Exciting News!!!

This is a picture of Shane and Vicki's "peanut" that is due on April 7th, 2010! At first glance, it looks like there are two babies in there, but there is only one. The baby is on the left and the yolk sac is on the right (that's where the baby gets it's nutrients until the placenta is fully functioning, at about 10 weeks). This was taken on August 20, at 7 weeks & 1 day gestation.

Lyla's Baby Blessing

Sweet little Lyla Rose will be blessed on Sunday, August 30th at 11:00 AM, Moapa Chapel. The chapel is small and fills up quickly so plan on being there 15-20 minutes early to get a seat.

Because of the large size of both families, Lance and Natalie have requested that only their dads and immediate brothers be involved in the actual blessing and they hope everyone else understands.

A luncheon will follow afterward at Vicki & Shane's house. We will be having BBQ pork sandwiches and a variety of salads and desserts provided by both families.

Lyla Rose Bunker by Natalie Bunker

Oh... so sweet!!

New Castle News

Sent by Grandma Christensen Thursday, August 27th:

Monday I needed to do some laundry and Tiffany and I hadn't got our visiting teaching done. I stopped by her place later in the morning as she was to make arrangements with the ladies we go to she said I will call right now, so we went later that afternoon. It was a good thing as the next morning the bunch done corn, they have quite a process Steve and Deb went out and picked at 6:00 AM and Crea ad Kyle came and they got it shucked and and Deb and Steve had gotten it washed and then Crea and Kyle started cooking it they use these Burners outside. I went over about 8 and started cutting it off. Ashley, Melanie and Tiffany came a little later and we were through by 10:00 A.M.

Last Saturday I made a batch of Strawberry and Rhubarb jam, It was the cooked kind I was proud of myself, but was tired when I got finished and yesterday I had to do some watering of flowers, and some dry spots in the lawn. And I hauled several little wagons of dirt to fill in some low spots in the back yard. I have the system of pulling the wagon with my little jassy, I don't know what I would do without that, it had belonged to Melanie's grandfather, I have had it for about 5 years.

Steve is bringing Deb, Me and maybe Janice down for Lyla Rose's Blessing. We will be just going down for that day. Yesterday Linda came down and I was at the Computer, and I said I should be up cleaning up my kitchen and office. So after she left I did get some done but I need to do more here in the office. I have some young Women coming Tuesday evening to show them about the church Indexing program. I have been doing some lately of England Parishes of Ptp. Burials, Marr. in the 1668 and 1700's. They haven't been too bad a few of the letters get me stumped.

I must close see you this weekend, it was good to hear from you. Love Grandma Christensen

College Life... Hello from BYU!

Hey everyone!  Here's just a couple pictures of my first week up at the Y.  (They are also on facebook!)  As you can tell by the first couple, I packed A LOT.

On my way!  

The car was FULL...

I even had to have Dakota take some of my stuff in his car.

My dad drove me to Provo in the Mustang.

First view of Provo

I was way excited as you can tell by the road signs...

13 more miles!!!

Almost there......

The suspense is killing me!!!!!

FINALLY HERE!

It's been way fun getting to know my roommates and having all these activities.  There isn't a lot of down time.  It's definitely been WAY busy.  But I like it so far.  I actually just met with my bishopric.  I found out I'm in the BYU 68th ward.  The bad part is it includes 2 girls buildings and only 1 guys one.  So, like always, the girls will outnumber the guys.  It should be fun tho.

Setting up my room.  

I put these cool little hooks on the wall for all my jewelry.

My dad and I decorated my room so it feels 

more like home with pictures and stuff hanging.  

I think it turned out cute.

Volleyball court RIGHT outside my apartment!

I have played volleyball several times.  It's been nice having the court right outside my dorm.  There is always people down there so you can go join a game anytime.  

My kitchen

I bought books the other day and had to go buy another today.  

Talk about EXPENSIVE!  

I spend over $400 on books for just this semester.  Good thing I have a scholarship!  (I just got my check in the mail today... after it paid for tuition and health insurance I had $1,788 left!). 

