Our Family Circle

JEAN & REX: This hasn’t been quite the year we had planned on. Last January we began working on getting our mission papers ready to turn in. It was determined that I (Jean) needed to have some dental work done first and also some surgery before we could go on a mission. While all this was taking place, Janiel and Bill surprised us by announcing they were expecting triplets and wondered if we would consider holding off on our mission for a while. We were thrilled with their news and were more than happy to make ourselves available to help them.

I retired from my work at the temple so that I could be with Janiel all day while Bill was at work since Janiel wasn’t able to care for their 18 month old toddler or prepare meals or do laundry, etc. Once I had my surgery, Marilee came with her little family the last part of June and spent the rest of the summer here helping me and also Janiel. That was a great blessing for us. Thank you Marilee and Andru.

We feel so blessed and are so grateful for all the blessings we have received throughout this past year. We have once again been reminded of the wonderful family, both immediate and extended, that we have. Thank you for your interest and for your faith, fasting and prayers. They have been so appreciated and have truly been felt and have strengthened us. Thank you, JoAnn, for your many hours spent helping with the babies. You truly filled a great need. Thank you, Louise, for your many hours spent drawing that beautiful picture of Janiel and Bill’s little ones. It is precious and we love it and so do Janiel and Bill. Our children really stepped up and were more than willing to put all their personal schedules on hold and do whatever it took to help. They have all been wonderful. How can we ever appropriately thank everyone for all they have done for us this year?

Most of all, how can we ever thank our Heavenly Father for preserving Janiel’s life and also restoring her physically and mentally enough so that she can care for her little ones. We feel that He definitely heard our prayers and was very much aware of Janiel’s situation and how much her little family needed her, and we are grateful that He was willing to answer our prayers in the best way possible.

When all of this happened, Rex began working only half time. So he is gradually easing into retirement now.

At about the same time all of this happened with Janiel, we also received news that Matt’s oldest daughter, Tiffany, had been diagnosed with cancer. Even though it’s been almost 4 months since the diagnosis, they still can’t figure out what kind of cancer it is. Very frustrating. They do feel that it is serious and she is currently under going extensive Chemo treatments. We continue to pray for her.

We are thrilled that Matt’s oldest son, Brian, is in the MTC headed for Singapore, and Susan’s oldest son, Tayson, heads for the MTC in about a week for Frankfurt, Germany.

We are delighted to announce that we’ve had three baptisms: Caleb, Hyrum, and Annalee, and two Eagle Scouts: Truman and Tanner, and that Ben and Sarah had their fifth child, Isaac.

This past year has only served to strengthened our faith and testimony and has reminded us once again of the goodness of people and the blessing of belonging to and of having a wonderful family. We look forward to the coming year’s activities. We love each of you.

Matt & Hideko Howell: 2010 was a very eventful year for our family. Some of those events were expected; some were not. Some made us happy and excited; some were much less welcome.

Ashley is currently getting ready for her school’s geography bee. She spends a lot of time studying the names of places and the characteristics of different parts of the world. She also loves the piano and has really blossomed as a very good player. She has many friends, excels at school, and enjoys sports. She may be the most well-rounded person in our family.

Christian is attending his Priesthood Preview this month and will receive the priesthood in about three months, the last of our boys to do so. He is great friends with his older brother Reagan and his younger sister and Ashley (she and he look like they could be twins). He is doing very well in school and always competes well in teh school chess tournament.

Reagan is currently serving as the deacon’s quorum president and is working hard at the calling. He is in his first year of middle school and is enjoying it and has many friends. He attends the temple regularly to do baptisms for the dead. He is a hard worker and is very often helping out around the house.

Rachel just turned 15 this month, which means she is now eligible for a learner’s driving permit. As soon as she passes her written test, we will have our fifth driver in the family. She is still trying to decide whether to go to Hillcrest High (with a number of her friends) or to Alta (where her older brothers and sisters have gone). Like Ashley, she plays the piano most impressively.

