Dixie Trauntveins

David just got his review at his job and did very well and got a raise. They want him to apply for a management position. He does work very hard. Guess how old David was on May 5?

Bree has sold four houses and has made extra pay in spiff (a special incentive to sell), in the last month. That isn’t counting her commission or her base monthly. Bree goes to as many of her meetings as she

can.

Erin just celebrated her fifth birthday in April. Erin, Donovin, Bree, David and Grandma Barbara

had a family party in St. George. Erin had a really good time, got lots of neat stuff and ate her self silly.

Grandpa and Grandma Trauntvein couldn’t go because of the surgery Grandpa had on his foot.

Grandpa was trying to help her write her number “5” the week before her birthday. She was having a

struggle with it though she writes her numbers quite well. She was trying to make the fives have a fat

belly and they kept turning out more like “S.” She decided she was just going to skip the number five

because she would soon be six anyway. Bree is looking for a dance studio for Erin, and is making all

kinds of plans.

Donovin will celebrate his birthday soon. He is getting to be a big boy! He talks really well and is

very smart. He can count to 10, say the blessing on the food, and knows all kinds of songs. He likes

trucks, cars and anything that makes a motor sound. He is all boy and likes to tease. He has that great red

hair for a reason. They only problem is that he likes to tease Erin and she doesn’t like it. She likes to boss

him and he doesn’t like it. (Myrna: It is sort of the Kirsten and David relationship all over again.)

Both of the kids really like day-care and are making friends and learning all sorts of things. They like their teachers at day-care and their teachers say that they like them and compliment them on being so

bright. They have been spending Saturdays with Grandma Barbara. She is watching her boss’s little

boy who is four and the three of them have a good time.

Colorado Waites

Life is normal at the Waite household. Though, I (Kirsten) have decided that my normal is very much

abnormal.

Spring is still thinking about how to make its official arrival in our neck of the woods. When we decided we wanted to be in a “beautiful snowy landscape with mountains” again, we didn’t realize that the snow would still be falling on May 1 and that everything I cooked for the first six months would either be too burned to enjoy, too flat to call bread or to underdone to call roast. Needless to say, we’ve all gained wait (not Waite) because of the much desired, better cooking of McDonalds and other fine establishments, including Village Inn. Okay so it’s not that bad, but Jared did used to eat more of my cooking in Texas. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but everything is bigger and better in Texas. We never thought we’d miss it, but acclimatization is the true reason behind the line “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” All that being said, we really do love “The Springs,” as they call it here. It’s pretty amazing to look out the window on a snowy morning and still see people walking/biking to work or just out for a morning jog. It makes me want to get out there with them, then the girls scream and I remember that they would have to come with and that no longer seems a pleasure. Oh, I’m so bad. The girls are wonderful! We love them and all the energy they have. They are quite the little screamers just like their mom was (I know what you all are thinking, unfortunately, it’s true), but they seem to get along with the neighbors and kids at church, so they are adjusting well!

Whitney has started to become wiser to the world. She noticed the other day after dad came home from

the barbershop that the barber was a little “too stingy,” shall we say, with the razor on the top of dad’s head. “Dad, I think you need to go back,” she said right after the dinner prayer [Jared’s head had, of

course, been bowed and Whitney took notice of something she hadn’t before]. “They cut too much of

your hair. {Interject laughing by mom and ghastly abhorrence by dad and innocent look from Whitney.}

"No really, Dad, put your head down. See? How come they took so much hair off the back of your head?!” Mom politely explained. Dad sat dumbfounded. It was a funny experience for some and much more unpleasant for one. Whitney is still enjoying preschool and takes every opportunity to write her name (so far, walls have left alone, but other things are fair game.) She loves being the mom, er, I mean big sister of the house and all the rites and privileges that come with that, including torment and full leadership.

