Ruth and Adam Olson Family

Well! Ruth is about to pop any day now, and it's a good thing because Joshua demands that baby Eli "come out right now!" Plus the Virginia humidity is coming on, and that ain't pretty for a pregnant lady, we hear. This last month it has helped to have a sandbox, a little swimming pool, and sprinklers for the boys to play in while "big tired mamma" just sat and watched. They have been entertaining themselves so well! Thank you thank you! Adam is being "super dad" hanging out with the boys a lot more now that his classes are done. He has a summer full of working on his thesis, which we may soon find out will be a published work....more info later. Atom Riley is turning tan and more blond-headed. He enjoys drawing pictures for his friends or family and learning how to write their names on it. He is still our "crazy-moves" dancer. Joshua is is turning out to be quite the dare-devil, climbing up and jumping off of high things. He is learning to ride his bike too, which a neighbor gave us. Baby #3 knows no personal space rules and insists on striking a superman pose while in the womb, which causes mom to catch her breath at times and stretch out to make room. We're excited to see what this one will look like. The next email will be an exciting one!!! Love to all! Olsons

Mike and Rachel Guymon Family

Greetings to the fam!

It has been another fun, adventurous month filled with extreme temperature shifts and plenty of rain.  This has really helped our lawn grow, which in turn brings the bunnies out to nibble/forage in our yard.  Yes, we have a litter of bunnies living under our shed.  Our dilemma:  do we call animal control, take care of the bunnies ourselves, or just let them be, which means that in a few months, there could be many more (since rabbits have a rapid fire procreation experience).  Maybe the great owl, which has frequented our back tree, will come back and eat them, one by one.  We shall see…

We were able to go to Omaha and see Josh bless his two sweet girls.  He did a great job!!!  It was fun to see them all and meet Callie and Courtney.  Sarah and Talia loved holding them and feeding them.  Mason loved to sing to them while I helped him hold them.  His favorites were Did Jesus Really Live Again and Scripture Power! So cute. 

Mike had an opportunity to finally see one of his favorite artists, Loreena McKennitt, in concert.  He and a friend from the ward went to the historic State Theater in downtown Minneapolis to enjoy that event.  According to Mike, “I’ve seen many a concert in my young life:  prog rock, metal, classic rock, classical, and even piano.  But this concert was different.  Her music connects straight to the soul.  At 50 years old her voice was angelic and the music was its equal.  An awesome performance.”   He has also spent extra hours on the road for work, training ecclesiastical leadership in many areas of his work.  It is quite a responsibility and he still notes he enjoys it. 

Mason and Amber started soccer this month.  They are enjoying it and like to be where the action is.  Amberly made 4 goals her first game.  She is not afraid of the ball at all and usually comes home with dirt and mud on her shorts and shirt.  Mason really likes to hang out with his teammates, laughing, teasing, chasing, etc.  Oddly enough, this happens, even during the game…

The tornado sirens went off one day and the tornado watch lasted about 35 minutes.  At Amber’s school her “tornado safe spot” is kneeling down in front of her locker doubled over her knees with her hands grasped behind her neck with her head against her locker.  They practice this drill a couple times a year.  Well, since this was a real warning, those little 1^st grade girls had to stay in that position for 35 minutes, with no talking!  Amber said, “I whispered a little!”  Her neck and head hurt for a few days.  Talia and Sarah got to stay in the bathroom and draw.  (Amber liked their safe spot better.  I wonder why?) 

I got a call from Talia and Sarah’s school nurse: “Hi, Mrs. Guymon, this is the nurse from Washington Elementary.  Just to let you know there was an accident during the tornado watch today….(at this point any parent’s heart drops to the floor)…but Talia is ok.  When the teacher was passing out paper, Talia looked up at the same time the teacher was handing her a piece and the corner got her eyeball.”  Heart back up in chest again.  J  We love the adventure here in Minnesota! 

