This entry added on Monday, February 5, 2007 at 10:40 a.m.
In case you haven't heard already, our second daughter was born on Jan 30 at 7:57 pm. she was 9 lbs 4 oz. and 20 inches.Her name is Cherith Wren.
I have a couple of pictures of her here: http://grays.110mb.com/Cherith_Baby_Picts.html
This entry added on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 at 01:15 p.m.
For those of you that would like to see more recent pictures of our family, I am in the process of creating a new web site: http://grays.110mb.com/Spring06.htmlcheck back for new changes
This entry added on Sunday, May 7, 2006 at 06:12 p.m.
Hello everyone,John gave us a call and reminded me that we have not told most of the family that we are moving to Utah in June. Sorry about that but for any of you that have moved long distances know that things get lost in the details.
We have moved a lot since we have been married and moving from Alaska is like an overseas move. You technically could move by land but it would be much, much, worse. So, we are going to ship our stuff by sea again and see what gets broken this time.
Russ will be starting up his own solo law practice when we get to Salt Lake City. We are buying a home in S.L. so he won't have a nasty commute. Our kids don't remember living in Utah so for them it will be a whole new state. They were pretty worried at the beginning. After all they really liked having their own ice rink in the yard and all those months of snow. Plus they are getting old enough to have a hard time leaving friends behind. Moira does not remember Oregon and so to her we are leaving the only home she has ever known. They are pretty excited now that they have seen picutres of their new house. They are really excited about having an unfinished basement to do whatever they want in.
I will probably end up staying Primary president until the day we fly away. Our poor ward is loosing people right and left. I think Russ is pretty happy about leaving his 13 year old sunday school class behind but then youth have never been his cup of tea.
We will be moving the night after school gets out. Don't expect to see us too soon though because we won't have a car for at least a month since it has to go by barge and then by train to get to our new home. We are not exactly on our best behavior after a big move either. A little crabby would be putting it politely, but we will say hi to everyone once we get our land legs under us again.
See you all (well most of you) soon.
This entry added on Saturday, April 29, 2006 at 07:46 p.m.
Hi everyone, sorry it's been a while. Not much is going on with me, I'm just waiting for summer school to start. I'm taking four classes this summer so that I can graduate next year. And I'm getting ready to move to a new apartment on Monday. So that's pretty much it.This entry added on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 at 11:22 a.m.
Hi all. The website was just begging me to add an entry and I'm sure some of you are just aching to hear whats going on in my life. Well, I successfully graduated from the University of Denver. After 7 months of job hunting I have finally found a job. I work for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Its not a population that I would choose to work with, but there are a lot of opportunities in the agency to move around and make contacts with other agencies. My job is pretty much stress free. In fact, I'm at work now with nothing else to do or at least very little, which I'm saving for when I will be bored out of my mind later in my shift. My program is reletively new and weare making things up as we go along. For those of you who did not make it to Utah for the holidays missed all the fun. I introduced my boyfriend to the family and we spent New Years with mom and dad, in the the dark, I might add. Grandma Smith made him blush by asking him when we were going to make an anouncement. I'm still not sure what she ment, but he turned several shades of red. His name is John Kregar, and he is native to Denver. I met him at church last August and we have been dating since October. He was in the Marines for four years, including one year in Iraq and two in Hawaii. Dad followed us around the house like I was a teenager and amazingly enough gave him the "Permission to Date my Daughter" paperwork. Which John took very seriously and it wasn't until after he filled it out that I told him it was my idea. On our last day in Paragonah, dad cornered John while I was in shower and then changed the subject to the military as soon I came into the room. Very sneaky dad. John was so nervous and really wanted to make a good impression on the family. His family is very nice and quite large, also. I spent Thanksgiving with them and watched a whole game of football. Not an easy task considering my fondness for the sport. But I think all in all, those who met John liked him. Dad said he was impressed with him and told me to keep my hands off him, which John is constantly bringing up when he is not responding to my trying to tickle him. For those family members who have not met him and would like to we will be atending the Sornsen Family Reunion in August. We might also be in Utah later in the fall attending to personal business. I hope all of you are doing well, give my love to your girls. LizThis entry added on Wednesday, January 4, 2006 at 10:15 a.m.
Hey everyone, I figured I should add an entry every nine months or so. It has finally gotten cold here again. It was nine degrees when I walked the kids to school. It was in the twenties all of December which is a heat wave for up here.The grade school that is in our neighborhood finally got the ice rink up and running in december so the kids and I have been going ice skating a couple times a week. It is so beautiful to skate outside in Alaska. The sky is amazing. You know how sunrise and sunset are always too short? Well in Alaska during the winter all we have is hours of sunrise followed by hours of sunset and it is georgeous!
The ice rink in our backyard has been a disaster so far. The temperatures are not conducive for smooth ice when I don't have a machine to groom the ice. I rely on flooding once a week to take out the bumps but the weather has been so warm that it doesn't work so well. Today since it was so cold I have given it another layer and have crossed my fingers. Come spring I am going to have a huge job breaking it out before it kills the lawn, but hey I need a project I guess.
We are still waiting for visitors. Some of you must own a coat right? My parents have come once and that is it. One might think you guys are too chicken to handle a little cold. hee hee.
Well I hope the new year is good to all of you. I bet it brings a lot of changes to our family.
This entry added on Saturday, November 19, 2005 at 02:08 p.m.
Well, there's not too much going on here at Walt Disney World. Unless you view all the Christmas decorations that were put up two weeks ago as somthing.So anyway, I put up a new website to show off my pictures. It's at: kd7gel.freeunixhost.com
TTFN, and don't look in to lasers.
This entry added on Thursday, November 17, 2005 at 09:53 a.m.
Hi, folks! I just looked at the page again and saw that the entry I tried to make several times and couldn't view was actually there! So I tried to delete all copies but one, but that doesn't seem to have worked either, unless there is a delayed reaction there too.Hope you all have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We wish you could all be here, but since you can't, just think about us while you're counting your blessings.
Dan and Teela are staying with us for a time while they get a better financial base and can find their own place again. We welcome them and we are doing fine so far. Teela is a great cook and has been taking care of the kitchen for us all. Wonderful!!!
We love you all and look forward to seeing or hearing from you this holiday season. Love, Mom and Dad
This entry added on Sunday, October 2, 2005 at 12:24 p.m.
Hi folks, we just returned from our Choir trip to Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, PA. It was a great trip! I was able to keep up all except one day, which I spent resting in the hotel room while Dave went to the Smithsonian. We were in good voice, and sang some glorious concerts, including the Basillica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the National Cathedral, the Washington, DC, Temple Visitor's Center, the Valley Forge Stake Center, and the Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge. We also sang and the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. We visited many historical sites and learned again about the birth of our nation. It was a truly inspiring experience. We have pictures, which we will share.We took time off to visit the International Spy Museum, which was recommended by cousin Brent Smith. It was worth it. We spent about 3 hours there. There are fun displays and interactive activities. Most youth would enjoy this. Then we went to the gift shop. What fun! Dave is now the proud owner of Spy Vs Spy, the Complete Case History.
Brent Smith and his wife Enid and 2 of their daughters came to our performance at the Temple Visitor's Center, along with Uncle David and Aunt Maxine. They all were impressed by the choir and our performance. We gave them CDs.
I lost my voice about half way. For the first time I was able to listen to the choir sing. It's pretty impressive!
We miss all of you and hope to see you soon. Come when you are able. Love Mom and Dad
This entry added on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 at 06:40 p.m.
Did I mention? I passed the Utah bar exam. I'll be admitted in late October or early November.This entry added on Monday, September 12, 2005 at 04:25 p.m.
There was an issue with tripod (where I was hosting the christmas list file)... I think I have it resolved, however you can't download directly from a link on this page, you have to go to the tripod page to download it. I have fixed the previous link to take you to the page where it can be downloaded, and here it is again Let me know if you have any problems...This entry added on Monday, July 18, 2005 at 01:43 p.m.
Carmina just turned 8 years old, on the 17th of July.We've gotten special permission to have her baptized while we are in Utah. It looks like the best day to do it will be the evening of Thursday, July 28. Members of the Gray family reading this webpage are invited, as well as extended relatives who might be interested. Spread the word.
Location: the stake center in Fruit Heights, on Mountain Road near Cathy's parents' house. We can give you the address and/or directions if you email us.
Time and exact date: not yet set in stone. Check with Russ or Cathy to make sure. We will arrive in Utah the evening of July 24, and will be at Cathy's parents' house until we go to Fish Lake.
We look forward to seeing everybody.
This entry added on Sunday, July 17, 2005 at 07:53 p.m.
Thanks for the program John. I'm glad it also works under WINE.As Mom posted earlier I'm now a Photopass photographer here at Walt Disney World. I get paid a little more than in quick service foods and it's a lot less stressful, and I moved into a new apartment. The funnest part is photographing characters. They put on a good show and it's fun to see people interact with them.
This entry added on Friday, July 15, 2005 at 09:57 a.m.
For all of you (myself included) who can't ever remember which sibling you have for christmas, I wrote a program that will let you know. It is a windows program and can be downloadedLet me know if you have any problems with it...
This entry added on Monday, June 27, 2005 at 11:17 a.m.
Hi folks! John, thanks for the pictures!!! They are great. I've been wanting some for a long time!Willy has a new job at Walt Disney World in Orlando. He is now a photographer!
The Smith Family Reunion is at Fish Lake, Utah, over near Richfield. Hope to see all who can make it!! Please let me know if you're coming if you haven't already. Hope to see you there!
By the way, how do I attach pictures? I have some to share, too.
Love, Mom
This entry added on Saturday, June 18, 2005 at 02:58 p.m.
Hi allWe were visited by Lizzy's parents and went on a trip to Niagara Falls. Here are some picts: Niagara Falls
p.s. Some of the pictures are for those of you who have asked for pictures from us...
This entry added on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 at 05:35 p.m.
Hey, Liz, glad to see you arrived home safely. As for the dating bit, 2 sisters in the ward so far have asked if you're engaged, cuz of the 'glow' you had. So, give it up! What's going on really?Carmina and Moira, THANKS for the letters. I really like getting letters from granddaughters. You two are really growing up and you both have nice handwriting. The stickers are great too.
John and Lizzy, how are you doing? We'd love pictures!
It has been rainy and wet here. We finally have orders for turf but it is too soggy to harvest. How is the weather where you are?
Willy, the pictures were great. Have extra fun for me!
Love to all, Mom
This entry added on Saturday, April 23, 2005 at 11:40 a.m.
Hey everybody, hope you are all doing well and haven't been in any accidents lately because I've been in enough for all of us. In fact I was in an accident just over a week ago. Luckily it wasn't my fault and her insurance company is paying for everything. Car has been totaled and I'm still waiting for the settlement. But hey, I get to buy a new car!! So I drove home last weekend and dad and spend 5 hours looking for one. I have pretty little Stratus and I got a great deal from the Lunts. I should get a good deal since its the third car I've bought from them in four years. For those of you who are not keeping track of when I graduate, that would be in five weeks. I am planning on taking a break and being a nanny for a month or two and then finding a real job. I guess the government expects me to pay back all the money they gave me to pay for school. Oh yeah, and for those of you that worry about my enternal salvation I am dating. Thats all the details you get. Love ya all. LizThis entry added on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 at 09:48 a.m.
This is where I live. Well, sort of. I actually live in the building to the left of the one that it's pointing to.This entry added on Thursday, March 17, 2005 at 10:59 p.m.
Nice job on the graduation thing Liz! Another internship? Is this the job kind or more of the school kind? Do you pay, or do they pay you in other words? You could always come up here for work. Lots of drug and alcohol problems just waiting for someone nice like you to fix.I liked Williams pictures...who is Rene? She looks nice. I hope you are having fun in Florida. Don't worry the rain will stop eventually. Don't you just love the smell? All that organic matter...wonderful.
