Sorry for the delays in getting this posted but I hope you will enjoy the news, even if it is not breaking news.
Grant's News
March 4, 2012
This was Grant's week of training in the kitchen. The managers say they are impressed with how well he cooks since his only training is knowing the menu and watching the cooks. His biggest hurdle is knowing the difference between how well done meat is cooked. He can cook well done burgers and rare burgers, but struggles with anything in between. The other hurdle is not freaking out as the orders come in and timing his work so that the orders go out at appropriate times. Although he has enjoyed the change of pace and the opportunity to mingle with a new group of coworkers, some things will take some getting used to, like getting paid. Grant is used getting paid daily through his tips, so he feels poor right now because he hasn't received his first cook paycheck. Luckily, Grant still has some serving shifts so we're not rocking the boat too much at Hudson's. Otherwise, Grant's week was rather quiet and uneventful. He was able to spend Saturday evening hanging out with Logan, going to Culver's and then renting zombie movies.
The Pennsylvania Haws Family
March 4, 2012
Our week was quite busy.
Renata has been working and has been very happy with the chance to get out of the house everyday and have her own personal routine, let alone the spending cash. She also had ESL orientation this week and will begin ESL night classes on Monday 11 March. She is quite excited and ready to become an English speaker.
Felipe doubts how much English will help his mother and suggests that Spanish may be more important for communication in America. Felipe is working hard to learn English in his ESL classes but finds that his Spanish gets more training. Due to the number of Spanish speaking students in ESL, ESL classes are mostly in Spanish leaving other speaker doubly lost as they must learn Spanish to participate fully in the ESL program. He has been a good sport about it though and is just happy that he was able to start practicing with the soccer team each Monday evening. The soccer team was very welcoming and quite impressed with his soccer skills.
Lucas is doing well in Brazil and is still sure that the USA is not as cool as it looks on tv. Maybe cool was the wrong word, not as fun I suppose. He wants to continue in Brazil and is working hard to reach his dream of becoming a professional soccer player. We wish him the best and Renata and the boys look forward to visiting him in the summer.
Derick is progressing in his English development. This week was the first time that he got all of his spelling words right. As he had begun the alphabetization process in Brazil he had a different understanding of what sounds letters were suppose to make and that was causing some confusion for him at school. It appears that he is getting past that and is beginning to understand a little bit more of how to sound things out in English. Derick has been enjoying the US and especially that Mommy is working as that means that his toy budget is better than ever.
We went to an Aquarium in Camden, NJ a week ago. I have attached two images to this email and will send another later. We had a lot of fun with that. Renata loved walking through the shark tunnel, a glass tunnel going through the shark pool where she could see sharks up close. Derick especially loved the sting rays and was even able to feed a sardine to one. Felipe liked seeing the university in Philadelphia and it was neat to see him get excited about the idea of going to college, even though I know that the excitement is only that he will get to live on his own and hang out with college girls.
I have been busy. Work always has new surprises and different things to learn. One of my learning projects is trying to see what I can do with a new little computer called Raspberry Pi. Raspberry pi is a very small computer. It is about the size of a credit card and runs on a SD card for all of its hd space. It is not terribly powerful so you probably would not want to use it for your day to day computing. At the same time it only costs about $35 so there are many people in the world that might find it extremely interesting as an option for their first computer or as a computer for their kids. As for myself the interest lies in the ability to set up an array of lots of them and run heavy tasks spread out across the multiple computers. Idea being that one may not be terribly powerful but lots sure can be and if ten still costs less than the common computer it may be possible to set up something amazing for much less than buying one other computer. There are many other interesting things that one might do with a set of small, cheaper computers but there is still much to learn.
I hope that you week has been as pleasant and exciting as ours.
Love,
Jeff
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
It has been a busy couple of weeks. Last weekend Logan went on a campout with his scout troop to Eagle Cave. It is a privately owned cave in Wisconsin. They have about 300 scouts each weekend camp in the cave. They have a terrific program that all the boys loved.
Lanette spent the weekend with one of her classmates, Autumn. Autumn's mother is one of the amazing people that foster kids with disabilities. Lanette and Autumn had a great time. This weekend we had some significant snow storms so Lanette enjoyed hearing the winds blow.
Mom and I had the opportunity to spend some time alone. We enjoyed a trip to the temple. It was a wonderful experience. We did the endowments for two of our ancestors that were born in the 18th century. I am cure they appreciate our efforts. We enjoyed time with Grant and I took Mom on a date to Chili's which a unusual treat since Chili's is not in Marshfield. We also spent a few minutes with Emily and a bit longer with Trent. That was a short but delightful visit.
We are looking forward to spring time and seeing Grant's flowers come up out of the now snow covered ground. We have plane tickets to go to Haley's baptism leaving on our 33rd anniversary and returning the next week. We love seeing our grandchildren even if it is just pictures. All and all I am feeling pretty lucky.
Love,
Dad
Monday, March 11, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
February 26, 2013
Well it has been all too long since I last compiled a family update. I apologize. Here is the latest updates for our family. Would you please send something each week that we can include in the family blog. Pictures are especially nice for Felipe, Lucas and Renata.
Grant's News
Grant has had a quiet week with work. He is looking forward to some changes at work that will allow him to cook, and hopefully add some more excitement to the normal routine. Lately Grant has been collecting seeds for the garden. It is still very much winter and the cabin fever of it all has Grant anxious to get back outside and work in the yard. He is excited for even slightly warmer whether so that the daffodils and crocus flowers will return.
News from Julie, Jeff and Alex
News from the Alaska Haws Family
I feel like I have been slacking on sending the family newsletter. During this past month Haley had lost her tooth, Kayla was able to join Pete the Cat Shoe Tying Club because she learned how to tie her shoes and last week we celebrated Kayla's 6th birthday! I felt really bad because we didn't have any matches or a lighter to light her candles so I told her to pretend it was lit and to blow it out...it seemed to work and she didn't mind. We still have about 18 inches of snow in the back yard with no melting in sight even though we have had the sun coming up by 8:15 and not going down until 6:00 every day. It is so nice to have the extra light during the day and very exciting to know summer will be here soon (well in four more months). I took the girls to the doctors for a check-up and Kayla officially weighs more than Haley and is a hair taller than her also. It looks like Haley will be getting the clothes handed down to her from Kayla now. Work is going good for Andy and he still thinks he wants to extend for three more years. I enjoy my tutoring job at the school. I love working with the students and most of all being able to see Haley and Kayla throughout the day.
News from Home
It has been a busy and wonderful time. Logan has been very active in basketball this winter. It is fun to watch him play. He scored several baskets in the tournament last Saturday. Logan has also decided to switch back to the Marshfield School System next year. Mom and Dad think that is a good idea. The high school offers an excellent academic background. Logan continues to raise his chickens. Now his is also snow shoveling a walk way in for a family in our area. He is trying out for a play at his school. We hope it he gets a great role.
Lanette has been enjoying friends. She has been with a group of girls two weeks ago. She had a great time. Last weekend she went to a new friend's home. Her name is Callie and she is wonderful, kind friend to Lanette. Lanette will be going to look at job opportunities this week.
Mom and I had a wonderful trip to the temple about ten days ago. We were able to do initiatories and endowments for a number of our ancestors. We enjoyed visiting Trent and Emily several weeks ago. and . They had a great time and enjoyed a meal at a great restaurant. We have started painting the house but have not made a terribly lot of progress but it will be finished soon enough.
I am including a email that I sent to Aunt Patsy about a potential family reunion. Please take a moment. We would like to have the reunion in 2014.
Love Dad
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Patsy and Steve,
Several years ago, Kellie and I went to a small town in central Pennsylvania called Freeburg. In the town is a dilapidated cemetery where a number of our Boyer ancestors are buried. It was fascinating to see the grave stones of Francis Augustus Boyer (1790-1876) and Anna Barbara Sell Boyer (1785-1865), who are our fourth great-grandparents. It was a joy to clean the headstones and to remove some of the grass around the burial sites: That experience has left a great impression on both of us. Recently Dona found an interested and wonderful article from a 1999 general conference by Elder Neuenschwander (April 1999) that references Mariah Catherine Boyer (granddaughter of Francis and Anna). Here is the excerpt that Dona sent, it is a wonderful talk emphasizing the importance of family heritage,
"In 1892 sisters of the Kolob Stake in Springville, Utah, wrote letters to their children and sealed them in a time capsule to be opened March 17, 1942, the centennial anniversary of the Relief Society. After recording a brief genealogy of her family reaching back to those who first joined the Church, Mariah Catherine Boyer wrote the following to her two children: “Dear children, when you read this, parents and grandparents will be sleeping in the silent tomb. Those hands that toiled so hard in love for you will toil no more, and those eyes that gazed in love and approbation on your innocent brows will see you no more, until we meet in heaven. Dear children, … may the bands of a sister and a brother’s love entwine your hearts. … Do right by your fellowmen, follow the dictates of your conscience, ask God to give you power to resist all temptations to do evil, and let it be said of you, ‘that the world is better for you having lived in it.’ Keep the commandments of God. May your paths in life be strewn with flowers, and may you at all times do right. May you never taste adversity. May the Spirit and blessings of God attend you at all times is the prayer of your mother. I will enclose the photographs of our family. Goodbye my dear children, until we meet.”2 These tender and beautiful words have now bridged six generations of a faithful family."
If you have time today consider reading the whole talk. It emphasizes the importance of family heritage and uniting the generations of a family together.
Here is a story from our family history about Augustus Sell Boyer and Catherine Houtz Boyer. Catherine is the first direct ancestor in our Boyer line to join the Church.
"The pain was unbearable and Augustus Sell Boyer took a large cleaver and clamped it on his aching tooth and pulled. He succeeded in breaking his jaw which became infected quickly and he realized he was going to die. He called his three brothers and asked them to each take one of his sons and keep and educate them until they were 21 years of age"
"He spoke to his wife telling her she had a good farm and could make a fair living for herself and three daughters [actually there were four]. After much pain and suffering and suffering he was laid to rest.
"Catherine Houtz Boyer, six [seven] children and a widow- with the loss of her husband and loneliness was horrible and hard to her to bear. She and her husband had not been satisfied with their religion and had been reading material regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jacob Houtz, brother of Catherine, had joined the Church and gone west. He came to visit his sister and she decided she and her family would go to Utah with him."
"Collecting her sons was a problem- they wanted to go with their mother but their uncles remembered their promise to their brother refused to release them to go with their mother. Finally the boys, Phillip age 12, John age 10 [our direct ancestor] and Frank age 8 persuaded them that they would run away and join their mother so they let them leave."
"The long trip was accomplished by covered wagon and team of horses. They had many terrifying experiences with the Indians but always were kind and gave them food. Catherine and her sons were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints one evening at a beautiful quiet spot on a river. They arrived in Utah on September 18 and stayed in Salt Lake City one winter."
"Coming to Springville the following spring, Catherine and her sons built a small cabin which she quickly made into a home for them and which was they loved and each one of the boys and girls appreciated. Catherine never was sorry for moving to the west. She never re-married. She loved the gospel and her children and reared each of them to be proud of their name, their church and their parents. She was honored and respected for her courage, her faith, and her constant humor and love of life"
(I am not sure of the author or the reason for the discrepancy in family number)
Freeburg is only about two hours or so from Steve and Dona's home. I would like to propose a family reunion in the summer of 2014 where we spend several days restoring the cemetery. I would, of course, contact the church to make sure that they are willing to permit us to do this service. Additionally, we could have fun together such as attending the Hershey Pennsylvania Amusement Park ( www.hersheypark.com).
The link below shows a church in the foreground. I believe that church owns the cemetery. You can see a few headstones. In the background is a second church.
http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc14930.php
Kellie and I did not find Augustus Sell Boyer's grave site. At the cemetery there is a large pile of headstones that may contain his headstone. It would be wonderful to restore it to the proper location. We would love to have a memorable family reunion fixing the headstones of those who went before us, as well as a fun-filled trip to Hershey Amusement Park.
Please let me know your thoughts and questions.
Love,
Robert
Grant's News
Grant has had a quiet week with work. He is looking forward to some changes at work that will allow him to cook, and hopefully add some more excitement to the normal routine. Lately Grant has been collecting seeds for the garden. It is still very much winter and the cabin fever of it all has Grant anxious to get back outside and work in the yard. He is excited for even slightly warmer whether so that the daffodils and crocus flowers will return.
News from Julie, Jeff and Alex
Happy birthday,Henry!
This week for the Lanes was packed with trying to once again
get the house to look like a model home, even though it is requiring everything
to be put into boxes and then shoved
into every closet. We are hopeing to get
this all finished before the end of February.
Monday, we spent in Marshfield going to a discount store and
taking a well needed date without the baby. We went to Chips, the one by the
BBQ store. We also took Alex to Festival
foods so that he could push one of the child size carts around. He really loved
that until it was nap time and then nothing would make him happy.
I cannot remember what I mentioned about Jeff’s interview.
But here is his recount:
Jeff traveled down to Milwaukee to interview to become an
officer for the Air Force. He had a
series of three interviews while he was there, two unexpected. The first one was with a Captain that was
the longest. They asked him quite a bit
of questions about his background, at the end, when he asked to get a feel for how the interview went, the Captain said
he believes he can put together a competitive package. He then had a short interview with the
Colonel: Jeff believes he did well because the Colonel gave him advice of how
to improve his entrance essay. Then he
had the third and last one with the Tech Sergeant that he has been working with;
which he expected. He was mainly filling
out paper work with her. Over all he
thinks he has a good chance to have the opportunity to commission as an officer. Unfortunately, he probably won't find out
till late May or early June. Which is a little frustrating since we are
desperately looking for a job and would love to know what will be our
future—who doesn't want to know their future.
