Milligan Moments 2011

Uncle Don & Aunt Jessie:    

Our parents continue to set a great example of optimistic perseverance in every aspect of their lives.  Mom resides at Barton Creek, an assisted living center in Bountiful and Dad lives in his home.  While they miss being together under the same roof, they spend many hours together each day.  Dad has become proficient in using public transportation which allows some freedom and independence from his kids. Most every Saturday mom and dad spend the day together in their home.  Dad always prepares a healthy and often colorful lunch for mom.  Mom and dad spend Sunday afternoons/evenings with Don and Kathy eating dinner, playing games and telling stories.  As their children, we love our parents and are proud of them in every way.

Don & Kathy: Kathy and I feel blessed beyond measure as parents and grandparents.  At the moment, we are empty nesters and truly enjoy each others’ company.  While we miss our children it is wonderful to be able to communicate with and keep up with them with the magic of cell phones, Skype, Facetime, email, etc.

Meagan, Luke and their 14 month old son Crue (our first grandchild), live in Glendale AZ.  Luke is attending Midwestern University where he is about half way  through his PhD in clinical psychology.  Luke spends a lot of time at school and when he’s not at school, he spends many hours volunteering in clinical settings.  He is learning a great deal and truly enjoys the degree and professional pathway he has selected. Meagan has temporally retired from nursing and is thrilled to spend time with Crue.  Some of their favorite things to do include swimming and taking long walks. Given the wonderful Arizona weather, they can do these things outdoors year round.

Mason married Taylor Ann Pickett this past August in the Bountiful Temple.  Taylor grew up in Centerville Utah and is the oldest of four children.  Mason and Taylor met while working at the South Davis Recreation Center.  Mason currently works as a valet at Huntsman Cancer Hospital.  He continues as the wrestling coach at Woods Cross High School and is also a full time student at Weber State University.  Mason will graduate with a degree in history; he plans to teach high school  and coach wrestling.  Taylor is in her first year of the nursing program at Weber State University; she enjoys her studies and will be a great nurse. She also continues her employment at the recreation center.  Mason and Taylor live in the basement apartment in Don and Jessie’s home; it is nice to have them there as they assist in many ways.

Marshall and Amanda live in a mouse infested apartment in Albany NY.  Marshall attends Albany Law School and is half way through his law degree.  Marshall indicates that the second year of law school is much better than the first year.  Amanda is three classes away from receiving her bachelors degree.  Amanda works at Michaels Craft store as a manager. Marshall and Amanda have a dog named Karmen; Karmen has flown back and forth between SLC and NY so many times during these past two years that we think she has more frequent flyer miles than anyone in the family. Marshall and Amanda recently announced that their first child, a boy, will be arriving in mid June. We are thrilled and excited for them.

Kathy and I continue to serve in our callings in our ward in the Young Women’s and Young Men’s organizations.  We enjoy being with the youth and hope to remain in our callings for many years.  I work at Huntsman Cancer Hospital which is part of University of Utah Hospital.  I’ve worked there for 15 years as director of out patient and ancillary services. Kathy is always busy taking care of our family and our parents.  Kathy and I continue to run together.  This year we will participate in a few marathons and a 100 mile trail run in the early fall.

John & Janette: John is still teaching at Davis Jr. High, and in his off time is correcting papers on-line for a local college. Janette is recovering from several surgeries, and just trying to keep up with the kids. Jason is currently stationed in Washington State, but will be leaving for Korea in July. Adam is home from the military and he will be starting college at Weber State in July. Kelsey is attending Salt Lake Community College on scholarship majoring in Bio-Technology. Shelby is a Senior at Davis High School, already has her CNA and has plans to pursue a degree in nursing.

Matt & Becca Milligan: 2011 was a great year for us.  Nate was accepted into a manager trainee program with Winco foods, and is now apprenticing in Redding California.  Bethany and Jackson are loving it there with him. 

Maiclinn is excelling in school, Karate and piano.  She recently participated in the spelling bee.  She is extremely talented and surrounded by friends.

Meliah is even more social than Maiclinn, and is also doing great in school, piano and Karate. She is the youngest member of our karate class, and everyone there is impressed with her.

Becca continues to work at the college, currently coordinating the Job and Career Fair.  Even with cutbacks, we are blessed that they always invite her back for more work.  

Matt’s practice is doing great.  

