Nathan got a new truck...BLUE

hey hey yall

so mom has probably told every one that i got a new truck and that for the first several days of the rediculous snow the truck was great, 4 wheel drive plowing threw the snow and cutting the path for all the vehicals to fallow down the road since, oh whats this, they wouldnt plow benson untill the last day of the crummy weather. I got the truck stcuk in thr front yard twice, once when i missed the driveway, and again when i parked it for the night and went to go to work the next morning, to get it free the neighbors helped the first time, and the second time i had to dig it out and then plow threw the yard to get out and get to work, the night before was the fun night was heading to the bank to get some money when a semi runs me off the road, then a tractor with tires as big as my truck pulled me out of the three and a half feet of snow so we could hit the bank and go get money so i could put some gas in my tank, it has been rediculous and im glad its over, oh and i went to church to day as well, might be going more often, of course i've said that before and look where im at

ello

this week was pretty good. i left last friday for reno. i flew down to see my papi. we stayed one night there adn finished packin and cleanin the house then a lil after noon we left reno and set out for chattanooga. we took 4 days to drive across. we got down almost to vegas our first night. the next day we went down teh strip and drove up to st. george. we saw the place mama and papi lived when they were first married and we saw a couple other places of importance to the family. we saw the dixie D which was cool. then we went through zion park which was amazingly pretty. then we drove down to flagstaff. the next day we went the rest of the way across arizona, through new mexico, through the panhandle of texas and we ended the day almost at oklahoma city. it was amaizng. the next day we went got to tennessee at 1 am. it was an amazing drive. we stayed in tennessee at our aunt jill's house. christmas eve was great, we went to ichibons which is a japanese grill and they cook the food right in front of you. the fire scared wayjay and curtis (my little brothers), after dinner we went back to aunt jills and uncle jim read us a story before we went to bed. then amazingly enough we slept in on christmas morning until 8ish. then we hungout all day and we had an amazing dinner made by aunt jill and uncle jim. then the teenage girls all went out to the movies and we saw yes man. it was hallarious. the trip was great. i became really good at the drums on rockband and i got good at playing the wii. the flight back to seattle was interesting. i went from the atlanta airport to the chicago o'hara airport where i had a 2 and a half layover with a 1hour and 15 min delay added. then i got on the plane on flew back. i got back late last night.

i hope you had a great christmas.

alice

I did not do much but I did find out my true lifes calling . . . I want to be a space man for NASA I think this might not happen but i want to be the 1st man on mars so I want to know other planets and if there is life out there going to school and collage is important to me alot of the fun jobs are all needing you to be smart and thats wat is going on with me right now! -christian

well I got some awesome x-mas presents my faroet is a blanket and on friday I went to my friend taylor's house. O and on christmas I woke up at 5 40 and went out of my room and saw my gifts! Zachary Masterson

We have had some pretty serious snow are our place. it just kept getting deeper. by the 27th we had drifts that are as tall as I am, and the neighbor had dug us out twice. On the 27th he came for a third time and dug us out yet a gain so we could head to Seattle to get Alice at SeaTac. While we were gone Nathan cleared the snow of the roof as we were getting worried that it could cave in from the weight when it started to rain. On the 26th Justin and Nathan dug for 3 hours trying to get us out, when our neighbor drove by he came over with his tractor and finished the job lickity-split, it would have probably taken an other hour for them to get it done. We still have lots of snow outside but the roads are finally clear and we are grateful. But all this cold and snow has helped convince Justin even more that AZ sounds like a good idea. As much as I love the green up here in WA and all of the people, I know that this move is coming and am working on getting ready for it. We will probably move the fall after Alice graduates.

I must comment on Nate's truck, when I first saw it, it was like going back in time. It is the same color and body style of the truck that I learned to drive in, ours was just not a 4 x 4 and was an automatic. Even getting in was incredible, it has the same dash etc. It was fun. Hope this truck is as good as the one I remember. And left paint from on the gas station. We were glad he had it as it sure helped with all of our snow. THANKS NATE

It was so nice to go to church today and see all the people we have missed after not going for the last two weeks. I really missed all of the kids in primary. We had a brief meeting afterwards so i could let the teachers know what the plans are for next year, as usual not every one was excited about the changes but I guess as president I can't make everyone happy all the time. I am still working hard at becoming more excited about primary and reaching out to those people who I feel I have either offended or don't know how to handle. I am also setting some goals for the next year. I haven't decided if I'll post them here or not. Still thinking about it.

I'm going to post pictures that I took of the snow and Nathan's truck I hope you enjoy them.

Cold weather and dirty dogs

hello :)


this week was a good week. school was okay. nothing really happened.


at church we got a new young womans value virtue. now the moto sounds weird. i like the old way better. but o well. ill get used to it.


last night i got snowed in at my neighbor erins house. we had a great time :) i swear we spent the whole night laughing. litterally. it was amazing. the funnest night ive had in a LONG time. lol.


tomorrow (friday the 19th) i fly out to reno to go visit my daddy and the fam down there :) im so excited! we are going to be driving across america to tennessee and spending christmas with shea's family. its going to be so much fun! we havnt seen them in a long time.
along with flying into reno tomorrow i get to see my friends from there :) its going to be great.
im praying that the weather doesnt affect my flight tomorrow :( if it gets canceled i will be sad.

over the past week i have been training my dog (yes she technically is nates dog but i take care of her most of the time) to go to her kennal when she is told to. she also stold one of my sandals and it became her chew toy. she also took one of our hot pads and it is one of her favorite toys. she also broke her cord that she is tied up to and she ran to a manure pool thingy and she went from white to brown. it took them 6 washes to make her white again! talk about crazyness. but now she is white and pretty and she smells good :)

anywho. that was my week :) hope your week was great too!

alice

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACHARY!!!

I know I say it all the time but WHAT a week. Weather I'll start with the weather. First it was cold I mean REALLY cold with wind chill one morning we were -15 at 6:30am. Then the snow came and most of it blew out to the bay so can you say white out. Yesterday I had to go pick up Alice, Erin, and Kinsey from school as the snow was so bad, on the way home it was a complete white out, it was very scary to drive in. I had only been home a bit when I had to head back out to collect Nathan in Lynden. He had rode the bus from Bellingham. They had the Guide going north closed at main street in Lynden because of white out conditions. Today THE roads are a little of everything. I'm glad to be home for the night where it is warm. Tomorrow Alice and I head to go to the airport.

Other adventures some weather related. Erin and Kinsey's mom had gone to Seattle to pickup people at the airport. As the weather was so bad Lianne stayed down in Seattle and Alice and I spent the night with the girls as their house leaving Justin and Nathan here to fend for themselves. As Alice mentioned above there was a lot of laughing and giggling going on last night. I laughed just as here at home I was in charge of keeping the wood burning stove. We had a great time. Kinsey and I spent a nice time watching TV, and she was excited to have someone spend the night. Lianne finally made it home this afternoon she said it took 5 1/2 hours to get home.