Alex is saying more and more words. He personality is coming
out and it is seeming to be filled with a bit of sass. He has become a huge fan
of music as he sleeps; in fact, yesterday, he began to wake up when a song had
an abnormally long introduction.
News from the Alaska Haws Family
I feel like I have been slacking on sending the family newsletter. During this past month Haley had lost her tooth, Kayla was able to join Pete the Cat Shoe Tying Club because she learned how to tie her shoes and last week we celebrated Kayla's 6th birthday! I felt really bad because we didn't have any matches or a lighter to light her candles so I told her to pretend it was lit and to blow it out...it seemed to work and she didn't mind. We still have about 18 inches of snow in the back yard with no melting in sight even though we have had the sun coming up by 8:15 and not going down until 6:00 every day. It is so nice to have the extra light during the day and very exciting to know summer will be here soon (well in four more months). I took the girls to the doctors for a check-up and Kayla officially weighs more than Haley and is a hair taller than her also. It looks like Haley will be getting the clothes handed down to her from Kayla now. Work is going good for Andy and he still thinks he wants to extend for three more years. I enjoy my tutoring job at the school. I love working with the students and most of all being able to see Haley and Kayla throughout the day.
News from Home
It has been a busy and wonderful time. Logan has been very active in basketball this winter. It is fun to watch him play. He scored several baskets in the tournament last Saturday. Logan has also decided to switch back to the Marshfield School System next year. Mom and Dad think that is a good idea. The high school offers an excellent academic background. Logan continues to raise his chickens. Now his is also snow shoveling a walk way in for a family in our area. He is trying out for a play at his school. We hope it he gets a great role.
Lanette has been enjoying friends. She has been with a group of girls two weeks ago. She had a great time. Last weekend she went to a new friend's home. Her name is Callie and she is wonderful, kind friend to Lanette. Lanette will be going to look at job opportunities this week.
Mom and I had a wonderful trip to the temple about ten days ago. We were able to do initiatories and endowments for a number of our ancestors. We enjoyed visiting Trent and Emily several weeks ago. and . They had a great time and enjoyed a meal at a great restaurant. We have started painting the house but have not made a terribly lot of progress but it will be finished soon enough.
I am including a email that I sent to Aunt Patsy about a potential family reunion. Please take a moment. We would like to have the reunion in 2014.
Love Dad
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Patsy and Steve,
Several years ago, Kellie and I went to a small town in central Pennsylvania called Freeburg. In the town is a dilapidated cemetery where a number of our Boyer ancestors are buried. It was fascinating to see the grave stones of Francis Augustus Boyer (1790-1876) and Anna Barbara Sell Boyer (1785-1865), who are our fourth great-grandparents. It was a joy to clean the headstones and to remove some of the grass around the burial sites: That experience has left a great impression on both of us. Recently Dona found an interested and wonderful article from a 1999 general conference by Elder Neuenschwander (April 1999) that references Mariah Catherine Boyer (granddaughter of Francis and Anna). Here is the excerpt that Dona sent, it is a wonderful talk emphasizing the importance of family heritage,
"In 1892 sisters of the Kolob Stake in Springville, Utah, wrote letters to their children and sealed them in a time capsule to be opened March 17, 1942, the centennial anniversary of the Relief Society. After recording a brief genealogy of her family reaching back to those who first joined the Church, Mariah Catherine Boyer wrote the following to her two children: “Dear children, when you read this, parents and grandparents will be sleeping in the silent tomb. Those hands that toiled so hard in love for you will toil no more, and those eyes that gazed in love and approbation on your innocent brows will see you no more, until we meet in heaven. Dear children, … may the bands of a sister and a brother’s love entwine your hearts. … Do right by your fellowmen, follow the dictates of your conscience, ask God to give you power to resist all temptations to do evil, and let it be said of you, ‘that the world is better for you having lived in it.’ Keep the commandments of God. May your paths in life be strewn with flowers, and may you at all times do right. May you never taste adversity. May the Spirit and blessings of God attend you at all times is the prayer of your mother. I will enclose the photographs of our family. Goodbye my dear children, until we meet.”2 These tender and beautiful words have now bridged six generations of a faithful family."
If you have time today consider reading the whole talk. It emphasizes the importance of family heritage and uniting the generations of a family together.
Here is a story from our family history about Augustus Sell Boyer and Catherine Houtz Boyer. Catherine is the first direct ancestor in our Boyer line to join the Church.
"The pain was unbearable and Augustus Sell Boyer took a large cleaver and clamped it on his aching tooth and pulled. He succeeded in breaking his jaw which became infected quickly and he realized he was going to die. He called his three brothers and asked them to each take one of his sons and keep and educate them until they were 21 years of age"
"He spoke to his wife telling her she had a good farm and could make a fair living for herself and three daughters [actually there were four]. After much pain and suffering and suffering he was laid to rest.
"Catherine Houtz Boyer, six [seven] children and a widow- with the loss of her husband and loneliness was horrible and hard to her to bear. She and her husband had not been satisfied with their religion and had been reading material regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jacob Houtz, brother of Catherine, had joined the Church and gone west. He came to visit his sister and she decided she and her family would go to Utah with him."
"Collecting her sons was a problem- they wanted to go with their mother but their uncles remembered their promise to their brother refused to release them to go with their mother. Finally the boys, Phillip age 12, John age 10 [our direct ancestor] and Frank age 8 persuaded them that they would run away and join their mother so they let them leave."
"The long trip was accomplished by covered wagon and team of horses. They had many terrifying experiences with the Indians but always were kind and gave them food. Catherine and her sons were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints one evening at a beautiful quiet spot on a river. They arrived in Utah on September 18 and stayed in Salt Lake City one winter."
"Coming to Springville the following spring, Catherine and her sons built a small cabin which she quickly made into a home for them and which was they loved and each one of the boys and girls appreciated. Catherine never was sorry for moving to the west. She never re-married. She loved the gospel and her children and reared each of them to be proud of their name, their church and their parents. She was honored and respected for her courage, her faith, and her constant humor and love of life"
(I am not sure of the author or the reason for the discrepancy in family number)
Freeburg is only about two hours or so from Steve and Dona's home. I would like to propose a family reunion in the summer of 2014 where we spend several days restoring the cemetery. I would, of course, contact the church to make sure that they are willing to permit us to do this service. Additionally, we could have fun together such as attending the Hershey Pennsylvania Amusement Park ( www.hersheypark.com).
The link below shows a church in the foreground. I believe that church owns the cemetery. You can see a few headstones. In the background is a second church.
http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc14930.php
Kellie and I did not find Augustus Sell Boyer's grave site. At the cemetery there is a large pile of headstones that may contain his headstone. It would be wonderful to restore it to the proper location. We would love to have a memorable family reunion fixing the headstones of those who went before us, as well as a fun-filled trip to Hershey Amusement Park.
Please let me know your thoughts and questions.
Love,
Robert
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
December 4, 2012
Happy Birthday to Derick and Julie!!!
Grant's News
Grant's week was painfully slow at work, which was surprising since usually after Thanksgiving it gets pretty busy. On his days off Grant worked on decorating the house for Christmas. He is working on some homemade decorations for the Christmas tree, made from dried fruit.
The Wisconsin Haws
This week has been dominated by Logan's sports events. He had several basketball games. He has shot two three pointers including one tonight. It has been fun to see him participate in basketball this year. I surely never play enough basketball to even be considered on a basketball team. Logan also enjoyed having Cheyenna and Fiona Pilsner over on Saturday through Sunday. The girls live him Mexico City and Logan looks and acts like a brother to the girls. It was fun to have them over.
Lanette has been having difficulties with her Victor, tape recorder/MP3 player/all around entertainment. She ended up having to send the Victor in to be serviced. She is very distressed by this issue.
We enjoyed having Julie, Jeff and Alex over to our house on Sunday. We celebrated Julie's birthday and had a great meal. It was enjoyable to listen to the First Presidency Christmas broadcast together but I must admit that I was a bit drowsy after the meal we had enjoyed.
Mom has been working on Christmas projects, gifts and notions. She really wants to make this a very special Christmas. I have enjoyed doing lots of things. Mom and I spent the morning last Saturday with Sister Atwood. She is a dear wonderful friend that lifts our spirits.
We have been looking forward to Christmas and the countdown is in progress. Grant has decorated our home so nicely that we have a great Christmas atmosphere here. We hope you all have a great week.
Grant's News
Grant's week was painfully slow at work, which was surprising since usually after Thanksgiving it gets pretty busy. On his days off Grant worked on decorating the house for Christmas. He is working on some homemade decorations for the Christmas tree, made from dried fruit.
The Wisconsin Haws
This week has been dominated by Logan's sports events. He had several basketball games. He has shot two three pointers including one tonight. It has been fun to see him participate in basketball this year. I surely never play enough basketball to even be considered on a basketball team. Logan also enjoyed having Cheyenna and Fiona Pilsner over on Saturday through Sunday. The girls live him Mexico City and Logan looks and acts like a brother to the girls. It was fun to have them over.
Lanette has been having difficulties with her Victor, tape recorder/MP3 player/all around entertainment. She ended up having to send the Victor in to be serviced. She is very distressed by this issue.
We enjoyed having Julie, Jeff and Alex over to our house on Sunday. We celebrated Julie's birthday and had a great meal. It was enjoyable to listen to the First Presidency Christmas broadcast together but I must admit that I was a bit drowsy after the meal we had enjoyed.
Mom has been working on Christmas projects, gifts and notions. She really wants to make this a very special Christmas. I have enjoyed doing lots of things. Mom and I spent the morning last Saturday with Sister Atwood. She is a dear wonderful friend that lifts our spirits.
We have been looking forward to Christmas and the countdown is in progress. Grant has decorated our home so nicely that we have a great Christmas atmosphere here. We hope you all have a great week.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
November 27, 2012
The Alaska Haws Family
November 26, 2012
On Thursday Haley and Kayla were excited that they were able to finally put up the Christmas tree. They have already wrapped some presents from their toy box to put under it. Later that day we enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner at the church with members of the ward. On Friday on our way out to do some shopping we saw a moose in front of a neighbor's garage. It was crazy! Andy of course wished that he was able to shoot his guns on post, because that would have been a perfect shot (for those of you who may not know it is legal to shoot moose in Alaska, just not on post). About 3:00 am Saturday morning I was able to see the Northern Lights again. This time they were a lot brighter and more active. We can tell from week to week that our days have been getting shorter. Saturday the sun did not rise until 10:03 am and sat at 3:12 pm. We will be losing 6 minutes of sunlight a day until December 21 when we will have less than 3 hours of sunlight, but then we will start gaining 6 minutes a day. With not having as much sun it is a lot easier to sleep in. Kayla gave a talk in primary on Sunday about being a missionary now. I also received a calling in church to be a Young Woman advisor for the 14 and 15 year olds. I have not been in Young Women’s since I was a teenager, so I hope that I can be a good example to the girls I will be teaching as my Young Women teachers were to me. I am guessing that Andy will be getting a calling soon because they don’t keep you on the sidelines very long at church.
November 12, 2012
These past few weeks have been a little crazy between the girls going to different Halloween parties, gymnastics, and sledding. I also took Haley and Kayla to the eye doctor and to our surprise Kayla needed glasses! So now she is looking just as stylish as Haley is in her new eyewear. The best part of last week was having Andy arrive here safely. It only took him four days to drive from Fort Lee, VA to Fort Wainwright, AK. Of course if the girls and I were with him it would have taken two weeks. I should be starting work at the elementary school soon, but only while Haley and Kayla are in school. On Saturday Haley pulled out her top tooth by herself. Now that her tooth is missing she reminds me of Ellie off of the movie “Up” because of her missing tooth and also she keeps saying “You don’t talk much…I like you!” It has been a little chilly last week with the weather being in the negative 20’s, but we seem to get use to it.
The Pennsylvania Haws family
My apologies for always being behind. We have been very busy over the last several weeks since arriving in the US and I think that everything is progressing well.
The boys are in school and participating in the ESL programs. A major challenge for them is that the ESL programs provide a significant emphasis on Spanish speaking language learners. Of course the number of Spanish speaking immigrants is higher than Portuguese speakers so it makes sense but it provides only a second challenge for the boys as they must learn Spanish to better understand their English classes.
Derick finds the USA to be amazing and loves it. His favorite place is the Disney store at the mall and Renata fully supports visiting as she loves all of the dolls and stuffed animals. He is doing well in school and is possible a little advanced in math over his peers which is good as it will let him focus on English and reading a bit more.
Lucas has been doing well though he misses soccer. We have tried to contact different soccer coaches for club soccer in the area but have not received responses back. School has been going well and he has been learning English very quickly.
Felipe has had a tougher time at school. While Lucas is in 8th grade and gets to go to Middle School Felipe is in 9th and is in High School. There is quite a jump in expected responsibility between High School and Middle School and Felipe has been a bit more lost. To make things worse he Felipe did not have a math teacher at his school in Brazil for the last year and a half so he is behind on his math as well as his English. On a positive note, P.E. is swimming in an indoor pool and he is getting great swimming points. I have tried to see if he would like to participate on the swim team but have not gotten a response yet.
