Farewell Bob

Emmalee and Bob Circa 2000

Sadness and sorrow can cause the happy moments in life to stand out more sharply.  Tonight our family experienced some of that sadness and painful sorrow that caused us to reflect deeply on the happiness and joy we’ve experienced over the past fifteen years.  We reached the decision that it is time to let Bob go, to let him move past his pain and suffering.

Bob the dog joined our family in September of 2000.  We had just moved to Enid, Oklahoma and I talked Rochelle into letting us get a dog.  Bob was waiting for us to pick him up at the Humane Society in Stillwater, Oklahoma.  We weren’t sure what kind of dog we were looking for, but when we saw his family we knew we wanted him.  He is half Black Lab and half Dalmatian.  He was born in June of that year.  We picked him out of the litter.

Initially I planned to name him Sam.  I always wanted a dog named Sam even though I have a wonderful sister named Samantha.  Emmalee, however, had a different idea.  She had spent a couple of months in Malad where her Uncle Brett had a dog named Bob.  One-year-old Emmalee called him Bob repeatedly and the name stuck. 

Naturally Bob was sad to leave his siblings.  For several nights he whined and barked and whined some more.  Eventually he came to accept his new home and his new family.  He and Emmalee became fast friends.  As a puppy he was high energy.  He loved to run and jump.  We would spend hours in the back yard throwing the tennis ball up in the air so he could catch it.  As he grew he could jump higher and higher.  Sometimes he would jump so high that he would forget about the landing and just crash into the ground.  He loved to catch the ball as it bounced off the side of the house.  A few times he failed to slow down and crashed into the house. 

He developed an amazing skill as a bird, squirrel and cat hunter.  Any small animal or bird that transited or landed in our backyard was at risk.  Bob buried several small animals in that backyard.  He became good friends with our neighbor, Old Mary.  She loved to feed him scraps of meat.  Unfortunately he jumped on her one time for his treat and put a huge scratch on her arm that took months to heal.  She forgave him.

Bob wasn’t sure what to think of Gracee when we brought her home in September of 2001.  He walked up to her as she sat in her car seat, fresh from the hospital—he sniffed her and looked at us for reassurance that she was now part of the clan.  At first Gracee didn’t like Bob.  One weekend as we drove to a campground south of Norman, Oklahoma, Bob jumped on Gracee in the back of the car.  He was scared of the drive and he scared her terribly.  It took her awhile to decide she liked him.

Bob’s first camping trip was exciting.  An armadillo walked into and through our camp.  It took several minutes to make the trip and Bob barked the entire time.

Our family moved to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs in 2003.  Bob handled the move well, enjoying the cooler summers and the hiking trails on the Academy.  On one hike Bob and I spooked a black bear.  We heard it run away through the trees and found its tracks.  Luckily Bob managed to survive the occasional bear wandering through the housing area and the mountain lions.

Early one morning he had a terrible run-in with nature.  All of us were asleep when Bob started to bark loudly at the back door.  Bob rarely ever barked, so in my sleep-fogged brain, I assumed he needed to go outside to take care of business.  As I opened the back door, he dove out and I immediately realized my mistake.  A skunk bolted from his small kennel. 

In the time it took me to yell, “Bob! No!” he had jumped off the porch, grabbed the skunk by the tail, taken the full brunt of the spray, and then jumped back through the sliding glass door I was trying to close.  As the pungent skunk musk overwhelmed me, Bob was rubbing his face frantically on the carpet and the couch to get it out of his eyes, mouth, and nose.  It took days for the odor to fade and Bob endured a few hydrogen peroxide and baking soda baths, but eventually we recovered.

As the first Colorado winter hit we decided that Bob needed a fancy doghouse to stay warm in the back yard.  I used it as justification to buy a circular saw and a few other tools.  To date that doghouse is the largest and most successful carpentry production I’ve done on my own.

In June of 2004 we brought Elijah home from the hospital.  Again Bob looked up at us as if to ask if we were certain an addition was a good thing.  They fast became friends.

