On to the Temple

Rilee, Agata and Laurel in Hotel

Denver Temple - Jenni and Rilee

Tommy and Dennis. The sun was bright and we hadn't seen it for months

One of my favorite pictures

Wedding Party at the Nelsons

Laurel, Dennis and Jakson

Tyler, Laurel and Dawn

In the Suite at the Hotel

Uncle Rich and Travis, Agata and Dennis

Colorado Wedding Party

Tommy and Rilee

Three cute boys

Oliver

G-ma talking to Agata and Travis

Wedding Party and Laurel's 3rd Birthday

Wedding Party at the Currits

Agata and Dennis stringing lights in trees

The mallow was in bloom

Alex helping with lights

I liked the banners a lot. I wish they had stayed up all summer. We had about two weeks of rain after the reception, and they came down.

While it might be wise to save your credit for a card giving you international miles, this offer from southwest looks awfully tempting: 2 free round trip flights!

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/55126/chase-two-roundtrip-flights-50k-points-with-new-southwest-airlines-premier-credit-card-approval-after-first-purchase

Dates for Wedding in Poland

The process of choosing a wedding date has begun. Right now the most likely candidate is sometime in the last two weeks of August 2012. The other option would be in early May. I remember Alex/Brynna and Danny/Jenni having plans that made certain periods of next summer more likely to work than others. Please let me know what those were and when, and anyone else who would ideally like to consider coming but has something to take into consideration when finding a date, also let me know.

Cheers,
Travis

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TOMMY

Today is Tommy's birthday. Happy Birthday! This has been a busy month already. We had a great time in Seattle at Agata's graduation. It was fun to spend the weekend at G-pa and G-ma's with Barbara and everyone. We love Barbara. There was talk of a wedding in Poland next July. We look forward to that. Seems like Tommy's birthday is always in the middle of everything, and Travis' birthday is always graduation.

I have enjoyed the last few years with Agata and Travis in Seattle. It has been fun for me. Travis assures me that school can't go on forever. I see the logic in that. But I will miss having them there.

Alex is trying to wrap up the last details of his wedding. Two more months would probably help.

Our street is blocked at Heather Ridge and 11000 South until July 2. But there is no sign by the church saying "no outlet" or "local traffic only". So cars and trucks and semis bustle by all day, impatient to burn up Clover Ridge Drive, then make a u-turn and come back annoyed. Very confusing.

Did I tell you how much I love and enjoy Tommy? His birthday is in the middle of the month, and he is in the middle of our family, but he doesn't manage to get lost. In fact, I think maybe he's the center of things.

I'm starting to get the wedding buzz where I'm capable of forgetting things like cups and plates and napkins....I'm just ready to party and do Fort Collins with my family....

See you soon.

Picture of Brynna and Alex in Manti

My UN G8 summit article

Check it out! The G8 summit in France was a few days ago and so the magazine just came out. Our article starts on page 68. it's called "Bridging the Digital Divide."

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/f04d90fc#/f04d90fc/68

Happy Birthday Travis!

Happy Birthday to Travis! What a beautiful day it is here in Utah. Today on the weather map Seattle was warmer than Salt Lake. I hope you can go sailing or do something fun today. We will see you on Wednesday. Thanks for getting the tickets for us.

Love, Mom

Graduation Ticket Situation

So good news -- we have 10 extra tickets for Agata's graduation. This means that everyone who wants to can come. Hurrah!

Wedding website

Hi all!
We finally got our wedding website all up and running. Here it is alexandbrynna.tumblr.com

Go check out our engagement pictures that are on there, etc.

Enjoy.

Memorial Day Weekend

Hi All,

Here are a few photos from our weekend (Ollie's B-Day Dragon cake, Folk Life Festival). We are doing great and love and miss you all!

Danny

Happy Anniversary!

One year ago today Tommy and Rilee were married. Remember how cold it was and beautiful? We about froze. It was a wonderful day and a wonderful party. Now we are busy getting ready for Alex and Brynna's wedding.

