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.