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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

23 October 2012

The Alaska Haws Family

These past couple of weeks we have been averaging a chilly 15-20 degrees during the day. We also have about 4 inches of snow on the ground and a lot of ice on the road. Haley and Kayla had a lot of fun sledding down the hill by our house. However, they don’t have as much fun when I make them walk home from school in their bulky snowsuits. I was able to see and take a picture of the amazing northern lights a couple of weeks ago; it has beautiful shades of green and purple. From what others have told me, we get to see the aurora borealis quite a bit even though we live in town. Andy has a couple of weeks left until he is finished with school. He has been asked to speak at an AIT graduation on Tuesday, so on top of his school work he had to prepare a speech for the graduation. We are all ready for him to be up here with us.

The Jackson's of Albuquerque

Kevin and Stacie were sad to say goodbye to Scott and Chandra on Monday, but so thankful for the wonderful visit. On Wednesday Kevin presented a paper at a colloquium for the department on the Tremulous Hand of Worcester. On Friday Henry's daycare hosted their once-a-month "Parents Night Out," which Kevin and Stacie were happy to take advantage of. While Henry enjoyed extra play time at school, Stacie and Kevin went out for pizza and shakes with their friends Clare and Jeramie. On Saturday Henry had his last swimming lesson. He has gained a lot of great skills through the class and Stacie couldn't be more proud. On Saturday afternoon the Jacksons headed to the other side of the mountain for a family hike. The changing leaves were beautiful; although, Henry couldn't resist eating one, which he threw up all over Stacie (admittedly, it made them laugh).

Grant's News

Grant has had a bumpy road lately at work since now all the pregnant ladies are on maternity leave. That means he is working with a lot of newer employees, which can be frustrating, but it is also a lot of fun to find new work buddies. He has been working a lot of "Expo" shifts, which is the job of putting orders together and sending them out. The job requires knowing the menu perfectly and being able to manage a restaurant full of orders going to the right places. Otherwise, he has a quiet week and had fun today working on his Halloween costume. He is going to be a ghost and was spray painting old clothes with metallic paint to look "shimmery".

The Haws Family of Wisconsin

Tonight Logan and Grant are carving pumpkins. It is a lot of fun to see the carving going on.

This week has been a relatively quite week. It was Stake Conference which was very good. Elder Rhodes of the Seventy was the General Authority at the conference. A lot of wonderful teaching was given with a special emphasis on sharing the Book of Mormon with our friends, preparing our youth for missions and the power of prayer.

Lanette was the high bidder on a baby think it over. She is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the doll in the mail. We will be sure and send a picture when it arrives.

Logan has started basketball. He is really enjoying it. His first game is this Thursday.  It will be fun to watch him play. He is the first Haws since your mom to play basketball on a school team.

Mom has been getting the van ready to gift to Jeff and Renata. We are very excited for them to arrive in the States. Mom will be driving out to Pennsylvania to meet them and then will fly back afterwards. Mom is getting things ready for Emily's wedding.  I think the veil and dress is all ready. Julie is working on the bouquet.

We hope that you each have a wonderful week.

Love,

Dad






Thursday, October 18, 2012

Christmas Info

Hey Pops. Stacie was asking about Christmas and the whole "Homemade" plan for this year. Here is the list of who is giving to who. Mom and I brainstormed a bit this afternoon so we have some ideas if anyone doesn't know what to do. The rules are just that each kid needs to put together something not directly store bought. So it doesn't necessarily have to be 100% homemade, but something each kid and their family has worked on. Below are some websites with ideas. Nothing extravagant or expensive, just something more thoughtful than just going to the store and picking something random out. If you could post this on the family blog that would be great. Andy and Melanie are giving to Jeff and Renata Jeff and Renata are giving to Logan Grant is giving to Traconas Lanes are giving Jacksons Jacksons are giving to Lanette Lanette is giving to Grant Traconas are giving to Andy and Melanie Logan is giving to the Lanes