Renata is doing well. Sometimes she feels a little locked in and is trying to find things to do. She has been walking down to meet Felipe at school every day and they walk back together. I think that has been very special for both of them. Being the oldest often Felipe gets less attention and some one on one time is great.
We have ordered a replacement cable for our camera and I hope to send some pictures up in the next couple of days. We visited NYC a couple of weeks ago and have some fun pictures from that trip plus some others that would be fun to share.
Love
Jeff
The Wisconsin Haws Family
In the last couple of weeks we have enjoyed some wonderful days. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day with Julie, Jeff, Alex, Grant, Lanette, Logan, Mom and me. We enjoyed great food and time together. Later that day and for several days thereafter we delivered Thanksgiving dinners to wonderful people in our area. They were some of our favorites including Dave Drabek, Milda Atwood, Lueva McCrite and Joan McSweeney. We always come up the being uplifted by our friends.
During the last several weeks we have enjoyed time with Julie and Jeff. It is fun to see Alex walking around and chasing Molly. We look forward to the upcoming visits of Henry, Stacie and Kevin and the much hoped for visits of Jeff, Renata, Felipe, Lucas and Derick.
We have set out the Christmas lights and Grant has decorated the home interiors with a wonderful glowing Christmas spirit.
Lately we have enjoyed watching Logan play basketball with the Columbus Dons. I missed the big play but he recently shot a three pointer. It must have been great.
Lanette has been busy with school and attending Tiny Tigers. Right now the big distress, her Victor (recorder) is on the blink. She hopes to have it repaired before the Christmas holidays.
Thanks to those that have submitted their paragraph 2012 update. I hope to compose a Christmas newsletter to send out to our friends.
November 26, 2012
On Thursday Haley and Kayla were excited that they were able to finally put up the Christmas tree. They have already wrapped some presents from their toy box to put under it. Later that day we enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner at the church with members of the ward. On Friday on our way out to do some shopping we saw a moose in front of a neighbor's garage. It was crazy! Andy of course wished that he was able to shoot his guns on post, because that would have been a perfect shot (for those of you who may not know it is legal to shoot moose in Alaska, just not on post). About 3:00 am Saturday morning I was able to see the Northern Lights again. This time they were a lot brighter and more active. We can tell from week to week that our days have been getting shorter. Saturday the sun did not rise until 10:03 am and sat at 3:12 pm. We will be losing 6 minutes of sunlight a day until December 21 when we will have less than 3 hours of sunlight, but then we will start gaining 6 minutes a day. With not having as much sun it is a lot easier to sleep in. Kayla gave a talk in primary on Sunday about being a missionary now. I also received a calling in church to be a Young Woman advisor for the 14 and 15 year olds. I have not been in Young Women’s since I was a teenager, so I hope that I can be a good example to the girls I will be teaching as my Young Women teachers were to me. I am guessing that Andy will be getting a calling soon because they don’t keep you on the sidelines very long at church.
November 12, 2012
These past few weeks have been a little crazy between the girls going to different Halloween parties, gymnastics, and sledding. I also took Haley and Kayla to the eye doctor and to our surprise Kayla needed glasses! So now she is looking just as stylish as Haley is in her new eyewear. The best part of last week was having Andy arrive here safely. It only took him four days to drive from Fort Lee, VA to Fort Wainwright, AK. Of course if the girls and I were with him it would have taken two weeks. I should be starting work at the elementary school soon, but only while Haley and Kayla are in school. On Saturday Haley pulled out her top tooth by herself. Now that her tooth is missing she reminds me of Ellie off of the movie “Up” because of her missing tooth and also she keeps saying “You don’t talk much…I like you!” It has been a little chilly last week with the weather being in the negative 20’s, but we seem to get use to it.
The Pennsylvania Haws family
My apologies for always being behind. We have been very busy over the last several weeks since arriving in the US and I think that everything is progressing well.
The boys are in school and participating in the ESL programs. A major challenge for them is that the ESL programs provide a significant emphasis on Spanish speaking language learners. Of course the number of Spanish speaking immigrants is higher than Portuguese speakers so it makes sense but it provides only a second challenge for the boys as they must learn Spanish to better understand their English classes.
Derick finds the USA to be amazing and loves it. His favorite place is the Disney store at the mall and Renata fully supports visiting as she loves all of the dolls and stuffed animals. He is doing well in school and is possible a little advanced in math over his peers which is good as it will let him focus on English and reading a bit more.
Lucas has been doing well though he misses soccer. We have tried to contact different soccer coaches for club soccer in the area but have not received responses back. School has been going well and he has been learning English very quickly.
Felipe has had a tougher time at school. While Lucas is in 8th grade and gets to go to Middle School Felipe is in 9th and is in High School. There is quite a jump in expected responsibility between High School and Middle School and Felipe has been a bit more lost. To make things worse he Felipe did not have a math teacher at his school in Brazil for the last year and a half so he is behind on his math as well as his English. On a positive note, P.E. is swimming in an indoor pool and he is getting great swimming points. I have tried to see if he would like to participate on the swim team but have not gotten a response yet.
Renata is doing well. Sometimes she feels a little locked in and is trying to find things to do. She has been walking down to meet Felipe at school every day and they walk back together. I think that has been very special for both of them. Being the oldest often Felipe gets less attention and some one on one time is great.
We have ordered a replacement cable for our camera and I hope to send some pictures up in the next couple of days. We visited NYC a couple of weeks ago and have some fun pictures from that trip plus some others that would be fun to share.
Love
Jeff
The Wisconsin Haws Family
In the last couple of weeks we have enjoyed some wonderful days. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day with Julie, Jeff, Alex, Grant, Lanette, Logan, Mom and me. We enjoyed great food and time together. Later that day and for several days thereafter we delivered Thanksgiving dinners to wonderful people in our area. They were some of our favorites including Dave Drabek, Milda Atwood, Lueva McCrite and Joan McSweeney. We always come up the being uplifted by our friends.
During the last several weeks we have enjoyed time with Julie and Jeff. It is fun to see Alex walking around and chasing Molly. We look forward to the upcoming visits of Henry, Stacie and Kevin and the much hoped for visits of Jeff, Renata, Felipe, Lucas and Derick.
We have set out the Christmas lights and Grant has decorated the home interiors with a wonderful glowing Christmas spirit.
Lately we have enjoyed watching Logan play basketball with the Columbus Dons. I missed the big play but he recently shot a three pointer. It must have been great.
Lanette has been busy with school and attending Tiny Tigers. Right now the big distress, her Victor (recorder) is on the blink. She hopes to have it repaired before the Christmas holidays.
Thanks to those that have submitted their paragraph 2012 update. I hope to compose a Christmas newsletter to send out to our friends.
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
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
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
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
Sunday, September 30, 2012
September 30, 2012
Grant's News
This week was the tenth anniversary for Grant's restaurant and on Tuesday they celebrated by selling a burger, fries, and shake for $4.50 total. And although Grant thought he dodged that bullet when he had the day off, by mid afternoon he was called in to help out. It ended up being an especially crazy night and Grant even had to make a run to the local grocery store to buy a couple hundred hamburger buns. The rest of Grant's week was pretty quiet and he was able to spend an afternoon in the marsh. The trees are turning colors really quick and it was pretty out there.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
On Friday Kevin went with some friends up to Red River, NM to enjoy some fishing. They caught lots of fish and ate plenty of fish tacos. Meanwhile, Stacie & Henry had a lovely weekend of playing. On Friday night there was a fright when a loud knock came to the door. Stacie called out "Who's there!?" but there wasn't an answer. It was dark and windy out and she was nervous about answering the door while home alone. It turned out to just be a door bell ditch of cookies from someone in the ward. Such a pleasant surprise!
On Saturday Henry and Stacie went to their swim lesson. Stacie is still amazed by how great Henry is in the pool. He absolutely loves it. They went on several errands, but Stacie's favorite stop was visiting Michael's to get some craft supplies. She looks forward to making some fun things for Henry. Kevin returned on Sunday afternoon and the Jacksons are all very happy to be together again. In the evening they had the missionaries over for dinner. They look forward to a week of more fun times together, then Stacie is going to take off a week of work to spend time with Henry and Kevin's parents, Scott & Chandra. Scott & Chandra Jackson are coming to Albuquerque for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
This week was marked by another hawk attack on Logan's chickens. Thankfully the problem is solved for at least now. According to Grant the hawks are migrating south so hopefully this will not be a problem during the winter months. Logan has some young chickens that will need to be watched closely when he ultimately lets them out to range. Logan had a lot of fun this week our joint youth activity on Wednesday night. He is well loved by all the youth (especially the young ladies). He has had a busy soccer week with a 2 win and 1 loss performance last week. Logan continues to play very well and has a strong kick.
Lanette has enjoyed a weekend with the Elmhorst. Today in church she was bothered by a string on her knit shirt. She pulled the string and it kept coming. She showed it to me and I pulled a little more then broke the string. To our chagrin the shirt was open all along her side for about 18 inches. Appropriately Mom went home and got a replacement shirt.
Mom has been busy with canning and preserving this last week making more tomato sauce, apple butter jam, apricot-pineapple jam, apple cider (non-fermented), and mango salsa. We have enjoyed a wonderful garden this year. On Thursday Mom and I had an early date together then I left for a trip to Cincinnati. I attended a dialysis and acute kidney injury meeting. It was very good. I was able to met Andy at the Louisville, Kentucky Temple on Thursday night. We enjoy a temple session, a long discussion of the endowment in the celestial room and a good dinner before parting ways.
It was with great joy that I returned home on Saturday night. I was promised in my patriarchal blessing many wonderful opportunities. This was one of them.
Updates on our family
Andy has made it to Virginia. He will be taking a class for 30 days then heading to Alaska with a short stop in Marshfield. Melanie and the girls made it safely to Fairbanks. Nancy, Melanie's mom, helped with the move. She will be flying back to Utah on Monday.
Jeff and Renata and the boys are finishing up the final actions prior to coming to the US. It looks like they will be up here pretty soon. We are getting excited.
Julie and Jeff and Alex are doing well. A little illness this week. They are looking into some job offers including one in the Madison area. We would love that.
This week was the tenth anniversary for Grant's restaurant and on Tuesday they celebrated by selling a burger, fries, and shake for $4.50 total. And although Grant thought he dodged that bullet when he had the day off, by mid afternoon he was called in to help out. It ended up being an especially crazy night and Grant even had to make a run to the local grocery store to buy a couple hundred hamburger buns. The rest of Grant's week was pretty quiet and he was able to spend an afternoon in the marsh. The trees are turning colors really quick and it was pretty out there.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
On Friday Kevin went with some friends up to Red River, NM to enjoy some fishing. They caught lots of fish and ate plenty of fish tacos. Meanwhile, Stacie & Henry had a lovely weekend of playing. On Friday night there was a fright when a loud knock came to the door. Stacie called out "Who's there!?" but there wasn't an answer. It was dark and windy out and she was nervous about answering the door while home alone. It turned out to just be a door bell ditch of cookies from someone in the ward. Such a pleasant surprise!
On Saturday Henry and Stacie went to their swim lesson. Stacie is still amazed by how great Henry is in the pool. He absolutely loves it. They went on several errands, but Stacie's favorite stop was visiting Michael's to get some craft supplies. She looks forward to making some fun things for Henry. Kevin returned on Sunday afternoon and the Jacksons are all very happy to be together again. In the evening they had the missionaries over for dinner. They look forward to a week of more fun times together, then Stacie is going to take off a week of work to spend time with Henry and Kevin's parents, Scott & Chandra. Scott & Chandra Jackson are coming to Albuquerque for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
This week was marked by another hawk attack on Logan's chickens. Thankfully the problem is solved for at least now. According to Grant the hawks are migrating south so hopefully this will not be a problem during the winter months. Logan has some young chickens that will need to be watched closely when he ultimately lets them out to range. Logan had a lot of fun this week our joint youth activity on Wednesday night. He is well loved by all the youth (especially the young ladies). He has had a busy soccer week with a 2 win and 1 loss performance last week. Logan continues to play very well and has a strong kick.
Lanette has enjoyed a weekend with the Elmhorst. Today in church she was bothered by a string on her knit shirt. She pulled the string and it kept coming. She showed it to me and I pulled a little more then broke the string. To our chagrin the shirt was open all along her side for about 18 inches. Appropriately Mom went home and got a replacement shirt.
Mom has been busy with canning and preserving this last week making more tomato sauce, apple butter jam, apricot-pineapple jam, apple cider (non-fermented), and mango salsa. We have enjoyed a wonderful garden this year. On Thursday Mom and I had an early date together then I left for a trip to Cincinnati. I attended a dialysis and acute kidney injury meeting. It was very good. I was able to met Andy at the Louisville, Kentucky Temple on Thursday night. We enjoy a temple session, a long discussion of the endowment in the celestial room and a good dinner before parting ways.
It was with great joy that I returned home on Saturday night. I was promised in my patriarchal blessing many wonderful opportunities. This was one of them.
Updates on our family
Andy has made it to Virginia. He will be taking a class for 30 days then heading to Alaska with a short stop in Marshfield. Melanie and the girls made it safely to Fairbanks. Nancy, Melanie's mom, helped with the move. She will be flying back to Utah on Monday.
Jeff and Renata and the boys are finishing up the final actions prior to coming to the US. It looks like they will be up here pretty soon. We are getting excited.
