Recipe of the Month--June

Queijadas

Submitted by: Scotty Carreiro

"Super easy to make, and these won't last long. Try substituting almond or lemon extract for the vanilla. Or top them with flaked coconut or fresh fruit before baking or top with fruit after baking!"

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs

2 cups white sugar

3 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). 2.In a blender, combine eggs, sugar and butter. Blend until smooth. Pour in flour and milk, a little at a time, blending until smooth again. Stir in vanilla.3.Pour into muffin tins, filling 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven 45 minutes, until golden brown. Serve hot or cold with vanilla pudding and fruit, fresh or canned. Peaches, strawberries, raspberries or pineapple are excellent.

Joke of the Month

Melanie won the joke of the month for June with the following:

Four women were driving across the country. Each one was from a different state: Idaho, Nebraska, Florida and New York.

Shortly after the trip began, the woman from Idaho started pulling potatoes from her bag and throwing them out of the window.

"What the heck are you doing?" demanded the Nebraskan.

"We have so many of these darn things in Idaho, I am just sick of looking at them!"

A moment later, the gal from Nebraska began pulling ears of corn from her bag and tossing them from the window.

"What are you doing that for?" asked the gal from Florida.

"We have so many of these things in Nebraska, I'm just sick of looking at them!"

Inspired, the gal from Florida opened the car door and pushed the New Yorker out.

The Butcher, The Baker, and the Mammograph Taker in June

Well, Hello from the Eric Trauntvein family. 

What to say about Eric, he is his normal crabby self. He has been seeing a dermatologist for his hands and they have decided that it is psoriasis after all. This has been a little discouraging for him, knowing that he has it for life. He says that he’s feeling a little like Job.

I was so busy in April with my big FDA inspection for work that I really didn’t write much. I swore that I was going to better this month, but once again the month seemed to get away from me and I’m here at the last minute trying to get mine article done. Life has been as crazy as always. My washing machine died, Jason had strep and of course we had the end of the school year with all that that entails. Consequently I feel like I am going to lose my mind. I don’t currently have a calling in our ward, but I have been doing a lot of substituting in primary, so I am still busy there.

Jason has done very well in his schoolwork. He just finished 3rd grade and is reading on a 6th grade level. He was the third in his class to pass off his multiplication math facts, this from the boy who at the beginning of the year cried because he “hated” math. Jason has also been busy being daddy’s helper in the yard. We are still working on the landscaping and Jason is always willing to help. He and David also love to dig in the dig pile that’s just on the other side of the fence. Of course if they are there then AJ thinks that he should be also.

David has also done very well in school He’s reading very well and has an incredible memory for interesting little tidbits about sharks, insects and a few other things that have caught his fancy. He has loved his teacher Mrs. Waterfall and school. She had a special link with him. It has made a big difference for him this year. David is such a loving big brother to AJ. Aj has wanted to start sleeping on the floor in Dave’s room so that he can be close to him. I think that he is looking forward to being baptized and also to being able to start cub scouts.

Maddie graduated from Starbright kindergarten. She had an assessment with a kindergarten teacher at the public school who had told us that she would assess her so that we would know where she was at. However when she tested her she sailed through it so easily that she took her right to the principle and recommended that she be put into 1st grade. She’ll be in an advanced reading group as well. She loves to read and is very excited to be going on to 1st. Maddie is very helpful when she WANTS to be but she also has a stubborn streak. My dad is always telling me that Maddie looks just like her Trauntvein aunts. Especially Kirsten. I would have to say that she also has their temperament. She is definitely a feisty one.

AJ is a very busy boy. He thinks that he should do everything for himself that is except use the toilet. His attitude toward that is “I did that” I am hoping to convince him that by using that toilet instead of diapers he would be more independent. We’ll see, it may still be a while till my last is potty trained. AJ thinks that he should be able to everything that his older brothers do, which includes going to neighbors a couple of blocks away and not having to be directly supervised every minute at the Children’s Museum or dinosaur museum. That doesn’t really work for me though. He took off through a group of adults’ legs at the museum and by the time that I got through I couldn’t find him. It took me 20 minutes to find him because there were 3000 people in the museum that day. When we found him all he said to me was “I’s lost”. The kid needs a leash.

