HAROLD & DIANE: As we have reviewed the past few days the events of 2010, we feel blessed. Our family is still generally healthy and well. We’ve had no major accidents, injuries, or life threatening illnesses--unlike other families. We are indeed blessed and our hearts continue to weep for some of the challenges some of you have and are facing. In that regard, its been kind of a rough year for the family in general, but still we are all blessed. As perhaps most of you know, Aunt Diane was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease earlier this year, which has caused us many sober moments. We spent months visiting every Doctor and Specialist we could find in hopes of finding some cure--but that’s not to be. We have done and are doing everything the Doctors have asked us to do to slow down the debilitating process. She remains physically very healthy and strong, but mentally she doesn’t process things at all well. She can no longer drive, so we got rid of our 2nd car, and I am now the “designated” driver for all travel and trips.
Regarding trips--shortly after her diagnosis we decided to do a bit of traveling, so we finally went east to visit the Church historical sites, and it was a great experience. I’m kind of upset with myself that we hadn’t done this years ago. We visited Winter Quarters where our dear friends, the Brewsters, were running the Visitors Center there. What a great Visitors Center. Then we visited the Temple right over the fence from the Visitors Center. In the following days, we visited Carthage Jail, Liberty Jail, Independence, Nauvoo and the Temple. What a fun trip. After the first 2-3 days Diane was exhausted, so the last couple days she mostly sat in the car while I did all the touristy stuff. We have already planned for a couple trips in 2011. The first trip is to Mt. Rushmore. We’ve never done that before and Diane would like to see it. As soon as the weather gets decent we’ll head east. Then she would like to visit Boston, Washington and New York again--so this summer we’ll head east even again.
We express our love to each of your--our family ! There is no family like it in all the World--of that I’m convinced. Thanks for not only what you do, but mostly for what you are !
P.S. Diane just reminded me that I missed one upcoming trip this year. We are taking all our children and grandchildren to Disneyland, Sea World, Universal, Knotts Berry, the beach, etc. in just a few weeks from now. That ought to fun and chaotic, but memorable.
Allison and Curt: We never have a dull moment down here in Texas! And though we always miss our families back in Utah and Idaho and fly back as often as possible, we always have a full calendar here keeping us busy. Curt works in Advertising for WBAP Radio and I continue to work for Sandler Training. We keep a good balance in our world and have lots of fun going to drive race cars, zip-lining, improv comedy classes, Mavericks/Stars/Rangers/Cowboy/TCU games, and using season passes to Six Flags/Sea World. Our volunteering efforts with the Discovery Training program is also close to our heart and we are humbly grateful for the chance to see lives transformed on a monthly basis! Otherwise, our primary focus is always on our amazing 4 children!!
Dru (my bonus son) lives in Boise but did spend one year living in Texas with us, playing basketball/football at Jr. High, and trying to adjust to a house of sisters. He’s looking forward to driving soon and we are glad for when he can visit. Lindsay is loving high school!! She makes friends so easily and teachers love her. She continues to thrive in her orchestra with violin and helped coordinate the orchestra’s first ever entry into the Homecoming Parade. Lindsay is always babysitting but is looking towards getting a real job as she intends to buy a nice car when she’s 16 soon.
Sara graduated into Jr. High this year and is doing awesome!! Good grades come easily for her and she jumped into everything she could: orchestra, Whiz Quiz, Student Council... and then also started Young Women’s this year with a bang. Loves the activities, Personal Progress and her leaders, giving110% in everything; including her passion about fashion. We are currently keeping Forever 21 in business! Kate (my bonus daughter) turned 8 this year on New Years and she still brings lots of sunshine and spunk to our family. She is our social butterfly who relishes going to Girl Scouts each week and spending time with friends. We are fortunate to be her primary household and love seeing her ace school and volunteering in her class!
Adam & Kate: Kate and I enjoyed a relatively peaceful, predictable year. She continues to enjoy her work with Chapman/Richards Realty group in Holladay. She religiously attends Pilates twice a week and she still enjoys learning and experimenting in the kitchen. Her little brother and sister-in-law provided a little excitement this past November by giving birth to a healthy baby boy - just the second grandchild on her side of the family. And she continues to try to convince me that we don’t have the meanest, grumpiest cat in the world.
I just rounded out my 13th year working with the same company (Priority Dispatch), and given the economic climate of 2010, I consider myself very fortunate. I’ve been able to curtail business travel a bit in recent years, but I did have to brush up on my Spanish recently as we pursue some contracts in Puerto Rico.
For entertainment this past year we didn’t really wander too far off the grid. We enjoyed some time off in the usual escapes (Cabo, Scottsdale and Vegas), and of course we promised ourselves that next year we’d get a little more creative.
We both enjoy the arrival of a new year and the time to reflect, refuel, set some new goals and refocus on making each year better than the last. Happy New Year everyone!
Angel & Brian: Brian’s contribution: “I’ve turned one year older and 10 years wiser. That is all.”
My contribution: We just moved at the beginning of December from West Jordan to........WEST JORDAN!! We now live around 90th South and 5200 West. We’re pretty excited but it’s taken us a while to actually get MOVED IN. We’re finally getting stuff up on the walls so it’s starting to really come together - yay!