Spring is threatening to come to Alaska eventually. It was in the 40's for a whole week and ruined our ice rink. I have broken out half of it so I can get the plastic off the grass before it dies and now it is freezing again so all the ice chunks that I scattered all over the lawn to melt aren't melting anymore. My parents are coming up in May and I want my Dad to help me build a swingset for the kids and I hope the ground will be thawed out enough to dig post holes for concrete. Last year the ground was still frozen solid after the snow melted. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I hope we even have time to get to the swingset. We have bought tickets to cruise around resurection bay down in Seward and we have a full itinerary of other stuff so I may have to do it myself. I would much rather have someone here who actually knows what to do but that has never stopped my building stuff before.
I am doing a pre-school co-op with a lady down the street from me. Moira is having a great time with it. She doesn't seem to have a problem with my being her teacher. She of course loves my friend too. I have been crazy busy this month. Probably just trying to make up for the month I was sick. Russ caught a terrible cough and hasn't slept in a week. Thank heaven the kids are holding out at least. We look forward to spring break...well some of us do. Russ of course doesn't get one anymore and the whole family is bummed about that.
This entry added on Friday, March 11, 2005 at 07:02 p.m.
Here are some more pictures from Epcot. Feel free to post comments about any of the pictures.Enjoy!
This entry added on Saturday, February 26, 2005 at 03:04 p.m.
Well, here I am facing my last quarter of grad school. I'm supposed to be writing three different papers, but I need a break. Graduation for all those interest, whether attending or not, is June 3rd. Believe me, its not soon enough. I still have 12 weeks of classes and I'm sick of going to class. I am currently working on my research proposal on the effects of a therapy dog on voluntary and involuntary clients in a substance abuse counseling program and also the effects on staff morale. Its a quite simple procedure really. I'm just giving everyone surveys to fill out and then I just have to compile the data and inturpret the information. I was going to do observations, but my teacher said its better this way, not to mention easier. All my course work is really not all that hard, except for one class that just might kill me if I don't finish the final today, just very time consuming. Who know grad school took so much effort. I'm greatful for all the hands on experience. But I feel like I'm below the learning curve at my internship, even though my superviser says I'm right where I should be. I'm not sure what I'm doing after graduation. I'm still waiting to hear about an intership at Yale I applied for. I do know that I want to stay in Denver, its such a lovely place and the people of very interesting to say the least. I hope that everyone is doing as well as possible. I send my love to all. Loves ya, LizThis entry added on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 at 04:52 p.m.
Hi, folks. Sorry to hear you've been ill, Cathy. Hope you're better soon. Try that honey, lemon juice, cayenne pepper tea if nothing else works. It'll either cure or kill, and by then you won't care which. I go very easy on the cayenne unless my throat is seriously raw. Dave and I have had the delux, king size version of some kind of throat gunk since January. It's getting very old. I missed 3 weeks of Choir practice and don't know if I'll know the music well enough to sing at the concert in March, especially since we're doing a bunch of memorizing.FAMILY ALERT
David and I have decided that since there are members of the family with serious need of special help we are calling for a special Family Fast next Fast Sunday. Please pray for the family and for family members as the Spirit moves you. If you like, please call the nearest temple and add the name of the family and/or names of individual members of the family to the prayer roll. You may also desire to increase your fast offering for this fast day. We suggest that you begin the fast with family prayer before your last meal and then pray again before breaking the fast. The children may participate to the extent they are able. Please support us in this fast. We feel we can gain blessings thru this that are unavailable any other way. Each one in the family can gain a deeper testimony of fasting and of the love of the Lord; those who have great need will be blessed beyond measure.
The Dave Harris family has become prolific in the last month. Rachel has a new baby boy, and Cameron and Christian each have a new baby girl. I have pictures if you ask. Dave and Marta are building a house in Manti this year and plan to move in this fall. Dave is applying for a teaching position nearby. Stephani has received a mission call to Boston, and has probably already gone into the MTC. We continue to enjoy a close friendship relationship with the Harris'.
Liz is graduating in June. Liz, what day exactly?
Tonight is our Youth Spectacular. We're bringing beef stew over to the wardhouse for a dinner and then we'll have the entertainment. I'm looking forward to it. I'll have to leave early, but I guess I'll go for as long as I can.
We love you all and are happy with the way you are progressing. We have a great family! Love, Mom
This entry added on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 at 01:04 p.m.
I finally got around to looking at the website. I feel like a loser because I havn't written for so long. No need for anyone to confirm that. I am so happy all of you are still posting on it. This family is cool.Everything in Alaska is fine. The mountians are still here, the ocean is still here and we are still here.
Russ won a very important asylum case for a client. We are all very proud of him. The whole family has been praying for him and for the client. He came home exhausted after the trial. Deportation of his client would have meant death at the other end and he took the danger very seriously. I know this person will never forget him and I know we will never forget that his first big case was so critical to someone's life. The law is a very facinating subject and even Carmina is pickiing up on the lingo. Dinner conversation is often filled with terms that she asks about.
I on the otherhand have been ill for weeks and weeks. You may remember that I had a major reaction in my lungs when we moved to this house and had to be on an inhalor and wear a mask around the house. Well I seemed to have done something wrong again and I have been coughing and wheezing for weeks. I have been on every drug on the planet. Well just as I thought that there was a light at the end of the tunnel I got the flu. I guess my immune system just was too tired to fight. Well, it has been a nasty one and my kids are going to turn native if I don't get better. This morning Carmina made her own lunch for school. I have no idea what she packed. I hope it was edible.
Carmina was in the school talent show a few weeks ago. She did some humourous poetry readings that she memorized. We are super proud of her. It was such a stretch for her. It has really paid off. All the kids at the school know her and say hi to her in the halls. What a joy it is when a child really does their best and it pays off.
Moira is great, as usual. She is so excited about going to school next year. She and I have been having fun this winter going to events down town and she loves skating on the ice rink we built in the backyard. She is still crazy about horses and likes to arrange her pony collection on the shelf in her bedroom just so.
Well I had better stop this novel of a post. I hope this has caught you up with our family somewhat. We miss you all. Please post again soon. You may think you don't have anything cool to write but it is all news to us.
Love to you all from Alaska
This entry added on Sunday, January 30, 2005 at 07:46 p.m.
Here are some pictures. The first is one that a photographer at Epcot took of me, and the second is one I took with my digital camera.It's been fun here so far. I've been going on rides as much as possible. Especially Mission Space and Test Track. Mission Space is a space launch to Mars that is simulated with a centrifuge. Test Track is a ride that kind of re-creates the tests that GM does to cars. It starts off with a hill climb, then does some cornering stuff and ends up going about 65 mph around a banked track.
I've been having a lot of fun, as you can see. If any of you would like to come to Walt Disney World while I'm here I can get discounts on park tickets and at the resorts.
That's all for now.
This entry added on Friday, January 28, 2005 at 03:43 p.m.
Hi, Willy I'm glad you're ok in Florida. Did you receive your package yet? It's coming and should be there today or tomorrow. Russ, did you receive your Christmas package yet? John and Lizzy and Natalya, sorry, I apologize for misspelling the name when I sent the picture around. Sorry I don't know how to put a picture on here. I have no voice. So I'm not calling people right now. So let me know the answers to my questions. So, love MomThis entry added on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 at 11:12 a.m.
Greetings from Florida!I'm here and have had a night of sleep so I thought I'd tell everyone that things are fine so far. I still have no clue what's going on though, and I probably won't begin to have a clue for a few days.
This entry added on Monday, January 10, 2005 at 03:24 p.m.
Hi everyone.Just wanted to get out info to everyone about our new daughter.
Natalya Marie Gray was born on Dec. 28, 2004 at 10:33 pm. She weighed 8 pound one half ounce. She was 21 and 1/4 inches long.
She and I are working hard to get a schedule together. She was up pretty much all night last night, and I hope we do better tonight. I'm trying to get in some naps during the day to help, since I don't get much at night. Because of that I haven't really been calling and talking to anyone. I talk to John everyday, but usually at 2 in the morning. I'll be heading out to join him in NY this weekend and can't wait. I've missed him so much and want him to be able to spend time with his daughter again. He has only spent a few hours with her before he had to start on his way.
Anyways, that's all on this front.
This entry added on Sunday, January 9, 2005 at 04:23 p.m.
ok, i just figured everything out, so no one has to phone me and tell me how ignorant i am. just thought you'd like to know. love, carolThis entry added on Sunday, January 9, 2005 at 04:16 p.m.
hi everyone. it's been forever since i visited the website, so if someone could tell me how to get to the page where you can read all the entries, i would appreciate it. i can get to the admin page and add or edit an entry, but i cannot remember how to get to the family page. of course you may have to call me and tell me as i am not sure if i will be able to get back to the page to read your answer. love, carolThis entry added on Friday, December 31, 2004 at 12:02 p.m.
Hey, I haven't been to this page for quite a while. I have some time today. Looks like you guys have been having fun with this site. I should view it more often. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We sure did here. Liz and Willy spent the night. When they opened their presents they found they had each received a piece of luggage for their travels. Dan and Teela came by for dinner and to open their presents. They received a kitchen island from us (thier kitchen doesn't have counter space!!!). They left their gift for Russ' family; I'll get it mailed asap, but not til next week when I have more time and feel like it. Bob was a party pooper and didn't come over til 7PM, but we fed him anyway and let him open his presents. He received clothes. Then a little while later he called to say he had a Christmas pup. Next morning we found out he had 9 Christmus puppies. Dave gave me a Yamaha protable grand electronic piano. I gave him a compound miter saw, which he will need when he replaces the front porch. Liz tells me she will either go to London this summer or if she gets a Yale fellowship she's headed for Hartford, Conneticutt. You know Willy is headed for Florida. John and Lizzy are headed for WAIT!!! WAIT!!! HOLD THE PRESS!!! Has John called to tell you he has a daughter, finally? If not, you'd better call him and find out the details. I'd list them here, but I know I'd get in trouble. Buffalo, New York. John has been accepted at State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNYAB) for a masters degree in Physics. John is headed out today or tomorrow, depending on the weather and on his movers. Lizzy is with her folks in SLC with the new baby. I want to go up there and see them!!! Before they move away. You guys are really spreading out! When John and Willy are moved, we'll have family from coast to coast and from Alaska to Florida. I sure wish I was rich and retired so I could visit you all!! But instead you'll still have to come visit me. The Laura Gray family reunion site is in flux for now. I'll try to let you know whatever I find out. Well, Have a Wonderful Happy New Year!!! Love, MomThis entry added on Saturday, November 20, 2004 at 05:59 p.m.
Well, I'm feeling pretty left out because everybody has so much news and anoucements. So I'd like to make an anouncement of my own. I know you are all just sitting on the edge of your seat to find out what my bid news is because my life seems to be so full of drama lately. I mean when your boyfriend of 8 months dumps you and then tells you he is engaged to someone else within a week that is pretty dramatic. But ya know, its for the best. I really didn't want to marry him any way. It really says a lot about a person when they can change their affections so quickly. I really thought Andy was a nice guy, of course he lived 650 miles away most of our relationship and he was supposed to go on a mission. Fortunantly, those were his most redeeming qualities. I had my chance to marry him, I don't know how many times he asked. Appearently, I didn't give him the answer he wanted, he's getting married today. Yeah, can you believe it and some of you just met him in July. Don't worry about me, I have come up with plenty of names to call him and there are numerous potentials here in Denver. Not that I'm looking, but its okay to look. Loves ya, MeThis entry added on Monday, November 1, 2004 at 08:59 a.m.