Congratulations Tommy and Rilee! We hope you have a great day.

Love, Mom

Sunday afternoon hike

Went on a great hike this afternoon on the tiger mountain trails.
Beautiful sunny weather in Seattle!

Swinging take 2

Sorry for the repeat, but I noticed the video I posted was pretty
crappy quality. So I'm testing a second post using YouTube to see if
the quality improves.
Cheers!

Danny

Swinging in the rain

So the other day I took some old climbing rope and threw it up over a
tree in my backyard to make a swing for the chilluns. Check it out.

Love

Danny

Almost May

I'm writing today, anticipating a rush of demands in the next week. We have Derek our contractor back, working on a flood in Tommy's old bedroom. The outside tap froze during the winter. Yup. You should take your hose off during the winter or it will freeze and crack. So we have a lot of decisions to make about paint and carpet and who and what. I am in the mood to have all of the bedrooms painted.

Alex is in Fort Collins with Brynna. We won't see Brynna until sometime in May when they will come to do bridal photos here. Alex is coming back on Saturday morning. Meantime we have a day of cold Spring today and tomorrow is stormy winter. I think I will try to do some yard work today.

Anybody planning on watching the royal wedding tomorrow at 4:00 a.m.??? I think they will be replaying it all day.

Tommy and Rilee are back from a weekend in Idaho Falls. They enjoyed it and the weather was pretty good for travel. Rilee has a little break from the pressures of finals and papers, but is still very busy with internships and her job. We saw them last night at Settebello. We had pizza with Dawn's folks, George and Sheri. Dawn and the girls came and Tyler sat down with us for a while. I love the salads there.

I haven't heard from Travis, Agata, Danny and Jenni and boys for a while. I need to call them.

Dad is feeling a little better. The doctor thought he had a huge dose of hayfever that was contributing to his illness. Hopefully things will improve now.

We had a good visit with Dad's Aunt Lee and her husband, Ray, last week. They made us a meal of beans and ham and potatoes and cornbread. It was delicious. Lee is only a couple of years older than Dad, maybe four years. They own an RV and have travelled all over Route 66 for the last 60 plus days.

I have book club tonight. I'll be glad to get this over with, even though I enjoy it. Wow! its feels like we are so busy. I'm still enjoying thinking about our trip to the south. I read the book "The Widow of the South." There are so many different versions of the Civil War. We really got a taste of the southern one when we went. The truth is, it was a family war.

The daffodils and tulips are blooming. That means the wedding is approaching. It will be fun to see all of you. Keep in touch!

Love, Mom

Agata's Easter Cake

I hate being sick.

It is 5 in the morning and I can't sleep.  I have been sick this last week with an ear infection and a sinus infection.  Took Friday off and slept almost continually so now my clock is all goofed up.  Decided to come downstairs and check out email instead of lying awake in bed.  Got to get the clock back to normal by Monday or it will be an awful day at work.  Work has been awful lately anyway.  They brought in a whole new group of top management and that has made things really difficult.  We are trying to transition from a "job shop" to a high rate production company.  The new management can't understand why we don't have computer systems already in place like they did at Boeing.  Trying to explain that a high rate production system would not work in a "job shop" and that it takes some time to develop the new systems comes across as whining.  Oh, well.

 

On another note, Alex graduated yesterday!!!!!  Not that this is surprise but it is a huge milestone.  Congratulations!!

Too early for flapjacks?

Greetings family!

The last four weeks have been one long, painful gauntlet, but I'm glad to say its almost all over. I emerged from that nasty flu about a month ago to face the reality of impending exams and a ten-foot high stack of books I needed to get through. This last Wednesday I finished the last of my exams. Everything else is a bit of a blur.

Somewhere during that blur I signed up to present at a student conference here on campus. I realized this on Wednesday and then had to scramble to put something together for Saturday. I felt really unprepared but Agata said it went well. I showed some film clips and lots of pictures, which I think already made it more interesting than most conference papers. I can never force myself to pay attention to even the most interesting research when someone just stands and reads something for 20 minutes.

