It's 2010!

We are sorry that we haven't keep up with this blog. Facebook seems to be frequently used by us nowadays. We moved into our new house the end of June last year and have been busy getting everything set up since. All is left to do is to get proper office furniture for the office and the white vinyl fencing around our lot this spring. Early this January, Adam's braces on his teeth were removed. It is sure nice to see him smile more often. Adam is graduating from high school first weekend of June and we're expecting grandparents and other relatives from Canada to come down to witness this joyous occasion. Three days ago, we learned that Adam got accepted to BYU-Idaho, hopefully he will start very soon. Jeff is still working with the anesthesia group at Yakima Memorial hospital. On his vacations last fall and winter, he worked in Centralia's and Kennewick's hospitals as a nurse anesthetist. I still work at Shopko pharmacy and Medicine Mart as a relief pharmacist. Happy belated New Year, Happy Valentine's Day and also Happy Chinese New Year, the year of the Tiger! Below is Adam's high school homecoming photo taken in September. It was his first date with pretty Lilia.

Hello 2010

Well another year has come to an end, and the opportunties and promise that come with the new one are ours to have, or not.

Opportunity is what you make of it.

We had a great year in '09. Yakima has been very good to us. Finally moved into the New House. Still getting settled and all of the bugs worked out, but all in all, very happy with how things have turned out.

Adam has been driving since summer, and his new found freedom has given us a lot more freedom. Hopefully he will finish applying for Ricks/BYU-I, and be off to school in the fall. The idea that we will have an "empty nest" 7-8 months from now is quite wierd, but I am very excited to have him maturing and starting to venture out on his own.

Speaking of which, we need another vehicle...

Susan is working on Wednesday, and Adam will have to drive me to work before going to seminary. There is something wrong with this picture, but I'm not too sure what it is??
We are looking forward to doing some more traveling in the new year, hopefully getting some more neighbors, and finishing up the furniture and fence for the house.

Happy New Year everyone. Hope you had a great Christmas, and that you will achieve much happiness and success in the year to come.

October 1st Already!

Our apologies for not updating this blog for awhile. We finally got a new house and getting settled is taking forever. We officially moved in on June 27th, had no choice since all the bedroom furniture was out of the rental house into the new house that day. I was busy working as a relief pharmacist that weekend at Shopko. Sunday morning, I got up to shower and dress before going to work. There was no hot water at the new house. The gas man turned off the gas Friday night and didn't tell us about it. Monday, Jeff was scheduled to work that evening. We spent all day putting stuff from the rental house on the borrowed co-worker's Chevy pick-up. We even managed to go to Costco to buy a mattress for Adam's bed, and ended up buying king-size bed, matching end-tables and mattresses as well for the new house. Jeff went work but forgot about the 50" plasma TV in the rental house master bedroom. I sent him a text that he has to call somebody to move that TV into the new house. Thanks heavens for home teachers! I had to steam clean the rental house carpets and continue piling more stuff into the Chevy truck with Adam's help. We finished at 12:10 am. Then I had to be at the rental house to give the keys to the land lady at 9 am. She didn't show up! It turns out she sent an email to Jeff that she'll be two hours late but we had no access to email all weekend. She could have called on Jeff's cell phone to say so. That evening, our expected friends from Reno showed up and we were to spend the 4th of July weekend together. We had lots of fun, and while swimming at the Great Wolf Lodge waterpark, I noticed lots of bruises on my body caused from moving stuff and steam-cleaning that dreadful Monday. I worked a lot of shifts during the summer. We had family visiting us during the last week of August. It was the week that Adam started his senior year at the high school and finally got his driver's license. Adam had his first date, Lilia, for the West Valley High School Homecoming Dance. Jeff rented the limousine for them and four other couples. They had a good time. Next time, Adam is wearing a tuxedo for prom night. Fall is here, and is getting chilly at nights. Last week we had mid-eighties temperatures, now mid-sixties as the high in the Yakima area.

Spring is here!

February 27th was Dad's 70th birthday. We drove up from Yakima ten and a half hours to Raymond, Alberta to celebrate his birthday party that took place earlier on the 20th. Thank heavens for the remarkable technology of the GPS to get us safely to our desination. We had roast beef, cheesy potatoes(funeral potatoes), salads, butterhorns I made earlier and brought up ten dozen, and carrot cake and chocolate cake for dessert. The program was wonderfully put together, and touching when Gwen read Melissa's poem written to Dad. Dad enjoyed his presents and the company of his family, friends and neighbors he knew since childhood. We enjoyed the short visit with family. We were pretty tired after leaving Sunday afternoon from Raymond back to Yakima. Happy belated Easter to all. Jeff still works at Yakima Memorial and Toppinish hospitals, I took up another relief pharmacist job at Medicine Mart and Adam is in his final trimester of 11th grade, taking psychology, chemistry, math, film & literature and Ram prep. His last day of school is on June 11th. I hope he gets a summer job. As for the house hunting, there is potential that Jeff found the house that he liked built by Elite Homes. It has a taupe and cream stucco exterior with crown molding and wainscoting interior with carpeted three bedrooms and den/office, Brazilian cherry wood floors in formal dining, kitchen, family room, hallway and powder room and a four car garage. Hopefully, we will get this house since Jeff had promised me a house by this June.