We have had a lot of activities up here.  And lots of eye candy too!  I'm not used to it but I think I'll get used to it pretty quickly!!  ha ha

I love and miss you all!  Can't wait to visit in 2 weeks!

Carissa

Happy Birthday Alex!

by Suzy Solomon   It's been 14 years since we were surprised with a beautiful, bald-headed, little girl in South Carolina while we were in the army stationed at Fort Jackson.  I sometimes call her my Carolina girl.  When she got a little older she had the prettiest, naturally curly hair.  I don't know where she got it, but I think God knew I wasn't good with hair so he made it easier on me. We always tease her that she had the devil's curly hair because she was sometimes very difficult in her preschool years.  Alex with Grandma Evans Alex is very smart and is always learning. She learned to read very early and has developed a love for reading throughout the years that has obviously contributed to her intelligence and good grades. She is always spouting off little known facts (like Cliff on Cheers) and loves to correct people. I tell her she'd be a great teacher!   Alex is a Daddy's Girl and loves to cuddle with Milo and just talk.  He's the one that gets the earful of all the drama in school. She's definitely a talker and always has something to say.  Sometimes she tries to act shy, but she is generally very sociable and has lots of friends. She is usually involved in some kind of sport every year and has been involved in the school plays the last two years.   This year she is doing cross country and we are so proud of her.  She started later than most everybody and still comes in last, but she is running miles every day after school and is improving on her own times.   Alex is very musical.  She loves to sing and play the piano. She has sung solos and duets in church and is our best soprano in the branch choir. I was so proud of her when she tried out for the high school play as a 7th grader.  She memorized "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from "Grease" the night before tryouts, walked into the room in front of the panel and started singing a cappella. Of course she made it! She has picked up piano lessons again this year and just played for her best friend's mom's wedding (on her birthday). She played seating music, exit music, and the bridal march on the baby grand piano in the lobby of the Holiday Inn in front of a good crowd. I was so proud!   Alex is very excited to be in high school this year and is all gung ho about starting seminary. She was the only girl in the branch to go to girls camp the last two years and has made many friends in the stake. She is always so faithful and devoted to church things and always participates in our stake's Iron Man reading where you read the Book of Mormon in 60 days.    Some of Alex's favorite things include hanging out with her friends and having sleepovers, Aeropostale clothes, layering, READING, mac & cheese, watching movies, READING, riding her bike, rafting, READING, mocking her brothers and sneering at people who are less intelligent.   We love you Alex!!!

Dad's Antelope Hunt

Dad had a lot of support for his antelope hunt last weekend. Brad, Kevin, Wayne, Kannon & Kaden all went along! They left last Friday for Spring Valley which is east of Ely and found a nice little camping spot near a stream.

That night they decided to split up. Dad and Brad went north scouting and Kev, Wayne & the boys went scouting in the other direction. The next morning (Saturday, August 22nd... first day of the hunt), they got up at 4:30 AM and drove several miles. Right off the bat they saw an antelope herd with two bucks.

There was a nice buck heading down road that couldn't get through the fence. Dad used Kevin's gun with the bi-pod and shot it and got it. By 5:55 AM he was down! Dad said he wouldn't be surprised if he were the first one in whole valley to get an antelope.

Kannon and Kaden were certainly excited to see their first antelope hunt! Kannon wanted to gut it, but when it came to cutting out certain parts he decided to pass. Kannon then decided to shoot the pile of guts with a 22 which stunk so bad that when Brad farted later they joked that his fart smelled like pile of antelope guts (yuck!).

Happy Birthday Vicki!

Vivacious

Intelligent

Creative

Kind

Incredible

Vicki is all those things and so much more!  She is fun & funny, giving, helpful, dependable, loyal, considerate, loving & lovable!  She is spiritual... honest, true, chaste, benevolent & virtuous.  She is strong-willed and can be very stubborn when she knows she's right!  She sticks up for what she believes in.  She is competitive and loves to play games and when she enters a contest she does it to win! She is a great example to me and I admire her for following through with the things she sets her mind to such as exercising and eating healthy.  Oh yeah... she also prides herself on the fact that she never cries (or almost never).