Julie and Jeff and Alex are doing well. A little illness this week. They are looking into some job offers including one in the Madison area. We would love that.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
September 23, 2012
Grant's News
The main event of Grant's week was planting bulbs on Saturday...which was Hobbit Day by the way. I planted over 300 bulbs around the yard and is excited for all the flowers to come up in spring. He planted tulips, daffodils, irises, hyacinths, and crocus among many other things. Work was somewhat busier this week and Grant ended up working an extra evening to help out with Marshfield's Homecoming, which makes the restaurant extremely busy.
The International Haws Family
Our week was highlighted by water and the lack of it. This morning we
awoke to our third consecutive day without water having left our
reserves depleted for now a second day and my challenge to find a pipe
with some remaining content that I might fill buckets and carry the
water home.
It may be hard to imagine the effects of going without something so
basic. We forget how reliant we are on the delivery of this commodity.
Clothes piled up, along with dishes. Cooking quickly became impossible
and baths needed to be delayed. Toilets can't be flushed and houses can
hardly be cleaned.
How many buckets of water do you need for your day? More than you might
think. And may I say that it is not light or convenient to carry
either.
At about noon today the water returned. It has been something of a
return to civilization, a cleansing, a relief.
Besides that our week was rather uneventful. Children in school, waiting
for the last approvals for us to travel and hopes that all might resolve
quickly, at least before mid-terms is how the prayer seems to go not
that I was aware there were mid-terms in Brazil.
Work has been exciting. Steven has allowed me to participate more in the
web development which is a new area for. Since I have no experience in
web coding we set up a backup site that I can use as my play-ground, a
place where I can have a crash-course without interfering with the users
in the main website.
Love,
Jeff
The Alaska Haws Family
This is a late posting. Melanie sent it to me last week.
This is a late/early newsletter that I am sending. The girls had a hard time saying goodbye to their friends and teachers at school a week ago. We are truly going to miss everyone that we have met in Colorado Springs. There are so many wonderful people there. On Friday Haley woke up in the middle of the night complaining of a sore throat. My first thought was, I hope she is not getting strep because we were leaving Friday morning. Well half way to Utah Haley ended up with a fever of 102, luckily I had some Tylenol and that brought her fever down. Once we got to my dad’s her fever was back, that is when I decided to take her to the ER and not to my surprise she had strep. The doctor gave her a shot and she was back to her old self again the next day. I was very glad that Haley was feeling better, because on Saturday my dad watched the girls so Andy and I were able to spend the day at the Manti temple. It was so wonderful to have Andy by my side again in the House of the Lord. I am truly grateful for the power of repentance and eternal families. While we were at the temple the girls also enjoyed some time playing with their cousins. Monday we had a wonderful visit with Elder and Sister Johnson at the park. On Tuesday we were blessed to be able to spend a few hours at the Temple with my Mom and her husband DJ. On Wednesday we headed out on our adventure after we dropped Andy of at the airport. We made it to Ellensburg, WA Wednesday night. Everyone that I have talked to said that Oregon and Washington are very green; well it was more yellow and dry with smoke in the air than green. Thursday morning my mom and I were blessed to spend time in the Seattle Washington temple serving before we headed up to Bellingham to catch the Ferry on Friday. Seattle was so foggy that you couldn’t even see the angel Moroni on top of the temple. To end the day we went swimming at the hotel.
The Haws Family of Marshfield
It has been a good week here in Marshfield. Logan has had three soccer games this week and he scored his first goal ever. He usually plays midfield but he got a chance at forward. He was pretty excited about that. Logan's coach is really rooting for him to stay at Columbus next year. We will see if they give him a scholarship to help with tuition. Logan enjoyed a movie night with a group of friends last evening.
Lanette had the chance to enjoy a special day and night with the Elmhorst. That is definitely one of her favorite things. She attending Emily's shower which she really enjoyed. She is working at Goodwill and I am looking into the opportunity to for her to volunteer on the pediatric unit at the hospital.
Emily had her wedding shower this week. It was very well attended by friends and family. She received many nice gifts for her kitchen. She is working only one job but making fairly good money there as she saves to go to college.
Mom and I have been working on storing our garden produce. We are learning a lot. We have put up more this year compared to any other for our year supply. This weekend I have planted garlic bulbs for next spring while Grant has planted a wide assortment of bulbs to beautify our yard this coming spring. We have enjoyed wonderful fall weather and marveled at the change in the leaves.
The main event of Grant's week was planting bulbs on Saturday...which was Hobbit Day by the way. I planted over 300 bulbs around the yard and is excited for all the flowers to come up in spring. He planted tulips, daffodils, irises, hyacinths, and crocus among many other things. Work was somewhat busier this week and Grant ended up working an extra evening to help out with Marshfield's Homecoming, which makes the restaurant extremely busy.
The International Haws Family
Our week was highlighted by water and the lack of it. This morning we
awoke to our third consecutive day without water having left our
reserves depleted for now a second day and my challenge to find a pipe
with some remaining content that I might fill buckets and carry the
water home.
It may be hard to imagine the effects of going without something so
basic. We forget how reliant we are on the delivery of this commodity.
Clothes piled up, along with dishes. Cooking quickly became impossible
and baths needed to be delayed. Toilets can't be flushed and houses can
hardly be cleaned.
How many buckets of water do you need for your day? More than you might
think. And may I say that it is not light or convenient to carry
either.
At about noon today the water returned. It has been something of a
return to civilization, a cleansing, a relief.
Besides that our week was rather uneventful. Children in school, waiting
for the last approvals for us to travel and hopes that all might resolve
quickly, at least before mid-terms is how the prayer seems to go not
that I was aware there were mid-terms in Brazil.
Work has been exciting. Steven has allowed me to participate more in the
web development which is a new area for. Since I have no experience in
web coding we set up a backup site that I can use as my play-ground, a
place where I can have a crash-course without interfering with the users
in the main website.
Love,
Jeff
The Alaska Haws Family
This is a late posting. Melanie sent it to me last week.
This is a late/early newsletter that I am sending. The girls had a hard time saying goodbye to their friends and teachers at school a week ago. We are truly going to miss everyone that we have met in Colorado Springs. There are so many wonderful people there. On Friday Haley woke up in the middle of the night complaining of a sore throat. My first thought was, I hope she is not getting strep because we were leaving Friday morning. Well half way to Utah Haley ended up with a fever of 102, luckily I had some Tylenol and that brought her fever down. Once we got to my dad’s her fever was back, that is when I decided to take her to the ER and not to my surprise she had strep. The doctor gave her a shot and she was back to her old self again the next day. I was very glad that Haley was feeling better, because on Saturday my dad watched the girls so Andy and I were able to spend the day at the Manti temple. It was so wonderful to have Andy by my side again in the House of the Lord. I am truly grateful for the power of repentance and eternal families. While we were at the temple the girls also enjoyed some time playing with their cousins. Monday we had a wonderful visit with Elder and Sister Johnson at the park. On Tuesday we were blessed to be able to spend a few hours at the Temple with my Mom and her husband DJ. On Wednesday we headed out on our adventure after we dropped Andy of at the airport. We made it to Ellensburg, WA Wednesday night. Everyone that I have talked to said that Oregon and Washington are very green; well it was more yellow and dry with smoke in the air than green. Thursday morning my mom and I were blessed to spend time in the Seattle Washington temple serving before we headed up to Bellingham to catch the Ferry on Friday. Seattle was so foggy that you couldn’t even see the angel Moroni on top of the temple. To end the day we went swimming at the hotel.
The Haws Family of Marshfield
It has been a good week here in Marshfield. Logan has had three soccer games this week and he scored his first goal ever. He usually plays midfield but he got a chance at forward. He was pretty excited about that. Logan's coach is really rooting for him to stay at Columbus next year. We will see if they give him a scholarship to help with tuition. Logan enjoyed a movie night with a group of friends last evening.
Lanette had the chance to enjoy a special day and night with the Elmhorst. That is definitely one of her favorite things. She attending Emily's shower which she really enjoyed. She is working at Goodwill and I am looking into the opportunity to for her to volunteer on the pediatric unit at the hospital.
Emily had her wedding shower this week. It was very well attended by friends and family. She received many nice gifts for her kitchen. She is working only one job but making fairly good money there as she saves to go to college.
Mom and I have been working on storing our garden produce. We are learning a lot. We have put up more this year compared to any other for our year supply. This weekend I have planted garlic bulbs for next spring while Grant has planted a wide assortment of bulbs to beautify our yard this coming spring. We have enjoyed wonderful fall weather and marveled at the change in the leaves.
Monday, September 17, 2012
September 17, 2012
Grant's News
It has been a pretty quiet week for Grant. There is always a transition time at the restaurant when school starts and suddenly it gets very slow. One day of being slow is fine, but after a week or two Grant goes a little insane. During his time off this week Grant worked on the flowerbeds, pruning things back and getting it ready for planting bulbs this coming week.
News from the Jackson's
I apologize that I haven't provided an update for some time. We are down to one computer and it is also on its last legs. We'll do our best to continue to provide updates. Here is what happened to the Jackson Clan this week:
Last Sunday Stacie and Kevin gave talks in Church on the Atonement and finding peace. After church they invited their friends Jimmy, Terry, Nick and Veronica over fr dinner. Jimmy and Terry are two men from their ward with some mental disabilities, who love to sing hymns and eat enchiladas. They did both.
Last week Kevin witnessed their car suffer through a hit and run while parked in the parking lot by the bus stop. He was able to take it in to the body shop this week and get a rental for a few days. The car was fixed more quickly than anticipated and is back at the Jackson's home, looking much better.
On Saturday Stacie took Henry to his first swimming lesson. He did a wonderful job! They look forward to four more weeks of fun lessons. Afterwards, Kevin, Stacie and Henry went on a nice walk. The temperature has dropped in Albuquerque and they are enjoying the beginning of Autumn. On their walk they saw a coyote, a hummingbird, an inch worm, lots of lizards, lots of dogs, a roadrunner, and a very scary spider. Unfortunately, the spider was on their front door. In the evening they grilled some sausages and enjoyed being together.
This upcoming week Kevin will continue to search for school's to apply to for his doctoral degree. Stacie will try to keep her head above water at work and Henry will get some extra play time on Friday at day care as they have their monthly Parent's Night Out event. Stacie and Kevin are looking forward to their date night.
News from Home
This week we learned the sad news that Jeff Lane's job will be closed down here in Central Wisconsin. That makes it likely that Julie and Jeff will be moving in the new future. We don't know where life will take them but it has been delightful to have them so close for a while. As part of that time together we were able to have family picnic at the Big Eau Pleine Flowage this last Saturday. It was really beautiful. We arrived just before sunset and enjoyed the fall colors, the cool breeze and good company.
We have enjoyed a wonderful garden season and are counter space is filled with cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches, cantaloupe, peppers and much more. Some items we were given, some we bought at the farmer's market and some at the store but the most wonderful blessings have come from our own garden. It has been really wonderful. I must brag that this has been my very best garden ever. Mom did put up lots of canned tomatoes and we are in better shape for the coming winter.
Logan and I have worked on insulating his chicken coop while at the same time the chickens have been very stingy with the eggs.
We have rejoiced in the news that Andy and Melanie spent last Saturday in the Manti Temple. We are delighted with the news that Jeff and Renata are getting closer to completing their documents. Emily and Trent's wedding date is coming soon.
We love you and wish you the best this coming week.
Dad
It has been a pretty quiet week for Grant. There is always a transition time at the restaurant when school starts and suddenly it gets very slow. One day of being slow is fine, but after a week or two Grant goes a little insane. During his time off this week Grant worked on the flowerbeds, pruning things back and getting it ready for planting bulbs this coming week.
News from the Jackson's
I apologize that I haven't provided an update for some time. We are down to one computer and it is also on its last legs. We'll do our best to continue to provide updates. Here is what happened to the Jackson Clan this week:
Last Sunday Stacie and Kevin gave talks in Church on the Atonement and finding peace. After church they invited their friends Jimmy, Terry, Nick and Veronica over fr dinner. Jimmy and Terry are two men from their ward with some mental disabilities, who love to sing hymns and eat enchiladas. They did both.
Last week Kevin witnessed their car suffer through a hit and run while parked in the parking lot by the bus stop. He was able to take it in to the body shop this week and get a rental for a few days. The car was fixed more quickly than anticipated and is back at the Jackson's home, looking much better.
On Saturday Stacie took Henry to his first swimming lesson. He did a wonderful job! They look forward to four more weeks of fun lessons. Afterwards, Kevin, Stacie and Henry went on a nice walk. The temperature has dropped in Albuquerque and they are enjoying the beginning of Autumn. On their walk they saw a coyote, a hummingbird, an inch worm, lots of lizards, lots of dogs, a roadrunner, and a very scary spider. Unfortunately, the spider was on their front door. In the evening they grilled some sausages and enjoyed being together.
This upcoming week Kevin will continue to search for school's to apply to for his doctoral degree. Stacie will try to keep her head above water at work and Henry will get some extra play time on Friday at day care as they have their monthly Parent's Night Out event. Stacie and Kevin are looking forward to their date night.
News from Home
This week we learned the sad news that Jeff Lane's job will be closed down here in Central Wisconsin. That makes it likely that Julie and Jeff will be moving in the new future. We don't know where life will take them but it has been delightful to have them so close for a while. As part of that time together we were able to have family picnic at the Big Eau Pleine Flowage this last Saturday. It was really beautiful. We arrived just before sunset and enjoyed the fall colors, the cool breeze and good company.