As you can see, two careers, four kids, two schools, cub scouts, homework, housework, yard work and church has kept us running Some days I would like to sit down for just a couple of minutes. Fat chance. Should you mange to track us down; we would love to chat with you.

Amy (801) 367-0825

(801) 714-6541 work

Eric (801) 722-9950

The Fabulous Four in June

Erin is sad she missed Whitney's call (while Whitney was in Utah), so we will call Kirsten and let them talk. Erin has made a friend down here with one of the office

employee’s daughter at my work. They exchanged phone numbers and must talk everyday. She said she was going to use the car to go pick her up. I think this last birthday Erin turned fifteen instead of five. Oh well.

Donovin had a great birthday. The family went to a playground and he had lots of fun. There was the usual bithday party with Mom, Dad, Erin and Grandma Barbara. He had

so much fun. (When Gramps and Grammy called he was excited just talking about the great day he had had and the presents he got.)

The family went camping and had an exciting event. A brush fire flared up and threatened the campground where they were staying. Firefighters came through with bullhorns and shouted at everyone to get out. It was nap time so everyone had to wake up and hurry to the car. Bree had a kid under each arm. The fire had jumped the freeway and was headed right for the campground. Luckily, nothing burned up and the camp was all right so that it could be loaded later that night.

I get your emails but I only have time to read them and not write them. I am trying to do

better because for someone whose profession is communications it should be expected.

I love you and will talk to you soon.

David

The Great Waites in June

May was fast and furious, as is the rest of life, so I'm told.

Whitney finished up her preschool year and is officially enjoying her first summer break. Emma is enjoying having someone to play with and fight with all day, every day. They are now both enrolled in swimming lessons (yes, there is a direct correlation).

We enjoyed a quick trip to Utah, where, unfortunately, we only got to see a little of the Trauntvein (former and present--by marriage, not death) family, but enjoyed every minute of it. Jared's Grandpa Jensen got remarried over Memorial Day weekend, hence the quick trip.

We also got to decorate graves on Sunday and on our way out Monday. It was a first for our little ones, and you will all be proud to know they followed in their mother's footsteps (no, they didn't find any of "nature's raisins," they were simply very wonderfully helpful in cleaning up the grave site in Scofield; I'm pretty sure there was more dirt on them than was left of the graves). It was a wonderful short trip and the girls and myself (Kirsten) can't wait for our extended stay in August.

The newest and most exciting news is that we will get to see lots of family this month. Todd and Amy will be stopping by on their way to Utah (we are so glad we're not in Texas anymore), Jared's parents are coming the last week in June, and we will get to finally go to Melanie's for a week in July. We are so excited to see friendly faces even if it means giving up all out-of-the-house activities for the next two weeks to "Clean Sweep" the house.

The only other exciting news is that the girls and I got to see our first air show. It was pretty amazing! Since we live across the freeway from the Air Force Academy (a couple miles), we had pretty good seats for the graduation ceremony show (our neighbors even saw Vice President Cheney's motorcade). The jets flew right over our houses, and even more awesome, not more than 500 feet above our heads. Unfortunately, as is my luck, the only shot I got before my camera ran out of batteries was of the jets heading toward us from the Air Force Stadium, still pretty neat, though. Emma and Whitney loved it, even if they had to cover their ears.

Everything else is the same as usual. We look forward to seeing all you Utahans in August.

Love, The Waites

Oh! Hi! Oh! in June

A quick note. We are doing Michael's ordination at the church in Lake Shore at 12:00 p.m. (noon) on June 12th. Everyone is invited to come. We are then going to Brent and Lorna's for lunch. If you are coming to lunch, then please bring a salad with you. The address for the church is: 5916 S 3200 W, Spanish Fork, UT 84660

Then, June 19th (Father's Day), Dad and I are pulling our trailers up Ponderosa to stay a couple of nights. I have a flight back to Ohio at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, so we are only going to stay until sometime Tuesday. Anyone who wants to join in the fun is welcome. We are going to be eating dinner on the 19th at around 6:30 p.m. We don't know what the meal is going to be yet. I think that depends on who can make it.