Tiffany has just finished her fourth round of chemo for her cancer. The doctors still have not definitively diagnosed it but are thinking it could be (1) metastatic phenochromocytoma, (2) paraganglioneuroma, (3) neurofibromatosis, (4) neuroblastoma, or (5)neuroendocrine tumor. Because of the cancer, she has attended school on a fairly irregular basis but is still studying, working through the school’s home and hospital program. She has a teacher assigned to her to work with her, to bring her her homework from her teachers and to take her completed assignments back. She has really come to like this helpful woman. Tiffany has had the full support of the ward which has gone out of its way to make things better and easier for Tiffany and the whole family. In the next couple of weeks, she will be declaring what she wants for her wish from the Make-a-Wish Foundation. So far, she has been unable to even get close to deciding what she wants to ask for. The outpouring from the extended family as well has been overwhelming. We do not know for sure how long her chemo treatments are expected to continue. We did receive good news a few weeks ago indicating that the number of cancer cells she has has dropped substantially during her treatments. We are hoping that that will continue and your prayers for her recovery are very much appreciated.

Brian graduated from high school in June and thought he was on top of the world. Then in July he received his mission call to Singapore. A long four and half months later, on December 8, he went into the MTC where he is now studying Indonesian and Malay. He leaves for the field on February 7. His mission, which is one of only two currently in the world to have just a one-word name, includes five different countries, although there is active proselyting in only two of them, Singapore and Malaysia. He is serving as a zone leader, which means that he helps orient the newer missionaries learn how the MTC operates. He is enjoying his new excitement and we can already see tremendous growth as he learns how to teach by the Spirit and to be truly committed to the Lord.

Hideko and I are just trying to keep things together. Hideko has had her hands full getting Tiffany to and from her various medical procedures and examinations. I get to deal with the insurance company. This year, we have seen how trials and triumphs can both serve to bring a family closer together. For this we are very grateful, although we are praying that Tiffany’s experience will come to quiet but happy conclusion in the next few months.

We hope all is going well for everyone else. MAy 2011 bring you and your families all the blessings you should have.

Susan & Nelson Holzer:This last year has been full of challenges and great events, all of which make us so grateful. Nelson’s job is stable, and for a couple of big projects, he is working with some German companies, which allows him to use his German and to travel there on business a few times a year. He’s not complaining. He has also loved biking to work, no matter the weather.

Our youngest, Taft (12), finihed 6th grade and is now in Jr. High, where he has taken up the baritone and joined the family band. He also received the Priesthood and is enjoying being mutual age nd doing baptisms for the dead. He has recently discovered the fun o playing racquetball with one of his friends.

Casia (14) is enjoying her last year in Jr. High. She loves playing her trumpet and aspires to someday be as good as Allison Balsam. She also loves palying the piano. After a year of serving as Beehive Class President, she was recently released. She loves to read and continues to grow taller than her 2 older sisters.

Mataya (15) started High School, is in the Symphonic band with her clarinet, has her learners permit, is often heard singing, and loves to be fashionable. She also had te opportunity to travel with her parents to several European countries. Her favorite place was Paris, of course!

Afton (17 just barely) loves to have fun with friends, but has limited time to do so due to all the studying and homework from her heavy load of classes. Already, she is planning to become an electrical engineer. She is taking early morning seminary, and continues o play the bassoon in band. She also really likes her job at Cavanaughs Chocolates (what’s not to like? And, yes, she does get to eat all the chocolate she wants while she’s at work:). During the summer, she and Taft went with Nelson on an overnight hike to King’s Peak and had quite the adventure.

Parker (18) is a senior at Woods Cross and has been busy filling out scholarship applications. He likes his job at Nielsen’s Frozen Custard and says the best flavors are mint or pumpkin with a chocolate mix-in. Parker is in the Jazz band at school and plays the trombone. He faithfully goes with Tayson each Sunda to missionary prep class and likes to study his scriptures.

Tayson (19 just barely) will be in the MTC by the time this is printed. He is headed to Franfurt, Germany (surprised? you’re the only one:). This last year he has probaly had the busiest, most eventful year in our family. His senior year was filled with 5 AP classes, sterling scholar finalist, a couple of very nice scholarships awarded, graduation as valedictorian, putting in mission papers, starting at the U of U, receiving his mission call, going through the temple, and surviving his college classes. The he enjoyed a little leisurely time in which he worked on music, a few hobbies and put together our family Christmas band. The best part for him has been getting excited and leaving for his mission.