The fluffy white dog added to our adventure. Last Saturday we got Alice and Christian off to the temple. I had let Seshee in as it was cold, I pushed the door shut but it didn't catch and I didn't notice, but she did. She bolted. Justin looked for her for about 30 min but couldn't find her. When he got home she was on the porch. and brown, and smelly. You could see the the line across her back where she went swimming in the cow pucky pound. I started trying to spray her off and clean her but was getting no where, luckily Pet Smart had an opening in an 30 min so we loaded her up in the truck and took her in. We went back 4 hours later and found a very nice WHITE dog. It was great they did her nails, trimmed her the whole yards. The man said it took 6 baths to get her clean. I will be grateful to him for a long time. As it has been so cold she has been inside more than out. She has been enjoying it.

The primary kids were suppose to do the nativity at the branch Christmas party but the party was cancelled because of the weather. As it has been so crazy and school cancelled for tomorrow, the decision was made to go ahead and make the call now, so everyone would be safe. We don't know whether they are going to reschedule or not so we are waiting to know .

Justin is making his wonderful chili tomorrow night. I"m looking forward to it and will either make corn bread or rolls to go along with it.

Kelly's last day at work is tomorrow. She will be in once in a while and help with records. She is going to be missed. Especially by the people who don't like what I say they always figure if they wait till the day she is working and try again. I'm glad she will still be around to answer my questions.

Turkey Day and all the childern are home

WOW what a week. So I"ll start with Zach, he has had a busy week. He got out of school early which he thought was great. On Thursday he made a three story card house. He is VERY proud of it. He was also excited that we had Navajo taco on Thursday and that on Saturday we had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Zach was in charge of the rolls for our dinner and they were wonderful. I think we have another excellent roll maker in the works.

Christian was a great help on Saturday, after he adjusted to the fact that we were having Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday instead of Thursday, and he was very glad that Navjo tacos were part of the time spent here. I'm pretty sure that he and Zach would like me to make them every week. Christian was in charge of the mashed potatoes. they ended up being VERY good and wonderful. He needed some direction in proper cutting technique so that he got to keep all off his fingers. When he was done he still had all of them. Christian was help just getting things done for the dinner. I was so grateful for all of his help.

Nathan well, he was Nate, he was in charge of the all important frog eye salad. He had dinner in Sedro-Woolley on Thursday. His cousin Voughn was not pleased that he didn't have any frog eye with him. Nathan started the frog eye on Friday night. He was stirring the sauce for the frog eyes for a long time, when I realized that the burn he was using wasn't on. He changed burners and got the frog eye started to be finished right before eating. He did a great job finishing up the frog eye the next day, everyone was frustrated that the marshmallows were white not colored, but they were all we could find. Nathan did save the day as I didn't get the martineles so he brought some home from work.

Hello :)

this past week has been an amazing one. we had school three days and Wednesday was a half day. i wore jeans 2 out of 3 days. which is absolutely amazing! because i wear sweats literally everyday. i love to be comfortable. but anyway. i did wear jeans which was an amazing accomplishment. then um. Wednesday i had a half day and the last 45 minutes of school we were having an aids presentation that i really did not want to go to. so i called mom before 4th period and she came and got me towards the end of class and we went grocery shopping. and i got orange sweats when we were at walmart. then we went to the at&t store and i found the cell phone that i am going to buy with my Christmas money. so anyway. mom and i were on one side of the store and i was trying to convince her that i should get unlimited texting and she said no. then we went over to her husband who was paying the phone bill and he had just added unlimited texting! i was so excited. he did it cause i went over on accident...anywho! i now have unlimited texting so im a happy person :) so then thursday turkey day came and nothing exciting happened. then friday came and liz arrived. that night we went down to sedro and spent the night at our cousins house. and we almost died. cause we had gone up to hamilton to pick up one of her friends and we were on our way down to our cousins house and we were tryin to get off the highway onto there road, it kinda veered off to the left, and then the car wasnt turning and it wouldnt stop and i was so scared. we were hydroplanting. and we almost went into a ditch. it was quite scarry. anyway. then saturday we got home at like 1030 am and we showered then i started on stuffing. i cut the onions and celery, toasted the breat and tore it into small pieces. then i took the stuff out of the turkey and stuffed my first bird :) then i made this caramel pumpkin pie on gramcracker crust it is amazing. then the missionaries came over and we had a good time. then sunday we went to church and for the third hour the youngmen, youngwomen, and the adults were combind. it was boring. anywho. i should go this has been taking a long time. oh and i decided that i am going to be a baker and specialize in cakes :) anywho ill talk to you guys later. i hope you guys had a great turkey day :)

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Elizabeth

okay so i haven't written one of these before so bear with me. This week i had two thanksgivings; one at my dads and one at my moms. i flew to Washington on Friday and left on Monday, we had a great Thanksgiving with the missionaries. before that Alice and i had went to sedro-woolley (on Friday) so that i could visit some friends. it was really rainy so my mom told alice and me to just spend the night there (at Addy's house). what else? oh yes, i went to kohls suring black Friday at 400 in the morning-got some steals on clothes. other than that the only thing going on has been the usual school holabaloo. yea i know good times, right? so ya'll have a great week, and i hope your thanksgiving was swell

Justin was quiet busy this week, on Saturday while we were cooking he went out with the missionaries to check on some less active families. Then the missionaries came home with him and as they didn't have a dinner appointment we asked them to stay with us. Justin was in charge of the shopping, especially for the ice cream for to go with the apple crisp, which he did wonderfully.

I had a busy week myself, work, picking up Liz at the airport, after which she took me to lunch which was yummy. I didn't do a lot of the cooking for our dinner on Saturday, more of the over seeing supervisor job, which was nice and fun. Everyone made very yummy things for us to enjoy. The best part of my week was Sunday when all 5 of the kids were at church with us. It was so nice to have us all there together. Afterward I had Alice's friend Erin come and take come family pictures for us as I don't know when we will all be together again. I also spent time at the CTR store helping getting things ready. I do need to pour more of my time into getting things done for the store. The grand opening is next weekend so lots to do for that.

Want to thank all my friends who have listened to me and given advice to me the last few weeks as I have struggled with different things. I have decided to go with patience, forgiveness, and love. Now I must keep practicing these important things, which at times are so hard for me. We were reminded to start reading 3 Nephi on Monday so we will end with the Christmas story on Christmas. they also wanted to read an article out of the Ensign today and discuss it with our family. I have not gotten there yet but plan on reading it tonight before I go to bed tonight. At times I feel so inadequate as I still have so much to learn and do. I must continue to work harder and becoming a more Christ like person. And living the commandments and the other recommendations from the prophet and the apostles.

What a week

We have been so busy. I can't believe how much more there is to do with one more teenager in the house. But it has been great fun. There have been hard decisions made by some of us. As we all learn to have more patience and understanding with each other.

