August 2007

Mike and Rachel Guymon Family

What a great month we had!!  Totally busy, but fun!!! 

Talia and Sarah had a great time staying at Josh and Amy’s house for a week.  While they were at church with them, a boy came up to Amy in Sacrament Meeting and handed her a note.  It said something like, “ You are the cutest girls I have ever seen.  I would like to keep in contact with you.  Here is my email and address.”  J  I have it put away as their first love note.  They thought it was gross that he would think they were cute and write a note.  Anyway, we thought it was quite funny.  Poor guy!  

We took a trip to Denver for our family reunion and had a great time.  All 7 brothers and sisters and families were together.  We really missed Mom and Dad.  We invaded Nate and Rachelle’s home and they were awesome hosts allowing 37 people to stay there.  Thanks guys!!  We went to Elitch Gardens (Six Flags) one day and everyone had a blast.  We had fun hiking, picnicking, doing and watching fireworks, talking, and had a great talent/skit show.  Our family did a lip sync to Bon Jovi’s “Livin' on a Prayer,” complete with sunglasses, tennis racket guitars, and a little guy (Braden) that was the star of the show with his cool moves.  We were able to meet 2 nieces, Daidra and Kennedy.  And it was fun to see the 4 little girl babies all together.  It was great to see Talia and Sarah talking and having fun with their cousins.  We really had an awesome time and hope we can be closer to more family sooner than later, but not too soon since I don’t want to move for a few years.    Good Times!!!!    

The day after we got back, I (Rachel) told Braden that potty training was starting and off we went.  It took him about 1-½ weeks before he really caught on but when he did, he was set to go.  We started on Monday and on Sunday, I left his pull-up on after church and he wet in it and I told Mike maybe he isn’t ready.  He would go on the potty if we put him on, but up until that point he would tell us he had to go as he was going, whether in a pull-up or on the floor.  Also, he managed to poop only when he was wearing a pull-up or just used his underwear (3 times).  Minutes after told Mike that maybe we should wait a while to train him, he yelled from the living room, “I have to go pee pee” and he held it until we got him there.  We decided to keep pushing forward.  On Wednesday, he stayed dry all day, and during the night, and on Thursday he did his first poop in the potty to which he responded, “Wow!!  That’s a BIG POOP!!!”  So funny!!  After that, the rest is history and he goes by himself, and rarely has an accident!!  Even at night.  Wow!  After 7 ½ years straight of changing at least one child’s diapers (1/2 of that time was 2 kids), we are a diaper free home!!  I have to admit, I got a little choked up at one point knowing that phase in my life is gone forever, but then the reality hit me, and the choke was gone and I started thinking of ways to spend the extra $40 each month! J

The kids finished soccer and tennis this month.  We went to some b-day parties, water parties, and “soccer is done” parties.

We had our “Plan of Salvation” (Growing Up/Boys & Girls stuff, etc.) talk with Talia and Sarah and that rocked their world.  I don’t think they fully grasped everything we talked about, but we were so nervous and giggled a few times talking to them.  They had no idea about anything, and Sarah said, “EXCUSE ME?” at one point when we were explaining some things in detail.  Good Memories!

Rachel’s calling is keeping her quite busy.  She enjoys it (RS Enrichment Counselor) but it takes lots of planning and being in a big ward in Minnesota means big boundaries (40 mins. from one side to the other) and lots of interesting situations.  She has also started being a “sneaky chef”, which if you want to know what that is you will have to call her or look up info on “The Sneaky Chef” book at your library or online since she doesn’t want her secrets to be revealed to her family!J

Mike was able to travel to Phoenix to see a few of his friends.  He spent time with his friend, Greg, whose wife is in the last stages of cancer.  He also spent time with his friend, Jason, and they were able to spend one evening together at a Dream Theater concert (Mike’s favorite band).  He is including a picture of their Glendale house with this letter.  He has been busy with work and looks forward to spending time with the kids and Rachel when he gets home. Life is good!

Mason is our designated UNO game master.  Can playing UNO be an addiction?  We wonder…he loves playing UNO daily, multiple times, and does so with his sisters, who are great sports (most of the time), and mom and dad.  It is so fun to see him anticipate and enjoy spending time with his siblings in that way. 