Please RSVP to both events

Michael had a great birthday. Now he is 12 years old. He can tell you all about it when

we see you in Utah.

The Buzz’n Joneses in June

Dear Family,

We hope everyone is doing well. Congratulations to Megan on her baptism and Michael and Benjamin on their ordinations. (Also a late congratulations to Braden on his becoming a Teacher. Look at that a family full of teachers.)

Here in the land of Nephi, the weather has the weathermen changing their forecasts at least two times a week. Fortunately, we have had some good weather every now and then. We went from using the furnace one week to the air conditioner the next. Right now, it is trying to decide whether or not to go back to winter or move on to summer. For the bee's sake and our garden's sake, we are hoping for the latter.

We have caught the gardening bug around here. We have planted our garden, 18 strawberry plants, raspberry starts, a peach tree, a nectarine tree, and a pear tree. So far everything is making forward progress except for the raspberries. Jim keeps telling me that the raspberries are dead, but I keep telling him not to give up on them. In reality, I know they are dead but I can't break it to him.

Mary has been enjoying the good weather. She wants to spend every minute outside. In the mornings she will grab her hat and stand at the door hoping to go outside. She is so much like her Dad. Mary is also getting bolder about walking. She will no longer walk holding onto her Dad's or Mom's hands, instead she has to use her walker. Today, when she thought I wasn't looking, I caught her stand up and take ten steps. Then she noticed I was watching so she stopped and clapped which caused her to lose her balance. She is a funny girl. 

Jim has been very busy with the bees. He is done making nucs and is almost done supering them. Yesterday, he hired a young man from Fairview to help him. Jim knows the family well and puts bees on their land. He is enjoying the help. Jim's life has gotten a lot busier with his new calling. He was just made the Elder's Quorum President. He is a trooper and never complains about all the meetings he is having to attend. He was surprised, but never complained. He was made the President on Mother's Day and since then we have had a Presidency party and we are planning an Elder's Quorum party. (I always knew it would take the Lord's intervention to get him to go to so many parties.)

As for me, I am the new Bear's Leader in our ward. Talk about the blind leading the blind. We hope that the little scouts make it through this okay. 

Our major news in the family is that we have a new addition. It is a $20 electric piano found at a garage sell. It really works. Jim has been playing it with Mary. Mary loves it. We have included a picture of our little Lorie Line.

We love you all. See you next month.

The Tres Nephites

The Magnificent Seven (Almost)

We are still running around like crazy trying to accomplish more than is humanly possible. But we are trying to have as much fun as we can while we do it. Brandon enjoyed his soggy and cold trip to Washington, D.C., where he spent the majority of the time in classes. However, thanks to a political associate of mine, I was able to get him and two co-workers on a private tour of the Capital. They even got to use the underground tunnel. He is still very busy trying to get all of the organizations reorganized at church (except the Primary Presidency) before his time is through.

Alyssa is busy preparing for the recital on June 11th. The one with the little kids will be at 1:00 p.m. And the one for the older girls on competition teams will be at 7:00 p.m. She has around 7 or 8 dances to prepare (with a different costume for each one), but she is not worried. The following week she will be going to the 5th grade campout from Monday through Friday. She is excited and I am nervous. I asked her best-friend's guardian if he knew a Melanie Bolton (since he is the owner of Brick Oven) and he said he did and that he was delighted to know that Alyssa was related to her. Alyssa has been to their house many times and enjoys the Zumbrennens. Alyssa really liked Which Witch by Eva Ibotson. (I read it too and thought it was clever.)

Kyle is enjoying the summer so far. He is thoroughly enjoying being with Jason and David at Grandma's. He starts planning Thursday evening what they will do together the next Wednesday and Thursday. He really likes going for bike-rides around Nephi and can't believe that I don't want to drop everything and move there. Kyle really liked the second book by James Dashner (after A Door in the Woods) called A Gift of Ice.

