Snowmobiling at the cabin last weekend

This is a hill with a 900 foot vertical drop in a 1200 foot run - you basically have to drive off a cliff to get back down. I am going to wear diapers next time I go up here... OY!
The little tiny dots on the left at the bottom are my friend with my other snowmobile, just to give you an idea of the scale.

The views from 8000 feet.... the valley was still cloudy when we left but all blue sky once we got past about 6000 feet. Very cool weekend, got my batteries charged for the week ahead!

I frequently berate myself for being a terrible mom. But now I see that all of just about everything I say is darn near universal. Really. Watch this if you're having a bad mom day. Heck, watch it even if you're not having a bad mom day. It's hilarious.

Connor with his first place trophy for his karate division! Ethan did very well too, though he was the youngest in the 13-16 division for his belt and I thought he was lucky to survive - don't think I would have.

Grace in Glacier National Park --- Kari rented an RV and hit the road in August with our friends the Burts and the Nortons. I unfortunately could not join the family until later in the trip when the swung back down through Moscow, though Dad and I got some fishing in while I was there.




Vigo training to be a great angler at the cabin.

Update from the Woodinville Millers

Hi everybody! The Woodinville Millers have had about as hectic an autumn as I can remember, with funky weather all through December to make it even more interesting. Right now, half of Washington seems to be under water... for those of you who were here for the family reunion and went to visit the falls, check out these photos of "normal" Snoqualmie Falls, and then look at the current state of affairs in the link below. From the air it doesn't even look like a waterfall anymore, just some big rapids despite the 250+ vertical drop that's really there.


http://seattlest.com/2009/01/08/someone_left_snoqualmie_falls_tap_t.php


December was supposed to be a nice break after months of chaos at my job (managing a few hundred million dollars was rather more challenging than usual last year, but we survived), but we had our plans waylaid a few times with weather. We got around fine in the suburban and audi, but if there's any more than an inch Seattle is a dangerous place to be because no one has a clue how to react in snow. Plus, the county has less than a dozen plows and so roads don't get cleaned up very fast. Near our cabin the roads are plowed to pavement within hours (at worst) in most big storms, though this year all the mountain passes were closed (often simultaneously) a few times due to huge avalanches.

Over New Year's eve, Kari took the girls (Grace, Elsa, and Grace's friend Madeline Burt) to New York. They were in Times Square to see the ball drop and spent the few days after that going to the Met, broadway shows, SoHo, etc. etc. etc. When I go to NY it usually involves being picked up at the airport, driven to meetings, six hours of sleep (if it's a two day meeting and I'm lucky enough to avoid red eyes both ways), then more meetings and a return to the airport. I think their version sounds much more fun, I'll have to try it next time. While they were there, I took the four boys to the cabin and we generally hung out, blew up fireworks, watched the snow, wondered when the pass was going to open and if we were going to get home, and tried out our new snowmobile that's fortunately built for powder although it looks like some sort of bug. Vroom Vroom! Lots of fun.
Other than Thanksgiving, which is covered in Mom and Dad's posting, not much else notable except a great trip that Kari and I took for my birthday in November. We drove to a place called the Stephanie Inn, down in Cannon Beach, Oregon. It was a beautiful suite that we stayed in for three nights with no kids, wonderful meals, big fires, etc. during huge storms that came off the ocean. It was wonderful to hide from work for a few days and talk to Kari without being interrupted by one of six of the usual suspects.

We did just finish up a pretty big remodel of the cabin - wood floors, new kitchen, new downstairs bath (yeah! a second working shower!), and new carpet upstairs. Kari also added a large sunroom onto the master bedroom at our Woodinville house, we'll use that as kind of a nursery for now so baby cribs don't have to be quite so close to our bed for their first two years.

We're looking forward to next month when we're going to our usual place in Kauai (www.waimeaplantation.com ) for a week or so, then perhaps a few nights at the Grand Hyatt that has amazing water slides and things for kids. If anyone would like to join us there, just get yourself there, the place is already paid for and is plenty big for six or seven more people! Mom and Dad went with us a few years ago, and we're looking forward to seeing the place now that they've apparently completely remodelled it. It's an old sugar plantation in a small town that so far has stayed pretty "local" and not given in to being too touristy, but I think that unfortunately might be changing. We've gone there at least ten times and the kids think it's their second home, so it's sad to see the development that I think may be starting to happen there. Perhaps the global economy will slow that down, however.