Living in Colorado we were able to travel back to Idaho and Utah to visit family on a regular basis.  At first I was worried about how Bob would travel.  Before the first trip I got a hold of some motion sickness pills for him.  We used them for the first couple of trips and didn’t need them after that.  Bob was an expert traveller.  He needed fewer bathroom breaks than the children and hardly ever complained.  Bob loved to stop at the rest area in Glenwood Springs Canyon to play in the Colorado River and walk along the trails. 

During this time Bob also started to spend extended periods of time in Provo with Grandma Kris.  She spoiled him.  Grandma Ann spoiled him and Joyce Daybell spoiled him.  They became some of his best friends as they fed him treat after treat.  A diet was always required after a couple of weeks in Provo.  Bob and my dad, however, didn’t always see eye to eye.  While Bob was never mean or violent with anyone, he could get revenge in very creative ways.  On one occasion, after my dad yelled at him, Bob took his time tearing up carpet padding in the carport.

Bob moved with us to Monterey, CA in 2005.  Our yard was a lot smaller and was covered in bark, so the living conditions weren’t quite as nice for him.  To make it up to him I made Bob my regular running partner.  It was tough, but somehow we survived those miles and miles up and down the beach.  He loved to scatter the geese in the park on our way to the coastal trail.  Bob and I quickly go to where we could run seven miles at a time.  Bob would get thrilled each time he saw me putting on my running shoes.  If I ran without him, he wouldn’t look at me for hours after I returned.  His second most favorite running partner was Rochelle's sister Amanda.

In March of 2007 Bob and Isaiah met each other for the first time.  He seemed to shake his head at us after he sniffed the new addition.

Bob inherited a large backyard when we moved back to Colorado Springs in 2008.  He had soft grass, a deck, and a garden.  He was courteous to us and did all of his business in one small area of the lawn.  It made it easy to clean.  Bob enjoyed our expanding garden and showed it by eating the leaves off of several plants and chewing on any type of squash.  (He chewed up my mom’s zucchini on one or two occasions.)

Each summer we would go camping with Rochelle’s family on the Jackson Family Ranch on the Bear River.  Bob loved the camping trips.  He would run from the ranch house down to the river.  Once there he followed everyone everywhere.  He went fishing with us, he followed us when we floated the river, and he followed us on our ATV rides.  He crossed the river more times than any of us on those trips.  Often, by the end of the day, he was too tired to eat the leftovers.  Two things scared him when we camped—gunfire and sleeping alone outside at night.  One time he jumped into the front of Uncle Robert’s truck to hide from the sounds of gunfire.  At night he would try to get into the tents early or push his way in.  Bob also loved to warm himself next to the campfire each night.

Lightning and thunder and fireworks would quickly bring Bob into the house or the tent.

In May of 2010 Bob met Elizabeth.  Elizabeth became one of Bob’s greatest sources of food.  She dropped her food onto the floor from her chair.  Bob sat under her and ate everything.

After Bob moved to Henderson with us in 2011 he learned to love the mild winters and indoor air conditioning.  For the past four years he has spent a lot of time in the house, enjoying long naps.  His favorite activity was to greet each of Rochelle’s piano students.  They loved to pet him and he loved to be petted.  He brought smiles several times each day to these wonderful young people. 

In 2012 he met Clara.  Their relationship was a challenge for both of them—one a bit grumpy and the other always trying to steal some food. 

Bob camped at the river with us the last few years.  He no longer ran as much, but was content to take short walks and long naps.  He even took to riding in the truck from the ranch house down to the river.  With the Vegas Valley heat, he has appreciated his summers in Provo even more.

The problem with loving so much is that it enables you to hurt so much.  Bob has been our friend for almost 15 years.  None of my six children know what life is like without him.  He has always been there, always ready to go for a walk, to snuggle, or to make sure someone is feeling happy.  After watching Bob experience the pains, aches and illnesses that go with old age, we knew the time to say farewell was approaching.  But we were selfish.  We didn’t want to face life without him.  He waited for us patiently to come to terms with the passage of time.  

He lost most of his hearing but could always hear when Elizabeth called him.  