Justin has spent a lot of time studying for the ham radio test. I will be joining him in the studying effort so that we can take the test in Dec. We are wanting to be able to use this as a hobby we can enjoy together. We had an investigator at church today, so Justin had to teacher a class today, he said that it went well. They will actually be in the Everson ward, but knew someone from the branch and came to visit us, we were quiet glad to have them.

Nathan got a truck this week, we are hoping, with fingers, eyes, and toes crossed that this one keeps running. Nate knew I had, had a bad few days so he made lunch for all of us today of french toast. It was very yummy, THANKS Nate. He and Alice also tackled the dishes for me which was muchly appreciated.

I have had a busy time, trying to keep up with the kids and my new project and the CTR Bookstore. It is keeping me busy but I did learn how to change a regular file to a PDF which is a new skill for me. I am also learning more about web design, I am so excited about all the new skills I am learning, or expanding while helping a dear friend out.

I am also learning the importance of patience, prayer, forgiveness and turning the other check, things that I really need to practice and remember. I have finding my time on my knees and in tears over many things. I am trying, not always successfully to put Christ first and do what I believe He would want me to do, instead of follow my first response. I have always said that I would never let someone else make me upset and then use that as a reason not to go to church. That was put to the test this week, I am glad that I didn't let this keep me away from church, as there were many things said that I needed to hear, especially in primary where being kind to others was talked about several times. I must always remember that kindness begins with me.

This week I am adding a workout back into my routine. I have a new workout that is only 20 min long so I am going to be in bed at 10 PM so I can get up and do my routine, before reading my scriptures. I'm looking forward to the results as I make this change in my life, even though I know that it will be tough.

We have decided what we want to do as a family to welcome in the New Year. We are gong to go for a walk around Lake Padden, and then go and do the polar bear plunge. It will be cold and cold, but it will be fun to create this memory with the kids, everyone but Liz will be there. The boys are so excited about it, I think we have even got Justin on board with our craziness. We shall see.

ok so what to say.......i got a truck again after decideing that cars are from the lower levels of a place i cant say cause mom is gonna read this. its an f 350 camper special from 74 with a 408 V-8 in it, its a beast to say the least, has four gas tanks and runs well, im scraping my other two cars to make some cash, to get to work im riding the bus from lynden to belling ham so i gotta get to be sooner than i used to, no more late nights for me. not much else going on here, so ttyl yall TRUCKS ROCK if you dissagree go eat a lemon lol jk jk

Hello! It is Alice. My past week has been quite exciting. I started school at Lynden High recently. It has been quite fun. In my 1st period fitness for life class almost all of the girls remember me from 7th grade. Me and my next door neighbor Erin are best friends. We go for long walks after school everyday. This thrusday and friday I stayed home sick :( which was not fun. Saturday night I went to this church dance. It was LAME! to put it lightly. Over all my week was pretty good. I have been talking to my friends from Reno a lot more than I thought I would; I talk to my bestest friend Ryan more than anyone. I'm so excited for turkey day. School is going good :) How is your week going?
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Rain, Alice, and Nate at church....great week

Zach's week was good, because he umm played with his friends, and this week he was doing the pacer at PE and I could have got more but he felt like he was coughing stuff up. He played with his dog and he went to Aunt's house and saw his grandparents it was great to see them. He watched a movie at his aunt's place.

Hello, its Alice. My week was filled with excitement. Sunday was my last week in the Peavine Mountian ward in Reno. Monday after school my best friends Rachel and Ryan came over and we hung out until like 10. It was great. The next day we did not have school so I went over to Rachel's house and we picked up Ryan. We played pool all day and looked at pictures from our Yosemite trip. Wednesday was a late start day; after school Ryan came over and we baked chocolate chip cookies for a church dinner. For mutual we had a thanksgiving dinner and Ryan came with me. It was a blast. I felt bad for him though because my bishop drilled him with questions about us and his future after high school. Thursday night Rachel threw me a surprise going away party. It was Rachel, Ryan, Spencer, and I; my friend Jessica was going to come but no one could get a hold of her. We went to Starbucks and then up to Rachel's and we went into her hot tub. When they dropped me off at my house we said good bye and there were watery eyes. Not 5 minutes after they left Shealie a girl from church came and picked Liz and I up and we met our Laurel president at Cold Stone and we got ice cream and talked for a while. Then Liz and I went home. That was my last night in Reno. I was up until at least 1 in the morning packing and cleaning my room. On Friday I flew up to Washington. Now I am living in Washington with my mommy. Today we went to church and all of the girls were amazingly nice. I'm so glad to be home and living with my mom again. I should be starting school on Wednesday or Thursday.
Anyway that was my week. I hope you had a wonderful week!

ello every one, nate here to talk to you about my week

ok let me lead off with spunge bob is the dumbest cartoon around, its running in the back ground and i cant stand it. on now for the week, i SEVERLY over ordered for my freezer and am trying to figure out what im gonna do on monday, ive decided to take my car into a shop in sedro so i can get it fixed before it gets much worse weather wise up here, other than that not much finally started to go back to church so yeah, guess i'll talk to you later , PEACE

Well, I"ll start with our house is clear full, which is very nice. The best part was having everyone at church with us. The only way it wold have been better was to have Liz with us. She will be here for Thanksgiving and it will be great to have all of the kids here for a bit. I have had a busy week. Thursday I went with a Laura, a dear friend, and we started working on a project together, that will give us both more business experience. I'm very excited about it. We presented a local business with a new business plan. The owner really liked the plan so now we are working on putting the plans into motion, they include updating the stores web page, a newsletter to send to people who visit the store on a regular basis, and other things. Now comes the part of making it all work.

Thursday it started raining, and raining and raining. But luckily that didn't keep Alice from getting here on Friday. We are so glad that she made it here. she had requested fajitas for dinner so that is what we had, followed of course by ice cream. Zach and Christian were excited that she was coming as they figured there would be ice cream involved. She picked egg nog, the kids said it was very yummy. They are also glad she is here as Alice likes to bake and made brownies on Saturday. The boys requested Navajo taco for dinner on Saturday and they were yummy. Zach and Christian want me to make them for Turkey day but I told them NOPE we are having turkey. Justin mentioned that he could get use to eating them weekly, I don't think so though. I've been looking for more recipes that I can do in the crock pot as I'll be home a lot less to cook dinner on time after the first of the year.

Alice is now busy setting up her room. To make the rooms work in here we have made these adjustments, she will be in the bedroom during the week, and on the weekend she will sleep on the futon and the boys will sleep in the bedroom. So she is trying to make it so her things don't over power the boys things, but it feels like her room to her, and theirs to them.

Fire pits and good times

There were many exciting things this week, and a few ooohhhh:) moments. Alice will be arriving on Friday to stay. This would be one of the exciting things. There is lots to do at our end and hers to get things ready for her arrival. We need to fix the room she will be staying in, and get things lined up at both school and church for her. But every is excited for her. Nathan says we need to do something fun when she gets her, perhaps her favorite ice cream and dinner. I'm excited to have another girl in the house.

