March 20, 2011

The Lane's of Virginia


Helloo family!


Thank you to those of you who made an effort to call this last month. It really is much appreciated. As wonderful as the newsletter is nothing should replace the efforts to call one another.

This week has been really busy. We kicked off this week with finishing our taxes. We are really excited for the H&R Block's estimate of a return. Being married really makes things nicer with taxes woo-hoo!

Tuesday night we went to get materials for achievement day, but were sorely disappointed when there was no fake food to be found.

Wednesday, Julie made all sort of laminated food for the achievement day lesson on nutrition. The girls had a lot of fun putting together some balanced meals. Luckily, Julie has been studying a lot about health so this was right up her alley.

Thursday, Julie went to book club where everyone, all two +baby Mya, decided to read THE RED TENT. Hopefully it will be good cause I have heard many good things about it!

Friday, we went to lunch at a local Mexican food place. Then we participated in the ward's "potato feast"; which was just that and then when we went to the grocery store we nearly cried when we purchased all the food that we would need to boost our health and well it cost a lot. It was sad to have to pay so much more than we normally do, but hopefully it will help.

Saturday, we split the cost and made veggie pizza with an engaged couple-one of which used to be Julie's old roommate the girl if you did not guess that fact :) . Jeff makes a killer veggie pizza it is soooo good!


Today we made dinner for an older couple in the ward that has taken us out to eat and made us dinner. They loved it and were so excited about the food. We sat and talked with them for a while and listened to the myriad of stories and memories they have stored.

Our goal for the next few weeks is to stay busy so we do not stress and Jeff found a new project on the side of the road to keep us busy. It is another fix-me rocking chair, but hopefully that and our upcoming Star Wars Marathon Part I with our friends the Wyats will keep us busy enough to relax by. It is really important to us that we do not stress these next couple of days-weeks, so unless an emergency please save any stressful things for a couple of weeks for us. Thanks!

The weather here is rainy, but really greening up. There have been some flash flood and tornado warnings, but we planted a garden on Saturday since the weather is really looking up.

Grant's News

This week Grant found out that he will officially be switching to managing the kitchen at the restaurant. It's going to be a whole lot of a mess to fix up.This week he had another meeting in Neenah and it was all about the back of the house...so every bit of the trainwreck Grant will soon be in charge of. But on the up side he will no longer be closing manager. During April the general manager will be training him on ordering and all the other back-of-house issues, and then throughout the month they will alternate who opens the restaurant But by May he will be always opening the restaurant and getting off work between 5 and 8 pm, rather than 1 or 2 in the morning. All the tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths Grant planted last fall are starting to come up, especially the ones out front. This week Grant also found Dad's hollyhocks in the backyard starting to grow back.

Jeff and the International Haws Family

I just got off of the phone with Renata and have decided to share our week.


You may find some new pictures on Flickr of Renata, Derick and Felipe. Lucas was not inclined to share his photographs and is not included. Felipe only wanted to be seen with his surfboard, his new love, and denied access to his soccer pictures.


All appear to be well.


Lucas continues to train hard with his soccer team and is becoming quite the player. He no longer plays on Felipe's team as he was selected to play for a team that is sponsored by a professional soccer team Fluminense. They are quite proud of him and he enjoys it very much.


Felipe continues to like soccer but loves surfing. It is his new favorite activity and Saturday mornings are sacred to him. It is nice to seem him enjoying himself so well.


Derick has been very good this week. He has gone to school happily and helped Renata in all that he can. Renata says that Derick misses Daddy most and often wakes up early and complains that I am not there to play with him in the early hours before his friends are available.


Renata had a tough week. Renata has had some kidney stones and is continuing to run exams and will likely need to have a small surgery to have them removed in the near future. Just as a warning to all, her stones may have received supplements for growth in the form of soda pop and lack of water intake, so reconsidered your habits in the liquid consumption arena.


I am doing well. Work has been very busy and challenging and I have enjoyed being in an office setting very much. I am currently staying at an Extended Stay hotel and should be here until my lease becomes available at the end of April. I was unable to purchase a car because I do not have a PA drivers license and cannot get a license until I am in my rental address so I opted for a more economical option, a bicycle. I picked on up yesterday and am quite happy with it, unfortunately to my luck the forecast shows rain tomorrow and snow on Wednesday and Thursday. In the end it appears that this week may be similar to the cruel first week at any sports training or military training entry or else I will have to resort to a bit of bus riding. Still I am excited to get in better shape and save some money doing it.


That is about all that I have to report. I hope your week has gone so well.


Love,
Jeff

The Jackson's of Albuquerque


Kevin and Stacie enjoyed beautiful weather this week in Albuquerque. Also, this week was spring break. Kevin enjoyed not having homework to do and Stacie enjoyed how quiet the dorms were throughout the week. On Tuesday Stacie interviewed for a new position. The interview went well and she anticipates hearing back tomorrow afternoon. On Wednesday Stacie, Kevin and their friends, Nick, Amanda, Jeramie and Clare went out to Tucanos to celebrate Kevin and Jeramie's birthdays. It was delicious, as always. On Friday Stacie headed out of work early to join Kevin and his friends in roasting a pig head and some rocky mountain oysters. Attached are some pictures of their grilling adventure. (please see the Flickr picture stream)

The Wisconsin Haws Family

This week has been busy for Logan. On Wednesday night he went cross country skiing. He finished his Winter Sports Merit badge that night. I was able to join Brother Lonsdale and him for the skiing. I really enjoyed it. On Friday and Saturday we went on a scout campout at Eagle Cave. We slept in a large cave with 300 other scouts. There were tons of tunnels to explore. It was a really fun experience.

Emily has been working on stage crew for the upcoming play "Camelot". Soccer work outs have been another part of her daily schedule and the phrase "I'm sore" has been a common statement in the home.

Lanette has come home for the spring break. She will be spending some time at the Marshfield High School as she prepares for the new school year. Of course, she loved spending a night at the Elmhorst's.

Mom and I were able to get our taxes done. Yes, Julie, we agree that being married has some real benefits including filing joint. That blessing is a small blessing compared to the sealing power of the eternal priesthood. We are approaching our 31 anniversary and it seems like yesterday that we were kneeing at the altar of the Oakland temple. This coming week mom will be helping in the sealing of a large group of her ancestors.