We have enjoyed a wonderful garden season and are counter space is filled with cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches, cantaloupe, peppers and much more. Some items we were given, some we bought at the farmer's market and some at the store but the most wonderful blessings have come from our own garden. It has been really wonderful. I must brag that this has been my very best garden ever. Mom did put up lots of canned tomatoes and we are in better shape for the coming winter.
Logan and I have worked on insulating his chicken coop while at the same time the chickens have been very stingy with the eggs.
We have rejoiced in the news that Andy and Melanie spent last Saturday in the Manti Temple. We are delighted with the news that Jeff and Renata are getting closer to completing their documents. Emily and Trent's wedding date is coming soon.
We love you and wish you the best this coming week.
Dad
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Update from Melanie and Andy
September 9, 2012
These past two weeks have been very bitter sweet for us. I was able to spend some time with my dear friend Lisa and her family at the parade in Fountain on Monday. The rest of the week Andy and I were trying to pack and prepare for our movers to come on Tuesday. We have been also able to enjoy some quality time together. Haley and Kayla had a fun time playing with their friend on Saturday. On Sunday it was very emotional because it was the last time being in our ward at church and my last time teaching my Sunday school class. It made me feel better to know that my class really enjoyed my teaching and asked if we could Skype on Sunday’s so I can teach them from Alaska. It was hard to say goodbye to many people from church, but I am very grateful that we were able to live here, meet and become good friends with those Brothers and Sisters from church. I know that the Lord puts us in the places that we need to be either to touch someone’s life or for our life to be touched by them. We have been very blessed to be in this ward and will truly miss it.
These past two weeks have been very bitter sweet for us. I was able to spend some time with my dear friend Lisa and her family at the parade in Fountain on Monday. The rest of the week Andy and I were trying to pack and prepare for our movers to come on Tuesday. We have been also able to enjoy some quality time together. Haley and Kayla had a fun time playing with their friend on Saturday. On Sunday it was very emotional because it was the last time being in our ward at church and my last time teaching my Sunday school class. It made me feel better to know that my class really enjoyed my teaching and asked if we could Skype on Sunday’s so I can teach them from Alaska. It was hard to say goodbye to many people from church, but I am very grateful that we were able to live here, meet and become good friends with those Brothers and Sisters from church. I know that the Lord puts us in the places that we need to be either to touch someone’s life or for our life to be touched by them. We have been very blessed to be in this ward and will truly miss it.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
September 9, 2012
Grant's News
August 26th Entry
This week Grant had a bit more than expected time off due to some scheduling issues at work. And he used it to catch up on some reading and savor the last bits of summer. He ended up reading Julius Caesar, The Audacity of Hope by President Obama, and finally, half of a Princess Diana biography...which has involved a lot of crying. The most traumatic thing that happened this week was when Lanette asked Mom "Why can't Grant just be normal?" Apparently, Lanette meant a different Grant... likely story. Grantis looking forward to this final week of summer and reminds the kids daily of how many days until school starts.
August 19th Entry
This week has been a bumpy one at work. Some days the restaurant is hopping, the next day it is dead. So Grant goes in each day not even knowing what to expect. He is looking forward to school starting because that seems to add some predictability to work and what is going on. On his day off this week Grant worked on dividing some of the perennials in the garden and transplanting them to other areas. On Friday, somehow Grant wasn't working, and he ended up watching the movie Flight 93 with Lanette... which was a difficult movie to describe to her since it jumps from scene to scene pretty rapidly.
The Colorado Haws Family
This is the last blog update as the Colorado Haws Family!
August 26th Entry
These past two weeks have been filled with excitement and blessings. First, Haley started 2nd grade and Kayla started Kindergarten which they were both very excited for, especially because Kayla was with her friends Becca and Emma. Last Monday I was able to spend the day with Andy while he cleared post. While clearing we received a call from the housing office on Fort Wainwright offering us a house in the Junior NCO housing area to stay in. Of course we accepted it and signed the acceptance letter. On Friday however Andy made the SFC (E-7) list for September which was very exciting news, but it made it so we wouldn’t be able to have the house that we accepted. I ended up calling the housing office and as a result of a lot of prayer and faith and having the housing office talk to their supervisor we were able to still keep the house that we were offered. One of the best parts of having that house is we will already know one of the neighbors who I have been corresponding with that will also be in the same ward at church. Another blessing this week is we have been able to sell the things that we needed to prior to moving to Alaska. With both Haley and Kayla in school, Andy and I have been able to go on many lunch dates and just spend time together, which has been long overdue with all of the deployments.
The Wisconsin Haws Family
I have really fallen behind in updating the family blog. We have passed Jeff's 30th birthday and Emily's 19th birthday. We have had campouts, visits to New Mexico, garden's producing all sorts of food and many good memories.
Highlights of the weeks include the following:
School started!!! Grant, Mom, Logan and Lanette were all happy to get back into the more usual pattern of life. This is Lanette's last year in high school and Logan's last year in middle school. Logan will be attending Columbus Catholic School. He has some good friends there. The Saturday before school started he joined with about 6 friends to go canoeing. They had a great time.
Mom's trip to see Henry. That was really great. Henry is very cute and Nana had to go for a visit. Pictures of Henry will be on the flickr account for you to view. Stacie and Kevin were great hosts to Mom. They enjoyed a trip to Tucano's for a great meal. Mom enjoyed every minute of time with Henry while Stacie and Kevin had a chance for a date.
Boy Scouts- Logan and I went on an awesome trip to the Porcupine Mountains along the coast of Lake Superior. We did a 6 or 7 mile hike through some beautiful trails that ran along side two different mountain lakes along with wetlands and forests. Logan received today in a court of honor both his Star and Life Advancement as well as 4 merit badges. Pretty awesome.
Temple opportunities. Logan, Mom and Lanette along with Jeff and Julie were able to attend the St Paul Temple and do temple work on Saturday. I was privileged to watch Alex. It was a great day. Earlier in August I was able to go and do initiatories. We have lots of temple work to do so please contact me if you can help.
Canning. We have had a bumper crop of tomatoes along wtih cabbage, carrots, brussel sprouts (yet to be harvested) and squash. Mom and I have canned quite a bit and have more to go.
Well, I hope that you will enjoy this new update. I would love to hear from you.
Love,
Dad
August 26th Entry
This week Grant had a bit more than expected time off due to some scheduling issues at work. And he used it to catch up on some reading and savor the last bits of summer. He ended up reading Julius Caesar, The Audacity of Hope by President Obama, and finally, half of a Princess Diana biography...which has involved a lot of crying. The most traumatic thing that happened this week was when Lanette asked Mom "Why can't Grant just be normal?" Apparently, Lanette meant a different Grant... likely story. Grantis looking forward to this final week of summer and reminds the kids daily of how many days until school starts.
August 19th Entry
This week has been a bumpy one at work. Some days the restaurant is hopping, the next day it is dead. So Grant goes in each day not even knowing what to expect. He is looking forward to school starting because that seems to add some predictability to work and what is going on. On his day off this week Grant worked on dividing some of the perennials in the garden and transplanting them to other areas. On Friday, somehow Grant wasn't working, and he ended up watching the movie Flight 93 with Lanette... which was a difficult movie to describe to her since it jumps from scene to scene pretty rapidly.
The Colorado Haws Family
This is the last blog update as the Colorado Haws Family!
August 26th Entry
These past two weeks have been filled with excitement and blessings. First, Haley started 2nd grade and Kayla started Kindergarten which they were both very excited for, especially because Kayla was with her friends Becca and Emma. Last Monday I was able to spend the day with Andy while he cleared post. While clearing we received a call from the housing office on Fort Wainwright offering us a house in the Junior NCO housing area to stay in. Of course we accepted it and signed the acceptance letter. On Friday however Andy made the SFC (E-7) list for September which was very exciting news, but it made it so we wouldn’t be able to have the house that we accepted. I ended up calling the housing office and as a result of a lot of prayer and faith and having the housing office talk to their supervisor we were able to still keep the house that we were offered. One of the best parts of having that house is we will already know one of the neighbors who I have been corresponding with that will also be in the same ward at church. Another blessing this week is we have been able to sell the things that we needed to prior to moving to Alaska. With both Haley and Kayla in school, Andy and I have been able to go on many lunch dates and just spend time together, which has been long overdue with all of the deployments.
The Wisconsin Haws Family
I have really fallen behind in updating the family blog. We have passed Jeff's 30th birthday and Emily's 19th birthday. We have had campouts, visits to New Mexico, garden's producing all sorts of food and many good memories.
Highlights of the weeks include the following:
School started!!! Grant, Mom, Logan and Lanette were all happy to get back into the more usual pattern of life. This is Lanette's last year in high school and Logan's last year in middle school. Logan will be attending Columbus Catholic School. He has some good friends there. The Saturday before school started he joined with about 6 friends to go canoeing. They had a great time.
Mom's trip to see Henry. That was really great. Henry is very cute and Nana had to go for a visit. Pictures of Henry will be on the flickr account for you to view. Stacie and Kevin were great hosts to Mom. They enjoyed a trip to Tucano's for a great meal. Mom enjoyed every minute of time with Henry while Stacie and Kevin had a chance for a date.
Boy Scouts- Logan and I went on an awesome trip to the Porcupine Mountains along the coast of Lake Superior. We did a 6 or 7 mile hike through some beautiful trails that ran along side two different mountain lakes along with wetlands and forests. Logan received today in a court of honor both his Star and Life Advancement as well as 4 merit badges. Pretty awesome.
Temple opportunities. Logan, Mom and Lanette along with Jeff and Julie were able to attend the St Paul Temple and do temple work on Saturday. I was privileged to watch Alex. It was a great day. Earlier in August I was able to go and do initiatories. We have lots of temple work to do so please contact me if you can help.
Canning. We have had a bumper crop of tomatoes along wtih cabbage, carrots, brussel sprouts (yet to be harvested) and squash. Mom and I have canned quite a bit and have more to go.
Well, I hope that you will enjoy this new update. I would love to hear from you.
Love,
Dad
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
August 15, 2012
Sorry for the lack of updates on our family blog. I hope that you will enjoy the news.
The Colorado Haws Family
August 12, 2012
This week has seemed to fly by for all of us. On Monday Andy and I were able to set up transportation and then have a date night while Vanesa watched the girls for us. On Tuesday Vanesa and I took the kids shopping at the mall. I took the kids to the play place while Vanesa enjoyed peace and quiet while talking to the sales person at the cell phone company. On Wednesday we took all of the kids to the park and then out for some ice cream, which kind of ended up being their lunch (very healthy I know!) We then adventured off to the commissary with 8 extra hands wanting to get things off the shelves. Luckily nothing ended up broken or ripped opened while shopping. On Thursday we were sad to see Vanesa, Wyatt and Luke leave. Both Haley and Kayla cried for a good hour. They started to cheer up when their friend Sydney came to play. Haley was so excited because Thursday afternoon Andy was able to pull out her loose tooth! I think Andy was kind of excited also because that was the first time he was able to do something like that for Haley. Friday was cleaning day for us, especially going though Andy’s military gear so he can turn it in next week. Saturday was another cleaning and de-clutter day for us. Sunday Kayla gave the scripture and prayer in primary at church which she said she did really good. We also enjoyed having Brother Stewart come over for home teaching.
August 5, 2012
This past week we were very grateful to finally receive the amended orders to go to Alaska. Now we can try to get transportation set up and other tasks accomplished for our move. On Thursday and Friday I took Haley and Kayla to two different end-of-summer parties at two different libraries where they were able to have fun doing activities and eat ice cream. Haley and Kayla were very excited to have their cousins and aunt come for a visit. On Saturday we all went to the zoo. It was a very good day to go because the temperature was 70 degrees with a good breeze. Later that night Vanesa had to take Wyatt to the ER because one of his blisters became infected. On Sunday we all enjoyed the day at church.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
August 5, 2012
Stacie's work has become increasingly busy and crazy this week (making her even more grateful she took that week off to play with Grant and the Hirzes), with lots of changes in administrative staff. However, for the first time in six months she has a supervisor, for which she is grateful. Kevin has been enjoying his last few weeks at home with Henry. This upcoming week will be his last week of vacation until work and school start up. While together, the Jacksons have enjoyed watching the Olympics, making a birthday cake for Harry Potter, and playing with Henry. On Saturday, Stacie tripped and fell while holding Henry. Thankfully both of them are fine, though a little traumatized.
The Wisconsin Haws Family
We have enjoyed some great opportunities since my last addition to the family blog.
In late July and early August Logan and I went to Camp Freeland Leslie for our annual scout summer camp. It was the LDS encampment and we had scouts from all over Wisconsin and Illinois. Elder Gibson of the General Young Men's Presidency attended the camp which was terrific. Logan completed 3 merit badges and partially completed 3 other merit badges. On Sunday he met the Scout Board of Review and earned his Life Rank. That is a huge milestone for a 13 year-old boy.
Lanette of course enjoyed some time with the Elmhorst family and will be having an opportunity to spend time with Julie, Jeff and Alex later this month. She has been attending a program that is a combined daycare for older adults and children. Lanette really loves being with older adults just as much as with little children. She loves talking with them and laughing together.
Emily was able to join us for dinner last Sunday. She is working on her wedding plans but the big challenge for her right now is finding the right dress.