Last night we accepted the need to let him go.  After consulting with Emmalee we informed the rest of the children that today would be the day.  Each of us cried, except for Clara, cried and hugged him gently.  It seemed almost as if he knew what was happening.  Clara was concerned with our sadness and she tried to comfort us.  All of the children, with the exception of Clara again, slept with Bob on the living room floor for his last night with us.  He wagged his tail, as they laid out their blankets and pillows, anxious for the opportunity to spend the night with them again.  As he was always wont to do, he laid right in the middle of Elizabeth’s blanket. 

Emmalee was brave and strong today.  She went with Bob on his last ride today. 

Christlike Service

I gave this talk in Ward Conference on Sunday, January 11, 2015.  I thought this would be a good place to share it with the family.  Honestly I didn't remember it was Steven's birthday until last night.  I thought it was wonderful that I included him and the blessings he brought into our family in a talk I gave on his birthday without even realizing it.

Serving God by Serving One Another

Our God is a God of service.  His work and his glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of us, His children.  Our Savior lived a perfect life of service.  We are called to engage in the same work.  We are called to serve and assist one another in obtaining immortality and eternal life as well as joy in this life.

The mutual theme for 2015 is counsel on how we should serve God.  It is found in Doctrine & Covenants 4:2 it states:

“Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.”

President Hinckley taught that “Of all people, we must surely realize that there can be no true worship of Him who is the Christ without giving of ourselves.”  And on another occasion he said:

“We have some of our own who cry out in pain and suffering and loneliness and fear.  Ours is a great and solemn duty to reach out and help them, to lift them, to feed them if they are hungry, to nurture their spirits if they thirst for truth and righteousness.”

In what manner are we to serve God?  With “all [our] heart, might, mind and strength.”

How do we serve God?  As King Benjamin taught, we serve God by serving one another.  He said:

“And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

We are to serve God by serving one another “with all [our] heart, might, mind and strength.”  And for how long are we supposed to serve with this level of effort?  Alma teaches us in Mosiah 18 that we are:

“…to serve him until you are dead as to the natural body.”

All of you look alive still.  I think everyone in this room is breathing and capable of some type of service.  A few days after her surgery, Sister Joyce Reese sent me a message to complete one of her assignments from the hospital.  It was an assignment that she could have passed on to anyone of us.  Instead she chose to give service while she was in pain.

Whom should we serve?  When should we serve?  Where should we serve?

We should serve in the family, in the ward, in the temple, and in the community.   We should serve when we are aware of a need.  We should serve when we are prompted.  We should serve when assigned.  We should provide service wisely and where and how it is needed. 

Our acts of service may be large or small, but they can all be meaningful and consequential. 

Brothers and Sisters we must also be willing to accept service.  Sometimes it will be needed, sometimes it won’t.  By accepting it we will be blessed and allow blessings to be granted to others.

Please permit me to share some personal examples of service.  As I share I ask you to please listen with the Spirit that you might learn whom, when, and where you should serve.  I encourage, that when the prompting comes, that you write it down so you can act on it.

Many of you in this ward have been the recipients of service from Kelly Webb, sometimes when you needed it and sometimes just because he was ready to provide it.  He has fixed leaks, replaced sprinkler systems, laid sod, provided blessings, packed and unpacked trailers and vehicles for Girls Camp and Boy Scout Camp.  He puts up tables.  He takes tables down.  When in doubt, Kelly helps.  Kelly gives the Lord his best.  He helps because he is a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ and honors the priesthood he holds.  Kelly Webb is an example that each of us should follow in how we give service.

I also think of Shelley Davis.  She is always quick to provide a thank you not for service, a thank you note that is accompanied by a delicious treat.  Two years ago, after Clara was born, Sister Davis brought over an amazing meal.  I told Rochelle that it made me consider having a seventh child so we could have another one of her meals.