I guess I should tell everyone that I'm moving to Florida in January. I got an intern position at Walt Disney World. I'm going to be working as a grunt doing quick-service food and beverage. They aren't paying me a whole lot, but I get free addmision in to pretty much all of Disney World, and it's in Florida! I'll be there from Jan 17 to Aug 12.This entry added on Friday, September 17, 2004 at 09:46 p.m.
I know no one will believe this, We have moved again (and again). Our house sold so we moved into another house, but that one was for sale and one month later, it sold so we have moved again. Not only that, we decided that qwest was giving us too much hassle so we went to a cell-phone. New numbers of course.This entry added on Friday, July 9, 2004 at 09:06 p.m.
I found a web site with some Spike Jones songs at http://www.spikejones.net/jones.html ... Have fun...This entry added on Friday, July 9, 2004 at 08:54 p.m.
Happy belated 4th of July!!No one has written for a bit, so thought it was time to put something up.
Not much is happening on this front. John is still actively job hunting. I'm getting fatter by the day, which I don't see how that is possible when I haven't gained a pound yet. In fact I've dropped two pounds according to my last doctors visit. And yet my belly gets bigger and my clothes either don't fit or don't fit well. I am 3 months and 3 weeks pregnant. My morning sickness is a lot better, but I still have problems with certain foods on certain days. I HATE pretzals because they were the only thing I could eat for a few weeks.
Anyways that's about it, not very exciting I know, but maybe someday.
This entry added on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 at 03:46 p.m.
I started a new job today. It's at a company called Leggitt and Platt. They manufacture store fixtures, cabinets and stuff. When I was hired they were going to put me on the cold press, which is just a big clamp to hold things that have just been glued. Luckily the press was broken today, so they sent me over to the Computer Numerical Control machines to help out. That was great because I know all about CNC, in a theoretical sense anyway, and now I'm there for good. So this should be a pretty good job for a factory job.So that's what is going on in my life. Bye.
This entry added on Wednesday, June 9, 2004 at 09:55 p.m.
I remember that book, Carol. I thought it was so funny. Actually just the other day I told Carmina that she and Zoe (the baby in the book) were born at the same time. Carmina loves to read the comics, especially on Sunday. Well, She and Zoe are now the same age. I'm sure they will not grow Zoe up at the same pace as the last few years but it thrills Carmina to read that strip now.As for how to make paragraphs just go into the entry page but instead of "adding" an entry go into edit and just look in front of this sentence and see what the command is. It is quite simple. I would type it in here, but it wouldn't show up as text it would just start another paragraph so you will have to do it the way I just explained.
We just got home from a baseball game. Russ' firm has season tickets behind the first base dug out. I just love live baseball. We brought booster seats for the kids so they would be more comfortable and we all had a fabulous time. The Buc's won too! The kids had peanuts and soda and cotton candy. We usually never get that stuff, but when the tickets are free it is so much easier to splurge. I don't think we will do the cotton candy thing again though, their teeth were purple and I couldn't face the dentist bills in the future.
I hope you all are having a great summer!
This entry added on Wednesday, June 9, 2004 at 02:41 p.m.
hi everyone. we are busy not doing much this summer. we got passes to the water park again this year, but the park sold so many passes that it is too crowded to go down the slides except in the first hour after it opens. thank goodness the kids don't mind much. they just play in the kiddie pools and love it.Dan's dad got made the stake patriarch a couple months ago, and it has been interesting. he gives blessings on sundays, so there went the family gathering every sunday. but the best part is that all the grandkids will have their grampa give them their blessing. it is so neat. dan also got his blessing from his grampa, his dad's dad. isn't it funny how it seems to run in his family.
I enlarged my front flower beds this spring. my kids are worried we will not have any grass left. there is no chance of that, but i do have a goal i am working towards and eventually my flowerbeds will meet. it will take me a few years to get there, little by little. i took out 8 rose bushes, and gave four of them to my neighbor. 4 bushes were in one raised bed by the mailbox, and after i got them out i realized that i would also have to replace the boards holding the dirt off the sidewalk, as they had fallen over onto the sidewalk. i thought i would just plant one plant before i was through, and found that the sidewalk extended under the ground about 30 inches out, 5 inches below the surface of the sidewalk. i had noticed this along my other flowerbeds, but did not expect it on other side of my driveway, and so we spent a few days this spring uncovering the cement, breaking it up, and then digging it out so my plants could have normal root growth.
Katy is going to kindergarten this fall, and zach will start preschool. i think katy will do well, although she is a little nervous about going. but she will be able to ride the bus with her cousins, and they will walk her to the kindergarten doors in the morning. and a bus will drop her off by her cousin's house, a block away, when she comes home. they are both riding their bikes and having a great time with them. we removed zach's training wheels early this spring, and it is so funny to watch him pump his legs so hard to go fast. his little bike takes much more effort than katy's and he is always trying to go as fast as she does. we have a little wading pool in the back yard and the kids love to run and jump in to it. zach always insists on having the rainbird sprinkler on at the same time.
Sounds like your little trip was fun, cathy. the pictures were so green.
Lizzy, hope you are feeling better. i have a book to pass along to you. aunt DeAnn gave it to cathy, who gave it to me, i can now pass it on to you. it is pretty funny. we are coming down south on sunday, so we will bring it at least as far a paragonah for you. hopefully we will be able to see you and john in person.
I cannot figure out how to make the paragraphs appear. so if anyone can tell me, i would appreciate it.
This entry added on Monday, June 7, 2004 at 11:24 a.m.
It was fun talking to you Lizzy. I hope you are feeling better by the time you read this.We are on the first Monday of summer vacation at our house. Yikes! I had better get a schedule going or we are going to waste the entire summer being bored and lazy. We had Garrett come up and visit last weekend. It was so much fun to have some family around. I wish he could have stayed longer but we had a great time seeing him. Russ and He went all day Saturday looking around. They hiked one glacier and took a ship to another. They saw the docks at Seward and even the marshes outside of town. I hope we didn't wear Garrett out. You can see a lot on one day but it takes some time and energy.
I hope more of you will take the trek up here. We won't be staying forever (maybe) so you had better make your plans quick. Summer is definitly the best time to come. Winter is possible, but I don't suggest it as a time to see much. No cruises or hikes to glaciers. Only indoor stuff and that can be done anywhere, trust me.
Well let us know what you are all doing for fun this summer.
This entry added on Wednesday, June 2, 2004 at 10:14 a.m.
I posted some pictures from our wildlife cruise.Click Here.
Let me know what you think.
This entry added on Friday, May 28, 2004 at 10:16 a.m.
Hey John, You were up early. Whichever colors you choose are fine. I used to change the colors all the time it was fun. I never seem to get around to doing that kind of stuff anymore.I thought that with no family around I would be bored and have a lot of time on my hands, but I have found that when a family is on it's own everything takes twice as long because there is no one else to help out. When I don't feel like cooking a meal, there is no "going to grandma's" for a dinner time visit. Ya, just have to cook the meal anyway. Having family around has it's time consuming moments but I tell you filling your own time day after day with no change is time consuming too.
We enjoyed our wildlife cruise in Prince William Sound last week. We saw puffins and sea lions, an otter, some mountain goats, and even a humpback whale. The kids had a terrific time and want to do it again. Maybe we will when all the tourists are gone. It was a beautiful day and there were only 90 passengers aboard. That is a whole lot better than the 250 that the ship can hold. We liked the meal, but when they said it was an all you can eat prime rib and salmon meal, they failed to mention that prime rib and salmon was all that was served. There was a wilty salad and some rice, but mostly just the meat. We rarely eat meat and red meat even rarer so we all felt the effects of a heavy meal and a rocking boat. Some of us more than others but we all came off the boat smiling so it worked out okay. The kids were even up to eating the all you can eat dessert bar, but then again when are they not up to that.
Only 3 more days of school left! Carmina has summer fever already. I don't know what I will do with myself with all my free time. Going to school all the time really made me feel useful. Thank heavens I have a friend of mine moving in a few houses away and a park just down the street. I hope that combination will keep me active though the summer.
I had a builder come to the house yesterday to look at turning our wood shop into an office for Russell. It would be so nice for him to work in the morning till the rush hour ended. I have a bunch of projects that I want to do and no time to do them in. I hope his estimate will be reasonable enough so I can get them all done this summer. I am going to be tiling my living room soon too. I hope the girls will cooperate and find stuff to do while their mom is playing "Bob Vila" and renovating the house all summer.
Well I can tell I am rambling so I am going to stop. Hope you are all well. Post soon!
This entry added on Friday, May 28, 2004 at 07:44 a.m.
I have finally figured out how to change the colors on all the different parts of the web page. Let me know what you think of it.. You can set the colors however you like and then save it that way (it uses cookies). If you don't like it, let me know and I can change it.This entry added on Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 02:06 p.m.
Yes, Liz the weather here is warming up. I actually mowed my law for the first time this season today. It is a far cry from when I used to mow my lawn in Oregon as closed to Christmas as possible just to say that I did it.I'm sorry to hear that Lizzy isn't feeling well. When I got nauseated I would put those tiny cinnamon candies (I think Brachs calls them Cinnamon Imperials) under my tounge. It would burn like crazy but I wouldn't throw up when I did it. To this day I am conditioned to them. If I am sick to my stomach I do it and feel much better. I didn't have any the last time I was ill and so I used the "Curiously Strong" cinnamon disks that are in the metal tin. I forget their brand name. Give it a try. Each baby has their own feel and cure.
This saturday the family and I are going to Seward and take a sea cruise. It should be a lot of fun. It will be cold out there, but we would much rather have the temparate weather and not all the tourists. All the fun gets sucked out of an outing with groups of single middle aged women in sequined jackets all cackling with eachother. Or maybe that is just me!
Carmina only has a week and a half left at school. She is very excited to have a break and I have to admit so am I. I am at school twice a week volunteering and this week it was three days in a row...I could use the break too. I just loved being in school with Carmina and seeing all the kids she is going to be up against. I have to admit that it is nice that the kids know I will seriously come down on them if they are mean to her. A little fear is a good thing.
Moira has been with me the whole year. What a trooper she has been to be bundled up from head to toe with only her eyes showing up to 4 times a day just to walk to school with me. The teacher just loves her. The office staff has started to give her suckers and even the Principal knows her by sight. She has a longer attention span than the 1st graders and if they come to the back of the room where she is working, she will tell them they need to get back to work and leave her alone. I forsee much in her future!
Russ is doing fine. Now that the weather is nice his job isn't half as fun as it was during the deep freeze. Not much of a surprise there. Even an office with windows is not exactly what I would call fun.
If any of you were planning on visiting you had better hurry while the weather is good. The rain starts in August and it will be all over for another year. Carmina gets baptized next July. Start saving.
This entry added on Wednesday, May 12, 2004 at 08:07 p.m.
Hey Lizzy, I'm glad to hear your still willing to raise my children. As long as you know they will be just like me and probably worse they are yours. Plus, guess what. I finally found an intership, 6 interviews later. I'll be working in a substance abuse center, doing individual and group therapy. But the real reason I wanted this one is they have a therapy dog and can help me get my own. Its good to have contections. I am very excited. Loves ya all.This entry added on Monday, May 10, 2004 at 09:47 a.m.
Hey Liz of course I still plan on honoring or deal, because at the way this pregnancy is going it's going to be my only one.I am so sick already and looking at the possibility of being in bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy due to complications of having a freaky body. I've already had to spend this weekend down and it's not fun at all. So getting 4 kids without having to go through this again sounds like a dream.
Anyways that's all that's going on here.
This entry added on Sunday, May 9, 2004 at 07:19 p.m.