Saturday we had an extra boy, Kayden, his family were moving so I had invited him to come and help Zachary and Christian. They were in charge of digging a fire pit. Which they did a wonderful job at. After it was done, Justin went and helped them toward the end, and then helped them build a small fire in it. They are all hoping that this coming weekend we can make a big fire, roast some hot dogs, and burn some marshmallows and turn them into s'mores. Kayden did say he would like to be here for that so we shall see if he is available then.

I know many wonderful men, this week two of them did remarkable things in my eyes. The first is my dear wonderful husband, who is always thinking of others. I was working on a board with our last name, Masterson on it, which I was putting the words, "families are forever" across it. Justin saw what I was doing and said he really liked it, but was wondering if we need to do one that says Adair as well as Masterson. He doesn't want any of my children to feel left out as they are Adair's not Masterson's.

The second was when my little brother called me. He was at Home Depot, Jonathan said they had sold their house this week and that his little girls were sad as they had to leave their swing set behind. So he was looking for a new wooden one, that hasn't been put together yet so he can have it shipped to Italy with their other things, where he will put it together when it gets there for the girls. He also got himself a Harley to be shipped also. They leave in 9 days, we are wishing them a safe and uneventful flight.

I also talked with my sister, Amy, I think our cats must be related as they both do strange things. She said that Stinky, her cat, brought a pheasant in to the house today. It was still very much a live. It didn't appear to have any damage, so they caught it and put it in with their chickens, so they can watch it and make sure it is okay. According to Amy the ducks chase Stinky, she is thinking that Stinky is working her way up to them as the pheasant is the same size as Stinky is and ducks are the next size up. If I were one of those ducks I'd start watching my back.

Friday night we invited two couples over for dinner. Justin made his wonderful chili, and I made corn bread to go with it. We were going to play games, but ended up just visiting for a few hours instead. It was great, Justin and Darrin figured out that they were related, and we all shared great stories about how we met our spouse and funny things that happened to us as we were growing up. It is wonderful to have good friends.

Today in primary we talked about what we did as being in the "Service in Secret Club" It was fun to hear the different things that kids had done. After which we talked about our different talents and how it is important to use them to use them, and that you must sometimes work hard to develop your talents. Then we must share them with others, so we can receive more. we ended with the challenge to use your talents to do things in our Service in Secret Club. I will need to bring something for the kids next week.

Firewood is on all the boys minds

Zachary worked on his bear this week, he wrote two letters, and did a to do list. At scouts they went to the library, and learned about where different types of books were kept in the library. Zach also became an expert at splitting logs, learning safety from Christian. At school his friend who had been out for two weeks because he was sick returned. Zach was excited to see him. He stayed side by side with the fastest kid in his class. Today at church they played jeopardy and the girls won by eight points. the boys are hoping to do better next time.

Christian has been reading a bunch of books this week. He went trunker-treating at church, chopped some wood. At scouts they are building a tribusha, to go against another pack in pumpkin throwing. Christian also finally got through a piece of wood that he has been working on the last two weeks he is so proud of himself. At church his lesson was a out temple marriage.

It's been a busy week, part of it was quiet relaxing as I refilled the bird feeder. I have been enjoying watching all the birds around it. Today we had a woodpecker out side also, so I may need to get some of the stuff they like. Yesterday the sunrise over the mountain was quiet incredible.

Thursday evening a friend of mine came to visit, Miss Kinsey. she stayed for a while eating popcorn and enjoying a cup of apple juice, watching some TV until her mom came over to pick her up. Friday Kinsey came to my rescue. I had put some gas in my car and accidentally locked my keys in the car. Justin was a sleep with his cell phone off, and couldn't hear the house phone. I called Kinsey's mom to see if she could go and wake Justin up so he could come and rescue me. Kinsey answered the phone and her Mom wasn't there so I told her I need to go. I continued to try and find someone to help. I was having no luck and was quiet frustrated when the ear piece for my cell phone went off. It was Lianne, Kinsey's mom, when she got home she said that Kinsey was quiet insistent that I called. When Lianne checked the caller ID it said Safeway, so she said that I hadn't called, but Kinsey was quiet insistent that I had so she was calling to make Kinsey happy. I was able to ask Lianne to go get Justin up and tell him what my problem was. Justin tried to call me several times but my phone never did pick it up. I called him back and got him as he was awake and he came to the rescue. I'll forever be grateful Kinsey insisting that I had called or it would have been an even longer morning.

An old friend from high school found me on Face book. Which is fun as I haven't kept track of anyone from HS. It has been fun to exchange messages with her and talk about old times.

Nathan found a great deal on firewood for us, if you go and split the wood you get to keep half. So Nate has been going on the last two days he was off. I am greatly appreciative of it. As Nate enjoys this kind of work it makes it great for both of us. He said that the guy is a real character, he has a collection of I think he said 20 or so pipe organs. Sounds really fun to see.

I was in charge of sharing time in primary today and I had the children start a Service in Secret Club. It started as a fun way to teach the children about doing service to others. I made Service in Secret cards for all of the kids. the more I thought about it the more I decided that I would take on the challenge I gave the children to do Service in Secret this week. I'm going to be looking hard to do some secret service myself. I know that it will feel good to do some service in secret. And am passing on the challenge to everyone who reads our blog, do some kind of service in secret and see if it makes you feel better.

Alice is coming to live at our house!!!

Christian has had a busy weekend, he went and started working on his citizenship in the community merit badge on Saturday. When he got back he did a lot of wood splitting and bringing it up to the porch, which I sooo appreciate. He went to a joint activity with one of the other wards in the stake where they did a service project and then had RBF's (root beer floats).

Zach had a more laid back weekend, but he did help with the wood, and set some goals on what he was going to work on to get his bear in cub scouts. He did a wonderful job in the primary program. He liked telling stories with the missionaries when they were over for dinner on Saturday.

We woke up on Thursday to find out that the farmers had left all these marshmallows in the field behind our house. So if you need some for your hot coca come over. Call first, we might even think about smores:)

Justin was in charge of getting Christian to the merit badge class on Saturday. I so appreciated it. S I could stay home and clean. Which was also nice to get done.He also helped the boys with the wood, and my favorite, did the dishes for me. He is such a great guy. Today during the primary program he played with one of my counselors baby as her hubby was out of town. I think he had a lot of fun :)

Today was our primary program and I think the children did a wonderful job. Then Amy, the primary sec. made the best treats, pretzels with a Hersey's hug and m&m's where the hug and m's were on top of the pretzel and the hug melted around the m's into the pretzel...they looked yummy. She always has the neatest little treats idea's

Our exciting news for this week is that Alice is going to come and live with us. We are sooo very excited. She is coming sometime between now and Thanksgiving. I've been finding out what we need to do to get her in to seminary and transfer to our high school. I can't wait for her to get her, part of the reason is I miss her tons and I will no longer be the only girl in the house. Justin said he needs to stock up on chocolate, and is glad that Edaleen is near by (yummy ice cream place). Our house that emptied out not to long ago seems to be filling back up. And we are glad.