On my mission we were expected to provide one or two hours of service each week.  Typically we taught English, but occasionally we found other ways to serve.  We helped a member move a piano down the stairs and up the stairs from the ninth floor in one building to the ninth floor in a different building.  We made sandwiches for the homeless and beggars.  We repaired library books and cleaned up schoolyards.  Once my companion and I spent over an hour pushing car after car out of the snow in the courtyard of an apartment.  On another occasion we set down our backpacks to help a young husband and wife move bags of potatoes from vehicle to a cellar.  I think they were afraid we were going to walk away with a bag or two.  I loved the challenge of finding and doing meaningful acts of service each week.  Each of us should be actively engaged in looking for opportunities to serve.

Children are a blessing.  A large part of the blessing comes from the challenge of raising children.  Personally, I don’t mind feeding children, but it can be overwhelming when you realize they want to eat three times a day, every day.  I’m amazed at the service that occurs in our homes.  As a young boy I watched for two years as my mother cared unceasingly for my disabled baby brother.  We knew he would never speak.  We knew he probably would never be able to walk or take care of himself in any significant way.  My mother, who was not raised in a gentle and loving home, exhibited angelic love and patience.  Her best reward was when my brother would smile at her.  He was taken home to his Heavenly Father shortly before his second birthday.  I’m grateful for the service provided by my mother.  I’m also grateful for the service that my brother Steven so freely gave to our family.  His short life brought my mother fully into the gospel.  The home is the greatest laboratory for growth through loving service.

Children and youth, think of the service your parents provide for you each day.  What do you do for parents and brothers and sisters?  How can you provide meaningful service in your homes?  First, you can obey and respect your parents.  Second, you can be kind to your brothers and sisters and work hard to help them be happy.  Are you doing what Jesus wants you to do in the home?

Brothers and sisters, I am so grateful for those of you who act as the Spirit prompts you.  Twice in this last year my life has been blessed in miraculous ways by your acts of thoughtful kindness.  One day, in the midst of some personal struggle with feelings of anger, I received a text from one of you expressing gratitude for something.  Recently I expressed my desire to my Heavenly Father to be able to speak with someone regarding some personal frustrations.  That evening a good brother in our ward, who had just completed a priesthood assignment sat in my office to report on his work.  As he completed the report he asked the very questions that I had told Heavenly Father I needed to discuss.  The Lord will act through us if we are prepared, listening, and willing to act.

During a Youth Conference when I was a young man in Pensacola, Florida we planned a service project at the home of an elderly sister in our ward.  This wonderful and kind sister had a yard in need of serious work.  Over thirty youth descended on it with rakes, shovels, clippers, and garbage bags.  During our two hours there, the entire neighborhood gathered around to watch.  You see, this sister was black and she lived in a predominantly black neighborhood.  Her neighbors were shocked at the site of thirty white youth working in a run down yard in a run down neighborhood.  As the crowd grew larger, some of us became a bit worried as we looked around.  I remember standing there as this old lady moved quickly from her front porch to the fence.  She yelled at her neighbors,

“Why aren’t any of you over here helping?  All of you telling me I shouldn’t be going to this church because of the color of my skin.  They know what it means to follow Jesus.  You should be helping.”

Turning around she looked at us and said, “I love all of you so much.”  Our service has the potential to impact the lives of many people in a very positive way.

God gives each of us challenges, some of which seem unbearable without the help of others.  My father-in-law, Rauhn, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when my wife was a junior in high school.  During the months of treatment and uncertainty the other family members stepped up to work on the small farm.  My wife and her brother took care of the lambing during the cold winter and spring.  At one of his lowest points, Rauhn received much needed help from an inspired bishop.  A barn sat at the back of the property with a roof but no walls.  Despite protests the bishop arranged for the purchase of the material required to wall in the barn.  He organized other loving and willing ward members and neighbors to join in the project.  Unable to help, barely able to care about the important things in his life, Rauhn watched as these good men put up the walls.  Today a red barn, visible from town, stands on the property.  Inscribed on the walls inside the barn are the names of those good men.  That act of service provided the spiritual and emotional lift that Rauhn needed to bring back a sense of purpose and strength to his life.  I’m grateful he is with us today to teach and love my children.  As those men drive by that red barn they are able to remember the joy that comes from meaningful service.

Service provided at the right time and in the right way has the potential to not only change lives but to save lives.  It has the potential to bring spiritual, emotional, and physical healing.

