Preschoolers learn about language by listening and talking.

Start a conversation with your child by asking a question that has no right or wrong answer: "What did you think when you saw the tall tower you built?"

Help your child become a creative thinker by asking, "Suppose that..." "What do you think...""What if..."

Encourage your child to talk with older and younger family members. A child who has lots of opportunities to talk will learn how to put ideas into words.

Help your child choose a few special television shows that are just right for children of the same age and interests. 

Watch with your child and talk about what you see and hear. "Are those lions like the ones at the zoo?" 

Ask questions to find out what the child is learning. "Does our familydo things like the family in the show? How are we different?"

Use television wisely. At family mealtimes, talk and enjoy each other's company. Make a list of things your child can do instead of watching television, such as looking at books, playing with brothers and sisters or drawing pictures.

A bit of humor for September

FLAT TARR (PEOPLE FROM THE SOUTH WILL UNDERSTAND THIS.)

There was this fellow from East Tennessee who had a flat tire. He pulled off on the side of the road, jumped out of his car, walked down the hillside and picked a bunch of wildflowers, and proceeded to put one bouquet of the flowers in front of the car and one behind it. Then he got back in the car to wait. A passerby studied the scene as he drove by and was so curious he turned around and went back. He asked the fellow what the problem was. The man replied, "I have a flat tarr." In response the passerby asked, "But what's with the flowers?" The man responded, "When you break down they tell you to put flares in the front and flares in the back! I never did understand it neither."

What do you do all day?

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, “What happened here today?" She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world did I do today?" "Yes," was his incredulous reply. She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

Correction to Trauntvein History

The histories for both Gladys and Henry Trauntvein are included in the histories that Aunt Eva gave out for Christmas a few years ago. You all have copies. Please read them.

One exception that Dad and I noted was that we were living in Provo at the time he was sealed to his parents rather than Nephi. I was expecting Todd at the time. Todd was born in Provo in November and the next fall, in October, we moved to Nephi. We had to wait from August, when Dad was hired to teach, to October because our home was not yet finished. When we did move in, we didn’t have front steps. They soon laid them and they stayed the same until we built the addition to our home. It has been a good home and has been filled with the sounds of children, which makes all houses into homes and happy places.

The Magnificent Seven (Almost)

We have really enjoyed having our little Rachel join us. Each one of us has enjoyed her and her sweet spirit. There have been many arguments between the girls as to which one of them will hold her. But they both (Megan and Alyssa) have stepped up to the plate and been really good team players. Megan has a knack for calming Rachel down by walking around with her and singing to her. Matthew and Kyle have also participated in their own way: Matthew by singing to her, and Kyle by informing us when she is crying. She has been fussy the last two weeks, but we are still enjoying her.

We are all getting back into the swing of things. We are back in full swing with school, dance, scouts, church and everything else. The three older ones are doing really well in school (academically and socially), and we are hopeful it will continue throughout the year. Matthew should start preschool in October if we can figure out how to make the schedule work.

Brandon is still extremely busy with work and church, but hopefully things will be easing up for him sometime. I am enjoying a few more weeks of maternity leave and have really enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom.

We are planning on having Rachel blessed on October 25th at our church. Sacrament meeting is first and starts at 11:00 a.m. Please join us if you can.

We all want to express our thanks to each one of you who have prayed for us, sent us notes and gifts, and given so much of your time to us. It is such a blessing to be part of a large and supportive family. We are so blessed by each one of you. Our hope is that our children (while not so numerous) will be as supportive to each other in their future.

The Late but Always Great Waites Rocky Mountain "Hi!"

We miss you Utahans already!!! We (the girls and I, and Jared for a few days) had so much fun with all ya’ll in Utah. We are so grateful we got to be part of the welcoming committee for Baby Rachel. It was so much fun to spend that time with the Howard clan. It made me miss living in Utah, and being only a hop-skip-and-jump from

a majority of the family.

I also had fun honing my home makeover skills with Dad while we caulked, and hand-rolled the back of the house (then later repainted the back--long story, ask Dad--and finished the rest of the exterior on the edition using Jim's much faster, cool paint gun). Now I think I'll try out for one of those "please help me, I'm decorating challenged" shows on TLC. Maybe I won't look as stupid after this recent experience (alright, alright, save your comments, Howard and Todd, I know what you're thinking). By the way, if any of you are looking to fill up that extra time on your hands, we didn't finish the trim on the six side windows (I say "we" loosely, Dad worked, I

mainly watched).