Mom will be making a special visit out to see Stacie, Kevin and Henry in the near future. We wish so much that we could spend time with all of you. She has had the opportunity to spend time with Alex while Julie and Jeff did some activities. She has been getting a lot of her things organized that she inherited from Grandma Stewart. One of these days her craft room will be just right.
I have been having fun with scouts and look forward to an upcoming activity in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We will be hiking on the coast of Lake Superior. I have been busier that usual at work which is really nice. Mom and I will be going to the temple this week which I greatly look forward to.
For news from our family-
Jeff and his family are coming closer to being able to come to the USA. We are very excited. Felipe was able to participate as a player in a celebrity soccer game that was held in Angra. Apparently one of the celebrities was unable to attend so Felipe was recruited.
Jeff and Julie are making progress in getting the Lane's home up and ready for sell. Hopefully that goes smoothly. Alex is crawling and playing and doing all the things a healthy little boy should do.
Grant keeps working hard. Tips go up and down. He has witnessed the tip differential between a pregnant server and a male server. He is trying to figure out how to level the playing field.
The Colorado Haws Family
August 12, 2012
This week has seemed to fly by for all of us. On Monday Andy and I were able to set up transportation and then have a date night while Vanesa watched the girls for us. On Tuesday Vanesa and I took the kids shopping at the mall. I took the kids to the play place while Vanesa enjoyed peace and quiet while talking to the sales person at the cell phone company. On Wednesday we took all of the kids to the park and then out for some ice cream, which kind of ended up being their lunch (very healthy I know!) We then adventured off to the commissary with 8 extra hands wanting to get things off the shelves. Luckily nothing ended up broken or ripped opened while shopping. On Thursday we were sad to see Vanesa, Wyatt and Luke leave. Both Haley and Kayla cried for a good hour. They started to cheer up when their friend Sydney came to play. Haley was so excited because Thursday afternoon Andy was able to pull out her loose tooth! I think Andy was kind of excited also because that was the first time he was able to do something like that for Haley. Friday was cleaning day for us, especially going though Andy’s military gear so he can turn it in next week. Saturday was another cleaning and de-clutter day for us. Sunday Kayla gave the scripture and prayer in primary at church which she said she did really good. We also enjoyed having Brother Stewart come over for home teaching.
August 5, 2012
This past week we were very grateful to finally receive the amended orders to go to Alaska. Now we can try to get transportation set up and other tasks accomplished for our move. On Thursday and Friday I took Haley and Kayla to two different end-of-summer parties at two different libraries where they were able to have fun doing activities and eat ice cream. Haley and Kayla were very excited to have their cousins and aunt come for a visit. On Saturday we all went to the zoo. It was a very good day to go because the temperature was 70 degrees with a good breeze. Later that night Vanesa had to take Wyatt to the ER because one of his blisters became infected. On Sunday we all enjoyed the day at church.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
August 5, 2012
Stacie's work has become increasingly busy and crazy this week (making her even more grateful she took that week off to play with Grant and the Hirzes), with lots of changes in administrative staff. However, for the first time in six months she has a supervisor, for which she is grateful. Kevin has been enjoying his last few weeks at home with Henry. This upcoming week will be his last week of vacation until work and school start up. While together, the Jacksons have enjoyed watching the Olympics, making a birthday cake for Harry Potter, and playing with Henry. On Saturday, Stacie tripped and fell while holding Henry. Thankfully both of them are fine, though a little traumatized.
The Wisconsin Haws Family
We have enjoyed some great opportunities since my last addition to the family blog.
In late July and early August Logan and I went to Camp Freeland Leslie for our annual scout summer camp. It was the LDS encampment and we had scouts from all over Wisconsin and Illinois. Elder Gibson of the General Young Men's Presidency attended the camp which was terrific. Logan completed 3 merit badges and partially completed 3 other merit badges. On Sunday he met the Scout Board of Review and earned his Life Rank. That is a huge milestone for a 13 year-old boy.
Lanette of course enjoyed some time with the Elmhorst family and will be having an opportunity to spend time with Julie, Jeff and Alex later this month. She has been attending a program that is a combined daycare for older adults and children. Lanette really loves being with older adults just as much as with little children. She loves talking with them and laughing together.
Emily was able to join us for dinner last Sunday. She is working on her wedding plans but the big challenge for her right now is finding the right dress.
Mom will be making a special visit out to see Stacie, Kevin and Henry in the near future. We wish so much that we could spend time with all of you. She has had the opportunity to spend time with Alex while Julie and Jeff did some activities. She has been getting a lot of her things organized that she inherited from Grandma Stewart. One of these days her craft room will be just right.
I have been having fun with scouts and look forward to an upcoming activity in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We will be hiking on the coast of Lake Superior. I have been busier that usual at work which is really nice. Mom and I will be going to the temple this week which I greatly look forward to.
For news from our family-
Jeff and his family are coming closer to being able to come to the USA. We are very excited. Felipe was able to participate as a player in a celebrity soccer game that was held in Angra. Apparently one of the celebrities was unable to attend so Felipe was recruited.
Jeff and Julie are making progress in getting the Lane's home up and ready for sell. Hopefully that goes smoothly. Alex is crawling and playing and doing all the things a healthy little boy should do.
Grant keeps working hard. Tips go up and down. He has witnessed the tip differential between a pregnant server and a male server. He is trying to figure out how to level the playing field.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
July 29, 2012
Grant's News
Grant had a great ten days with Stacie, Kevin, Henry, Brent, Claire, and Carolyn in Albuquerque. The trip included adventures to the zoo, a baseball game, Santa Fe, and lots of time playing with the two babies. He was very grateful to spend so much time with such awesome people. Grant flew back early Saturday morning and has been spending the weekend resting before he heads back to work on Monday.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
From July 22nd- late entry
Stacie, Kevin and Henry are giddy with excitement about having Grant and the Hirzes arrive this upcoming week. Work has been increasingly stressful for Stacie, so she especially looks forward to taking a week off to spend time with people she loves. This past week the Jackson's enjoyed eating lots of apricots falling from their neighbor's tree. They recently purchased a Bumbo seat to help strengthen Henry's back and they were glad when it finally arrived. Henry isn't thrilled about it, but he'll warm up to it eventually. Henry still has a cough, but it looks like he is close to recovering.
From July 29th
The Jacksons enjoyed a wonderful week with Grant and the Hirzes. In between trips to the zoo and Santa Fe, they enjoyed playing games, talking, and laughing together. Also, while together both babies reached milestones; Claire Hirz turned 6 months old and Henry turned 5 months old. On Wednesday they were all sorry to say goodbye to the Hirzes, but grateful to continue enjoying time with Grant.
On Thursday they introduced Henry to his first solid- avocado. Henry loved it and kept reaching for more. Stacie and Kevin are excited to help him discover new foods. They also enjoyed a trip with Grant to the Bosque (forest) by the Rio Grande. Then on Friday they took Henry to get professional pictures taken at the mall. It'll be a few weeks until they can share the pictures, but they guarantee that Henry looks very cute.
Kevin and Stacie were sad to say goodbye to Grant on Saturday, but were very thankful for the wonderful time they spent together. They are now counting down until the grandparents can come visit! In the meantime enjoy the many, many pictures that they have shared.
The Colorado Haws Family
These past few weeks have been very busy for us. We had a couple of birthday’s that we went to and finished off the girls swimming lessons. We also have been trying to get things taking care of for our move to Alaska…right now it seems to be at a stop until we get the official orders so we can set up transportation. Despite all of the stress from moving we had a wonderful week. We were able to enjoy some time with Andy’s family in Nauvoo, IL (a church history site). It was very peaceful to be in that area. We learned more about what the saints had to go through, and how they built the beautiful Nauvoo temple and then were driven out by the angry mobs and again had to leave everything that they had to head west after the Prophet Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith was martyred in Carthage, IL. Being in Nauvoo had made me very grateful for those before me who kept the faith and never gave up even with all the hardships that they had to face.
The Wisconsin Haws Family
Lanette had an absolutely great time this last week. She stayed at the Elmhorst family and did all sorts of fun things. She treated them to dinner at A & W. She learned that "Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time Tea" was really good. Grant has had a great time teasing her about the tea. She enjoyed meeting new people, attending a birthday party, watched movies and all sorts of other things.
Logan, Mom and I had an absolutely wonderful time in Nauvoo. We met up with Julie, Jeff & Alex along with Andy, Melanie, Haley and Kayla in Ft Madison on Friday night. Before we arrived they had a great time swimming. On Saturday we moved into our cabin in Nauvoo. Julie, Jeff, Logan and me were privileged to do baptisms for the dead. Jeff did the baptisms and I helped with confirmations. We were able to do the work for a number of our ancestors. That evening we were able to attend the pageant. It was amazing.
On Sunday we attended church and later enjoyed dinner together. Julie, Jeff and Alex had to take off to return to Wisconsin. The rest of us went to Carthage and enjoyed a really great musical "fireside" called "And the story goes on..." The performers were excellent and I could picture many of you as performers in such an exhilarating performance.
On Monday Melanie and Mom enjoyed temple service while we got ready and later joined them in fun activities in Nauvoo including a horse drawn wagon ride through Old Nauvoo. We had fun at the Browning Gun shop, the brickyard and the a midday children's play. That evening we traveled to Carthage and toured the Carthage Jail and then ate pizza together.
Tuesday included an opportunity to ride a horse drawn carriage ride around the perimeter of Old Nauvoo. The narrator was a spirit filled wonderful senior missionary. We were all touched by his testimony. Later we went to the Blacksmith shop and toured the stores of modern day Nauvoo. That evening we watched a play then headed home to our cabin after a terrific meal together at a Mexican restaurant.
That evening I thought a great deal about the meaning of family. I considered the individuals in our own family tree that had waited so long to have the sealing work done. I had in my possession the sealing card for a couple that was dated back to my research work in Higley, Arizona. I knew that they wanted to be sealed as an eternal family. That feeling propelled Mom and I to go to the temple again on Wednesday morning to do the sealing for some of our ancestors. The temple was an amazing place and was the crowning jewel of Nauvoo. I surely appreciate your help in getting this work done for our ancestors. I feel a constant drive to do more for the salvation of our ancestors. Thank you for your help.
After leaving the temple, Mom, Logan and I did a couple of more things and headed home. We had a few missed roads and ended up in Marshfield after Melanie and Andy and the girls were home.
We enjoyed having Emily over for a night. She is working very hard. Logan and I enjoyed lunch at her restaurant on Saturday. Today we enjoyed dinner with Julie, Jeff and Alex.
Love,
Dad
Grant had a great ten days with Stacie, Kevin, Henry, Brent, Claire, and Carolyn in Albuquerque. The trip included adventures to the zoo, a baseball game, Santa Fe, and lots of time playing with the two babies. He was very grateful to spend so much time with such awesome people. Grant flew back early Saturday morning and has been spending the weekend resting before he heads back to work on Monday.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
From July 22nd- late entry
Stacie, Kevin and Henry are giddy with excitement about having Grant and the Hirzes arrive this upcoming week. Work has been increasingly stressful for Stacie, so she especially looks forward to taking a week off to spend time with people she loves. This past week the Jackson's enjoyed eating lots of apricots falling from their neighbor's tree. They recently purchased a Bumbo seat to help strengthen Henry's back and they were glad when it finally arrived. Henry isn't thrilled about it, but he'll warm up to it eventually. Henry still has a cough, but it looks like he is close to recovering.
From July 29th
The Jacksons enjoyed a wonderful week with Grant and the Hirzes. In between trips to the zoo and Santa Fe, they enjoyed playing games, talking, and laughing together. Also, while together both babies reached milestones; Claire Hirz turned 6 months old and Henry turned 5 months old. On Wednesday they were all sorry to say goodbye to the Hirzes, but grateful to continue enjoying time with Grant.
On Thursday they introduced Henry to his first solid- avocado. Henry loved it and kept reaching for more. Stacie and Kevin are excited to help him discover new foods. They also enjoyed a trip with Grant to the Bosque (forest) by the Rio Grande. Then on Friday they took Henry to get professional pictures taken at the mall. It'll be a few weeks until they can share the pictures, but they guarantee that Henry looks very cute.
Kevin and Stacie were sad to say goodbye to Grant on Saturday, but were very thankful for the wonderful time they spent together. They are now counting down until the grandparents can come visit! In the meantime enjoy the many, many pictures that they have shared.
The Colorado Haws Family
These past few weeks have been very busy for us. We had a couple of birthday’s that we went to and finished off the girls swimming lessons. We also have been trying to get things taking care of for our move to Alaska…right now it seems to be at a stop until we get the official orders so we can set up transportation. Despite all of the stress from moving we had a wonderful week. We were able to enjoy some time with Andy’s family in Nauvoo, IL (a church history site). It was very peaceful to be in that area. We learned more about what the saints had to go through, and how they built the beautiful Nauvoo temple and then were driven out by the angry mobs and again had to leave everything that they had to head west after the Prophet Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith was martyred in Carthage, IL. Being in Nauvoo had made me very grateful for those before me who kept the faith and never gave up even with all the hardships that they had to face.
The Wisconsin Haws Family
Lanette had an absolutely great time this last week. She stayed at the Elmhorst family and did all sorts of fun things. She treated them to dinner at A & W. She learned that "Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time Tea" was really good. Grant has had a great time teasing her about the tea. She enjoyed meeting new people, attending a birthday party, watched movies and all sorts of other things.