An amazing amount of service is provided in the Whitney Ranch Ward.  I am awed at the wonderful things you do for one another, both in your families and in the ward.  We serve in the temple and we serve in our communities.  Each of us can do better.

We must avoid the human desire to withhold our help when we assume that someone’s need is a result of their own poor decisions.  In the last General Conference, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland shared the following:

“Perhaps some have created their own difficulties, but don’t the rest of us do exactly the same thing?  Isn’t that why this compassionate ruler asks, ‘Are we not all beggars?’  Don’t we all cry out for help and hope and answers to prayers?  Don’t we all beg for forgiveness for mistakes we have made and troubles we have caused?  Don’t we all implore that grace will compensate for our weaknesses, that mercy will triumph over justice at least in our case?  Little wonder that King Benjamin says we obtain a remission of our sins by pleading to God, who compassionately responds, but we retain a remission of our sins by compassionately responding to the poor who plead to us.”

Christ like service is so important for those in need and it is essential to our own salvation and eternal progression.  Our goal is to become like our Savior Jesus Christ.  His entire purpose is to serve, save, and exalt others.  That must become the focus of our existence if we want to become like him.

Please look for and act on opportunities to serve.  Listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  Respond to priesthood assignments to serve.  Please pay your fast offerings, being as generous as you can be when possible.  Please go forward today with the intent to provide greater and more consistent service.

What Happened in 2013? Or, we didn't do Christmas Cards again...

Van Wagoners 2013

Well, another year has come and gone and once again we are failures in the Christmas Card Department.  All of the Christmas cards sent to us, however, are very much appreciated.  Seeing your pictures and reading about your exciting adventures is fun.  It's nice to know that we're not the only ones experiencing craziness.  So, here is another attempt to catch you up, should be interested, in the goings on in our family.

Clara is a handful.  She's smart.  She's funny.  She's bossy.  Walking came to her pretty quickly, right around her first birthday.  She likes to draw and color on anything she can find.  Traveling in the van is not her idea of a good time.

Clara and Rochelle

Elizabeth had a wonderful year.  She is a phonetics expert who can tell you the sound each letter makes.  Like her brother Isaiah, she is an amazing, self-taught dancer.  Her favorite songs for the year are Kristen Chenoweth's version of "Popular" from Wicked and Katy Perry's "Roar".  Elizabeth is excited to graduate from Nursery to the Sunbeam Primary class at church.

Lizzie loving the snow

Isaiah wrapped up kindergarten and is working through the first grade.  He loves school but HATES getting up in the morning.  He played his first season of t-ball with the city league.  His base running skills were amazing.  In November one of his life-long (well, at least for the past two years) dreams came true--he started wrestling practices at the same gym with Elijah.  At the Primary Talent Show he performed an entertaining dance to Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust."

Isaiah Digging 1st Grade

Elijah finished his first wrestling season back in February and just started the next one.  He played his first season of little league baseball.  He is now in the fourth grade trying to decide if he likes the new replacement teacher.  He spent some time working on the farm in Malad with his Grandpa Panting this summer and was able to go to 4H camp again.  He plans on raising a pig for 4H next summer.  Each week he loves to go to Cub Scouts and wrestling.  One of the highlights of Elijah's year was to be surprised by his Grandpa Reed who returned early from his deployment to the Middle East.

Elijah making his pinewood derby car with Brother Peterson

Gracee finished up her last year at Somerset, her charter school, and transitioned to the uniform-free world of public schools.  She is loving Thurman White Middle School although the freedom to wear what she wants is a bit overwhelming at times.  This year she has started learning how to play the french horn and is playing her first season of lacrosse.  Her band teacher said she is one of the quickest learners he has this year on the french horn.  She's already scored a goal in one of her first lacrosse games.  In September, Gracee turned 12 and graduated from Primary to the Young Women program at church.  This summer she raised a lamb and did very well at the Oneida County Fair.  She also attended Beehives' Camp.