---
Brief interruption: In the midst of writing this I had to run and pursue a hot craigslist lead for a single futon. We were able to grab a ZipCar and get it. The motivation is the fact that Barbara will be coming for two weeks to be at Agata's graduation, and she'll need a place to sleep.

Well that adventure wore me out for the night. Sleep well all!

This is only a test.

I am just checking out blogging by email.  If this works, I will post random neural firings periodically.  Had a great time on the trip!  If Jo can go with me, I wouldn't mind returning to Iuka, Mississippi again!

Backl Home

Hope everyone is having a good Sunday. I just went out to feed the bunny and it's raining again. We flew home Friday. There were storms all across the country. It was a choppy flight. They didn't serve us anything until the last hour and a half.

If I knew how to use my cell phone, I would post pictures here. My old phone was so straight forward, but it didn't take pictures. I like carrying a camera. I took a photo of some chairs I liked at the b & b in Corinth. I wish I had taken more of the antiques. The chairs at the Carnton Plantation were original and were small. I don't want the big chairs that are so popular now. Most antique chairs we saw were small.

Well, I guessed I would fall in love with Tennessee, but Mississippi really got to my heart. If ever you want the sense of stopping time, go to Mississippi. the mornings were so beautiful and peaceful. There was a Baptist church by the B & B. The Church covered about half a city block. Every even hour the carillion church bells played hymns. In the meantime the birds were singing, the azaelas blooming everywhere. The people were friendly. So friendly. We stayed in the historic part of town. On our street were the homes that housed the generals from both the confederate and the union sides. Corinth was key to the Union plan. It was the seat of battles for about four years. Two railroad lines cross in Corinth from the west to east and north to south. I guess it's the only place in the South where that happened.

I'm reading a book called "Widow of the South" about the Carnton Plantation and the Civil War. It was on the best seller list for a long time. After the terrible battle of Franklin, the people there took in the wounded Confederate soldiers and turned their beautiful home into a hospital. Later they organized the removal of the bodies of the confederate soldiers from the fields around and reburied them in their own family cematery. Mrs. MacGavock, the owner, kept a book with all the names and burial places. Through the years families would travel to her farm to try to find some record of their loved ones. She and her husband also buried their slaves in their family plot. It was so beautiful there and so moving. The house has a lot of their original furniture and paintings. Their beautiful dining table is there. It was most likely used for surgery. There are blood stains on the floors everywhere. My goodness. I would have been delighted and touched just to see the farm there in Tennessee, but the history was incredible.

Okay. I had a good time. We also went to Shiloh, without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. There are cannons positioned everywhere. The battle took places through acres and acres of fields and woods. I guess it's the most untouched battleground around.

People talked a lot about the war. It's still there, all around them.

Our favorite place was Puckett's Store. Our friends think Dennis and I eat at "dives". This qualified. It's a General Store in Tennessee, with homemade Southern food (greens, corncakes, fried potatoes, fried okra, pulled pork, shrimp, etc.) We stopped at Puckett's in Leiper's Fork on our way home. It was Thursday night (remember that) open mike night. What a delight. We heard a guitar-playing folk singer, a young girl singing ballads, a young boy playing a banjo, and a garage band of teen agers who turned the volume up so loud that it was time to leave. Totally fun.

So now we're back. The storms here will continue all week. Dad is at work (yes, it's Sunday). The entire system crashed. Unprecedented. They are bypassing it and rebuilding it. Tyler and Dawn are home resting and getting over some colds. Dawn's folks (George and Sheri) are coming this Easter weekend and they want to feel better. Rilee and Alex and Brynna are writing papers and finishing up school. Tommy is working hard. They are busy planning their summer fun.

