Tess is engaged to Shawn!

We received exciting news, Shawn asked Tess to marry him yesterday at Disneyland. I understand he asked her in front of the "Where Memories Begin" exhibit. Like a gentleman, he called home and asked Wayne his permission to marry Tess prior to the proposal.

The date for the wedding is April 27th, 2012 in the Seattle Temple. Congratulations, Tess and Shawn!

Summer Summary

The summer is nearly gone! We had two adventures this summer. The first was girls camp, uplifting and enjoyable. The second was Trek. Six of our kids attended the 4 day re-enactment of the sacrifice the Mormon pioneers made as they traveled across the country to settle the Salt Lake valley. Wayne and I were fortunate enough to be asked to be a Ma and Pa. The experience was uplifting and testimony building.

Tess came home for a quick visit before going to Idaho and Utah to visit her special friend's family. She is now currently in California working at Disneyland in their college internship program. She will return home January 2nd before heading off to BYU-Hawaii.

Jessica leaves for BYU-Provo on Tuesday. Amanda, Evan, and I are going to take her down and stay for several days while she gets settled in to college life. Go Cougars!

Ethan has enjoyed a pretty relaxed summer. In fact, he's posted on facebook that he is BORED. At this point in my life I wonder...is that a bad thing to have nothing to do?

Amanda has been busy. Trips to Utah, Girls Camp, Trek, Winthrop, and back to Utah have kept her busy. Too bad Ethan couldn't have tagged along with her on some of those trips. Both Ethan and Amanda are excited for their SENIOR year in high school. Amanda plans to join Travis, Seth and Jessica at BYU-Provo. Ethan plans to go to Green River CC to finish his associates degree prior to leaving on his mission.

Aarun has spent a lot of time with friends this summer. He has participated in Summer League basketball and done some training for Cross Country. We are looking forward to have four children on the cross country team this coming fall.

Evan and Alyssa are both preparing for their freshman year in high school. Hard to believe these two are in high school. They each took two summer school classes to help give them a head start in high school. They earned A's and are ready to begin the year in the "big house". Luckily, Wayne is still teaching at the high school our last five kids are attending.

Seth is coming home from his mission on November 6th. Travis on November 11th. It goes without saying that we are VERY excited to have them home. We will have them back through early January, at which time they will go to BYU-Provo.

I was able to find a photo of Travis at his most recent zone leader conference.

I also came across these gradation photos as I was organizing pictures. Congratulations, Seth, Travis, Tess, and Jessica.

Time Flies!

It's hard to believe that it is nearly May! Where has the time gone? For the semi-avid blog reader that I am, it is quite hypocritical that I have let posting on my own blog go for a while. Perhaps because I wonder if anyone reads this blog, or perhaps I've just been so busy with life and I have let this go.

Either way, here is an update. Seth and Travis are down to less than 6 months remaining on their missions. Travis experienced (from a great distance) the earthquake in Japan. Both boys have become fluent in their respective languages. Their testimonies have grown and they are truly becoming men. We have been greatly blessed by their service and are thankful that they have chosen to serve valiantly. Travis is set to come home in October, Seth in November.

Tess came home for Spring break from BYU-H. Ironically, she left the sunny weather in Hawaii to enjoy ten days of drizzle and cold weather here in Seattle. Oh well, she's lived here all her life, she knows what to expect. It was great to have her home. She seemed just the same as when she left. I have noticed that I expect my children to suddenly change when they leave home, but to my surprise they seem to linger in the state they left in. I enjoy it quite a bit. Tess is back in Hawaii through July. The unfair parents that we are...we are asking her to stay for summer quarter since she has a good job and could take a class to get ahead for next year. She will be in Disneyland fall quarter, as she acquired the Disney Internship. She will live on the Disneyland campus, work retail full time, while taking online classes. College kids these days think this type of thing is quite appealing. I guess one should "go for it" when they are young, right? Great Job, Tess! We are proud of you!

