Hey everybody,
I have really loved reading things on our family blog. What fun! I even found Shawn and Torrey's blog and Jeff and Kimi's blog and finally the other day, Josie and Jeff's. The pictures and comments just make my day sometimes. If any more of you have a blog let me know so I can follow it and enjoy reading about your lives since we don't see each other that often.
I hope all of you have been getting Tanner's emails. If I've missed someone, let me know and I will make sure to add you to the list. It has been a true joy having a missionary out from our family. We look forward every Monday to read what new things he is experiencing. We have always prayed for the missionaries in our family, but now there is an added awareness and connection. By the way, Jen, I am not getting Dallin's emails. Could you forward those to me? I would love to hear how he is doing.
I'm loving this warmer weather. It's almost like a real spring, which is kinda rare in Northern Nevada. It makes me antsy to get to June and our REUNION!!! Can't wait to see everyone to talk and laugh and eat (repeat, repeat)!! Our Spring Break is next week, and boy are we all ready for it. Not that we have anything special planned, but just because we all could use a break from school and work(me, not Michael).
Ok, now that I've written my two bits, I want to read more from the rest of yous guys. Nothing fancy, just what's happening in your everyday life.
Love you all, Amy
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Josie and Jeff, I loved all your pictures and the descriptions to go with them. It sounds like you are seeing some wonderful things and are learning lots, including Hungarian! I am SO impressed. We are missing you but are so glad you are having this great experience.
Grandpa and I are getting our papers all filled out for a mission in August. We're thinking it will be in the Family History Library (which is great with me, cuz then the kids and grandkids can come and see us). But I guess we won't know for sure til we get the call. Sr.'s can put their papers in up to 9 months before they leave.
With Ben (Grandpa Clair's oldest grandson, Dallin and Tanner, we feel pretty blessed. We're looking forward to Daniel, Brendan and Clair's granddaughter, Vanessa heading out this year. I hope we will be a "Missionary Family"!
I will try to keep up with your blogs. Come on family - let's all blog!
Mom/Grandma
Grandpa and I are getting our papers all filled out for a mission in August. We're thinking it will be in the Family History Library (which is great with me, cuz then the kids and grandkids can come and see us). But I guess we won't know for sure til we get the call. Sr.'s can put their papers in up to 9 months before they leave.
With Ben (Grandpa Clair's oldest grandson, Dallin and Tanner, we feel pretty blessed. We're looking forward to Daniel, Brendan and Clair's granddaughter, Vanessa heading out this year. I hope we will be a "Missionary Family"!
I will try to keep up with your blogs. Come on family - let's all blog!
Mom/Grandma
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Our Blog
Hey everyone! I know there's been trouble with our blog--pictures not showing up and whatnot--but we think we've fixed it, and we have some pretty cool pictures up. Hope you can find time to check it out. We love all of you!
- Josie
- Josie
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
California trip!
Not to be outdone by Shawn and Torrey's trip to New York, I will tell of our trip to southern Calif. We left Thurs. morning, picked up Amanda in Logan, stopped at the family history library in Salt Lake, where Clair did a little detective work and picked up forms for our next mission. We traveled on down to Las Vegas and stayed overnight with Clair's sister, Rosalie. It worked out perfectly, as they were bringing her husband home from rehab. He has been seriously ill and in and out of the hospital for the past month. Clair was able to help her get Hank around and teach her some things about taking care of him. He helped her give him a bed bath the next morning and then we headed for Sarah's in San Juan Capistrano. We went to the grocery store and picked up what we needed to fix a birthday dinner for Nancy who turned the big 40 that weekend! Randy, Tom, Sarah and Nancy went to Disneyland all day Friday and the others went without Nancy the day before, but took Sarah's husband, Ted. He couldn't handle going on Friday. I think Randy would have gone the whole week if they had let him! On Sat., we went to the Mormon Battalion Center in San Diego - very well done - and then took a tour of the aircraft carrier, Midway, which is docked in the San Diego Harbor. We went to church in Sarah's nice ward on Sunday and had a cookout on the beach, which is on Camp Pendelton. It was kind of cold and windy, but fun. Monday, Clair and I went to Chula Vista for the funeral of his cousin, Bill Chase. He was down syndrome and was 68 years old! As Clair says, "He was a pure soul." It was a very nice funeral and fun for me to get acquainted with Bill's brothers, Palmer and Robert. They used to come to Clair's every summer to have fun on the Davis ranch. We headed for home the next morning at 4:00 a.m. with Amanda and Tom in tow. It was a long drive, but we made it safely - glad to be home! Just having that reunion with Clair's kids made me excited for our own reunion coming up soon! We are filling out papers for our mission, and I am getting a little panicky. Clair's brother-in-law and his wife and daughter will be staying in our home, especially so they can watch over Grandma Cox. Have a good week everyone!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
New York! New York!