We are looking forward to the wedding. Am I telling you enough about our plans? We will be driving from Utah to Fort Collins. I have rooms in downtown Fort Collins on Thursday and Friday night. Saturday we move to Longmont, Col. or head for home. Brynna's birthday is Thursday and we hope to all be there for a celebration. The wedding party is Friday and the actual wedding and luncheon is around noon and three p.m. on Saturday. Ask me any questions. I hope I'm passing on the info you need. Brynna's mom and sister and brother are visiting in Orem. Brynna will drive back home with her mom. They will be here for Alex's graduation on Friday. We've had baby years. This seems to be the year of graduation. I think Rilee graduates at the end of summer. Agata graduates in June.

I am looking forward to seeing Danny, Jenni and the boys again, probably in June for Agata's graduation. Jak is doing so well in school and on the piano. Ollie is studying piano now. Milo just steals everyone's heart.

I'd like you to know that it's a beautiful world. I haven't seen much, except for the great American West, and now the South. What else is out there? For me, it's like Lake Amethyst. I just want to go back to these places. Again and again. Puckett's every Thursday night. We meet warm hearted, friendly, wonderful people.

Love to you all. Keep in touch.

Our New Place 2

Here are the shelves we just put up and Rilee's honky tonk piano. Its old and kinda weird sounding, but fun.

So, we have a lot of work left, including fixing up the trunk in our room, ro-doing the vanity (painting white) and reupholstering the zebra thing in the corner, so don't think we are totally design inept :) Plus we have a lot of other fun plans on the horizon. All in all we love the place. The move knocked all the sentiment that we had for the old place out of us (never want to move up or down multiple flights of stairs again...) and we are so excited to have a summer out of the apartment complex life.

Love you all!

Our New Place!

Finally posting some pictures of our new house. The cleaning has finally stopped, we have set up our last Ikea purchase (for now), and we are awaiting a new love seat that we ordered. The only big obstacle in our path right now are rugs. Once again, rugs are the bane of my interior designing existence. Who new that all the rugs we think look good cost more than most of our furniture combined??

Jakson choir

Here's a video of Jak singing in his school choir last night. He's front and center and wearing a shirt that's two sizes too small (we were in a hurry). Enjoy!

Danny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRf0X8BmHPM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Danny

Jakson Star Wars Talent Show

In case you missed it, here's Jak playing Star Wars at his school's talent show.

New Blog Look!

Hello all,

In an effort to contribute to the efforts to renew interest in the blog, I have updated the template to a more modern style that can be customized. I have also changed everyone's status so that everyone can edit the look of the blog, change settings, etc. Here are a couple new features you may wish to take advantage of:

- Post via email! Just send an email to danandjenni.blogpost@blogger.com and the email will show up as a blog post. You can also attach photos. This will allow you to post with your phone when you are out on the road.

- New search bar at the top of the blog! Now you can easily search for a past blog.

- Blog list - feel free to add any other blogs to this list that you think might be of interest.

Enjoy!

Danny

News From the Family

What should we call our family newsletter? Any suggestions?

Did you check out Jakson's Darth Vader rendition of Star Wars on U-tube. It was wonderful. I think a Star Wars mask might be the secret to Suzuki music. He played an intricate Star Wars medley while doing a sober, solemn imitation of the Darth himself. It was great.

Agata will graduate on June 9th at the U of W. We are planning on coming. Barbara will be there. I'm so proud of Agata and her determination and work. I hope we get the opportunity to have her present some of her research to us.

Today everyone is helping Tommy and Rilee finish moving. Everyone but me. I don't want to drive into town alone. I was there yesterday. In great chaos they all left and I am here. Their new home is beautiful and old. I love looking at the details. The woodwork is wonderful: genuine craftsman detailing. The rooms are all nicely sized. The kitchen is very usable. It has one feature I really like besides the delicious Sugarhouse water (deep, good wells). The porcelain sink forms its own counters and drainboards. What good idea. They live on a hill. Even though I grew up in the area, I always wondered at the homes built on the hills. Our backyard dropped off into Parleys Canyon, but the street side was level. Rilee and Tommy have a steep driveway and climb to their front porch, and a nice view. I could even see the lake.