We are happy to have finally sold the big house in the country, and moved into a beautiful house in the city that Becca had had as a rental when we were married.  We had the luxury of spending a month fixing it up before we moved in, and really love the hardwood floors that we installed.  Our lives have become infinitely simpler by the move, and we are really grateful that we could unload the old place in this economy.

Tom & Tiffany Milligan: (Josh, Gage, Cole, Connor)

2011 was an eventful year for our family.  After spending 2 years developing an outsourcing practice for inContact, Tom partnered with one of his customers – a call center company in the Philippines called Vector BPO – to sell their services to US companies.  Vector has been around for a few years, but desperately needed some help in finding new business.  After a tough year, things are beginning to look up.

Tiffany left Adobe after about a year to pursue her music career.  She’s learned that she really loves writing, playing and recording the music, but the editing and finishing seems to be pure drudgery.  Regardless, she’s finishing work on her debut album and has much of the next album recorded.  We’re all very excited to see her album finished and available.

Josh is 14 and in 8th grade.  Like most teens, he likes to sleep, listen to music (and thankfully it’s good music), hanging out with his friends, girls, and he hates school.  Josh continues to progress rapidly in Shaolin and spends many hours each week practicing in the studio.  It’s fun to watch him turn into a true teenager.

Gage is 12 and in 7th grade.  Gage is a very talented pianist and loves to play.  He also spends every afternoon in the pool, swimming for the Kearns Youth Aquatics Team – and attends most meets.  As if that’s not enough, he also plays competitive water polo and recently attended a 4-day advanced training at the Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs.  We’re glad he loves it since it takes the place of almost everything else.

Coleman is also 12 and in 7th grade and LOVES school – especially the social aspect.  Coleman is so fun to be around.  Unlike his twin brother, Coleman never enjoyed the piano and after years of negotiation, has switched to the trombone and seems to really enjoy it.  Coleman plays goalie on JOGA – a local competitive soccer team – and spends 2-3 nights per week at practice at their indoor facility in preparation for the first tournament over President’s Day weekend in St. George.

Connor is 10 and in 4th grade.  He’s so tall and mature that we constantly have to remind ourselves that he’s only 10.  Connor also plays competitive soccer.  He plays forward most of the time during the winter (indoor seasons) and goalie during the spring, summer, and fall seasons.  His team is also deep into preparation for the St. George tournament.

We’re very proud of our boys for their accomplishments.  But most importantly, we’re proud of the way they honor their Priesthood and serve the Lord.

Sara & Gordon: 

Hello Family, We had a wonderful 2011!  

Kayle (19) started off the year with a bang!  She did a student intern program at Disney World the first quarter of 2011.  She missed out on the lovely winter weather in both Rexburg and Chicago.  Lucky Girl.  The whole family was able to spend spring break there with her, thanks to the wonderful discounts given to employees of Disney.  It was a blast to see her and Disney World is the happiest place on earth!  She loved it there and made lots of new friends from all over the world!  Then she went back to school at BYUI.  She loves college, and college life!  She has a better understanding of the importance of good roommates. She hates the girl Drama!  She is also concerned about everyone being in such a hurry to get married!?!?  She hasn’t quite narrowed down her major, but she wants to work in the medical field.  Maybe a Physical therapist or dental hygentist.  She was able to come home for a month in the Summer and work at Six Flags and then it was back to college.  We spent Thanksgiving in Utah and had a nice visit with her and then she has been home for the Holidays!

Jack (5) is all boy.  He loves to tackle and wrestle anyone and everyone, so you have to keep your eye on him.  His big sister Madi  gets pummeled regularly!  He is a great wrestler and we are sure he will do this someday.  He loves video games especially Mario. We just got the Wii (ok we are behind a little) and that has been a hit for the whole family especially Jack.  He loves food!!!  He is a MEAT and potatoes boy, but he skips the potatoes!  His favorite food is hot dogs and he would eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if we let him.  He is in his final year of preschool, and can’t wait to go on the big bus with his sister, Madi.

Madi (6) is Madi!  She has earned the “Best in Drama” award in our family, six years running.  She started 1st grade and was nervous at first.  Now she loves it.  She is doing very well.  She lost 4 teeth and was so excited that the tooth fairy came.  Her new goal is to lose a tooth at school because she gets a prize at school and the tooth fairy comes.  She is taking piano lessons from a dear friend of ours, Nicole.  Nicole is from France and she has the best teaching methods for children.  Madi participates in Theraplay which helps her learn better self control and control her emotions.  Madi loves to dance.  She got Just Dance 3 for the Wii and she can show you a move or two.  We need to get her into some dance lessons.

