Family Reunion

Shortly after WWII Lane's grandfather, Ray Ferrin, built a cabin on Graham Mountain using materials that were once army barracks. Lane's parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June and wanted us all together for the celebration. We've been planning this trip for a couple of years and when Lane was released as our ward bishop the end of April we decided to add a few days to our vacation! When you tell people you're going camping in June in Arizona, they immediately think of Phoenix heat and think you're crazy. But, Graham Mountain, accessed from Pima, is nearly 10,000 feet.
After driving for fifteen hours through barren desert you make the climb and indulge in God's creations for as long as you can. We stayed for most of a week with Kevin, Mazza and the kids, Tony, Francelle and kids, Karna and kids, Doug, Rayna, Amanda and Hayden, and of course, Grandma and Grandpa. Doug and Neldon spent an incredible amount of time, money and energy to give the cabin a face lift.
There are no words to properly describe the setting. Wow, wow and wow. The cousin time was priceless, the hikes were glorious, the caterpillars were plentiful, the weather was perfect. I'm hoping that all of my arm twisting has convinced Lane's parents to do this again, soon.

The trip up is bad, the trip down is bearable only because being up there is worth the trip. I could stay all summer, especially if it meant I didn't have to come down! Life was meant to be made of such memories. Realizing that this is likely the last summer we'll be together as a family made it all the sweeter. Even the loooonnnnggg desert drive made good memories...ask Thomas sometime about playing absconding uno.

Meredith Family

In our family we have what we call "other mothers." My kids have a lot of them. Sometimes I am 'the other mother.' Being a mother of any kind is an honor. Stephanie Meredith is one of Claire's, they have a neat relationship. She was her Achievement Day leader and when they moved to New York Claire was very sad. Stephanie, however, takes great care to keep in touch. When Claire was 12 she flew out to visit and had a blast. Merediths have since moved to Georgia and I'm confident it won't be long before Claire has a plane ticket! Her relationship with Stephanie's kids is just as important. Andy has Down's syndrome, he and Claire have a special bond. Kate is a bundle of fun and this summer we got to meet Lilly Jane during their visit to Utah. Thanks Steph, for being a wonderful "other mother!"

Graduation

Thomas, Cami Nelson, Nathaniel Gates, Maria Roundy

Thomas' senior was cush, two band classes, two choir classes, seminary, electronics, year book & something else. He and Claire had a grand time being in high school together. They even got to go on choir tour to Disneyland. Nonetheless, he had senioritis in full form and graduation was a happy day!

Thomas' friends accepted and included Claire right away. This was the last year to share a school experience. Right now the 5+ year space between Claire and Abby seems especially big.

The wisdom of youth

The wisdom teeth that is.
Thomas is a delightful young man. He's very caring and sensitive. However, our relationship improved significantly the week of his surgery. Now he understands the drain of constant pain, the irritation level, etc. Truly "...all these things shall give thee experience, and be for thy good." D&C 122:7

Luke and Murphy came by to entertain him. They're great guys!

San Fransisco

Lane and I went to San Fransisco on a business trip....would you believe this is the ONLY picture we took? The weather was glorious. Our hotel was a short walk from the pier and a good walk from the conference. Al and Rhonda stayed at the hotel the conference was at. This is the first time all four of us have attended together and we had a great time. The Italian restaurant was beyond anything any of us have ever experienced. If I ever remember the name I'll pass it on so you're sure to put it in your vacation plans.

February 2007

Have you ever played the game where each person writes something down that others may not know about them and then as a group you try to guess who it is? If you don't go to church with me you may not know that I have a terrible time sitting for three hours! I've never been a good sit-and-watch-a-movie sort of person. My mother used to beg me to watch Sesame Street. A few years ago I discovered the joy of silly putty. My kids were so enchanted with this particular work of art! So, now you know.

Catching up

Is it possible to catch up on nine months?!?!? I'm going to try. I'm not sure why I dropped the blogging ball but I did. Believe me, it isn't because there hasn't been any thing worth reporting!
Here's a recap.
January 13th was Claire's 15th birthday, wahoo! We had a good snow to play in, oh so fun. She and Stephen love to walk the river trail and experiment with their digital photography skills. They've both taken a class and have much more know-how than the rest of us. They take some incredible shots!

Amelia's birthday is on the 29th, has it really been 12 years?!? We celebrate her birthday with a service project. This year we bought baby toys and socks to donate to the pediatric ward of our local hospital. We all had a great time choosing our "gift." The kids each brought their own money to spend. Abby loves anything baby and had a hard time selecting just the right thing. The hospital was delighted. Service always feels so good.