Jessica is graduating in just over one month! I cannot believe it! She is already 18 and will be attending BYU-Provo in the fall. She will be joined winter semester by Seth and Travis. She is such a smart, sweet, hardworking girl. She graduates June 18th. I'll post photos here. Speaking of photos, here is her senior picture. I must admit, that I was so happy with how it turned out...especially since I had the pleasure of taking her photos this year.

Amanda and Ethan are both juniors. This time next year, we will be graduating two more seniors and believe it or not will only have 3 children at home. We plan on spoiling Aarun, Evan and Alyssa as much as possible. Poor things have lived their lives in hand-me-downs and the smallest portions of dessert. We are thinking of going out to dinner from time to time and taking some fun vacations. It will be fun to create family memories with the youngest three kids! Amanda has become quite an accomplished water polo player (so has Jessica). Here is a photo of her doing her thing!

Ethan is doing well in track, getting better every season and looking forward to going as far as he can in the post season. He recently ran at an invitational in Oregon and did very well. He placed 5th in his event. Wayne is one of the coaches and was able to travel with the team and enjoyed watching Ethan as well.

Aarun is doing great, he is a sophomore and plays basketball and runs track. He is working on excelling in the classroom to the same degree that he excels in athletics. Living with two educators can be such a curse! We remind him that he is a student-athlete. Overall, he does great in school. We are proud of his accomplishments and his desire to be an award-winning runner. He will go far as he sticks to his goals.

Evan and Alyssa are finishing up 8th grade. It is hard to believe that they will start HIGH SCHOOL next fall. I remember them as three year olds, and then as kindergartners in the same class. They have been together all through school and complement each other well. Alyssa is organized while Evan...is not! Evan loves math, while Alyssa...does not. They both like to read, enjoy track, and have many friends. One would not know they have not been together their entire lives. Well, they've been siblings since they were three, so they have grown up together for a good portion of their lives.

Wayne and I are still plugging along. Wayne is teaching math and history at the school the kids go to. He is coaching, has just joined the bishopric, and is busy with graduate school. I have acclimated to my new job as a high school assistant principal and am hoping to survive budget cuts. I am also in graduate school, and hoping to become a principal soon. Life keeps us busy (too busy to blog) but we are very happy.

Happy Holidays

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Moses Lake where we enjoyed good food and a lot of snow! Prior to us leaving for Moses Lake, Auburn got several inches of snow as well. Here are some photos of the much anticipated snowfall.

Tess has come home from BYU-Hawaii to enjoy her Christmas break here on the mainland. She had a good first semester at college, learning to being away from home (very far away from home) and taking care of herself. She had a visit from my parents last semester, as they were on a trip to Hawaii. It was nice to exchange pictures and text messages with the Grandparents and Tess. They took her out to eat as she gave them a tour of campus. We appreciate them checking in on Tess for us.

Seth has had a couple of transfers on his mission. He feels that he has a good grasp of the Spanish language. He admits that this was not easy for him, but the Lord has blessed him greatly and he is very appreciative. We don't get a lot of photos from Seth, he is not permitted to take many (mission rules) but he has experienced the blessings of obedience as he focuses on the work of teaching and baptizing. Here are Seth's most recent words home:

Hola Familia-

Well, the transfer came to an end last Saturday, and so yesterday we recieved transfer calls. I was told that I am going to leave Cambita and that I am heading to Padre Las Casas which is in the zone of Azua. I have mixed feelings about this. Padre Las Casas from what I've seen and heard is a really cool area. Literally "cool". It lies in the mountains so it is one of the colder areas in the mission and it has had fairly good success recently. For that reason I am pretty excited to go there. But I am also kind of bumbed out about leaving Cambita because I have really loved it here. Even though the work was difficult and at times mentally straining, I felt like Elder Romero and I were really starting to get things going. We are still teaching Estefani who is progressing pretty well. Her baptism date was Christmas weekend but we decided to change it to January 9th becasue Christmas and New Years are huge here and so we didnt want any conflicts with that. This will also allow us to help her stregthen her testimony especially in the Book of Mormon. We are also starting to teacher her friend Karla which I think will help her also. We also started teaching a family in the last week and a half. The parents names are Cesar and Norkis and for the very first time we taught them together as a family. We've primarily been teaching Cesar and at times his wife. They both realize the importance of Prophets (which is really important here in the DR) and I think that after the lesson we had last night with the whole family that they realize how the gospel is going to bless their family. So I feel like I am leaving a lot behind her in Cambita but I am looking forward to the opportunity to work in Padre Las Casas.