The annual Labor Day campout was a lot of fun! But we missed those of you who couldn't be there. Whitney managed to stay pretty clean (she takes after her dad) and Emma, of course taking after her mother, fell face down in the mud and later used up her "spare" outfit by "wash me handies" in the five-gallon water cooler of which everyone else's kids are already knowledgeable and experienced in using. We'll have to “break” one out here just so we can practice for another year.

We, of course, ran out of time to do everything I had planned to do and see everyone I had planned to see. I thought three weeks would guarantee freedom from time-constraints, but I was wrong (yes, that's the only time you'll hear that, so take note). We never made it any further north than the airport (dropping off and picking up Jared) nor any further south than, well, Nephi (Flying J to be more specific). Like Mom always tells me, "always leave a place wishing you'd done one more thing, then you'll always go back." -- not that the family isn't a big enough draw for the "always go back" part--but that's how I feel about this trip and my trip to Mel's; there's much more I still want to do.

The girls had a lot of fun just being girls in a small town: playing out back in the yard, eating green apples that had fallen from Grandma's tree by the swing set (I think most of them were worm-free), getting wet, riding bikes/running in the street, walking to church (remember those days, Melanie and Todd?) and playing with neighbors. Every Friday night while Mom and Dad Trauntvein went to the temple, we were lucky enough to have a Waite Girls' Night Out. We sampled the best of the best in Nephi--Taco Time and Reeds (Vard's), included--always ending with time well spent at the park (which you should all know has been renamed by Whitney to "Uncle Jim's and Aunt Julie's Park"--the first time we went there this trip, we were, of course, with Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie).

Whitney learned to ride a bike without training wheels and took her first bike excursion to the Library and then around the south end of town--my bottom was pretty sore the next day, but she woke up ready to jump on that bike and go five more miles. It was pretty cool to watch her learn to ride with the same person (Dad) and on the same street I did 22 years ago. Pretty amazing experience for old mom (me). Emma also learned a new trick: how to turn on the water hose (thanks, again, Mom). She used that knowledge today to soak down one of our little neighbor boys who came to play with her; she thought it was great fun, he did not.

I loved the time I got to spend with my siblings and nieces and nephews. Your kids are all wonderful and growing into such incredible youth. It's amazing to see the changes every time we come visit. We love you all. The only sour note of the whole trip was the terrible loss of the Cougars to the BC Eagles which we were blessed to watch in person. It has added fuel to the fire of our neighbors in The Springs (all Air Force and/or CSU fans, of course). But we still wear our BYU shirts with pride; we just keep an eye out for rotten produce being hurled our way.

The Whitney "line of the day" came when we picked Jared up from the airport, "Daddy, I forgot what your face “looked like." That lets you know how relative time is to children, I guess. It's good to be back, though. A little bittersweet for all of us (Jared hated the silence of an empty house while we were gone, now I'm sure he misses the freedom of coming, going, doing whatsoever he wills and we are happy to see our home, daddy and friends again.

Whitney is back into full swing at preschool and is already loving it. She loves her teacher, Miss Deb, and I am reminded of Michael when he went to kindergarten (teachers always know better and more than do moms, right Amy?!).

Emma starts a playgroup with three other little girls (who all turn three by December) next week. I think we'll have a good and busy year.

Speaking of busy, Jared has hit "busy season" for dentists. Back to school and end of year (before insurance runs out) is always pretty crazy for the healthcare field. He's working longer hours and has few breaks (if any) during the day, but he still manages to find time for the Subway sandwich of the day (except on Tuesday: meatball, and Friday: tuna salad). That's just one more reason why he's grateful to have Fridays off: not having to order the tuna salad, number one; and number two, the good, quality time he gets to spend with his family. I link his deep and abiding love for Subway with the apparent subconscious connection associated with all those who are named Jared.

Me, I'm still unpacking a few things (the things I'm not sure why I took and what I should do with them now). I can't wait for fall to hit in Colorado. I've really missed that season for the past five years (in Texas they have a saying about the four seasons there, "End of Summer, Waiting for Summer, Almost Summer, and Summer"). I've already planned a little day trip to the mountains (the backside of Breckenridge) to revel in the beautiful colors of fall. I hear it's best the last week of September here, but we already have a tree in our back yard wearing its full red coat. I can't wait to see more! It's amazing!