Well, off we go to real life…hope all is treating you fine and dandy!  We miss you all and look forward to future gatherings of the fam.  CIAO

With love…the Minnesota Guymon clan

 

 

Ruth and Adam Olson Family

 

In July, Adam's parents came to visit us and party.  We had a blast seeing Harpers Ferry (a Civil War site), picnicking, making  crafts, and viewing the famous Skyline Drive (a scenic mountainous drive in West Virginia/Virginia).  We saw many deer on that drive, plus a family of black bears crossing the road. We also blessed little Eli Axel Olson with Adam's Dad in the circle.     Adam is plugging away at the thesis.  He has most of the grunt work down, just needs to pull it all together into the book form.  Keep praying for him!   Ruth may be teaching piano this fall, again, and possibly and Early Childhood Music class.   Atom Riley starts Kindergarten and turns 5 this month.  He has chosen a pirate theme.   Josh has started to get taller instead of just wider.  He also follows his brother around everywhere.  They are a cute pair.   Much love to all! Olson 5

 

 

Jim and Rachel Guymon Family

 

The girls had fun at our ward's annual Fourth of July breakfast and 

bike parade and later we caught a few fire works on our way home from 

being rained out of a display.  We also made our first trip to the 

eastern Shore to play at Dewey beach in Delaware.  Bailee had a blast 

in the waves but Olivia would not go near the water.  She made sand 

castles and asked to go home the whole time.  We stopped by Annapolis 

on the way to see the Naval academy and some singing pirates on the 

bay.  The other pictures show the girls at the Baltimore zoo crossing 

some lily pads.  One of their favorite things at the zoo is to climb up 

stairs inside a hollow tree trunk and slide down a huge tree slide.  

Bailee has learned to swim underwater all by herself and loves to 

practice when we go to the pool.  Olivia likes to play in the shallow 

end.  That's our fun for July!    

 

Mary and Mike Ferguson Family

 

July was a crazy month for us here in Twin falls.  mike went out of town twice to austin for about a week and a half.  I finished up the tball season, softball, and baseball.  i hung out with Becca for a few days before they left on their big vacation.  A highlight of the month was visiting with Shannon and Robynn at Becca's house.  I hadn't seen robynn for about 10 years.  it was great to catch up on their lives and meet her kids.  The sisters seem very close and it is fun to be able to visit with both of them together.

I can't remember if I wrote about Katie's birthday but we went boating with the Jarvis's and it was great fun!  Katelyn got up on skis because of Rich's patience and skills.  It was fun to see her try so hard.  She is 11 now and looks so grown up.  She got a gift certificate for Harry Potter and we took her to see the latest movie (after I previewed it first with Shannon and Robynn on opening day:))  She got some new clothes, polly pockets princesses, and an american girl doll (which she payed half of the cost)).  It was fun to watch her still like little girl things but also transitioning into the preteen stuff).

After a trip to Boise I decided to go down to Salt Lake for a night and pick up Katelyn's friend from Austin who has moved overseas to Singapore.  Her friend was visiting family in Utah and Katelyn was soooo excited to see her and get to spend time with her.  Since Mike was out of town we decided to just keep Brieanne for a few days and let the girls get reaquainted.  Katelyn and her friend spent almost everyday reading Harry Potter in preparation for the last book.  We also picked up the famous Clark Tortoises who were being babysat by Mark Openshaw and his wife Amy in Provo.  When we went to pick them up their kids were very sad and wanted to keep the turtles.  We promised them a baby if they end up having one.  So far they have been pretty easy pets although they like to dig under the fence.  All the neighbors have taken an interest in them and some even donate food to feed them.  it is fun to see the kids with a pet. 

My highlight of the month was reading the final Harry Potter book.  It was incredible!  Katelyn finished about 7 hours before me (I had to write my talk for Sunday all day Sat and so she got a big head start).  She wanted to talk about the book and the ending and I just about went crazy.  Of course she had to go tell Brandon and Lizzie how it all ended.  I decided that I wanted to find out for myself so i stayed up late into the night and finished!.  mike thought he would be funny and read the last couple of chapters of the last book.  He hasn't read any of the books but has seen a few movies.  They all had a hard time keeping a secret!

