Wow Lisa that is cool. Sounds like a great oportunity.
It is really exciting for us to have that many in our family able to go to the temple. We wish we could have been there.It sounds like it was a fun weekend with the family.

We had a portion of the family gather for Joeys Temple endowments. It was very cool to sit with mom in the session and realize that we now have 11 out of 12 children able to go to the temple. Pretty cool. I know Dad's proud of Joey right now. We had the annual Christmas play with mom and the grandkids that were close. It was fun. Polly, in answer to your question I am working two and a half days a week in Ogden near Dan's work at Valley View Elementary School. I am the Speech-Language Pathologist for the school of about 750 kids. It is kind of scary to have that much responsibility but I think I will be able to handle it. My case load is only about 40 kids give or take a few referrals and kids moving in and out of the district. A little girl came in last week, she is in the first grade and asked "arwe you da new speech teacherw?" I had to laugh and ask her what her name was and if she was on my list...She was. When school starts again in January I will be working there and then finishing an externship and a few other things on campus but otherwise I am all but done! Cool huh?!! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a terrific new year.

So Lisa What is your new job, where are you working?

This is a blanket congrats to everyone for all of their great news!!!! What a wonderful family we have - and so technically minded as well. Others should be so lucky! Lestie was mostly correct with my contact information for anyone that is interested. My home phone is 208-737-9635, not 36. I always enjoy getting phone calls (and placing them as my phone bill will attest to). Merry Christmas everyone. - Jarom.

I would like to know if anyone would like to get together to buy mom a nice gift, it may be a little late for Christmas but I ws thinking it would be nice to do something really great for Mother's Day- her birthday? By the way congrats Angie and Drew! That is wonderful.
My only announcement is that I am still looking for a nice job for my hubby, something that wouldn't require as many Sundays. Just keep your ears to the ground, for some reason this seems like the best way to find something. Anyway, if you do not receve a Christmas card from us, I am about two months behind ( I think it was the bed rest!) so look forward to a valentine! Merry Christmas to all, and If any brave souls want to spend the holiday in Polson you are all welcome!

What is Jarom's phone number? Does anyone know it? I am trying to put this Christmas party together for Saturday and I need to give him his assignments. Ben, it was really nice to talk to you. It is sad to think it is so difficult to keep in touch as a family. There is just too many of us! But oh, what fun when we do get together! I love my new job! I have been there a whole two days and it keeps getting better and better, now that the scary part of being new has worn off a bit. Congratulations to Angela! Anyone else have any other announcements to make? Polly, thanks for the Christmas card. I sure love all of you and appreciate what great people you are and how nice it is to know that we all care about each other and support each other, even if there are too many of us...

Ben if you sent to my Netzero account we stopped checking it because it got so much spam!
We are staying here for the holidays again. We are hoping to see everyone in Feb. for Joey's farewell.
We wanted to thank those of you who sent us presents. We can't wait to get Christmas over with. I hope Andy at least gets Christmas day off. But we will see. I have failed at sending out my Christmas cards. But maybe I will get out some e-mail cards. We hope you all have a great holiday!
Congrats to Angela and Drew. I will gather all the stuff that I have to give you. That is so exciting.

Yes this time of year is quite crazy when you add finals to it. I had two yesterday and I have a really awful one left for tomorow night. In between I have YW and a Christmas party and all the other stuff that goes with it. It is getting a little bit crazy in our house this year. Come Thursday I am going to be running to get everything done by Christmas.
Drew and I got some interesting news yesterday. I was not going to tell anyone for awhile but since Missy knows and she is terrible with secretes, I better tell. We finally figured out where babies come from and we are going to have another in August! Anyway we are pretty excited for us. Our spoiled children will have to learn how to share and everything. Hope you all have a great holiday. I sent all of you something if i am not going to see you in the next few days so let me know if you don't get it.

Lisa, I am jealous. Today I filed my intent to graduate papers for this Spring. It felt really weird, having actually satisfied all of the requirements, except this last class I'm starting in January. It's like in the back of my mind I just know they're going to come up with something that I forgot at the last minute and make me continue another semester. Everyone's had that nightmare. Most of all, congratulations on finishing. I don't know how many times I have almost quit. In the back of my mind I knew I wouldn't, but it just seems so inconvenient. Kissing up to professors that, at this point, I feel like I could tell them a few things about the real world. I think I really am getting too old for this stuff. So, I especially admire people who take a long break from school and then go back. It's just that much harder to take.

I hope you get a great job, or whatever you're intentions are. I'm still employed, but if I do lose my job, my hope is that I'll be more employable with an advanced degree. That's the theory, anyway.

When you're in school, Christmas really sneaks up on you, too. You just finish a final, and after you finish, you are euphoric for only a brief time, then you realize how many things you've got to get done before Christmas. It's crazy. Hopefully, never again. I also realize how much work I have let slide trying to finish my school projects, and now I have to catch up. What fun.

Julie and Chris, I am so glad to hear that your little baby is doing better. I just finished my last final of my Masters program!!! But I have not been checking the blog very well and since no one ever calls I have not talked to anyone either. Ben, your sister in laws baby is really cute. I am glad that all worked out so well. Polly and Andy, it would be fun to see you at Christmas. Your pictures are cute! All is well here. I enjoyed seeing Angela, Julie, Lestie and their new babies with Mom during Thanksgiving. I just can't believe how time flies when your busy. I trying to get all my Christmas letters out. You may get them email...I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying Christmas as hectic as it can be.

Polly I sent you a reply indicating I put the pictures up, but it bounced saying you exceeded your mail quota. I can give you a new free webmail account if you want, it's really easy.

Anyway, the pictures are at andynpolly.meteorbike.com. They are cute.

Well I sent Ben the pictures that I took of the kids to send in a christmas card to family and friends. I hope I get it done. We are staying home for the holidays because Andy has to work. Everyone in his dept. took off so Andy is stuck holding down the fort. I was glad to here Little Bryce is doing better it is really sad to have a sick baby. I hope everyone has a great christmas I will send you a e-mail card as well. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

Anyone can send me all the pictures they want and I will put them onto my website in your own little folder, and then link them back onto blogger so everyone can see. If the pictures are more than 2 or 3 megabytes, send them to my meteorbike address, which is ben at meteorbike dot com, but use the correct symbols.

I don't like to post e-mail addresses here because it can be obtained by a spambot. Okay, call me paranoid, but I get very little spam.

To see everyones email, click on the Team icon above this window, and there, if you are logged in, will give you the e-mail of everyone in this group.

So, send me those pictures!

We are finally home! Bryce is doing great, he was off oxygen on Sunday night, and now is home with some more meds to take orally. He is changing daily, I almost didn't recognize him when they finally took the IV out of his head, and tubes off his face! If anyone wants to see pics, I can e-mail them but don't have anyone's e-mail. Maybe the wizzard Ben can help me post one?

It's been too long since I visited blogger. Looks like I missed some things. I hope Bryce is okay. I've been spending all my time on school, work, and dabbling on my meteorbike.com and I have neglected peeking in at blogger.

For you guys, and I mean guys, who want a good laugh, check out this commercial. Personally, I think it's funny. My wife hates it.

Oh, and for those of you who missed it, my sister-in-law, Raelynn, had her baby, hence the pictures of "James." She gave James up for adoption last week to one of Gigi's friends. Long story, I think I posted something about it awhile back. Anyway, just so you know the baby pictures aren't ours.

Sorry to hear about Bryce, we will be praying for him.(As well as the rest of the family I am sure!) On a brighter note, Angie and Drew get a big thumbs up on the hosting job they did over Thanksgiving. Angela did all of the cooking while Tim , and the boys played cards and I breastfed. (She is a good cook too.) Drew and Joe did manage about 6 or so pies, and had no trouble finding volunteers to eat it! (Drew is also a good cook, as far as pumpkin pie goes!) Anyway, I hope everyone had as fun Thanksgiving as we did with the Pendlebury crew, thanks again. We will probably see most of you at Joe's farewell.

Well, we finally know what bryce has we think. The doctor is pretty sure that he has pneumonia. He has consulted extensively with primary childrens and that is the diagnosis that they have come up with. They have changed his medication and told us that it will be another four days for sure possibly seven. He does seem to be improving since he has been on antibiotics. He is still on oxygen and has an IV for his meds but other than that he seems to be O.K. He is eating well and is pretty alert when not sleeping. That's about it I guess. Chris.

We are sorry to hear that keep us posted I will call over there. We will pray for you all!

Hello All, I have some bad news to report unfortunately. Bryce is back in the hospital. Our family was hit with a cold virus last week and every one of us got it. Bryce has not dealt with it well and is getting sicker instead of better. They have him on oxygen and antibiotics. They thaught it was a virus so the first day and a half they did not use antibiotics but he was not getting better and one of his eyes developed an infection. Our doctor called primary childrens and they advised him to start antibiotics and run a multitude of other tests. Needless to say he has been poked in just about every visible vein. The last I heard was he will be there for at least 7 days because that is the duration of the antibiotic cycle. Of course, things could change if he improves or gets any worse. This couldn't have happened at a better time with finals coming up next week (ha ha). He is in room 611 at portneuf medical center 208-239-1000. Take care and we will update as needed. Chris.