In other news, this year in the markets and some minor health issues of mine (probably related, actually) have caused us to reconsider how long we want to stay in Woodinville/Seattle - basically, how long we want to put up with constant traffic to get places and a school system that is OK but sometimes just a little too 'worldly' too early. We realized last fall that Connor spent on average 14 hours per week on a bus or being driven to school and various activities - in this case football. If kids want to play sports in this area, it starts being competitive at age 8 or so and if they want to participate in sports or activities in high school they have to approach it like they're going to be professional in that activity or they probably won't make the team or be able to do much in the group. I contrast this to Moscow, where I got to be on the basketball team (bench, mostly), dabble in track, play in orchestra, be in student government, play tennis, etc. while holding a job and generally having fun without having to spend hours in a car to do it all. There's something to be said for that I think. Anyway, we're shopping for some land someplace around Moscow/Pullman, and in six months to a year may put the Woodinville house on the market, though we'll be in no hurry to sell it given the market and our very loose time horizon. Then, the plan is that sometime in the next three to six years we'll build again on the land in Idaho or eastern Washington and move there. I am in a fairly long term contract at Morgan Stanley but I am fairly flexible as to where I work, and ironically if I get a certain position that's likely if I try for it I could run my group (gradually phasing myself out) and possibly the Spokane and Montana offices or something like that into the future. The firm has been great about being flexible for the future, so I'll just see what the future holds. But, if we always just think about change but don't actually do it... nothing will change.

Miller boy #5 is due May 1, and that surprise will be our last one. This preganancy has been very tough on Kari's body - nine pregancies in sixteen years do that (she had two early second trimester miscarraiges over the past two years for those that didn't know that). We just saw the high resolution ultrasound (wow - it's more like photography) and he appears to be a good looking little squirt. Vigo is very used to being the baby so we're hoping he makes the adjustment, but having a brother closer to his own age will be good for him I think.

I hope everyone is doing well, and let's hope 2009 is a little calmer than 2008 was - fat chance, but at least the crises will be different ones!

- Dale

whoot whoot! that's a shout-out from Eugene. . .

Once I got off of night shift last summer, I spent so much time lounging in the sun getting rid of my night shift pallor that I got out of the habit of writing on the computer. And frankly, I was spending way too much time in front of the screen, anyway.

So, let me get a refill on my coffee--there--and brush the biscotti crumbs off the keyboard, and I'll try to start where I left off ages ago. This may or may not be in chronological order, so bear with me.

As Mom mentioned, Kai is doing amazingly well with his implant. Watching him learn to hear is truly remarkable, but it's funny how quickly it becomes commonplace; now he's learned to ignore his parents when they're talking to him just like any other 8 year old boy does. And, unfortunately, he's picking up on (and using!) some tones and inflections (you know, that certain sigh of bored, put-upon youth that is accompanied by an eye roll) that he was not previously privy to from his classmates. But his teachers say that he is beginning to open up and initiate conversations with them and with other students without his interpreter present.

Leah has enjoyed having a brother as opposed to someone she must act as interpreter for; the two of them love having a back yard to tromp around in, and they go on nature scavenger hunts, and they've developed an interest in all things spy. Leah is losing some of her girly-girlness, but she still loves the color pink, and in fact has all-pink days quite frequently. She's waaaay ahead of everybody in her class on reading and socializing. And she comes up with the most stunning observations sometimes. I love tucking her in at night, when she looks at me and says, "Mama, I think tomorrow I'm going to have a sensitive day." and I know exactly what she means.

While Ma and Pa were here, a box arrived in the mail for Kai, and shortly after, one arrived for Leah, too. Having been forewarned as to the contents, I hid the boxes in the closet for a while, because I knew that my days of limited peace and quiet would be over. The boxes contained a trumpet for Kai and a recorder and fife for Leah, courtesy of uncle Dale. (When I told the honey about this, he squeaked, "Egad! Does he hate you?" and "egad" is hard to squeak, let me tell you. But no, I informed the honey, our family has a strange way of showing affection. And that made him so excited to meet the rest of you!) Kai played that trumpet until he had a blister on his lip; he slept with it, he tucked it in and made me kiss it goodnight. Now things have calmed down a bit, my headache is gone, and we're discussing lessons. (Thank you, uncle Dale. . . I think.)