As a family, we hiked in the Narrows (from the bottom up) and I had a chance to reflect on the great memories from the Hinckley hike 20 years before when Nelson and I were engaged. It’s hard to believe how quickly those 20 years have passed. Nelson then took the adventuresome ones in the family to Angel’s Landing. Those of us with knees not inclined to that descent or who feel dizzy just seeing their pictures, stayed below. We all enjoyed the Shakespearean Festival.

Highlights for me (Susan) this past year would have to include a very hectic, but rewarding few months of putting togther the Stake YW camp, finishing the 50 mile Little Red Riding Hood bike ride that Lissa got me involved in, 20 years of marriage to Nelson, and having the blessing of being involved with Janiel & Bill and their babies and seeing the miracle of Janiel’s recovery. As wonderful as 2010 turned out to be, we’d be o.k. with a little less eventful 2011. Thank you for being such a wonderful extrended family. All our best to you.

Laura & Lon Perry: The Lon and Laura Perry family moved into a new home in June. We are enjoying the extra room and though we miss our old Ward we have some wonderful people in our new Ward. Our old house is up for sale, so if you know anyone who is interested, let us know. Emma (9) recently had her appendix removed. She was very brave and seemed to enjoy all the attention she received. She is an avid reader and loves playing with the many friends she has made in our new neighborhood. Stanford (12) plays the trumpet in the school band and loves to dream up ways to strike it rich someday. He just started middle school and is loving his Algebra class. Truman (14) recently earned his Eagle Scout Award, is becoming skilled at the piano and enjoys singing. For his last recital piece he played “Waterfall” by Jon Schmidt, and he is now working on “All of Me.” Both he and Stanford are part of the MathCounts team at their school. Jessica (15) is learning to drive, loves her friends and is a wonderful cook. She just started High School and is doing excellent in her honors classes. She is the early bird of the family, getting up each morning at 4:30. Kate (16) loves to cross-stitch, read, bake and watch classic movies. She is currently taking AP Art History, AP European History, and AP United States History, as well as some other difficult classes while still maintaining a 4.0. Hannah (17) is an excellent student and piano player. She received a 35 on the ACT, and is a member of the Academic Decathlon team at Bingham. She works at Redwood Vision and is trying to decide what University to go to next year. Laura has spent many of her mornings helping Janiel care for her triplets. She feels very blessed to have been able to have such a great experience. She enjoys working with the Webelos. Lon loves to hike in Southern Utah, listen to Car Talk Saturday mornings and he makes some really great pancakes. Our family loved a trip to Bryce Canyon last summer. We went through an amazing slot canyon, went on a horseback ride through beautiful country and spent one night in our Motel room with the power out and a big storm brewing outside. At the end of January Lon’s work is taking Laura and him to Cuba. That should prove to be an interesting experience!

Marvin & Heather Howell: This has been a great year for our family. We have so enjoyed having both of our boys together for an entire year. Nobody has enjoyed it more than Caleb, who patiently waited 8 years for a sibling. Caleb loves having somebody else in the home that is not an adult. He keeps asking when we will get bunk beds for Dax and him. We keep telling him maybe when Dax is out of his crib. We also learned in August that Heather is pregnant again. We are excited to add another boy to our house of chaos in April. We are not sure why things in the baby department started working after 17 years, but we feel very blessed.

Heather has been the Den Mother for the Wolf Den with Marv as her assistant for the past year. We’ve decided Cub Scouts is the best calling in the church. We are amazed at what 8 year olds are willing to do with positive attitudes when they are with their friends and all wearing scout uniforms. We think this probably wears off somewhere between the Wolf badge and the Eagle, but we are going to enjoy it while it lasts.

We feel very blessed as a family. In 2010 we have seen many miracles that strengthen our love for family and for our Savior Jesus Christ. We believe 2011 will be another great year with many miracles. – Marv, Heather, Caleb & Dax

Andrew & Julie Howell: 2010 was a great year for our family. We enjoyed a wonderful trip to China this past summer. We visited Beijing, Xian, Guilin and then on to Hong Kong. Some of the highlights included hiking The Great Wall, cruising the Li River, visiting the excavation sites of the Terra Cotta Warriors, shopping in the fascinating markets and testing our ability to try new foods. Our favorite stop in Hong Kong was the temple where we were able to do baptisms for the dead with our 3 oldest children.