Thanks that really helps. Does everyone realize that the person that we give to this year will give to us next year I guess we better all rethink our presents.

Mom and I figured out the Christmas list and everyone has the person just older than you this year. So you Polly have Juliette. Anyway that also means that next year we all have ourselves I plan on buying myself something really nice next year! Just kidding, I think that means we skip ourselves and go to the next down. Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! Joe is at our house and Drew and Joe plan on baking about 60 pumkin pies and consuming them all by themselves. We will see how that goes. Take care!

I was told we have Tyler and Ruth this year, I know we had Valisa last year, so you can figure it out from there, I think.

For those of you who want a giggle, I put a webcam on my desk in my basement. It automatically uploads the picture here on my new website. I'm now the proud new owner of meteorbike.com, there's nothing really new there yet, but that's where I plan on putting my stuff in the future.

Does anyone know who has who for Christmas I think I gave to Lesti last year but I forget! Anyone who has a clue please do share

Congratulations, guys. There is nothing quite so sweet and peaceful as bringing a new spirit into your home. Are you sure he was four weeks early? He's awfully big! Hope everything is well with you guys and she gets home soon. I told Julie about it and hopefully she can call Juliette soon.

Congrats to Juliette. That is really exciting to have everything go well. I talked to Juliette yesterday she sounded good just a little tired. But who isn't after they have a baby.

The baby is here! Juliette gave birth to Bryce Jacobs Holmes at 10:53 p.m. on sunday Nov. 17. He was about 4 weeks early, but seems to be fine. He was 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 19in. long. the birth went really smoothly (epideral) and we are glad to finally have it over with. I will let juliette tell the whole story when she gets home. She is planning on calling everyone with the cell phone once she gets out of the hospital.
Take Care, Chris

I am home now, just had the second dose of steroids. Hopefully baby will be healthy when he comes! I am supposed to be on bedrest, but I am sure you all know how easy that is with 2 kids already. I will let you all know when the baby makes his appearance.
Love, Juliette

Hello all,
just a little note to let you know what is going on. Juliette has been in pre-term labor since yesterday morning (tuesday). She is still in the hospital and it looks like she will be there for a couple more days. They have given her medication to stop the contractions but she is dialated to a 4-5. they preformed an amniocentesis (sp) and determined that the babys' lungs were not yet fully developed. they are going to give her steroids to speed up the developement of the lungs. She is at portneuf medical center 208-239-1222 (room) and would probably apreciate a call. she feels pretty good, but is very frustrated with having to stay in the hospital for so long. she is about 35 weeks and the doctor says one more week in the womb would be ideal for baby. The most likely scenario is 2 more days of medication to stop labor while the steroids do their job and then off the meds. and let baby come when he comes. Keep her in your prayers and I will update as needed. Take care, Chris

We are not going to Gigi's either. We plan on having a nice old turkey dinner by ourselves. We have done that the last two years it is kind of nice. That is great to hear that your options are looking good lisa! and Congrats to Ben as well! Not much else to tell. We are doing well. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving.

Gigi's is going to be a hot spot for Thanksgiving. I wish I could be there, but alas, my sister in law is having her baby then. So, our plans for Thanksgiving include stuffing ourselves with Turkey right here. Julie's parents may show up, but it sounds like Julie and Raelynn are discouraging them from coming because Raelynn may have her baby then and they don't want their mother at the hospital with them (she's getting wierder every all the time). Ideally, I'd like to get a good computer game and sit in the basement playing it for the whole break, but there doesn't seem to be anything good being released lately. Oh well, maybe by Christmas.

I heard from Lestie that everyones going to go to Gigi's for Thanksgiving? Is that true? I know I'm not. We sold our van and do not plan on replacing it until the first of next year. Hey Ben-Congratulations on graduating again! How does it feel? I am currently being chased down by prospective employers. It is a bit scary, also exciting to be in demand. Maybe I'll be rich and famous someday...Hah! Just kidding. I am positive that will never happen, beside I do not want to be famous...What are everyones plans for thanksgiving?

Julie, I have Jarom's info, I'll send it to you. So, nothing new this week for us. Julie is still pregnant, I'm guessing four months along now. She is due in April. School is almost over for me, we're going to be done, except for the final, by Thanksgiving. Wahoo. One class left and I'll graduate...again.

Jarom...are you still here? Just wondering, we haven't heard from you guys in a while! What is your new phone #? I think I need your new cell # too, if you have it! Just trying to get an updated list so I can call everyone and let them know when the baby comes.

If we get a good enough tax return we are going to try to go. It does look like it should be fun.

Joey isn't leaving until February, so I don't know if anyone has made plans to see him off or not.

Ben I got that ghost story from three other people! It really got around. I looked at it one morning when I was checking e-mail it was great. Then I was showing Andy and It got me again. It is a good one!
I talked to Joey too so do we know when he is leaving? Does anyone know who is going to make it?

Joey got his mission call to Toulouse, France yesterday. I talked to him on the phone and he was very excited. The mission is in the south and covers the French Riviera, which Joey was very excited about. It includes Marseilles. Julie's brother, Thomas, is in Marseilles right now.

So, call Joey and congratulate him, if you haven't already.

Thanks for that nice Halloween scare Ben, you ought to be ashamed of yourself! :)

It's Halloween, so here's a ghost story. Tyler sent me this story:

"Apparently the owners of this house had been seeing images and hearing voices for quite a while. They did some research and found that a lady once lived in the house who lost her husband during the civil war. Legend says that she used to sit at the table and look across the fields in anticipation of her loved one returning home. He never came.

So, they say she still waits. They caught this photo (using digital imaging and sound) of what they claim to be her. This one is wild and a little spooky once you find the ghost in the picture. It took me about 20 seconds to find it, but when you do, it just stands out. Like one of those optical illusions. To save you some time, concentrate around the table and sort of towards the window. Also, if you have volume, turn it up as you can hear some faint murmuring which they say is the ghost talking."

Can you See the Ghost?

Ben, that is very touching. I am also very grateful for the opportunity to have a family. I have taken having kids for granted, until I had two miscarriages. It really makes you appreciate all that you have. I like the comment that dad made, I had forgotten that- but I remember him talking like that. It made me have tears in my eyes to read it. Whenever anyone finds out I come from a family of 12 kids, I get the normal reaction I am sure you have all heard many times- "12 kids, oh my heck! Do YOU want 12 too???" I can only imagine the flack mom and dad got for having that many, but like Polly I sure am glad they had the right spirit about it, because I couldn't imagine our family with one less kid. (No, I don't want 12 kids either! :)

Wow that made me cry! That is so neat how things just seem to work out when you follow the spirit. We have been very blessed to have healthy beutiful children all of us. I know we all are having the families that we promised to have up in heaven and I am so thankful to our mother for having all of us.
Well I have nothing much to brag about we have had the flu here we were just getting over our colds it has been quite the round of sickness here.
Abby's third birthday is tomorrow. I am throwing her a tea-birthday party. It is really wierd to think that I have a three year old. Wow time has sure seemed to fly by lately. I want Lesti and Tim to come and move near me. I will find you guys a job in Reno.
Abby and Brock are going to be bears for halloween. Well I love you all and hope you have a great holiday. Get lots of candy!

Well Ben that is very touching I am in complete agreement with the fertility thing. I have never had the opportunity to take it for granted and for that I know that I am very blessed to have two very beautiful children who I know were meant for my family and because I had to work so hard to get them I think I appreciate them that much more. I think the sacrifices of young women like your sister in law are the greatest ones in life and that new family will always love her for it. I wish her the best of luck with the rest of her life she is certianly doing the right thing.
Also congrats to Lestie I promise I will call you back today I was sick yesterday and got a little behind. I will also look for any jobs for Tim. They are building a new hospital and surgery center here in IF and I bet there is alot of oppenings there.

Though an interesting series of events, which I will only touch on, a friend of Gigi's will be getting Raelynn's baby through adoption. Raelynn has been struggling lately going through the literal stacks of people who want her baby. Gigi called me some time ago and mentioned that she had friends who were going through the whole infertility thing, they lived in Denver, and were trying to adopt. I told her that there was a long line and it was really Raelynn's decision, but I would tell her. Gigi called again several times and talked with Julie and Raelynn, mentioning how much she was being hounded by the Spirit to get this off her shoulders and at least put them in contact with each other. Raelynn had earlier decided, with lackluster, to go with another family that she liked, but when she did go through Gigi's friend's application, she was strongly impressed that they were the right ones.

The agency helped her call the family and tell them they were now expecting a boy, everyone cried and it was a very emotional moment. So, thanks go to Gigi for following her heart and putting these very capable parents in the front of a very long line, as anyone who tries to adopt soon finds out.