Meanwhile, across town, a new hospital was opening, which made for some big changes at the small hospital I work at. Like how none of us are sure that we'll have a job by next year. And I'd been thinking about my profession a lot lately, anyway; how the only paramedic positions around here are in ERs and on fire departments, how the ER job was supposed to be until my injury healed and I could get on to a fire department, but how because of my injury I'll never be able to hoist hose effectively again. So, after much discussion with the honey, and a lot of soul searching, I decided to go back to school again to become a licensed massage therapist. It's a very portable profession, and I want to eventually focus on hospice care. I've seen a lot of death in the last few years, and some people go with such dignity and grace, it's an honor to be a part of that, even when I'm fighting so hard against it, pushing drugs, defibrillating, doing CPR. I want to help ease terminally ill patients into that place of grace and acceptance, and massage therapy is one way I can do so. Plus, like I said, I can do it anywhere. So I started school fall term; it should take me about a year to finish up. The honey's getting me a massage table for Christmas, but I think that's because he's sick of lying on the floor for his massages.

Since my new hours weren't quite making the rent, I took a second job at a new urgent care clinic the docs from my ER opened up. And just in time, because I was informed last month that my position in the ER is being eliminated. Luckily, I have senority, so when the dust settles I'll have a job again. But for now I'm stuck in an office, learning more about hospital policies and JCAHO national patient safety goals, etc than I ever, ever wanted to learn. I did pick up night shifts for Christmas eve and Christmas day; I'll take a book with me, because the ER is notoriously slow when potential patients have something else to do; the only thing we really see are true emergencies, and frankly, those usually go to the new hospital across the river. The kids are going to be with The Dads, which is just fine. One less stop for Santa.

We have our first big snowboarding trip planned for January; I've got my lift tickets and hotel bed paid for by several of the honey's friends who are rather grateful I give massages, although I'm quick to tell them I'm only a student. I don't think they care. I just want to know who is going to be the one giving me a massage after I slide down the mountain on various parts of my anatomy. Kai had expressed an interest last year in going this winter, but when I pulled out my gear last month and asked him if he was ready to learn, he said, "maybe when I'm in fourth grade." so I guess he got cold feet.

I don't know what the next year will bring. I know I don't feel terribly maternal most of the time, and figure the kids are probably better off with benevolent neglect instead of active parenting from me; as long as they know I love them, I think they'll do okay. And sometimes, it's all I can do to show them that. It is so hard doing this alone. So hard. But thanks to all my sister siblings and Mom, who help me with parenting advice. As long as I've got that and a what-will-become-of-me bed with lots of pillows and a cushy down duvet I can hide under, I think I'll mostly be okay.

So. That's the news from The Euge. Happy holidays to all of you!

We're here too!

We're also over here at http://rainydaydreaming.blogspot.com/. It's a private blog so if you want to read it I need your email address. If you don't know mine, you can send it to my mom and she'll let me know (right Mom?) or if you're the facebook type, you can send me a message there. I don't pretend that it's anything exciting or insightful, but we did put up pictures of our new house, so that's interesting. At least I think so. =)

Jamie

We are here...

...walking in slush and wishing a plane could get in (it's been over a week since our last mail plane, and all our christmas presents are currently out in the la la land of the USPS), but yeah, we're here!
I update my own blog so often that I tend to forget to visit this one. ☺ (aren't those cute? I learned to make them recently!)
Anyway, in recent excitement, we got a christmas tree (what an adventure) and we decorated it with all homemade stuff (since our holiday stuff is all in a box in Utah still).
Sammy decided to use the potty for two weeks, but then he decided he didnt' want to use the potty, and instead wanted me to hold him on the "dit" (toilet) because [drumroll] he really likes to flush. Yeah, the dit has not gone over so well. So I think we may be back in diapers for a few more months. Which is ok, after all, he's not even 2 yet!
Will is reading more and discovering that he really IS smart at math. We bumped him into 3rd grade (which is age appropriate anyway--we'd originally held him back a year), and he's doing well except for hating writing...hmm, reminds me of me! Now I blog almost daily, so I presume that Will, too, shall outgrow his writing-phobia.
Dave is worn out from the 11 hr days 4 days a week (between teaching and also taking classes) but this week he's finished his online classes, so next week he only has to teach...and then hopefully next term will be slightly less tiring. Christmas break should be nice and rejuvinating regardless.
I finally made some real money on my etsy shops this fall! It has been so rewarding to finally see some return on (literally) years of work. There could have been more sales, but hey, there were some, and for that I am ever so grateful. My hormones seem to be all over the place though (which is taking my mood all over the place) so I'm going to try to get some testing done and see if we can do anything about that. It would be nice to not be depressed so often (and it's not the darkness here--last winter I was just fine...it's just since the return of fertility and hormonal cycles that I'm a wreck).
Anyway, I think that's the short version. Our living scrapbook has photos and movies as always...my blog has LOTS OF STUFF if you have a few hours to kill *wink* (Like I said, I write there almost daily...Kyra says it's how she keeps up with me).