Travis has had many adventures in Japan! He had his first (and hopefully last) bike accident. He broke his hand! His comments were, "I was riding my bike, wind in my hair, all at ease...when before I knew it I was tangled under my bike!" This is classic Travis...always making a joke and looking for the bright side of a situation. His hand was casted and he was "off" his bike for several weeks. He has been transfered and is now back to riding...hopefully he will stay on his bike this transfer. Travis reports:

Well, I said good bye to tanabe and elder chappell :( and now Im in Tsuyama! Its a slightly bigger city than tanabe, and WAY colder. Apparently we could be getting some snow here pretty soon. I dont know if I would like that.... Its soooo coooold!

My hand still has a few more weeks to go, but Im back on my bike! Ive figured out a way to support my left hand on the handle w/o touching it with my thumb, or half of the palm of my hand thats over the broken bone. Everything is very spread out and far away! Church and train station are both about 25-30 minutes away by bike.

My new companion is elder Suzuki - Hes Japanese! We are co-seniors. This will be a good oportunity so improve my language skills! So far ive been pretty pleased to find that we can talk normally, with only occasional need for a dictionary ( Ive learned Jissen - to put into practice and shouryaku - to abbreviate) Hes full of energy and we're going to get some good work done this transfer.

We had a Christmas party with lots of delicious Nabe! Nabe is basically just japanese stew,but you can throw all kinds of stuff in as you go along. Its pretty good! try to look it up if you can! I dressed up as a donkey, suzuki dressed up as a sheep.

As far as investigators go, We found one in tanabe the day before I left, and we have another with christmas baptismal date here in Tsuyama! I wonder what christmas in japan will be like?

This weeks spiritual message is a christmas message! In the book of mormon, Nephi sees mary and the birth of Christ in vision, and understands more fully the Love of God. We can read this in 1st Nephi 11:13-23

When we look at all the things of christmas, the trees, the presents, the food, the parties, do we remember what it all means? Christ was prepared from before the foundation of the world to be our savior! If we remember and follow him, we can always feel his love. Lets remeber to share the love of God with everyone around us this holiday season!

I love you all! Thanks for all your support!

Elder Nuttall

We will be adding some photos and videos later this week. We have a lot to show of Travis, and a few pictures of Seth. Both boys are doing well, and we are thrilled to be able to talk to them in just a few days! I am the most excited of all.

Homecoming 2010

Jessica and Amanda celebrated the school's homecoming this year as they dressed up and went on a double date. The girls (and boys) had a fun time at dinner, pictures and the dance. It is hard to believe that another fall has come and is nearly gone. With the boys half way through their missions and another senior (class of 2011) it is hard to believe how quickly time flies.

Ethan and Aarun are enjoying cross country, they are doing well and hope to compete in the state meet in a couple of weeks. Jessica and diving and is also hoping to dive in the state meet next month. It looks like she will meet this goal. Amanda is still swimming strong, she hopes to end the season with a showing at state too. Evan and Alyssa are not in fall sports at the middle school,they will be involved in basketballand gymnastics soon, though!

Good-Bye Tess!

Well, I haven't blogged in a while. A new job, getting a daughter ready for college, and two boys in the mission field who are reaching their half-way point AND are turning 20 has kept me busy. Tess left on Thursday for BYU-Hawaii. She made it safely there and has done all of the freshman activities. She starts class this week and is excited. She was surprised by the small size of her dorm room...aren't we all?

I am sure that she will adjust just fine. Her first task is to find a part-time job to help with the costs of college. She is hoping to work at the Cultural Center nearby. We have suggested that she take whatever job she can find.

Seth and Travis both turn 20 over the next two weeks. They are also close to their half-way point...so hard to believe. Travis is half-way on October 21st and Seth is half-way on November 4th. It is hard to believe that they are nearing half-way!