Travis and Agata are not at the beach this weekend. They are both studying and writing and cannot be disturbed. I hope they are eating and sleeping. They are faced with serious deadlines.

We were excited to hear in a.m. Conference that a temple will be built in Fort Collins, Colorado. That's Brynna's home town. The wedding plans are moving ahead. We know it is coming as the daffodils are blooming today (even though it will snow tomorrow.)

Jenni got a haircut from her friend, Becca. I'm sure it looks great.

That's all the news for now. Dad and I just finished watching "Jane Eyre" on streaming, the one with Timothy Dalton. We loved it.

Take care and keep in touch!

Family News

We have scheduled the date for a wedding open house here on July 6, Wednesday night. Travis and Agata leave the next day for parts unknown, except to them (we hope). Dennis and I met Brynna's Dad, David Nelson (did I hear anyone call him Dave?) and her sister, Annika, and brother, Hade. We ate dinner at an Indian restaurant in Provo and had a great time. David and Dennis talked about technology and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the conversation. Hade and Annika were delightful teenagers. It was fun to talk with Cari about the wedding. She has a good attitude about planning two weddings back-to-back. (Brynna's brother, Gard, gets married three weeks before).

BIG NEWS: Alex and Rilee have been accepted into BYU graduate school in Sociology with full funding. Congratulations! Alex will work all summer and Rilee will finish two classes. She considers that a summer off.

Alex and Brynna found a house to rent in Provo just south of campus. They will have parking and a yard. They are glad to have that search over. Alex will move in next month. Brynna is going to be travelling back and forth for a couple of months when school is out. I think Dennis and I should do a road trip to Fort Collins before the wedding. I would like to visit and see what's there, then just focus on the events and family at the wedding.

Tommy and Rilee are moving next week to a house by Highland High School. I used to walk those neighborhoods all the time. They are looking forward to having a yard and a porch. I think it will be a nice move for them. I love Sugarhouse. My mom grew up there and so did I.

Tyler and Dawn are busy with their family. They have discontinued their home phone and are using the cells. Tyler bought a used I Phone and has it linked to internet. I tried it today. It works great. Dawn uses the cell: 801-652-8480. She loves being home with the girls, but finds it a challenge. She said that she never before had so much time to think. I remember what a challenge that transition was from working full time and school, to being home with babies. I still think it's the best of all careers, but maybe the most challenging. (I don't know why italics came on. Something to do with my left little finger.)

I need to talk to Danny and Jenni! They may have tried to call on Sunday. Our Sundays are crazy with our new church schedule. We meet from 2-5 p.m. It's a little easier on Daylight Savings Time. I'm getting used to it, though. You should hear about Danny and Jenni's July plans. Danny has two youth camps this summer, one high adventure camp, and a youth pioneer trek in some desolate, waterless place. Jenni's going to Canada for Suzuki Conference and taking the boys. I might be going. We need to talk. I think Danny is looking for an ultra marathon, too. I suggested doing one in the Fall.

Everyone enjoyed their trip to Seattle. Tommy and Rilee said that the Ikea bed in the upstairs was very comfortable. It is. Brynna loved Seattle. They came home and got sick, though. I pretty sure that was the flu, not a cold. Everyone is better now.

Dennis is busy pruning trees and trying to have a bigger garbage pile in the street than Chet. We are imagining the yard for the wedding. Also, it's just fun to be outside. What a winter.

I'm trying to do the backsplash in the kitchen and deciding on a rug and couch for the kitchen. We've had too much furniture expire at once. The cost is shocking me. I am working temporarily with a designer who was honestly stunned by the kitchen. No kidding. I made her repeat her reaction several times. Her taste might be a little pricey for me, though. This is the mom who thinks her kids' KSL.com and Craigslist finds are brilliant. I have gone from spending little or no money on the house to being shocked. I honestly can think of funner things to do, but it is intriguing to try to put it together.