Well, my "spring" break is kind of, pretty much, basically officially over. And I'm not sure I want to go to school anymore.
Anyway, we had a fun week while it lasted, which didn't seem to be very long. We got to make the short trip up to New York this last Wednesday, and left Kanny May with some friends. The drive was supposed to be 1.5 - 2hrs but turned into 3 hrs, which meant instead of going to the temple, then taking a leisurely stroll down to our Broadway show, we had to skip the temple, switch to a faster subway train, then sprint to the theater! We were running quicker than Cinderella at curfew, because our tickets confirmation said we had to pick up our tickets at the box office no later than 5 minutes before show time (2:00 pm). Well, we got off the train at 1:57 pm. We were so worried that our hard earned loan money had just gone down the drain, but it all worked out, and when we got our tickets the ticket guy got on the phone and said, "They're here, you can start." I'm still not sure if he was kidding or not. The theater was packed with little girls dressed up like princesses (we saw Rogers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella"), so I was feeling a little outnumbered but nothing I couldn't handle. The girl next to me was probably 18-22 yo, and was pretty into the play, she was one of those that responds to the things they are saying on stage, and giggles at everything. The play was really awesome and we had lot of fun.
We went to M&M world in Times Square, saw a guy painting amazing paintings on poster board with just spray paint, and another with an awesome drum routine on buckets and garbage. So many interesting things/people in New York City. One little black guy (at least we think it was a he) that was next to us in the restaurant we ate it, after he got done making out with his girl there on the bench, leaned over and put two single condom packages on our table. "Here, you can use those." Then they left.... for a few minutes. Super nice gesture of him, but I thought it best to play it safe and use a napkin to pick them and throw them away.
We got to meet up with my trainer from the mission which was really fun. He works for a company that does financial analyses or something like that, and lives right downtown! I couldn't believe it. Just talking to him opened up my eyes even more on how different our worlds are. We had fun in Times Square and on the ferry, etc. I felt like the Birdwells going to the fair. Just a simple country bumpkin couple in the Big Apple! Sorry this is so long, I'm just trying to keep up with some of my sisters(: Just kidding! We love you all, and can't wait to take any/all of you to New York with us!
Anyway, we had a fun week while it lasted, which didn't seem to be very long. We got to make the short trip up to New York this last Wednesday, and left Kanny May with some friends. The drive was supposed to be 1.5 - 2hrs but turned into 3 hrs, which meant instead of going to the temple, then taking a leisurely stroll down to our Broadway show, we had to skip the temple, switch to a faster subway train, then sprint to the theater! We were running quicker than Cinderella at curfew, because our tickets confirmation said we had to pick up our tickets at the box office no later than 5 minutes before show time (2:00 pm). Well, we got off the train at 1:57 pm. We were so worried that our hard earned loan money had just gone down the drain, but it all worked out, and when we got our tickets the ticket guy got on the phone and said, "They're here, you can start." I'm still not sure if he was kidding or not. The theater was packed with little girls dressed up like princesses (we saw Rogers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella"), so I was feeling a little outnumbered but nothing I couldn't handle. The girl next to me was probably 18-22 yo, and was pretty into the play, she was one of those that responds to the things they are saying on stage, and giggles at everything. The play was really awesome and we had lot of fun.
We went to M&M world in Times Square, saw a guy painting amazing paintings on poster board with just spray paint, and another with an awesome drum routine on buckets and garbage. So many interesting things/people in New York City. One little black guy (at least we think it was a he) that was next to us in the restaurant we ate it, after he got done making out with his girl there on the bench, leaned over and put two single condom packages on our table. "Here, you can use those." Then they left.... for a few minutes. Super nice gesture of him, but I thought it best to play it safe and use a napkin to pick them and throw them away.
We got to meet up with my trainer from the mission which was really fun. He works for a company that does financial analyses or something like that, and lives right downtown! I couldn't believe it. Just talking to him opened up my eyes even more on how different our worlds are. We had fun in Times Square and on the ferry, etc. I felt like the Birdwells going to the fair. Just a simple country bumpkin couple in the Big Apple! Sorry this is so long, I'm just trying to keep up with some of my sisters(: Just kidding! We love you all, and can't wait to take any/all of you to New York with us!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Never been so glad to see Monday in my life! Sunday was hellacious. Got up to start dinner yesterday because I had invited my primary counselors and their families for dinner, but, and this is key, I had no food. Tends to make feeding people a little difficult. I had been so stressed about talking in sacrament mtg., Coopers b-day, primary stuff, etc., I completely forgot to go to the store. But with some borrowed potatoes, rubbery carrots and peas and beans that had been in the freezer for who knows how long, we had a delicious chicken pot pie and nobody was the wiser.