Christmas Info

Hey Pops. Stacie was asking about Christmas and the whole "Homemade" plan for this year. Here is the list of who is giving to who. Mom and I brainstormed a bit this afternoon so we have some ideas if anyone doesn't know what to do. The rules are just that each kid needs to put together something not directly store bought. So it doesn't necessarily have to be 100% homemade, but something each kid and their family has worked on. Below are some websites with ideas. Nothing extravagant or expensive, just something more thoughtful than just going to the store and picking something random out. If you could post this on the family blog that would be great. Andy and Melanie are giving to Jeff and Renata Jeff and Renata are giving to Logan Grant is giving to Traconas Lanes are giving Jacksons Jacksons are giving to Lanette Lanette is giving to Grant Traconas are giving to Andy and Melanie Logan is giving to the Lanes http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/11/13/a-do-it-yourself-christmas-34-great-gifts-you-can-make-yourself/ http://familycrafts.about.com/od/giftstomake/tp/HomeMadeGiftIdeas.htm http://www.moneyhelpforchristians.com/christmas-gift-ideas-personalized-gifts/ Snapfish.com

September 18, 2012

The Jackson's of Albuquerque

Kevin, Stacie, and Henry had a wonderful week with Kevin's parents, Scott and Chandra. They arrived on Tuesday evening and Henry immediately fell in love with his Grandpa Jackson, just staring at him and giving him lots of smiles. On Wednesday morning they all woke up early and trekked out to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta for the mass ascension. The Fiesta is the largest hot air balloon launch in the entire world and it was truly amazing. They have sent several pictures for the family Flicker account.

In the afternoon they enjoyed a trip to Tucanos. On Thursday and Friday they enjoyed snuggling with Henry and spending time together. On Saturday they went on a hike up to a cave in Placitas, NM (just a short drive away). Henry was very excited to be outdoors. The hike was beautiful in the autumn leaves.

The Jacksons will be returning home on Monday morning. Stacie and Kevin have been so thankful to have Kevin's parents in Albuquerque. They will be very missed. However, they are now excited to look forward toward coming to Wisconsin for Christmas to spend time with us!

The Haws Family of Wisconsin

Last weekend Mom, Dad and Logan went to the St Paul Temple and visited the temple on Friday night. Logan was able to do two baptisms and confirmations for our ancestors while Mom and I did sealings. That evening we enjoyed dinner at Chili's and then stayed in a hotel. The following morning Mom and I did one an endowment session for two of our ancestors. Later that day Julie and Jeff came to the temple and did sealings. All together we were able to get 2 baptisms and confirmations, one initiatory, two endowments and about 10 sealings done. There was a wonderful spirit in doing the work.

Mom and I have been getting the moving spirit. We looked at a home in Stratford that we loved the first time we came here. We would love to buy it but we have decided that we need to get our home all in order and sold then we can consider other locations. We have no intentions to leave Marshfield. But you know, we are Haws's.

Logan has started basketball. He is very excited. Lanette is bidding on ebay for Baby Think it Over. She is more excited. Mom and I are looking forward to having Jeff and Renata and Felipe, Lucas and Derick join us. We are the most excited.

We love you.

Dad

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

September 10, 2012

The Jackson's of Albuquerque

Last week marked a pretty slow week at work for Stacie. She is looking forward to taking this week off and spending lots of time with Henry, Kevin, Scott and Chandra. Kevin continues to work hard in school and is also looking forward to a short break with family. Henry is growing so much and so fast. He is starting to figure out crawling, although he isn't quite ready to get moving yet. Stacie was very happy that Kevin figured out how to fix their camera and she has finally caught up on taking lots of pictures of Henry. Over the weekend the Jacksons enjoyed listening to conference together. On Sunday they went out for a nice walk together.

The Haws Family of Alaska

We have been here in Alaska for almost two weeks now. Getting on the ferry in Bellingham, WA was a little adventurous. I am very glad that my mom was the one parking the vehicle because the guys telling us where to go were trying to fit our full size pickup in a compact car space next to a camper. Luckily they let us back out and park behind the camper instead.