I have learned of late just how precious it is to be able to procreate and raise children. You would not believe what many people have to go through to get a child these days. As dad once reminded us, don't put off having your families, as they will be the single most important thing in your life when you are older and wise enough to realize it. I think we have all done well to heed that advice.

I stated that we were blessing Nicholas in December, but we have changed it to the last Sunday in November. There is still an open invite for anyone who wants to treck up to Polson. Having a boy is definately different, and yes Julie he has christened almost everyone and everything in my house. I am also interested in any information anyone may have on a job for my husband near one of you. Just e-mail it to me at timk@polson.net. We are currently trying to find him a more family friendly job.

Yeah Lestie and Ben! Great accomplishments for both of you. Lestie has finally added a boy to her group and Ben has become an official bike racer! Thats awesome for both of you. Julie, I wish you lived close enough to bake some bread for me. I would love it. Best of luck on your prospering business tactics. All is well here, however I don't have anything great to brag about other than I am still going to graduate in May with my masters and it has been a long haul. I am proud of myself for sticking it through. Maybe I am getting older and smarter...possibly. Lestie your little boy is beautiful. Congratualtions again. My kids will be really excited that they have a new little cousin.

Congratulations Lestie! I still cannot believe you have a boy! Has he peed on you yet? That is one you never really get used to. :) He is very cute, Chris and I both think he looks alot like Tim! Ben, congrats on the race- you are my hero. (on a bike) My biggest accomplishment lately...I have started a little bread baking buisness- it is to keep us going with gas $ and extras. I thought it would be fun, but it has grown faster than I expected! I am up to about 10 loaves a week, and with only 2 days to bake it- Tuesdays and Thursdays. (I have classes the other days) My bishops wife is my best supporter, she has told 4 of her friends who all want to buy from me...I may have to quit school and do this full time! Just kidding.

I am all for the family reunion, since I missed the latest one. I did have a baby, if anyone wants to look at him he is on a web site called growingfamily.com. Make sure you only fill in the required fields (noted with an *). The password to see him is my last name, Katsma. You could also try my link babypage. GOOD LUCK! We will be blessing him the first Sunday in December, and of course everyone is welcome.

Great Job Ben! I think it is great we have a place to brag about our accomplishments!So you all heard Lesti had her baby. He is a boy his name is Nicholas Brandon. he weighed 7Lbs. something! Way to go Lesti!

Since this is my self-proclaimed "Aunt Corrie's brag site" (I hope she never see this) I'll relate my latest accomplishment. Salary increase? No. New car? No. Riding a bike real fast? Oh yeah.

I did the normal Tuesday HP race with the big boys and for the first time ever, I won. I beat the cat 2 racer guy (Rick) who has always been this unbeatable type dude. The three strongest guys were not out, and no pros who ocassionally show, so the competition was not as strong as it can be, but two awesome dudes were there, one of whom has ridden me right off his wheel more times than I can count. So, it went like this. Rick and I and one other dude (Sammy) broke away very early in the race. We held off the peloton very well and after Rick and Sammy tried to drop me, but ended up dropping Sammy, they both realized they could use me and I took some tremendous pulls, stronger, I felt than Sammy. On the final leg there is this monster 300 foot, and very steep hill which is the final sprint to finish at the top. Rick (the strongest one) basically dared Sammy and me to pass him on the final sprint up this hill. After letting him sit up front a good while, Sammy attempted to pass him, but couldn't do it, at the same time, I went around the other side and dropped them both.

I'm savoring it because it may not happen again, and I'm pretty sure he's never going to take another long lead-out and dare me to come around him. It's called the power of being underestimated. No one at LSI has ever won this race, so I'm totally stoked.

Ben that sounds great! We will help where we can, I am not positive on the dates as I will be starting a new job in the schools right then. Plan on us unless otherwise noted. Thank you Julie for your call. I am sorry I didn't check the blogger this weekend...Way to go Ben and Julie! We can look forward to a family reunion in 2003!

Thanks for your input. They called us today and said someone else wanted it, so we went ahead and put our deposit in. I hesitate to be so bold, but since it is our year for the reunion, we'll go ahead and make it the plan. That gives you a year to deal with it. We wont make you come out any other time. As for Gigi and crew, we're sorry, but we'll come to Washington in 2004 when it's your turn. That goes for Polly, too. Polly, you need to have yours in Vegas, though.

Whatever you want to do is fine. We are happy to go anywhere.

Ben I think we could do that! Sounds like a ton of fun. I do not know how thrilled I am about the drive though. I guess Gigi is farther! How much would you want for food? That looks really good for our family everyone will have a bed and a ton to do!

Gosh Ben, that sounds perfect! Especially the cost- for us anyway- sounds very reasonable. I think 4 days would be perfect, since some have to travel quite a ways to get there. The dates are good, hopefully Chris' graduate program won't have started yet. Count us in!

Hello everyone. Julie and I have the reunion next year and we are planning it already. We stayed at Snow Mountain Ranch for a family reunion a year ago. It was very memorable and fun. Julie called them and they had a cancellation in one of their 8 bedroom cabins, which will sleep up to 40, for next August 17th through the 21st. Other than that, they are booked out until 2005. We placed our name but must confirm it by the 16th of this month.

It is called Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. It is at 8500 feet. You get all the benefits of camping, climbing, hiking, etc. but get to stay in a huge cabin with seperate rooms and bathrooms for everyone with a common area and kitchen, similar to the one Lisa had us in, only all the rooms have at least one queen bed with bunkbeds, and most have two.
This is the actual cabin that is available:



Some of the highlights of the place, all included in your fee, are:

Indoor basketball court (always unused when we were there).
Indoor roller skating rink.
Indoor climbing wall.
Indoor Swimming Pool.
River, lake and canoeing.
Miniature golf course.
Bike trails.
Horseback Riding.
Dance Hall.

For more info, see: YMCA of the Rockies.
Roughly, without food which we can bring, or there is also a caffeteria that costs $5 per meal, the total cost per family (10 families) would be $240 more or less depending on family size assuming 3 nights. We think this is an excellent opportunity for you all to see Colorado and get together next year, at a reasonable price.

Please post your thoughts on this, or e-mail me. If we do make a reservation, we need to pay 35% six months in advance, and a $300 deposit now (which we can take care of). We can do up to four nights, if we want to.

Congratulations on your new job Jarom. I am sure you are relieved to get settled. I wish someone would write all my reports and stuff. Best wishes. You are only @ 2 hours from here so you had better come and visit once in awhile. I enjoyed seeing everyone for the quick trip to SLC. Life seems to go by so quickly between visits. I just want you all to know I love you and think about how you are doing even if I never call. It is fun to have a way to communicate with everyone without charging up a phone bill anyway. We are selling our van and getting a new car. Maybe when we get a new car we will go on a trip and stop and see a few of you. We are also working on a Lake Powell trip. We'll see what I can come up with.

Hey everyone:
We had a great time seeing everyone at Tyler's place last weekend. It is soooo nice being 3 hours away instead of 13. I thought the activities and fun things were well planned and everyone who contributed should be thanked. -- Thanks. Anyway, Jen, Ethan and I are officially residents of Twin Falls, Idaho now. In case you were not personally told, I accepted a job with the law firm of Pedersen, Clark & Jackson in Twin. I have been working since Monday the 30th even though we have yet to move our stuff from Idaho Falls. For the first week I was driving to Pocatello (130 miles) at night and sleeping on Julie and Chris' floor. They were great hosts. We were able to get into an apartment/fourplex this week and the owner let us move in for free if we would paint, clean, etc. So Jen has been doing that while I go to work during the day. This weekend we will actually move our things down from IF and officially be in our new home. My job is great and everyone here treats me very well. It is strange being called "Mr. Whitehead" and having people screen all your calls, make your appointments, open your mail, ask if they can get you refreshments, etc. I'm not even supposed to type my own letters and documents - I am supposed to dictate them. "It takes too much time" or so I've been told. But, eight years of habit is hard to break. I feel stupid asking my assistant to "get me a file" or "make a copy of this." However, when I try and do it myself she immediately intervenes and says something like "the attorneys aren't supposed to touch the files, they mess them up - ask me and I'll get." Hard to argue with that. Anyway, all is well with us and we hope to see you all more in the future. My new contact info is:

Jarom & Jennifer Whitehead
321 Morningside Dr. Apt.#3
Twin Falls, Idaho 83301
Cell: (208)520-8120 or 520-3432 (for now)

Pedersen, Clark & Jackson
111 Shoshone Street Suite 202
Twin Falls, Idaho 83303
Ph: (208) 734-2552
Fax: (208)734-2772

We are home and well! We really missed our own bed! It was nice to see everyone! Man we are a huge family!

Back to the grind. I was glad to see everyone. Hope you all had a good time.

Here's a comic for the lawyers among us.



Also, the pictures from the reunion are up.

Note the new random picture of the day on the left.

Hope the weather cooperates for you Ben! We are excited to see everyone tomorrow!!!

I like the planetarium idea, it sounds very in-doors-ie. The weather forecast is looking travelable, but it could change. Our alternate route, I-70, is expecting 6-12 inches of snow tomorrow, so if I-80 (Wyoming) is open we'll make a break for it.