The children are all doing wonderfully. Taylor is 6 feet 3 inches tall and still growing at 17. He is a Junior at Alta High School. He takes his education seriously which is reflected in his amazing grades and test scores. Caitlin turned 16 in December and got her drivers license. She is a sophmore at Alta and doing fantastic. She is teaching herself piano and has an incredible ear for music. She and Tanner were able to travel to Italy, Spain, France and Tunsia in October with Julie and her Mom. Tanner is 14 and received his Eagle before his 14th birthday. He is in eigth grade and consistently makes honor roll with all of his siblings. Tate is 11 and proudly tells people that he is a patriot and Republican. He is a self starter in every task he is given especially when it comes to school and scounting. Andrew and Julie have taken up running and enjoy spending that time together. We are planning our 20th wedding anniversary in February. Andrew is now serving in the Young Men’s presidency and Julie is the secretary in the Relief Society. We have a very blessed life.

Marilee & Andru Blonquist: The adventure continues in South Carolina. To celebrate our 10th anniversary Andru got us tickets to Glenn Beck’s first American Revival in Florida. The day long seminar flew by and we were uplifted, encouraged, and left with a greater love of our country and its history. It wasn’t the romantic get-away to Hawaii I’d always wanted to do for our 10th anniversary, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I was thankful that’s how we celebrated our years together.

Early on in the year I was talking with Janiel when she told me she was expecting triplets. I was so surprised and excited for her and Bill. It wasn’t long before she wasn’t allowed to pick Alexa up at all – a little challenging with her being 1-year-old. Since Andru is still working in Charleston and only having him home on the weekends I decided to take the kids to Utah for the summer to help Janiel with Alexa. I was very worried about a 3-day drive, but the kids were great and Andru was able to join us for 2 of the days.

Our summer was wonderful. Alexa is a doll and we fell in love with her quickly. It was fun to watch Janiel progress with her pregnancy. We also got to join my family for their 3-day reunion around the Salt Lake Valley. My kids loved being around their cousins, aunts, uncles, and Grandparents all summer long. We really do miss being close to family. Annalee even loved meeting most of her great aunts and uncles that she’d heard about in Grandma Hinckley’s life history which I’d finished reading to the kids earlier in the year.

In the middle of the summer Andru’s parents flew into SLC and then drove with us to Washington State for the Blonquist family reunion. Andru flew directly there and we were so excited to see him. The North West is absolutely beautiful. We spent several days at Zion’s camp with Andru’s family. More aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents – a dream for my kids! We were sad to leave but are grateful for the special memories we made.

The rest of the summer flew by and before we knew it we were saying good-bye to my family and making the trek back to the South. We stopped in Nauvoo for the night and met up with Andru’s parents there. It was fun to see them again and let the kids experience the incredible spirit in Nauvoo. Almost as soon as we got home Andru and I left for Washington DC for Glenn Beck’s 8/28 Restoring Honor rally. What an incredible experience to be there with so many people that love this country. It was a memorable day for us.

Okay, you may not be fans of Glenn Beck, but we were so excited to hear he was coming to Clemson University to speak in September. After the other Beck events I told Andru we would have to win tickets if we wanted to go. And guess what? We won tickets to go! Yes, we were a little excited!

Annalee (8) started 3rd grade and is excited to be learning cursive this year. She got baptized in October and was so happy that both sets of Grandparents were able to be there for this special occasion.

Samuel (6) has become a good reader, but he doesn’t have much time for it. He would rather be building things with Legos, riding his bike, taking something apart, or using dad’s tools on a project in the garage.

Lauren (3) started speech class in the fall and has made great progress. It’s so fun to finally understand what she is saying. But she still uses her non-verbal skills to get just about anything she wants from just about anyone. Her eyes just sort of mesmerize people and they can’t help but ask her 20 questions until she gets just what she wants without ever saying a word. It is really quite amazing to watch this in action – and I promise I’m not exaggerating!

We are so grateful for the miraculous recovery of Janiel and wish we could be out there to help but are thankful for this summer. We are thankful for all the faith and prayers by the extended family in her behalf. A true and amazing miracle!