Emma is in love with all the boys at church and loves to give them all hugs, though she is more “mothering” them than “loving on” them. The other day we watched our friends’ twin 4-year-old girls and 20-month old son, Noah. Emma had fun playing with the girls but spent most of her time “helping”

Noah, including running to the bathroom and getting tissue paper when he got a runny nose and telling him politely to “blow” while she pinched his nose and wiped it clean. Noah, not sure what to think, obeyed the first couple times and then screamed every time following. While that was entertaining for Emma, her favorite thing to do is tease her sister and copy every move she makes. The latest fad is “playing kitty.” She crawls on the floor and meows and asks us each to “pet nice me,” meaning stroke her hair by her ear. If Whitney is kitty, Emma will simply put an arm around her and tell her what to do (I actually think that’s the role Emma prefers). Anytime Emma can she tries to pet Whitney’s head and say “nice kitty,” much to Whitney’s chagrin. Her favorite time for this is when Whitney is trapped and can’t escape, i.e. while in the shopping cart at Wal-Mart. Screaming ensues, and it's all downhill from there. 

Emma is wise beyond her years sometimes and we can’t get over how well she communicates with us despite how abundantly the Terrible Two’s are already blessing our household.

Jared loves work. He has gone through a complete staff change since starting work here six months ago, but that has been a great blessing in disguise. He enjoys his work and all the staff and thinks they finally have the right mix. We (the girls) love that he never works Fridays, that we actually have a paycheck now and that student loans are still a great part of our life (it makes it feel that much younger to still be so “fresh” out of school. Yeah, whatever). But, it’s a rite of passage we know you all understand and we are grateful to be here. 

We really do love this area. The mountains are beautiful, the ward is incredible, and we’re only eight hours from home, for me. We have been richly blessed and can’t believe how much the Lord looks out and prepares many ways for us. We have our own trials, but I have to say I would be remiss if I didn’t realize how much the Lord has blessed us in our lives and our marriage. We love you all and

can’t wait for the next newsletter.

Love,

Kirsten

The Buzz’n Joneses

Dear Family,

We hope that everyone is doing well. We have had a busy and wet April. We began the month by taking a trip to Twin Falls to pick up 2500 bee frames. Mary traveled really well. We went in the "big truck" (the International DT466) and I think she really enjoyed being able to see out the window We sure appreciate all of the help from our two families.

Since then, Jim has been trying to get bees moved from Gunnison to North Sanpete to avoid the spray. He has also been trying to get some nucs made. Work in the bees has been slowed down quite a bit because of all the moisture we have been receiving. Jim keeps reminding me that President Hinckley said

in conference a while back that the if we fasted and prayed for the drought to end, it would and then we

would probably need to fast and pray for the rain to end. It is almost getting to that point. Jim and Rebekah tried to go over to the Manti Temple this morning but they had to turn around because they

couldn't make it through the canyon because of the snow.

Mom and I took Dad to Provo Temple on Friday. Mom spent some time with Mary while she had her

nap. I went on one session with Dad. Then I took Mary while Mom went on a session with Dad. We

then hurried back to Nephi so we could be there in time for dinner.

Rebekah came a week ago and has been a big help to Jim. She has worked from sun-up to sundown. She has helped make nucs, paint boxes, dig the big truck out of the mud, and various other tasks. We sure appreciate her coming. 

Mary has warmed up to her very well. Mary is beginning to love having people around other than her mom. She especially enjoys the times when her little cousins come to visit. Little Mary has had quite a month. We were told that we could take her out and about again, and since then she has been exposed to a lot of diseases. Most of which she has caught. She has had goopey eyes, and croup. But, on a more positive note, she is now sporting two new bottom teeth. She is getting more confident about walking along and around things. She loves to walk around the house holding onto two of our fingers to support her. Mary also loves being outside. It has been hard to keep her indoors with the bad weather and the sickness. She spends a lot of time standing at the sliding glass window looking at the neighbor's dog and saying "woof, woof." She has also become quite a singer she loves "Old MacDonald's Farm" and sings E-I-E-I-O. She sure is a wonderful little girl.

As for myself, I just try to keep up with Mary and Jim. They are such busy people.

We love you all and hope that your month goes well.

Love,

Jim, Julie, and Mary

Letter from the Editors:

We would like to thank you all for your input into the family newsletter. We hope that you enjoy receiving this. Please be patient with us, it is a little difficult to get the bugs worked out. Just so you

know, I have volunteered to do the formatting of the newsletter. I am not really good at it, so if you have

suggestions, please let me know. Mom, of course, is our fearless editor. We love you and hope that everything is going well for all of you.

Love, Julie J.and Mom (Grandma) T.