Gigi -- Julie wants your most popular seasonal candle, whatever that might be, we loved the little apple-cinnamon one you gave us last year. It's all gone.

Anyway, Jake is apparently back in town. We look forward to seeing him once again.

What ever you guys decide is fine, I will go along! Just let us know so we can meet in SLC, instead of driving to Draper and back, you know?

Gigi, I would love 2-3 of those sample size candles, in the jar ( what do they run, 4-5 $ or so?) in some "fall flavors" like apple spice, or something like that.

It snowed today! It didn't stick, but made the morning commute to school miserable!

Angie and I have been e-mailing and we do not think that our kids would like to go the the plantetarium. We thought that the Pioneer Childrens museum would be fun and then we would like to go the the JS building to have lunch. (since the museum is free.) Anyone that would like to join us are welcome. If the older kids want to go the the planetarium they are right by eachother and we could still do lunch together at least! What do you guys think?

The Hansen Planetarium is doing a lightening show for the next month. They are advertising free admission to all children under 12 with a paying adult(7$). There is also the malls and the church museum and church history sites. I don't think the weather will cooperate very well. I went to SLC today for a meeting and it poured all the way there and back and the high today was 46 degrees. Anything outdoors would be pretty miserable...There is even snow on our mountains about half way down. It is supposed to be this way through the weekend...

Yes Gigi I would like a candle too!
Juliette Lisa and I were talking about the Planetarium right by temple square she says they do a lightning show that the kids would like! We could also go to a play place or the mall food court to eat.

Hey everybody,
Ruth and Lisa have requested a few candles. I didn't want to show up with out a few extra for the rest of you. If you want something, I'll be gald to bring it. I don't want to haul a bunch down and bring them back...so let me know. I am very excited to see everybody!

Polly, the zoo and picnic sound like fun- we just looked at the weather forcast though and it sounds like it will be kind of chilly and rainy...so maybe we should have an alternate plan just in case?

Lisa, our e-mail is holmchri@isu.edu. Everyone else, please put your e-mail addys here, we lost them all in our internet change. Thanks!

Hey I looked up admission prices to the Zoo. It is $7.00 per adult $5.00 for kids 3-up and kids 2 and under are free!
Just thought you guys would like to know. I was worried about the cost but it looks good to me!
Oh yah! they are open from 9 to 5pm They have a web site just search under Hogle Zoo!

Congrats to Jarom!!!! We all knew you could do it! I am getting really excited to see you all. The agenda looks good. Why don't those of us that are going to the Zoo do a picknick at a park before we go. That way we will all be together. Like that one in IF that we all got our wown takeout and met at a park. That way we can all meet our own budget. Well I have a screaming baby gotta go!

This just in...Jarom got a job! It's a good job, the one he wanted originally. More to follow.

Sorry Ben I am just getting the hang of navigating this site. I went back 25 or so blogs and got that you are staying at Tyler's. What fun. I also got the message that Julie is pregnant. That's wonderful and congratulations on her great run! See you guys soon.

Please check your email for an agenda and assignments. It sounds like going to the zoo is a good idea with all the people that will be there on Friday. I am sad that I won't be there so quickly but I am hurrying as fast as I can. Ben are you staying at Tyler's house? I think you guys that are going to be there Friday day should be doing all this planning...When is everyone leaving? I am excited to see everyone. I hope that some organization is better than nothing.

We'll be there tearing it up Thursday night. So, Friday I guess is the free day to do whatever we want.

When will the majority of people arrive in SLC? I was only planning from Friday night thru Sunday morning. I will be able to get there by about 6:30 if I really hurry. Tyler is arranging for the church and stuff. We will let you all know whats up. I posted yesterday but it wasn't published I guess I didn't hit all the right buttons. I offered a schedule of events and fun for all...I will type it up and email it to everyone out there and call the rest I guess.

I think when we thought about taking Jacob out to lunch it was going to be on fri. When we assumed not that many people were going to be there yet. But it seems like most of us are showing up around friday and you are right maybe that will not work.
Juliette we will probubly go in the afternoon. So just show up to mom's and we will wait for you.

Potato bar sounds good! Maybe we could do a ham dinner with rolls etc. then use the leftover ham and such to have the potato bar for the next meal? Just a thought. We are up for one dinner out, without the kids of course! My kids would love the zoo, and we will probably get there early enough to go with you Polly and Angie, so let us know when, so we can meet you somewhere.

Angela - I think you're missing the point of this thing. If you take Jake to lunch, everyone is going to want to go; are you going to pay for it all? And who gets left behind? This is the whole reason we're going to plan this thing so that all the meals will be inexpensive and everyone will know where and when we're going to eat before we get there. There will not be time for everyone to take Jake out to lunch individually, and most of us are going there primarily to see him, and someone, invariably, will get left behind.

Mostly this is conference weekend, and I plan to watch most of it, Saturday and Sunday. I think this will end up pretty informal as people wander in and out of Tyler's room and mom's house watching the tube, but I think it should be on and if people are going to escape to do other things, that's fine too, but it will not be a 'sponsored' event.

Well I should have checked this last week. An adult night sounds good. I will see you all on thurs. I want to go to the zoo. I do want to watch at least one conference Sunday session. I am sure Andy wants to golf. You all realize this is my birthday weekend too! I do not want presents though.
Any type of food is good. I would be up for either idea. Just tell me who to pay. The park sounds nice. Andy sure loves the pick up basketball games. If we could find somewhere to play. I would love the cornmaze as well.

Drew and I will be there Thursday night probly around 7:00 or 8:00. Polly and Andy were suppose to be there Thursday as well. We will be splitting a hotel room with them at the Fairfield Inn in Draper. Since not all will be there on Friday yet Polly and I wanted to take our kids to the zoo or something and we wanted to take Jake to lunch but all who are there are welcome to come. See you all next week.

Julie and I were invited to stay at Tyler's house. We are planning on arriving at Tyler's Thursday night (probably late). If there is a need for more rooms, we can get some hotel rooms for people, too. Julie's family lives in Payson, which is like an hour drive further, which I'm not too thrilled about. Anyway, thanks for taking charge, Lisa. You've got our full support. My thought is that I will be going on a bike ride anyway, but we need at least two, non-conference, planned activities that everyone can be at.

Food suggestion: Baked potato bar with all the options. Just a thought.

Angela, the corn maze is a great idea. Our kids loved it last year.

Chris and I will be staying in Provo only because we have a free hotel there. We are planning on leaving Pocatello shortly after 10 a.m.(class gets over at 10) so we will be there in the early afternoon.
Juliette

OK, I see that someone needs to be in charge...I must have volunteered to be the oldest in the family for a reason right? I will set down a plan and write it up and get an OK from Mom, Tyler, and then I will email it to all and from there you are supposed to pass it on. Got that? Your suggestions will be greatly considered and put into action. Ben I think a bike ride is great but only a few actually own a bike and stuff...you and Julie will be staying in Provo at Julies families? I need to know arrival times and where everyone is staying. If you know the info on someone who is not online let me know or call them so I don't have to. I'll give this some thought tonight and get back ASAP.

So how did Lisa get put in charge of another Family reunion? Thats what you get for making the last one so nice!
Anyway, I want to suggest the corn maze. They seemed to have alot of fun last time. And maybe if we have a meal plan we should be sending out assignments so that we all bring something therefore eliminating the one person who spends alot and then has to collect.
Also rounding up babysitters for a dinner out for the adults is something I am all for. Well Lisa have fun planning this and let me know what I can do to help.

Juliette says "I just want to be with the family, I don't care what we do." We both agree that an adult night would be fun. I, being as predictable as ben, want to go golfing. Going to the conference center for priesthood sounds like a lot of cars and people but I would like to do it just because I have never been to live session of conference. We are willing to bring whatever food items are needed for the pot-luck so let us know. Can't wait!
Chris and Juliette

Okay people, listen up. As Lisa has said, we need an agenda here. Julie isn't too thrilled with driving for 8 hours with kids to just sit around with no planned activities. We need to have something going on the whole time if possible. Someone, Lisa, needs to organize this with a meal plan like the reunion in Bear Lake, which was fun. We can each cover the cost of all the meals as each of our individual means will allow.

Of course, I would like to suggest a bike ride for those who can bring their bikes. Tyler took me up a really fun trail right out his back door. Volleyball also sounds fun. A night out with the adults sounds fun if it can be arranged. Of course the adults now means like a gazillion people, "party of 24 anyone?"

I personally do NOT want to go downtown, but I am but a solitary voice on that one. We need to think about all this and make some definite plans.