Megan is also busy getting ready for the recital. She only has four dances and is really excited to have costume changes in the back like the older girls. She is having a lot of fun with the neighbor girl and riding her bike in the parking lot. Megan liked Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary.

Matthew is thoroughly enjoying having all of the kids around. He has so many people to play with right now. His favorite book is Skippyjonjones by Judy Schachner. It really is one of the best read-aloud books we have. Anyone who has a child with an imagination as great as Kyle's will really appreciate this book. Plus, it lets us gringos practice our Spanish accents. I highly recommend it and so does Matthew.

I am enjoying all of the blood tests that are being prescribed. I was likely exposed to Fifth's Disease in early May and already had one test for it four weeks ago. Unfortunately it showed that I hadn't had it as a child and therefore have no immunities. (My friend Joanie's baby died in her fifth month from anemia caused by Fifth's Disease.) So I just had my second batch of tests today. I also failed my glucose test so I get to go in later this week for the three hour fasting test and be tested over and over and over. Other than that, things are fairly normal and keep at a semi-wild

and frenetic pace.

The Runnin' Utes, June 2

Sorina

Oh, to be 2 again--to be so happy and content with life. She wakes up in the morning and says, “BOO” (her favorite game is Peek-ABoo or Chase-Me). Her Dad had the biggest laugh the other day, because Sorina awoke before he left home. One minute she was sleeping, and then she just opened her eyes and said, “boo” without any warning. He thought that was one of the cutest things he had seen. Sorina is happiest when she can be outside holding hauling around (torturing) her Sophie (cat), or sneaking out of the house with food to feed Lady (dog), or swinging. It all only gets better if water in somehow involved. Sorina is also the child who picks out her silverware and then asks for “something to eat” – the silverware being more important than what she’s eating. But you had better give her something she can eat with that piece of silverware. For a long time she would only listen on the phone (and would only talk on toy phones), but she finally will talk to her Dad on the phone and not just listen. Of course, Shawn only understands “hi, daddy” and agrees with the rest of whatever she says.

Toren

Kindergarten has been hard this year – with illness. Toren has caught just about every illness that they serve at the elementary. The boys are on year-around school and it never fails that Toren gets sick the first week he goes back on track. Toren is so happy to have warm weather, as water is his favorite hobby. He enjoyed finishing off the soccer season, and had fun scoring some goals. He is having a great time in t-ball and loves to go to his games twice a week. His team is the Boston Red Sox and everyone comments on his baseball cap that he

proudly wears. Toren is the only child in the family who loves to wear caps; maybe he should get some tips from Uncle Todd. Toren and Dane are also beginning to have fun with the minimarshmallow guns they made this week. Toren also still likes to ride his bike, and has to constantly be reminded to stay close to home (he likes to wander the neighborhood to see if some friend or another can play) and to wear a helmet when he rides.

Dane

Dane participated in the fist overnight campout as a Webelo with his Dad’s Scouts at the Trapper Trails Council Duty to God Encampment. He said he had a great time. He was little miffed at the older boys because they got ahead of their leaders (Dad and Brother Ward) and then missed seeing them, so the oldest boy said they should head back to camp. Dane said they needed to stay where they were, when lost or separated. The older boys though said they were the leaders and that he needed to listen to them, so they went back to camp.

Meanwhile their Scout leaders were looking all over the arena for them. The Scoutmaster (Shawn) kept thinking, “this is not like Dane to not try and stand out or find us to find.” Finally Shawn felt he had exhausted the search and should perhaps look back towards camp. Sure enough, he found the boys and lectured them about staying where they were, when lost or separated. Frustratedly Dane said, “That is what I said, but they wouldn’t let me stay and you told us we had to stay together.” Shawn was impressed with his good sense of what to do. The buddy system, though, was somewhat trying for Dane also; he sometimes wanted to do something that he could not convince the others to do. But Shawn continually stressed the importance of the rule, and he complied. Dane is also doing great in his baseball, hitting a double a few weeks ago, the team still lost, but it was a really good game. He also hit a single tonight, and then scored a run. His team is the Seattle Mariners.