Sara is serving in the Nursery.....the truest part of the church.  She brings HOME MADE suckers every week for the kids and they really love her.  They call her the sucker lady!  Sara stays very involved with the kids, she volunteers at their schools.  Our house is the “Kool-Aid” house and we usually have 5 extra kids on a daily basis.  She is very creative and made Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head costumes for Gordon and her.  She also made Love Sacks (Bean Bag Chairs) for the kids for Christmas.  She always has a project going on.  She is a wonderful chef, designer, playmate, and friend!  She still loves living in Illinois even in the cold!

Gordon continues to work his head off for Discover Card.  He serves as the 1st counselor in the Bishopric and is trying to earn his MBA.  Needless to say.....we never see him.  He loves the Wii too!  He loves playing the sports (bowling, golfing, and tennis) and is always looking for someone to play with him.   

We had some notable experiences in 2011.  

In February 2011 we had a blizzard here in Chicago.  20 inches of snow in less than 24 hours.  We were tubing from our back patio there was so much snow.  Needless to say we had a few snow days and loved it!

We were able to spend Thanksgiving in Utah with the Searle’s this year.  We spent some great time with Mom and Dad Milligan.  They surprise us every time we visit.  We took them to the temple and they survived the whole session.  We were so proud of them.

So grateful to be part of this amazing family!  Love to all!!  

The Searle Family 

EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ll look forward to hearing from Dave & Danean in next year’s newsletter!

UNCLE DON & AUNT JESSIE:

Dear Hinckley Family: We send this report with love and appreciation to each member of the Hinckley family.

Jessie continues to reside at the Inn on Barton Creek in Bountiful Utah where she continues to improve in her health and in all aspects of her general well being. She fully participates in all programs and activities offered at Barton Creek. She and Don spend many hours together each day. Jessie spent a great deal of time this past year writing her life history. The result was a wonderful document that she shared with her children at Christmas time; this will be cherished forever.

Don resides at his Bountiful home and does an amazing job at maintaining his home and yard. He adheres to a very set and regimented daily schedule. His schedule includes walking many blocks along his beloved 1100 East in Bountiful, eating lunch with his friends at the Golden Years Center and spending time with Jessie. Don is a well know fixture in his neighborhood as he spends time visiting with his friends and neighbors on a regular basis. His neighbors are very good to Don; they provide transportation, food and even invite him the watch football games in their homes.

We have spent many hours organizing year’s worth of family pictures and associated family history documents. We also spend a great deal of time reading together; Jessie is a good sport as we read more western type novels than anything else.

We appreciate the visits and time you spend with us; thank you for sharing your lives with us. Love, Jessie & Don

DON & KATHY: Dear Family, The members of the Don & Kathy Milligan family are busy, happy and enjoying the experiences of life. This year has been one of change for our family as our two married children moved out of state and we became grandparents. We feel blessed in every respect and are thrilled to be parents and grandparents.

Meagan and Luke Jensen moved from Bountiful to Glendale Arizona in August 2010. Luke is attending Midwestern University where he pursuing a Ph D in Clinical Psychology. Meagan and Luke were blessed with a handsome baby boy; he arrived on October 27, 2010. He weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz and was 21.5 inches long. His name is Crue Lukas Jensen. Baby, mother and father are doing well. Meagan is taking time off from her nursing career to be a mom; she is loving every minute of it. It is interesting to note that while Meagan was in labor for six hours; Kathy somehow managed to travel from Bountiful to the hospital in Glendale and missed the birth by only 30 minutes.

Mason is completing is final semester at Salt Lake Community College and will graduate with an associate’s degree in business. He will continue his education at the University of Utah. Mason is the Wrestling Coach at Woods Cross High School where he also teaches a wrestling conditioning class. Mason lives in the basement apartment in Don & Jessie’s Bountiful home. He takes care of the yard, snow removal and meets many of his Grandfather Don’s transportation needs. Mason is a kind and considerate man; we deeply appreciate the assistance his provides to his grandfather.

Marshall and Amanda Milligan moved to Albany New York in August 2010. Marshall is attending Albany Law School. He plans on earning his law degree as well as a Masters of Social Work in the next three plus years in New York. Amanda is working in the Dental Clinic at University of New York at Albany. They indicate that people are very different in New York as compared to Utah and it takes some getting used to. They belong to a wonderful tight knit and active LDS Branch in Albany. They have been greatly blessed and are having the opportunity to grow in many significant ways.

