in the Tri-Cities for my work...per the picture of Melody and John. My work will be subsiding a bit due to the end of the grant. I can't say I am sorry about that as I have a million projects that I would like to do. But the dean also is making noises about me helping with input for a new curriculum software they have. I'm kind of an expensive data entry person but if that is what they want, okay!

Dad has an interview with the president of Willamette on Monday about a possible Oral Surgery Manager position. We have mixed feelings and have some criteria that we need it he were going to do it. He is a little nervous about it...although I don't think he needs to be. Please include him in your prayers that the right thing for him...and us happens.

Dad and I have also started the beginner running plan off of Runner's World website. We just finished a week of run one minute walk two minutes and are now going to the run one, walk one this week. Last night we couldn't do it because Dad had a patient that ended up in the hospital (no fault of Dad's), and some people from our ward picked up one of the bunk beds. That room was getting too crowded to be a play room at all...and we need that more than sleeping room...Anyway, by the time all that was done, it was 9 pm and Dad was too tired to go running. So tonight we are going to go as soon as he gets home.

We are going up with Dave and Adina and Brian and Paige to Lake Merwin for this 4th weekend. I think Brent and Buffy are just coming up for the day of the 4th. At this point the weather looks decent.

Well, I better go tackle the pivot table I'm trying to do for work..

Love to all,

Mom

This is mostly for Mom and Dad who know Kara Patterson. She is a friend of mine from high school in Washington. She was the first person to really befriend me and we still keep in touch to this day.
She qualified for the Olympics last night in Javelin by throwing 191 ft and 9 inches so she will be going to China. She has reached her ultimate goal in the sport and she is so excited to be in the Olympics. I think there will be a article in the Columbian on her today about it.
Just wanted to let Mom and Dad know and everybody else look for her if you are watching the Olympics in August.

Kim

I thought I would contribute since it literally has been FOREVER since I last posted. Brent and I fared quite well this toasty summer weekend where it hit tripple digits as our portable AC unit arrived just in the nick of time. We ordered it last weekend and it arrived on Thursday for which we or I was very greatful for since my thermostat is running a little high these days. We use it in out bedroom so we can sleep comfortably.
It is kind of ironic since when we chose not to get the central AC upgrade for this house last year and I remember joking that I would probably end up being 9 months prego in the month of August here. Oh well.
My pregnancy is not too bad with the exception of the low back/sacroiliac pain that comes and goes depending on my activities. The ankle swelling is a joy but drinking LOTS of water seems to help. Working 10 hour days is getting tiring but I still enjoy what I do and my co-workers are very supportive.
As some of you can imagine as I am already a nesting type person, that urge is definitely in full swing here at home. I did seem to catch the perfect husband for someone like me as Brent thrives on getting projects done and always seems to be willing to participate in whatever project I plan around the house... baby room, painting other areas of the house, changing window treatments, etc. Boy am I a lucky girl!!!
I have been thinking about a lot of you guys lately with all of the exciting things happening in your lives... Marnie with school starting again, Tom and family's move, Mike and Brooke's move, Kim and Trevon's baby being due soon (yes I am jealous you are that much closer Kim). And Brooke, I doubt it will happen but if you guys get here by July 12th you are invited to the baby shower which will be at Barb's and which your mom and sister were invited. Just FYI.
Anyway, happy July 4th a little early to all. I am thinking of it right now as I hear fireworks go off in the distance out my office window. It still seems so odd since growing up in San Diego it was illegal. My opinion which doesn't matter much is that it is a waste of money and slightly, no really risky... no offence to all in the family who have partaken in this festivity.
Well, I wish all of you well and am thinking of you.
Buffy

This is from our few days this last weekend visiting old friends of our family. They were our closest friends in Valentine, Nebraska. They now live in Richland, Washington where he works for the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Had a wonderful time with them. Dad

This week has been normal. Well, somewhat. On Friday I went to my first young womens activity. A month early, but the young womens leader invited me. her daughter is 16 and I like her better than most kids my age. That was a lot of fun. We got our orders, so today we are going to get the plane tickets scheduled and movers, etc... So, that is all for right now.


Love,
Jane

It is 113 degrees here. We move from the AC to the pool and back to the AC, so I don't mind it. Though, we did have to cross a street today and the kids thought they were going to collapse on the spot while waiting for the signal. Dave is here for work, we are tagging along. I welcome the distraction after Shasta - I was having a hard time 'coming down' and this way, I don't really have to. I'll face reality on Monday.