Congrats Lizzy. Thats so cool that you get to suffer 9 very long months with a paricite living off you. Just think, it will be living off your for at least the first 18 years of its life. Won't that be exciting. Does that mean you don't want my first born? Cuz we already made a deal and I'm counting on you to raise my 1st born as well as my 2nd , 3rd and 4th born. Cathy, I hope its warming up up there. We have enjoyed really nice weather so far in May. I left my coat at Carols over spring break when I could have used it here. I had no idea it would snow four times in April. I only have three more weeks left of classes. I'm sad I have to find a new internship for next year, I really like it where I am. Anyway the school just started an aminal assisted therapy program and I'm trying to find a placement that has animals. I want to train my own therapy dog too. It might be a few years, but it would make it easier to get a job years down the road. I hope every one is doing great. Enjoy the spring weather while it lasts. Thats all for me. Loves ya.This entry added on Monday, May 3, 2004 at 03:03 p.m.
Congratulations.That is very exciting news. It is a very fun adventure and I am glad you guys get to experience it. Your baby will be born about a week after Moira's 5th birthday. Boy how time flies. Send us lots of pictures when the time comes.
This entry added on Sunday, May 2, 2004 at 11:51 a.m.
Well Cathy here's something you can talk about for a while instead of just talking to Russ.John is going to be a Daddy!!!!!!!!
Yep. We're Pregnant.
I'm about 6 weeks along and my due date is Dec. 26th. We're hoping it will be a few days late though and give us a shot at first baby of the year.
I'll keep ya updated as things progress.
By the way if John asks this was a very cryptic message.
This entry added on Wednesday, April 14, 2004 at 07:26 p.m.
Hey Liz crime is everywhere. You just didn't notice it before. Campus' are the worst! We lived on campus and used to get the yearly crime report, sheesh that was a treat to read. If it is an consolation BYU had one of the worst physical assault records around for a long time. Just a week after we moved from the East side of Anchorage to the West side, there was a home invasion just a few houses down from where we used to live. Boy am I glad we got out of there!So how is the boyfriend thing going anyway? no one tells us anything. I would be disgusted at how this family doesn't keep in contact with eachother, but my family is worse so I'm glad you guys are at least trying.
It got up to 49 degrees today. The snow is melting on the other side of the street but seems to not be melting on mine. I would get a complex but at least I know it is because the sun is so southern that our yard doesn't get as much sun as the folks across the street. I take consolation that I had more sun in my kitchen window all winter than my neighbor across the street so I will take the trade.
We enjoyed conference very much. We listened to all four sessions which is a personal best for the last few years. Our computer has always been in an obscure part of the house with a really slow connection and we would end up losing the conference about mid way through each session. Well Russ signed us up for a really fast connection that is always on and I hooked up the old baby monitor to the desk and took the other end of the monitor into the kitchen. It worked great especially since conference over the internet has very low volume and the baby monitor boosted the signal by 50% so we could hear without huddling around the computer for 4 hours. It was just like listening to it over the radio just like when I was a kid. Very cool!
Well whoever reads this next needs to post something so Russ and I aren't just having converstations with eachother on it.
See ya.
This entry added on Thursday, April 1, 2004 at 06:24 p.m.
So I don't know how to use this thing. Anyway, I'm finishing my 1st year in graduate school. Its getting a lot easier the farther I go. I am currently applying for a 2nd year internship. The placement I really want, at the Children's Hospital, is also what everyone else wants. But I have also looked into the Family and Play Therapy Istitute. I have always been interested in play therapy and I would have chance to learn how to do it. Also, my school is offering an animal assisted therapy certificate the I really want to do, but it involves going to summer school and that means extra money. There are so many things I want to do, its hard to decide. I think I will just not worry about the cost and do what I want, when will I get another chance. I have also had a taste of big city crime. Last week there was two attempted sexual assaults just blocks away from my appartment. The school is taking it very seriously, as it should, and upping the presence of security. I have a can of maze, though, to protect myself. I hope everyone has a great general conference weekend. Loves ya.This entry added on Thursday, April 1, 2004 at 06:19 p.m.
Hey everybody. I'm back in school after a very busy spring break. My boyfriend, Andy, came to meet the family. I had him convinced that I was not ticklish and Lizzy ruined it for me. Thanks a lot. Mom orgaized a family dinner and it seemed to be sucess. Andy was kind of scared to meet my brothers, but he survived.This entry added on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 at 02:49 p.m.
I am happy for the romance in your life Liz. It always makes the world a nicer place to live in when you can share your happines with someone else.Carmina was in a Japanese folktale play at school yesterday. She was the narrator and did very well. She is very cute and she was so professional. That is one thing that the church does so well, prepare children for public speaking. She was very confident and the whole room could hear her. Her part was very large at the last minute because some of the other children wouldn't speak loud enough to be heard so the teacher gave those lines to her so that the audience would know what was going on. She is so good at reading now that it looked as though she had practiced the part for a long time rather than just being handed them a few minutes before hand. It is really amazing how fast she caught on to reading. She reads chapter books now and has taken over the "dreaded" bedtime story for me. I am so wiped by the end of the day that my fuse is rather short for bedtime stories. She reads to Moira and myself while I lay down on the bed and rest. Now that is my idea of a great bedtime!
Moira continues to amaze us with her abilities. She wow'd her dad by writing her phone number down during the school play. We didn't even know she knew her phone number. She still has over a year before she starts kindergarten and I am worried that she will be bored by the time she gets there. I don't want another really young child in school though, getting Carmina over the social hurdles of school was hard enough I don't want to do it again. My calling as Primary President is going along fine. I havn't forgotten anybody's baptism or anything like that so I guess I am doing okay. We have a lot of inactive children that I am trying to track down and it is frustrating. One child is supposed to be baptized this month but the family lives out in the bush for part of the year and I can't contact them. I have turned it over to the missionaries so that I don't go completely insane, but I can't help but feel helpless when it comes to a child being lost. I think of the one little lamb and just really feel an urgency to get them all to church. Dealing with adults is one thing but to get a child to church the whole family has to be delt with and it is a big job.
Well, if you read this post something so that I have something to talk about rather than just talking about myself. See you all later.
This entry added on Monday, March 8, 2004 at 03:37 p.m.
Yep, page is still working. And occasionally somebody adds to it. Although not very often. And not very much.This entry added on Friday, March 5, 2004 at 11:29 p.m.
Hey everyone. I didn't realize that this was still in use. But its kind of cool to have it. Who was the brillant person who thought of it? So its one week till the end of the quarter and I'm really ready for it to be over. All my assignments have been either papers or presntations. I prefer papers because I don't like to cordinate with others. I know thats what I will be doing when I get out of here, but group presentations are different. I love my intership. I am a lot more comfortable working with the kids, now. I'm coming home for spring break and mom and dad are meeting my new boyfriend, Andy. We met during Christmas break in my old Provo ward. So we have been doing the long distance thing. Which has worked out pretty good. Well, its late and I need to get to bed. Loves ya all.This entry added on Sunday, February 29, 2004 at 04:19 p.m.
Don't worry william, college does not last forever. I know your brother and sister think that it is a lifelong occupation, but it doesn't have to be unless you want it to be. I took English 101 when I was still technically in High School. I took it the semester that I went to college early. It seemed infantile even then, so it doesn't really matter when you take it, it will always be the sameI am glad that you posted to the sight though. Keep us posted on what you are doing with yourself. Ever thought of a vacation in Alaska? Ha Ha not exactly a dream destination.
I hope the rest of you people are doing okay. If anyone talks to Liz tell her that her family in Alaska would like to know what she is up to.
This entry added on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 at 05:28 p.m.
I'm still living in Cedar City, and going to school. It's about mid-way through the semester, and I'm getting spring fever. I'm ready for spring break, which is about 2 weeks away.I'm finally taking engl-1010, now that I'm a junior. The second essay assignment is the ideal particpant of some activity. So I choose slacking. It's kind of boring to take a freshman class as a junior. I know that I will do well just because I know how to play the game.
So that's it.
This entry added on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 at 01:43 p.m.
Boy it is a sad sight to see how this page has been neglected. Don't worry I'm not blaming anyone, I'm as guilty as the next guy. I was glad to see John's family posted the most recently. Enjoy your empty home, they tend to fill up before you know it. Although I think your dog probably is harder to handle than two kids by the accounts you have have mentioned. Does anyone know where William is living now? Tell him to update the page so we know what is going on in his life. Things up here are still plugging along. We have had over 74" of snow. Thats right you read it correctly 74" (inches that is) of snow. I don't think I will ever see the ground again. On saturday the girls came into the house because a moose decided to come and join their fun. We all went in the house and looked out the window to see a very large juvinile moose eating a tree. Sheesh those things are big. Who needs a pet when you have an outdoor friend like that! Russ is working like a fiend, and I was called to be Primary President a few weeks ago. Carmina got her report card and did excellent (again!) and Moira is a budding artist like her sister. She is so detailed. Much better than the mom (that's the moms opinion). When you see this posting, tell everyone to start posting again so we don't lose track of eachother. See you all later.This entry added on Friday, November 28, 2003 at 01:27 p.m.
Well we survived this Thanksgiving (barely). Seems everyone was sick this year. Glad Russ and Cathy could come down to join in our misery. Let us just say that we are not the ones responsible (for once).Willy is moving out with the new coming semester. On or about the 15th of December. We might miss him, but then we'll come to our senses and realize that WE'RE HOME ALONE!!!! YEAH!!
Teddy, our fabulous watch dog, has gone snow crazy. We don't know how we'll keep up with him, especially since he doesn't sleep, and we would prefer to be indoors--out of the cold. We will not, I repeat NOT be moving to Alaska as long as we have this dog. He'd kill us with his activity level. In fact he might even do that here if we get any more snow. But he is good at his job, eating anyone who comes through the door.
Our lives are boring, with not that much going on, we go to work, then go to rehearsal. Fortunatly "Toyland" ends on Dec. 6th, then we're FREE!!
That's all on this front. That's all folks.
This entry added on Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 02:21 p.m.
Hello to one and all. We are thrilled to announce that Russell has passed the Alaska bar exam. It is one of the hardest bar exams in the nation. It is second only to California, but they don't even test California law so we say that Alaska is the hardest. Russell will be sworn into the bar association on November 14th. It has been 4 years since this quest began with his first placement exam just to get into law school. He has done fantastic and his family couldn't be prouder! He will now be addressed as "Council" and actually get to go to court on his own. I say "Great Job, Russell"!This entry added on Wednesday, October 1, 2003 at 02:10 p.m.
Hello to one and all. I congratulate you for actually posting. My family let ours die and so it has been deleted from pitas. Can we say losers! Things up here are fine. I check the weather every day and am just amazed at the temperature difference between here in Anchorage and you guys. Our daytime high is a few degrees lower than your nightime low right now. We are losing daylight fast now. It feels like it is 4pm all day long until the sun disappears behind the horizon. I never thought i would miss the 23 hours of sunlight, but now the house is kind of gloomy. Time to go buy more lamps i guess. The kids and I decorated the house for Halloween and it was lots of fun. The holidays really help the passage of time when you are far away from family. We have been keeping busy. We have explored lots of glaciers and seen really HUGE fish in the rivers. We went to Seward a few hours away to watch the fishermen get their picture taken with the big ugly fish they caught in the ocean. Halibut has got to be the ugliest fish around. It is really cool to see someone who's fish is as big as they are. We went down there again on Labor day and it was like a ghost town. All the tourists have gone home and there is nobody around. I have to admit i am happy to have all the tour buses and R.V.'s off the road they are really a pain. We went to a place on the Inlet called Beluga point and watched the Beluga whales coming up the inlet. There is no shortage of wildlife around here. The only problem (in my mind) is that they are all really really big wildlife. A few sundays ago there were two moose walking down the road infront of our house. Speaking of Moose, I am in the Young Women program and for an activity we went to a local forest and played capture the flag with the Y.M. When we drove up there was a mamma moose with twin baby moose right in our capture the flag area. All the kids just tumbled out of the cars anyway ready to play. They made quite a sport of teasing me (the local city girl) because i was petrified of going into the woods. Thank heavens one of the Y.M. leaders is a bear expert and survival guy so he kept an eye on the moose for us while we played. I'll tell you I was not having much fun. Carmina is doing well in the 1st grade. This last move has been hard on her, but she is a trooper and is fitting in well. Moira has taken over the house and the rest of us are here on her say so. Our house is coming together alright. With the plumbing that went bad and the leaks in everything it was touch and go for a while, but I think i can now say that our house is puddle free (on the inside at least). We will be coming to Utah in November. We fly into SLC on November 19th and we will be there till December 3rd. We are spending Thanksgiving Day and the days before and after in Paragonah so I hope we can see everyone. Keep the entries coming. Now that things are more settled here we will be posting more and would love to hear how everyone is getting along.This entry added on Tuesday, September 30, 2003 at 03:39 p.m.