The ferry was an exciting ride to be on. I think the most important part was girls were able to meet new friends on the ferry who were headed to Anchorage. We were also able to see three whales, well the tail ends of them anyways. My mom and I were very lucky because we only got seasick one time for a few hours while we were going over open water. We had the girls turn on a movie while we laid down so we could feel better, well the movie that the girls chose was the Muppets pirate movie, which did not help us any.

After being on the ferry for a few days we got off in Haines, Alaska. I was shocked to see that gas there was $5.30 a gallon! But we needed to fill up the gas cans so we didn’t get stranded. While filling up we met the family from the ferry that was going to Anchorage and decided to a caravan to Tok, Alaska where all of us were going to stay. After filling up, we reached the boarder of Canada and let me tell you that you better be thankful for the roads in the lower 48 states because the roads there were terrible. When the sign told you to slow down, you better slow down because most likely a dirt road is coming up and you wouldn’t want to be going fast on that road.

Finally after 10 hours of driving we arrived in Tok and stayed in a cute little cabin. The people there were very friendly. The next day we headed to Fort Wainwright, Alaska. There were very few spots that had beautiful scenery because of it being the first week of October. Hopefully next summer I will have better pictures of the scenery to show the beauty of Alaska.


At Fort Wainwright we only had to stay in the hotel for a few days before our house was ready to move into. The movers should be delivering our household goods tomorrow which all of us are excited about.

While my mom was here we took a trip to North Pole, AK which is only 15 miles down the road. We went to Santa’s House where the girls were able to see the reindeer. We also stocked up on winter gear that we are going to need.

The ward at church is wonderful! All of the members are very loving and is willing to help with anything that we need. I am so grateful that that is one thing Andy and I do not have to worry about is if there is going to be The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints where ever the military sends us. The building may be four or 40 miles down the road, but we never have to worry if the church is going to be there. Also at church I was so excited because one of the sisters who used to be my visiting teaching companion at Fort Lee, VA was in this ward! We have already been blessed to eat dinner with two different families from church.
The night I had to take my mom back to the airport we just missed seeing the aurora borealis. Hopefully next time it is out I will try to get a good picture of it. My mom was a little disappointed because we didn’t see a moose or bear while she was here, but I promised her if I see one I will take a picture of it. It was really wonderful to have her be with me as we traveled up to Alaska; it made the trip up here extremely easier since Andy and I were not able travel together.

Haley and Kayla enjoy school. Last Tuesday they had a field trip to see “Riders in the Sky” who sang “Woody’s Round-Up” in Toy Story 3. Haley and Kayla love that we live so close to the school (about 1/2 mile) because I they are able to ride their scooters home from school most days.

Andy made it to Virginia safely. He was able to stop at the Kansas City, Missouri temple and Louisville, Kentucky temple along the way and do temple work for our kindred dead. Andy is glad that he is already done with one week of school but still has four more to go before he can drive up here. We are both ready to be together again.

The Haws Family of Wisconsin

We enjoyed the blessing of listening to living prophets and church leaders this weekend. It was comfortable to remain home over the weekend and not having to worry about other activities. We did have the chance to do some yard work and we are at the point that the gardens are ready for the winter. Grant has planted a number of bulbs that promise to surprise us this coming spring.


Logan continues with soccer. His last game is Thursday.  He has had a terrific year and is really one of the team leaders. The coach is really pushing to see Logan return to Columbus next year. I am not sure our budget is ready for that but we will have to see.

Lanette spent the weekend with the Elmhorst family. Need I say more...She had a great time.

Mom and I have enjoyed time together this fall. It is such a beautiful time of the year. We have enjoyed spending time with Julie and Jeff while we watch Alex make quick progress. He will be walking in days. Watch out Julie, next comes climbing!!!

We hope that each of you are have a wonderful week.

Love,

Dad