Provo Howards

 Brandon has continued to learn a lot at his job as Director of Finance. He travels a lot and so far has flown to Texas, Nebraska, Arizona, Washington, Massachusetts, Nova Scotia, Nevada, and Washington D.C. (in May). He is currently studying early in the morning to take the Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE) test in July, it will be a nice accomplishment. He is also becoming more active in NACHA, the National Automated Clearing House Association and is attending many of their conferences and workshops. He is still serving as bishop of our ward for a little while longer. But his work will easily fill in any gaps that may be created.

I am still dabbling in a few things but the best news is that I am likely going to have Baby Girl on August 23rd. I am in my second term as the Precinct Chairwoman for my area. I am in my second year as the Health Commissioner for the school and after Field Day and the Hershey Track Meet I will be done. Also, on Tuesdays and Fridays I have been volunteering as a teacher’s assistant in the 2nd and 4th grades. I am still the 1st Counselor in the Relief Society over education. And I finished reading the

unabridged Les Miserables and recommend the abridged version.

Alyssa has had a lot of new experiences recently. She is in concert choir (which meets early to accommodate Dr. Jacquard’s schedule at BYU) and they were recorded two weeks ago for a CD. She

enjoyed the National Children’s Choir and seeing her cousins, and was impressed that Aunt Melanie braved a very bad storm to see her perform. She is in her fourth year of violin lessons and her second of piano. She continues to dance and recently her group’s dances took 2nd and 3rd places at a competition. She won 2nd place in the science fair, went to District, and finally to region at BYU. She was an Honor

Student for a month. Her favorite book is The Anybodies.

Kyle has learned a lot recently. In April, his research paper, project, and oral report were on Juab County. With Grandma’s and Grandpa’s help, he had a fun display and his presentation was a success.

He won 1st place at the science fair for his project on tsunamis. He has done well at scouts: he got his Bear two months early, and won the pinewood derby. He recently wrote and “published” a story that his

teacher entered in a contest. He is still plugging away at piano lessons. And he will receive the school’s Honor Patch after doing service hours, maintaining good grades, memorizing quotes, and other things. His favorite book is A Door in the Woods.

Megan is still our little firecracker. She is no longer sitting in the center of the classroom by herself (after many talks from me about how to be quiet in class with Brandon smiling quietly to himself). Her teacher said, “Mrs. Howard, Megan is an A+ student . if she would learn to close her mouth.” She does well at anything she sets her mind to and makes friends easily. She passed off her multiplication and moves onto division next. She is on a dance team and her group took 1st place at two competitions, and 4th place overall for points. She likes going to piano. She is looking forward to being baptized May 27th or

28th. She continues to be a prolific reader and her new book is The BFG.

Matthew is still our little prince. He has come a long way in overcoming his shyness and surprised us by saying the opening prayer in Primary. He also surprised the Primary President by singing the first two verses of "I Believe in Christ". He likes playing with his “guys” and doing puzzles, but his favorite thing to do is going to the library for story time and then playing science games on the computers. He enjoys being in the school classrooms with me each week which will help when he goes to kindergarten. He is working on learning the alphabet sounds and the short sight words. He loves reading books at night while the big kids are in bed.

Payson Trauntveins

Yes, Eric is still at Sam’s Club after four and a half years! We think that is wonderful.

Amy is working days as the Quality Control/Lead Mammographer and is slowly adjusting to days after

four years on nights.

Jason is enjoying third grade and loves to read. He is just about done with his requirements for his Bear Cub Scout award. Last year, his Pine Wood Derby car was a real winner. This year, Eric and Jason designed a different car and it didn’t do as well. However, the pulley system they designed for the school’s machine fair was a real winner.

David loves his teacher, Mrs. Waterfall. He’s quick at math when you can get him focused. His Flat

Stanley just became an honorary beekeeper.

Maddie is loving going to Kindergarten at Starbright. She loves reading, singing and learning Spanish. And she is always coming up with something funny to say to Mom and Grandma. She told Grandma she was a great cook because she made wonderful peanut butter sandwiches.

A.J. will be three soon (May 7) and loves to use his increasing vocabulary. For example, “Bebbles”

(Incredibles) is his favorite movie.

Ohio Trauntveins

Well, we made it. Things are going well in Ohio.! It rains a lot and the sun shines from time to time. They finally have the sod around our house, so now we can get to working on the yard and getting that all cleaned up. You all know how much we like doing that.