So after speaking in sacrament mtg., chasing kids (literally) for 2 hours and feeding a house-full of people, sitting in my quiet, messy house is a little bit of heaven.
So after speaking in sacrament mtg., chasing kids (literally) for 2 hours and feeding a house-full of people, sitting in my quiet, messy house is a little bit of heaven.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
The house is quiet! I stayed home from church with a sick baby today and he's sleeping. I better write fast or this moment may be gone for another 4 months. I've been meaning to write since Reed was born in November- but I'll be honest. I CANNOT FINISH ANYTHING these days.This counts for the baby announcement, Christmas letter and Valentines note I intended to send.
Addie will be 8 on the 21st of March, and is getting baptized on March 30th. She is so excited. (You ALL are welcome to come, but no one feel any pressure.) Recently she rode through a wind/snowstorm for a cattle drive for 4 hours and didn't complain once...till she saw me. Then she cried buckets of tears. Her poor little hands were so cold- all she had were stretchy gloves on, because she forgot her mittens were in her pockets. Luckily her Aunt Jessica made her keep changing hands while holding the reigns, to do hand exercises. We were glad she was o-k, and when all is said and done, we're happy she had an opportunity to learn that "She can do hard things," (as mom always says.) She loves school and reminds me of Anne of Green Gables in her desire to beat Gilbert Blythe-er, I mean a boy named Tanner- in being top of the class. I'm so thankful to have her help with all "the kids," as she calls them. When she is in a good mood, they'll bend over backwards for her.
Shane took Will out to the ranch with him this weekend- when they got home last night I was told that he had become a man in the 2 days since I last saw him. He opened gates for Shane so he could drive the feeder through, cleaned the barn, helped move pairs, and was a happy sidekick for his dad- (Though he is not too impressed with having to ride behind Shane on the horse. Its not nearly as comfortable as the saddle.) Will's new heart's desire is to "Make something" everyday when he gets home from school. We attribute this new passion to our own family Scientist, Jesse Fryar. It's good to have a boy cousin close by who is patient enough to let him tag along and watch his work and experiments with awe. Jesse recently built a bubble gum machine. In turn, Will had to make his own toned down smaller version of a bubble gum machine. Needless to say, my creative juices are being forced to work again after a lifetime of dormancy. I must say, Will and I are both becoming rather crafty.
Myra is determined, all of a sudden, to grow up. Last week she dictated to me what she wanted to write in her journal. "I like to go to work with dad. I'm his "Workin' girl." I took a shower with Addie and I was so brave. I can wear pony tails now." These few sentences describes her so well. She is a daddy's girl and loves the farm. She day dreams about summer and riding in the tractor and frequently asks when it will be summer so she can. She wants long hair like Addie. She has a cute little stutter that hopefully she will grow out of. Her mind runs so much faster than her mouth! Last night she was trying to tell Shane something but just couldn't get it out. She accidentally spilled his milk, but didn't say anything, till during a long pause in trying to get a sentence out she remembered and quickly said, "sorry I spilled your milk dad," then went back to trying to get her other sentence finished. She LOVES Reed- to the point of smothering. I don't worry about leaving Jane alone in a room him, but Myra waits for opportunities to roll him onto her lap and juggle him around, or push his swing higher, or kiss him on the mouth. No matter how many times in a day she goes to timeout, she can't help herself! The other day when I sent her, she rolled her eyes and said, "Can't you just talk to me about it?"
Jane- also a daddy's girl since Reed was born, does not like to share her dad with Myra, which makes Sacrament Mtg. a little stressful. However, most of the time, she and Myra are best friends. When Addie and Will leave for school, the girls begin to play house and I always play the character of Grandma. They pretend to their hearts content, with very few fights. The older kids dote on her, and she knows that if mom isn't giving her sympathy when she has a fit, she can depend on Addie or Will to comfort her. It is hard to be mad at her. If we ask her if she drew on the wall, she'll nod her head decidedly and bluntly say, "Yeah, I did it mom." Then, after she is lectured, "Sorry mom." If I catch her dipping her fingers in the jam jar and ask, "Jane, what are you doing?" She shrugs her little shoulders a couple times, and bobs her head back and forth as she explains with a pacifying smile, "OH, I just eatin' some jam mom." She frequently starts her sentences this way. ("OH, I just..") She loves the cartoon Strawberry Shortcake, and quotes the movie fluently.
And Reed. Sweet, kissable, and irresistable, are the descriptive words that explain why he has RSV. Luckily he really hasn't been too sick. We haven't had to do breathing treatments or anything- just basically treating it like a cold. I'm afraid that since he's been sick, he's gotten a little spoiled. Almost every time I set him down he yells, and flips himself to his tummy to show how mad he is. His smiles and laughs are worth every effort we put forth to get them out of him.
