Our Family Circle

JOANN & EARLE: As we think of this past year, we are again grateful for our relatively good health and physical stamina, for our own dear children and grandchildren, and for the joy they bring to us daily. And we are thankful for the gospel that gives purpose to all that we do. We have had a good year!

Church responsibilities: Earle continues to care for all the high priests and their wives. Since our ward is an older ward, he keeps quite busy with all the illnesses, blessings, etc. We were thrilled recently to have had an entire Draper Temple session filled to capacity with just our ward members. Earle almost single- handedly organizes the annual ward breakfast, the ward temple nights, all service opportunities (which we seem to get assigned more each year), and the annual High Priests’ Christmas party. JoAnn teaches Primary, a calling she truly loves! She’s also a Visiting Teaching Supervisor. Both Earle and JoAnn continue to serve as ordinance workers in the Draper Temple.

Extra-Curricular activities: Earle, in retirement, has come to love to work in the yard. He now instigates yard projects more than JoAnn does. Earle’s passion is still tennis. He has a great group of older men in their 70s to 80’s that he plays tennis with 2 to 4 days a week. He also took on the project this year of reading the Book of Mormon, Bible, D&C, and the Pearl of Great Price simultaneously. His project is in its second year now. He loves reading the scriptures. He also enjoys playing the piano most days, and sometimes puts JoAnn to sleep at night with his piano playing. Earle has another hobby that is very helpful, but sometimes frustrating to JoAnn. He likes to shop for groceries! Yes shop! Several times a week! He does most of the grocery shopping, and often comes home with a new health food to try, usually expensive. JoAnn thinks the grocery bill is more now than when we were feeding eight! JoAnn still exercises at Curves, acts as project director of home redos, repairs, etc. does some reading, watches the Nate Berkus show, and enjoys some of the reality TV shows. She also loves to organize the monthly family get-togethers. Serving at Janiel’s and Bill’s will always be a highlight in her life. She truly observed the miracle of all miracles. Thank you, Howell Family for that beautiful experience.

Travels: In June, we took three of our grandsons, Braden, Landon, and Dallin, with us to Fort Collins, CO, for the baptism of Owen and for his eighth birthday party. This was our family’s only baptism this year. Also in June, we loved being with JoAnn’s siblings and spouses as we remembered our beloved father (100 years old) by visiting Cove Fort, Kodachrome Basin, Bryce Canyon, and the small town of Hinckley where our amazing father was born and raised. In July, the Peirce Family had their annual campout. We camped near Snowbird and spent the days doing all the activities that Snowbird has to offer. The nights were spent around the campfire playing games, etc. The favorite game of this campout was ‘A Minute to Win It’ organized by Shanna. We certainly enjoy our family get-togethers! In August we traveled to Pennsylvania -- more specifically Philadelphia and its surrounding environs; such as Independence Hall, Liberty Bell and most of the well-known historical sites of Philadelphia. We also went to Valley Forge, Audubon Center at Mill Grove, Daniel Boone homestead, and a Quaker Cemetery where some of Earle’s ancestors are buried. However, the highlight of the trip was our visit to Longwood Gardens, a world-class arboretum, conservatory, and gardens started by the Peirces in the 1600s and later more fully developed by the wealthy Pierre duPont Family. Earle has always wanted to visit these gardens that he has always heard so much about. We were not at all disappointed in this beautiful and expansive place. It covers over a thousand acres and is visited by over a million people yearly. It was really special to walk through the preserved home of George Peirce, Earle’s direct ancestor of eight generations, the first Peirce to migrate from England to Pennsylvania and obtain land from William Penn. In September we headed to Yellowstone Park by way of Idaho Falls and Rexburg, ID. We visited the beautiful new Rexburg Temple, and then tried to find where Ed and Lynda had lived while they attended college there for 2 years. The campus had changed so much, we had no success. It is a beautiful campus. We stayed in Island Park and each day traveled from there to the various Yellowstone sites. Yellowstone is not quite like we remembered it as kids, but we loved it anyway. We also spent time in the Grand Teton National Park. Those mountains are so majestic and glorious. I think I love them as much as mother did. We made stops in Jackson Hole and Afton as well. We even tried to get to Intermittent Springs where mother had spent much time in her youth. It had become dark, and we were a bit nervous about driving that narrow canyon, so only made it 3/4th of the way, but yet it brought fond memories back. We had forgotten that the cheese factory was no longer a cheese factory…only a little gift shop and small lunch counter, so we left Afton a bit disappointed, However, Afton will always hold a special place in our hearts. We’ve loved our several visits there over the years. .

The Year’s Highlights: 1) The baptism of Owen Nathan Peirce on June 5 in Fort Collins, CO and . 2) Our youngest child, Brian, became the father of the most beautiful little baby on December 3rd. Her name is Ella Lucille Peirce. She is our 19th grandchild. She was named and blessed in our home on January 2nd by her father. There were approximately 60 family members and friends in attendance. Ella was just precious in her long flowing white blessing dress.