Brooke - thanks for the updates. We are anxious for you to have orders and to get back here. Had to laugh at your selective editing from your family blog - wish I could share in your swimsuit follies, but that's not a problem I have ever had. Hilarious story, though.

Kids are loving summer so far - who wouldn't? Isaac occasionally tests my patience and restraint. He's 12, I know, and fortunately has enough good moments to make up for the bad ones, but I hope he knows that I can still take him. I don't care how fast he's growing.

Thinking of Tom & Tracey a lot - what a week. Hope it's going well. Saw an AmbienCR commercial on TV last night and couldn't help but grin.

Anyway - I'll keep it short. I should get back to the pool and the over-baked, bleached-blonde, mother of two on her floatie with her Coors Light 'tall boy' (I learned so much from you, Peter).

Adina

We are all doing well here. I have to share with everyone that we still don't have our stupid orders but we are supposed to on Monday. If we don't Mike has given me full permission to raise hell. I always hesitate when Army is concerned/ Mike's job, reputation etc... So frustrating, but nothing new.

We have two dogs now. Two yorkies. I don't want to hear it. They are cute, they don't shed, they have each other to wear out and then they are mellow around the kids. Yes, it will be a pain in the butt during the move but after that we should be good.

Kids are great. Jane is dying because everyone on my side of the family is moving to Washington, not to mention all of you that are already there. I just feel incredibly lucky that we will only be 11 hours away. That is amazing considering the last 12 years we have lived days and days away. It will be SWEET!! If we ever get there.

I have a mosquito bite somewhere on my ear. It hurts, I look like Hitch or some wrestler with cauliflower ear.

It is very hot and very humid here. We have two fans running in our family room almost all day every day. It's still beautiful though. Yesterday Ellyn's respite person came with me so I could take the kids to the pool. I had a pleasant surprise. Ellyn can push off the bottom now and with floaties on she swims like a little fish. She kicked herself all over the pool. It was awesome. Now I can take the kids by myself. I will post some pics that Suzanne took of all of us later.

Well it's late. I have been trying to wake up early and get stuff done for the move while the house is cool and the kids are asleep. Sawyer and Ellyn were both doing a great job sleeping through the night- until last night.

Great to see all the Shasta pics, looks like everyone had a great time. We love you all and HOPE to be able to get up there sometime this summer.

HI fam, just me. I have had a good week, but, you know nothing knew. We got another puppy and his name is Joe. Joe Kingman. Off of Game plan. He didn't really MOVE the first day and a half, but my mom gave him a serious trim and he is now playful and cute. He was probably just nervous. If you want to see pics they are on BREEZY FIELDS. the bigger one is joe, the smaller one is cody.

Love,
Me

Just wanted to get the blog moving and add a little update from me. I've been pretty busy since I got back from Shasta. I had a really fun weekend with friends enjoying the sunshine and, finally, summer weather that we are starting to have. Still no sunburn yet, fingers crossed!

On Monday I had a not-so-fun new problem with my car. Long story short, the fan unit in the front of the car had a malfunction and would not turn off. So it drained the whole battery and I couldn't get the car started again so I could drive it to the dealer. It was quite a situation with lots of obstacles being thrown at me - but through the help and advice of family, friends and prayer, I somehow pulled through and Remus is now complete and working again. Whew! Definitely praying for no more problems for quite a while! Please!

I am back at work today. Things are pretty slow - as summer always is but we're getting a lot of side-projects done so that is good. Peter - the Romanian publisher wrote back and said they should have the book published by the first week of July, so I will definitely send you a copy when we get it from them. :) I have been doing interviews for my job in the past week or so and it is an interesting experience to be the interview-er. I think we may have found someone for the job but we have another interviewee next week to see about first. The person we are thinking of now is actually related to the guy that was killed by the shark in Solana Beach a couple of months ago - crazy, huh?

I have quite a few things that I would like to do this weekend so we'll see how many actually get done. I am going to Disneyland with some friends which should be fun since we haven't been in quite a while. And hopefully I will be able to see Tom & Tracey before they leave. I know they are pretty darn busy. I also really want to see Wall-E which comes out on Friday. We'll see if I can fit that in.

I hope you are all well and I'd love to hear from everyone. I know we're all busy but just take some time out to blog! :)

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Hopefully this works.

-Anne

Here are the pictures