During 2010 Mason, Luke, Don and Kathy had the unique opportunity to train for and participate in the Wasatch Front 100 mile ultra marathon. Don and Kathy completed in this event in 2009; Mason and Luke caught the spirit of the event and joined in the fun this past year. It was a wonderful experience to spend many long hours as a family training in the beautiful Wasatch Mountains. As we’d run 20, 30 or 50 miles together on training runs, we learned a great deal about each other and had fun doing so. The actual race was also fun and exciting but it was the training together as a family that was fantastic.

Kathy is the Nursery leader in our ward and also the Young Woman’s Sports Specialist in our Stake. Don is the Varsity Coach in our ward. Sincerely, Don & Kathy Milligan

JOHN & JANETTE: Jason & Adam are both on active duty in the military. Kelsey is a Senior in high school, and loves science, but could do without the other subjects. Shelby is a Junior, and loves school in general. John is in his 24th year of teaching math, and serves as an assistant in the High Priests group of his ward. For the time being, Janette is happy to be a stay-at-home/full time mom. Janette feels they must be a boring family as they have had no vacations to report, no marriages, no baptisms etc. but are grateful for the health and safety of their family.

DAVE & DANEAN: Greetings from a snowed in Atlanta where 4 inches of snow have managed to close down an entire city! Pretty funny, but millions of people and only 10 snow plows is a bit of a problem.

Our family is doing well. Here is the run down

Benjamin is 14 and a half and in full teenager mode. He is very social and if there is something fun to do he is there!! He is a freshman in High School and loves the social aspects of school. He played football this year. Practice started in May with weight training and conditioning, and they practiced each day for hours. This continued until November when freshman football ended. He did not complain one bit which shocked us all. I think his favorite part of football was wearing his jersey on game day and the attention he received from the girls. He is progressing towards his Eagle Scout. I can’t say he enjoys it, but he has finally accepted his fate and will do anything to get us off his back about it. One day he will be happy he did it, but until then, we will keep pushing forward. He continues to enjoy art and entertains us with his cartoon drawings. Did I mention he is girl crazy… he is.

Daniel is the second teenager in the house as he recently turned 13. His most recent claim to fame is a tib/fib fracture that required surgery and several screws to fix. The fracture occurred during a game of backyard football. Oh, it would have been such a great play, if not for the tackle and subsequent fracture. We cancelled our Thanksgiving travel plans and instead of going to Florida we ended up at the hospital….. such is life. Daniel is an awesome student and does really well. Most of his classes are advanced content which he enjoys. He is also progressing nicely towards his Eagle Scout and seeing that resistance is futile goes along without much of a fuss. He is the first counselor in the Deacons quorum. He is an awesome guy, very shy and not so much into the social scene yet.

Jacob is 11 and our resident technical wizard. He loves all things technical. His most prized possession is his IPOD touch which he takes immaculate care of. He is pen pals with one of the HR directors at Apple and he hopes to move to California and work for them one day. He loves all things Apple and has recently told me he will be saving his allowance for a Mac book. It is both a blessing and a curse for Jake to be our tech support as he sometimes is annoyed with our simple mined technical problems. He is horrified when we don’t know a “this” from a “that” but smiles and helps us anyway. He is a happy guy, and his biggest problem at school is that he is a bit of a chatter box.

Emma will be nine in April. She was baptized last year and she really enjoyed that day. Recently her Nana and Pap purchased a used piano for her and she loves it. I think she has some natural talent and we look forward to her lessons so we can hear some different selections. She really loves school, she loves math and has enjoying learning the multiplication tables. She must get that from Dave. She loves to bake and she is very good in the kitchen. She often prepares a sweet treat for us on Sunday evenings.

Dave is busy with work and still travels a bunch. He is the gospel doctrine teacher and the Scout advancement chairman. He helps out whenever and where ever he can. The company he works for is doing a bit better. They are really a great group of people and we hope this year things will turn around for them.

I went back to work full time 6 months ago and I really enjoy it. As far as jobs in the healthcare field, the schedule can’t be beat. It is M-F and 8 to 5, no holidays or weekends. For now it is great. I also went back to school and I am working on a bachelors degree. I will be done with that in August. Life is busy, busy as it should be. Love, Dave, Danean, Ben, Daniel, Jacob and Emma

MATT & BECCA: Italy-Becca and I were able to spend two fabulous weeks in Italy. We spent a week in Rome and another week out in the country. We both agree it was the best vacation either of us have ever been on. We can’t wait to go back-but it will be years before we can.