Nathan learned to make mash potatoes:)

Our weekly funny is on Nathan this week. As we were leaving for church today I stuck my head in his room and asked him to: do the dishes, take the rolls out of the fridge, and cut up some potatoes put them in the pot on the stove and cover with water, so we could have mash potatoes. As church was over I had Zach call and check ans see how he was doing. Nate reported that he needed to talk with me. Apparently all he heard was to wash the dishes and mashed potatoes. Being a good boy he washed the dishes and having no idea how to make mash potatoes made an attempt. He microwaved the potatoes, cut them up, put them in the kitchen aid, added some milk and turned it on. He said said he had a lumpy mess. I told him I'd fix it when I got home and to make sure the rolls were out of the fridge. I stifled the giggles until I hung up the phone. When I got home there was a bowl of cold have mashed potatoes. That I soon realized were half cooked. Back in the microwave they went until cooked then I finished mashing them added some butter, milk etc. Nathan said he couldn't figure out why I had asked him to make mash potatoes when he never had and didn't leave any directions. I gave him a lesson on the right way to make them and then told him what I had asked him to do. He said all her remembered was do the dishes and mashed potatoes. And all he knew about mash potatoes was you cooked potatoes put them in the kitchen aid and added milk. I promised to make sure he was awake from now on and out of bed before giving instructions. But the pork roast was yummy falling apart and tender, and rolls perfect as is expected. Christian even commented on how much he liked dinner. He is my picky eater and is pretty sure half the time I'm trying to kill him. He has gotten better and trying new things though.

Justin and Christan went camping with the Scouts on Friday night. It was a long hike in, but from all reports it was great. They stayed at a look out point up at the Twin Lakes. Christian loved the fact that there were already things up there for people in case they forgot something, and left his hot chocolate up there in case someone needed some. They cooked dinner on white gas stoves, and lit candles. Justin said they were glad to be sleeping inside and not in there tents and it was quiet windy and there was snow on the ground. I smiled as there were 4 adults and 2 scouts on the hike. I understand the view was incredible, Justin kept saying that he had never seen so many mountain peeks. And they both agreed that it was beautiful. We are hoping to take a day hike up there in the late spring or summer when it is a bit warmer.

Zach went to Sister McCoy's on Saturday to practice for the primary program and have pizza. The rest of his weekend was pretty laid back, we did start a jigsaw puzzle though.

The practice for the primary program was today, it went well and I think the children will do an excellent job next week. It will be nice to have it done so we can focus on the next thing. I was talking to the branch pres. and expressing that I am finally feeling that I might be starting to get this calling figured out, but that didn't mean I was wanting to be released. I love our branch as I am getting to know new people. I'm sure I have some of the best teachers there are in our primary.

I went to Express Personnel and interviewed, they will hopefully have work for me to do at the end of the week. It will make it a lot easier as we need to be getting the tickets for the girls to come for Thanksgiving.

I talked to Shirley today!!! She sounded good and is going to send pictures of Parker. He is in kindergarten this year. We can't wait to get them. We had sent him some Parker root beer and he loved it, so we are thinking we shall send some more, it will just have to be opened carefully as not to explode.

Also talked with Amy, she sounded good. She actually called during sacrament meeting, and I didn't have the ringer of on my cell phone. I called her back after church. She is doing well, her and Jake were taking it easy and waiting for Ariel to get back from work.

I also got Michael, Young Mi and Max on the phone. It was a great day to catch up with everyone. Michel starts his last semester to get his RN WAY TO GO!! They have great plans and I am sure they will all happen. I know they are all glad that he is almost done. Young will cut back on work this summer it sounds like and her parents will come in from Korea for a visit. Max just got contacts! Is playing the bass, and working on his black belt. GO MAX.

I didn't catch up with Jonathan this week just left a message, but Mom and Dad are there to see them before they leave on their great adventure so I am sure they were off doing something fun.

I don't know how Justin's family is doing as he had to run before he talked with them. On the weeks Christian has BYC we just have enough time to eat before he has to leave for work.

Happy Birthday Justin

Hey peoples my life (Christian) is kinda bore'in right now but...just so y'all know you need t0 read this in a...western accsent ya varmits!!! soo00oo . . . I got this mini skateboard that you use for your fingers!!! and its kinda co0ol scho0ol is. . . the same so ummm . . . ya thats it In scouts we built a kitchen box for when we go camping. Watched conference and got to go to priesthood session and share a quart of ice cream with Dad afterwards.

Zach's week, when we were going to get Dad's present with Melanie we saw a rainbow, at first I could only see red, yellow and green, and then I could see all the colors. We got Dad an old fashion 9:10 to Yuma, a pocket watch that says "DAD" on it and a jacket for his birthday. On Tuesday his teacher says if they were quiet during writing time they would get a treat, it was rice crispys and was yummy. At cubs we studied the American flag and worked on the citizenship belt loop. On Saturday and Sunday I watched General conference, on Sat. I also watched "The Other side of Heaven" I really liked the movie and think you should watch it. It's about a missionary and his mission.

ok this is nathan here to tell you about my week so that mom doesn't make stuff up about me, the week kicked off with WORK of course now that I'm back from Reno and went back to the regular routine, and of course i am still car less since i cant buy a decent car to save my life, working on that though, as far as other projects go I'm fixing moms lawnmower as soon she buys a new pull cord for it, other than that its just playing with the fluffy dog and taking trips to sedro to visit Friends, that's pretty much the standard that I'm carrying on

So we have had a busy week, I'll start with the funny on the Gizmo. All week she has been chasing mice through the house at night. I haven't seen any signs of mice in the house though. Thursday night Justin said she brought a mouse into the living room, let it go, went and caught it again and brought it back. Saturday during the day she had it cornered again, and caught it again, then let it go...girr. She then cornered it by the door. Got board and left it. Thanks heavens for Nate, he came and shooed it out the door. We have slept soundly every night since thing. No more mice in the house.

Wednesdays are busy days for me, lots of driving. This week was even more so as the boys weren't in the same place for scouts, it looks like ti will be the same this week I figured I drive almost 2.5 hours on Wednesdays, doing my part to keep the oil companies in business.

Friday during the day Justin and I went down to the temple and did a session. It was nice to get a way for a bit. Traffic was intense on the way home. there was an accident and we had to figure out how to get back on the freeway, but we did, and got home and picked up the boys.

Come the first of January I will be working full time at the dr. office, Kelly will be doing other things. She will be greatly missed. I"m excited to go full time there, but know I rely on her when I have questions. she did say she would cover for me when I need a day off though and I am grateful for that. I will not be able to over see cub scout day camp next summer so I'll be letting them know this week.



