Dear Family,

There are several things to write about this month, but probably the biggest news is that Heather and Jay have FINALLY moved out of our home into a home of their own.  And I say “finally” not particularly because we are glad to see them gone from our house, but because I have known for along time how badly they have wanted to get into a place of their own.  Tonight (Friday night) will be the first night they stayed in their new place.  I cannot say that Judy Lynn and I are “empty-nesters” yet because Aaron has been here visiting for a couple of weeks and he is not leaving until tomorrow(Saturday) to go back to Big Sky and then Judy Lynn and I will be rattling around in this big house all alone.  We have very mixed emotions.  We have thoroughly enjoyed having Heather, Jay, and especially Gwen and Oscar here for the two years or so.  We have gotten used to having little Gwen here with all of her expressive antics and her good-night hugs and nightly ritual that we have gone through for so many months.  They will be sorely missed, but life goes on and it is time for them to be in their home and we are glad for them.

Heather & Jay's bedroom mostly moved & Gwen's room with crib missing

Jay ready to go with a load in my truck.

The have been working so long for this, looking and trying to find a place they could afford, with a few disappointments and then this one came through. They picked up their keys on Thursday afternoon and took Judy Lynn and I over to see the inside for the first time. It was in really good shape and did not need any painting, but Jay and I went home, got the carpet shampooer and my lawn mower and went back over that night and worked to spruce up the lawn outside and shampoo all of the carpets inside before they moved in today (Friday). We got most things moved and put over in their house, but they will be putting things away for many days I am sure.  I do not have any pictures of their new home to add to this blog, so that will have to come later.

Next happening of interest was the blessing of little Avie Jean over Memorial-Day weekend out in their Ward in Sandy.  The reason that weekend was chosen for the blessing was because we had so many of our family here for our outing at Barton Park over that weekend, that it was only fitting that we have all the family go to church with Todd and Jacki and take care of that blessing while everyone was here to enjoy the occasion.

Jacki, Todd & Little Avie Jean

Add "Big Sister" Quinn

Quinn & Avie

Grandpa and Avie & Grandma, Grandpa & Avie Jean

I mentioned our annual outing at Barton Park over the Memorial-day weekend with the Ricker family…that has grown to many friends and families over the year.  The weekend came and the local weather guessers predicted not too good of a weekend for us, with occasional showers and little sun and they were mostly right, but as usual we put up lots of tents and tarps to make sure that we could stay somewhat comfortable in spite of any weather that might come.  Jeff, Becky& Aaron arrived the Thursday before the weekend to be here with us.   Judy Lynn earlier on Friday afternoon and the rest of the family trickled in on into the evening.  We had our traditional Steak night, with me cooking all the steaks on my large grill.  Saturday was pancake breakfast and then“play-day” with lots of socializing, lazing around, etc.  I had to go back into town and check out our Conquest motorhome, so that interrupted the “playing” for a couple of hours.  Saturday evening was “tin-foil”dinners cooked in Dutch-ovens instead of tin-foil.  For many years Judy Lynn would painstakingly make the tin-foil dinners wrapping all of the meat, potatoes, carrots, etc.neatly into their many layers of tin foil, and I would painstakingly try to get the coals of a fire just right so they would cook but not burn… but then one year someone told us that we could put the same mix of food into the Dutch-Ovens and cook them… we tried that method (which was MUCH easier) and the food tasted just as good and we have been doing that meal that way every since.  Sunday is always “breakfast on your own” and we leave the camp long enough to attend church, this year as I explained above in Todd and Jacki’s ward.

Our campsite with all the cooking equipment

Judy Lynn, Colleen & Monica (Anderson... Jacki's Sister)

Todd's Camp site

Inside Todd's Tent

The Sunday evening meal is always a Pot-Luck which is always fun, with always too much food to eat.  In fact, we have some friends who come down on Sunday afternoon, bring their pot-luck food and eat with us just to be therewith us.  We had a whole bunch of folks there this year.  I should have counted,but I didn’t.  All I know is that we had twelve camping sites with at least two families on most of the camping site sand then the party-crashers that come to be with us just for the pot luck.