We hope Todd and Amy have another great trip to Utah. We wish we could be there for Rachel's blessing and Tyler's baptism, but life and callings wait for no man or woman. I'll be spending my time this month trying to prepare nearly 30 girls for Young Women in Excellence, which all of you who've been in Young Women's know is a great treat. I hope it will all turn out great.

Here's to another trip!

Love,

The Waite Clan

The Runnin’ Utes

(Is this still politically correct in light of the fun the “U” is having with the “Ute” name right now?)

Is summer over?! It's hard to believe its September already. What happened to August? Toren and Dane went back to school on the 15th and Brigitta went back on the 24th. Dane started football on the 8th and then soccer practice started for all 3 kids the last week of August. Oh, and Dane made up his swimming lessons. And I spent a lot of time in the van driving here and there. Football practice is everyday but Sunday and Monday. Sorina has noticed her kids are missing, but she's doing well being the only one home. I guess it's time to start "play dates."

Sorina: She has a baby doll she got last Christmas that goes pretty much everywhere we go. Buckled in the van and shopping with us. Oh, and we had better not forget the bottle for Baby (that's her name). Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Eric saw her true nature the last day of camp. She runs around in panties or a pull up quite often at home. She does not like wet or dirty clothes. So at camp, she stripped down to her pull-up and continued to run around. I teased her about being naked and next thing we knew she was running around naked (literally). I looked but could not find where the pull-up ended up. (Grammy: It was in the trailer on the floor with some towels that needed washing.)

Toren: He likes 1st grade, actually he loves his teacher: Mrs. Love. He has a bit of a hard time getting used to the long day, but I think he's made the adjustment. He likes eating lunch at school and more recesses; you know the important things in life. Toren has never been a morning person, but he is doing a great job of getting up and getting ready for school in the mornings. He's flying to Disneyland in September with the Wilson's for his cousin Kalli's 5th birthday (she went with him on his 5th birthday).!

Dane: He likes 5th grade and his teacher is Mrs. Ferry. She plans to work a part day so he will have another team teacher soon. Dane thought he wanted to play football, and then he started practice and he wasn't so sure anymore. However, he's being a trooper and sticking to it. It's a big time commitment and a lot of work, and he gets a few extra bumps and bruises. Fortunately, he only complains more about nearbumps and near-bruises that come from his siblings than from the ones he really gets from football. He's had 2 games and its fun to watch him and his team play.! He decided he liked football more when he actually got to play a game and put everything he'd been doing together. He has a bit of asthma that's crept up on us. He had an attack in the middle of the night in July when his Dad was at Scout Camp. Dane was pretty scared. He has an inhaler now for football/running.

Brigitta: Apparently this has been the most boring summer of her life. She was so excited to get back to school and be in touch with more friends. She and I together read a lot books this summer. Aunt Amy got us started on the Shadow Children Series, so she just got the last one at school this week and finished it, now it's my turn! We read all the Deltora Quest Series (15 books - longest of these is 200 pages), The Divide, Return to the Divide, Daughter of Venice, Harry Potter 6 and some others that I cannot remember right off. Her English teacher this year will give her extra credit if her mom or dad read the same book she reads. Guess we planned our summer well. Unfortunately for me, I have to do book reports. School never ends. Shawn did tell her they could read a philosophy book together, and each could then write a report on it. She did not answer him, and within a few minutes was talking to me about doing a report on a book we read.

Oh! Hi! Oh!

Well, another month gone. Doing this e-mail makes me realize how short the months really are. Here is the news:

During the past month (August), I had some hotel points to use up, so on a whim, I took the family to DC. Turns out, we picked the wrong time to be there. It hit 108° F in the shade with 99% humidity. If any of you have ever seen that, you know that it is just miserable to be outside. So, needless to say we spent a lot of time in the Smithsonian buildings. We did make it to see the changing of the guard at Arlington, to see Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington memorials/monument and the DC Temple. We saw the White House from the front. I asked a policeman out front how a person could get a tour of the White House. He said, “You have to be sponsored by your Senator; however, if you hurry to the back right now, they are giving garden tours today.” So, we dashed to the back (as fast as you can dash in the heat with kids and a five-month pregnant wife). Much to our pleasure, we were given tickets (the ranger had some spares still) and put right in line. We spent the next 45 minutes touring the White House gardens and got to stand on the back steps of the White House. We drove the Cumberland Gap to get to Washington–it was outright beautiful. The “divide” stood at 2800 ft. A little shy of the norm for a Utahan, but it sure was green with wall-to-wall trees and the temperature was quite different from the DC temps. 