     ~Snick

Vicki is such a good mom.  I admire the fact that she is very focused on her family and that her main priority is taking care of her kids and being a homemaker.  Vicki is good at exercising and taking care of herself and she looks great.  She enjoys being active and is a really good volleyball player.  She doesn't like a lot of clutter and she keeps her house clean.  She loves to blog and is good at staying in touch with her friends on the computer.  Vicki also has a good sense of humor.  Happy Birthday!

     ~Debbie

Vick is a wonderful person!!  Always there to help or lend a hand at the drop of a hat.  She is doing a great job at raising her cute little family and teaching them the gospel. She loves to play volleyball and exercise and she has done AWESOME this past year with losing the weight she wanted to.  She has a great sense of humor - loves the movie quotes and can burp and fart with the best of them!!! Ha Ha  All in all, Vick is fun to be around and we love her lots!! 

     ~Brad & Candi

Happy Birthday, Vicki. I think that Vicki has an easier time making decisions than a lot of us in the family do. For example, after high school she knew what she wanted to do and worked toward that goal and got it done. When she sets her mind to do something, she accomplishes it. I'm certainly proud of Vicki. She is a good Mom to her kids and she has a lot of friends. I do like to play games with her but she's pretty hard to beat.

     ~Mom

Boppy is always proud about the way Vick shows love to him.  She's a great mommy and a great daughter!

     ~Dad

VICK DON'T MESS AROUND!   Vicki accomplishes everything she sets her mind to.  I admire how dedicated she is to having family home evenings every week and being a good example to the rest of us.  I love how creative and whacky she is.  If she doesn't have something she needs, she fabricates it.  She's like MacGyver.  She is a very fun, kind and giving person.  I love her and miss her very much!

     ~Suzy

Back to School

Ready or not... here it comes!!!

Southern Nevada:  Monday, August 24th

Columbus, Montana:  Wednesday, August 26th

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY, ALISHA!

Alisha Lee

by Vicki Conger

I can't believe Alisha is already 5 years old! It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing our sweet little princess home from the hospital. She has been such a joy to have in our house. She is so loving and always likes to give hugs and kisses (they're her "presents" for Shane when he gets home from work). Alisha is so sweet and kind. She likes to share everything she has with everyone. She also has many friends and loves playing with them.
She has been so excited to go to Kindergarten this year and ride the bus to the "big school". She is very smart and already knows her numbers and letters and even started reading a little over the summer.

She is a good big sister and loves to help out with Grant in any way. She likes playing house and loves having him as the baby. She keeps saying that she always wanted a baby like this and can't stop giving him hugs and kisses (sometimes he has to push her away).

Some of Alisha's favorite things are: princesses, dress-up, kitties, coloring, painting & drawing, swimming, legos, corn, macaroni & cheese, M&M's, and SpongeBob

Happy Birthday Little Lady Friend, we love you!

Pop Fly in the EYE!

Baseball...Wednesday, August 12th. A pop fly lost in the lights manages to find Kaden's left eye! After a CAT Scan, six hours at Summerlin Hospital and six stitches, Kaden has a great black eye to show off to his friends. Nice catch, Kaden - this brings new meaning to "Keep an Eye on the Ball"!

Jared's Surgery

by Melissa Evans

Jared's surgery on his thumbs was yesterday. He has been so cute. He hates the bandages on his hands. I wasn't anticipating him being helpless either. The doc made it sound like nothing. But, he can't (or won't, it's hard to tell with a 2-year-old) do anything with his hands. He can't eat or drink, or even climb onto the couch and play Lego guys, without help. I've really been at his beck and call. Which is ok! I have to move his "guys" where he wants them and remove and replace heads, pants, etc. like I used to before he could do it himself!

Bilateral trigger thumbs - that's as far as they straighten.

Getting ready for surgery. We had to leave at 5:15 am.

I'm looking lovely with no makeup on!

Jare Bear loves his Lego guys!

After surgery resting at home

Rylan has been taking care of him all day. He's very protective!