Brigitta

I (yes they’re making me write this myself) haven’t really done anything exciting this month! I’ve babysat some of the cutest kids ever. I have also finished soccer-- we didn’t get trophies this year we got bands and hackysacks. I’ve also written 2 stories that are pretty cool. I have also been trying to pass up my dad’s scores on Amped (a snowboarding game on X-Box). Oh yeah, I made it into honors science for 8 th grade. Well I’m done! See ya!

Shawn and Kimberly

Well, we are coming up on 15 years of marriage in a week or so. Wow, where did all the time go? We (yes Kimberly and I have to write this ourselves) haven’t really done anything exciting this month! Ooh, wow, that was kind of like, totally deja vu. Actually we have seen more soccer and baseball games than even some of the most avid fans, and all without putting a red cent into an overpaid, worldly athlete’s pocket. 

Shawn is glad to be done coaching the soccer season, with nearly a balanced win-loss record (which is somewhat stressful for him as a coach). He has to keep reminding himself that despite the concerns of parents, his goal is to teach the players to love sports and to have fun (whether they win or lose) so that they will want to have a lifetime love of and participation in

sports (even if it isn’t soccer).

Kimberly is having fun with strep, to which she succumbed on Monday. She is currently reading a book, to distract her mind from how sore her throat is (and probably so she does not have to talk). Kimberly is enjoying being a Cub Scout leader, and also brought Cubs up to the Duty to God encampment for the Saturday activities. It seemed all the boys were mesmerized by an ingenious launcher that would launch (using a valve and compressed air) the paper rockets that the boys would make in a few minutes with a regular sheet of paper, a glue-stick, some tissue and tape. The rockets would sometimes fly over a hundred feet into the air.

We are also kept busy trying to help train Lady for her obedience class (and so we can walk her without her trying to bolt towards and bark at every dog that she sees or hears). Lady, from what we are gathering, is about three-quarters Australian Shepherd, and one-quarter Great Pyrenees, both of which are sheep-herding breeds. She likes to do things, and we will have to work to find more for her to do. She currently likes to try to control people, to get them to do what she wants (such as to scratch her head and back, or rub her tummy). Lady is smarter than I am, because she can usually get us to do that. I have been trying to get Kimberly to scratch my back for years, with little success – something about dead skin cells and all. I thought about telling her that if she

didn’t scratch my back the dust mites might go hungry, but decided that may not help the situation.

I told a few of you that my office had training on how to deal with angry individuals, and they taught us to use the catch phrase “That sounds frustrating”. Some of you mentioned that you had seen or heard of similar training in other areas (such as the juvenile courts). I have actually heard a couple of people before say they were flusterated, but that is a different story. In my systems area (that I manage) it has become somewhat of a joke. In fact (on my own time, although I really did not spend long on it) I once drafted the following explanation, which I shared with my area, based on the fact that some individuals seem to constantly be “frustrated”, and that they may think some people intentionally try to frustrate them. I told a few of you about it last Saturday, so I thought I might pass it on (if there is room). An obscure yet ubiquitous property of existence regards a design constraint of the universe which affects a particular subset of sentient beings with a perpetual sentiment of frustration. The gravity of the situation, though, is that one may point out that some particular manifestation of the sentiment exists in a particular situation, but the benefit of doing so would likely be nullified if one further indicated to any degree of succinctness that the individual might continuously or even continually be affected by this sentiment. One must also recognize that another subset may be falsely implicated as participating in perpetuating  events that contribute to such a sentiment, where the accuser does not correctly attribute the causality to the constancy and consistency of the design constraint. Even though participation in perpetuation of the sentiment may appear voluntary, and may even appear to contribute to the overall hedonism of certain others, such affectivity is simply a token manifestation of the universal property, and any attributions of willful participation lack veracity. Interestingly, the resulting inability to convict magnifies the sentiment, and provides no source for resolution other than the nonsuccinct acknowledgement "that sounds frustrating".

Spilling the Boston Baked Beans

This month has been a fun month for all the Boston Boltons.