Summer is wrapping up and fall is setting in and we look forward to cross country, swim & dive, and pumpkins.

Can you find Elder Nuttall?

Can you find Elder Nuttall? This photograph was taken at a conference when the Japan Hiroshima mission was closed and consolidated into the Kobe Mission. In case you need help, look about six rows up from the floor and about six Elders in from the left. Travis' mission president keeps a mission blog and this photo was posted on it.

The boys are doing well, in October and November they will each have reached their 1/2 way point. They do not want me to remind them that they are nearing that point, they only want to focus on being in the field and working hard.

We have had some fun family adventures recently, and I will post photos of them when I get a chance. For now, happy summer!

Summer is Here!

The children (and adults) have settled in to the non-routine of summer! The pool is warming up and the kids are happily sleeping in most days. Tess is enjoying her job at WildWaves. She loves being a life-guard. She got her first paycheck this week: a whopping $29. She was delighted and pleased to have earned it herself.

This week the house was quiet! Tess was working most days, Evan was at Scout Camp, Aarun was at Basketball Camp, Jessica and Amanda were in Utah. That left Ethan, Alyssa, and me to entertain ourselves. We found solace from the heat in the movie theater. We watched Despicable Me. It was pretty good, a couple of inside jokes for the adults to enjoy (ie: Lehman Brothers).

We also snuck off to the Old Country Buffet. This is a family favorite for the kids. They have not yet realized that the quality of the food is not great and the prices are WAY to high (by the way, drinks a no longer included in the price of the meal, you have to pay extra to go overboard on soda and chocolate milk). The kids are so caught up in the "all you can eat" aspect of the buffet, nothing else matters. I considered bringing a sandwich from home to eat, but chickened out at the last minute.

Our tradition of the buffet began back in the days when Wayne was out of town with his basketball team. The kids and I would sneak off to the buffet while he was gone. Since he is currently out of town, we followed the tradition again. No guarantee we might not go once more on a hot 90 degree day when I am tired and the kids need a distraction.

We are off to enjoy some camping at Ensign Ranch and then some family time in Moses Lake. Luckily we will have Ryan and Tess to hold down the fort while we are gone. It is so nice to just leave town and enjoy the outdoors with no worries!

Good Things to Come

Good Things to Come

More Graduation Photos

Thanks to some good friends, we have more graduation photos of Tess to post. Since both Wayne and I are working at graduation as part of the staff at AMHS, it makes it hard to take photos ourselves. Of course, it is a blessing to be a part of the graduation ceremony for your own children. Enjoy these photos, they are very good ones!

We are looking forward to a summer spending time together before sending our third child off into the real world. It's hard to believe that we have gone from 9 to 6 children in one year's time.

Congratulations, Tess!

Congratulations to Tess, a member of the class of 2010! While the weather didn't exactly cooperate (the class of 2010 sat in blue plastic ponchos in the rain and drizzle) the commencement ceremonies for the graduates was great! A little soggy, but very happy, Tess celebrated her graduation in style. We held a reception in her honor as we celebrated with a Hawaiian-Style dinner in anticipation of her attending BYU-Hawaii in the fall.

Tess is looking forward to her first summer job at WildWaves, where she will be a lifeguard. In early September, she will head off to Hawaii. Tess has worked hard, overcome many challenges and been faithful to herself and her goals to become a righteous young woman. In preparation for college, she will be organizing her belongings, purchasing new things for her dorm room, and taking a break from studying for the next couple of months. Congratulations, Tess. We are proud of you!

Seth

A busy week has already begun. As mentioned, we are preparing for Tess' graduation, and also checking in with the boy's mission experiences. Seth sent this picture through email today. It is nice to see him with the people he is teaching. It is easier for my mind's eye to imagine him working and helping to spread the gospel when I see images like this. He looks happy and his letters are upbeat. I wonder...what's with the short tie he is wearing? I am pretty sure that must be a new Dominican Republic tie because that wasn't one he left with. His companion has a shorter tie too...must be the fashion of the Dominican Republic. Anyway, both boys are happy and working hard. They just a few weeks away from being out 8 months. I realized a few days ago that when we talk to them on Christmas, they will be over half way through their missions. It must be all the grey days we are having lately that remind me of winter and Christmas. A little sun would be nice!