Hi all! Last night we had an Aunt Florence Dinner in Paragonah. Mom and Dad and Aunt Florence came down to go to the Shakespear Festival. We invited all those who know and love Aunt Florence to come and visit with her while she is here. Cheer brought rolls. Mom brought Chili with beans and fresh sliced peaches. Lunn Eldredge brought brownies and ice cream (not very frozen, but good anyway). Teela and I prepared the house and made fruit salad. We all had an enjoyable time and a good meal. We missed those of you who couldn't come cuz you live too far away. Maybe next time. Love, MomThis entry added on Sunday, August 31, 2003 at 03:17 p.m.
Hi allwe contrary folk would like to wish y'all a happy don't do any labour day.
Willy has moved in with us for this school year.
We hope all of you are well. Hello to Carmina and Moria our favourite nieces. We hope you like Alaska and would like to come visit as soon as funds are available.
Goodbye for now we will try to keep in touch.
This entry added on Monday, August 11, 2003 at 11:02 a.m.
I just read the page. Let's not let it die, OK?That being said, I don't have time to write much of an entry. So this is it.
This entry added on Thursday, June 26, 2003 at 09:09 a.m.
Hello everybodydoes anyone still read this page? it has been a while since anyone has updated this (since march).
Not much is new with us, we are still living in the same place, but we now have a big black dog. He is a flat coat retriever , new foundland mix.
This entry added on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 at 09:02 a.m.
The picture doesn't seem to be working. It's been pulled because it violates the terms of service (?) whatever that means. Looks like you need to find another server to hold the pictures.This entry added on Saturday, March 8, 2003 at 11:19 a.m.
Here is a BIG picture
This entry added on Friday, February 28, 2003 at 02:15 p.m.
Hello, family! It looks like we're all busy, and changes are coming fast! Dan has decided to make a change in lifestyle by getting married to Teela Cooper. They have set the date for June. Please continue to remember Bob in your prayers. He is still feeling the effects of the concussion he got when he fell off his horse last week. Russ is looking forward to visiting Utah in March, graduating from law school in May, and then moving to Alaska. John and Lizzy are seeking work in Arizona and elsewhere, since John's hours have been cut to working every other week. We're looking forward to seeing Russ and his family here in March. Keep some time open to meet as a family. This may be our Family Reunion for the year. Some day I'll learn to post pictures on here, and then you can see what your dad has done with his digital camera. lyte, MomThis entry added on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 02:27 p.m.
I have posted some stuff that I did for my photograpy class. You can look at it here. (it has a lot of graphics, so it may take time to load.)This entry added on Thursday, February 13, 2003 at 10:21 a.m.
Well we had planned on coming up for Russ's Graduation if possible, but I found out yesterday that it will not be possible...sorry... I am currently looking for a new job anywhere and hope to find one in the next couple of months... Anyway congrat to Russ on graduation and we wish you good luck in alaska... maybe we can come visit in a year or so... :)This entry added on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 at 12:43 p.m.
Hey everyone, we're trying to get our plans figured out. To do that, we need to know what YOUR plans are. I'm going to graduate on May 18, and we're planning on having some kind of graduation party in the week before that. But we need to know who's coming, and when you'll be here. That way we can have some of the other details (when/how of the BIG MOVE, etc.) worked out well in advance.You can either post your plans here, or email Cathy at this address. We will also be visiting over Spring Break in a month or so, and we can talk then. We just want to get it figured out now, because things are going to move pretty fast starting in April.
This entry added on Thursday, January 30, 2003 at 12:47 p.m.
In case you were wondering...
This entry added on Thursday, January 30, 2003 at 11:01 a.m.
Sorry if you feel we never tell you anything... This fambly page is probably the easiest way for all of us to keep track of each other (hint hint).We will be visiting over Spring Break. We'll leave Oregon on March 20, and probably arrive in southern Utah on the 21st or 22nd. We will stay there for a couple of days, then back to Fruit Heights for a couple more days, then back to Oregon on the 29th.
We don't have any specific plans for our visit, so if you have any ideas now would be a good time to voice them...
Also, as far as visiting for my graduation: We don't have our plans finalized yet. In other words, we don't know when we'll be moving, or whether there will be furniture in the house when everybody visits. We can accommodate any number of people who wish to come, but be aware that the accommodations might be very, ummm, basic. We're talking sleeping bags on bare hardwood floors, or camping in the backyard with the neighborhood cats. You might want to coordinate the other various options amongst yourselves.
And speaking of other options, if you really want a good time you could camp in Florence, Oregon, at a state park called Jessie Honeyman park. It's quite nice, right by the ocean, and not super expensive. It's about an hour away from Eugene. If you want to see Oregon as it should be seen, you ought to check this out. You can find it online via Google. There is a little lake in the park that has a nice beach, kayak and canoe rental, and other fun stuff.
I think there are other campgrounds closer to Eugene, but I don't know much about them. We've mostly gone to the coast to camp.
I'm sure you can think of something...
We look forward to seeing you. I look forward even more to graduating and getting out of school.
This entry added on Tuesday, January 28, 2003 at 11:44 a.m.
We hadn't heard anything about graduation or when Russ and Cathy were coming down to SO. Utah... Please let us know what the plans are so we can try to be there... We never know what's going on...This entry added on Monday, January 27, 2003 at 07:23 p.m.
Holy Snykees William! I would hate to see you in a dark alley with the mowhawk hair. I like the fact that you documented it though.We got home from Alaska last week. It was certainly not a vacation. I burned the miles on the car looking around and trying to figure out the best places in town to live. Obviously I can't live in the places I would like, too expensive. It is a relativly new town considering things. Anchorage only got to be a real town in the 50's so family homes that are workable for a Mormon family of 4 are pretty rare. If only I was a railroad worker or a miner then I would have the pick of the town.
It wasn't as cold as I expected nor as dark, which made me happy. Of course the sun didn't make an appearance till almost 10am but I did expect worse. I think full spectrum lighting is everywhere because I had an odd sense of well being when I was indoors. When we got home though we shed the coats and have been walking around in light jackets. The sun has been very intense when it is out and I actually took the time to paint Carmina's "new" 2 wheeler bike. Betcha can't do that in January where you guys are.
I'm glad to hear you all are coming up for Russ' graduation. I wish some of you would have come up earlier so we could have shown you around, but at least Liz can do it since she has been here a bunch of times. We will let you all know what our long term plans are as soon as we can. You may have to make motel reservations, all our stuff may be enroute to Alaska by then. Living out of a suitcase in my own house doesn't sound like fun to me, but it will take 2 weeks minimum for our stuff to get up there so it may have to go before we do. It's all just details right? Anyway let me know how many tickets to reserve for the graduation. It should be pretty good, as far as graduations go anyway. It is going to be held on May 18th in the Hult Center...(that is kind of like symphony hall around here)...so make sure to bring a skirt or something (if you are a girl of course) actually around here no one would blink an eye if you were a boy in a skirt either.
We think about you guys all the time. I hope everyone can go to paragonah while we are visiting there and have a mini-reunion. Cameras ready? It may be the last group picture we get! Actually does anyone know if there is a good photographer in the area? It would probably be worth the effort to do it right. That reminds me, Trina I need a picture of you and David. The only one we have is the family pictre taken back in 94. Kinda out dated.
Well, see you all later.
This entry added on Monday, January 27, 2003 at 08:08 a.m.
Nice haircut, Willy.You shoulda kept the mohawk.
This entry added on Saturday, January 25, 2003 at 03:56 p.m.
I got my hair cut this last week. You can see what it looks like here.That's all for now.
This entry added on Thursday, January 9, 2003 at 07:05 a.m.
Cathy, you can't move to Alaska. That is way too far away and I don't know anybody else there. But I guess if thats where you can find a job...... I guess that means that I'll have to visit my other relatives. By the way, I was wondering when Russ's graduation is. I haven't been on a road trip up there is over a year and you know how much I love to. But since John got married and Philip too, road trip buddies are hard to come by. However; my sister has agreed to leave her children with her husband and come with me. It will be hard for her, I know, but she will do anything for her favorite sister. On another note, I'm getting a ton of hours at work. which is why I have time to write. We get paid to sit around for at least another hour before anything happens. Love you all!!!This entry added on Monday, January 6, 2003 at 03:40 p.m.
We are all sick at our house again. We all had the stomach flu a few weeks ago, and now we all have pretty severe colds. I think it is the result of having a lot of stress in our lives. We will be leaving for a trip to alaska in a week. We are going up to look at anchorage because Russ got a job offer up there. I have had to go shopping for the first time and buy winter coats for the kids. We only wear jackets and rain slickers around here and that just won't cut it in alaska in January. Thank heavens that there are really terrific re-sale shops around here. This town is awsome to be poor in. Everyone wears designer clothes and then give them to goodwill. I'm perfectly happy to take their clothes at pennies for what they paid for them. The girls are getting excited about playing in the snow up there. We will come home and see if Russ' current employer will make a counter offer and then make the big decision. We should know by the end of January. As you can see we have a lot on our minds right now.I'm glad to hear that everyone had a good christmas. We had a great one too. Does anyone know anything about Bob & Dan. I would love to hear about them. I sent them the page address in thier christmas cards but i guess they don't go to the library for internet connections or anything. Say hi for me if you guys see them soon.
This entry added on Saturday, January 4, 2003 at 10:24 p.m.
Hey everyone! I hope you had a great Christmas. I spent mine at work, once again. However, I did get to play Santa Clause and it was tons of fun. We did have a white Christmas but the boys decided to watch football all day and not venture out. Carol is trying to potty train Zachie and the cats, at the same time. All I can say is that I just live here. Love you all.This entry added on Saturday, January 4, 2003 at 10:14 p.m.
Hey everybody!! I hope you had a good Christmas. I spent mine at work, once agin. However, I played Santa Clause and it was lots of fun. We did have a white Christmas, but the boys didn't venture out all day to enjoy it. Carol is having fun trying to potty train Zachie. He is willing but Carol is not really getting into it. She is also potty traing the cats. Tuttie (our Halloween cat complete with green eyes) is being a little stuborn, but otherwise they almost have the hang of it. I send my love to all.This entry added on Saturday, January 4, 2003 at 06:03 p.m.
Hi, folks. I'm recovering nicely but still very ill. Nausea is not my favorite state and never has been. I feel a bit better every day; my biggest problem is eating enough not to be starving. Nothing looks or tastes very good. I guess it's the expected outcome and means the body is taking care of the liver, but I still hate it! Hope everyone had a nice Christmas and a Happy New Year! Love, MOMThis entry added on Thursday, January 2, 2003 at 02:14 p.m.