The children are adjusting well to the new surroundings. Life is different, for sure. Without the church, it would not be the same story. We met a nice family in the ward, the Powells, and they have two children, one boy and one girl. We also met a family, the Argyles, and they have children the same age as ours as well, but more of them.

Michael went from Elementary School to middle school and that has been a large adjustment for him. He has a lot of homework and 10 periods throughout the day, if you count lunch as one of those. He starts

school at 7:45 and is home by 2:30. We have not found a piano teacher for him, just yet. We are going

to wait until the summer traveling is over and then we will do that. Michael is one campout away from

earning his first class badge and will have that by the time he turns 12. We are planning to do his ordination in Utah on Sunday, June 12th. Location and details TBA.

Tyler is doing well in his first grade class. He has some friends at school, but he does not have anyone to play with in the neighborhood, except girls and when you are seven, they might as well be carrying the plague, because you know you aren't going anywhere near them if you are a boy. Tyler has a fun experience on May 5th, he gets to go to Cornell School, a Pioneer school in Johnstown where he gets

to take his lunch in a metal pail, wear period type clothing and if he is unfortunate, he can even sit in the corner with the dunce cap on his head. We have been trying to explain to him that sitting in the corner

with the cap is not a good thing.

Emily is Emily. Everyone loves her and everyone gathers wherever she is. She and Tyler both get to ride the bus home from school. They think that is the neatest thing since the invention of macaroni and

cheese. Tyler rides a shuttle bus from his school, to Emily's school and then they both ride Emily's bus

home. It takes them about 45 minutes to go the onemile distance, but they love it and Amy doesn't have

to fight traffic to get there and back. When you come to Johnstown the first time and see the main street,

you will understand that one.

Amy is still unpacking boxes. We don't have any paintings, or pictures hung and are still looking for a

couple of pieces of furniture and a bedroom set for the master bedroom. So, some things are a slow go.

Amy's parents already had a trip planned to come to Rochester with Brent's parents and his cousin long

before they knew we were going to move out here. So, they kept those plans and this Sunday will be the

official first family visitors to our new abode. Amy is trying to get things pulled together for that one as

well as running the top-shape ship she has always run. She is a tough one to beat--no bias there.:)

Todd's work is going well. This past week, there was a restructure of management alignment and now

Todd has over 70% of the New Albany technical staff reporting to him (30+ employees by the end of June). This is a good thing for the family and the reason for the change in location for the next few years. Todd took advantage of his proximity to Mel over the weekend and took Michael with him to Milford for Ben's ordination. It was nice to be back at Mel's home again and to spend a little time with her and the family. For reference, the drive can be accomplished in 10 1/2 hours if you go quickly and 13 hours if you take your time.

We like the surroundings and we are making do with the new location. We miss Utah and our family and friends we had there. We love you and welcome you to our home anytime you want to come. We will be out in June for a few weeks and then back again in September for Tyler's baptism.

Love,

Todd, Amy, Michael, Tyler and Emily

78 Weeping Willow Run Rd.

Johnstown, OH 43031

(740) 967-0756

Mass Boltons

Here is what is going on in our family:

Mikaela is doing well in First Grade. Her teachers, Mrs. Shaw and Mrs. Kilkenny, love Mikaela. She has really excelled in her reading and writing and not a day goes by when she hasn't read her Mom several stories and written some of her own. She is currently collecting princess stories. Her new favorites are: Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? and Falling for Rapunzel. Auntie Kirsten and Whitney recommended the Falling for Rapunzel and Mikaela bought the book (she loved it so much), took it to school to share with her friends and school teachers, then was surprised to find it selling at the Scholastic Book Fair! She also loves outdoor recess. There are two PE teachers that have taken it upon themselves to teach gymnastics during recess. Mikaela goes to school with her hair in piggy tails or pony tails now that the weather is nice, so that she can do exercises on the outdoor balance beam. She will be turning eight this fall and she is so excited to be in Achievement Night for girls. She all ready goes most Tuesday nights because of her Mom's calling and can't wait to go because it is her turn for Activity Nights. She can be found outside after school, shooting hoops and playing tennis against the garage doors. She loves to be with people and is sad that most of her friends can't play after school.