Dutch-Oven cooking our "tin-foil" dinners.

Monday morning was the traditional bacon, sausage and hash brown potatoes with eggs cooked any way you want them.  Then of course after a little more playing in the morning, it is time to pack up and head back to reality…which is always a pain (the packing up part especially).  But it was a fun weekend and we were so glad that Jeff and Becky made it up from Phoenix to enjoy the weekend with us.  We had all of our family here but Jenn and Shauna.  We have got to work on Jenn some more to try to make the weekend here with us “worth it” (the drive up here with her two kids… that she thinks is so stressful… forgetting that we used to drive that distance with EIGHT kids a few times each year).  If we could have got Jenn and Taurean to come, then Shauna would have had a ride up and we would all have been here(feeling guilty yet Jenn?)

Jeff & Becky before they left.

On a little sadder note…Judy Lynn and I had only been back from our “Spring-Break” for a little over a week when she found out that and Aunt and an Uncle had passed away on the same day back in Idaho/Utah.  Her Uncle Seth who was 97 or so years old passed away quite unexpectedly (to us).  Uncle Seth is Judy Lynn’s Dad’s brother who lived in Providence.  On the same day, an aunt,  Aunt Aniece from Malad passed away(another one of her Dad’s brother’s wife… so Uncle Kay lost his wife and a brother all on the same day).  Aunt Aniece’s funeral was on Saturday in Malad and Uncle Seth’s funeral was in Providence on Monday, so Judy Lynn and I drove down the Friday before in our little car, attended the funeral on Saturday, drove to Bear Lake and spent Saturday evening and most of Sunday with my mom and family in Bear Lake, and then drove back to Jenn’s house in Richmond to be in Utah for the funeral on Monday.  Judy Lynn and I left right after the funeral on Monday and drove all the way home.  I had two motorhomes to get ready for rentals later that week and this was the first rental of the year for both motorhomes and I did not know how much time it would take to get them ready, so needed to rush home to “attend to business”.

But, other than that,things have been quite uneventful up here. I hope this letter finds you all well and getting along well.  We are doing fine, Leslie told me yesterday that she is almost back to her “normal” self and little Reese is growing everyday.  So until next month… you all take care… ya hear!

Love from Judy Lynn &Roger

Well, Reese made it here.  She was born at 8:35 AM today (May 13th).  Reese was 7 lbs & 15 oz, 20.5 inches long.

Little Reese 10 minutes old





Close up


Mother and new Daughter
(Leslie & Reese)

Congratulations to Leslie and Josh.  I think you have a keeper there!

(Sing, Sing)  (John Denver's voice... not mine!)
"Hey it’s good to be back home again - you know it is
Sometimes this old farm feels like a long-lost friend
Hey, it’s good to be back home again
I said hey it’s good to be back home again"

"Stuff" from the motorhome piled in the kitchen and family room
(and this doesn't show what is piled in the bedroom!)

Now it is back to the "Grind"  Lots of catch-up to do and it will take some time.  But I wanted all of you to know that we made it back okay, loved our "month" away and in many ways hated to come home.  But the screams of the grandkids as they welcomed us home made us so welcomed back home.  Oscar had changed the most.  We have yet to see Quinn and Avie though.  Thanks again to all of you that went out of your way to make our "Break" such a good one.  We love our family and appreciate so much so many good friends.

Well, our Spring Break is coming to an end and it is time to start heading back to Oregon.  We are in Richmond with Jenn, but will leave today and go as far as Malad to visit with Judy Lynn's Brother Jeff and family.  We have had a great time in spite of the the awful Utah/Idaho non-spring-type weather we have encountered.  We will make it back to Oregon sometime this coming weekend.  As usual, we hate to leave, but unfortunately, duty calls.  We do love our time in our motorhome!

Before we left, Dallas, Theresa, Maxine, David and Mom came to Logan for a "last hurrah" get together.  We have been unable to take the motorhome to St. Charles because we were afraid it would sink out of site on the St. Charles roads and Mom's driveway.  So they made a special trip down to Logan so we could have one last visit before we headed for home.