Ed & Marsha and Family: This year Marsha’s mother has lived with us since March. Her name is Lolita Sillorar. We love having her with us, but she feels a bit out of place in the U.S.A. so her stay here is not permanent. But since she is living with us, and is really a part of family, we want to introduce her to the Hinckley Family. Lolita is a widow, and has three children. She has a son and a daughter in the Philippines. In 2006 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. Luckily, there has been no recurrence of cancer, and this will mark her 5th year since her diagnosis. She likes playing with Garrett and Meadow. She helps out a lot around the house and enjoys gardening when the weather is good. And like Ed, she really enjoys action movies. As for the entire family, we went low budget this year on our family vacation, after going to New York City in 2009. We saw Bryce and Zion National Parks and enjoyed that beautiful scenery. Last summer, Ed, Marsha, Lolita, and Garrett saw Paul McCartney in concert. This was such a thrill for Ed who really enjoys the music of the Beatles. Ed and Marshastill work at the same places. Ed at the Post office, and Marsha is at the kids’ elementary school as a special ed. para educator. The economy has taken its toll a bit. Ed rarely gets the overtime he used to, and Marsha’s hours were cut at the school district, but we’ve been able to make ends meet so far. Garrett is now 9 and is a brilliant little boy. He is in the access program at school and has received several awards such as high honor roll, the Iowa (standardized test) in the top 10 percent, and a citizenship award. Garrett is very shy and won’t talk to most adults, but he’s gradually improving. He loves playing Rockband with his sister and/or dad. He really wants to learn to play ‘real’ drums. Meadow is 6 and is very spunky. She started Kindergarten this year, and loves going to school. She has made lots of friends and always wants to have whatever her friends have, whether it’s a toy or a brand of shoes. Meadow is doing very well learning how to read and is heading towards the top of her class in that department. She is an excellent swimmer. She loves anything to do with Disney princesses or fairies. Her birthday party was a fairy party where all the attendees wore their fairy/princess outfits.

Lynda & Scott and Family: Our family started 2010 by celebrating the New Year in California. We visited Disneyland, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and the San Diego Zoo.

In July, Scott and Lynda combined a sales meeting in Phoenix, AZ with a visit to Lynda’s childhood environs including the apartment and home Lynda lived in as a little girl. We also visited and decorated the grave of Lynda’s older brother, Steven. Then we flew to Hawaii (our first time). We enjoyed visiting Pearl Harbor, Waimea Falls, Polynesian Cultural Center, and snorkeling at Shark’s Cove and Lanikai Beach. Hawaii is gorgeous and our week there could not have been more perfect. A good portion of the summer was spent in landscaping (sprinkling system, sod, fire pit, fence, storage house) our newly acquired acreage. . .

Wolter Family Highlights:

• Scott enjoyed a January getaway to Marco Island, Florida for a sales meeting

• Lauren and Eric enjoyed taking two college classes together

• Nick began his first year at Payson High School and loves it

• Dallin took break dance lessons

• Lynda successfully completed her goal to ride her bike to work all summer

• Lauren spent 7 months working in Richmond, Virginia. She made more friends than she did money.

• Eric went on a three-day canoe trip down the San Fafael River with his Uncle Tom, and cousin Sage

• Lauren works around the clock for three days straight for an elderly women as her care giver

• Eric works at WalMart, but is searching for something better

• Nick is doing weight lifting each morning before his classes start

• Lynda loves being room mother for Dallin’s 5th grade class

Nathan & Robyn and Family:

Nathan

• still enjoys working for Intel in Fort Collins, Co

• had laser eye surgery (no more glasses)

• after 6 years was released as Cubmaster

• always involved in a home improvement project; this year’s projects included building and installing a shelf all the way around the girls room – then painted pink and white stripes all around the room; designed a driveway extension and walkway to the backyard, installed insulation on the garage door, and built a closet system in the girls’ closet.

Robyn

• watched with the family as a grizzly bear crossed the road in front of us at Yellowstone

• said yes to being a last minute host family to a 14-year old Japanese boy for 4 weeks; shed some tears when it was time to say goodbye

• finds time to read between doing typical mom activities

Collin (will be 14 in Feb)

• his Lego Rototics team won 1st place in a scrimmage tournament and 2nd place in the qualifying tournament for Robot Design and was able to participate in the state tournament

• auditioned for and made it into the middle school musical, Willy Wonka

• earned his red belt in karate along with Nathan and Randy

Randy (will be 12 in Jan.)