Richard Harrison Statue

The unveiling & dedication of the Richard Harrison statue in Cedar City, Ut was held on Saturday, August 1, 2009

Mom & Uncle Steve with the statue of our ancestor, Richard Harrison

History of Richard Harrison by Beverly Evans

Richard Harrison was born in England in 1808.  When he was 14 years old, he became an apprentice in making iron.  He eventually worked his way up to become a superintendent in an iron foundry in Liverpool, England.  He married Mary Ann Whitaker in 1836.   In 1840 they were baptized members of the church and they had a daughter that was born and died in Liverpool.

In Nov, 1842 they immigrated to the United States. They arrived in New Orleans and went up the Mississippi River by steamboat, and although delayed by the frozen river they eventually arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois. While there, he worked as an iron molder in nearby Iowa.  They had another daughter who was born there but died at the age of three and a then a son who would. They were driven from their home in Nauvoo and went to Council Bluffs to prepare to go west by wagon train, arriving in Salt Lake on Oct. 28, 1849.  They lived in Salt Lake where they acquired property and built a house on what is known as Walker Block on Main Street. They had another daughter born to them in Salt Lake.

One year after arriving in Salt Lake, Richard was called to move to southern Utah as part of the Iron Mission. The men that were called had to be men of some means because they had to live on what they took with them and also finance the building of the furnaces and equipment to make iron that the Saints needed.  Richard Harrison sold his property for an ox team, wagon, rocking chair, and supplies and ammunition to sustain them for the next year .  They left in the middle of December and arrived to settle Parowan in the middle of January and proceeded to make a settlement there.  One year later, in 1851, he moved with some of the group to what is now Cedar City where they lived through the winter in wagons formed in the shape of a fort for protection.

In Feb. of 1852 they began erecting a furnace Richard Harrison was appointed the superintendent of the newly organized iron company by Brigham Young.  Finally in Sept of 1852 the iron foundry was ready for its first trial run.  The original furnace and setup was in Cedar City near Coal Creek coming out of Cedar Canyon, and the ore was not as high quality as what was later found out by Irontown.  The entire town showed up for the event, with parents putting their children to sleep on blankets as they anxiously waited.  At daybreak on Sept. 30, Richard Harrison ordered that the furnace be tapped and a small stream of molten iron came pouring out as everyone celebrated.

 In 1854, the Harrison's little daughter died, their third child to do so.  In 1854 and 1855, Richard represented Iron County in the Territorial Legislature.  Their daughter, Sophia Elizabeth Harrison was born in Salt Lake in 1855 while they were there for the legislative session.  Richard took another wife in that same year.  In 1856, the Iron Mission received several blows when the water supply dipped low, the furnace's hot blast pipes burnt, and a big flood came down the creek washing away some of the equipment.  Eventually, the Iron Company was closed down after eight years.  Richard Harrison moved to Pinto and later worked for the iron company at Irontown as superintendent. He became Pinto's Justice of the Peace and Postmaster.  He died in Pinto in 1882 at the age of 74.

We are descended from Richard Harrison through his daughter, Sophia Elizabeth Harrison (The Promised Child - But that is another story).  She married Neil Donald Forsyth and they were the parents of nine children, the youngest being Cassie Alene Forsyth.  She married Alonzo Christian Christensen and they are the parents of Russell Alonzo Christensen. Russell married Katherine Stirling and they are the parents of Beverly Ann Christensen Evans.

Kyle's temple date & mission farewell

Kyle will be taking out his endowments in the Las Vegas LDS Temple on Saturday, August 8th at the 3:00 PM session.  

*Please be dressed and in the chapel by 2:30 to make sure you are able to get into that session!

Kyle's mission farewell talk will be on Sunday, September 13th at 11:00 AM at the New Forest Chapel.   Directions to the chapel will be given at a later date along with details regarding the luncheon to be held afterward.

Padres Game & Fun at the Beach

Brad & Kevin took their families down to San Diego this past week for some fun in the sun!! (Photos by Cynthia)

San Diego

Click on this photo to get a close-up of Halle's face... priceless!!