David, Brent & Judy Lynn --Jan, Dallas, David, Brent & Judy Lynn


Mom & Brent -- Jan, Theresa & Dallas


Jan, Theresa, Dallas, Maxine -- Jan, David, Mom, Brent, Judy Lynn, Taurean, Jaidyn & Jenn


David, Mom & Brent -- Theresa, Dallas & Maxine

Later up at Brent and Jan's


Mom, Maxine & David -- Brent & Jan


Roger, Judy Lynn, Dallas & Theresa


Front: Roger, Mom & Brent
Rear: Dallas, Theresa, Judy Lynn, David, Maxine & Jan

Some other Activities

Josie & Adam -- Brigham City Temple

We had learned late last week that Adam and Josie were moving to Amarillo Texas, so we wanted to see them before they left.  We were unable to connect with them in Malad, so we made arrangements to meet them on Tuesday morning in Brigham City where we had a short visit with them as they were on their way.  We wish them the very best in their new "adventure".  We were excited for them.  It reminded me so much of many years ago coming to Idaho and picking up my new bride and taking her way-away to Seattle to begin a new and different life.  Adam and Josie, stay in touch so we know how you are doing.

Aaron before leaving back to Big Sky -- Taurean, Jenn, Judy Lynn & Shauna

While in Richmond this past week, Aaron made a trip down from Big Sky and spent a few days with us.  Also, Shauna came over from Provo for a one-day visit.  We do enjoy spending time with our family.

Judy Lynn, Mom & Brent's Julie

On Sunday we attended two sacrament meetings for the blessing of the Grandson of Brent and Jan (Doug & Darci's little son) and Granddaughter of Dallas and Theresa's granddaughter (Rick and Amanda's daughter).  After the first blessing we went up to Brent and Jan's for a waffle breakfast and that is where I took the above picture.  It was good to be able to attend a couple of "occasions" like this instead of just reading about it!

Jen & Taurean's Entertainment Center

On Wednesday Jenn and I went in to Logan to pick up a new TV stand they had ordered some time ago.  After we got it home, Taurean and I disassembled the setup he had and put it all back together with this new stand... and guess what... it WORKED.  Fun stuff!  (I love spending other people's money!)

One last piece of news.  Heather and Jay notified us this week that they are now "homeowners" and will be moving our of our home on June 9th.  We congratulate them.  They have been working and looking forward to this time for a long while.  I suppose they will post some pictures soon for you all to see.

So as this Spring Break comes to a close, our thanks to all of you who have gone out of your way to either come and see us and/or have made us feel so welcome and loved.  It really does mean a lot to Judy Lynn and I.  Sometimes we feel like we live so far away from so many of our family that we love so dearly.  Thanks again to all of you for your love and kindness.

Well,we finally had to leave the sun in Arizona and head back to COLD & WETUtah/Idaho  Left AZ on Wednesday anddrove up through Sedona intending to spend the night there.  We read all about the “energy” forces thatare supposed to be in Sedona and I tried really hard, but could not feelanything. (Guess I am not in tune!) Sedona is a very “trendy” place andeverything costs lots of money.  Wecouldn’t find a RV park there anyway,  and figured it would be quite spendy,so we just stopped, looked around some, and of course the girls had to do somesouvenir shopping,  and then we drove onand spent Wednesday night just outside Grand Canyon.

Wegot the RV parked in time to go across the road to an IMAX theatre about theGrand Canyon and it was great. I held little Jaidyn on my lap and every time wewould go flying through the canyon and actually feel like we were flying, Icould feel Jaidyn’s stomach tighten, so guess she was getting that feelingalso.

OnThursday we spent most of the day in Grand Canyon, but were unable to do muchhiking because Jenn was with us with her two little ones and we did not havebackpacks to carry them, so we just stopped in quite a few places and looked.It was spectacular.

Jenn, Bentley and I overlooking Grand Canyon

Afterleaving Grand Canyon we drove on up into Utah via the Glen Canyon Dam and spentThursday night in Panguitch at a KOA.   It was an easy drive and there was lots ofinteresting scenery.