Hello, everyone. I just thought I'd put an entry here because i'm bored... I'm downloading another linux distribution and it is taking a very long time. I've been here for over an hour and it will take another two hours. Hopefully soon I'll get DSL at my home so I don't have to sit at the computer the whole time.Anyway, on a different note I found a place that sells posters and such that are just perfect for disaffected college students like me. It is www.dispair.com If nothing else it's good for a laugh.
This entry added on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 11:57 a.m.
John, I am glad you are tweaking the page. It is a lot of fun to mess around with isn't it. I made a web log for my side of the family and no one ever uses it so I am glad that the Gray side of the family cares enough to communicate with eachother. I hope every one has a very Merry Christmas. I will miss (again) having a white christmas, but I am actually getting used to have an emerald green one. It is kind of a tradition of mine to mow my lawn as close to christmas as I can get. It cheers me up somehow. I will be interested to see where we spend next christmas. It could be anywhere.This entry added on Friday, December 13, 2002 at 02:53 p.m.
I have been unable to find a way to have the colors load in only one cell of the table... I can make it so the whole page will change but that's about it... if you would like it, just remove all the custom colors for all the different cells.. meanwhile you can now change the border color to what ever you like and save it... Sorry if you have been loading a blank screen, there was a typo and I accidentally left the entire page commented out... it only shows up in some browsers not others so I did not know about it...This entry added on Tuesday, December 10, 2002 at 11:21 a.m.
I have found that the whole page has to be the same colors in order for me to have the background and fonts to automatically change for each person... Since this page uses tables, with each cell having different colors, it may not be possible to change only one cell and not affect the others (I have yet to find any way around this)...This entry added on Sunday, December 8, 2002 at 04:37 p.m.
Hello everyone,I havn't posted for a while, but I am so glad that all of you have. Carmina has been very very sick for the last week and basically I am on damage control and don't have much time for the little things. I am so glad I got all my christmas shopping done before thanksgiving or I would be in a panic with all the sickness in our house. Moira is sick too but not quite as bad as carmina. I am afraid she has lost weight too. She is such a tiny thing anyway, and the illness has not helped the matter. I am supposed to volunteer at her school on tuesday, but I don't know if she will even be well enough to go by then. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
I hope you all get your christmas cards. Thanks for giving me your addresses. I wrote them down in ink just like I said I would.
This entry added on Saturday, December 7, 2002 at 04:24 p.m.
I just found out that I passed the MultiState Professional Responsibility Exam. I needed 85 to pass, and I scored 103.John, what's the progress on those buttons? I looked at the source for the page, and there's lots of javascript stuff, but no buttons.
Hope everyone else is doing well.
This entry added on Tuesday, December 3, 2002 at 12:12 p.m.
Sorry if the colors seem to be changing alot lately, I am working on the colors and I have problems because it is a table with more than one background color... I will fix it soon if I canThis entry added on Friday, November 29, 2002 at 05:21 p.m.
John, go ahead and put the buttons on the page. I saw your demo and it looked pretty cool.Just make sure that the instructions for how to leave a blank line between paragraphs stays intact. For some reason whenever somebody messes with the code for the page layout it seems to take away the important part of the instructions.
Happy late Thanksgiving, everybody! We missed you, and hope to see you soon.
This entry added on Friday, November 29, 2002 at 08:47 a.m.
I can add some scripts to this page that will allow each person to choose the colors they would like to use and then save it for the next time they come... Please let me know if you would like it...This entry added on Monday, November 25, 2002 at 06:06 p.m.
Hi, folks. Hope everyone here in Utah is enjoying the snow. We woke up to 2 inches this morning. There are 3 inches out at the farm. The cats are looking for the door into summer again. I may actually have to find that story and read it.It was fun talking to Carmina and Moira on AIM today. I like the faces too!
Cathy, a pants pattern that is loose fitting but not baggy will make a good patern for bloomers. I have a pattern for some that are just poofy panties; I used pants patterns for the longer ones. For the elastic, use a loose stretch, about 1/4" wide; for the elastic length, measure the leg where the elastic will rest and add enough to tie or stitch the elastic into a seam. If the elastic is too tight, it is uncomfortable; it should be just tight enough to gather up the fabric. It can be stitched onto the inside of the pant leg or cased in bias tape. Plain colors go with more dresses. I have plenty of lace; just ask, I'll send you some.
John and Lizzy, have fun moving. I can hardly wait to see your new home!
Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Don't let that gobbler get away from the table!
Love, mom
This entry added on Monday, November 25, 2002 at 02:20 p.m.
Okay everyone, I was thinking I was so great to get all my christmas cards out the first week of December. I was getting all the envelopes addressed so I wouldn't go crazy, and what do I find out. That just about EVERYONE in the family has moved, is moved or in the process of moving. CUT IT OUT! Or at least tell me your addresses so I can leave poor mom alone about the subject. You know my e-mail address so PLEASE -sniff- please let me know where you are. Don't assume I have your address either. Too many little slips of paper have dissappeared out of my address book. I promise to even write your addresses in ink if you will just tell me where you live. I am finished ranting now. Thank you for your attention.This entry added on Sunday, November 24, 2002 at 02:35 p.m.
We are moving into our new house this week... We are very excited and can't wait to move...I decided to put up a web page but nothing is there yet, I am planning on using it to show some of the things I am working on Click Here to see it
This entry added on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 at 02:35 p.m.
I hope Thanksgiving is uneventful for you Trina. You gave me some good advice about resting and so I am sending it right back at ya.The fabric and craft stuff sounds so fun. The girls and I do crafts about 4 times a week now. We go to the university housing clubhouse to do crafts on monday afternoons and my neighbor and I rotate doing crafts at our homes once a week. You would think that would be enough for the kids, but noooo they just love creating and using their hands. If by any chance you have a pattern for bloomers to go under girls dresses I would be most grateful for it. Both the girls are very active and dresses don't really slow them down, so bloomers would be just the thing. I am looking for a pattern that would go down to their knees, or even their feet. I think they would look adorable especially if I can find some fancy lace to trim the bottom.
I am so proud that william took the plunge into linux. I have to run windows on my desktop at home because some of my programs won't run on linux, but Russ says he is going to fix that as soon as he can.
Moira is getting ready for her third birthday. She is very excited. She has never had a party of any kind before so we promised her a party. With no family around we will probably just take her to a pizza parlour or something. When she is happy she invites everyone to her party, and when she is mad at someone she says "you not coming to my party"
Carmina is gearing up for christmas. She says it isn't fair that Santa can see everything because she gets tired of being good all the time. I think I can understand that.
I am staying busy with primary and all that. I have yet another activity I have to plan. The person that scheduled two activities in the fourth quarter is not on my good list right now.
I am excited to go to lunch with carmina at school tomarrow. They are doing a thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings and families are invited. Russ has a class right at the same time, but moira and I are going and I am so happy to eat with her. It has been a while since we had lunch during the week together and I miss it very much.
Anyway things here are going great. Wish we could see you for thanksgiving. We tried to think of a way to get to utah for christmas but $$$ for airline tickets is non existent and driving is out of the question. I hope maybe next year we will know what is happening early enough to make plans. I hope!
This entry added on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 at 08:37 a.m.
Linux is cool. I got DVDs working on my laptop, and I like the software (Ogle) better than I liked the Windows software. And it was a piece of cake to set up.Hope everybody else is doing well. I am frantically trying to get ready for finals. Hopefully I'll have it together enough by Dec. 6 to actually pass all my classes. We'll see, I suppose.
Carmina and Moira are doing well. Carmina loves Kindergarten, and Moira loves it that Carmina's in Kindergarten because she gets lots of time home with Mommy. So everybody's happy. For those of you who have met my cat, Sneaker, he is also doing well, and he gets more eccentric all the time. Last night he took all the kids' stuffed animals and piled them at the top of the stairs. He likes to hunt at night.
If you have pictures and things like that, send them. If you want to send by email, send to Cathy; or just send them regular mail.
This entry added on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 at 06:16 p.m.
I put linux on my computer this last weekend. It is very fun. As soon as I get all my DVD stuff to work properly I'm going to nearly remove Windoze from my computer.M$ Windoze is the dark side.
Also, since many of you may not know, I've become interested in broadcasting. Every Tues. I run the sound for the "number-one rated cable show in Cedar City." It's called SUU Live. It is a comedy/variety show that is pretty good. The on-air talents are fairly talented. Anyway, it's very fun.
This entry added on Monday, November 18, 2002 at 05:42 p.m.
Hello, it's been a while since I was here. This will be short, cuz i should be home in bed. I'm tired. It looks like I get to go to the hospital for a day to have my liver re-arranged. The doc says the proceedure will kill the tumors. I'm still gathering info to decide for sure whether to do it, but now it looks like I will. If so, it will be the end of this week or early next week. The date will determine where I am for Thanksgiving, at Carol's or at home in bed. Yes, Cathy, your offer is tempting. I wish we could all come there! Maybe another year. Everyone is invited to Paragonah for Christmas. We'll all take it easy, veg, watch TV, DVDs, eat, go for walks, go sledding if there's snow, and anything else we can think of. Come as you are; stay for as long as possible. Your Dad is the new Membership Ward Clerk in our ward. This is the 6th time he's held the position, and in every ward we've lived in since the first one after we were married. I'm still a visiting teacher, and ward public affairs representative. It's lonely here since Willy moved away. Come visit anytime; stay awhile. I'm slowly getting the house changed around. All the junk is in the way. If you need fabric or other craft supplies, ask before you buy any. I've got some great Christmas projects underway. Oops, can't let the cat out of the bag on that. Sorry. And don't be surprised if I've just got a head start on next year. This liver thing will probably set me back majorly. Rats! Well, just remember we love you all. MomThis entry added on Friday, November 15, 2002 at 11:37 a.m.
Willy, good luck with linux. It's a lot of fun, and it has everything you need. Plus, you don't need to pirate all your software. You can still copy it, but it's not pirating. Which is cool.I am working on lots of school stuff. Most of it is too boring to talk about here. But there's a lot to do.
Anybody who has the time, put an entry here. Plus, it would be really cool (hint hint) if you were to send pictures to us, either via email or snail mail. Carmina and Moira need to know their relatives, and for the moment at least that's one of the better ways.
That's it for now. I probably won't be available for chatting very much for a while.
This entry added on Friday, November 15, 2002 at 11:19 a.m.
So it turns out that I wasn't sopossed to have a paycheck after all. When I talked to my supervisor he said that I wouldn't get paid until the 25th. Which is a real drag because that means that the pay-scale is farther behind than I would like.Anyway, on a different note, Russ talked me into putting linux on my computer. So as soon as the cds are done downloading, I'll be spending the rest of the weekend putting off school-work to play with linux.
This entry added on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 at 07:57 p.m.
Welcome to another addition of "A day I the Life of a Professional Babysitter." On today's show, we learn about the life of a professional magician. He did this really cool trick where he tore up a newpaper and it 'magically' wasn't torn up at all. Unforutantly, he wouldn't tell us the secret. Anyway way after a long 12 hours here, I am so ready to go home. Makes me happy I have a few days off frim here. I have subing in a math class on friday to look forward to. Lucky me. All is well that ends well. Love ya all.This entry added on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 at 09:21 a.m.
Wow, I am so glad someone besides me is actually writing again! I am sorry to hear about all the job problems going around the family. I guess it will remind you of the reason you are getting higher education in the first place, (so you won't have to clean toilets and babysit for the rest of your life.) Hey wait, that is what I do....just kidding it is great when you do it for people you love.I volunteered at Carmina's class again yesterday. We discovered the differences between ping pong balls and rubber balls. The kids came up with great observations. We were supposed to keep it pretty basic, but I had a few minutes so I showed them what would happen if you dropped a ping pong ball and a rubber ball at the same time. All the kids said the rubber ball would hit the ground before the ping pong ball because it was heavier. They were totally amazed that they hit at the exact same time. I just love it when I see kids make a mental leap like that. I don't know if the teacher would be happy with my little diversion, but I am pretty popular with the kids now.