Here's our family Christmas photo

After our June vacation, the rest of the summer was a whirlwind for us. I was working about three days a week at Shopko, getting trained to be their relief pharmacist by the end of July. I started working approximately two to three days a month since then. In the first two weeks of August, my mother, sister and her family drove down to visit us from Edmonton. Jeff's sister, her husband and their friends rode down on motorcycles from Medicine Hat to visit us the third week of August. Jeff later rode with them for a few days on a borrowed Harley (because his doesn't have saddle bags). They visited Tillamook, Oregon, and rode midway up the Washington state coastline. It rained from the time they reached the Oregon coast, all the way back over the mountains and back to the "east side". Jeff was happy to be home to the usual hot and dry Yakima climate.

Adam started 11th grade at West Valley High School at the end of August. He was in a driving school since end of July and finished before the start of high school. Adam received his learner's permit two weeks after his birthday in June, and now has to wait at least 6 months to obtain his driver's license. Adam was taking Math, Physical Education, Washington State History, Computer Drafting and Guitar at the high school. He got A's as his final grade now that his first trimester is completed last week. This trimester, Adam is taking Chemistry, Literature, Physical Education and School Store. He is also taking a class called Ram Prep in all of his trimesters. This class is like a preparation class for a career as well as a senior project. Adam also did a HIPPA seminar and test at the high school. It is possible that Adam will head toward a career in the healthcare field like his parents. We drove ten hours each way to Stewart Stevenson's missionary farewell in Rexburg, Idaho on a mid-September weekend; and then we also managed to go the Seattle the day before our 22nd wedding anniversary in November for a family weekend trip. Adam drove us there that evening and it took him about two hours and a half to get there. I was in the backseat clinging on for dear life while watching Adam drive and trying to find a song on his Ipod at the same time. I tried hard not to be a "backseat driver" and I found it very difficult to refrain telling Adam to stay between the dotted white lines, stay two seconds behind that vehicle and slow down, especially on the curves and the wet roads of Snoqualamie Pass. I'm sure it took several years off my life. I was relieved when Jeff took over driving later and as usual he managed to get us lost somewhere north of Seattle. The next day, we went to Staples in Renton and got a GPS. We visited Carl, E-beth and their baby Audrey; we visited Pike Place Fish Market and had dinner at ClaimJumper's in Kent.

Jeff is scheduled to work during the Christmas holidays. Adam and I will be in Beaumont for a couple of weeks for the holidays. I know it is so cold in Canada during that time of the year but my mother will be alone on Christmas Day. This is why I picked the Hawaii picture as our family Christmas photo to show to all of our family and friends. We hope you all have a very "warm" Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Aloha!

The day after school ended for Adam we were on the plane for Hawaii. We spent 10 days on Oahu with my sister-in-law Jan. We really had a great time, and got to see a lot of really neat things and go to some very cool places.
I really enjoyed the Polynesian Cultural Center, and the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Both give a lot of insight and emotion to the history and events that have shaped these islands.
Now I am back to work. By the way... Susan is also working these days. She has accepted a position as ShopKo in their pharmacy. She seems to like it so far, but her work schedule is a little goofy. She is working M,W, & F?? I'm not sure why the days aren't consecutive. That would give her 4 days off in a row instead of every other day.

Movies - we went to the Get Smart movie while in Honolulu. A great PG-13 movie that you can take a kid to and not have a lot of suggestive pictures and references that make you wonder how it got the rating. Some of the humor you will only find funny if you remember the TV series, but good enough that it doesn't matter if you don't. I really liked it.

Tonight a great season came to an end for the Pittsburgh Penguins. They lost in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Detriot Red Wings. Admittedly Detroid was the better team and deserved to win the game. The Pens have made remarkable advances over the last couple of years, and will be a powerhouse for several seasons to come.

I was able to renew my friendship with a great guy named Wade. We worked together in Texas several years ago. He is now working as an anesthetist in Oregon, and i was able to spend a couple of days helping him work on his cabin. We painted and cleaned up. There was a logging company that felled several trees to open the view to North Ten Mile Lake.

Susan received her license to practice in Washington, and started her new job at the ShopKo Pharmacy in Yakima. She comes home from work tired and spends much less time shopping. This is going to be a win/win for us!!