Gracee and Emmalee with Aunt Samantha (photobomb courtesy of Elizabeth)

Emmalee finished up her last year of middle school.  She had a great time at Thurman White, playing soccer and lacrosse and playing the flute in the band.  Right after school ended she went on the Stake Youth Pioneer Trek sporting a homemade apron.  This summer she had the privilege of attending marching band camp.  Her freshman year of high school is in full swing.  We attended several football games to watch her play in the halftime show.  She had a couple of marching band competitions including one in California.  Practice for high school lacrosse started recently.  At the end of last year she was invited to play in a special lacrosse tournament representing the Las Vegas Valley.

Emmalee and Alayna at the Jackson Family Reunion

Rochelle is an amazing wife and mother.  She manages, most of the time, to get everyone to where they're supposed to be.  All of our children's accomplishments listed above can be attributed in large part to her efforts.  She took a trip to Michigan this summer to spend time with her sister Amanda and her new niece.  Somehow she and Clara survived the adventure of flying together there and back.  In November she ran the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay and came screaming down Mt. Charleston for one her fastest paces ever.

Rochelle (Vegas Ragnar) running down Mt. Charleston

Jarad's been busy with his new job.  He's had the chance to travel a bit to some new places like Watford City, North Dakota.  During the summer he went on the Stake Youth Pioneer Trek to provide support to all the trekkers.  Running races took up a lot of his free time.  He ran the Ragnar Zion Trail Relay, the Ogden Marathon, the Wasatch Back Ragnar and the Las Vegas Ragnar.  He also attended his 20 year high school class reunion.  At the beginning of November he was called to serve as bishop of the Whitney Ranch Ward.

DHS Class of 1993 - 20 Year Class Reunion

As a family we spent a couple of days at Zions National Park.  We also went to the Jackson Family Reunion and camping on the Bear River.

Grandma and Grandpa Jackson

Christmas Trip on the Frontrunner to Temple Square

All of us are excited for new adventures in 2014!

The Van Wagoners - 2012 in Review or Rewind or Fast Forward

Alright, Rochelle doesn't know I'm writing this blog post.  We didn't get our Christmas card out again.  Last year we were at least able to get some cards printed off, we just didn't get them sent.  Or, maybe that was the year before.  Anyway, anyhow this is my attempt to make up for not getting out a nicely formatted and witty Christmas letter with a snappy picture of our beautiful (not so) little family.  Maybe once Rochelle sees this she will add some pictures.

I hesitated writing this letter for a few reasons, the primary being 12/21/12.  Now that I know that the Mayans were incorrect, or at least inaccurate in their calculations, I have a lot of catching up to do on procrastinated projects.  We've been a bit overwhelmed by this whole six children thing.

Clara was born on November 2nd of this year.  She was a blessed and welcome addition to our family.  Rochelle wanted to name her "Caboose" or something like that.  Before she even came home from the hospital she was visited by her Grandma and Grandpa Panting and Great Grandma Panting.  Within a few short days most of the Van Wagoner clan dropped by to see her (and to run a race).  Clara is growing fast and likes to look at people and smile, especially at her mother.  Hopefully she's up for having Elizabeth as a big sister.

Elizabeth continues to make us laugh and make us cry.  She is full of energy and loves to figure things out on her own.  She does great at making toast.  Also, she is teaching herself to be a musician and dancer.  Her favorite instrument is the drums.  She plays her drum sticks on all the surfaces in the house.  We love that she still pronounces all of her "L" sounds like a "Y".  Elizabeth was a little sad when her big brother Isaiah started kindergarten, but she stepped up and now runs the house during the day in his absence.

Isaiah continues to expand his expertise on everything to do with the animal kingdom.  His goal of becoming a zookeeper remains in doubt, at least until he can overcome his fear of small animals and insects.  He started kindergarten this fall.  It's a solid love-hate relationship.  He enjoys it most of the time, except when it interferes with playing, television, or time with friends. Isaiah is a great big brother to Clara, quick to try to make her smile if she's sad.  He also developed some not-too-shabby break dancing skills this summer.