Benjamin is turning twelve on the 25th of April. He will be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood on the 1st of May. Hopefully this will all occur in our new Stake Center/Ward Building. We are only a month behind occupying this new building. Ben has completed all his requirements to become a Tenderfoot and is almost done with the requirements for Second Class. He has earned his purple belt inKarate and loves to practice is boj forms. (This is a long stick that they do defense with.) He also loves to sparring. He and Braden can be found wearing their sparring gear and practicing their forms. Ben is currently in the sixth grade and he plays the saxophone. He doesn't like to practice the saxophone. He wants to start a lacrosse league in Milford and is currently looking to petition the town's selectmen to see if this would be possible. He is finding out the current costs of running a lacrosse league and is putting together the information for the town's selectmen.

Braden has just completed his time as a Town's Person, in the Disney version of Cinderella. He was a

little disappointed that he couldn't be the King, but the eighth grader they chose for King, has a lot of

humor and portrayed the King very well. It was a fun musical condensed from the movie version, just for

Junior High Schools. Braden has completed several merit badges. Two of which he really enjoyed doing: skiing and house painting. He helped his Scoutmaster paint his newly renovated basement and learned how to ski at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, with his Dad and troop. He loved the way that skiing felt that day, but was surprised at how sore his thighs were for the two days following the ski trip. Braden is on the honor roll in all his subjects, and he likes to test the teachers on their knowledge of random subjects. He has also earned his purple belt in Karate and can be found practicing with Ben (at Ben's insistence). Braden will be going on a field trip to Washington, D.C., in May with the eighth grade. He will be gone for a week. He is also going to be doing EFY at BYU in July. He was hoping that he would be able to stay with Siovhan, but she has decided to come home for the summer. (There are apartments that families can rent for the summer, across from where Siovhan currently lives.)

Siovhan is currently finishing finals at BYU. She has learned a lot about herself and others while she has lived away from home. She has extended her twilight savings time to include some daylight hours (those are when she must be in class). Her parents are worried that she will never be in bed during normal sleeping hours--her current sleeping schedule is like Ben's was when he was eight months old: not much

sleep at night, more sleep during the day. She has a car that she doesn't want to part with, and it will be

parked for several months at Grandma's and Grandpa's house. It is like leaving her baby with someone else for a long time. She will be coming home at the end of April and staying in Massachusetts until August. Her parents have promised that they will leave her with her siblings while they take a long weekend away from them all, and she can feel more like an adult. She says that she doesn't need that kind of test, she is perfectly happy to have them stay with the kids all summer long. We can't wait to have her home again.

Melanie is still acting as Young Women President. The current crisis is trying to get all the stuff together for the Young Women/Young Men Annual Garage Sale. We usually make around $1700 for all the youth to use in the camp programs. That is a good size amount of money to put toward camp. Our Bishop loves it, because it helps families to clean out their houses and also to support the youth. There

are currently thirty young women on the rolls in the Franklin Ward. This is the largest amount of Young

Women in the Hingham Stake. Melanie enjoys being with the Young Women. She hates having to remind them of their commitment to uphold the Standards of the Church. She loves working with her counselors. When she is not busy with family or ward responsibilities, she can be found running the hills in her neighborhood, doing yard work or spending time with some of her visiting teaching women. She loves to read and has several favorite books that she has completed this year. She reads about a book a week.

Howard has been in the country for past three months, an unusual thing for him. He is so busy with his current project, that he hasn't had time to travel. He is in the process of hiring an employee to help him with all of his work load. He and his boss have narrowed down to who they want to hire, but there are visa issues that they need to work out. His new employee will be taking some of the traveling work load from Howard, which will free him up to work from Massachusetts on some of his other projects. This saddens him, as he loves to travel and enjoys the frequent flier miles, but he realizes that a man can only do so much and be in so many places at one time. He has started the Tyco Golf League again and has enjoyed two wonderful golf games. He says that he was so happy to start that he couldn't keep his ball on the greens last week. He was overshooting the,holes. This week he was getting them to the right places on the greens, but couldn't sink the putts (usually his area of expertise). It will all work out fine—he just needs more green time. He has a wonderful new bike. He is wanting to get out on it and ride. He currently rides around fourteen miles per trip, but when Melanie was trying to help him inflate his tires, she didn't realize that they required a special pump and gage, and she deflated the tires. He had to go out and buy a new pump and tire gage. He currently has them set to the required 126 pounds psi/tire. He doesn't let Melanie help him anymore. Some wives don't know when too much help isn't a good thing.