Glen Canyon Dam

RV Park in Panguitch (Almost had it all to ourselves

OnFriday we were only going as far as Highland (just north of Provo). We had a good trip on up through Utah. We drove up to BearValley Junction and then crossed the mountain (up to 7900 feet) on highway 20over to I-15. From there it was a straight shot up into the Provo valley, onlywith lots of construction up through the Provo area.

Wehad decided to change our plans again some (the fun thing about MH traveling).  We planned later in our trip on going down toSL and spending a couple of days to spend some time with our Shauna and otherfriends.  I decided that it didn’t makesense to drive the MH to Richmond, unload and then drive it back to SL, so we decidedto stop in Highland where Judy Lynn’s friend Edra Lynn Chelius is housesitting, and park the MH out front of her place while we did our visiting inthe Provo Area.  So we drove to Highlandand finally found her place.  We wereable to park the MH out in front of the MANSION where Edra Lynn ishouse-sitting.  For those of you thatdon’t remember, Edra Lynn is a dear friend clear back from when Judy Lynn and Iwere first were married and lived in Renton (Seattle).  Edra Lynn is taking care of a home while theowners are with their family doing some kind of a school year where they taketheir children (six I think) to different Spanish speaking countries and theysomehow are able to get credit for a school year.  (Don’t ask me any questions because I don’tknow any more.)

We got there at around4:30.  After a brief time with the kidsin the back yard to run out some energy, I loaded Jenn, Bentley and Jaidyn in the Terrain and drove them to BrighamCity where we met Jenn’s Taurean (not to be confused with the name of the modelof our car) and then drive back to the motorhome. Judy Lynn stayed and visited withEdra Lynn.

Yesterday (Saturday) JudyLynn and I drove in to Provo and spent the day with our Shauna. She had to beto work in the afternoon, but we stayed with her until she had to leave forwork.  It was good to spend some timewith her. Mostly she and Judy Lynn do their shipping at the craft-stores thatare only found in Utah, so I spent quite a bit on time in the car listening tomy IPod.

We ate dinner with EdraLynn. We are not sure where we will spend Easter Sunday. Edra Lynn has invitedus to spend the day with her and what family of hers live here close. We alsohave some other friends we want to visit, so we will (and can) just play all ofthat by ear.

Back before we left Jeffs, He got a notice on his front door that the streets were going to be worked on starting the day we were leaving and so all of the cars (and our MH) had to be off the street.  Remember from my earlier post that we had the MH parked to the side of Jeff and Becky's home on the street.

Well, we got the brainy Idea of just moving the MH on to his front yard.

It worked out GREAT.

That pretty well brings us to today (Easter Sunday).  We are going to Church with Edra Lynn and then to dinner with her family.  Shauna is going to join us.  We will miss being with more of our family on this special Sunday.  I am missing our ward choir singing some very beautiful songs, but I am sure they will do well without me.

I hope that all of you have a special Sunday and that on this day we particularly try to remember why we celebrate this day and renew our efforts to live our lives as the example that He left for us.

Enjoy the day!

Most of you know that we have began our month-long spring "break".  We left Oregon in the Rain, we did have good roads most of the way home... except for the last 10 miles or so as we traveled from Preston to Jenn's place in Richmond.  Of course I already showed you the "welcome" that we received in Utah.

Now, compare that with the welcome (weather) we received in Arizona

Nothing but SUNSHINE!

SUNSHINE everywhere!

First evening with Jeff and Becky---out on the restaurant patio no less!

Becky & Jeff  -- Jaidyn, Jenn, Bentley & Judy Lynn

Jeff & Jenn's Jaidyn --Jeff, Jaidyn, Jenn & Bentley

Becky & Jeff --  Judy Lynn & Roger

Jenn and I took the kids for a morning stroll (Thursday)

Sunshine so bright I had to shade my eyes.

Fun on the slides - Grandpa and Bentley

Grandpa with Jaidyn and Bentley on the slides

Giving the kids a swing.  Jaidyn and then Bentley

More to come... Stay Tuned

April, 2011
Dear Family,

I am going to do this letter backwards.  I already have a page of “junk” written that will probably not be of interest to anyone but Mom, but the rest of you can read it if you choose. But what I am doing is writing about “today’s” happening (Mom’s Birthday), and then when and if you all get through that, you can go on to the other.