Logan, Mom and I had an absolutely wonderful time in Nauvoo. We met up with Julie, Jeff & Alex along with Andy, Melanie, Haley and Kayla in Ft Madison on Friday night. Before we arrived they had a great time swimming. On Saturday we moved into our cabin in Nauvoo. Julie, Jeff, Logan and me were privileged to do baptisms for the dead. Jeff did the baptisms and I helped with confirmations. We were able to do the work for a number of our ancestors. That evening we were able to attend the pageant. It was amazing.
On Sunday we attended church and later enjoyed dinner together. Julie, Jeff and Alex had to take off to return to Wisconsin. The rest of us went to Carthage and enjoyed a really great musical "fireside" called "And the story goes on..." The performers were excellent and I could picture many of you as performers in such an exhilarating performance.
On Monday Melanie and Mom enjoyed temple service while we got ready and later joined them in fun activities in Nauvoo including a horse drawn wagon ride through Old Nauvoo. We had fun at the Browning Gun shop, the brickyard and the a midday children's play. That evening we traveled to Carthage and toured the Carthage Jail and then ate pizza together.
Tuesday included an opportunity to ride a horse drawn carriage ride around the perimeter of Old Nauvoo. The narrator was a spirit filled wonderful senior missionary. We were all touched by his testimony. Later we went to the Blacksmith shop and toured the stores of modern day Nauvoo. That evening we watched a play then headed home to our cabin after a terrific meal together at a Mexican restaurant.
That evening I thought a great deal about the meaning of family. I considered the individuals in our own family tree that had waited so long to have the sealing work done. I had in my possession the sealing card for a couple that was dated back to my research work in Higley, Arizona. I knew that they wanted to be sealed as an eternal family. That feeling propelled Mom and I to go to the temple again on Wednesday morning to do the sealing for some of our ancestors. The temple was an amazing place and was the crowning jewel of Nauvoo. I surely appreciate your help in getting this work done for our ancestors. I feel a constant drive to do more for the salvation of our ancestors. Thank you for your help.
After leaving the temple, Mom, Logan and I did a couple of more things and headed home. We had a few missed roads and ended up in Marshfield after Melanie and Andy and the girls were home.
We enjoyed having Emily over for a night. She is working very hard. Logan and I enjoyed lunch at her restaurant on Saturday. Today we enjoyed dinner with Julie, Jeff and Alex.
Love,
Dad
Thursday, July 19, 2012
July 19, 2012
The Haws Family of Brazil
Mom and Dad,
And they're off! Felipe and Lucas have left for a week and a half at
soccer tournaments. That is the big news for the two of them. Both seem
to be doing well and phone conversation suggests that they would prefer
that we called less and just let them have fun.
Derick has been doubly spoiled during with the absence of his brothers.
On Saturday we went to see Ice Age 4 in 3D in the movie theater. The 3D
movie was quite fun. Following the move we did hamburgers and brought
home a neat toy. The toy was a dinosaur clad in clay that we had to use
wooden finger-picks and brushes to clear the clay and uncover the
dinosaur. While Derick and I found our first archaeological dig to be
great fun, Renata decided it was messy and ruled out the hopes of having
another dig.
Renata is doing well. She has been busy as always and missing the boys
while they are gone. Renata's sister is dating and Renata's joy is the
game of cupid and listening to the excitement of her sister's stories.
For me things are going well. At work I am going through a bit of
growing pains as we have set up too many routines and I need to rebuild
some to better manage the computer resources.
Outside of work I have had the chance to learn lots of new things. I
ditched the high costs of Windows and Apple when I came to Brazil
turning to Linux as an alternative. I used Ubuntu since I arrived and
confess that I thought it much better than Windows or Apple. Feeling
adventurous I moved from Ubuntu to a different version of Linux called
Fedora. I continue impressed. I am not sure which version I prefer.
Ubuntu is certainly easier for the non-programmer but Fedora offers some
added simplicity for the power-user (myself). For now I will continue
with Fedora but I might revert back to Ubuntu in the near future.
My suggestion for the week, if you are fed up with having all of the
viruses and headaches of your Windows machine, it might be time to try
Linux. If you are interested you might try out Ubuntu. Highly
recommended.
That is all for me.
Love,
Jeff
The Jackson Family
Stacie, Kevin and Henry are giddy with excitement about having Grant and the Hirzes arrive this upcoming week. Work has been increasingly stressful for Stacie, so she especially looks forward to taking a week off to spend time with people she loves. This past week the Jackson's enjoyed eating lots of apricots falling from their neighbor's tree. They recently purchased a Bumbo seat to help strengthen Henry's back and they were glad when it finally arrived. Henry isn't thrilled about it, but he'll warm up to it eventually. Henry still has a cough, but it looks like he is close to recovering.
The Wisconsin Haws Family
This is kind of strange preparing this blog update. Lanette is gone to the Elmhorsts. Grant is with Stacie & Kevin (and Henry, Carolyn, Brent & Clare). Julie, Jeff and Alex are in Nauvoo. And Molly is at the kennel. Logan, Mom and I ate a very quiet dinner. We had one pizza and lots of left overs. This is really weird. We will be taking off soon to go to Nauvoo. It will be a wonderful chance to see family and perhaps friends (maybe the McKendricks). I need a break from work and Mom and Logan can use some fun.
This past week was wonderful because we had several good and much needed rain showers. The garden and lawn very much appreciate the rain. I must have saved several hours in watering time. My garden is looking pretty good and we are anticipating a good harvest. I do love to go out to the garden early in the morning and enjoy the bird's songs and the cool breeze. This Saturday we attended a branch picnic called heritage days on Saturday and later I was able to help a bit with painting at Julie and Jeff's.
I have been doing quite a bit of family history work this week so that we can do the temple work for our ancestors this week in Nauvoo. At work I have called Jeff for help on computer stuff. Reading his recommendation on computers makes me think that Linux may be my next move.
Mom has been working in her room trying to get it the way she wants. Logan enjoyed a back to school picnic. It was a good opportunity to spend time with friends. He has redecorated his room and had a wonderful time doing it. He is very proud of it.
We enjoyed having Emily over on Sunday.
We love each of you and hope that this finds you happy and safe.
Love,
Dad
Mom and Dad,
And they're off! Felipe and Lucas have left for a week and a half at
soccer tournaments. That is the big news for the two of them. Both seem
to be doing well and phone conversation suggests that they would prefer
that we called less and just let them have fun.
Derick has been doubly spoiled during with the absence of his brothers.
On Saturday we went to see Ice Age 4 in 3D in the movie theater. The 3D
movie was quite fun. Following the move we did hamburgers and brought
home a neat toy. The toy was a dinosaur clad in clay that we had to use
wooden finger-picks and brushes to clear the clay and uncover the
dinosaur. While Derick and I found our first archaeological dig to be
great fun, Renata decided it was messy and ruled out the hopes of having
another dig.
Renata is doing well. She has been busy as always and missing the boys
while they are gone. Renata's sister is dating and Renata's joy is the
game of cupid and listening to the excitement of her sister's stories.
For me things are going well. At work I am going through a bit of
growing pains as we have set up too many routines and I need to rebuild
some to better manage the computer resources.
Outside of work I have had the chance to learn lots of new things. I
ditched the high costs of Windows and Apple when I came to Brazil
turning to Linux as an alternative. I used Ubuntu since I arrived and
confess that I thought it much better than Windows or Apple. Feeling
adventurous I moved from Ubuntu to a different version of Linux called
Fedora. I continue impressed. I am not sure which version I prefer.
Ubuntu is certainly easier for the non-programmer but Fedora offers some
added simplicity for the power-user (myself). For now I will continue
with Fedora but I might revert back to Ubuntu in the near future.
My suggestion for the week, if you are fed up with having all of the
viruses and headaches of your Windows machine, it might be time to try
Linux. If you are interested you might try out Ubuntu. Highly
recommended.
That is all for me.
Love,
Jeff
The Jackson Family
Stacie, Kevin and Henry are giddy with excitement about having Grant and the Hirzes arrive this upcoming week. Work has been increasingly stressful for Stacie, so she especially looks forward to taking a week off to spend time with people she loves. This past week the Jackson's enjoyed eating lots of apricots falling from their neighbor's tree. They recently purchased a Bumbo seat to help strengthen Henry's back and they were glad when it finally arrived. Henry isn't thrilled about it, but he'll warm up to it eventually. Henry still has a cough, but it looks like he is close to recovering.
The Wisconsin Haws Family
This is kind of strange preparing this blog update. Lanette is gone to the Elmhorsts. Grant is with Stacie & Kevin (and Henry, Carolyn, Brent & Clare). Julie, Jeff and Alex are in Nauvoo. And Molly is at the kennel. Logan, Mom and I ate a very quiet dinner. We had one pizza and lots of left overs. This is really weird. We will be taking off soon to go to Nauvoo. It will be a wonderful chance to see family and perhaps friends (maybe the McKendricks). I need a break from work and Mom and Logan can use some fun.
This past week was wonderful because we had several good and much needed rain showers. The garden and lawn very much appreciate the rain. I must have saved several hours in watering time. My garden is looking pretty good and we are anticipating a good harvest. I do love to go out to the garden early in the morning and enjoy the bird's songs and the cool breeze. This Saturday we attended a branch picnic called heritage days on Saturday and later I was able to help a bit with painting at Julie and Jeff's.
I have been doing quite a bit of family history work this week so that we can do the temple work for our ancestors this week in Nauvoo. At work I have called Jeff for help on computer stuff. Reading his recommendation on computers makes me think that Linux may be my next move.
Mom has been working in her room trying to get it the way she wants. Logan enjoyed a back to school picnic. It was a good opportunity to spend time with friends. He has redecorated his room and had a wonderful time doing it. He is very proud of it.
We enjoyed having Emily over on Sunday.
We love each of you and hope that this finds you happy and safe.
Love,
Dad
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
July 11, 2012
The Haws Family of Angra
Mom and Dad,
With a little spare time I thought that I would write a short note on our week.
The boys just went through the last week of testing for the semester. Wednesday begins winter break, yes that was winter I said. Winter break will last until the end of the month and I already feel tired.
Felipe and Lucas should be going to soccer tournaments. Felipe will be playing in Rio and Lucas will be participating in try-outs in São Paulo at a professional team. Both are excited.
Derick is pleased to get a break from school. He has done well and is a very good student.
Renata has been busy. Several of us have been sick on and off over the last couple of weeks and Renata has been overwhelmed trying to take care of everyone.
As to myself, I have been having a lot of fun at work. There are several interesting projects that I have been working on. I had been working through weather data for some time, now that those applications are stable I have been working on a distribution system for managing the increasing number of reports that are being sent. I have also been working on expanding our current set up so that I can manage more computers easily. These tasks have been exciting for me and have taught me to think in very different ways than I had a few months ago. I am very pleased.
That is all from us. We are well and hope you are too.
Love,
Jeff
Grant's News
Grant had a bit of a bumpy week at work. Nothing catastrophic, just a couple of rough days. A friend from work has been gone for the last week on vacation and that throws him off his groove a bit. Otherwise, Grant was excited to be off work the 4th of July, because working in a restaurant over a big grilling day is kind of cruddy. No business at all. So he was thankful to get the spend the day at home relaxing rather than guarding an empty restaurant. Thanks to the hot and muggy weather, the wildflowers here are springing up all over the place. Some of the wildflowers are over a month early. And of course, Grant was excited for July 5th, the official start of back to school sales at stores.
The Haws Family of Colorado
This past week we have been trying to stay busy doing activities as a family. On Monday we went to a Sesame Street play put on by the USO. It was kind of ironic that we went to it because it was about moving to new places and meeting new people. On Wednesday we went swimming to celebrate the 4th of July since they had cancelled all of the other celebrations around town due to the fire. On Thursday we enjoyed the morning at the zoo. The girls were excited because they were able to see the gorillas eating. Saturday Haley and Kayla made a Penske truck at home depot. Luckily we went in the morning, because by the afternoon it was pouring down rain. It also poured down rain after church on Sunday. We are very grateful for the rain even if it does come down all at once.
The Jackson Family of Albuquerque
Kevin, Stacie and Henry has a wonderful week and enjoyed extra time together on Wednesday, since Stacie had the day off of work. They celebrated Canada Day and Independence Day with grilling. On Saturday Kevin was grateful to take some time to golf with his friends. Stacie spent lots of time snuggling Henry. The Jacksons are counting down the days until Grant arrives, along with Carolyn, Brent and Claire Hirz.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
Wisconsin continues to swelter in the heat. Thankful it is a bit cooler but this week compared to last but heat is heat and we specialize in humidity. We could really use some rain for the crops but my garden appreciates the fact that hoses can bring water when the clouds don't.
We have enjoyed soccer games and family time this last few days. On the 4th we went to the branch pancake breakfast. Later that day Logan, Lanette and I went over to Julie and Jeff's to do some painting and helping out. Logan mowed the lawn and Lanette helped hold Alex. It worked out pretty well. That evening we can home to a delicious meal that Grant and Mom had waiting for us.
Logan's final soccer game was last night. They lost but overall they had a very successful season. Logan will be joining the Columbus soccer program in a few weeks so it is nice to have a break for awhile from practices and games.
One of the fun things we have been doing is eating healthier and exercising more. I know that I feel better and I hope everyone else is too.
We are all looking forward to vacations. Grant will be off to Albuquerque. Lanette will stay here. Yes, of course, with the Elmhorst family. Logan, Kellie and I will be off to Nauvoo to meet up with Julie, Jeff, Alex and Andy, Melanie, Haley and Kayla. It will be great to be together and we look forward to seeing all of you during the coming year.