Class of 2010

As we approach the final two weeks before Tess graduates from High School, we wanted to share her Senior Photo. This year's Senior Photos became a Laurel Activity at youth night. Tess really likes this photo. The flowers are beautiful as is the lovely girl in the middle!

Graduation is Saturday, June 19th followed by a family luncheon at the Rumbaugh Home. We decided to have a Hawaiian-themed luncheon to celebrate Tess going to BYU-Hawaii. She will be leaving for Hawaii the last week of August.

Luckily, we will be able to talk to her on the phone and share her experiences together. She is looking forward to living on her own for the first time, as well as being a "grown up" college student. We can't wait to see the adventures that await her over the next several months.

Graduation is Nearing!

This was the big event of our lives just one year ago! Our first set of graduates from high school. We are nearing the same event in just a four weeks...Tess is graduating! As most everyone is aware, she will be heading off to BYU-Hawaii in the fall. Here are some amazing facts about Tess:

1. Tess has lived a life faithful to her baptismal covenants, is a worthy young woman, who I am very proud of!

2. Tess is an amazing artist! She can draw, paint, sculpt, engrave, and envision the most beautiful things I have ever seen!

3. Tess is kind and considerate to others. Tess is able to see the needs of others and steps up in her willingness to be others friends.

4. Tess is beautiful! She has beautiful brown eyes, a sweet smile, and most importantly a glowing spirit.

5. Tess is a leader. She is the first in our family to head to college! Although the boys are living out of the country, Tess is the first to take on the academic challenge of college. Luckily, I can call her on her cell phone everyday.

6. Tess is brave! Tess has faced many challenges in her 18 years. Some are personal, some are just the "regular" types of things all teenage girls face, but Tess has been amazingly brave as she has become a woman.

7. Tess is faithful. Tess has a strong testimony and a strong sense of right and wrong. She will be able to use this gift throughout her life.

8. Tess has good common sense! Tess can sense danger, she can seek out good friends, and is able to listen to the Holy Ghost as she grows and learns.

9. Tess is strong. Tess has the ability to say "yes" or "no" at the right times. She is not afraid to walk away from temptation, she is willing to move forward as she chooses the right and seeks out the good things of this world.

10. Tess is loved! We are so proud of Tess, she is our oldest daughter, whom we have loved and cherished. We will continue to do so, but feel that we must now share her in a way we have not felt before...

Tess will do great at college, and we are already thinking of her coming home at Christmas...or perhaps we should have a family Christmas Hawaii! Aloha!

Mother's Day Phone Calls

Mother's Day is a special event for any mother, but for those with sons and daughters out on missions, it is especially exciting. We began our evening by calling Travis (Elder Nuttall) in Japan. I was worried because I couldn't get through and couldn't understand the Japanese voice on the other end of the phone. So, I called a ward member who spoke Japanese and she told me that I was getting his answering machine. She suggested that his companion was on the phone with his family. I waited a while and tried back. Travis answered! He sounded so great. He has that missionary enthusiasm. Everything is amazing, awesome, and he is so excited to be serving the Lord. He said that he can speak Japanese pretty well, but cannot understand much of what is said. About 15 minutes into his call, my cell phone rang. It was Seth! Seth sounded much farther away...the connection on the phone was not as clear. He got cut off a couple of times. He sounded great....humble and mature.

Seth is having the opposite experience with Spanish as Travis is with Japanese. He can understand everyone, but has trouble speaking. Both boys sounded like themselves, I was wondering if they would sound totally different from what I remember. Their voices were familiar, and the things they shared made me feel at peace with them being so far away.

We managed to trade two phones around the house for the next 30 minutes. Everyone spoke to everyone and we ended the calls by putting Seth and Travis on speaker and letting them speak to each other. What a blessing this was for them. They have not spoken since Travis left last October. They enjoyed the time to talk. It felt like the family was all back together again. If I were to close my eyes and just listen...we were all back in the kitchen as a family. It was wonderful and a little bit sad at the same time.