Not much else to report. We are thankful for our good health and loving family. In church Andru is teaching the High Priests twice a month and I am serving as the Primary secretary. We love you and hope 2011 is full of joy and blessings for all of you!

Love, Andru, Marilee & Kids

P.S. For Christmas Andru gave me Glenn Beck’s 8.28.2010 Miracle on the Mall book. When I flipped it open I notice a picture that looked like the American Revival we’d attended. Sure enough it was and we happened to be in the picture. Yes, we think we are cool – crazy Beck fans!

Natalie & Gregg Robinson: 2010 – A Year We Won’t Soon Forget! In the words of Dickens, it was the best of times…It was the worst of times. As we look back on this year, we have been forced to reflect on a year filled with both joy and sorrow – dark storm clouds, perhaps, but with beautiful silver linings…

It all began in January, when the earthquake in Haiti sent shock waves throughout our year. Having just received her RN, Natalie jumped at the chance to go to Haiti as a volunteer nurse. She spent two life-changing weeks working long days every day providing medical care. Every day was an emergency and every day God’s hand was revealed. She saw many die, but many survived and found their way forever into Natalie’s heart. She came home in tears and humbled by the courage and genuine faith displayed by her Haitian brothers and sisters.

Jumping ahead…In August, we spent a wonderful week in St. George, hiking at Zion and playing at the lake with our extended family only to go home and a week later find out that our beautiful nephew Todd (8 yrs.) had been killed in a tragic accident. Four weeks later, after struggling with health concerns, Gregg’s father, Calvin, also passed away. Gregg and Natalie were able to be by his side during his final hours, and our children joined us a week later for the funeral. We are grateful to know that Grandpa and Todd are in Heaven together and we are thankful for sealing ordinances that will allow us to be with them again as we keep our covenants.

Despite all of these trials, it has been a year of miracles as well. Just before Christmas, Gregg was informed that he will be managing a facility for Parker Hannifin just minutes from our home, allowing him to finally reduce his travel without having to move or change companies (He had been commuting to Spokane, WA each week since March). This past summer Gregg bought tools and supplies and has regularly, I mean steadily, I mean occasionally been working on finishing the basement. He is also serving as a counselor in the High Priest Group, and coaches the YW basketball team.

The next miracle is that Miranda (16) obtained her driver’s license and has been able to drive herself and Cami to seminary each morning at 5:45 AM instead of Mom or Dad (Hallelujah!!). Miranda is a junior this year, but had the opportunity to take College courses at Lakeland community College in place of high school courses. She took 12 credit hours in the fall and will have 2 years of college completed by the time she graduates from High School. She spends the afternoon at Riverside High School participating in symphonic and marching band (her first love!) and Revue Choir. She also accepted an invitation from her engineering/architectural design teacher to join the robotics team, spending Saturdays with them to design and build a robot for regional competition.

Cami (15) was in Revue Choir this past year and even accompanied the choir on the piano. She has used her piano and singing skills to perform at the Kirtland Historic sites, singing in a quartet with Miranda and a couple of boys from the ward, and even plays the organ during sacrament meetings occasionally. She and Miranda also performed a wonderful musical number (flute & piano) at their grandfather’s funeral. Both Cami and Miranda obtained their YW medallions this past year and stayed with their Aunt LaRaine in Orem while attending EFY.

Danielle (12) got the running bug in her and signed up for cross country, achieving a 2 mile time of just over 15 minutes. She also auditioned for and was selected to be in the Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Choir. She and her group performed during the Christmas Holiday with the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall. It was very beautiful and something we want to attend every year. For her YW in Excellence, she built a rocking chair out of wood along with a little direction and tool training from Dad. She also joined the unofficial polar bear club by diving into Lake Erie while ice still surrounded and floated in it. Now that she is a Beehive in YW, we have a YW in each of the three classes and mom as president.

Ira (10) is now in middle school. He decided to try tackle football this year. His own little personal miracle was that he didn’t break anything or get crushed by kids twice his size during his first ever bout with a contact sport. He also earned his Bear in scouting and is working hard on his Weblos. He has done a couple long bike rides and snow hikes with scouts and his Dad and has learned to use many of the tools in the basement, including the compound saw, sawsall, nail gun for framing, wiring outlets and measuring, cutting and installing drywall.