Today was a special day.  I got up and drove by myself (sorry I missed you and Jann, Brent) to Bear Lake. I got to church just as they were singing the opening song.  There was a place waiting for me by my Mom,so I went right in and sat down by her. It was Fast meeting in St. Charles (we have our Fast meeting the week before General Conference in Oregon). There were not many folks that I knew that stood up.  But during the rest of the meetings I saw a lot of folks that I knew and enjoyed very much talking and shaking hands.  St Charles had a lot to do with what I am and I will always be grateful for the up-bringing that I received there, not only by my parents but by the folks that lived there while I was growing up.  The SS lesson was very good and so was the HP meeting.  I was glad that I had gone.  (Oh, and I forgot to mention that the reason I went by my self was because Judy Lynn has had an awful cold and was afraid of giving it to my mom, so she/we elected to have her stay in Richmond in the MH and rest and get rid of whatever she has!)

After church I went down home and visited with Mom, Brent & Jann for a while, then went over to visit with Dallas and Theresa.  I was doing that to “spread myself around” during the short time that I was going to be there… only to find out after I had visited with Dallas and Theresa for awhile that all of the sibling were getting together for a Birthday Dinner for mom.  I knew that Brent and Jann had brought food over for Mom, but thought that it was just for them to eat with her, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I found out that we were going to have a feast.  And that we did.  It was YUMMY. Maxine and David were over also. Thanks to you all for making it a special day for Mom and for me also.  After dinner we took some pictures.  We were sorry that Doug and Garna were not there so we could have included them in the dinner and picture taking.  We really miss having them herewith us on occasions like this.

 
Mom with her Birthday Cake

Theresa, Dallas, David, Maxine Mom, Jenn & Brent

LtoR: Brent, Maxine, Mom, Roger & Dallas

Mom and her Birthday Gifts (Some of them)

After the picture taking,we just visited for a while, then everyone started to leave, so I did also.  I had a pleasant drive through the canyon… always have enjoyed that drive! There was some blowing snow going over and at one point just as I went over the top there was a momentary white-out, but I know there weren’t any cars around and I could see the snow bank on the right side and the road out my driver’s window, so never felt like I was in trouble and it only lasted for a few feet right through the pass.  But the drive back was lovely.

Back in Richmond I found Judy Lynn rested and feeling much better. She had a pleasant day reading… and she always enjoys that.

So now, come the part of the family letter that I had written before the above.  Read if you wish for details about the start of our trip.

******

Well, we are finally on our way for our “SPRING BREAK” (not to be confused with anything to do with school.  Those of you who have followed us for the past few years know that Judy Lynn and I try to get away in our motor home for a while in the “Spring” and then again in the “Fall”.  In the past our spring break has usually partially or wholly coincided with the Oregon school Spring Break.  This is by plan so that when possible we can have other family join us (mostly grandchildren).  For many years while we had more kids in Utah, we would take Teri Lynn’s kids along with us.  We loved it, they loved it, and now are somewhat disappointed when we take off all alone without any of them.  When we drove away last Thursday afternoon,Leslie said that little Sawyer stood on the curb and just cried to see us drive off in our motorhome.  That kind of news surely causes a heart-felt tug in our heart, but this year had to be different.

Last month you will remember that I explained that we were going to stay in Oregon until after Todd and Jacki had their little girl Avie. Little Avie came on Todd’s birthday (March 25^th) as planned and we are so thankful that Jacki did not have nearly as rough of a time with little Avie as she did with Quinn (easy for me to say!).  No more details about that, other than to say that it is really good to have Avie here,she was healthy and Avie, Jacki, and Todd are doing fine… save a little deficient in the sleep area.

So with little Avie here,we have about a six-week window from then until when Leslie will be due with her little girl who is supposed to make her arrival around the 12^thof May.  I was ready to leave last Friday(April 1^st), but someone in my household kept dragging her feet.  Her excuse was that she wanted to spend more time with little Avie, but as I watched all she did in that week between the 1^st and when we actually left a week later on the 7^th,she was also very busy with her Stampin-Up Craft stuff.  But, “in her defense” (a well used family phrase), we did spend some time with Avie Jean, so that week was time well spent.