Travis has had his first baptism. Baptisms are not common in Japan, so this is a big event for him. He was thrilled to have taught someone the gospel and see them progress to baptism. Seth has had many baptisms, the work moves more quickly in the Dominican Republic. Seth mentioned that the names of people are so long that it makes it tricky when someone is baptized! How different the missions are. How different the boys experiences have been. Yet, they fit the personalities and strengths of each of them perfectly. These are the tender mercies that I am so thankful for.

Happy Mother's Day!

Six Months Out...Eighteen To Go!

still consider myself a bit of a new "missionary mom". I must admit that I secretly count the hours between Auburn and Japan and Auburn and the Dominican Republic. I feel badly if I don't write the boys each week, and I think about them all the time. By, now, the sting of them being gone has settled a bit, but I still miss them. The 1/4 mark is our first big milestone, with many more to come. Here is an excerpt from each boy:

Elder Travis Nuttall:

It has been raining for most of the week! When it rains in Japan it POURS! We're okay though, we have rain jackets and rain pants (kappa in japanese) so we can stay somewhat dry. My companion and I have been working on improving our english class, and its worked! We had 11 people (as opposed to the usual 3 or four) last teusday! We also found a new investigator from the class - she even came to conference! Conference is 1 week delayed here, we watch it on DVD. I was way exited for conference, because we had 2 investigators coming. It worked out very well because one of our investigators was struggling with resurrection vs. reincarnation, and there were tons of talks about resurrection because it was Easter! Everything was easy for our investigators to understand too. Conference is Subarashii! Another big thing this week was Zone Conference. The entire island of Shikoku has become a zone, so there were a-lot of people there. One new elder is from Brazil! He is learning japanese from english which is tough because english is his second language. Hes doing fine though, the Lord really does help out "after all we can do". Elder Frogley and I are planning on 2 baptisms this transfer. I've still yet to have one, but I know we can do it! We have "baptismal focus plans" for all our investigators, with a very specific vision for how we will help them to recieve baptism. Goal setting is really important! One other amazing thing happened this week. We visited an investigator who we have only known for 2 weeks, and asked her if she was able to read the introduction to the book of mormon like we asked her. She told us she had, and that she had also been reading in other parts of the book of mormon! (which happened to be 3rd nephi 11) She asked us "what is baptism? it talks a-lot about it in here". We were glad to explain it to her! We also started teaching her about prayer and she told us that she already prays everyday, and that she's prayed about the book of mormon and thinks its true!!! It was an amazing miracle - the Lord really does prepare people! We've boosted our teaching pool to over 10 people, and we hope to hit 20 by the end of the transfer. Missionary work is the best work on earth, because we are building up the Kingdom of God! Ill be sure to keep you all posted on how everything's going, and thanks so much for your emails! Love you all!

Elder Seth Rumbaugh:

Well, it was a pretty good week. My companion and I had a baptism this last Saturday. I did the baptising. The kid´s name is Misiyel. He is 15 years old. What was awesome was that the next day at church, after he recieved the holy ghost, he got up and bore his testimony about his conversion and the Book of Mormon. It was really strong and super cool to see. Several of the members thought it was cool too. My companion and I dont have any baptisims planned for this week but we have 5 or 6 planned for the 24th. It will be sweet if all of them can be baptised.

My companion Elder Almonte, and I have quit a few investigators. We have so many appointments that we really dont have time to contact. We are teaching this family right now. There names are Miguel and Ana. They have three little girls. The other day we were reading out of 3rd Nephi 11, the chapter where Christ comes to visit the Nephites. Miguel had doubts that Christ really came to the Americas. While my companion tried to explain to him that Christ did come to the Americas, I started reading the chapter to myself. While I was reading verse 10 caught my attention. In this verse Christ is testifying of himself as the person who prophets testified would come to the world. The word world caught my attention and reminded me of the famous scripture John 3:16 which says, "...God so loved the world, that he sent His only Begotten Son...". I then explained this to Miguel that God loved the world and sent His Son to the world. Not just Jerusalem but the whole world, including to the people in the Americas. This answered his doubt a little bit. I know for a fact that it was the Holy Ghost that was helping me in this situation. It felt really cool.