I have been emailing Alice this weekend and found out the following. Liz took the SAT's on Saturday. I remember when I took them, we ended up needing to wait for an hour until the person passing out the test got there. I'm sure that Liz did an excellent job. Alice has been watching the boys a lot and doing school work she said. Alice also sent some great pictures of her birthday hope you enjoy them, We did.




I'm also posting some pictures that Jonathan sent of the girls and him and Celeste. We are so glad to get them also. The one of the girls with the turtle was when they are in Argentina. I'm hoping that he will continue to send pictures when they are out of the country. I thought about them when Pres. Monsen announced the new temples in Rome and Argentina. I hope they get to enjoy both of them.


Today is Justin's birthday. I made him lasagna, rolls and cake. After conference we had dinner, had cake, and opened presents. I think that he liked his presents, Zach was very excited about them as he was the one that went shopping and picked them out.

I've been working on the primary program, next Sunday is our run through and then we will do it. I think it is going to be good. I'm also working on next years primary things, I was inspired when Jonathan said the Christina was learning her articles of faith that we should learn them in our primary. My secretary said that she was in a ward where the children went to the bishop after the block and passed of an article of faith, we are going to give it a try at the beginning of the year. I am going to make a chart to keep track of how we are doing. We are even going to challenge the teachers, and presidency to learn them. Along with studying the monthly themes.

I started weight watchers this week, so you won't get an update here until I hit my first goal of 10% of my body weight. I am working hard at following the program, and learning the points system to help me eat wisely.

Reno, Scouts, and goals:)

Nathan went to Reno, on the first day he hung out and possibly went to Circus Circus or hung out he can't remember, but Circus Circus was fun. While there they played games and won tickets, getting stuffed starfish and a dog (No he didn't' ask if he could have another dog). Went to dinner the next day at the Peppermill and someone thought that Liz was his wife and Wajay and Curtis were there children..lol. Following day he was off to Lake Tahoe and rode the godala, which was way cool and then dinner at Azteca (yummy Mexican) followed by Cold Stone for ice cream

Christian had his board of review for his 1at class Scout and got it YES, other than that I haven't heard how the rest of his week was as he was with his Mom this weekend, I am sure he will have a lot to say next week.

Zach worked some more on his Bear, and made somethings in cubs, as he always had a great week I'm sure he will also have a lot to say.

I talked with Liz this week, she said she dropped her AP Biology class and replaced it with a per tutor class. She is in AP Spanish and is playing tennis. She sounds quiet busy making it to seminary before school and practice after. Liz would also like for every one to know that she rode a camel while Down Under.

Alice reported that school is easy which makes homework easy, tonight she is working on a paper for her chemistry lab. doing drivers ed, and that she takes care of her little brothers a lot. I am sure all of her help is greatly welcomed, and that knowing Alice she is looking at the boys and doing a lot with her friends. but I could be wrong.

I ended up going to the dentist this week, and it made me think of Liz, when she got her wisdom teeth out, she came home, took some pain pills and watched the food net work. I found myself doing the same thing, thanks for introducing me to Ace of Cakes Liz. Justin finds it interesting that we both watch food TV when we can't eat because of having dental work.

I did okay on my exercise program, I got 4 days in this week I was hoping for at least 5. I will do better this week, I also need to work on my diet more. I will get on the scales in the morning and see if I lost any thing.

We got a lot done in Primary Pres. meeting getting things decided for next year and organized, and making plans for next year, we are going to work on the children learning the 13 Articles of Faith, and helping the children learn that they are part of eternal families.

I didn't get to go to church this week, as I was not feeling well so I read the Friend and New Era for Oct. They were full of great ideas and I am thinking we may need to develop a way to make sure that the boys are learning what is in both, so I am hoping the we can start having more family time where we are discussing church ideals. While helping the boys work on different things they need for scours, and learning that the Lord loves them.

It was great spending time with Justin as always, I was sad that we didn't' get to go to the temple as I was not feeling well, but look forward to going with him in the near future. We are working on our food storage, and getting out of debt I'm so happy to have someone to work on these things with. Other goals that I am working on is writing my Grandma Mecham each week, and starting Christmas things. So far so good, I'll mail the letter in the morning and did some crocheting...can't say what on though...:)

Fall is in the Air

Christian had a busy week, he went camping. and got his first class finished and is now star rank. and he shot shotguns then went to a church meeting then ummm.. is now typing this summary about his week and mel is asking about his week and kinda being a pest!!!!!! so000oo....... oh and i went to a stake party and i was sick all week!!! and wishes he had an x-box 360!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (*happy face*) :) :)

and that's all i have t o say!

Zachary's week: He went to school for most of the week. On Wed. he got some belt loops for Cub Scouts. He went to some parties this week, One of them was the Stake Harvest Party, where he ate lots of food and played with baby Tesher. the other one was at socoor game at his dad's work. He had some fun at PE playing King Pluee, where everyone is blind folded and you say Pluee, and if you touch him then you become it. Played with Layla, his dog. and some video games.

Justin has had a busy week, lots of work, then party's. Friday was his annual work party, where I made an apple crisp it was a lot of fun. Then Saturday was the Harvest diner for the stake. It was wonderful to see all of our friends from the different wards we have been in and have a chance to visit. This morning was ward planning meeting, and We ended up with one of the radio's that we are using in the branch to help keep in contact when there is an emergency. Every Sunday evening there is a check in, it will be nice to know that if we needed to we could get hold of someone. Next month we are taking the ham radio test and getting a radio. Our stake had a check in on Sunday evenings.

Nathan finally made it back to us last night with the Sheshee dog. Sheshee is sick so we will be taking care of her, she has a sore on her neck and doesn't smell well. Will be getting her a bath and cleaned up. It is sad that she doesn't bark or even jump up to see us as we are leaving and coming back. Once again Nathan doesn't have a car that is running, hopefully someday he will. He flies out in the morning to see his dad and sisters in Reno. So I get to take care of the big white fluffy dog.

I have applied for several jobs this week, hopefully I'll get something part time soon. I'd like to be bringing in some more money so we can get out of debt while working on our food storage, and 72 hour kits. It will be nice to have Justin back next weekend. I've missed having him around on the weekends. I'm looking forward to going to the temple with him next week. Primary is keeping me busy. I feel like I just can't seem to quiet get it right. I need to make sure that all kids get their Faith in God booklets next week, can't believe I haven't done that, and achievement days going again. Cubs and 11 yr old Scouts seem to be doing well, I'm glad. We are busy working on the Primary Program I'm excited to see it done. I have wonderful teachers who have been working hard with their kids to get their parts down. We have the most wonderful music lady, every week she seems to have a fun idea to help the kids with the songs this week they went in to Lehi's "tent" and brought out items after talking about the item they would sing one of the songs for the program. It looks like we are getting the last two people called that I asked for, which is nice as I'm finally starting to feel like I might be getting primary figured out. The bishop has asked that on the 5th Sunday we get the teachers to the joint meeting so we are trying to do that and to rotate some of the teachers into Relief Society weekly. I am going to talk with my counselors about how we are going to do that.