If any of you decide to come visit anytime soon,we'd love to have you! But, please prepare yourselves. I don't think my house has all been clean at the same time since the baby was born. (Maybe once.) Shane and I just keep trying to do the best we can with all the usual responsibilities of family, church, and work, and feel so blessed. We love you all and can't wait for the family reunion!!!
The Dallings
Addie will be 8 on the 21st of March, and is getting baptized on March 30th. She is so excited. (You ALL are welcome to come, but no one feel any pressure.) Recently she rode through a wind/snowstorm for a cattle drive for 4 hours and didn't complain once...till she saw me. Then she cried buckets of tears. Her poor little hands were so cold- all she had were stretchy gloves on, because she forgot her mittens were in her pockets. Luckily her Aunt Jessica made her keep changing hands while holding the reigns, to do hand exercises. We were glad she was o-k, and when all is said and done, we're happy she had an opportunity to learn that "She can do hard things," (as mom always says.) She loves school and reminds me of Anne of Green Gables in her desire to beat Gilbert Blythe-er, I mean a boy named Tanner- in being top of the class. I'm so thankful to have her help with all "the kids," as she calls them. When she is in a good mood, they'll bend over backwards for her.
Shane took Will out to the ranch with him this weekend- when they got home last night I was told that he had become a man in the 2 days since I last saw him. He opened gates for Shane so he could drive the feeder through, cleaned the barn, helped move pairs, and was a happy sidekick for his dad- (Though he is not too impressed with having to ride behind Shane on the horse. Its not nearly as comfortable as the saddle.) Will's new heart's desire is to "Make something" everyday when he gets home from school. We attribute this new passion to our own family Scientist, Jesse Fryar. It's good to have a boy cousin close by who is patient enough to let him tag along and watch his work and experiments with awe. Jesse recently built a bubble gum machine. In turn, Will had to make his own toned down smaller version of a bubble gum machine. Needless to say, my creative juices are being forced to work again after a lifetime of dormancy. I must say, Will and I are both becoming rather crafty.
Myra is determined, all of a sudden, to grow up. Last week she dictated to me what she wanted to write in her journal. "I like to go to work with dad. I'm his "Workin' girl." I took a shower with Addie and I was so brave. I can wear pony tails now." These few sentences describes her so well. She is a daddy's girl and loves the farm. She day dreams about summer and riding in the tractor and frequently asks when it will be summer so she can. She wants long hair like Addie. She has a cute little stutter that hopefully she will grow out of. Her mind runs so much faster than her mouth! Last night she was trying to tell Shane something but just couldn't get it out. She accidentally spilled his milk, but didn't say anything, till during a long pause in trying to get a sentence out she remembered and quickly said, "sorry I spilled your milk dad," then went back to trying to get her other sentence finished. She LOVES Reed- to the point of smothering. I don't worry about leaving Jane alone in a room him, but Myra waits for opportunities to roll him onto her lap and juggle him around, or push his swing higher, or kiss him on the mouth. No matter how many times in a day she goes to timeout, she can't help herself! The other day when I sent her, she rolled her eyes and said, "Can't you just talk to me about it?"
Jane- also a daddy's girl since Reed was born, does not like to share her dad with Myra, which makes Sacrament Mtg. a little stressful. However, most of the time, she and Myra are best friends. When Addie and Will leave for school, the girls begin to play house and I always play the character of Grandma. They pretend to their hearts content, with very few fights. The older kids dote on her, and she knows that if mom isn't giving her sympathy when she has a fit, she can depend on Addie or Will to comfort her. It is hard to be mad at her. If we ask her if she drew on the wall, she'll nod her head decidedly and bluntly say, "Yeah, I did it mom." Then, after she is lectured, "Sorry mom." If I catch her dipping her fingers in the jam jar and ask, "Jane, what are you doing?" She shrugs her little shoulders a couple times, and bobs her head back and forth as she explains with a pacifying smile, "OH, I just eatin' some jam mom." She frequently starts her sentences this way. ("OH, I just..") She loves the cartoon Strawberry Shortcake, and quotes the movie fluently.
And Reed. Sweet, kissable, and irresistable, are the descriptive words that explain why he has RSV. Luckily he really hasn't been too sick. We haven't had to do breathing treatments or anything- just basically treating it like a cold. I'm afraid that since he's been sick, he's gotten a little spoiled. Almost every time I set him down he yells, and flips himself to his tummy to show how mad he is. His smiles and laughs are worth every effort we put forth to get them out of him.
If any of you decide to come visit anytime soon,we'd love to have you! But, please prepare yourselves. I don't think my house has all been clean at the same time since the baby was born. (Maybe once.) Shane and I just keep trying to do the best we can with all the usual responsibilities of family, church, and work, and feel so blessed. We love you all and can't wait for the family reunion!!!
The Dallings
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