Love,
Dad
Mom and Dad,
With a little spare time I thought that I would write a short note on our week.
The boys just went through the last week of testing for the semester. Wednesday begins winter break, yes that was winter I said. Winter break will last until the end of the month and I already feel tired.
Felipe and Lucas should be going to soccer tournaments. Felipe will be playing in Rio and Lucas will be participating in try-outs in São Paulo at a professional team. Both are excited.
Derick is pleased to get a break from school. He has done well and is a very good student.
Renata has been busy. Several of us have been sick on and off over the last couple of weeks and Renata has been overwhelmed trying to take care of everyone.
As to myself, I have been having a lot of fun at work. There are several interesting projects that I have been working on. I had been working through weather data for some time, now that those applications are stable I have been working on a distribution system for managing the increasing number of reports that are being sent. I have also been working on expanding our current set up so that I can manage more computers easily. These tasks have been exciting for me and have taught me to think in very different ways than I had a few months ago. I am very pleased.
That is all from us. We are well and hope you are too.
Love,
Jeff
Grant's News
Grant had a bit of a bumpy week at work. Nothing catastrophic, just a couple of rough days. A friend from work has been gone for the last week on vacation and that throws him off his groove a bit. Otherwise, Grant was excited to be off work the 4th of July, because working in a restaurant over a big grilling day is kind of cruddy. No business at all. So he was thankful to get the spend the day at home relaxing rather than guarding an empty restaurant. Thanks to the hot and muggy weather, the wildflowers here are springing up all over the place. Some of the wildflowers are over a month early. And of course, Grant was excited for July 5th, the official start of back to school sales at stores.
The Haws Family of Colorado
This past week we have been trying to stay busy doing activities as a family. On Monday we went to a Sesame Street play put on by the USO. It was kind of ironic that we went to it because it was about moving to new places and meeting new people. On Wednesday we went swimming to celebrate the 4th of July since they had cancelled all of the other celebrations around town due to the fire. On Thursday we enjoyed the morning at the zoo. The girls were excited because they were able to see the gorillas eating. Saturday Haley and Kayla made a Penske truck at home depot. Luckily we went in the morning, because by the afternoon it was pouring down rain. It also poured down rain after church on Sunday. We are very grateful for the rain even if it does come down all at once.
The Jackson Family of Albuquerque
Kevin, Stacie and Henry has a wonderful week and enjoyed extra time together on Wednesday, since Stacie had the day off of work. They celebrated Canada Day and Independence Day with grilling. On Saturday Kevin was grateful to take some time to golf with his friends. Stacie spent lots of time snuggling Henry. The Jacksons are counting down the days until Grant arrives, along with Carolyn, Brent and Claire Hirz.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
Wisconsin continues to swelter in the heat. Thankful it is a bit cooler but this week compared to last but heat is heat and we specialize in humidity. We could really use some rain for the crops but my garden appreciates the fact that hoses can bring water when the clouds don't.
We have enjoyed soccer games and family time this last few days. On the 4th we went to the branch pancake breakfast. Later that day Logan, Lanette and I went over to Julie and Jeff's to do some painting and helping out. Logan mowed the lawn and Lanette helped hold Alex. It worked out pretty well. That evening we can home to a delicious meal that Grant and Mom had waiting for us.
Logan's final soccer game was last night. They lost but overall they had a very successful season. Logan will be joining the Columbus soccer program in a few weeks so it is nice to have a break for awhile from practices and games.
One of the fun things we have been doing is eating healthier and exercising more. I know that I feel better and I hope everyone else is too.
We are all looking forward to vacations. Grant will be off to Albuquerque. Lanette will stay here. Yes, of course, with the Elmhorst family. Logan, Kellie and I will be off to Nauvoo to meet up with Julie, Jeff, Alex and Andy, Melanie, Haley and Kayla. It will be great to be together and we look forward to seeing all of you during the coming year.
Love,
Dad
Monday, July 2, 2012
July 2, 2012
Happy 4th of July. What a privilege it is to live in our land of freedom and opportunity.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
The Jacksons were all infected with colds this week. Last week Stacie became ill and unfortunately she passed t on to Kevin and Henry. On Tuesday Henry had his 4 month check up where he weighed in at 13 lbs, 11 oz and measured at 25 inches tall. He is developing well and smiling more and more each day.
On Thursday Kevin's summer course ended and Stacie, Kevin and Henry went to a barbecue at their friend Nick's house with Kevin's classmates. Friday was Henry's last day at day care for a little while. Kevin is excited to spend the next month and a half with his buddy. On Saturday Kevin helped a couple people from the ward move and Stacie made lots of cookies. Today they will celebrate Canada Day with some grilling. This morning they were excited to witness Henry rolling over for the first time.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
It has been sizzling here in the great midwest. Thankfully we have not lost power like the Washington D.C. region. It has been a busy week last week with Logan having soccer games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Their team won all of them. Logan has several games this week and a tournament on July 14th to round out his busy soccer season. He made some really nice plays.
Lanette has been attending school Monday through Friday. On Mondays and Thursdays she has stayed to work at the day care. This week one of the senior citizens gave her a bracelet that she really enjoys. She is very excited about spending time at the Elmhorst home in mid July. Lanette is pretty certain the the North Pole is melting this week and the the Day After Tomorrow is sure to happen in 2012.
Emily came to visit this week. She is working hard and becoming excited about Trent and her upcoming wedding. The date is pretty much set in stone for October 30th. She plans on keeping the plans very simple. Mom and her bought the wedding dress today online so things are going forward step by step.
We have a new car. Mom and I bought the car on Friday night. It is a Mazda CX-7 which is a cross over vehicle. Mom loves the buttons and sunroof. She picked it out and did the lion share of the paperwork and figuring out how to get it into our budget.
Mom and I had the privilege of meeting Julie and Jeff at the temple on Saturday. We were able to accomplish a great deal of work for our family including initiatories done by Mom, an endowment done by me and sealings done by Julie, Jeff and me. Mom enjoyed her grandmotherly opportunity to watch Alex while Julie and Jeff enjoyed the blessing of the temple. We really have a wonderful temple here in St Paul which a delightful temple president and matron. They welcome us going in and leaving and always make us feel important.
The Jackson's of Albuquerque
The Jacksons were all infected with colds this week. Last week Stacie became ill and unfortunately she passed t on to Kevin and Henry. On Tuesday Henry had his 4 month check up where he weighed in at 13 lbs, 11 oz and measured at 25 inches tall. He is developing well and smiling more and more each day.
On Thursday Kevin's summer course ended and Stacie, Kevin and Henry went to a barbecue at their friend Nick's house with Kevin's classmates. Friday was Henry's last day at day care for a little while. Kevin is excited to spend the next month and a half with his buddy. On Saturday Kevin helped a couple people from the ward move and Stacie made lots of cookies. Today they will celebrate Canada Day with some grilling. This morning they were excited to witness Henry rolling over for the first time.
The Haws Family of Wisconsin
It has been sizzling here in the great midwest. Thankfully we have not lost power like the Washington D.C. region. It has been a busy week last week with Logan having soccer games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Their team won all of them. Logan has several games this week and a tournament on July 14th to round out his busy soccer season. He made some really nice plays.
Lanette has been attending school Monday through Friday. On Mondays and Thursdays she has stayed to work at the day care. This week one of the senior citizens gave her a bracelet that she really enjoys. She is very excited about spending time at the Elmhorst home in mid July. Lanette is pretty certain the the North Pole is melting this week and the the Day After Tomorrow is sure to happen in 2012.
Emily came to visit this week. She is working hard and becoming excited about Trent and her upcoming wedding. The date is pretty much set in stone for October 30th. She plans on keeping the plans very simple. Mom and her bought the wedding dress today online so things are going forward step by step.
We have a new car. Mom and I bought the car on Friday night. It is a Mazda CX-7 which is a cross over vehicle. Mom loves the buttons and sunroof. She picked it out and did the lion share of the paperwork and figuring out how to get it into our budget.
Mom and I had the privilege of meeting Julie and Jeff at the temple on Saturday. We were able to accomplish a great deal of work for our family including initiatories done by Mom, an endowment done by me and sealings done by Julie, Jeff and me. Mom enjoyed her grandmotherly opportunity to watch Alex while Julie and Jeff enjoyed the blessing of the temple. We really have a wonderful temple here in St Paul which a delightful temple president and matron. They welcome us going in and leaving and always make us feel important.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
June 26, 2012
Grant's News
Grant's week was pretty busy at work. For the last two weekends, there has been a youth baseball tournament in town, and that causes the restaurant to be filled to the brim with sweaty and hungry twelve year olds. It ain't cute. On Wednesday he had a day off and he was able to plant a new pine tree in the yard with made him happy. He hasn't planted any trees since the two willows earlier in the spring, so his green thumb was itching. In honor of Midsummer, he read Midsummer Night's Dream. This week he also hit the point where it is less than a month until he gets to go to Albuquerque. He listens to "Santa Fe" from Newsies at least once a day. Grant will get to be there for a week and a half in late July.
The Colorado Haws News
This week has been full of mixed emotions. On Monday we went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate Melanie’s birthday. The food and the service were excellent. On Tuesday the girls had a swim play date with Sydney and Ryan. Then on Wednesday was the big emotional day for Melanie because we were first told that we would be going to Germany where Andy would have been deployed as soon as we got there, and then after Andy fought with branch “big Army” for a little bit we were told that we are going to be moving to Fort Wainwright (Fairbanks), Alaska before school starts. So now we are trying to look at the positive side of things and need to make the best of it. On Saturday we enjoyed the day walking around the temple; and as I enjoyed doing a session Andy took the girls to Deseret Book and Target so they could spend their hard earn dollar on a kite. I am grateful that we have a temple so close which will not be the case at Fort Wainwright because the temple is a 6 hour trip each way. On the way back from the temple, we saw a black bear on the side of the road; the girls thought that was pretty exciting. Sunday at church Haley and Kayla were being a bit rambunctious in sacrament meeting. But all in all it was a great day.
The Wisconsin Haws Family
This week we celebrated Grant's birthday. It was a lot of fun. Julie and Jeff and Emily joined us for the celebration. Grant's special birthday meal was delicious. He received some memorable gifts from family.
Logan and dad went on a campout to Mt Olympus in Wisconsin Dells. There were 7 scouts and 2 leaders. We all had a really good time and Logan went on the very awesome roller coaster called "Hades". It was a great ride but I could only do it once. I think Logan had a great time with all his fellow scouts.
Lanette had a relatively quite week but was excited to know that she will be able to attend Tiny Tigers during the period between the end of summer school and the beginning of the new school year.
Mom and Lanette spent Friday and Saturday together because I used the car for the trip. Mom was able to get some work done on her back room. She has shifted her interest to the shopping for a new car. That is a very exciting possibility on her horizon.
Hope you will all have a great week.
Love,
Dad
Grant's week was pretty busy at work. For the last two weekends, there has been a youth baseball tournament in town, and that causes the restaurant to be filled to the brim with sweaty and hungry twelve year olds. It ain't cute. On Wednesday he had a day off and he was able to plant a new pine tree in the yard with made him happy. He hasn't planted any trees since the two willows earlier in the spring, so his green thumb was itching. In honor of Midsummer, he read Midsummer Night's Dream. This week he also hit the point where it is less than a month until he gets to go to Albuquerque. He listens to "Santa Fe" from Newsies at least once a day. Grant will get to be there for a week and a half in late July.
The Colorado Haws News
This week has been full of mixed emotions. On Monday we went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate Melanie’s birthday. The food and the service were excellent. On Tuesday the girls had a swim play date with Sydney and Ryan. Then on Wednesday was the big emotional day for Melanie because we were first told that we would be going to Germany where Andy would have been deployed as soon as we got there, and then after Andy fought with branch “big Army” for a little bit we were told that we are going to be moving to Fort Wainwright (Fairbanks), Alaska before school starts. So now we are trying to look at the positive side of things and need to make the best of it. On Saturday we enjoyed the day walking around the temple; and as I enjoyed doing a session Andy took the girls to Deseret Book and Target so they could spend their hard earn dollar on a kite. I am grateful that we have a temple so close which will not be the case at Fort Wainwright because the temple is a 6 hour trip each way. On the way back from the temple, we saw a black bear on the side of the road; the girls thought that was pretty exciting. Sunday at church Haley and Kayla were being a bit rambunctious in sacrament meeting. But all in all it was a great day.
The Wisconsin Haws Family
This week we celebrated Grant's birthday. It was a lot of fun. Julie and Jeff and Emily joined us for the celebration. Grant's special birthday meal was delicious. He received some memorable gifts from family.
Logan and dad went on a campout to Mt Olympus in Wisconsin Dells. There were 7 scouts and 2 leaders. We all had a really good time and Logan went on the very awesome roller coaster called "Hades". It was a great ride but I could only do it once. I think Logan had a great time with all his fellow scouts.
Lanette had a relatively quite week but was excited to know that she will be able to attend Tiny Tigers during the period between the end of summer school and the beginning of the new school year.
Mom and Lanette spent Friday and Saturday together because I used the car for the trip. Mom was able to get some work done on her back room. She has shifted her interest to the shopping for a new car. That is a very exciting possibility on her horizon.
Hope you will all have a great week.
Love,
Dad
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