I'm working hard at trying to loose some weight, so I bought a two new skirts that are a size to small for this fall. I'm going to be up dating on here how I am doing. My goal is to do some toning things in the morning and then in the afternoon either going for a walk or doing something else. I'm sure hoping it will work as I would like to be a size or two smaller by Christmas. Wish me luck:)

Fall is in the air so I am posting a picture from our front steps looking at Mt. Baker, the clouds were just lifting off it and it look beautiful. we also got our first rain of the fall yesterday. We had quiet the down pour for a bit but then it was gone, I'm glad as it has been a bit since I'd driven in it. I always hate to drive in the rain, the funny thing is I don't mind the snow...oh well.

Mom and Dad Mecham are going to be gone until the end of the month last I talked with them as they are on call until then and would just get back to UT and have to leave, so they are just staying out until then.

Still sunny:)

Zach's exciting week, he went to school for most of the week. At Cub Scouts he made a candy bowl out of cement that looks like a leaf. On Sunday he went to church and did a skit about prayer, Zach acted out the Rameupmtu and then that you could pray in the closet. Saturday Zach helped in the yard, raking up the grass and cut blackberries, then off to a baptism and branch party. At the party he rode a hay wagon and ate lots of good food.

Christian was sick this week with a cough and not feeling well. He helped in the yard work. He thought it was funny when one of the blackberry brambles got stuck to my back and he had to get it off. Then dad was picked up on motor cycle, we went to a parry and baptism. For young men's they went bowling. School was okay this week.

We had good week but it was busy, Justin pulled some extra shifts. A friend of his from work picked him up on Sat. and then dropped him at the branch party and stayed to eat. Justin worked during the day again today so we missed him at church. He and I went out to lunch on Fri. which was nice as I've missed going places with him with all the work he has been doing.

The beginning of the week I started a sour dough start. Today is the trial run, to won't be very strong yet, but will get there over time. I'm going to run some of the rolls to the family across the street. I applied for several part time jobs this week and am hoping to hear back this week on one of them. Saturday the boys and I did a bunch of yard work in the morning, I appreciated all of the boys help. We are hoping to get it finished next week. The rest of the day was doing church things, baptism and branch party.

Justin just called to say that he had talked to his dad and Ben started kindergarten and loves riding the school bus, WAY TO GO Ben.

Nathan's week started out good, he got a car and everything was going well, until the block go a hole in it. He was driving down to pick up a new radiator, when it happened, he had water with him and was watching for the check engine light to come on. What he didn't know at the time was that the light didn't work. He has spent the last two days getting the engine out fixed and is hoping to have it finished today. I feel like we should write a soap opera about Nathan's cars and how they all break and what he will do next for transportation.

Mom and Dada Mecham are planing on coming back to UT around the 19th, then they are ushering at General Conference and then off to GA to visit with Jonathan, Celeste and the girls before they leave for Italy.

First Day of School for Boys

Christian's first day back to school was intermediate between good and bad. He got good teachers, good classes, has wood shop again :) He as excited to see all his old friends from last year, and made a new friend. the bad part is there is a new kid that is a jerk to everyone. who was pushing people around. Another good thing is the bullies for last year are not so mean this year and they get to chew gum in school. Christian has a really fun math teacher who sells pencils and gum to the students. Christian is kinda happy to be back to school.

Zachary's first day of school he had PE and he didn't know where his class was or his teacher so he had to figure it out. He must have figured it out all right as he got back on the bus to go home:) The first day of school the parents got homework and Zach thought that was kinda cool. He has a bunch of friends in his class, there was new play ground equipment. Tuesday before they went back to school the boys cousin was over and played games with them, Zach said it was a lot of fun. And they took her back to the train station to go home, Zach thinks that is cooler than a plane as there aren't so many restrictions to ride. Yesterday he went to a party for his primary class, where there was a lot of swimming and game playing, along with working on the primary program for this year

Nathan is gr owning lamb chops and they look really silly, at least this time he is keeping the rest of his face under control, as far as hair growth goes. He bought yet another car, it has been suggested that he buy a wind shield wiper motor for it now and keep it in the car just in case.:) He also needs to replace the radiator and front light on one side. Nate has brought some yummy treats home from work. He has to get rid of at least one of his cars by the end of the week...or we will start charging him rent on them (giggle)

Justin has a new hobby, he goes on to craiglist and picks a state and then a town and learns what rent is and if we could get a job there. I decide if I would be willing to move there, relaying my feelings with how may labadoodles it would cost him to get me to move there:) It is silly but fun. He is also looking at a lot of books about different states. Justin worked on Saturday, we are setting that a side for our trip in Dec. to see everyone. We sure are excited.

I made cinnamon rolls yesterday, I called Nate at work and told him I would make them if he would bring powdered sugar home. I left the info. with Uncle Rich, he delivered the message but then said he would buy the powdered sugar if I made sure he got some so I will send some to work with Nate tomorrow. I have been working on setting up the fund raiser for cub scouts next spring. I think I have it figured out. Primary was nice today, I had to do sharing time, so I taught about prayer and why we pray. We talked about remembering to say thanks for things and not just asking for things. We also talked about seeking, asking and knocking. (Matthew 7:7)

Gizmo is starting to put on her winter weight and the geese are already flying south, this could mean that it is going to be a long cold winter, we are hoping that they are wrong.

A Bird in the House

Happy Birthday Alice!!! Alice turned 16 on the 31st of Aug. It is hard to believe that she is that old. She went to a concert, and went out to dinner, she also said that she is going to be taking drivers ed. Hard to believe that my baby girl is gong to be driving.

Aaron also had a birthday on the 30th, haven't heard as of yet what he did or if he had fun, we hope he had a great one.:)

Liz and Alice both started school last week, and it sounds like they are very busy with school, seminary, work and helping at home with their younger brothers. Hopefully they get to do something fun once in a while and will let us know what they are up to.

Our funny story of the week took place on Tuesday. As I was headed to get Nathan from work, Justin called saying that there was a bird in the house. Apparently it had flown down the chimney of the wood burning stove. The boys could hear it flapping around inside the stove. Justin told them to leave it closed, but when he left they opened the door and it came out. I asked Christen why he had opened the door when his dad had told him not to. He said, " I wanted to make sure it was really a bird." I'm just glad it was a bird and not a wasp nest, as we have had a lot of them around the house. The boys called before I got home and said it had gone out, they had opened the doors that go outside and closed the bedroom doors so it couldn't get in any of them. Both boys were surprised that Gizmo didn't try and get it. When I got home, Zac told me he had locked the bathroom door and closed, so I had to break into the bathroom.

Mom and Dad Mecham are in Baton Rough waiting for Hurricane Gustov to hit. they will be helping run the shelters for those who are evacuated, and then loose there homes. Last I heard was that they will be gone for three weeks. As I hear from them and how and what they are doing I will post it.