Natalie put her RN to good use when she was called to be the stake nurse during Pioneer Trek, where she easily bandaged 130 blisters in sweltering heat. Every time they stopped to rest, she would then kick it into second gear running around caring for those in need. Natalie does not know the meaning of the word rest. To her, that means work on “the rest” of the things that haven’t already been done. Trek was forced to an early halt the evening before the last day due to sweltering heat and the fact that four youth were taken to the hospital that day for heat exhaustion. Natalie continues to serve as the YW President for the ward, and takes the youth regularly to the temple for baptisms (3.5 hours each way) and to the cannery to fill orders for ward members. Her courage continues to grow. She even accompanied Danielle and Dad up Angels Landing in Zion National Park (don’t look down!).

As a family we participated in the Kirtland play this past year. It was amazing to see two non-members also volunteer, and then join the church. One, Larry Andrus was baptized on the last day of the play. His family had been members for years, but through his participation in the play his heart softened and his conversion became complete. What a miracle that was to participate and be a witness of. Now we are realizing that the time with all of our children together is ending in 18 months and know this will be our last full year with them. That being said, here is to 2011. May this year be full of joy and new miracles.

Bill & Janiel Pyper Family:

(Written by Jean Howell)

Wow, what a year this has been! We have so very much to be grateful for this year. The many blessings, tender mercies and miracles that we have witnessed have been very humbling to say the least.

At the beginning of this year we were hoping to be able to have another baby. We were thrilled, shocked and overwhelmed when we found out we were having triplets. The doctors told us that Janiel would have to be pretty much off her feet for the better part of the pregnancy. Arrangements were made for Mom to help out with the care of both Janiel and their toddler, Alexa, throughout the pregnancy. During most of the summer months, Marilee came to help out while Mom recovered from some surgery. We were very grateful for all of the help and felt so blessed when we made it to 8 months with the pregnancy. The doctors delivered the babies by C-section on September 7th and all went very well. The babies – 2 boys and 1 girl (Emily Ann, Jonathon William, David Alexander) – were all healthy and normal in every way. The boys did have to stay in the NICU for 2 weeks just until they learned how to eat. Janiel was recovering beautifully from the delivery and the C-section. We all breathed a sigh of relief that everything had gone so well. Everyone was prepared to be busy for the next several months just helping out with the new babies. Eleven days after the babies birth, Janiel awoke with a sudden and terrible headache. It was obvious this wasn’t your run of the mill headache and we knew something was terribly wrong. She was rushed to the hospital and it was soon determined that she had had a brain hemorrhage. That’s when Janiel’s Journey began. I think most of you have read the blog that Marilee put together to keep everyone up-dated. What a journey it has been.

Bill was wonderful through the whole thing, even though it created tremendous stress and worry for him. Alexa (our 20 month old toddler) was remarkable in the way she was able to roll with the great changes that were taking place in her life. Our ward couldn’t have been more helpful and supportive. The family really stepped up and was there for us 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Alexa turned 2 years old on Christmas day and loves being a big sister to her little siblings – Emily, David and Jonathon. Janiel has been so blessed and is doing so much better. She still has lots of therapy appointments, still can’t drive, still somewhat weak on the left side, still struggles with some short-term memory problems, but compared to where she could be at this point, we are just very, very grateful. We have been able to pretty much cut back on all the help from the ward. We still have someone from the family come each day. The babies were named and blessed the first Sunday in January and are doing just great.

How can we thank all of you for your faith, prayers and fasting in our behalf? We know that made all the difference and we will be forever grateful. A special thanks to Aunt JoAnn for her many hours of service, and also, to Aunt Louise for the beautiful picture of our little ones that she drew for us – what a special treasure that will always be for us.

Ben & Sara Howell: 2010 brought a few welcome changes to our family! First, we moved up the street this last April and are enjoying having a little more space for our family. With the move we are grateful to still be living in the same ward here in Henderson, Nevada. Ben continues to serve as second counselor in the Bishopric. With much disappointment, Sarah was released as secretary in Primary but is learning to love her new calling in R.S. as visiting teaching coordinator.

The most welcome and exciting change came this last November with the arrival of Isaac, who weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 6 oz. Isaac’s older brother and three older sisters were so excited for Hyrum to finally have a brother. It was so fun for our family to have this precious baby boy just in time for the Christmas season.