Now, the kids are back in school and here are the particular updates.

Michael

Michael was chosen as the teacher’s assistant for Art. His teacher called Amy today and thanked her for having such a thoughtful kid. She said he is the best TA she ever had and that he even anticipates what she wants (kinda Walter “Radar” O’Reilly’ish). The Secretaries in the main office have said that if he gets tired of being the TA for the Art teacher, then they want him to come and work in the office with them. Michael is taking choir (a break from the normal for Mr. Science) and he really enjoys it. As always, he is doing well in his classes and all his teachers thank us for having such a good kid. We finally got to the library and checked out some books. Michael averages six “chapter” books, every four weeks and he still finds time to cram in his Eye Witness science books.

Tyler

Tyler is in 2nd grade and is quite the reader. He reads this and that and everything between. He is learning a song on his own for his baptism that is coming up. Just a reminder for everyone that Tyler’s baptism will be on September 24th at the Nephi chapel. We are able to change the time back to 10am with a lunch following that at the chapel. Amy will be contacting everyone for his or her participation in the activity and to see if you are able to make it. Grandpa Trauntvein is going to do the baptism and Grandpa Gordon is going to do the confirmation. Tyler spoke in Sacrament meeting last week. He wrote the talk himself and delivered the talk. He did quite well. Tyler is also checking out his 10 book limit at the library each time the family goes and he really enjoys story time at night and then reading in bed for 30 minutes before going to sleep.

Emily

Emily is in First grade. She loves school. She and Tyler get to ride the bus, by choice. Amy asked her if she wants her to take her to school (6 blocks from our house), or not and Emily said she wants to go on the bus. So, each morning, they stand out there for the bus to come. It takes them directly to school–a 5-minute ride. The ride home takes about 45 minutes. Both she and Tyler like the ride home, because they do their homework on the bus. When they get home, they get right to the business of playing. Emily wanted to learn to ride a two wheeler like her best friend Alex. So, I ran up and down the sidewalk with her a number of times. Each time I let go of the bike, she laid it over in the grass. I came home from work two weeks ago–Emily was riding her bike on her own. She just decided enough was enough, went out, hopped on the bike and took off. Emily likes first grade. She has two good friends in her class and she plays with them and Tyler during lunch and recess.

Amy

What is there to say. She is the ruler of her castle, the crowning victor, the magistrate of the feudal lands Trauntvein! Oh, and she has been feeling better with the pregnancy as well. As a matter of fact, she painted Emily’s bedroom to match the coloring in the one she had just finished in Utah. It turned out really nice; she is getting to be quite the artisan with a three inch brush and a nice lamb’s wool roller. Of course, I helped her. I installed the chair rail. :) Amy gets to have a little time to herself these days between the hours of 9:00 am and 2:30 pm while the kids are at school. That will end. We can’t have that. Who ever thought of a Mom who had time to think, clean and enjoy some quiet? I didn’t think so. She is adjusting well to Ohio. She doesn’t get lost anymore, but she does go through a lot more gas here than she did in American Fork. WalMart and Target here are 15 miles from home. In AF, they were a mere mile at the most.

Todd

Not much to say about that one. Working and working. When it isn’t work, it is church. When it isn’t church, it is work. Not much has changed there.

As mentioned above, the family spoke in Sacrament Meeting on 08/25. Each person picked their topic and wrote their own talk–Dad typed them up, but the kids wrote them. Each of them did a wonderful job and so did Amy. The 2nd Counselor in the Stake Presidency was there that day and he sent the children a thank you note for their talks and wrote specifically to each of them. That was a first for me.

I missed being on the Labor Day campout this year. You all know that I never missed one and I was there for all nights of the campout. Some of you think I did it out of mere desire to support my parents in an activity. I want you all to know that I did it out of love for each of you. I love having the family together. You all know I am a watcher of people. I liked sitting there and watching you all chat with each other and catch up on the goings-on with each other. That is the reason I invited you all to my home a few times a year. Heck! If were going to spend the eternities together, we better make darn sure we are friends right now. I love you. I miss you. And I know you miss me driving you crazy with my matter-of-fact attitude and my polar-positions on ALL issues , but know that I love you. I always have and I miss having you around. I was happy to hear that so many were able to make it to the campout this year and that Eric was finally able to get some time off. Too bad about the rain, but that too is a blessing.

