February 6, 2011

The Lanes of Virginia

We are not the last people to send in this week!!!
Yeah!!! About time!

This week we have been very busy with daily routines and such.

Julie had lunch with a neighbor on Tuesday. The girl she had lunch with wanted to learn how Julie made her honey, whole-wheat bread, so on Thursday Julie had her over again during the day to make some bread and play with the girls baby a little. Before the Thursday bread extravaganza- Julie had achievements days on Wednesday. She made a sort of Heroines of the Bible coloring book. Not to be confused with the drug. We discussed who are heroes are, why they are our heroes, and how we can become like them. We also wrote thank you notes to someone we appreciate. Much to Julie's surprise she found a note hidden in her achievement day stuff.

We spent some time this week at the mall looking for what the other person would like for valentines; since we are trying to do something other than candy and stuffed animals. Jeff decided that he wanted a nerf mace, so Julie appeased his wish, but Julie wanted it to be a surprise, so Jeff stashed her in a bookstore while he shopped. Apparently the thing he bought was supposed to be at one store, but when he got there it was all sold out. Jeff, never discouraged, went to the store across the way and found what he was looking for for the same price. Hurray! So now we are all set except the fowl we wish to eat that day. We intend to take Jeff's medieval tools of torture to the park, with the fowl for a feast in our nice CA weather! Julie will likely make a loaf of bread to bring along.

Friday we used one of our Christmas Presents to go to dinner at Chilis and it was very good! Thanks Ma and Pa! It was a realllll treat!!!


Saturday we went on a walk that turned from a 20 minute walk to a 1 1/2 walk because it was raining warm and it was so beautiful we just had to take the longest path at the park. The path is kind of cool because it has a bunch of playground like exercise equipment like an elliptical and many other things. Julie also attempted the truffles again for the next days activities.

Sunday, Jeff is substituting for a primary class. Later that evening we are headed over to a friends house for dinner.


Julie

The Colorado Haws Family

This week has been full of crazy weather. On Tuesday and Wednesday the girls were happy because they had snow days, not that there was much snow, but because it did not get above 0 and the roads were a little icy. So on Wednesday we were able to enjoy being at someone else's house for a playgroup. On Friday Kayla and I was able to enjoy a meal at Culvers (Wisconsin people know what I am talking about) then went to the library. Saturday the girls were excited because it snowed again and was the type of snow where the girls were actually able to build things, whereas the snow that we usually get is too soft to build anything. The girls also had a lot of fun playing dress-up and witches with Andy. Andy is still in charge of road guard at work and cannot wait until it is over so he doesn't have to get up so early or be in the negative degree weather.

Grant's News

Grant finally got a day off last Sunday and was able to spend some time hanging out and having dinner with his friend Amber. Work went pretty smooth this week and Grant had a meeting in Plover this week (near Stevens Point) where he and the other managers were able to work out some of the issues that have been troubling the restaurant as of late. On Friday he had the opportunity to be the first person to ever dye Emily's hair. Emily just wanted two streaks on the under bit of her hair by her neck, one black, one blonde. She saw it in a magazine a while back and thought it was really pretty. Tonight Grant is heading into what should be a very slow at the restaurant courtesy of the Packers.

The Jackson's of Albuquerque

This past week has been a chilly one for Stacie and Kevin in Albuquerque. The blizzard across the country included New Mexico, which resulted in one school day for Kevin and two work days for Stacie. On Tuesday the roads were packed with snow and the university canceled all classes and informed all non-critical employees to stay home. Stacie and Kevin enjoyed their day off together. Stacie spent most of the day scrapbooking and really enjoyed not having to worry about work. To their surprise, the university closed again on Wednesday. This may or may not have resulted in a celebratory jump on the bed.


On Thursday the university enforced a late start which meant Stacie began at 10am instead of 8am. Kevin was a bit disappointed when he received a text from the university just after getting off the bus at 3pm informing him that all evening classes were canceled. However, once Stacie began work it was easy to tell why the university continued to close; it was too cold! Unfortunately the state of New Mexico was not prepared for the cold front and entire towns lost heat due to having no natural gas. In order to help restore gas to the towns without heat, the university decided to keep the buildings cold and the people out of them. For the few hours that Stacie was at work on Thursday, she spent most of the time huddled next to a space heater in her office, which was at about 45 degrees. She was able to leave work at 4pm and learned that the governor had mandated that people living in Albuquerque reduce the heat in their homes by at least ten degrees to accommodate with the gas shortage. Stacie and Kevin stayed huddled under lots of blankets until Saturday, when the temperature spiked up from 1 degree to 40.

Although Stacie and Kevin are happy that the weather is much better now, they will miss their free days off.

The International Haws Family

Jeff has had the opportunity to talk with several of you during the last week. He is in the final preparation period for moving up to the states. We hope that all will go smoothly with their upcoming move.

The Home Front

Our home this week has been filled with sick people. I spent several evenings on the couch wondering if I was going to die but thankfully the illness broke on Friday. Mom is still fighting the illness off and I am afraid that Grant may have picked up the bug.

Logan and I felt well enough that we headed off for the slopes on Saturday. We had a wonderful evening of skiing. Logan picked it up very quickly and is anxious for another crack at the slopes.

Emily was able to go out with a group of friends for a movie and fun together. She came home very happy and ready for another school week. She has started soccer practice this week.

Lanette had a pretty quiet week at home but she has missed the flu bug and hopefully will remain well this week.

Mom had the unfortunate event of getting a flat tire on Saturday while Logan and I were skiing. Thankfully Brother Oba came to the rescue. That was a huge help for mom. Thank heavens for little acts of kindness. Mom showed today why she is such a great person. We had invited the missionaries over to eat tonight because I had heard that their dinner appointment had fallen through. When I told Mom that the Elders were going to come over. She didn't complain. She just made more delicious food. I called the Elders about 6 pm and asked if they could come a little earlier than planned dinner appointment(7 pm). I was surprised when the elder told me that the mission president had told the elders not to go out of their apartments after 4 pm. (I guess the Super Bowl fans have a reputation). I was taken back by this apparent last minute information after Mom had done so much work. We were both frustrated but Mom just said "lets pack up the extra food and take it to them" which she did. Some might have become offended but instead Mom found a way to turn it into a great learning experience for all of us. I am so lucky to have your Mom as my eternal sweetheart!

I have had the opportunity to go to a scout training meeting on Saturday morning. I learned a lot. The skiing on Saturday night topped off a wonderful day. I enjoyed the fast today. It brought new insight on life and my relationship with our Father in Heaven.