Everything here in the sizzling hot DR is going pretty good. Luckily it has been kind of cloudy this last week. It is hard to believe that I am almost a 1/4 of the way done. I remember vividly my first day in the MTC. Time is flying by. Love you all and miss you a lot. Until next week.

Well, that's plenty for now!

Salt Lake City!

We returned yesterday from our trip to SLC for General Conference. The trip was complete with the usual triumphs and hassles! We enjoyed the time we spent together, conference, Temple Square, and swimming in the hotel pool. We are pleased that we survived the LONG car drive (we took two cars, actually). The occasional whining is just part of the territory and was balanced out by the spirit of conference and the excitement of the Easter Bunny. Yes, the Easter Bunny still comes even though we have older children!

We have heard that both boys are doing well in their respective missions. Travis is still in Kochi, he is experiencing the challenges of teaching in a country where Christ is not well known and not well received. He is faithful and hard-working. His companion and him often log the most tracting (they call it "streeting") hours of any other companionship in the area. It nice to see him enjoying the hard work. Seth is adjusting to his new area. The weather is warming up quite a bit...Seth has written home asking for some deodorant. Apparently, the deodorant in the Dominican doesn't quite cut it for him. Neither boy has received their Easter package from home...it is still difficult to predict the speed of the mail (or lack of it).

Enjoy the photos of conference!

BYU Hawaii

Tess has officially accepted her invitation to attend BYU Hawaii. After some research and pondering, she feel confident that her decision is the right one. When she announced her decision, I immediately thought, "We'll HAVE to go visit her in Hawaii", and then I thought, "Wow, that makes three kids living outside the continental United States!" We feel very blessed that our children have started to become adults and are making good decisions as they are starting to leave home. This is what I have discovered will occur over the next five years: 2010 Tess leaves for college, 2011 Jessica goes to college, 2012 Ethan and Amanda go to college/Seth and Travis return from their missions, 2013 Aarun goes to college, 2014 a break...no one leaves home, 2015 Evan and Alyssa leave for college! Late fall 2015...empty nesters. By my count, that's only five years. Some of my "friends" have reminded me that I could be a grandmother by then...is that really possible? Thanks, "friends"!

The Hand IS Broken

The big news of the week is that Evan's hand IS broken. The big event happened on Monday in school during PE class. As any child would, he came home complaining of his hand/finger aching. After nearly 20 years of parenting I have learned that most complaint (at least 90%) end up needing nothing more that some ice, some love, and maybe a cookie. So that's what I gave him, along with some help on his math homework.

The next morning, Evan left for school without a word about his aching hand...yeah!! Then about 30 minutes later I got the dreaded call from the school nurse. Whenever my child's school calls me, especially when I am working at the high school and the middle school calls, I immediately feel my stomach tighten. It is never good news. The middle school does not call you at work to tell you what a wonderful son you have. The nurse said something I've heard before, "I think you'd better come take a look at this." So I did, and yes it clearly needed an x-ray.

To make a long story short, Evan managed to chip a piece of bone from his middle knuckle and got a cast in exchange. He is enjoying the cast...and the extra attention he is getting from it. And me, I'm feeling a little bit guilty (especially since this happened once before). I guess the message here is that although ice, cookies, and hugs are nice...they don't fix broken bones.

Earthquakes Everywhere!

Late Friday afternoon I received an email from a friend that there had been a 7.2 earthquake in Japan. Of course, I immediately got online to find out where the earthquake was, and how close it was to Hiroshima. It seems that it is far north of Hiroshima, and it is likely that Travis did not even feel it. I truly must have not been a big event, because it wasn't even mentioned on the news that evening. Just when I was breathing a sigh of relief, we woke to find an 8.8 earthquake in Chile...with all eyes pointed toward Hawaii for a tsunami. Gladly, both earthquakes and the tsunami seem to have been much less devastating than they could have been. We are blessed, and happy that both boys have escaped any injury the the earthquakes they have both been close to this past month.