Yeah Angela! It seems like quite a few people will be coming on Friday. Tyler mentioned reserving the church for volleyball and a potluck...won't there be conference sessions being broadcast at the church? The park near Tyler's house would be a do able gathering place for a dinner. We had planned french dip for one meal and ham and potaoes for another with breakfast wherever you are and lunch on the run. As far as activities go, do you want family activities with little children, a night out with the adults, guys basketball or golfing, shopping, games, sit around and chat, conference session attendance, watching conference on TV(an excellent choice) Dan did say it would be really neat to take Josh to the priesthood session in the conference center downtown... What do you guys all want to do? We are only limited by money, time, too many people and our imaginations...other than that, the skies the limit! :) Let me know. Tyler asked me to help him plan some activities but a little input would be nice. He suggested we come up with many choices so people could do what they want and thats fine but we don't want to leave anyone out-this is a family reunion...

Two points to Angela for the takedown.

Sunday is conference that is why it is being reffered to as "conference weekend" so I would assume that we are watching it on the big screen at Tyler's.

That is nuts how fast she can move! Maybe she would have a future with Les Schwab tires...:)

In the Romantic period in Europe their definition of genius was "a unique individual" I think we have a few "geniuses" among us.

We are coming to Jake's thing, probably be there Friday night. We are staying in Provo, we have a free hotel room there. Much more desirable than mom's floor! Is anyone planning on staying for church Sunday? Are there any definite plans of activities yet?

Okay, this is the weirdest "sport" I've ever seen, but you've got to see this to believe it. speed stacking You need quicktime to see this 1 meg movie.

Okay, this week's topic, in the spirit of aunt corrie, "my child is a genius because..." Discuss amongst yourselves.

Ben, thank you so much for all the great photos! You are quite the photographer. I enjoyed looking at them here on the blogger, revisiting the middle fork! And I really appreciate the ones sent to me. It was truly an incredible trip. Great company, beautiful scenery and so many fun memories. I need to rty and write it all down before time fades the trip. It will be a few years before I can scrapbook that week. My new calling seems to keep me pretty busy. I am also getting swamped with candles now as Christmas draws near.

I really want to come down for the "Return of Jake." I have a few conflicts I will try to work out. Kip will not be able to tear away, that is the final cutting of Hay and fumigating is full on. I dread the long trip on my own but the kids are getting big enough to be helpful. Kip prides himself on the trip to Salmon in 7 hours flat. My Triips to Salmon take 14 hours!

Any way it is nice to hear from all of you. I am not the tard that can't be a part of this party!
love Gigi

We will be there Friday morning. We took Friday off and are planning on staying at the Fairfeild Inn in Draper in case anyone is looking for a hotel. It was $59.00 a night. Hope to see you all soon.

Hey all would not miss comming to Utah. I am not looking forward to the drive though. Well everything is going well. We had Andy's parents come to visit this last weekend. It was fun. They sure love our kids. That is great news Julie. That is great. (expecting and comming in 10th!) So when are all of you going to show up? I was thinking of comming on thurs. I hope to see you all soon.

New pictures of the Middle Fork are up at my home page middle fork.

Geez Julie, you make the rest of us look bad, running a 5k 2 months pregnant??? Congratulations on doing so well, AND the new baby! When is your due date? We are definitely planning on coming to Jake's "homecoming" conference weekend, I can't believe it's been 2 years already! Things are good here, school is speeding up, and we are trying to keep afloat...I recieved a 97% on my first Spanish test! It wasn't too difficult at all, and I am glad I have a prof. that moves fairly slowly for us ignorant white folk. We have Conner in soccer, his first game was Saturday and he scored 3 out of 5 goals on his team! He is a quick little bugger and enjoys it, I wasn't sure if he would or not- he is actually the youngest kid on his team too- they are all 4 year olds, and he won't be 4 till next month. I am such a proud mommy...:)

Congratulations to Jarom for passing that test thingy. Truly incredible. Good job. Everything else here is going fine. Work is good, and biking is still fun. I have yet to actually pay money to enter a sanctioned race where the winner actually gets money. Julie ran in the LSI Logic Colorado run. First prize was $1000, 2nd $500, and so on. Then in each age group there were similar prizes. We took Lacey and Alan and watched Julie run. She got 10th in her age group, but she ran a 25:15 5k, which is really good. Libby Hickman was first for the women, she's an Olympian and world class runner. Her time? 16:20. That's right, unbelievable. The fastest man on our team ran a 17:55, and he is fast. Here are some pictures, you can see Libby giving Alan and Lacey autographed pictures. Colorado Run Julie was on the LSI team, and did great for her personal time. She's also two months pregnant, so she felt a little drained.

Looks like everyone is sort of planning on being at Tyler's house for Conference weekend. I've heard Jacob gets home 10/2 and conference is 10/4-10/6. Plan on stopping by if you can. Tyler assures me everyone is invited.

Sorry I wrote a nice bit about my trip and it was erased so I guess I will jsut say it was nice to get home! It was great seeing Lesti and Tim and I had fun remembering hanging around with them. I realized how much I miss my family. I hope to see you all in Oct. when Jacob gets home and Ben You should send a new invite to blogger to tim and lesti. timk@polson.net that is their new address. Well if you want anymore details just call me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!!!

Congratulations Jarom, I was really happy to hear the news from juliette. What a relief that must be! Sorry we couldn't make it to the little "get-to-gether". see ya soon. Chris

FYI y'all (Hint: scroll down to the "W's):

Successful Applicants - July 2002 Bar Examination

Daniel Roland Anderson
Tyler James Anderson
Kelly Arthur Anthon
Joel Andrew Beck
Nancy Faye Berger-Schneider
Jennifer Nannette Bivens Douglas
Jessica Marie Borup
Judith Miriam Brawer
*Jeremy Dean Brown
David Patrick Claiborne
Daniel Robert Clark
Chris D. Comstock
Michael David Dean
Jason Gill Dykstra
Scot Michael Elder
Erin Michelle Farrell
Robert Gregory Ferney
Kelley Kathleen Fleming
Eric Don Fredericksen
Judy Lea Geier
Brad Anthony Goergen
Brannon Stevens Hancock Jr.
David Benson Hargraves
Alan Rexford Harrison
Matthew Earl Hedberg
David Fermin Hensley
Ryan Patrick Henson
Jill Suzette Holinka
Dari Matthews Huskey
Teri Ann Kaptein
Sheli Fulcher Koontz
Joseph Scott Kozlowski
Jared Michael LeFevre
Jerrold Arthur Long
Jessica Michele Long
Wendi Ann Malone
Andrew Charles Marsh
David E. Merrell
Tanya Eileen Milligan
Joshua Dillon Mills
Michele Kay Morin
Tobi J. Mott
Sean Roy Moulton
Joseph Lowell Mrstik
Marcus R. Mumford
Randolph Brian Neal
Jed Keller Nixon
Shawn Christopher Nunley
Valerie Anne Parr
Kira Dale Pfisterer
Jason Curtis Pintler
Jennifer Marie Pitino
Jason Steven Risch
Joseph R. Rockstahl
Dana Hoffelt Rose
Matthew Joseph Ryden
*Peter Joseph Salmon
*David Paul Schack
Gary Lawrence Schreiner
Benjamin Hugh Schwartz
Ronald Robert Shepherd
Billie Jean Siddoway
Jared William Sommer
Robert Preston Tilley
Aaron John Tolson
Andrew Joseph Waldera
Matthew Lloyd Walters
Suzanne West
Jarom Anthony Whitehead
Brent L. Whiting
Kelly Ray Whiting
Herbert Brent Williams
Brent Thomas Wilson

Wow Ben! Have you ever entered any races that had prizes or anything? Can you send some of your energy and stamina over here? I have none... Any big plans for your big birthday? Chris' is on the 11th too, and we both have school, all day long. They have a big fireworks show and stuff planned here, but I have a night class and will miss it.

Can you believe I was the first one up the mountain? This ride suffered from a serious lack of competition, but I beat my personal best by almost 40 minutes.

Too much to post. Must sleep. Had a great time on the river. I have a big bike race tomorrow that I've been looking forward to all year. Bike is all ready, I'm a little anxious. It's only a 30 mile race, but the first nine miles climb 6000 feet. It should be fun.

Everyone must be having fun...it's been slow around here! How did the big float trip go? Sounds like fun! Chris and I just started back into school on Monday- and it is going ok so far...I can introduce myself and say good day in Spanish. :0) Conner is enjoying learning how to count to ten in Spanish also. I am getting very fat and it feels about 10 degrees hotter than it should...I am so glad it is starting to get cooler outside, cause I cannot stand being hot anymore! Polly, hope your trip to Lestie's is fun! Maybe I should come up, then we could truly drive Tim even more insane than he probably already is! LOL

dad i need to know my email password. :> >:[

Polly, when are you going to Lestie's house? Let us know how it goes over there and all that.

Ben they do not let Andy play with explosives either he just gets the pleasure of watching them from afar. I am getting ready to go help Lesti for a couple of weeks. I hope I am help even though I am bringing two more kids into the equation. Not much else is happening I hope all of you enjoyed our virtual tour of Round Mountain. A couple of my friends that have lived here quite a few years said that we made Round Mountain look really bad! I guess you get used to it after a few years. I hope we never live here that long.

Congrats on finishing Jarom! Hopefully you won't be ignored on the list...