Here is a suggestion that you all ought to take advantage of over the next couple of years while the ability exists. Do the “Trauntvein Roadshow”. Take off from Utah, and go to Kirsten’s. Stay a couple of days with her. Drive from there to Ohio and stay with us for a couple more. Then drive to Melanie and stay with her for a couple more. Fly home from Boston. Meals are free, lodging is free. You would have to pay for a rental, gas and a flight. Not too shabby.

Well, I love you all. I look forward to reading what you write. Love, Todd.

The Boston Baked Boltons

It has been said that: "Time flies when you're having fun." That seemed to be our case during the month of August. Then when it came to the week before school started, the days seemed to drag.

We took a family camping trip to New Hampshire. We love it there. The days and nights are usually cool. This year, however, the days were warm and humid. We camped near a cool water river, where the children found relief from the heat. When they became bored with the river, they would get on their bikes and ride to the Lodge's swimming pool and take a dip there. We also went to a natural falls area, where people are allowed to climb and swim. We spent several hours there as well. At Attitash we spent the day sliding down water slides, going down the Alpine slides and taking the lift up to the top of the mountain for a scenic look of the Washington Mountain and the surrounding valleys. Then we went to Portland, Maine for a windy, rainy ferry ride through the bay. It was all over too quickly.

Siovhan left for Utah the following Tuesday. She had to leave her computer behind, as the fans were malfunctioning and needed to be repaired. She is still waiting for the repairs to be finalized. Life without a computer is horrible. She feels like a Pioneer without a home. Classes started for Siovhan on Monday, the 29th. She has all her classes and acquired her last book on Tuesday. She is searching for a job. She loves being back with her harem of boys and her other girlfriends. You can find her at #112 this year. (Same address as before: 1565 N. University Ave.)

Braden had his first day of ninth grade on Tuesday. He seemed to really enjoy it. He likes the fact that there are more than just boring ninth graders in his class. He had to change his counselor, as he had the same counselor that Siovhan had, and it wasn't going to work out for us. Other than that, his first day went off without any problems. We had gone to the school the week before and walked around to all of his classes. He ended up showing some of his friends where they needed to go. He is looking forward to his first day of band camp. They will be practicing from 5:30-8:00 every Wednesday, until the end of November, plus all there in school time. Braden will start seminary on Wednesday of next week. This will be a new challenge to our family. The drive time is a little further than it used to be for Siovhan.

Benjamin started seventh grade. This is his last year in the Stacy Middle School. The eighth graders have their own school. He really wants to make a good impression on his teachers and he has started off well with this goal. He has the advanced classes, which will be a challenge for him, but we feel if he tries and stays motivated he will do very well. Benjamin is motivating his troop to really work on their merit badges. He has a goal of beating Braden to his Eagle. He is working really hard at earning the required merit badges, which has made Braden work in his. We are now looking for some good Eagle project ideas. If any of you have ideas, let us know so that we can start making plans.

Mikaela is in her last year at Brookside Elementary. Next year she moves to Woodland. It feels weird to have our littlest one in second grade. She makes friends very easily. She is so different than the baby we used to have in this house. She is out going and friendly. She misses Siovhan and they have great telephone conversations. They talk almost every day. This is a good thing. It makes their friendship stronger and it helps Mikaela to feel like she is part of Siovhan's life still. Mikaela has a goal, that she will go to college wherever Siovhan ends up living. She would like that to be in Utah, because she wants to follow in Siovhan's footsteps.

I was going to spend the week at Girl's Camp while Todd and Amy watched my children. Then the Stake Young Women Presidency found out what was happening and called and told me that they didn't need me after all. I called my Bishop and we talked for quite some time. After praying and fasting, I decided to stay home with my family. It was a good thing; there were so many problems this year with last minute girl situations and then school schedules for my children. I wouldn't have been able to help out with any of it if I had been gone all week. I did spend two days at camp and was able to be there for the Testimony Meeting. It was wonderful!

Camp Joseph is a great place to be! It is like camping on a golf course. It is owned by the church and is well taken care of. If any of you would like information on it, call me or email me and I will give you information. Tent sites are $6 and cabins with two bunk beds (sleeps four) are $15. It has restrooms and showers and is just a hundred yards from the Joseph Smith birthplace memorial site, South Royalton, Vermont. Joseph Smith's family's cabin was on the border of two towns. The house was actually in South Royalton, and Sharon. Interesting tidbit.