Siovhan has been working at Tyco Healthcare since the end of April. She is doing data entry. She loves being on the computer. She sits at a desk from 7:30 until 4:30, Monday thru Friday. Then, when she arrives home, she eats and sits back down to the computer. You would think that she would be tired of being at the computer, but Siovhan says the computer is her way of connecting with all of her friends, who are at this time, scattered throughout the world. Siovhan has been called as the Faith In God For Girls leader. There are about fourteen young ladies, and two adult women that she is in charge of. She has a plan for activities that was given to her when she was called, so she basically just has to pull the ideas together and get the girls and women to help her out. She has had plenty of practice, she was the Youth Camp Leader of all the YCL's and Fourth years at Girl's Camp two years ago, plus she has been the class president of the Mia Maids and the Laurels. She has had to come up with plenty of activities, and carry out her duties. She is good at delegating--much better than her mother. One of Siovhan’s roommates, Heather, will be coming and staying a week with us at the end of May and into June. Siovhan is taking a vacation from work while Heather is here. Siovhan will be taking her into Boston to do some site seeing. Siovhan can’t wait for Heather to get here. It should be exciting. Heather has a little brother that is named Braden—so it’s like fate to have them friends.

Braden is currently in Washington, D.C. The eighth grade took a history tour there. They will be gone for a week. Braden wasn't too sure that he was excited about going. He tends to love to be at home. He has been studying US History all this year, and this tour is to help the students relate to the material they have been learning about. His Mom is very envious that he gets to take this tour. The tour will include many wonderful sights: Kennedy Memorials, the Tomb

of the Unknown Soldier, the Smithsonian, the Holocaust Museum, the Old Post Office Pavilion, Reagan Building, Embassy Row, National Cathedral, the Vietnam, Korean and World War II Memorials, Lincoln Memorial, Union Station,

Jefferson, FDR and two Iwo Jima Memorials. That is all on Wednesday. On Thursday they will be going to Ford's Theater, the Spy Museum, lunch at the Smithsonian and tours at the Smithsonian, then off for dinner at a dinner theater where they will watch “The Pajama Game.” On the last day they will go to the White House and Lafayette Park, after which they will go the National Zoo, then leave to come back to Massachusetts. It is usually a nine-hour drive

from Washington, D.C. Braden has been sustained and set apart as the Secretary for the Teachers Quorum. He likes the Presidency and has worked with them one time before, when he was in the Deacon's Presidency. He is excited for some of the new activities that he will be experiencing. In June he will get to attend his first Youth Conference. This is the first year that they won't be doing three full days. Because of all the snow this year, the Stake had to cut back a day as a lot of the schools will still be in session.

Ben is our forever pessimistic-optimist. (Yes, I can guarantee that you can be both—I’ve seen it first hand.) He is working on the biking merit badge. This requires a lot of bike riding, something that my boys haven’t done a lot of. They have to ride on the highways and I don’t trust other drivers. They need to have two ten miles rides, a fifteen-mile, 25 mile and 50 mile ride. Being the pessimist, he knows that is going to require a lot of work, but the optimist in him says that he is sure that he can work up to it. He and Braden have been earning money for Scout camps by doing yard mulching. This past weekend, they spread thirteen yards of mulch. That is a LOT of mulch. It took them pretty much most of seven hours to do all the work. They had help from one of the Bishopric members and one of the owners of the house that they were mulching. Ben surmised that yard work is a lot of hard work. It is much easier to pay others to do the work. He does want to mow our yard—it takes forever to mow the lawn, but he still wants to learn how, because Mom pays well. Ben will be marching in the Memorial Day Parade on Monday. He isn’t too excited about marching. Braden gets the year off as the eighth grade band isn’t a marching band, but next year and the year after, it is mandatory marching. Siovhan doesn’t empathize with them very much; they deserve to march, because she

had to. Ben says the hardest part of playing the saxophone is the carrying of the case to and from school. His mom isn’t very sympathetic. She says that the hardest part is the paying for him to carry it to and from school. Very unsympathetic family. Poor Ben.