Hyrum (8) was baptized this last June. He was so excited to start scouting and looks forward to scouts each week. He also participated in a swim team this last summer to cool down from the hot days here. His swim coaches all commented on his impressive butterfly stroke. He enjoys playing with legos, riding his bike (including attaching the bike wagon and giving his younger sisters rides around the neighborhood) and playing with friends.

Caroline (6) after much anticipation finally lost her first tooth and can’t wait for the tooth fairy to come again. Her first grade teacher informed us that she wishes “she could clone Caroline.” She is a pure delight and a huge help to her Mom. She is enjoying her tennis classes each week and loves tagging along with Hyrum when riding bikes.

Grace (4) takes very good care of all her baby dolls and loves to have friends over. She enjoys puzzles and doing her reading lessons with her mom. She is currently getting pretty good at riding a bike without training wheels!

Eliza (2) potty trained in 2 days and is always asking to hold her new baby brother. After a year of nursery she finally has taken to it and is often found trying to comfort the younger ones in nursery who are upset.

All in all we have much to be grateful for over the last year. We are grateful for the simple things in life like eating dinner together as a family each night, family bike rides, even doing homework with the kids. We are especially thankful for the ongoing recovery of Janiel and continue to keep her and Tiffany in our thoughts and prayers.

Dustin & Sara Howell: The year 2010 was a good year for our family. Fortunately, our year was calm without any overly exciting events, to which we are grateful. Non-eventful can be considered a good thing!

Lily, 9 years old, has developed some new interests and talents. She reads anything she can get her hands on in general, but has a special fascination with WWII. So much so, that we had to change libraries because she had already read everything they had to offer on the subject. She loves historical fiction and retains facts and dates in her brain in an amazing way. She is also taking piano lessons and tap dance lessons. Tap is her favorite as she is able to release her boundless energy into something physical and upbeat. She spends many hours writing short stories as well as journal entries. She also loves drawing and recently has learned how to recreate people in motion; such as, while they are walking, jumping, and dancing. She is a great kid.

Arza, almost 8, has also discovered some new interests. Reading has opened up a whole new world. Arza, like Lily, also loves the historical fiction books. However, his interest is in the Revolutionary war. He can tell you what kind-of guns they used, what they looked like, how they worked, and whether they were successful or not. We often hear gun shot sounds around the house as he and Simeon recreate war scenes as they hide behind the sofa aiming for “baby British,” otherwise known as Peter. Arza has a myriad of interests. Coin collecting, math, Egyptian artifacts, building with legos and trios, and my favorite, doing extra chores for money. He is extremely dependable and does what he says he will do. He wakes up every morning and does his chores first thing without ever having to be told. He also helps Simeon get breakfast or whatever other help a 4 year old might need. We just love him.

Simeon, almost 5, is a happy go lucky person who knows how to live the good life. Recently, while his mother was trying to get a lot of cleaning done he casually stretched out on the sofa and said, “Mom, you know what your problem is? You care too much. And you know what my problem is? I don’t care at all.” Well said. He is often the stress reliever. Simeon’s favorite thing to do right now is anything that Arza is doing. They are good little companions. They enjoy building amazing cities and pyramids together, wrestling together, reading together, eating together, playing revolutionary war together, and just living life together. Simeon loves doing math, but also enjoys learning right along with the big kids in whatever subject they are learning. Every once in awhile he gives us a glimpse of his capabilities and blows us out of the water. What would we do without Simeon?

Peter, our 19 month old, is our little love. We do however sense the terrible 2’s, which we usually say are the terrible 3’s, coming on far too early. He is extremely independent, very bright, has endless energy, loves to dance to music, loves to read books, and has a great sense of humor already. He is a natural born vegetarian and puts his nose up at all meats. But he loves eating his blueberries and toast for breakfast almost every morning. We adore Peter.

Dustin and Sara are doing well. Dustin stays super busy with work at Workman Nydegger, being ward mission leader, working in the temple, and being the daddy that all the kids eagerly wait for to come home each night. We’re grateful for Dustin’s good job and a home in a neighborhood that we love. Sara loves being a mom and wife. She is grateful to have those that she loves most around her and considers herself blessed to have the life she has.