Dad and I watched "Sorceror's Apprentice" this weekend. It was perfectly enjoyable. Dad is thinking of doing a volunteer project for the church in developing software. I think it could be fun for him. He is in arguments and meetings all day. It would be good to create something.

Jakson is a reading boy now. Ask him anything about Star Wars. Ollie is taking piano lessons and bows like a champ. Everyone fell in love with Milo on the trip to Seattle. If you get tired of him, Jenni, just pass him on. Laurel has a princess tent in the living room. It is up all the time. It's full of blankets and books. She loves it. She calls it her "fort." Lilah chatters away. Someday we will understand her sentences. Her grandpa thinks she's great.

It's kind of pretty outside. It was supposed to snow, but didn't. Way to go.

Take care all of you and add to the news if you can.

Love, Mom

Blog Email Notifications

Hello all,

I just discovered how to make the Blog email me every time somebody posts something to it. This is very necessary for me as otherwise I totally forget to check for weeks, usually only when Mom reminds me to. I've gone ahead and added everyone who I could think of to that email list. To add or subtract an address from that list, go to the Settings->Email/Mobile page once you are logged in on the blog. I think that if the Blog is going to evolve into more of a newsletter having it delivered to our email inboxes as soon as something is written will be a Great Thing.

Best,

Travis

Back in Action

Thanks a ton to everyone for signing Agata's birthday card and in general remembering her on her birthday; an extra big thanks to those brave souls who ventured out into the parkingless reaches of Capitol Hill to give her a shout out on the day. We apologize in the extreme that in return we seem to have given everyone the plague. The last remnants of the nastiest bug I've had in years are finally leaving me now, 8 days after it all started. Hopefully this will still give me time to study and pass my exams in 2.5 weeks.

Recipe for Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

We use Costco bag of mixed fingerling potatoes:

2.5 lbs. fingerling potatoes (whatever fits in your dish. Don't layer too deep.)

extra virgin olive oil

your favorite herbs and spices

Rinse fingerlings, pat dry, cut into bite-sized pieces with skins intact. Toss in olive oil and sprinkle with favorite herbs. I used sage, thyme, parsley and kosher salt and pepper. Roast in a covered casserole dish at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until tender. (I uncovered them and roasted for five more minutes to brown and crisp a few.)

You can also cook them uncovered at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Stir after ten minutes to loosen them from pan. This will make them crispier.

Fingerlings are small new potatoes of mixed color and variety.

How About a Weekly Newsletter?

I'm thinking of blogging each week with family news, advice, recipes and chatter. Maybe it will end up only occurring twice a month, but that's okay. If we don't keep in touch then I will make up the news.

Firstly, the weather. Snow and ice have turned into rain in the valley. Other than that, the weather is pretty much the same. Perhaps it's a little warmer.

Flower news: there is none. I do remember when we had flowers. We are trying to prune the trees so that the gardens get more sunlight. For all our best efforts, ten minutes of tree pruning at a time is about average.

Wedding news: We love Brynna and are very happy that she has agreed to marry Alex. We will be travelling to Ft. Collins the end of June for a wonderful wedding. There will be an open house here in July. B and A want a "farmers market" theme celebrating the summer and produce. They suggested fruit tarts and tomato pies. I think this could be a lot of fun. I worry about the space and traffic flow in our yard. It could work. One suggestion I have is that we stagger the group: Neighbors and our friends from 6:30 to 8:00 and Alex's friends from 7:30 to 9:00. I think that might work. The other suggestion is to have it somewhere else. Any suggestions on that?

Agata's birthday is on March 11 (Thurs.). I think Rilee, Tommy, Alex and Brynna will be in Seattle for that day. Dad and I, of course, wish we were going. It will be a quick trip. We wish Agata a happy and wonderful birthday. We loved spending time with Agata and Travis in February at Grandma's. Good memory.

Dennis is busy at work and is keeping a positive attitude. He is in meetings all of the time. I guess that is his job. When in doubt, have a meeting. He enjoys his church work and finds it easy to retrieve things from the computer for the Bishopric. He is touched by all of the work the bishopric does and by their good hearts.