So, who's next?!

Is anybody out there?

Hi family,
We are embarrassed at how long it has been since we last wrote. I will do a brief catch up and try to do better starting in January. We had a strange gardening year with June snow and July frost but still had plenty of produce. Somehow our little apricot tree had its best crop ever and we are enjoying apricot jam on our breakfast toast. When we were in Cancun last spring, I discovered the wonderful freedom of movement in a swimming pool so began twice-a-week water exercise classes at the Wellness Center. I still really enjoy them and the ladies in my class most of whom are over 80 years of age and full of life. As you all know, Dad had cataract surgery this fall and is very satisfied with the results. He no longer has an astigmatism but does have to use reading glasses for closeup work.
With the students' return in August our lives became busier again. We started the year by having the entire ward here for a Family Home evening dinner in the back yard. The activities continue and the most recent was another FHE at our house. We did a potato bar to feed them and the kids decorated our tree for their activity. We did get in a camping trip to the St. Joe in September but I don't know if one is enough to last until next summer. Our "cousins' dinners" continue and we look forward to seeing Ben and Whitney and Brian each week. Justin is living here this school year so at least these four know each other pretty well.
In October we visited Katy, Kai and Leah in Oregon. We were thrilled for Kai as he discovered the world of sound with his new cochlear implant. We took the kids to a raptor center while Katy was working and Kai conversed with the bald eagles.
Dale's family and Cheryl's family were here for Thanksgiving. We really enjoyed all of them and those cousins seemed to have a lot of fun with games both indoors and out. Our grandkids are growing up fast. I couldn't believe the quantity of rolls this bunch put away. Everybody pitched in to help with food and cleanup and it was just a wonderful time. Our favorite thing is to be with our family. We missed those of you who were not there.
We plan to leave for Salt Lake on Dec. 18 and return on Dec 29. While there we will celebrate Tiana's wedding, have a family party, spend Christmas eve with Annette's family and Christmas Day with Susie's family. We will also see our old neighbors, attend the temple and Dad will get together with his radio friends. We will need a vacation when we get home.
Have a wonderful holiday season. We love you all.

I made the text section wider...mom said it made her crazy that it was so narrow and I said I knew how to adjust the html code and she said please do. So I did. Hope that's ok with everybody! It should make it easier to read the letters, and we figured that's the main point of the blog anyway!

All goes well with us up here in the rainforest...it rained all summer and now we're getting a couple of weeks of indian summer...I know it will be short lived though. Sam cut his head open on, well, we don't know what...there was nothing there. But he's okay and it seems to be healing up just fine. Will was baptized this summer (and what a story it was!) and impresses me frequently with just how big he is...it seems like just months ago he was that little 3 year old I first met. Dave is teaching full time and also in school full time...it's a tiring schedule for now but it'll pay off (literally) next fall when he has his Master's degree. I continue to run my etsy shop, write on my blog, feed the family, and occasionally even clean the house. :) We hope we'll be able to announce another little Brighton in the oven sometime soon, but given our history there's no telling when it'll actually happen.
I've got irregular (but cute) updates on my Brighton Family Living Scrapbook, so drop me a note if you'd like an invite (it's a private blog). It's mostly photos.

jenni

Black's Alaskan Adventure

Please forgive me for not writing anything about our trip to Alaska, even though we’ve been home for two months. I just haven’t been able to figure out what to write. I could give you an itinerary, but that wouldn’t communicate at all the

flavor of being there. Instead, I’ve decided to describe just a few of the many things we saw and did.

Southeast Alaska is made up of mostly islands and very few roads. There are no roads connecting the various cities. Alaska’s answer to that is the Alaska Marine Highway System—

ferries that are pretty elaborate compared to those in Washington. We spent about 60 hours on ferries, including three overnights. (You can rent a cabin with two or four beds, a bathroom, and small table for eating.)

The most

memorable part of those ferry trips was the Wrangell Narrows—a 22-mile passage just south of Petersburg, between two large islands. Correctly navigating the Nar

rows saves the ferry system time and money. The alternative is about ten times longer and would require the ferries to leave the more protected waters of the Inside Passage.

But navigation isn’t easy. It’s not that the distance between islands is too narrow, but sandbars and boulders dropped by melting glaciers make the journey treacherous. The Coast Guard has dredged a channel just wide enough for a ferry, and 24 feet deep. The ferry is 17 feet below the water. So there is no room for error.

There are m

any navigational aids to help on the trip:

*The captain has memorized all of the land forms.

*A crew member watches from the bow of the ship to report any concerns.

*A spotlight (at night) illuminates anything unusual.