Jackson Matthew Milligan-Our first grandchild was born March 4th, 2010. Nate and Bethany are great parents, and he is adorable. We are lucky that they live fairly close. It has been a joy to watch him grow.

Disneyland-We drove from Moses Lake to Anaheim over spring break. In retrospect, four days of driving broken up by three days of theme parks doesn’t sound all that great, but it was. We highly recommend the California Screamer.

Maiclinn was baptized in March. She is an bright, inteligent, loving girl.

Becca’s parents made the journey from Hawaii to visit us three times this past year. They are wonderful grandparents and fun to have around. I wish my folks could still travel, nevertheless, we were able to see them a few times last year as well.

Overall, we feel very blessed and happy.

TOM & TIFFANY: The Tom & Tiffany Milligan Family had a great 2010. Here’s the rundown: Tom: same company, same job, spends a bunch of time on the road, still LOVES it! (not the travel part) Tiffany: Left ebay in April, joined Adobe in May, left Adobe at the first of 2011 and is now pursuing her music career. Josh: Age 13. Hates school, likes girls, mathematical genius. Gage: Age 11. Loves school, competitive swimmer and water polo player - spends 10-20 hours per week in the pool. Coleman: Age 11. Enjoys school, competitive soccer player, always smiling and laughing. Connor: Age 9. Tolerates school, competitive soccer player, has a future as a stand up comic.

As you can see, we’re all very busy and the kids are growing up too fast. We’re at a very fun stage with the kids: they’re not quite teenagers -which means they still like us - but they’re not little kids anymore - which means we can joke around, watch non-animated movies, and play games together. We know they’ll outgrow us so we’re trying to take advantage of this little window of time. Love, The Tom & Tiffany Milligan Family

SARA & GORDON: Wow 2011 is already here! What a year 2010 was for the Searle family. Kayle had the most happen to her! She graduated high school! She spent the summer working at Six Flags Chicago and then the whole family took a road trip and dropped her off at BYU-Idaho. She loved her first semester there! Her roommate was from New Zealand and they hit it off. Her fun continues into 2011 as she is now in Florida at Disney World working as an intern at the happiest place in the world. She avoids the coldest time in Idaho and Illinois. Lucky Kid! If you are headed to Disney World in the next couple of months look her up!

Sara has been busy raising kids and keeping the family on track! She qualified to work as a census worker, but gave her job to one of Kayle’s friends who really needed it. She loves volunteering in Madison’s Kindergarten class. She is serving in the nursery now. She is known as the sucker lady by all the kids! She brings suckers every week for the kids! Imagine that! Her favorite thing to do is read a book whenever she gets a quite moment. Sara won the scariest costume award at our ward Halloween party. She was the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz and Gordon was the scarecrow. Her favorite part of the trip to Utah was visiting her mom and dad!

Gordon has been busy. He still works at Discover reaching 20 years of service. He recently changed his job to move out of the Finance area. He also started school to get his Masters Degree. Needless to say with his church calling and everything else he is very busy. He likes taking the kids on adventures. On New Years Eve he took Jack and Madison downtown on the train. They walked around, visited the Chicago Federal Bank (You just can’t get the finance out of this guy), had lunch, and then came home. The kids loved it! Gordon’s favorite part of the Utah trip was visiting his Mom and family!

Madison turned 5 this year and she started kindergarten. She loves school and loves riding the bus. Bus diver Bob loves to see Madison each day. She really is a bit of sunshine. She loves her kindergarten class and her teacher. During our trip to Utah she loved going to Mt. Rushmore and Pioneer Village in Salt Lake City. If you haven’t been to Pioneer Village recently you should take your kids this summer. There are so many fun activities! Anyway, Madison loves princesses, the color pink, and dressing up. If you come to our home you will see her in one of her favorite dress up dresses. Her favorite is her Rapunzel (Tangled) dress and she has informed us that she is going to grow out her hair as long as Rapunzel.

Jack turned 4 this year and he is growing like crazy! His favorite thing to do is to wrestle. He is all boy! You have to pay attention whenever he is around because he just might tackle or jump on you. He loves cars, trucks, Spiderman, Batman, and Super Mario. We have an old Nintendo and he loves to play. Jack started pre-school this year. It is taught at Kayle’s old high school by students at the school. There is a teacher who oversees the program and it is wonderful. Jack’s favorite part of our trip to Utah was the train at Pioneer Village.

We love you all and hope your 2011 is amazing!