Ben, good luck with your masters! You don't have much left to do though, so it should be a breeze for you! That will make 4 of us in our family "graduating"- Lisa with her masters, Chris with his bachelors, me with my associates, and you!

We just got back from camping to a place called lake Cleaveland. It is right above Pomerelle ski resort, outside of Rupert Idaho. It is by far the most beautiful camping spot we have been to yet. It was for a reunion for Chris' moms family. They are the nicest people you will ever meet- literally would give you the shirt off your back if you needed it. The problem is most of them are alcoholics, and smoke. Most of my mil's brothers have been in rehab for drugs-some more than once. It is really sad to see the problems they have had, divorces, lost rights to children, lost jobs etc. It was fun camping, till the wind picked up and about froze us all to death! Our poor tent about blew over several times too. The lake is at about 9,000 ft elevation, and Conner had 2 nosebleeds. Jackson didn't sleep well- he ended up having an ear infection and strep. So every time he rolled over and cried, I had to go to the bathroom! It was pretty miserable the last night there...I am so glad I don't have to live in a tent, and use an outhouse permanently!

Hello everyone.

Well, the bar is finally over and studying (I hope) is a thing of the past. I will find out in September if I passed or failed miserably in shame and humiliation. To make it worse, they don't actually tell you if you failed. The bar examiners list only the names of those who passed. If you failed, you just don't find your name on the list. I guess its sort of like being ignored -- like the loser you are. While I'm sure the thought is that it protects the loser's anonimity, I suppose it could make a great analogy for life in general. You know, "almost good enough" and all that. It should be depressing, but its not. After weeks of torture studying and all of the anxiety that is part and parcel to taking the exam in the first place, just being done is enough to make me feel great -- regardless of the outcome. If I don't pass, I've been thinking of alternative careers in cosmotology, food preperation services ( that's a "cook" for those of you uninitiated out there), or just simply holding out for a management position (ala cousin Eddy).

Jen, Ethan and I had fun visiting Tyler and Ruth last weekend. Mom was there Thursday night with aunt Corrie but left on Friday morning so we did not see much of her. Tyler and Ruth were great hosts and Ethan had a ball following Olivia and Corbin around. I hope to see you all soon. You're all in our prayers -- Jarom

That is very cool, Polly. I loved the video of the explosions. Way cool. They don't let me play with explosives at my job. I really liked your web-site. Very nice. Now, you just have to keep it going with new pictures every once in awhile. Juliette, Jango Fett is Boba Fett's father. Did you even see Star Wars? You're going to have another boy, congratulations!

The new school year is almost upon us. The Bishop set me apart as a ward missionary today and in the blessing he mentioned how important it is that I am furthering my education right now. It also came up in elder's quorum about education and how if the Saints were to abide by correct principles, we would be the most educated people in the world. I guess I need to finish it up. All the red tape they make you go through for your masters is just enough to make you want to bag it, but I know it'll be worth it when I'm done. I will be graduating (yet again) in the Spring. Of course this is no Law degree, but hey, it's taken a lot longer so it should be worth more, and maybe that will be next. Hmmm, what will my next degree be?

Julie is so amazing. When she was set apart the Spirit was so strong and the words were so delightful, I felt once again like every blessing I have has been given to Julie and I'm just along for the ride. All of my sisters are the same way. Your missions here as mothers and teachers are so important, and eternal in their consequences. It's easy to forget that in the midst of the daily grind.

I hope everyone has found some sort of physical activity that they enjoy. We were not brought up to appreciate exercise, as if we were above it and would stay Whitehead thin forever. Ah, but life has caught up with our inability to do simple math (eat 2500 calories a day, burn 127), and it would be well that we teach our kids a little more active lifestyle. It doesn't take a lot, a long walk here, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, every little bit counts. Just find something and do it. Your life will be far more enjoyable along the way if you do. That's how I started riding my bike, just using it for little errands here and there. Well take care, have a good week everyone.

The first Weatherspoon home page is here. It was a pain in the butt debugging our first page. You'd think that the microsoft frontpage 2000 editor would allow .wmv files, but no. We hope that you guys enjoy your first digital round mountain tour. If you like explosions and big toys, this is the site for you.

Congrats to Juliette and Chris. We are excited Andy sister is comming for the week and it should be a lot of fun. We are working on a web page to let you all see where we live and we put some cool pictures and video of Andy's work. He is really excited. We just have to get our internet service to get on the ball and get us set up so we can upload it for you. If you haven't heard Lesti is on complete bedrest maybe until she has the baby. She should be in our prayers. Juliette & Chris UNR has a great program you should move to Reno. It is right by Lake Tahoe. Plus believe it or not there is a lot of jobs here in Nevada for Ecology majors. Abby is doing swimming lessons with 4 yr. olds she is the smallest one but she can do the stuff. She loves the water and is quite a fish. she can do the dead man's float quite well. The only problem the swim teachers have with her is keeping her from going under when it isn't her turn. Brock is standing up on everything and is trying to learn to walk. I guess crawling isn't getting him where he wants to go fast enough. Andy and I have started jogging. We are looking to get bikes at some point but can't afford them right now. Well that is all. Have a great day everyone.

Hello family, I had the big ultrasound today and found out that we are to expect another boy! I was hoping for a little girl this time- but a healthy baby boy is great too. I really feel blessed to be having him, I had wondered if I could have any more for a while. I guess we only need one more, and Chris can have his own basketball team!

We are trying to enjoy our last few weeks of summer while it lasts, both of us are going to attend school in the fall. Chris is a senior taking 15 credits, and I am a junior taking 10. Put two kids under four, and one coming the end of November and we have ourselves a party! I feel lucky to be able to attend school, Chris has almost always been able to switch off with me taking care of the kids so they have never been in daycare. I hope to finish in the spring with an associates in History. That is basically just so that I don't lose all the credits I have taken if I don't go back to school for a while. Chris finishes in the spring also, with a bachelors in Ecology and will be attending graduate school in the fall. We don't know where yet, but with family in most of the north western states, we could go almost anywhere and be close to someone! Chris' favorites right now are Utah State, Colorado State, University of Idaho, and Montana State.

It is really nice to hear all the updates from everyone...the phone bill gets expensive if we try to call everyone! Good luck on your jewlery show Ruth! I am sure you will make a bundle. Ben, we have been riding our bikes more religiously now, thank you for helping the family back to the healthy road...:) Seriously, it is good to think about those things more often. I have gained about 9 lbs already and feel like a blimp. Hopefully next spring I can really get going and excercise more.

Ben, what is Jango Fett?

Anyone thought about where they will be for Thanksgiving yet? I think we will try to go to moms, if this baby doesn't decide to come real early anyway. I guess that is all I can think of for now...

Sponge Bob is funny, no doubt there. We had to get Alan a t-shirt on our vacation to Utah and he insisted on a Jango-Fett shirt. Julie didn't want it, but he wanted it so bad it was almost funny, so we got it for him.

Ruth is going to make a fortune at the show. I only hope she has enough stuff. Maybe she should enlist some of her relatives to help? Julie and the kids wear theirs all the time. It's just cool.

look at your E-mail and give me pomes evreyone
and dad you need to cange the disripshin. (or whatever.)

Hey all. I have really enjoyed getting more frequent updates from Jacob. He seems to be working really hard and trying not to get too antsy about coming home. I guess his trip home won't be too eventful since Gigi dogged him on the Spain trip. I guess I would have chosen a boat over a trip to see Jacob as well. Gigi, feel free to choose any aspect of me or my family to criticize, I deserve it now. Ruth and I went to Denver last weekend for the firm party. Dinner at the Cherry Hills Country Club and toodling around in a Jag (rented of course) was pretty relaxing. We managed to make it up to Ben's to have dinner on Sunday and then promptly missed our plan going home so spent an additional few hours at the lovely Denver International Airport. Those little weekend getaways are priceless, especially when the firm picks up the tab. All you married folks out there, try it at least once a year, even if its only a trip to the in-laws cabin. It is therapeutic. We did get to see some of the Blue Angels at Ben's and as we drove home and they are awesome. Work is fine and pretty busy and playing in a few golf tournaments. I was on the committee for a tournament we had yesterday down in Alpine which went really well. Our scramble team shot 11 under (first place was 14 under). I also was invited to play in the Pro-Am for the Utah Open next week so I better get practiced up so I don't embarrass myself. Ruth is getting ready for Swiss Days in Midway, UT a giant crafters type fair. Apparently around 250,000 people show up so she is hoping to sell some of her Jewelry. I have learned from master Obi-Ben and started to ride my bike 3 or 4 times a week. It's a blast and I feel in better shape, although I still can't quite keep up with Lance but if my heart it healthier, I am happy. Corbin is wearing a Sponge Bob Square Pants yellow shirt today that just makes me laugh. Parents shouldn't le their kids pick out their own clothes. All is happy here in Zion, anybody that has any free time or vacation should come down and visit us. Later.