Rachel was able to help at Amber’s track and field day, which was fun.  Amber had a blast!  Rachel also helped at Talia and Sarah’s field day, and the girls were chosen to be on the “5^th grade all-stars team” as they competed against the staff at the school.  Of course, the 5^th graders won the sack race.  15 out of 75 5^th graders were chosen, based on sportsmanship throughout the year in PE, attendance, and positive attitude at school.  They were very excited!!!  It was neat to see Talia (whose name was called before Sarah’s) so excited when Sarah’s name was called.  They are really becoming good friends and it is fun to see how they talk to each other and laugh about stuff.

Braden had 2 of his teeth worked on by our dentist.  They just gave him laughing gas, which didn’t do a whole lot.  They were able to do the fillings but only because of the new toys I had bought and brought with me, namely a blue sword. Braden was not very cooperative but we were finally able to get it done.  Our dentist is in our ward and he looked over the specialist’s recommendations and was willing to try to do it with putting him under.  He has 3 more to go this month!  Can he do it?  Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter!! 

On Memorial Day we went on a bike ride to a new place which was kind of “woodsy.”  We had a great time.  On Tuesday night, Talia showed me a rash on her leg.  I thought it was hives or something but after looking at pictures online I realized it was poison ivy.  Poor thing.  It is still spreading, 5 days later, and blistery, itchy, and yucky looking.  Luckily no one else has it.  She said if she runs it feels like her leg is on fire and hurts terribly.  It has spread to the other leg, an arm, fingers and now face.  Hopefully we have the oil washed off completely now and can stop the spread!  We gave her a blessing today and hopefully she will feel better soon.

We painted the rest of the downstairs over the holiday weekend and the end is in sight for getting our house put together.  Soon, very soon. 

We love you all and hope you all are happy and loving each other, even in the hard and stressful times.  We appreciate the hard work and sacrifice of our missionary parents.  We know it can’t be easy being away from family.  As Mason might say, “You Rock!”

Love,

The Minnesota Guymons

 

Mary and Mike Ferguson Family

 

Happy Summertime to all the Guymons!  May brought kindergarten graduation for Lizzie.  She was great in her program and say the Tootie-tah song which we all laughed so hard to see.  Katelyn got back from Scotland and had to cram about a weeks worth of math into one night.  It was a lot of geometry which is my least favorite.  We stayed up late and got it all done and I was drilling her for her test.  it brought back some fond memories dad :)  She had to do a state report and was assigned Florida.  She researched it and found some current events with a 4 foot long 70lb lizard that was at large and has a poisonous bite.  The kids in her class ate it up.  she decided she wanted to make her map out of a cake so we decorated a large cookie sheet cake in the shape of florida and labeled it all over with rivers, swamps, beaches, etc.  She was very proud of her cake!  I am so glad that school is out although the kids having them all home at once is a challenge too.  We are trying out t-ball, baseball, and softball.  If works out to about a game a day and sometimes two.  i remember loving the sport and playing catcher with Alisen Furbotten pitching.  We are having a cold spell and so maybe the games will not all be played this week. 

Over memorial weekend we went camping at North Fork Campground above Sun Valley.  it was so beautiful!  Now I understand why people here love Idaho and never want to leave.  it was pretty cold at night but hot during the day.  The kids loved hiking, and playing down by the river, and just playing with sticks.  After two days without showering I was ready to hose off everyone and have a shower myself.  We headed back home and I thought ...Camping is a lot of work!  it was fun to sit around the fire and chat with our friends. 

Sunday I will be tending the three Jarvis boys and we are really looking forward to some fun with the cousins.  I hope that all goes well with you ruth!  you and Adam are in our prayers! 

Jim and rachel we participated in the fast for you and it was a first time fast for Brandon!  He was really a good sport and thought a lot about you both and the baby.  We will hope and pray for the best.  thank you for including us in your family's challenges.