• started 2010 by earning the Arrow of Light and joining the Boy Scouts where he will soon be a 1st Class Scout

• chose to learn the cello as he entered the middle school music program and thinks it is neat he can share music with Collin who plays the trombone

• got 2nd place for boys in the 6th grade tennis league

Owen (8 years)

• was baptized on his birthday, how cool is that!

• won our Cub Scout pack’s Veggie Regatta with his cucumber canoe

• spent a week and a half at cousins’ homes in Utah by himself just for fun during the summer

Sydney (6 years)

• also loved spending a week and a half at cousins’ homes by herself

• entered 1st grade and is becoming quite the reader

• got the Chicken Pox along with Cora who got it from Owen (who might have gotten it when Randy was immunized)

Cora (1 year)

• spent the year entertaining the family as she grew, learned new things and passed all those 1st year of life milestones

• got 3 stitches in her forehead after hitting the edge of a bed during her “just starting to walk” phase in November

• has learned a few signs to communicate with us in addition to occasionally saying “bye,” “hi,” and “boo”

Shanna & Tom and Family:

Tom (age 42): Keeping busy at work as the Storm Water Utility Manager for Riverton City, had a great time hiking Mt. Timpanogos in the summer, busy in the Bishopric, enjoyed snowshoeing in Yellow Fork Canyon!

Shanna (age still 29): Smiling teacher of darling preschool kids, trying to keep up with a very busy toddler, enjoying texting her oldest daughter on her new cell phone (gotta keep up with the times), so happy to be serving in the YW Presidency!

Sage (age 12, almost a teenager): Talented dancer in many areas of dance including a ballerina on toe shoes, surviving middle school with a 4.0 GPA, enduring piano lessons, enjoyed her first Girls Camp last summer.

Tanner (age 10): Started drum lessons and thinks he wants to start a band, enduring piano lessons, a well rounded sports player in soccer, basketball, and flag football, an expert Band Hero drummer and quitarist!

Brynn (age 6): One of the stars of her soccer team, little gymnast doing cartwheels and walk-overs around the house, finally began taking piano lessons after begging for it for over a year, and has a smile that melts your heart.

Grace (age 20 months): Loves to run around the house, in the yard, down the street, and in the chapel! Is off the charts for her height and in the low percentile for her weight (she burns everything she eats right off), loves to dance to music, has a giggle that brightens your day, and is a miracle to our family!!

Sherman & Jocelyn and Family: We have had a calm year. For the first year since marriage we haven’t moved, changed jobs, baptized any children, had any new children, or even received new church callings. Nothing has really changed for us this year. I guess we’re officially old now.
I am still building my optometry practice in Draper. I’ve been there two and a half years already. My accountant is proud of me for digging it out of debt. Now I just need to figure out how to pay myself enough to transition from 6 days a week of work including moonlighting at other offices to 2 half days of work including free golf with drug reps. Some day. I’m still a cubmaster and I’m certain I’ll be released soon as I’m starting to enjoy it.
Jocelyn has been trying hard to make this year interesting for our family. On Christmas Eve last year she had surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. Many months later and one miscarriage later, however, Jocelyn is now pregnant in the 2nd trimester. At least 2011 will be more interesting to write about next year. Jocelyn is still a counselor in the primary presidency and is already stressing over the primary’s sacrament meeting program.

Braden is 9, and in the 4th grade. He is doing really well, and growing up a little too fast for his mom’s likes. Landon is 7 and is the 2nd grade. He is still in the Chinese immersion program, and amazes his parents daily at his ability to speak Chinese. Both Braden and Landon took karate this past fall and loved it. We hope to be able to continue with that in the near future. Madalyn is 3, and is our little princess. She keeps us smiling. She loves music, dancing, and playing with her brothers.

Brian & Becky and Family: This was a wonderful year as Brian and Becky completed their first full calendar year married. We happily found out in March that we were expecting our first child. Consequently, Becky was sick for the better part of the year, which limited a lot of what we could do. Still, we did enjoy doing some activities such as going to Hebgen Lake in Montana and later a weekend in St. George. We celebrated our first year anniversary at the plush Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake (5 star), which was a marriage gift from a relative of Becky’s. Brian still works for the State of Utah in the Unemployment Insurance offices as a claims auditor. He earns the big buck (I meant to not pluralize this) in finding ways to deny people benefits. Becky worked the entire year, as in years past, as a dental assistant for her father. At the end of the year she decided to stop working full-time in order to care for our newborn baby. Born on December 3, Ella Lucille Peirce weighed in at 7 lbs and 11 ounces, and was 21 inches long. Because Ella’s heart rate was low, and Becky’s contractions were not strong enough, the doctor decided to do a c-section. Needless to say, Becky’s hopes of recovering quickly were dashed. We are loving our sweet little baby girl who, by the way, is the most beautiful baby ever! Really!!! We’re trying to learn how to live on no sleep. Yet we think parenthood rocks!