December 23, 2011

• Merry Christmas

  I cannot believe that it has been since we were on vacation that I have updated this blog.  I will try to do better.  I thought that I would post our family Christmas letter and add some pictures.  First I will show you what Judy Lynn and I are getting each other for Christmas.

  We have a hot tub again!

  
  New (to us) Hot Tub

  
  Cort wanted to be the first to get in.

  
  Gwen thought it the hot tub was okay too!

  Way back when we first moved back to Oregon in 1986 we purchased a hot tub.  At first it was located in our garage, and then we did a remodel and added a hot tub room to the house.  We had that hot tub for many years and then it go to the point where no one was using it and it would just sit there for months without use… and sometimes without water.  We finally gave it to our friends the Kearsleys and turned the hot tub room into an office which it has been since we started the motorhome business in 1998.  But for the past few years with Judy Lynn and I “getting more mature” we have missed the old hot tub that really does a good job of soaking away aches and pains.  So we decided some time back to get another one and have been saving for that.  We finally decided that this Christmas was the year so we started shopping while on vacation in Idaho/Utah and thought that we had found one, but that fell through.  So when we got home we started looking on Craig’s List and on the Internet and found the one pictured above.  We had it delivered on the 10th of December.  We actually purchased it weeks before but I had to clear out the office to make room for the hot tub and that WAS A CHORE.  I can not believe how much stuff you collect while trying to run a business.  I have been sorting through stuff for weeks and am still not finished.  We finally just had Chad come over and help me move the rest into one of the bedrooms and I am sorting through the stuff as I have time. 

  We had the hot tub delivered on December 10 and we have been getting into the hot tub almost every night (Judy Lynn every night but I have missed a couple of nights).  One of the reasons we got the hot tub was because Judy Lynn would awaken during the night with RLS and have to get into the shower and runs hot water on her legs for quite a while.  We thought that she could get in the hot tub and run the volcano jet that comes up from the bottom right on to her leg and that would help.  But since we have been soaking in the hot tub before retiring, she has not been awakened with the RLS.  We don’t know if there is a connection between the evening soaking and that.   Only time will tell.

  Then, not to long after we had purchased the hot tub for Christmas, our big-screen TV int he family room went out.  It was not that old.  We purchased it right after Christmas in 2005.  It was a 60″ Sony and it has been a great TV only it was a “projection” type and there was a light that had to be changed every so-many hours.  The first time I changed it (I could do the change myself), the replacement light cost over $300 (OUCH).  Since then it has gone out three more times, but the cost has come down to under $100 which is still quite expensive.  This time when it went out I just assumed that it was the light, so ordered a replacement light from Amazon on the Internet.  When the light came, I put it in and that did not fix the TV.  So I had to call the fix-it place that we use and have them come out to see what was wrong.  It ended up being a $900 projector plus the cost of the installation, so we decided that we would not spend that kind of money on an old TV.  As the repairman was leaving he suggested calling Sony.  He said that it was a known problem and Sony had extended their warranty of that part over and over again until just a year ago, so there might be something Sony would do to help.  So I called Sony and as soon as I started talking to the technician, she knew just what was wrong and said that they did have a replacement program and sent me an email outlining what it was.  It ends up that we got a replacement for half price, and this new one was the LED technology as well as 3-D.  We don’t have any 3-D movies nor the glasses necessary in order to watch them, but we now have a new TV also (definitely NOT planned for this year)

  
  This is the new TV mounted on the wall with the components on the TV Stand

  
  This is the old TV with the components in the cabinet to the right.

  I called Goodwill and they recycle old TVs, so I loaded the old TV into the Sonoma and took it down there.  As they were wheeling the old TV away through their door, I could not help but have a twinge of sadness go through me.  I know the TV was a “thing” and could not precipitate feelings, but the old thing had provided a lot of nice entertainment for our whole family over the years.