We are headed to Branson in about a week or so for Mike's family reunion.  It will be the last time we are all together for a couple of years.  I can't remember if I told y'all but Adam (Ed's son who lives in Tucson)  got called to the Boise mission spanish speaking.  Twin Falls is part of that mission and it will be fun if Adam serves in our area.  Our temple now has a Moroni on top and looks more like a temple.  We all ran over for the big event.  Jacob rode his bike about a mile and the pedal only fell off about 5 times.  He was a good little sport.  It was extra hot that day but we didn't want to miss it!  I video taped the big crane lifting Moroni up. 

That's all the news for now.  Happy Father's day to all you dad's!

Love,  Mike, Mary, and kids

 

 

Stephanie Guymon Family

 

Family,

The last few months have been pretty intense. In April Alex turned twenty, Damien went to visit Rich and Becca , Jordan went to an FBLA (future business leaders of America ) conference where Ironwood brought back first place and Mckaela participated in the Peoria Arts Festival.

In May, Alex moved out, Damien turned 18, Jordan went to Disneyland with the band and Mckaela sang a solo in the Heritage Choir concert.

Obviously, many other things happened along the way but honestly I was too exhausted at the end of the day to write anything down.

My job for next year was finalized in May and I had to pack up all of my things and leave Peoria . It was a very sad and stressful time. Lynne Selim is moving to the new high school but they didn’t have room for me so I am going to be working with the 18 to 21 year old students at Peoria ’s Adult Training Center . I think it will be a great place to work and I already know most of the kids. One of the best things is that it is only about 5 minutes away from home on 75^th and Peoria . Liberty (the new high school) is about 35 minutes away!

Now that school is out we have started to work ####### the house. It is a very new experience for me to have so many things accumulate. My past experience of moving every few years resulted in me cleaning and clearing things on regular basis.

I am not teaching this summer so that I can spend more time with the kids, so far it has been wonderful. Mckaela and I do a mother/daughter activity once a week…last week we made a denim purse.

Alex is working really hard and has become totally independent, we rarely see him. Damien just left yesterday to go work with Rich in Idaho and still plans to go to college in the fall (he just hasn’t decided where).

Jordan had sinus surgery during the last week of May and has recovered quite well. He is breathing clearly for the first time in about a year! Drum line practices have begun twice a week and he is going to begin guitar lessons soon. Toward the end of the month he will start Drivers ed. as well.

Mckaela’s social calendar is never empty and she has been doing a lot of reading. We finally discovered the secret…mystery/horror novels! I’m just happy she loves reading.

I am still plugging away at my Masters degree in Special Ed. and I am loving the fact that I don’t have to stay up into the wee hours to work on it for a while.

We love and miss everyone and look forward every month to hearing about what is going on across the country!

Love,

            The Arizona Guymon’s

 

Liz and Corky Clark Family

 

June is all ready here and the Clarks have not had a chance to stop and smell the flowers.  We have been busy but in a good way.  The weather has been gorgeous for the most part so we have been taking daily walks around the lake and playing in the parks.

We celebrated Corky’s birthday in May, low key just the way he likes it with a few close friends and cake and ice Cream.  We also had a party at our house with nearly 100 people from the ward with 45 minutes notice.  It was storming real bad and the original mostly outdoor location wasn’t going to work so we stopped getting ready and went into frantic house cleaning mode when we got the call,  “uh, can we do it at your place”.  It was totally fun and we are still eating the chips, pop,burgers, and everything else that got left behind.  Very yummy but we should really throw it all out and start eating healthy again. 

May also brought… a visit from Grandma Clark.  While she was here we filled the days with several outings and long nights of sewing.  Liz has been trying to sew a car organizer for the girls for the trip to the Clark Reunion in Preston Idaho at the end of June.  Grandma Clark is quite experienced in the art of sewing and really helped Liz along.  We decided to get a membership to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago this year and spent a day enjoying the animals.  The greatest thrill for the girls was catching the 17-year Cicadas that had infested the Zoo.  We were lucky that our neighborhood was once farming land with very few trees.  In affect, we have not had any Cicadas in our area.  Other areas have had so many that it looks as if their lawns are moving.  Our next trip was to the Museum of Science and Industry and a trip to downtown Chicago.  The museum was fun and the kids loved all of the exhibits.  Reese especially enjoyed the HUGE locomotive and the big race cars.  Liz managed to lose her Bluetooth in the process.  After the museum we hit Millenium Park and downtown Chicago.  It was a fun and full day.  This month brings the end of school, swim lessons and the family reunion. 