Mikaela is doing very well in school still. She isn’t as involved in extra curricular activities. She is still struggling with her Asthma, but we feel like we are doing the best for the area that we live in, but wish that life could be easier for her. Spring and Fall are really tough on her. She loves being outside, and especially on warm days. We have to give her baths at night, and she doesn’t always appreciate this, but she has come to realize that it is part of her life. Mikaela is a very special girl. She loves to be around a lot of people (so different from the shy child that she used to be!) She has a few friends in the neighborhood and would love to have all the friends in her class have her over to play. One girl’s mom told her that her daughter had enough friends, so Mikaela would just have

to play with her daughter at school. She loves people and doesn’t understand why people can’t seem to like her—after all, she such a wonderful girl, why wouldn’t anyone like her? I mentioned that Mikaela’s reading had really changed over the past few months. She is constantly reading and writing stories. She has

evolved into a regular lover of reading. With experience comes good news. Mikaela is very excited for Memorial Day. She was elected by her teacher to be a participant in the Memorial Day celebration at Brookside Elementary. Memorial Day here in Massachusetts is a very big thing. The Soldiers from all the past wars get to march in their units and they get cheers, the bands play, there are boy scouts and girl scouts honoring the Veterans. Then there are cookouts and all kinds of activities, so for Mikaela to get nominated to be a reader at the celebration is a fantastic thing. All of the schools do their own Memorial Celebration, and Mikaela’s will be out in front of the building, which will have a flag raising ceremony and songs from the three grades that attend that school, then they will have a short reading and some short speeches on Patriotism. Mikaela will be a part of the reading. We plan on taping it and taking pictures. Siovhan says that Mikaela takes after her.

Howard told me that I am not allowed to mention his golf game anymore. It is frustrating for him to have to relive it on paper, as well as having everyone else know that he isn’t doing as well as he has done in the past. He told me last week that he wasn’t going to inform me of his score, but just that he and his partner won the round. He does have a new golf club, and for those who don’t golf, it is like unto having a new child in the family. It takes time to get used to, it can keep you awake at nights with wonder, and when it is a good day, all hear the wonders of its qualities. Howard did hire a new worker. She will be taking over some of his travel responsibilities. I have met her and she seems like a wonderful person. Howard will be training her during the next month and showing her all the areas that they need to travel to. They have a couple of trips planned. The first one starts out with Howard going to Canada to see one of his nephews, Stephen, married in the temple. Stephen is Joy’s son. Then he will be off to South America. What a change in climates, in just a manner of hours. He will be in South America for while, come back to Massachusetts, and then off to the other side of the world. He informed me that he has to get some major trips in, just to keep up his Platinum status with American Airlines. It has been fun having him home, though. It has been nice to not have to worry how I am going to get all the children to all of their destinations and then pick them all up. Howard and I just returned from a weekend in New Hampshire. We had Siovhan be the parent for the weekend. We went to the White Mountains. It is so beautiful there. We went driving around, climbing some of the smaller trails, and just loving the nature. It was interesting to see that the trees that far north still didn’t have leaves. There was still snow on some of the peaks. The highest peak, Mount Washington, was socked in fog, but we were still able to drive to the 4,200-foot level and then we walked a ways up the side of the mountain, just to see what we could see. It was cold! It has a tundra like look, which was interesting to see. There was moss and short, scrubby pines on the sides of the mountains. On the way out of the canyon, I saw a car from Ohio driving erratically. I commented on it to Howard. Then I noticed the driver was driving with a camera out of the window, I looked to see what he was trying to get a picture of—it was a huge moose! The first one I had ever seen in the wild. It was HUGE! It was a mother, no antlers and it was eating the grass on the side of the road, next to a river. Howard managed to swing the car around a take a few pictures. Then we tried to hunt it down (at a distance) but it had gone up stream. It sure drew a lot of attention, there were cars stopping all up and down the highway to get a view. It was great to get away. Siovhan wasn’t so sure that it was great. She had to get the boys to Karate, to the service project and make sure that they had their baths, and then she took them to Stake Conference. Dinners were interesting, Mikaela informs me. I didn’t care, they were healthy and were glad to see me when I got home, and those were the important things. I think it made them appreciate all that their parents do on a typical weekend.

That’s all for now. The summer is shaping up to be a busy one.