*There are more than 60 blinking green lights (left-west) and red lights (right-east) along the channel.

So Lita and I stayed up late to watch as our ship passed through the Wrangell Narrows about midnight. (The girls and I made the northward journey alone, and then joined the guys in Juneau after they had driven to Skagway and taken their own ferry.) You wouldn’t think it would be that interesting to watch green and red lights for more than an hour. But, though we didn’t feel any real danger, there was something intense about this voyage.

At first we saw just a few lights—some green, some red. Occasionally the spotlight would turn on to investigate s

omething unfamiliar—like the fishing boat that was moored on a sandbar. But soon t

here were many, many blinking lights—and they seemed all mixed up. (We could see why this was nicknamed Christmas Tree Lane!) Sometimes there was a green that seemed surrounded by reds, or vice versa because the twists and turns of the channel confused our perspective. But the lights are set to blink at different speeds in different locations. And the captain knew the lights, so he was not confused.

Finally, we saw the lights of Petersburg, and we knew we were safely through. But that was a memorable trip!

A second highlight was church in Pelican. I know you have heard from Jenni that Pelican is pretty isolated. The ferry stops there twice a month (once a month in the winter), and there are only a handful of cars, but lots of ATV’s. (Less than one mile of road, I would estimate.) The city clings to the side of a mountain on Chichagoff Island, right on the inlet. All of the houses are on stilts so they don’t get flooded at high tide. The “main drag” is the boardwalk.

Anyway, as Dave puts it, we went to church on a spaceship. That’s because the piec

e of technological equipment that allows us to hear the church meetings in Gustavus looks like an alien vessel. We started with a hymn and a prayer, then Dave and Caleb blessed and passed the sacrament. There was a really special Spirit as we took the sacrament with just our family around. Then we called Gustavus and listened to the talks and the closing song and prayer. After that, we hung up and the Primary president called us. Each of the kids introduced himself (Caleb and Lita joined in too), then they all participated in Sharing Time. Naomi even gave a prayer.

We came in to Pelican on the ferry. Since we didn’t stay two weeks, we had to charter a seaplane to get out. We had arranged to fly north over Glacier Bay, and then south to Sitka. Unfortunately, low clouds made it hard for the pilot to even get to Pelican, so we had to forgo the Glacier Bay part.

(No refund; weather is just something you deal with in Alaska.)

I was a little nervous (about all that ocean) and disappointed about Glacier Bay. And I was totally unprepared for the incredible beauty we could see from the air. The islands were like little green mounds all over the ocean. The water was clear and—where shallow enough—you could see right to the bottom. Little beaches showed up here and there. And there were the muskegs: marshy places that were a lighter color because the Sitka spruces don’t grow there.

We had to squeeze to get six people and all of our luggage into one noisy little plane, but it was worth it.

Coming back through Customs (in Prince Rupert, BC), there was a sign that said “Please wait behind the line.” The French sign, however, said “You WANT TO wait behind the line.” Aren’t languages fun?

There was a lot more: whales, totem poles, ocean, rivers, towns, etc. But I hope this gives you a taste of our adventure.

Cheryl and family

Another One Bites the Dust, part 2

I seem to be having difficulties with losing parts of my blog, so here's the second half of the story. (Please read the first part in the previous blog.)

With the help of lots of people, we were able to get things cleaned up and got to bed at a fairly reasonable hour. We all left the next morning for Parma, which is about 45 minutes west of Boise. We got settled in the homes of various Jemmett relatives and then had a great homemade pizza buffet. It was wonderful that Mom and Dad were able to come.

Friday, August 8th, was the big day. It was interesting going to a smaller temple. The workers were feeling overwhelmed because there were 7 weddings happening that day. :0) But everything went beautifully, and Whitney and Brian were sealed together for eternity. Don't they look happy?
After pictures, we went to the Jemmetts' home and got ready for the open house there. They have a beautiful home and yard, and everything was very elegantly done. The open house went well, with the weather cooperating very nicely (warm and sunny).

The next day, Whitney and Brian returned from their fancy hotel in Boise to open gifts. Then they left for their honeymoon at the Jemmetts' cabin, and the rest of my immediate family went shooting with Dell (Brian's dad). That evening, we attended the "Harvest Hoe Down", a big potluck dinner held in the Jemmetts' onion shed (a huge building), complete with a cowboy poet, a live country singer and dancing.

Overall it was a wonderful experience. I wish more of you could have been there. We're very impressed with Brian's family. They are very thoughtful and kind, and made us feel so much at home. It will be fun to get to know them better as we do things together in the future.