Elijah was baptized this summer.  It was fun having family come down from Utah and Idaho for the occasion.  He started wrestling at The Monkey Gym back in early spring.  He's done quite well and wrestled in a number of tournaments.  This summer he was invited to be on the competitive team.  The season just started.  Elijah went to 4H camp this summer and once again established his bona fides as a dancer and ladies' man.  He is now in the third grade and getting good grades.

Gracee is beautiful young woman.  She is on the student council at school and works as a peer mentor.  She spent much of the summer in Idaho this summer at her grandparents.  She raised a lamb and did the horse class.  Her lamb show went well, but she did manage to fall off of her horse during the obstacle course.  After a little drama she climbed back on the horse and finished the course.  Gracee is quite the singer.  She sang a solo part in our ward's Christmas program this year.

Emmalee is growing up way too fast and accomplishing much along the way.  This year she played lacrosse and soccer for her school.  She spent the summer in Malad raising another lamb and hanging with friends.  She was accepted into the International Academy at her middle school. Emmalee joined in on some relay races this summer, running over 13 miles total in each race.  On the last race in Vegas she had a leg that was over 9 miles long.  She played a beautiful flute piece during our ward's Christmas program.

Rochelle is now the amazing mother of six children.  She ran the SoCal Ragnar when she was a couple of months pregnant.  She is becoming an expert on student government, wrestling, lacrosse and so many other things.  She enjoyed spending much of her summer in Idaho and Utah away from the heat of Las Vegas.  Rochelle is now working with the Cub Scouts in our ward as the committee chairman.  She had fun taking her daughters to watch Wicked this year and she even enjoyed some time to herself at a Time-Out for Women event.

Jarad had a busy year as well.  He ran four relay races to include a trail relay race in the rain and mud.  He finished the Ogden Marathon for the third time in May.  He received a new church calling to serve on the stake high council working with his own ward and the Young Women program.  He attended Girls Camp again with Emmalee.  As part of his responsibilities he had the chance to sit on the stage with Brandon Flowers of The Killers as part of a youth meeting.  In November, Jarad took a new job working with training and certification for heavy equipment and crane operators.

Our family continues to enjoy our time in Henderson.  We've made some great friends and been the recipients of wonderful and thoughtful service from so many.  It's been wonderful to have family visit so often.  We look forward to the challenges and blessings of 2013 and the opportunity to make new friends.

Our family!

I didn't send out Christmas cards (again). So if you aren't on Facebook, here is what we look like these days. We move someplace warm and we end up getting a cold weather picture this year. But, I try to never pass up an opportunity to have someone else pay for a family picture.

We had these pictures taken shortly after we arrived in Utah for our Christmas break. Our little one hadn't experienced real cold weather for over a year and she wasn't quite sure what to think of it. Despite the cold I think these were our easiest pictures yet, or maybe because of the cold.

Crazy Girl!

The little girl rules our world! We made a lot of road trips this summer. She was not a fan. I took this picture about 45 minutes from Grandma's house. I think this look says you are ruining my life! As you can tell we tried about every snack we had to cheer her up. In fact, she ate so much junk that when she got to Grandma's she threw it all up. We now try to listen to the screaming rather than give her too much junk!
Her favorite part of swimming this summer was going in and out and in and out of the pool. She hated it when we would have to hold her in the deeper water.
She also thinks, no wait, she knows that she is a big girl and can do whatever the other big girls do. I only left her alone for a couple of minutes. When I tried to grab the polish from her, she threw it so I couldn't have it. Needless to say there was a BIG mess involved with this one. After I clean her up she looked down at her feet and said "pretty!"

1st day of school

Elijah and Gracee started a brand new charter school this year. Uniforms and all (and pink is not a color option.) Gracee is not so thrilled about the uniforms but she is surviving. Elijah's teacher is Mrs. Stewart. Gracee has Mrs. Ables.

Emmalee goes to school pretty early and I forgot to take a picture before she left. She had a headache by the time she got home. Gracee was pretty jealous of her 1st day outfit!

Isaiah is always so sad when the kids go back to school. This year we decided to make them a giant cookie! He decided what to write on it and helped bake it. The boy loves to cook! It looks like he tried out the left over frosting.
Elizabeth was excited!

Gracee and Elijah loved it!