I hope all of you are preparing for a great Thanksgiving. Anyone who can get here is welcome to come to our house for Thanksgiving. I do a dinner will all the trimmings so you wouldn't be dissapointed. Am I tempting anyone????
This entry added on Monday, November 11, 2002 at 05:45 p.m.
Since I haven't written here in a while, I guess that I should tell everyone that I now have a job as a janitor here at SUU. So now I get to clean bathrooms for a month... very boring. At least it's better than calling people up, telling the person that he/she has bad credit, then telling he/she that they need to shell out $200 dollars to repair it.Now on the the really fun part of my new job: I'm not offically employed yet. I found this out when I went to get my paycheck today. Not only was it not there, the payroll people told me that I'm not employed. So now I have to bug my supervisor tomorrow. Oh well, at least when I'm talking to him it will waste time.
So, I guess that's about all that's going on in my life right now. Bye!
This entry added on Monday, November 11, 2002 at 08:16 a.m.
I know the reason I don't write here much is that I'm pretty busy and don't have the time. I dunno about everybody else.Glad that SOMEBODY writes here though.
I'm fighting a nasty cold. I always get a bad cold just before finals. I thought I'd escaped it this year, but apparently not.
Not much else going on. Somebody pass the user name and password to John, and tell him to write something here. I would, but I can't find his email address.
This entry added on Sunday, November 10, 2002 at 05:53 p.m.
I've noticed that you guys haven't been writing very much lately. Is it because your lives are as boring mine? That is really, really sad. Work is going great, I'm getting a ton more hours. I found out that I just have to talk to the right people. Last week I taught 1st and 2nd grader. They were really cute, but I'm glad I don't teach full time. In my 1st grade class there was this little boy named Jesse. He was either being really cute, holding my hand or giving me hugs; or talking and bouncing off the walls. At one time he was telling another little boy that he believed in Heavenly Father. I wanted to tell him the Heavenly Father would not be happy with his behavior, but I didn't. Now I'm babysitting the boys the jail. It amazes me their excuses for being here. "Its not my fault, I was only drinking with my friends and the cops showed up. I was only going to be there for 15 minutes, I swear." Oh and don't forget they were also smoking pot. They are so full of it. Just a little bit of enertainment. Come, somebody has got to have something more interesting than me. Loves ya,LizThis entry added on Monday, November 4, 2002 at 11:15 a.m.
It was me who changed the colors. Anybody can change them again. I suggest that the background always be a light color though. I never had a problem reading it on my computer but it seems that the rest of the family have their monitors configured differently.I am so glad to hear about grandma Gray. We write to her and send pictures but because she can't write back it is kind of a one sided conversation. Don't worry too much about the old age dimentia. It is quite normal as long as it doesn't scare her or make her not take care of herself. Could someone let me know about her eyesight. I usually type my letters in 20pt font but I don't know if she needs it bigger than that. I try and send large pictures, but sometimes all i have is a wallet size and so I was wondering if she could see those okay.
We had a great Halloween. I dressed up as Dorothy from the wizard of OZ complete with sparkly shoes. Carmina was a princess and moira was a clown. We had a Halloween party the night before that was a blast and we went Trunk or Treating at our church on Halloween night. The kids really cleaned up. I am so pleased that people go all out to make a safe place for kids. I think I liked Trunk or Treating better than the door to door way anyway. It was all over in 30 minutes and all the adults could stand around and chat while the kids had fun. Well I say that, but Russ took the kids around while I chatted. I had to man my station anyway, right?
Carmina's class party was fun. I just love being a mom of a school age kid. I remember my mom being a room mother and I felt so lucky to have a mom that came everywhere with me. I don't know how Carmina feels about me being on every field trip and party, but she hasn't told me to stay home yet. Whew!
Russells graduation commencement is on May 18th. All the family is invited. May is beautiful here so I think anyone who comes will not be dissappointed. We graduate before the rest of the school because the law school is on a semester schedule and the rest of the school is still on the quarter system so the town won't be crowded. I hope some of you can come!
This entry added on Friday, November 1, 2002 at 06:52 p.m.
hi again everyone. thanks to whoever changed the colors. i can now read the website without squinting! gramma gray had a birthday last sunday, and we are having a birthday dinner for her this sat. i've been going to see gramma every monday evening after my dog obedience class, and nonnie has come with me. i think about the third week, gramma told me that nonnie was just causing trouble and to take her and go. i was a little surprised, so i left, and the next week i left nonnie in the car. gramma thought that was a good thing because the week before a woman had screamed and it had caused trouble. (i hadn't heard any screams, just seen people who wanted to touch nonnie!) but gramma was happy. so the next week i left nonnie outside again, but told gramma i couldn't stay long because i'd had to borrow the truck, and there was no way to lock nonnie in it (it had the shell on it, but no lock on the window)and gramma surprised me again by telling me she sure wished nonnie could come in! so eventually, after a lot of reassurance that it was allowed, i went out and got nonnie. nonnie is kind of nervous around the wheelchairs, and she sat in the doorway and barked at them. it was kind of funny. gramma is doing pretty well. usually she is pretty aware of things and we can carry on a conversation, although i have to listen very closely as she talks so softly. occasionally a hallucination pops up, like the time she told me she was going to have to sleep in her chair because there was a lady in her bed and she wouldn't leave. i decided to go along with her and reassured her that the nurse's aids would take care of it and she'd be fine. let me know what's going on with everyone--details are good! love ya allThis entry added on Thursday, October 31, 2002 at 08:30 a.m.
I just felt like putting an entry here while in class. Just because I can. Have a nice day!This entry added on Monday, October 28, 2002 at 08:01 p.m.
Did somebody mess with the colors again?This entry added on Thursday, October 24, 2002 at 05:16 p.m.
I have a job interview tomorrow. Which is not to say that I have a job offer, but I guess we'll have to see.The firm name is Littler Mendelson. They are the largest employment law firm in the nation, and they represent only employers. So it ought to be interesting. I've done some employment law at work over the past year or so, which ought to help.
This entry added on Wednesday, October 23, 2002 at 11:06 a.m.
First of all, I would like to thank whoever it was who changed the colors on the page from black and blue, it gave me a headache. Which is why I haven't writen for a while. So my job has been pretty slow, so I got another one. I am now a substitute teacher. I've never really wanted to be a teacher, but I think I can handle it one day at a time. Besides I really don't have any responsiblities. On Friday I'm subbing in an Art class at Provo High. I was at an elementary school last week and it was fun. I think my internship will be at a high school when I go to Grad school so this is good practice. Love to hear from everybody!!This entry added on Saturday, October 19, 2002 at 03:00 p.m.
this must be the time of year for car accidents. dan got in one the night of philips wedding. liz and i had gone up in the morning for the wedding, and dan was coming with the kids for the reception later in the day. when he was an hour late, i was starting to get worried. 15 minutes later i had the phone book out to look up the number for the highway patrol to see if an accident had slowed traffic. i waited a couple more minutes, and thank goodness dan finally got to cynthia's house. there had been an accident, and dan was in it. the traffic was stop and go and dan stopped in time, but the car behind didn't and pushed dan into the car i front of him. i guess there was a fourth car involved as well, at the very back. it took dan an hour to get through with everything, and by then the kids were fed up with it. the front of our car was scraped, no dents, but the back is done for. and i had the double stroller in the trunk, but i don't know if it's ok because we havent opened the trunk yet, in case we can't get it closed again. i can't believe how much it cost. and we have to pay the deductable because there were so many cars involved that everything has to be done through the insurance co. our insurance pays and gets reimbursed, and then they reimburse our deductable, hopefully. we'll even have to rent a car while ours is fixed. does anyone know whether you have to get new carseats when you've been in an accident? i've heard conflicting opinions, and dan thinks that since we were hit from behind, which would have pushed the carseats into the cushion, it didn't put any strain on them and we should be ok. i love this webpage, but i cannot read blue on black. could we get a lighter color for the writing or the background? i'd try, but i'm so computer illiterate i'm doing good just to type this in!! katy and zach are doing great. katy just turned 4 last sunday, and she got a new bike. she loves it! zach likes to ride the little car katy got when she was a year old, and the trike she got when she turned 3. in fact, they ride them clear over to their grammy's house, while i walk with the dog, Nonnie. Dan is learning a lot about computers in his spare time. he built one a little while ago for a coworker, but cynthia and dale ended up buying it when the guy backed out. dan is always trying things out, and when something doesn't work right, he just wipes the hard drive and starts over. but somewhere inbetween all these activities, i have lost the printout of my email addresses, and so i need everyone to send me an email so i can write to you again. i am mostly trying to keep my house clean. monday i am going to start "school" with katy and zach. katy is old enough for preschool, but won't go to kindergarten until she is nearly six, and so i am going to teach her to read. her favorite cousin can read, and so katy is very excited to learn. and zach wants to do whatever katy does. i think it will be a fun way to spend the winter when they can't go outside all day like they do now. i am also taking nonnie to obedience classes. we go once a week and i learn how to train her, and then for the next week we work on it. so far she is heeling pretty good, sitting ok, and staying very well. it's just hard to get her to do it at the class where 12 other dogs are distracting her. i finally decided to do something about it, so i have been working with her around my sisters in law's dogs. i have nonnie on her leash, and the other dog runs around free, and nonnie has to mind anyway. the first day was hard, but she is getting much better. it's just cats that get her attention now! we just got a new puppy! it was dan's idea and a surprise for me. especially since we already have a dog, Nonnie, and two cats, Tutti and Jammy, plus liz's two rats, Templeton and Lucy. it sounds worse than it is: the rats are in a cage, the cats are in the house, and the dogs are outside, and nothing has to share it's space, so it all works. but the puppy was new for me. i haven't ever had one before. we've always started out with adults. dan said it would be his dog, so Tonka came home with us. we decided to keep him in the house at night because Nonnie sleeps on the porch and tonka couldn't climb the steps to sleep with her. since he was dan's dog, i let dan get up with him the first two time. i got up the next two times and dan got up the last time. he was so much worse than kittens! so i decided that since nonnie seemed to like him, she could take care of him from then on, and tied her up at night so she couldn't get on the porch or reach tonka's towel and teddy bear and carrier (she chews). the next morning i came out and the carrier was still there, but the towel was on the grass with the teddy bear, and the leash i had used to fasten the chain to the fence post was still fastened the the post on one end and the chain on the other, but the middle 3 feet were missing. i've never found them! i secured her a little better the next night, and it's been fine since then. we've had him for about a week. he is a cute little black puppy, and his mom is a cocker spaniel mix, but he looks like a lab and he was twice the size of the other puppies. i hope he gets big enough for nonnie to play with! hope i don't bore you all to death! lots of love! ps cathy, could you send me your email address? thanks!This entry added on Thursday, October 17, 2002 at 10:28 a.m.
Sorry to hear about your car accident, Willy. The last time I got in a wreck it totaled my car. I had a hard time keeping a straight face at the accident scene (side of the freeway, rush-hour) as I surveyed the damage, because I absolutely hated that car.Hope everything else is going well for everyone.
This entry added on Wednesday, October 16, 2002 at 08:02 a.m.
Crash!!! Yes, that's the sound of someone rear-ending my car. Luckily, my car wasn't dammaged though. It all happened Monday, on Main St. here in Cedar City. Traffic was stopped because a semi was backing in ahead of me and blocking traffic. I had just stopped when another car struck mine. But as I said, no damage was done to my car. However, the other car has a dammaged radiator.Well, that's all that's exciting in my life right now.
This entry added on Tuesday, October 15, 2002 at 03:36 p.m.
Russ, the kids say hi. Hee hee.This entry added on Monday, October 14, 2002 at 04:01 p.m.