Hi There, Whiteheads. O.K. I have to admit the term "Blogger" was a little intimidating..and I didn't have time to research it out(Call Ben and ask) and so I am slow getting on. Seriously, I am so busy these days. I opted to not drag my kids to Prosser for piano lessons thru the summer because I wanted to take it easy. Kip bought a boat that he intends on using several times a week. He ususally leaves me and Ben since boating isn't "productive." So then I can stay home and clean up or take care of candle business. I thought I finally had my ducks in a row when I got a new calling. I am now the Relief Society President and I think this is what they call Baptism by Fire! I have a very large ward and so it is really a big job. I will figure out what they do in Relief Society now...for the next three years. Everything else is going well here. Mom just left a few minutes ago, she came up to paint a tree and tree house in a friends house. I helped her work on it all day yesterday, it was so cute. I won't do it justice trying to describe it, but I am working on getting a portfolio together for Mom and maybe Ben can make her a web page so that she can make extra money in the summer. Today I am leaving for Pheonix for a business conference. I am excited to get away for a little while to think straight. See you all later! gg

Pictures of the airshow are here. Not recommended if you have a slow connection, it's several megs. It was pretty good, but everyone I knew that went was disappointed because the traffic was so bad, taking at least two hours to get there (all in the last three miles). We had a different experience, we rode our bikes to the airport. It was sweet. Jordan had a blast motoring past all these cars stuck in an endless, unmoving line. I think he really caught the vision of what it's like in those rare moments when you beat cars at their own game. I live for that. Anyway, it took us about 20 minutes to get there, and we were smiling the whole way. When we got to the parking area, the traffic directors just motioned for us to go straight on in, right past the road blocks, where the cars had to turn left or right to park in some dusty field. Actually, getting there and back was the best part of the day. It was so unbelievably crowded and hot. There were not as many planes that flew as we've seen at other shows. Moral of the story: ride your bike.

Tyler came over to visit on Sunday. We had a really good roast. We had lunch together and watched the Blue Angels fly over our house a few times. Tyler rented a Jaguar (pronounced jag-you-ar by those who make them).

Hey everyone, We had a pretty good week. Andy got his clubs on thurs. just in time for the weekend. We went to the driving range a couple of times and did some chipping onto the green. He is really liking them. Brock is crawling really good. I now have a little shadow. I really like Brock's age it is so fun to watch how their brain is constantly looking for something to learn or try and then they just pass out from sheer exhaustion. Abby has learned how to sing the whole first verse of I am a Child of God it is really cute. We had to talk today in church. Since we live in such a small branch it seems like we have to talk every couple of months. I guess we will be a good public speakers by the time we leave this town.
Ben I am looking forward to those pictures. Andy is going to video a blast up at the mine one day and we will post it for you. They are pretty cool I got to see one when I got a tour one day. Well we will check back later.

Nice Pics Ben... I wish I were there.

Air show on Wednesday was sweet, it was in Cheyenne. Click for a nice picture. (800k) Very nice weather, but not too hot. Being prepared does make a difference. We had a gallon of gatorade and water, chairs, blanket, and two strollers. Jordan got personalized dog tags made for him for free. All they wanted was his graduation date and home address. I figure they'll be knockin' on the door about then. They had some cool recruiting displays and some fun stuff. I got some good pictures.

Today the Blue Angels spent all day practicing over my house and flew over work several times. I rode home via the airport (the airshow is right here at the Fort Collins/Loveland airport) and got to see them land and park and stuff. Those planes are too cool. Jordan said they came closer to our house than we got to the Thunderbirds at the airshow in Cheyenne. Should be fun on Saturday. Feel free to come, one and all. Everyone's welcome to stay at our house. Either way, I'll post the pictures after the show.

Jordan and Alan finished baseball this week. Jordan had two hits and three RBI's in tonights game. I raced my bike at lunch and I wasn't last. I was fourth from last, but this is good, considering I'm usually last in that group of riders.

Julie's sister, Raelynn, is staying with us. She's a lot of help around the house, and she has a full-time job now. She's leaning toward keeping her baby, instead of giving it up for adoption.

Happy Thursday everyone! Ben, where are the airshows that you are going to this weekend? It sounds like a lot of fun. We really enjoyed the one at Hill AFB after the family reunion last year- it would have been even better had we been a tad more prepared- with water, food, shade etc. Oh well, that's life huh?!

I got the stingrayII package from golfdiscount.com. Thanks for the tip Chris!

Jarom- at least your story has a happy ending. My keys were "misplaced" by jackson last week and we still haven't found them. It wouldn't be so bad if there were not keys to the greenhouse and physiological ecology lab on the ring. Those keys are hard to replace, not to mention it hampers my progress at work. Andy- any new clubs yet?
Tyler- what do you know about tommy armour 845's and top flite xl 2000 irons. I have read good reviews on the web for both. there are good prices on the web for both sets. those seem to be the best new clubs for the money that I want to spend. would it be better to look for a used set?
Chris

Wow Ben that sounds like a ton of fun. Jarom I am happy to say that I have only locked my keys in the car once and that was enough. I was pregnant and so there luckily was no kid to lock in there yet.

That's funny Jarom. Julie has locked the keys in the car more than once, though not yet with a kid actually in the car. I remember when Andrew locked himself in Tyler's Ferrari (or was that a TransAm?) it was too funny.

Jarom (and anyone else who cares) the movies of the F-14 breaking the sound barrier (very cool) are here and here. I like the second one best because it sounds so cool, but the first one has the best picture of the actual shock wave forming as a cone behind the plane. Just getting pumped for the Thunderbirds tomorrow and the Blue Angels Saturday. This is like my most favorite week ever.

So...
Here I am studying furiously for the upcoming bar exam and Jen calls me on my cell phone. "I need you to come home...quickly." "Why?" I ask, a little worried at the sound in her voice. "Ethan's in the car." My response: "So?" "Well, mmm,...you see, the doors are all locked." OK. "So tell him to unlock them" (he knows how - prior experience). "Well, mmm, you see he didn't lock them and he can't unlock them because, well,....um...he is buckled into his car seat." Oh, let me get this straight: "You locked our son in the car, in his seat, WITH the car keys?" (Long pause) "Yes." I can't wait to hear how this happened. "I'll be right there." It looks like time for a break from studying. I was getting hungry anyway.

OH! ya Ben I like yours too!

Wow Jordan I am impressed with your poem's That is some great stuff I do not think I could do that well!

this is one of the reports i did last year called The Jaguar!
O.K. it's crapy but it did not have a lot of time
Visit my blog here

Polly, no, I'm afraid you can't post pictures here unless I host this on a different server, which I may later. As for now, you can post them on your own website and then link to them, like this:

click here for the latest pictures of Ben's family

You do that, by clicking the little link icon in the window you type in to post stuff (it's a world with a chain link on it next to the B). Anyway. By the way, Polly, shutterfly.com gave me 15 free prints because I told them I referred you to them. Sweet deal.

Chris (or Julie, whoever's posting), no I haven't shaven my legs yet. I don't think it gives you much and it just adds to those things you'd have to keep doing all the time. Clean legs, okay, stubble, bad. And somehow my sarcastic inferrence that somehow cyclists wear "cool" pants, was lost on most of you (including my wife). I'd rather wear plaid than lycra, but function trumps looks.

Jarom, this is for you. Good luck on the bar exam and all that.

Hey looks like I missed something! Thanks for the advice Chris I will have to check it out now that we got our Bonus and we can afford some for Andy. Well sorry folks but not much has changed since yesterday. So Ben can you post pictures on this thing? JK I am sorry I love to bombard you all with weekly updates on the looks of my children. It is just that it is amazing that Andy and I actually had cute kids.
Well I will check back later.

Gee, thanks Ben! I had been wondering...

I would rather wear ugly pants than shave my legs! I hope you haven't gone that far ben.

Julie: About being excited to find out about the sex -- um, yeah, that's what caused it. I just didn't want you to have to wait for a doctor to tell you.

Polly: Notice how I stay above the fray on the Idaho/Utah sucks bandwagon, living here in "colorful Colorado."

Tyler: Utah sucks. Crackberrys suck.

Jarom: see editors note.

Chris: Golf is for people who wear ugly pants. Now cyclists on the other hand, they wear sweet pants. Tyler gets a double whammy.

No one wears pants
like Lance,
who took the yellow jersey back today,
by the way.

And for those of you who don't know anything about the Tour de France, the yellow jersey is given to the guy who is currently in first place.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY!!! there are lots of good sets with good prices on the web. Just depends on how much you want to pay. Find a set you like on any one of the web retailers and then go to golfclubreview.com and see what they have to say about it and run your choice by those who are in the know (not me). I have my eye on a set from golfdiscount.com, now all I need is the money. (imagine that!) have a good b-day see ya. Chris

Hi all, I guess I will take a turn here- since you all seem to be having so much fun with it. I am not sure what to post...things are pretty boring here lately without school or work to worry about. Chris has an ISU job where he goes whenever he wants and takes care of his project in the greenhouse. Basically easy money- just wish it were more. I am just playing mom trying to keep my kids out of the road, and entertained when it is too hot to do anything. They love the wading pool, and love to spray everyone with the hose even more. Conner was weighed the other day and is now a wopping 44 pounds, and Jack catching up quickly at 34. They have so much fun together, and it is nice for me that they have each other.
I have just been put into the Relief Society presidency as the secretary. It is a fun job- you get to go to all the meetings, yet not as much resposibility as the others. Just keep really good records of EVERYTHING. Things are going good with my latest pregnancy- I am almost 19 weeks, and feeling baby move quite a bit. It is really an amazing feeling, kind of like I have swallowed a live rat. We are excited to find out the sex in about 2 weeks, I have a feeling that we will have another boy to help outnumber me though.