For my big 4-0 birthday in September we went to New York City! We did ALL the touristy stuff: took a stroll through Central Park, rode the subway, went through the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Natural History (which was under construction so 50% of it was unseeable), rode the subway, went to the top of the Empire State Building, rode the subway, went to a Yankees game (I liked it a LOT more than I thought I would), rode the subway, went to Ground Zero, wasted more time on the subway, saw the Statue of Liberty (it was raining cats and dogs that day so we decided that viewing Ellis Island from the boat was good enough :), wasted more time on the subway, went to Times Square (the ball that drops on New Years Eve is WAY smaller than it seems on t.v. :), wasted more time on the subway, ate at the restaurant featured in Seinfeld, ate at Gray’s Papaya (for any romantic comedy movie fans :), wasted more time on the subway, and saw two Broadway shows - one of them being Wicked. TOTALLY WORTH IT! Wicked and the Yankees game were the highlights of our trip, and the subway was definitely the LOWlight of our trip.
Brian is still a Captain at Skywest Airlines and I still do online data entry.
Emily is in 4th grade and is all about friends, school, and accessorizing.
Jill is in 2nd grade and is super smart, super affectionate and loving, and super generous. She lost 6 teeth within the span of a month or so and tends to whistle when she says her S’s. She will turn 8 in September and is a little nervous about being baptized. She doesn’t like being the center of attention so it could be interesting.
We’re all really excited to be going back to Disneyland again in February with the whole family! Grandpa and Grandma (Harold and Diane) are sponsoring the trip and this time we’re going to Sea World also - it’s going to be so much fun!
Amanda & Brian: We have enjoyed another wonderful year! Brian loves his job designing cabinets at Teerlink. He fills his spare time attending meetings or taking the kids skiing. I am still at home supporting him and the kids in anything they need. This past September I had back surgery on a ruptured disk. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a good opportunity for our family to come together and make it through a couple difficult months. I’m feeling like a new woman and although somewhat limited, am trying to pick up life where I left off!
Our kids are growing up SO fast! Ethan is 10 and in fourth grade. He loves sports (swim team and soccer the most), cub scouts, and reading. He is an amazing boy with a brilliant testimony and such an example to the younger ones. Megan is 7 and in second grade. She continues to enjoy the Spanish Immersion program at school and is getting really good at speaking Spanish, but is much better at understanding it. She is so excited to be baptized in April. Dillon, 5, started kindergarten this year and was so bummed it wasn’t all day so he could stay and have lunch with his brother and sister. He is a funny, social kid, who is kind to everyone. We enjoyed a wonderful summer biking, swimming and camping. We are blessed to be parents of such amazing children.
Our thoughts and prayers are with those cousins still struggling with physical difficulties. We’re hoping there’s an opportunity to see all of you soon!
The Stackhouse Family: Chuck and I purchased a house in Murray last January, and after having moved many times in the years we have been married, I hope to stay in this house for awhile. I continue to work at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray on the Surgical Transplant Unit as a Registered Nurse. I am finding my job to be physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding, but enjoy taking care of others in need. Chuck is still the Retail Manager for Gap and Gap Kids in Park City. Although the economy has been bad, Chuck’s stores seem to continue to do well.
Ashlyn will be turning 16 at the end of January, and is a sophomore at Murray High. She has turned into a big help for Chuck and I around the house in watching her little brother and sister, while Chuck and I are at work. She has a true passion for music and any time she can, will add more songs to her already extensive collection on her iPod. She continues to excel in school although she really does not enjoy going, will count down the days to the next school break. I am so glad that she has turned into an older sister for my kids to admire and look up to.
Caden is currently in the fourth grade and continues to progress at his own pace. The simple things that come easy to other kids are generally a challenge for Caden. We continue to actively work with him in helping him spell his last name, count to 5, color recognition, and he is in the very early stages of trying to read. The special education educators that work with him are exceptional, and I am so grateful for all they do. At home Caden is trying to master his skills on the Nintendo Gamecube. Although he needs quite a bit of help when it comes to the games, he will still play for hours if we would let him.
Cortney is a very active second grader. She is so full of energy, that she spends very little time in front of the television or playing video games. Though she is a bit of a clutter collector, she does enjoy spending her time organizing that clutter. I am grateful to have one child that truly loves going to school, I think it has something to do with the fact that she calls me ‘boring.’ Still she continues to be Cadens best friend and although he may not know it yet, one day I think he will realize how truly great of a sister he has. Livin the dream…
Ann: I am still at Great Mountain West Supply (or G54.com) and officially hit my 4 year mark with the company just yesterday! Although I’m always hoping for a change, I am very grateful to be employed. I’ve been attending a singles ward now for a year and a half (The Mt. Olympus 3rd Ward in Holladay) and I really enjoy it. I am first counselor in the Relief Society and even though it’s surprisingly time consuming, I absolutely love it and have felt the changes and blessings in my life as a result. A month from now I will be moving out of my best friend’s condo and into a house with some other girls in the ward. I’m crossing my fingers that this is my last move until I’m married. (I’m sure my brother-in-laws who have to help me move each time are crossing their fingers too) Of course if I want to get married, I guess I should probably try dating first. Maybe this is my year! I’m also hoping to run a 5K and buy a new car this year. Hopefully I’ll do all of the above...Love and miss you all!
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