  So shopping for Christmas this year has been fun.  Judy Lynn and I have PROMISED each other that the two above items are more than we should have received from Santa, so we are not putting anything under the tree.  Cort asked me the other day why there weren’t any presents under our tree and when I told him that the hot tub and asked him if he wanted to help me move the hot tub to be under the tree he just got a kick out of that.  So he decided that the hot tub and TV was our Christmas was a good Christmas and it was okay to leave them where they are.  This is not “our year” for Christmas so we will only have the “locals” here with us.  Todd and Jacki are going to Bremerton to be with Brian and Monica (Jacki’s sister), but we will have Teri Lynn and the “Dobles” here with us.

  And finally, here is our Family Christmas Letter and a few pictures of our family.

   

  OOPS, I see that the writing on the copy of the letter is not big enough to read, so I will cut and paste the verbiage.
  

  Christmas,2011

  Dear Family & Friends,

  It seems I start this letter every year making some comment about the year going by so fast, and this year it isn’t any exception.  It is really hard to believe that 2011 is drawing to a close.  We have had a great year though.  Our family continues to grow adding Todd and Jacki’s Avie and Leslie and Josh’s Reese to our family.  As usual, I will try to summarize the highlights of each of our kids (that I can think of as I write this), and then close with telling you about Judy Lynn and my year.

   Aaron John still lives and works in Big Sky Montana. He spent quite a while home with us and left to go back for the winter season right after Thanksgiving.  He had been home with us for over a month and we have enjoyed having him here with us.  Before he left he gave his Mom one of his facials and body massages… and Judy Lynn says it was “WONDERFUL”.  Aaron sure does have the “touch” for that kind of thing.  I think he still likes it up there in Big Sky, but the economy has made the business somewhat slow.

   Teri Lynn, Randy and their three boys still live in a home just a short distance from us and we see some of them almost every day.  Chad just turned 18 and is active in his HS Concert Choir and the school’s special singing group, The Barlow Sound.  We just attended his Christmas concert and it was very good.  Chase turned 14 this fall.  He plays baseball in the summer and basketball in the winter.  Cort turned 9 in May.  He is now in the Cubs program and seems to enjoy that.  Cort still isn’t so much into sports, and continues to spend a lot of time working at his own “work station” in his Grandma’s craft room. Cort takes after his Grandma in that he is a very good artist and quite“crafty”.

   

  Todd and Jacki live close to us and Todd keeps busy tending his “farm” and his 2000trees.  Little Quinn turns 5 in January.  Todd and Jacki welcomed little Avie into their family on Todd’s birthday in March.  She is such a cute little gal and we are so happy to have her as part of our family. Todd continues to work in the HVAC field but changed companies this past year. Jacki took some time off work when she had Avie, but is back to work now and is doing well, but is very busy with two little girls and a full-time job.  It is a blessing that she is able to work out of her home. 

   Leslie and Josh also welcomed a new little girl into their family in May.  Little Reese was born on May 13^th.  She is a cute little gal (looks a lot like Sawyer did when he was a baby… but don’t tell him!)  Josh is still YM President and Leslie works as the YW Sports Director.  Little Finn turned 2 in November and is certainly in his “terrible twos”, very active and quite noisy.  Sawyer is 5-½ and started kindergarten this past fall. He continues to be very inquisitive and smart enough to figure everything out.  His favorite play-toy is his Mom’s Ipad and he makes it do things that I cannot figure out on mine!  We get to see the two little guys  and Reese almost everyday especially during the summer because Leslie continues to help me with the motorhome business.

   Jeff and Becky still live in Maricopa Arizona.  Jeff finally was able to find employment with Micro Chip down there at the beginning of this year.  He was much relieved to finally find something.  Judy Lynn and I went down to see them in April and again this past October. Becky continues to work full-time also, but mostly during the evenings, so often they pass each other as one comes home and the other leaves for work. They seem happy down there.  We keep hoping they will someday move up closer, but doesn’t look like that will happen any time soon.

   Heather,Jay and family moved out of our home into a home of their own earlier this year.  They found a little town-house that is very nice.  Gwen continues to be a “ham” (like her dad) and will be three in February.    Little Oscar Cleneth turned one in September.  Jay works in the Stake YM and Heather is a counselor in the YW.  They both play on a soccer team that plays most Saturday evenings.  Josh and Todd play with them.  Leslie, Heather, Josh and Jay (and families)continue to spend a lot of time together. Quite an “arrangement” they have to have almost all of their family activities… on both sides… together. 