We finally got on our way on Thursday afternoon.  We usually take two days to make the trip, so our goal was to drive until I was tired of driving, spend the night and then drive on in to Idaho/Utah the next day.  We were about two hours in to our trip when the “check engine light” appeared on the dash of the MH.  That was somewhat alarming because I am not all that familiar with big diesel motors, so did not have a clue what that light really meant.  I have had that light come on several times with gas engines and that is usually just a“warning” and most of the time, after a while, the light turns off and you are okay.  A technician’s explanation is that one of the MANY electronic sensors detects something as small as a“miss-firing” of the engine.  With a diesel, there is not “electronic” firing (no spark plugs), so I was puzzled at what that warning meant.  The motor appeared to be running okay, but I looked immediately at the oil pressure and the temperature and they appeared normal, so I went on to the next rest area where I stopped, went back and “checked the engine”K… not that I could tell ANYTHING.  I did check the oil, the air-intake gauge, and the coolant levels.  Everything looked and sounded (engine was running fine), so I proceeded towards Pendleton.  However, when I got back on the road and was gaining speed up to the speed limit, I did notice an apparent lack of power and a few “lunges” of power (don’t know how else to explain it), so I decided I had better have it looked at.

I have done quite a bit of work with Cummins Northwest in Portland and knew that they had an office in Pendleton,so I called Leslie, had her look on the Internet to get their number and got their after-hours number.  I left a message and in not time a technician called me back.  I explain my problem and of course from my explanation he could not tell a thing, so he agreed to meet me at their service location in Pendleton.  By this time we were only about fifteen minutes out of Pendleton, so we actually got to the shop before the technician did.  To make a long story a little shorter, after connecting his computer to the MH, and after some time doing diagnostics, he determined that it WAS just a sensor, one for the fuel pressure or something.  I was trying to find out whether the MH was safe to drive and he told me that it was safe to drive, but when the alarm comes on, it also shuts down the engine to a lower percentage of power, and there we were on the edge of the blue mountains, so trying to go over them pulling our tote vehicle was probably not a wise thing.  He determined that he did not have the part there at his shop.  His explanation for that was that the part went out SO INFREQUENTLY that they did not stock that part.  Wouldn’t you know it, it would have to be just that part going out for us.  But the good news is that the engine is still under warranty, so the part will be covered if and when we could get it.

The technician got on to his computer in the office and determined that the only place who had the part was their shop up in Spokane.  They would order it the next day (Friday) and it would arrive on Saturday… not a good plan for me.  So I asked him if I could go to Spokane and get the part and he said I could. Luckily, the shop had a place to park the MH with a 30-Amp outlet, so we pulled the MH around, parked it, and set up for the night.  I went to bed a little earlier and then got up at 5:30 the next morning and headed for Spokane.  It was just under a three-hour drive up there.  It was dark when I left, so I got to see the sunrise while driving, which I always think is beautiful… seeing the whole world come alive.  I picked up the part… just a little thing about the size of a bundle of nickels with an electric pig-tail on it.  I made it back to Pendleton a little after noon. Wouldn’t you know it the “fix-it” staff were at lunch, but got right to work as soon as they got back.  It only took them about 1-1/2 hours to make the repair.

We got back on the road at about 3:00 and had a very pleasant trip through the Blue-Mountains and on down south… not rain, mostly sunshine with clouds. We got to Mountain Home ad dusk, so I was able to set up in  , which is always one of my goals while traveling.  It is so much harder to do that in the dark.  We had stayed at this RV Park before and it is a VERY NICE one.  We normally would have just stayed at a Wal-Mart for a short night, but it is SO COLD that we wanted electricity for heat, so decided to stay at this Park.

RV Park in Mountain Home & new Tote Terrain behind the motorhome

From this point, our plans are very fluid.  Our next stop was in Richmond, and this is our welcome there!

It started snowing on us when we filled up with fuel in Preston. 
By the time we got to Jenn's, this was our welcome.  I was SOAKED by the time I got the MH set up.