Another One Bites the Dust

Dear family,

First of all, a couple of pictures from our trip to Zion National Park, as mentioned in my previous entry. These were taken on our hike to Hidden Canyon. This first one is a "window" in a long "hallway", ceiling included, in the sandstone. The next are just interesting shots I took: one of how the safety chain was carving away the sandstone, and one of the snow melting to reveal moss and ferns beneath.

And now to the heart of this entry...

After a summer of intensive yard work and spending money a little more freely than usual, the time arrived. Whitney went through the Jordan River temple on August 4. Brian and his parents, as well as a few relatives from Sharon's family were able to join us there. It was a wonderful morning. Afterwards, we went home and set up for the open house -- chairs and tables in the back yard, ironing table cloths, cutting up fruit, etc. I think Brian and his parents worked harder than the rest of us. Everything went beautifully. It was supposed to rain, but (perhaps because of our prayers), it just stayed overcast, which helped things be cool and pleasant. It was so nice to visit with everyone in the relaxed setting of our backyard.

So, after almost a year of discussion and work and preparation and trips to portland for tests and meetings and appointments, Kai got his Cochlear Implant yesterday. He says now he can feel the bump behind his ear, and things are kinda itchy. They fired it up to make sure the device wasn't faulty, and said they got great nerve response. So on September 2nd, they'll turn it on and do the initial mapping, and we'll see if it works. The patient is doing fine, although is rather disappointed that his stylish head bandage is white instead of black, which would be infinitely more cool. He's very excited, though, about his robot ear. So now we call him RoboKai.

Life Speeds On for the Howells

Dear family,
You would think that as your kids get older and more "selfsufficient", that your life would become simpler, but it isn't true. It just means that you need to be more places all at the same time. Thus, our lives are a constant whirlwind.
February brought the State 5A Swim Meet at BYU, for which Nick qualified. He was an alternate in the Butterfly, but didn't end up swimming that. He was also on the 200 meter Freestyle relay team. The coach made a few changes, pulling some people from the relay team to swim elsewhere, so they didn't do quite as well as we'd hoped, but the whole experience was a good one for Nick. He got to take part in the head shaving and body waxing that typically goes with the State Meet. It was all good except for the leg waxing. His leg hair is so thick that he came home bleeding. Ouch!
March - Nick received a plaque for being the Most Improved Swimmer at the team's awards banquet. We also had spring break (yahoo!!). Unfortunately, Whitney's break was the week before all of the rest of ours. She decided to stay in Moscow, rather than come home and sit around while the rest of us were at school and work. When our break came, we decided we'd go camping, and went to Zion Nat'l Park for a few days. It was very crowded, but the weather was perfect. Shirt sleeves were fine, with a jacket for mornings and evenings. Even though there were few flowers blooming, it was still beautiful. We hiked to the Emerald Pools, the River Walk (not the actual Narrows), Hidden Canyon, and Canyon Overlook. Hidden Canyon was my favorite -- there weren't many people, and we had to do some rock climbing and snow sliding to get through some places. When there are things like that, it really makes me feel like I've been adventurous and accomplished something, rather than just plodding along for miles and miles. It somehow makes it better. Nick and Alex discovered a hollowed out niche in the sandstone where we ate our lunch. Maybe next time we can do Angel's Landing. I've heard that it is pretty amazing.
When we got home, Whitney called and exacted her revenge for being left out of the fun by telling us that she was going to get married. It was a hard thing for me to accept. I'd just lost one daughter, and now the second one (only 19, mind you) told me she was going to go, too. I'm now fine with it, though I'll definitely be lonely for my girls. :0(
April - Alex turned 14, and both he and Sharon had interviews. On April 20, Alex was ordained a teacher, and Sharon was set apart as 1st counselor in the bishopric. After Sharon received the call, we met with the bishop. I told him I didn't feel like it was time for me to be released, even though the Stake President had said that would need to happen with Sharon's new calling. I would go by whatever the bishop felt was best, though. He seemed greatly relieved, and said he would like me to continue as the Relief Society President if possible. So that is what we're doing, assessing things each month in my PPI with him. So far we're doing okay, although the busy factor has definitely increased.
May - Finishing up the school year for everyone. Nick played water polo again this year. We went to the State tournament at Park City, where his team, as well as the girls' team took 1st place! Whitney came home for the summer (and turned 20, so she doesn't seem quite so young to be getting married), and we started some wedding plans. She was a huge help in the yard, where there is a lot to do in preparation for a wedding open house in our backyard. Brian, her fiancee, came to visit for a week, and we went to the International Peace Gardens and took some engagement photos. It was good to get to know him, and hopefully he doesn't think we are too weird. In the middle of all this, we had three deaths in the ward, and I, as the RS Pres, get to put together funeral luncheons for each one. I'm getting pretty good at it by now. I finished work for the school year. It always makes me feel good when I walk into a classroom at the end of the year and get mobbed by children who want to hug me goodbye. I love these kids, and I'll get 90 more to learn to love at the end of July. :0)
June - Alex received an award for the Outstanding Science Student at the junior high. Nick graduated from seminary, and then later in the week, we attended his high school graduation. Whew! Since then, there have been camps and activities for most of us every weekend. Whitney got a job with a temp agency, and they found her something that would last through July 25, which would be perfect timing. Unfortunately, the day she started, she was sick, and it just got worse. She didn't return, finally having to tell the agency to replace her. It's been 2 weeks, and she's still got a bad cough and is tired all the time. The doctor told us it's bronchitis, and we just have to wait for it to go away on its own. :0(
July - We'll, there's going to be another funeral. That makes 6 in the year and a half that I've had this calling, 4 of them since mid-May! We're also working to get Nick ready to attend college in the fall. Looks like he'll be going to Salt Lake Community College, but still not sure what he really wants to do. He's been working since June for mosquito abatement, and has decided that getting a paycheck is pretty cool. He and Sharon are out spending a good portion of it as I speak. He's very into guns, and is buying himself a .223 Remington Varminter rifle. We're heading up to Ogden to spend the 4th picnicking with Jamie and Matthew.

