Ok- apparently pictures are not enough. We have been getting a bit lazy with the blog and so I am taking the initiative to post something...anything that will let you know what we have been up to. I imagine this will be very random with very few paragraph changes and no plot to the whole thing. I will start from youngest, Sam, to oldest, Liz who is 34 while John remains 33.

Sam- Sam is hanging in there. He successfully thwarted an attempt last night to have a Cinderella dress force on him. He has had a runny nose for the past 5 years its seems. Needless to say, when he gets in a "kissy" mood, which he is prone to do (gets it from his mom) it is an adventure. Even the girls put up with the "extra gushy" kiss from the kid.

He loves shoes. He watches his feet when he runs which seems to be his preferred method of transportation. Sam also is enjoying wrestling anybody, anywhere, anytime. This is a lot of fun except in grocery stores and sacrament meetings. He get the funniest look on his face when someone tries to make him smile. He purses his lips together and tries for the life of him not to bust out in laughter. He is rarely successful.

Emily- I never thought I could get a more girly girl, but she is the one. She is always, always tossing her hair. Whenever she is told how pretty she is, there is never a shy expression. A compliment like that is always greeted with a very business like, "oh. Thank you" usually followed by a very serious toss of the hair.

Emily is a smart little gal. She ponders a lot and often share what she is thinking about. The other day she told me that the little mermaid sang pretty but was immodest. She and I make up various stories about Dora. I tell her one and then she tells me one. Usually they are coherent and interesting and so are hers :)

Sara- Sara is amazing. She volunteered for a solo in school music program and then came home and asked us what a solo was. Her eyes got a big as dinner plates when we told her. Nevertheless, she was incredible. I have to admit I was shocked with how well she did. She sang beautifully, right into the microphone with the perfect pitch and volume. It was awesome.

Sara also is a great reader. Often times she is able to read her part in morning scriptures study with little or no help. Liz and I can't spell things to talk in code anymore. We have to speak "giddish"

Anna- Anna is an anomaly. We have no idea what happened to the little girl who would go to primary and put her blanket over her head for the whole time. She is incredibly outgoing since moving to Missouri. She has so many friends. Her teacher told us she is very popular among the other students and everyone loves her. The phone is constantly ringing after school from 7 year old girls who just want to chat with her.

She does not understand the fuss and is content not to spend much time talking with them on the phone but rather they come over to the house and play. She is a good example of the type of friend we are all supposed to be in my opinion.

Katie- STUDENT OF THE MONTH!!! Katie was just awarded the student of the month award and we are so proud. She struggled a bit with school and stuff when we first got here but she has just turned on the jets and really loves learning. She reads late into the night each night. She has completed the first 3 Harry Potter books and will often come talk to us with excitement or tears in her eyes from something she has read.

Katie also had become fascinated with all of the birds that live around here and as actually started a blog where she posts some of the pictures she has been taking of birds and comments on them. It amazes me how she looks more and more like her mama each day. It is also funny to watch her and Liz talk to each other because not only do they look alike but they way they talk is uncannily the same as well. This sometimes causes some strife between the two but they love each other.

John- Keeps getting better looking each day. I love our family. I love to be at home with them and spend time talking with them. There is a great feeling in our home. I was surprised though yesterday when that same joyful feeling was felt outside our home. We all went to Richard Hawg Wild Bar-b-Que in a little town called Aurora, Missouri. This place will be lifted up at the rapture and will serve food throughout the millennium!

I love my job. Sherri Dew gets to speak with me at a conference in Arkansas later this month. I imagine I will let her get a picture with me, let me know if you want a glossy 8x10.

The institute is great. It is so fun to watch these young adults struggle through school and relationships etc. That's right, I said fun. I love sitting down with them and laughing about how hard things are. Don't worry they laugh too, which is one of the reasons why I love being around the youth. Obviously, there are many instances where there is no humor involved, and my heart breaks for some of these kids and the experiences they live through. You would love, however, to be around them and soak in their optimism for the future.

Liz- She is a machine. Each day she goes over to a friends house and does some crazy workout that leaves her sore and exhausted. But she continues to do it. She makes the best bread I have ever had. She has more patience than she gives herself credit for. She has a new haircut. Her kids love it when she acts silly with them. She has printed off a least 50 different charts in an effort to organize and clean her house. She killed a black widow. She is going to girls camp...there are lots of black widow there. She is excited to go to Utah. She is not excited for me to go to Dallas this week.

Ok- so there you have it.