Howard was in town most of the month and even took the full week off when we went camping. It was fun to have him around. He is scheduling his next few months all ready. It is going to be a very busy time for him. I told him I thought that it was amazing that he was always gone the first week of Seminary. Trial by fire for the rest of us. He is sad that the golf season has ended at work and isn't looking forward to hanging up the golf bag for another season. He was rained out of a golf game and hasn't been able to reschedule it, due to the fact that his partner contracted a bad case of poison ivy from someone else's laptop computer. Hopefully, before his birthday, he will get out for a round.

As you can see--never a dull moment at our house.

The Fabulous Four

Erin went to school on Monday, August 15, for her pre-kindergarten meeting. She actually didn't start until the next Monday. Grandma Barbara was there and took a lot of pictures. Erin is sure a little ham. She looked incredibly cute in her red sweater and tartan skirt, just like a schoolgirl should. Erin goes to school from 12:45 until 3 p.m. She is sooooo happy. She loves it.

Donovin is still full of energy and the joy of life. He is so much fun. He talks so well that people think he is older than he is. He also counts really well. You have to remind yourself that he just turned three.

Erin and Donovin spend about three days and up to four nights a week with Grandma Barbara because of work and meeting schedules. The rest are with Mom and Dad. We know you loved having them there in Nephi but we sure missed them.

How was your Labor Day weekend? David and Bree and Erin and Donovin went camping. Barbara went out for the day Sunday. Monday was Bree's birthday. The family went out to Sand Hollow. It wasn't bad. Bree and David decided to go boating, the 5th (Bree’s day), and spent the whole day. Bree is supposed to go out with Barbara on Tuesday for a birthday dinner.

The Butcher, The Baker, and the Mammograph Taker

Amy had surgery on her sinus once again. The growth grew back after the first surgery and she was starting to get awful headaches once again. In addition, she decided to let the doctor’s remove her tonsils. She has had quite a sorethroat and has had difficulty talking. She said, however, that she has lost some pounds so it can’t be all bad. Amy so enjoys making cards that she is going to be one of those who help demonstrate how to do it (in her spare [?] time).

Eric took two weeks off of work on a medical leave so that he could take care of Amy. At first, he was giving her meds every four hours but, as Amy got feeling better, he worked on the basement once again. He has been working to get all of the electric wiring and installation done so that the work could be inspected. Then it is on to insulation and the sheet rock and the actual finishing of the rooms. The boys will move downstairs into their own rooms once the work is done. There will also be a workroom for Amy to do her crafts, scrap booking and card-making. He did take time off to camp overnight with the kids. Amy came up the first day but didn’t stay overnight because she still wasn’t feeling good.

Jason, David and Madilyn started school the end of August. Maddie is excited to be in school. Last Spring she tested in the top of the new kindergarten group to-be. She is happy to be at school but is still a little concerned because she can’t find her classroom without help. All students at the school go to a central spot in the morning where they can do homework, if needed, and congregate until it is time for school to begin. She has help, of course, getting to class from there but she was worried and told Eric that she wanted to figure out how to find her class.

David likes his teacher and school. He also liked playing with his cousins this summer. He liked dressing up in the many costumes the boys devised (Star Wars heroes, mostly) and having sword fights. He also had a great time playing with Megan. He had a fun summer and was especially happy to be baptized and that so many family members came to be part of this special time. He enjoyed camp, the running through the bushes, sleeping in the tent and having a good time. He really liked the Smores.

Jason likes school and really likes his teacher. However, his luck on the playground has not been all that great. He is sporting two casts—one on each arm. He fell from the tricky-bars just at the end of recess. He landed in such a way that he broke his right arm. Amy took him to her hospital so she could be the x-ray tech for him. His arm was broken so badly, just above the wrist that he had to be given anesthetic in order to have it set and cast. Then, after Labor Day, it was discovered that his left arm was also broken and needed to be cast. He celebrated his tenth birthday on Monday, September 5. Part of the day was spent up the canyon on the family campout. Then the family went home for the traditional birthday cake, etc.

A.J. won’t start kindergarten for two more years. He still gets to visit Grammy and Gramps on Wednesday and Thursday while Amy works. He is getting tall (for his age) and loves being active. He is happiest when he is outside and likes to do all sorts of things like ride bikes, play on the swings and just run around. He also thinks cold cereal straight from the box is a treat.