Somewhere along we plan to go to Arizona and spend some time with Jeff and Becky.  We were thinking that because of the Idaho/Utah weather, we should just take right off and go their after Mom’s birthday, but on the news last night they were having a cold and rainy spelldown in the Phoenix area and if I traveled clear down there and got in to rainstorms, that would not be good.  One of the main reasons to leave Oregon this time of year is to get away from RAIN.  I will try to update my blog frequently with pictures so those of you that want to follow us, can do so that way.

Well, that’s way to much information Judy Lynn says, so I will quit for this month.  As I said above, I will try to post on my blot occasionally for those interested in what we are doing.  I will also post this family letter along with some pictures if you care to check later tomorrow.

I hope this letter finds you all well and happy.  We think and pray about you always.

Love, Judy Lynn and Roger

Some pictures taken at Jenn's.

Jaidyn & Bentley with Judy Lynn in background

Bentley and Jaidyn

Jaidyn taking a picture.  Notice how she is holding the camera

I thought it would be good for me to update y'all with what we are doing.  If I was smart I would just write the April family letter and just include this info with that, but I am not sure how much of our plans will come together, so will just let you know what I know now.  As I told you in the March Family letter, we would be leaving for our trip to Idaho/Utah/AZ some time after Todd and Jacki's little Avie arrived.  My plan was to leave last Friday, but someone in our family had other ideas... and it is obvious what happened to that plan... we are still in Oregon.  BUT, with a little luck, we will be leaving mid-afternoon today, will drive part way and spend the night somewhere, and then drive on in to Jennifer's (Richmond, UT) tomorrow.  From that point our plans are very fluid and they will depend on weather, mood, family and anything that comes along .  That is the WONDERFUL thing about traveling in the motorhome, we can change our plans for any reason... any time.  It is Mom's birthday (91 years young!) and we plan to go to Bear Lake to see her and spend some of the day with her.  I talked to Jan and they are going over early Sunday morning, got to church with Mom, provide her with a birthday meal, and visit with any other family that might appear for Mom's special day.  We just might go with them... or just might not.  We will go over to BL for sure, but if Jenn should want to go, that might change things.  I guess we will find that out when we get down there to see what is going on.

Heather bought Gwen some "big-girl" panites... and Gwen put them ALL on!

A couple of pictures of Todd & Jacki's little Avie (Aunt Monica holding her on the left)

We lost Gwen... and found her in our bedroom laying on Gram-pa's side of the bed playing with whatever she could find.  Note the flashlight in her hands, and she also found the button to my C Pap machine and who knows what else she found that I have not discovered yet.  The BIG news about this incident is that she can open doors now!

Here are some pictures of the event.

Gwen, Heather, Cortney, Baylee, Judy Lynn & Ashlyn

Jacki's sister and their three girls drove down from Bremerton (WA) to be here for the occasion.  Jacki's Mom (Gloria), sister (Monica), her girls and Quinn had spent the night at Todd and Jacki's and when things started moving at the hospital, Monica and Gloria left the girls sleeping and went to the hospital.   After the baby was born I went out and picked up the girls and took them to the hospital to see the baby.  Heather, Gwen and Oscar (not shown here) went with us and here we are waiting at the door to go in to Jacki's room.  Quinn had already entered with some gifts for little Avie Jean and they were taping Quinn's reaction to her new little sister.  While all that was happening, we all anxiously waited outside the door.

Left:  Jacki and Avie with Heather and Baylee looking on
Right: Jacki, Avie, with Courtney & Ashlyn looking on


Big Sister Quinn with little Avie


Quinn & Avie  -- Certificate of Birth


Grandma Arnell with little Avie


Grandpa Arnell with little Avie (Proud PaPa Todd in the background)


Little Avie Jean


Proud BIG SISTER Quinn


I mentioned it was Todd's birthday and Monica brought this birthday present for his "man's room".
This is Todd and Monica with his Birthday present.


TWINS?
Gwen & Toby


Gwen licking her chops.

Well, that was the day.  Congratulations to Todd and Jacki.  We are so happy to have this new little girl in our family.  Thank you Jacki for going through what you have to to get her here.  We love you!