We have spent the last couple of weeks going swimming, to the lake with friends, and boating a little bit.  I went for a wild tube ride one night when a bunch of couples went out for a boat ride.  The driver went so fast and curvy that he threw us off the tube and I somersaulted through the water.  I felt like I had whip lash and that my jaw was broken.  Needless to say I did not feel like going again after that.  I'm headed up to Boise this weekend to go to the temple and spend some time with the Jarvis's.  Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying your summer.  School starts for us on the 27th of August... I think they will be ready to go back.  See ya!

The Fergusons!

 

 

Rebecca and Rich Jarvis Family

 

Dear Fam,

Well, we hope you are all well and enjoying your summer.  July was a very very busy month!!!   We left for the Jarvis Family Reunion on the 13th-23rd.  We went to Jackson Hole Wyoming and did the Alpine slide, stayed in a little lakehouse right in Teton national park , gorgeous!!!, then went through Yellowstone on our way to the lodge in Wyoming.  This is the lodge that Rich and his Dad and his partner invested in last year and have been going back and forth to once a month.  It is beautiful up there!!  Each family had their own little cabin.  Very cool and we ate for free in the restaurant the whole time, so no cooking or dishes, yippee!!  Of course we were really sick of the food about halfway through the week and longed for some home cookin'.  But we were grateful to have it.  Brooklynn got very sick on the way to church on Sunday.  She suffered through all 3hrs, fell asleep on the way home at about 1pm,  and slept until the next day.  She woke up only long enough to ask Rich for a blessing.  Horseback riding was the next day and she had been looking forward to it for a month!  Right after Rich, his brothers and his dad gave her a blessing she started sucking on a popsicle.  She fell asleep in the middle of eating it.  In her blessing she was told she would be able to sleep and be better for the next day's activities, and thankfullly that is exactly what she did.  Rich, Richy, and Brooklynn and I went horseback riding and had a blast!!  We also went 4wheeling in the most beautiful surroundings I have ever seen, the boys all went Jeeping, and we celebrated Michael's 5th B-day, too.  We also went hiking to this beautiful waterfall, sightseeing and fossil collecting at a dinosaur track site, and waterskiing and tubing on a beautiful lake in Montana.  It was busy and fun!!  On one of the days, our whole family took a much needed nap in the afternoon.  On the way home we stopped in Yellowstone again.  We saw lots of Elk, buffalo, and one bear.  One Elk had the biggest rack of antlers and was just 10 feet from us.  Joseph said, "mommy, I want to pet the reindeer!"  Everyone around us just bust up laughing.  On our way home from there, we stopped and took pictures by the new Rexburg temple and the Idaho Falls Temple.  The last day of our trip, Joseph started throwing up.  That was fun, not, but we are thankful we only had two get sick.....counting our blessings!!  Thank goodness for whoever invented ziploc bags and Lysol wipes!! 

Since we got home we have had the Ferguson's up for the weekend and Mel and Shannon for a visit.  We are sorely going to miss Damien as he left with them today to go to Seattle to start College next month.  We have loved having him with us and miss him already.  He is quite the positive guy!!  And was so helpful!!  He has a strong testimony and wants badly to serve a mission.  He always talks about "when he goes" on his mission. 

We had Richy's "friend b-day party"  for this year on Friday.  It was fun!  We planned it so Brandon could be here.  It was a Star Wars party and was a blast. 

Rich was dirtbiking and crashed pretty hard.  He bruised his hip badly and fractered his fibia.  He is getting around a little slower now and not sleeping so well.  We are hoping he heals quickly.   

Joseph is busy making the world a better place one hug at a time.  He just loves everyone he meets and has a gift for helping them to feel loved.

I am sure there is more that has happened, but that is all I can remember right now. 

Until next time....Bec

 

 

Liz and Corky Clark Family

 

We had an eventful month so I decided to show it with pictures.  Reese turned 2 in July and we had a fun little

celebration with some friends down the street.  We set up the jumper in the backyard and turned on the sprinkler

to try to stay cool.  Karen and her family came all the way from California to visit.  We spent an eventful 6 days

visiting the local water park, the Brookfield Zoo, Downtown Naperville, Navy Pier, Downtown Chicago and Millenium

Park.  We had lots of fun and we were really sad to see them go.  Reese really became attached to Ben, Karen's

Husband.  The girls loved to play with Jared and make him laugh.  The girls finished swimming lessons and have

really missed the pool.  They really have come a long way since the beginning of the summer.  We hope you are

all well!  Love, The Clarks