I just want to thank Jarom for defending our state- hey it has it's downfalls but it's home for now! :) I guess that is all for now, hope you are all doing well!

Well we are doing well. Andy's Birthday is tomorrow. He got promoted to lead which means he is a survey crew leader. He gets more money and more overtime but gets paid for it too. He really wants golf clubs for his b-day so any advice from my brothers would help.
Brock has learned the art of crawling it is more like a leapfrog/army crawl but he will get it soon. Abby is a complete terror. She had some freinds over the other day and screamed when any of them tried to touch her toys. She talks pretty well though and she is quite smart. So I guess I will keep her. I am currently the Young Women's President and I do not mind it to much I only have a few girls and it is sure giving me some experience. I have been doing a BYU free marriage and family course to take up some time in the afternoon it is kind of nice to think ocasionaly. I also got a job cleaning the church house. It is only 4 hours a week and it is nice to get out of the house.
I think you all should be making fun of Nevada. Lets just all admit that Nevada is worse than Utah and Idaho. Andy and I would love to live in either state or even Colorado. Sound like you all are busy people and Bike riding does sound like a nice hobby. I hope Angela and Drew take you up on that advice Jarom. Good luck on the bar Jarom we hope you do well. Ben you have fun going to that airshow it does sound like fun.

Just a few details to go over. First, Ben: I am flattered that you think I am so skilled in the world of computers as to surpass even you. But, lets be honest here. The fact is I would have given Tim the exact same advice. I mean heck, I'm formatting at least once a week now and it works for me everytime! Second, Tyler: What do you mean "in-bred" white folk in Idaho?! C'mon, where have you been. Idaho is mostly hispanic now and all of the in-breeders moved to Utah. As to offense...none taken.

As far as current events here, nothing much going on. I have been studying for the bar exam and Jen and Ethan hang out, go swimming and work on their tans all day. Joe and Andrew popped into town for a visit this week. It turns out Angela had them come up to refinish her basement. When they arrived, their work came so highly regarded that Drew's brother has them refinishing his basement as well. Joe seems to have both projects simultaneously in hand. However, upon inspection I felt compelled to point out a few things that may need to be rethought. The first thing I noticed (after the door had been torn out, framed in and the sheetrock cut to fit) was that the water softener brine tank (the kind that has to be replaced periodically) was between the (former) door and the hot water heater (along with all of the accompanying pipes) on the other side. Removing the door effectively cut off access to the tank so that "removable" had simply become a term of art and not an adjective. Secondly was the 'wiring' Joe was 'upgrading'. Both houses hail from the earlier part of the 20th century and contain cloth insulated double strand wiring in walls and ceilings insulated with paper products that have been 'curing' in 0% humidity for the last 50 some odd years. Joe has been excitedly replacing what was once a single, dangling 40 watt bulb fixture (connected to a single two-prong plug and fed from a single screw-in 15 amp fuse that I am sure has been load tested recently) with multiple billion-watt recessed fixtures and three-prong (not grounded to anything of course) outlets all crammed into about 6 inches of total clearance from the (nicely aged and extremely dry) pine flooring above. Needless to say I recommended that all of the smoke detectors in the house be checked and Drew and his brother should immediately double their fire coverage. Lastly, and I was remiss to say anything, concerned a "pass-through cupboard" Angela wanted Joey to build from the linen closet in the hall to the bathroom. While going over the details of the "plan" it was apparent that the "extra space" in the wall that "needed to be used" was in fact already in use. It didn't take long to convince Angie and Drew that knocking through the wall might be a bad idea. It just happened to be the space that contained the gas vents for the furnace, gas fireplace, gas water heater, and downstairs plumbing not to mention a few other misc. electrical lines etc. Joey seemed only a little dissappointed about having to put the sawzall and sledge hammer away. Looks like another Whitehead "project" is well in hand. The thing to remember here of course is that you get exactly what you pay for. Ta ta for now.

[editors note: Sheez, I said blog, not blo-novel]

Time to try out this fancy new bolg deal. I just returned from Denver and got Ben's e-mail on my blackberry (affectionately known as "crackberry") while I was on the plane at the Denver airport. I had a quick trip over for a mini-practice group retreat. Lots of food and boring meetings.

Under the guidance of Ben "Lance" Whitehead I have bought a bike and taken to riding it a few times a week and trying to work a few pounds off. So far have lost about 16 pounds and no more soda has helped a lot. Hasn't helped my golf game yet, the ultimate challenge.

Working a lot and playing a lot this summer. Our family went to Island Park last weekend and helped my brother-in law work on his "cabin". It will be about 4,000 s.f. when he finishes it with a four car garage. It was hot, dusty and tons of bugs. Why does anybody like camping anyway? My kids didn't quite get it either, they are already spoiled past the point of hanging out at a campground with a bunch of people from Idaho. No offense Jarom, Julie or anybody else taking great pride in their white in-bred state. Now you can all start the mormon jokes and keep them coming. We like Utah.

Tyler.

Just sitting here at my computer at midnight waiting for a simulation to finish (and pass) so I can go to bed. Just zoning out. Tim called me wanting computer help. I gave him the usual suggestion -- format your hard drive. We'll see if he does it. So, you call Tyler if you have a legal problem, or Tim if your kid has an ear infection, but you call me when your computer crashes? I don't make the stupid thing, I just work with them like you do. I'm really only good with problems related to C or Verilog. Actually, Jarom is the guy to call with computer problems, he's way better at it than I am. Need his number?

Well, my sim just puked again. I'm never going to finish this tonight. Oh well.

Let's see, the latest news for the Whitehead family in CO. As usual, I'll start with the oldest:

Dad is contemplating returning to school in the Fall, trying to figure out what class to take. I think I've got that part down, I'm just not entirely jazzed yet about all the paperwork you have to go through to change your degree. I'm changing it from a thesis degree (MSEE) to an non-thesis degree (MEEE) and the requirements to do so seem awfully stupid. I don't need a thesis, I'm not joe new graduate looking for a job. Got a nice job and I only need a degree for fun and maybe future employment--hence the change of programs. The last two classes should be pretty easy, actually. If my study plan gets approved by the committee. Oh, and I'm riding my bike a lot. Today I passed a co-worker who has taken up riding to work as well. I slowed down and rode the rest of the way with him. I'm stoked for him.

Julie ran a 5k in Utah while we were there. She got first in her age group (20-29). I am so proud. She is the first counselor in primary and she seems to be enjoying it. Her sister, is staying with us for a while. We're glad to have her here, she's a lot of help and she's already found a job within walking distance of home.

Jordan is getting too old too fast. He's reading a lot, he's a total bookworm. He's learning to play baseball (a pre-requisite to being an American) and riding his bike all over town with his friends. He'll be nine in a few weeks.

Alan is excited to start Kindergarten this Fall. He reads very well already, and knows most of those things you're supposed to come out of Kindergarten knowing. He's also in baseball -- T-ball. It's the most incredibly boring thing I've ever watched, all the parents act excited though when the batter hits yet another ball to the pitcher who inevitably fumbles for it and throws it toward the first baseman who lets it roll right by. The batter gets to first base and everyone applauds greatly. Then it happens again, until eight runs have come home, then the ump yells "everybody rotate!" Meaning, the inning is now over, and the teams switch places in what becomes a seemingly endless game. But he's having a blast.

Lacey is trying not to be so spoiled lately. We're working on her manners and her tendency to scream for what she wants. She's doing much better. If she gets a nap, she does a lot better. She can be so sweet--usually in the morning. We love her as our little princess and it's hard not giving into her. She plays with Alan very well and they are hillarious together when they wrestle around the living room.

Finally, Ryan is our little fridge. Lately his favorite game is to hit dad at full speed while dad is sitting on the couch reading. It can hurt a lot. He's as cute as ever and does the funniest things that toddlers do. His speaking has gotten steadily better lately and he's saying short sentences that are sometimes understandable.

As a family we're going to some air shows next week. First one is the Thunderbirds in Cheyenne, and then on Saturday the Blue Angels will be at the Loveland/Fort Collins airport. Sweet. We LOVE airshows. Can't wait.

That's pretty much it. Ciao.

Welcome to the Family Forum. I'm trying this very popular blogger (I'm not sure how they got from web log to blog, but whatever) thing out. Don't be afraid to post what's on your mind, start some interesting discussions, or just tell us the latest cool thing in your life.