Hope to hear from you all soon. Love, Susie :0)
P.S. I'll try to find some pictures and do an additional post with those...

from the road

The Brightons are on the road, have been for 5 weeks, and will be for another one...
We drove through Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Montana, Idaho (hi to Grandma and Grandpa), to Utah.
Then we headed back north by way of Idaho, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and we'll be back home in Alaska next week.
Details on my own blog, along with some pictures (with more details to come) but here's the short synopsis:

• We got rid of 80% of our stuff (massive garage sale, YAY! so nice to get rid of STUFF!)
• Our remaining stuff (just a little) is in storage at my in-laws house, and we'll slowly get it over the next year or two...we have concluded that we'll be staying in Alaska indefinitely, so there was no point in keeping very much because it's so costly to move it up.
  
• We drove 6000 miles in 6 weeks...which is deceptive because first it was 3000 miles in 10 days, and then it was mostly sitting around for 3 weeks...followed by a lot more driving in another short period
• Will got baptized on his birthday--long story involving a very cold lake in Brighton...
• Sam runs fast, loves to help, and learns new words daily. Today he learned 'rain' and 'bird' and set the table. He also loves music and cars.
• We're in Pelican for another year, and Dave is halfway though his master's program (fully grant-funded, oh we love Alaska!) Next year (hopefully) we'll be headed to a larger town in the same region of Alaska. (Note that 'large' probably means 6-8000 people...but hey, after 70, that's a metropolis!)
  

Hi everybody,
Katy is putting the rest of us to shame and she doesn't even have internet any more. Our lives are rather routine this summer and much slower with most of the students gone. The three singles wards combine into one for the summer with each bishop officiating for the entire group for a month. Dad has had the month of June and finishes it this Sunday with a 5th Sunday lesson for the entire group. He has spent many hours preparing for it. We still have our grandkids' dinner once a week although Ben is the only one here right now since Brian (Whitney's fiance) has returned to the farm until the wedding. We often invite a few other students to fill in. When Whitney and Brian return and Justin comes back to school we will have a bunch again.
As usual, the grass and bindweed are ahead of me in the flower bed. I'm trying to figure out how to reduce the size of the bed in back and still have the look that I love. We have mulched the vegetable garden with straw to conserve water there and that keeps the weeds to a minimum except for the bindweed. I haven't found a suitable mulch for the flower bed though. During the spring migration this year we had some unusual birds that we haven't seen before and this summer there are several new broods of quail and pheasants in the yard. The babies are just tiny when we first see them - kind of like giant bugs following the parents. The pheasants even brought their newly-hatched brood around for a couple of days until a cat came hunting. We haven't seen them near the house since.
Dad is at work replacing the steps on the front hill. The hillside had become unstable where the big birds took dustbaths so he is installing some blocks to hold it better and make a flatter bed for the groundcover which tends to keep them out. It's ironic that we try to attract the birds then have to prevent them from damaging our gardens.
Next week is our Jones cousins reunion in Heron, Montana. I am presenting the new information Ken and I have found to clear up some questions and outright errors that are in the current records. I need to get that all put together and prepare the meat for the potluck dinner for about 40 people that we are doing Saturday night.
It would be great to hear from the rest of you. I know Cheryl leaves for Alaska on Monday, Susie is swamped with wedding preparations and being Relief Society president, Dale is somewhere in the world and Annette is in American Fork. Please, family, share your busy lives with the rest of us.
We love all of you, Mom and Dad

I feel like I'm talking to myself, here, folks.