I continue to work with the 12 and 13 year old girls in the ward. They are a delight. They have a lot of family and economic problems but are still young, happy and full of life. They just like doing stuff and learning things and playing. It's good to remember those years again. I learn a lot from them, like that you can still prank call on cell phones if you push a certain icon that deletes the caller id. Who knew?

I now belong to two book clubs. I read a memorable book: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. Very enjoyable. I'll let you know if any good books show up.

I'm sure you're aware that my Uncle Alma passed away this year. Aunt Von came to visit before I left for Seattle in February. We had a wonderful visit. She has had a hard winter. The weather has been dreadful. (Alberta has had many warm winters recently. Not this one.) She was glad to leave and to travel to Arizona to visit Jocelyn's mom, Enid. Enid is from the Yukon and takes her horses to Arizona each winter to ride. She wanted Aunt Von to ride with her, but Aunt Von's arthritis has been troubling her since Uncle Alma's death. She was worried about Enid's expectations. (she and Enid met at a P.E. school they attended after high school. Both Aunt Von and Enid were quite the outdoors women. Yay for Canada for celebrating women's athletics a long time ago.) After Arizona, she was travelling back to Utah then going to Hawaii for two weeks with Jen Coombs and her parents, David and Jan. We were looking forward to getting together after Hawaii. I wanted to hear about her travels, how she handled Enid and the horses, and Hawaii. I received an email from the family that she fell in Hawaii and broke her leg and some ribs. She had to have surgery in Hawaii. Randy Jo and Renae flew to Hawaii to help her. The surgery went well. She can't fly home for ten days. I haven't heard any more, but I'm fairly sure things are going according to schedule. I guess I will have to go to Canada to see her soon. It's hard on Canadians to have medical problems outside of Canada. They are so used to their system and to not seeing bills.

Tyler and Dawn are doing well. They have a gym membership with a nursery available and are enjoying it. I think the hour in the nursery could be fun for the girls. They love those girls and are so good with them. T and D hope to be able to negotiate with their landlord for another year. They don't look forward to moving. All kids in the family seem to be in a rental transition this year. Alex and Brynna would like to find a house soon. Jenni and Danny have settled on rent for another fifteen months. Oh! Tommy and Rilee rented a home by Highland High School. I used to walk that way to school. And I knew a lot of folks there. We shared a stake center right there. They are looking forward to moving in. I know you hate moving around, but it sounds like fun to me right now.

Did I miss anyone? I have another good memory: Travis sledding and wrestling with Dennis and the little boys. That's a good memory. And watching P Herb sled.

We could take turns doing this. We have twelve adults in the family. We could each take a turn writing a family blog. OR we could always hear from me. What do you think?

Good movie: One of the best we've seen: Temple Granding with Claire Daines.

Love, Mom

Happy Birthday Danny!

Happy thirty-something birthday to Danny! We are looking forward to seeing you soon. I can't blog with pictures anymore as picasa doesn't recognize this email address. Somebody will fix that. Anyway, I hope it is a wonderful Monday for you and that you have a great run on the island. When is that? Did we miss it?

Love, Mom

Great Soup

Super-Delicious Zuppa Tsocana

1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage

1 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (or a lot less)

4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 large onion, diced

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

5 (13.75 oz.) cans chicken broth

6 potatoes (red or yukon) thinly sliced

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 bunch fresh spinach, tough stems removed (kale is great! add a lot.)

Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

Notes: you can add the kale through the whole simmering process, but only add the spinach and cream at the end. Don't boil the cream. Use any heavy kettle to cook this.

Delicious.

Finally

Somehow the format for this blog changed and I haven't been able to get on since Christmas. so this is an experiment. We miss our Washington family! Every single one of you. Travis and Agata are in a new (for them) apartment, and are very busy. We keep hearing about storms sweeping through the Northwest. It's hard to gauge what that means as we live in an icebox. A storm around here is entertaining and we get entertained regularly. I have spent the week sanding and sealing the hall railing and banister. Maybe one more coat will make it look more lovely. Someone make me stop. I have a lot of other things to do.