Hmmm... looks like activity on this weblog has died down.I'm spending my time working, going to school, doing homework, and (very occasionally) seeing my kids. Oh well. I'm told they're doing well.
So, not much going on for me.
This entry added on Tuesday, October 8, 2002 at 09:58 a.m.
We had a great time in Washington this weekend. We went to the Tillamook Cheese factory, which the girls loved. Carmina asked what all the big boxes coming out of the wall were and when we told her they weren't boxes they were blocks of cheese she thought that was so cool. It took the girls a while to get used to eating cheese curds but they liked it after a few tries. They played in the sand at cannon beach. Russ saw the sun come out from behind the clouds so he pulled over and let the girls play a while. Moira got sopping wet but she was happy non the less. We did a litte outlet shopping at Seaside then headed up to our cottage. The girls crashed that night. They just love the cottage. Carmina asked if we could always live there because it is so little and cute. I asked here where she would put all her toys. She thought about that and said "in mommy and daddy's room. We said no way so i guess she will have to be happy with our house in Eugene. We got to go see the Maritime museum in Astoria and we went to Fort Columbia and looked at all the big guns. The best part was that General Conference was on cable up there. It wasn't last year so we didn't have much hope, but we found it there this year and we were so happy. The members up there must be thrilled that they have access to that now. The area is one of the most beautiful places on earth that I have seen. Its old section of town isn't a tourist place. It has real working shops instead of trinket stores. I just love that. If any of you want to see the northwest at its finest, go to Seaview washington. You will not regret the extra 20 minutes it takes to drive into washington to see it. It has a boardwalk carnival for crying out loud. I have only seen those in England. I guess it takes coastal towns to pull them off. Well enough about that.Russ had his first interview today. I am very excited about that. It will give him good practice. Just to get a job it will take up to 3 interviews with the same firm. This will not be the last inerview by a long shot, but he said it went well and that the interviewer was a really nice fellow. That is always a good sign.
I hope you are all well. Love to you all.
This entry added on Thursday, October 3, 2002 at 10:23 a.m.
Well Liz I'm sorry your job is boring. I'm sure you are being a great mentor to those kids though. I just hate seeing young people that chose to throw their life away. Life is too short to waste.As Russ said we are indeed going out of town this weekend. The cable companies around here refuse to put General Conference on tv so we would have to go to the stake center to watch it. Not real likely to be successful with the kids so we are leaving town. We always go on a trip for Russ' birthday and we liked it so much last year we are going to the same place. Lots and lots of fun!
Russ has an interview next week with a firm in Yakima Washington. He is happy that someone is taking the bait. Not many firms are hiring right now in all of the northwest so we are happy about this turn of events. Yakima isn't exactly perfection, but it comes with a paycheck so it may be just the thing.
This entry added on Thursday, October 3, 2002 at 08:23 a.m.
Liz, I hope you like Provo. And I'm glad you have a job that gives you some free time.Our family is going out of town this weekend. We're going to Long Beach, Washington. Ought to be lots of fun.
This entry added on Tuesday, October 1, 2002 at 03:05 p.m.
So here I am at work, as you can tell I have a lot of time on my hands. This is basically jail for kids. Every day we lock them up in their rooms for several hours to remind them that this is jail. Its very unlike where I worked before. I have a lot less kids to supervise and I also work with boys as well as girls. But not at the same time of course. It is also much more laid back and a lot less structured than I'm used to. The first night I worked I was really bored. The peace and quite might actually kill me. I too am getting over strep throat. Katy and Zach are so nice to share with me. I haven't made a lot of friends, though my new Ward is really nice and very organized. As rule Single Wards are not organized. For those of you who don't know, I put off grad school for a year. I crasched my car in March and the cost of another one set me back on the money situation. I am, however, accepting donations. You can send it directly to me, I prefer cash, in small and unmarked if you please. Of course, I'm pleading to the wrong crowd. I'm pretty sure none of you that much pocket change you would be willing to give me. But I love you all anyways.This entry added on Tuesday, October 1, 2002 at 09:44 a.m.
I just re-did the page, again... Hope you all like it.This entry added on Monday, September 30, 2002 at 12:35 p.m.
OK, I changed the background cover so it's easier to read. Anybody who knows how to change HTML can change it back (go to the admin screen, look for the link that says "Make custom changes to the overall look of your page").If you know HTML you'll be able to figure it out from there.
This entry added on Sunday, September 29, 2002 at 07:29 p.m.
Hey guys, way to go with all the entries. I am so glad to be hearing about all of you. I didn't even know that Liz was in Provo. I hope to hear about your job soon. I thought graduate school was your next step, but that was such a long time ago that we talked about it. Has anyone told the Bob & Dan about this thing. I would like to hear about them too. As for our family things couldn't be better. We are looking forward to a vacation in washington for Russ' birthday. We rent a cottage up there and it is fabulous. The winter rates make it cheaper than a motel 6 stay. Gosh i love the fall. Russ' birthday and our anniversary are both in the fall and it makes traveling very inexpensive. It's great.Russ is job hunting like crazy but we won't know were we are living for a long time. It is kind of strange not knowing where you will be in a year but it is quite an adventure.
I am going nuts with my primary calling. Meetings are the word of the day. I never knew that leadership callings took so much preparation. Live and learn.
Carmina is loving school. She gets off the bus so happy every day. She got sick a few weeks ago and i think her ear tubes have clogged up cause she is having a hard time hearing. She acts out quite a bit. I can't say that i blame her. If i missed out on half of what people were saying I would blow a gasket too.
Moira potty trained herself about 2 weeks ago. One day i just heard her go in the bathroom and she did the whole routine on her own. I am such a lucky mom. I wish it was because of something i did, but no, it is because she is so cool.
Well, this is our last year in school and the firms around here are not hiring. So, unless there is a miracle we probably won't be living here next year. If you guys were looking to visit oregon and have a place to stay down our direction better make those winter/spring vacation plans now. Other than that you will have to wait for the next ultra cool place we move to.
See ya!
This entry added on Saturday, September 28, 2002 at 11:21 a.m.
I'm glad to see that this webpage is being used. It was Cathy's idea originally...Not much going on with me, I'm still as busy as ever...
This entry added on Thursday, September 26, 2002 at 11:18 p.m.
Hello everyone. i hope i did this right because i am so computer illiterate i didn't even know what a url was. and i hope i got my name in the right place. i think this website is a great idea. the herrin family is all doing ok. dan is in school and working. i'm keeping up with the kids and also babysitting a couple of days a week, and occasionally playing back-up to my sister-in-law's daycare. the other day i had 10 kids here including my own. it was busy, and i was sure glad it is only occasionally! zach just turned 2 and katy will be 4 next month. right now katy and zach are recovering from strep throat. they have both had high fevers and sore throats, and zach also had an ear infection. last winter he had so many ear infections the dr said he'd have to get tubes if he had one more, so after that, every time zach got a cold i had him get a blessing, and when i did that the cold never progressed to his ears. we had a great summer. the kids loved it. we went to the family reunion in paragonah and the bear lake reunion. i'd forgotten how blue the lake is! the sand was the biggest hit with the kids. we also started the summer with swim lessons for zach and katy. although katy didn't do well enough to pass her class, i thought she did great because she's always been afraid of the water, and by the end of the class she was sticking her face in the water voluntarily, if only for a split second! zach, on the other hand, turned out to be a fish. i had to get in the pool with him because of his age. the very first day i got into the pool and then helped him in, and the first thing he did was push away from me so he could do it himself. of course he didn't realize the water was 4 feet deep. we kept up with the water by going to the local water park several times during the summer. at first katy wouldn't even get in the lazy river on a tube, but by the end of the summer she would swim it with only a life jacket to help her. zach now jumps into the pool and swims to me (only a foot or so to swim, bu i can't help bragging!), and then swims to the side (i give him a good push) and gets out all by himself. well, as you can tell, i'm so excited about my kids. hope to hear more about all the rest of you. hope everyone is well! love, carol and familyThis entry added on Wednesday, September 25, 2002 at 02:23 p.m.
Not much going on for me. I have about 200 pages of reading between now and Monday, which is about normal.Tell everybody else in the fambly to start posting entries.
This entry added on Wednesday, September 25, 2002 at 10:54 a.m.
What a great idea this is. So I moved to Provo after I got the job at youth corrections. Its only part-time right now but hopefuly I'll get on full-time really soon Its lots of fun, but very unstructured. Gotta go. Loves ya all!!This entry added on Tuesday, September 24, 2002 at 03:14 p.m.
John, Happy Birthday yesterday. We played phone tag all day, but we never made a connection. So, Happy Birthday!!! Come to your Birthday Dinner next Sunday. All invited!! Please RSVP (Except John). Love MOMThis entry added on Saturday, September 21, 2002 at 03:05 p.m.
I changed the text color to black, from dark blue. I know it is possible to change browser settings to override the background/font colors on a page. For anyone technically inclined it is also possible to change the html format for the entries, so it can look the way YOU want it to. In fact, anybody with the password can do ANYTHING, including delete and modify entries, archive everything, etc.Hope that helps...
This entry added on Friday, September 20, 2002 at 06:41 p.m.
This looks like a good idea. I couldn't read it til I went to Microsoft Word and changed the background color to White. Someone who knows how could change it on the web; it will make it easier for illiterates like me to enjoy. Russ or Cathy, would this be for you to do? Things are surprisingly quiet at home these days since Willy moved to Cedar. The floors stay clean; the laundry is halved; the food lasts longer; no one empties the dishwasher....you get the picture. Willy is living in a house in Cedar City with a bunch of other boys. He seems to be having a ball. He works, attends classes, sings in the Heritage Choir, and does something important on Tuesday nights at SU. He will have to fill you in on exactly what it is. I hope to see everyone participate in this. Love, MomThis entry added on Friday, September 20, 2002 at 11:02 a.m.
Since nobody else is making any entries... Maybe I will.I'm at school. Where I am pretty much all the time. I spend more time here than I spend anywhere else, except possibly in bed, asleep (and that's debatable).
So what have I done this week? I've sent out two resumes, I've done a lot of studying, I've attended boring boring classes. And I'm going to work soon.
I hope other people start contributing to this blog. Maybe we should get the word out...
This entry added on Thursday, September 12, 2002 at 05:08 p.m.
Okay guys i started this thing so i am going to make the first real entry. To get my name in blue i put my name in the "pagename" section of the entry template. It is a good way to see who the person is that is talking. With that said i will update you on our family. Russ is doing great in school. He is in his last year now and we are very proud of him. He is looking for a job now and we are keeping our fingers crossed for him. He puts in very long days, but he is holding out very well. He comes home from a long day at school and work and still has time to play checkers with Carmina. What a guy. Carmina has started kindergarten and she is doing that with flare. She likes school, and her favorite part is riding the bus and lunch. Go figure. Moira has more time with mommy than she ever has before and i'm not sure she thinks that is the greatest thing. She and Carmina are best friends and mommy isn't much of a trade. I am staying busy. Oh so busy. With my calling in the primary presidency and school mom and law wife i am spread pretty thin. I hope everyone stays intact even though it feels like i am just doing damage control all the time. I'm sure i will get better at all of it if i try.This entry added on Thursday, September 12, 2002 at 02:02 p.m.
Hello one and all to the first Gray family news website. Since all of you are spreading out and not at mom and dad central I decided to start this family web log. You can all add new info whenever you want. That saves everyone the task of mailing all their info to someone to compile. Don't worry about what to write. Write anything. I for one would like to know what is happening to everyone. On the other hand if you aren't going to add stuff this will be a long running self dialog about the Russell Gray section of the family. So no complaining that you don't know what is happening to our side of the family cause the info is going to be right here. Anyway I hope to see people posting soon. Cathy