Kai's implant, originally scheduled for last week, has been postponed until August. He caught the chicken pox the last two weeks of school, and the pre-op appointment had to be canceled, which wouldn't have been a big deal, except that Kai and his dad are going to NY for three weeks starting July 14th. So. August.

Leah showed up with the spots on her birthday; she's covered, and it just hurts to look at her. But one of her favorite people (that would be the honey) came and sat with her and they drew chalk pictures on the back porch together while mommy went to the grocery store for various necessities- kids' motrin, Leapin' Lemurs cereal, mini-sandwiches, and ice cream.

I moved, by the way. Kai's father was making the previous living situation a truly wretched experience once he realized that the honey wasn't going to be scared off. So now I'm in a very small space with a nice big fenced back yard that I don't have to mow. The kids love it, and aside from the 70s rough wood paneling, I'm starting to like it quite a bit, too. We'll see if that changes in the winter, when I don't have the outside to live in, too.

right before we moved, i made the very difficult decision to put Wookie to sleep. She wasn't ever in any pain, but she had kitty dementia and kitty COPD and she sneezed bloody snot rather indiscriminately all over everything, in addition to being half blind and mostly deaf. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, and I still miss her so much. Now I've only got the white boys, Jem and Scout. And a 13 year old aquatic frog named Hemingway, who has outlived her official life expectancy by 11 years thus far. But that's another story.

sheesh

if I could count the number of times I've heard "what's this about a honey?" (okay, it's been exactly 4, since Annette didn't say anything and Mom already knew). . . but here you go. He comes with his own warning signs, isn't that sweet?

Remember this face. Ahem. What you can see of it.

updates from the Eugenians

soooooo. most of the month of June, we'll be trucking up and down the I-5 to portland and back for pre-op, post-op, and mapping appointments. Kai's actual surgery date is June 25th, which means he won't be able to go swimming at camp. But. . .I think he'll live. :) if you want to see the device he's getting (he picked it, we did research and agreed) check here. Amazing stuff, really. And thank heaven for my sooper dooper insurance that i pay out the rumpus for every month. This $60,000 device, plus all appointments, hospital stays, surgery, anaesthesia, mapping, etc, is paid for completely after the $1000 gap pay. It is a beautiful thing. And I never, ever could have done it with the insurance I had from Pacific West Ambulance.

we had a little issue with some hair pets that Leah brought home, but aside from the heebie jeebies, we've mostly got them under control. Although we all smell like rosemary and tea tree oils, with a light, floral hint of Neem. yum.

Two new medic positions opened up at the hospital, and I got one. The hours are noon to 10 p.m., it's a 40 hour work week, and the assistant manager told me to make my own schedule. So I handed it over to the honey, and he came up with a great schedule that gives me more time with kids, more time with him, and a real life, ie: time to sleep, time to see daylight, time for friends, etc. etc. He's a pretty neat guy. Smart, handsome, and all that. Plus, mom likes him.

I managed to walk a mile and run a mile on the treadmill yesterday without my lungs hurting. That's the first time since my second bout with pneumonia over christmas. Of course, it took me 35 minutes, and I used to be able to run 4 miles in a half hour. But. . .baby steps.

I seem to have taken up snowboarding.

CI update

so on Tuesday, we went up to OHSU and Kai went through a battery of audiological tests. He stayed focused and worked so hard, and it turns out that his hearing loss is in the profound range (which I knew, but he's so sneaky and smart and hated testing so much that we never could confirm it). In any case, he's definitely eligible for the cochlear implant, and we spoke with the surgeon, and picked out the model that we like, and we'll be scheduling the surgery for some time this summer. The audiologists and the surgeon are all very very hopeful and optimistic about Kai's potential with this-- he's had such dedicated speech therapy that in addition to being able to hear normally at 20db with the ci (instead of the 50db he hears at a whisper with hearing aids, and to put that in context, a normal conversation takes place at 35-40db- which means Kai is very good at lip reading), his voice tone will also most likely improve. They did say that because of the profound hearing loss, he is eligible for bilateral implants, but most people we've spoken with recommend unilateral with the hearing aid in the other ear, at least for a while.

Kai is so excited. and so am I.