Anyway. I hope you are are warm and dry. Alex is doing better in his freezing apartment. The landlord sent in a specialist who cleaned and changed the furnace filter. Voila! They have heat. Tyler and Dawn negotiated the rent with their landlord and moved downstairs. Now they can afford to be warm. Tyler said that he doesn't remember the cold coming through the wall like this. We have been cold for a long time. I think next week should be slightly warmer. Brynna and Rilee are wedding dress shopping this weekend. They are looking for style ideas. I think Brynna's Mom might make her dress. Tommy, Rilee, Dennis and I are going to the opera on Saturday night. I am looking forward to it.

Danny is running in a 50 k on Orcas Island in February (I think on his birthday). That should keep him busy. Good luck! I wish we could be there. Jenni is busy with her boys and piano lessons and church work. She is very busy.

We had our 33rd anniversary this month. We still want to officially celebrate.

Keep in touch! We love you all.

Mom

Alex and Brynna Engagement 12/11/10

Saturday it became official

She said yes

They bought a ring

And prepared to live happily ever after....

Pictures from our latest trip

Here's another set of pics, y'all. No explanations. You'll have to ask me in person.

Poznan and a Slice of Paris

Post from Home

Dec. 8, 2010

Dear Family,

How are you doing? Alex, Brynna, and Rilee are busy doing the hard week before finals. I think it's the hardest week. Next week things will be over.

I'm back from Seattle. I had a wonderful time. It felt like Christmas everywhere, especially in Danny and Jenni's home. It was so good to putter around in a house again. Jenni was very generous and allowed me to fuss a bit. I hated not having a kitchen. I also hated not exercising. Jenni and the boys and I were outside walking a lot of the time. It was chilly but possible. I saw and heard the Christmas ship on Lake Union at night. Jenni and I sat on a bench and listened to the music and watched the lighted ships. I couldn't figure out why more people weren't there. After crowds came from a bonfire they had on shore. The Christmas ship was beautiful and magical. I hope D and J get to take the boys.

Jak is making beautiful music on the piano. He and Jenni work hard and practice a lot. He is learning so much. Ollie is a very happy, funny guy. He can walk forever. He is starting piano lessons. Milo is treasure. He thinks and plays all of the time. He is so excited about his projects that he runs from one to another. He can put together the musical measure boards Jenni created, then he does a little moon-walk-Milo dance backwards for joy. He is a dancing boy. I loved being with my grandsons.

Danny and the boys and I watched "How to Train Your Dragon." It was great. I recommend it.

Well, this is a pretty house. I'm not sure it feels like my house yet, and not all of it was fun, but it is pretty and I'm getting used to it. I'm growing to like it and to feel comfortable in it. The kitchen is easy to work in. Sunday we all enjoyed talking and preparing the dinner. There is a little less dining room than I hoped for, but plenty. and it's hard to trade the fun of flowing together in the kitchen and preparing together. Everyone worked so hard on this project and I really appreciate it. The results are amazing.

We look forward to Travis and Agata's visit on December 28, I know Danny and Jenni are anxiously awaiting their arrival in Seattle.

We love you all. Keep in touch.

Love, Mom

Kitchen Update

Hopefully, I will add some pictures of the kitchen.

Photos from Zakopane

Here's some pics from our trip up to the Polish mountains. Captions coming soon.

From Drop Box

Howdy Y'all!

We are heading to the mountains next week and I want to pick up some cheap Polish house slippers as christmas presents. They will be similar to the leather-and-fur ones I have that you might have seen. But I need shoe sizes from everybody. Please try to get them to me before next Wednesday.

Tricity / Trójmiasto

ok heres the real link to the album with gdansk pictures

Tricity / Trójmiasto

heres some photos from our recent trip to gdansk, sopot, and gdynia, the polish tricity on the sea. more captions to come.