Jonathan, Celeste, Cristina, and Lisa are starting to get ready for their big move to Italy, I understand they are learning Italian, which will put them at three languages in their household. We are wishing them luck, and will up date there travels here as I hear.

Grandma and Grandpa Mecham come to visit

We spent Saturday at Silver Lake with Grandma and Grandpa Mecham. Justin was paddled around the lake by Zac and Christian. As was Grandma by Nathan and Grandpa. We also had a row boat that everyone took a turn at. We enjoyed a nice picnic while up there and were thankful that this was one of our days without rain. Grandma and Grandpa were here to enjoy church with us on Sunday also. Some of the other highlights of their visit were, Grandpa holding Zac up side down by his ankles, I don't think next time Grandpa will be able to do this as Zac is getting to big. Grandpa and Zac were best buddies with lots of tickling, and teasing done from both. We visited Fairway Cafe for dinner and pie (yummm) Along with the two pies we got for Grandpa's visit. Grandma has been working on a family history and genealogy book for Justin for a long time and had it finished and delivered it to him. I know that Justin will enjoy it and greatly appreciates all the hard work that she put into it.

Nathan has had a tuff week. It started with the windshield wiper motor going out in his car. Every car he has had as of late has had this problem. Thursday night a belt came off of it, at one point everyone was there to help him fix it. I left with the other boys, as it was getting late and Grandma and Grandpa went back to the hotel, Justin and Nate finally made it home with the car. Nathan was covered with grease and grime from head to toe when they got home. The belt managed to come off again on the way to work on Friday, that evening he took the alternator out and found out Saturday that it was toast, so he had to fix that...We are so glad he went to the Lake with us and enjoyed pie and ice cream for a break from the car dilemmas

Today at church I had to lead the music in sacrament meeting unexpectedly, as we are in a small branch we all have to pinch hit at times. I looked down to see Dad nodding off and it looked like Zac sitting next to him was doing the same. I went to give them a bad time afterwards to find out that Zac was reading and had the job of poking Grandpa if he started snoring or drooling :) Zac did a good job of keeping Grandpa in line. One week Justin had to help pass the sacrament and I was leading the music, Zac was sitting on the bench keeping it warm for Christian, and Justin. We are so proud of Christan and the way he preforms is duties as a deacon. Whether it is passing the sacrament or cleaning the building, he is always there to do what is asked. I got to go to relief society which was nice for a change as I am usually in primary. We had an excellent lesson about prayer and faith, it reminded me of a saying that you are suppose to pray like everything depends on the Lord and then work like it depends on you, while listening to the Lord.. I need to remember to do this now and always. I was very busy at work and will be going in early tomorrow to finish up what I couldn't get done.

We had some crazy weather lots of rain, and the snow level dropped to 6,000 ft. only 4" but you could see it from our house, the mountain looked very white. I am sure we will be seeing more of these days in the future.

Fair week

We have had a VERY busy week. The fair was this week, Christian and Zac went with their mom, Jennifer, on Monday to enjoy the exhibits, rides and the crashum up derby. Christian's favorite part of the fair was the derby, he especially liked it when the car burst into flame (he did assure me that the driver was fine). Zac loved the rides, there was a wind glider, where you went around and round really high like super man, on your stomach. Justin went with he boys on Saturday and enjoyed the push-up contest at the army display. I went to the fair twice with clients, enjoying the cows, and merri-go round.

Christian gave his first talk in sacrament meeting today. It was wonderful, he talked about a change of heart. We were all proud of him, he was quiet nervous but you couldn't tell. Christian wants everyone to know that he is awesome, because ahhh he just is :) and he does awesome things like, video games and stuff like that.

Zac's week had a visit to his mom's after a long week here, and had a fun time at the fair with her. And playing with his puppy, Lala. He is starting to read his Book of Mormon. He is looking forward for Grandma and Grandpa Mecham to come this coming week.

Nathan said he hasn't had much of a week, just work, fixing his CB in car, remembered to put the top on the car when it rains. He forgot a few weeks ago. Rumor has it he might be cleaning his room this week (before grandma gets here:)) He is looking forward to seeing Grandpa. He did pick up the Seshee piles outside, I had warned him that if he didn't he would not like where he found them.....I was thinking a bag full in his car.

I had a busy week as I mentioned I spent two days at the fair with clients. Friday was my last day working as a care giver. I am both happy and sad. I will miss my clients who I have taken care of for the past 4 years, but it is time to move on. I am happy as my live moves on to the next thing. I will be working for the dr. more and looking for more office work, while trying to get in and finish my last few class on my bachelors. My goal is to get all of the boxes off the front porch and unpack Justin and my room. I'[m also working on loosing a few more pounds, the ongoing struggle in my life.

Justin and I went to a party on Saturday at his friend's, John's, house. It was a good time he has one each year this year the theme was Japan. I took rice with fruit and terriaki chicken. It was nice to gust relax and enjoy each other, we took a walk on the beach and saw some good friends. I think that it is save to say that he was more nervous than Christian was about his talk. It was a little hot up here, and I had to tease him as he is from AZ and wants to move back there, but was complaining about our heat.

Welcome, about us:)

Hi and Welcome

We are new to the blogger scene, I, Melanie, must admit I've been dragging my feet on making one but have finally sir come and will happily blog away as all of our friends and families can keep up on what we are doing, and enjoy our ups and downs with us.

Our family consist of many people:

Justin working hard and keeping us all happy and smiling, with lots of trips to Edaleen (ice cream) and great jokes. Justin works at Whatcom Communtiy College as a custodian, where he has a lot of fun with the guys there, while the rest of us are sleeping. Justin is the branch mission leader, which we all love as we get to know all the missionaries as they come and go.

Melanie the cracker of the whip, cook, and scheduler keeper. Melanie will leave one of her jobs as working as a caregiver for people with disabilities on the 15th of Aug. She will continue working for Dr. C a few days a week and look for more receptionist work. Melanie is primary president, which she enjoys very much

Nathan, 19, is the frozen food manager at BGO (Bellingham Grocery Outlet), owner of the big white fluffy dog (Seshee), and into all things electronic

Elizabeth (Lizzy), 17, lives with her dad in Reno, is a Sr. this year, took a trip to Australia this summer, and makes us all proud with all she does. Lizzy works as a nanny for her other 3 little brothers

Alice, almost 16, wants to have a truck to drive, lives in Reno with her dad, is a Jr. this year, loves people, and likes to eat the ice cream that Justin gets at Edaleen:) Alice works at Cold Stone (we all wonder how she keeps from weighing a ton with her love of ice cream) and helps Lizzy as needed

Christian, 12, was just put in as deacon quorum pres., has just found a love for Scouts, and wants to get his Eagle.

Zachary (Zac Attach), 9, loves live and all it has to offer, is muchly attached to one of the new babies in the branch, has a smile the is infectious.

We hope this will help you know who we are and a little about us as you get to know us better and what we do.