We conceded defeat this month to the Minnesota Guymons as Jordin Sparks beat Blake Lewis on American Idol.  It was really pretty funny as Haley cheered until she was nearly crying when Jordin won.  She had been keeping it a secret that Jordin was her favorite because the rest of the family was rooting for Blake.

We hope you are all well and look forward to seeing some of you this summer.

 Love, The Clarks

 

 

 

Mel and Shannon Guymon Family

 

Last to post!!

May for us was pretty busy.  Spent some time in Phoenix with the kids - Damien turned 18 and we spent most of the time either in the pool or indoors.  Very warm.  Everyone is growing up fast.

Also spent time in Boise with Rich and Becca and family - and got to see some of Mary's kids while they were there.  Amazing to see so many small children in one place all having fun together. 

We had our 1st wedding anniversary at the end of the month, and were able to take some time off to go celebrate.  This was Shannon's first time to Hawaii.

We also had Shannon's parents in town for a week -- their first visit to our Seattle house.  Come to think of it, May turned out to be a month where we spent almost as many work days away or with family as with work.  Not sure how often we'll be able to get away with that :)

Pics: A day hike with Shannon's parents in Discovery Park.  Some shots from the hotel in Maui and the acquarium there.  A helicopter tour in Maui.  A shot of a naval base in Washington (with aircraft carriers and missile cruisers).

 

 

Rebecca and Rich Jarvis Family

 

Dear Family,

Well, looks like we are ultimatly last for this month.  We could've

sent this a week ago, but were missing pictures and I just couldn't

bare sending it without pictures.  So here goes...

May brought a bitter sweet time for the Jarvis family as we watched

Rich's Grandma, who we have dinner with every Sunday and are close to,

finish her time here on the earth.  Life was insanely busy with

funeral prep and ALL of the family in town for that event.  We had

Rich's sister and her 3 little children stay on an extra week with us

afterwards too, so life has just been quite busy.  We somehow found

time to do some 4wheeling with our dear friends who came in town the

weedend before the funeral.  We had a blast, but mostly enjoyed just

being together with them.

Rich won the best disguised award for the YM/YW activity which was to

split up in groups and search all over Wal-Mart for 4 members of the

Ward.  Rich went all out with the black wig you see on Joseph below,

nose ring, ear rings, fake tattoo on his neck and   bicep, fake

goatee, and old pants with holes sagging down so low you could see his

boxers hanging out the top.  It took the youth forever to find him.

Fun.

Richy won 1st in his school and then 1st in the District for an art

project that he did at school.  I was just about to throw it away when

his teacher sent a note home asking if we still had it.  It had been

on his bedroom wall for a couple of months.  Anyways, he is holding a

plaque they made of  a snapshot of his picture since his will forever

hang in the district office.

Brooklynn had a couple of great musicals she was in at school and had

a blast with her friends doing them.  She is quite a natural at those.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that WHILE all of Rich's family was in

town, we had a funky 3 day flu run through our family.  Yuck!!  I am

done smelling and cleaning up puke and the runs for about 5  years now

I think!  Rich had to do his share since Michael got his dose of the

flu on a campout with the boys.  Now that's gross!

Brooklynn and I are now in Virginia with Ruth who may have this baby

after we leave sadly.  BUt we have had fun, gotten 72hr kits up to

date and packed, stocked the cupboards and enjoyed being together.  I

have learned many wonderful things from being with Ruth and Adam.

They are wonderful and very diligent at having couple and family

scripture study, they are sooo frugal, and they like to play together

and really enjoy each other.  Awesome examples!

Well, we will keep you posted about this baby that was suppposed to be

here already!  Stay tuned.

Love, Bec and fam