   Jennifer,Taurean, Bentley and little Jaidyn still live in Richmond Utah.  Jaidyn had her 2^nd birthday in September.   Bentley is 4 ½ and still has his winning smile.  Taurean continues to work full time and is working towards applying for medical school, so he still has lots of schooling in front of him. We were able to spend some time with them both in the spring and again this fall.

   Shauna continues to live in Provo, working for Wal-Mart and also part time for Papa John’s Pizza.  She just got the job with Wal-Mart earlier this year, so she has been unable to come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas because they are busy days in the stores.  She had made a few trips to Richmond to visit with Jenn and her kids.  She loves them and constantly is playing with them. 

   Judy Lynn and I continue to stay too busy.  Judy Lynn still spends a lot of time in her “craft room” and comes up with and makes some of the most fascinating creations. She still puts on her Stampin-Up classes and has quite a following that continue to come and let her share her creativity.  I still keep busy (mostly during the summer months)with our motorhome rental business.  We keep hoping to retire from that, but so far have not been able to give up the advantages that the business brings.  We took our annual spring trips to Utah/Idaho and Arizona in the spring and then again in the fall.  We left on September9^th to be in St. Charles to spend Dad’s 100^th birthday there with family.  All of our children and their families were able to attend, so we took the opportunity to take some family pictures that we had not taken for several years.  We spent a couple of weeks between St.Charles and Richmond.  All in all, we spent two months tripping down there.  On our way from Utah to AZ, we stopped at Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, Four Corners, Monument Valley and many more stops on our way.  We planned on spending a week on our way and in AZ, but it took us a week to get down there. Then when we had been in AZ for a week and were planning to leave on Monday, Saturday evening as we were driving to see some friends, Judy Lynn looked at me and said, “I am not ready to leave Arizona”, so I said, “Let’s stay another week” and we did.  So we were gone from home for exactly two months and did not get back home until November. 

   We are well and happy and love our lives.  We love having a lot of our children and grandchildren (10 of our 12 grandchildren) living close.  Teri Lynn, Leslie, Heather and their families all live in our ward and we take up about a row and a half.  Todd and Jacki live in our Stake.  We continue the hints to Aaron, Jeff, Jenn and Shauna to move closer.  I guess we are fortunate to have as many as we do living close.  We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and as always… the VERY BEST of everything for this coming year.   We hope and pray that all of us will keep Christ and the example He set forefront in your minds as we celebrate Christmas and especially throughout the coming years. Judy Lynn and I are so grateful to Him for His example for us to follow,as we know that it is in this life that we learn and grow to what we will become.

   Love to you all, Judy Lynn & Roger

  A couple of pictures.

  
  Picture of our “ENTIRE” family

  We had an Arnell family reunion on September 11th commemorating the 100th birthday of Dad Arnell (see last blog).  We were fortunate enough to have our entire family there with us so we took the opportunity to have Brent’s Julie take some family pictures of us.  Indeed we are proud of our family and love all of them dearly!

  
  Mom and her FAVORITE Son

  
  Aaron with his Mom after his month-long visit with us this fall

  
  Teri Lynn’s Family
  Teri Lynn, Randy, Cort, Chase and Chad

  
  Todd’s Family
  Jacki, Avie, Todd & Quinn

  
  Leslie’s Family
  Sawyer, Finn, Josh, Reese & Leslie

   
  Becky and our Jeff

  
  Heather’s Family
  Heather, Gwen, Oscar & Jay

  
  Jennifer’s Family
  Jennifer, Taurean, Jaidyn & Bentley

  
  “My Girls”
  Heather, Leslie, Teri Lynn, Becky, Shauna, Jacki, and Jennifer

  
  Gwen and Oscar
  (Couldn’t help but throw this one in!)

  
  Couldn’t find a picture of Shauna alone.
   Taurean, Jenn, Judy Lynn and Shaua

  I will close now by wishing all who read this a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

  • 1:56 pm
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