Summer Singpost-Grandma and Grandpa

White Christmas

What does that song say? “Time flies on wings of lightening; you cannot call it back.” I must say it is true. I just can’t believe that is 2009—let alone February 2009.
We had a wonderful holiday season. I think that it is just perfect to have Thanksgiving right before Christmas. It gives us a time to reflect upon all the glorious blessings that our Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us. I think that it is important to stop and to express gratitude for all that we have. It is something that needs to be done more often since this world is full of people that only want more. Thanksgiving is a great lead in to Christmas—the time when we celebrate the birth of our Savior. It is a time of hope and love and joy. I am grateful for Him and his willingness to atone for our sins so that we can have this hope and love and joy in our lives.
Our Christmas Holiday was one that we will never forget. It was filled with much adventure as we forged through the snow of Oregon and Washington. If the Northwest ever needs snow all they have to do is send for us and the snow will come. We left a sunny Boise thinking the trip would be great—we would get to Gina’s in good time. That was not to be. Not far into Oregon we hit the snowy weather which stayed with us for the entire two weeks of our vacation. It took us ten hours to get to St. Helens from Boise—about three hours longer than the norm. We did make it to all the important events and that made our trip worthwhile.
The day of Brandon’s baptism arrived all white and snowy. Church was canceled and with it the worry that we couldn’t have the baptism. Pete’s mom was to be leaving the next morning, so after many phone calls, permission was given to hold the baptism. It was much too snowy for the Garrison clan to make the trip. It was a lovely baptism and the snow just emphasized the purity of the moment.
All flights in and out of Portland were canceled, Pete’s mom ended up enjoying the Christmas holiday with all of us. The snow was not too bad on Christmas Eve, so the Garrisons came to the Phelons for the annual Christmas Eve Ritual—the eating of the pizza and the traditional program. All the children were very hyper waiting for the visitor from the North Pole. When we asked Shaylee who would be coming tonight. She exclaimed enthusiastically “Matthew”. I think she was happy that Santa Claus came anyway. After leaving Vancouver, the Garrisons arrived home to a snowy Kimmell Lane which meant that the poor car could not make the trip up the hill. It was parked in a nearby neighborhood, and Gina and family trudged up Kimmell Lane only to find that there was no electricity at their home. Nice Christmas Surprise.
Christmas Day found us up early at the Phelon household after Stephanie had said that her kids never get up before 8:00 on Christmas morning. We had a fun time watching their kids open their presents and enjoy the loot before we headed out to St. Helens to see what Santa had left there. Santa had been good to them also, and they were excited with all that was under their tree, but he didn’t fix the electricity, so we had Christmas by candlelight so to speak. Christmas dinner was left in the fridge to be enjoyed another day. That day came the next afternoon and great cheering erupted as the power returned and all was back to normal—kids on the WII and the computer, playing all the Christmas games that they had not been able to play the day before. In spite of all the snow, we had a wonderful time making memories with our children and grandchildren.
On January 20th, Nathan turned twenty-five. I just can’t believe that our youngest child is 25. There is that time thing again. He graduated from BYU in December and is now joining thousands of others as he hunts for a job.
After a year of rest, Dad has been given a church calling. We both just laughed when we found out what it was—Scout troop committee. I am sure you will all have a great laugh too since we all know how much he loves scouting. I have been released from my calling as Gospel Doctrine teacher, so I guess it is my turn to be put out to pasture for awhile. Maybe I will get on the ball and learn how to use all this technology to do some Family History.
We hope that this new year will hold much happiness for all of you and that Nathan will find a job.

Summer Singpost-Stephanie and Pete

A Snowy Baptism Day

The last four months have been busy and exciting at the Phelon home. For Halloween Brandon was an Ice Wolf Ninja, Kenyon was a Storm Trooper, Shaylee was Barbie Mariposa and Jaron was a darling little pumpkin.
I was deeply saddened to hear of Grandma's death on November 5th. I miss her greatly and can't imagine not seeing her when I go to Utah this summer. She was a wonderful woman and I count myself blessed to have had her for my Grandma. I was grateful that I was able to see all of you at the funeral.
We had a very fun Thanksgiving with the Garrison's. It was their turn to host and we ate lots of yummy food, watched football and read all the fun ads for shopping the next day.
In December Brandon turned eight! I had such a hard time believing my baby was eight. It just seems like yesterday he was born. His baptism was held on December 21st. Mom and Dad came to Vancouver in the middle of a snowstorm to be there for his special day. We had the most snow that the Portland area has had in 40 years during the weekend of his baptism. The day of the baptism it snowed a bit in the morning and all church meetings were canceled for the Stake except his baptism. It was a wonderful meeting, our hometeacher and another man in our ward spoke. Dad and Nathan were able to be witnesses and Pete baptized and confirmed him.
When we came out of the chapel, the snow was really coming down. It was so neat and made his baptism so special. We were sad that the Garrison's couldn't make it, but we understood since they couldn't get out of the driveway. We were glad that Mom and Dad had come to Vancouver from St. Helens the day before so they didn't miss it. It was a very memorable day.
We had a great Christmas with both Mom and Dad and Pete's Mom there for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Kathy was supposed to leave on the 22nd, but her flight was canceled due to all the snow, so she stayed until the 26th. We were thrilled to be able to have everyone there for Christmas. I'm sure it was a once in a lifetime for my kids to have all their grandparents for Christmas.
For Martin Luther King day we were able to go to the Great Wolf Lodge for a nice little vacation. It is an indoor water park and hotel. It was a ton of fun! Our kids loved it and we will be going back to make it a yearly trip.
For President's weekend we went to stay at the yurts at Fort Stevens by Astoria, Oregon. We are having a lot of fun and are on our way to Tillamook right now as I type this on Pete's Blackberry!
I hope everyone is doing well and I miss you all greatly!

Summer Singpost-Nathan

The Graduate

I have finally graduated from BYU. In December 2008 I finished up my last finals as an undergraduate and last month I received my diploma stating that I have attained my BS in Management with an emphasis in finance. It feels good to be a college graduate, but now that means that I have to enter the real world and that is the problem I am now facing.

Since my graduation, I have been searching for a job. With the economy and job market being tight, I haven’t had much luck finding a job. The jobs I have gotten interviews for have not been finance related, but right now I am trying to get whatever kind of job I can get. I have only had one job offer, but it was a sales job that I would not have enjoyed so I turned it down. Sometimes it has been discouraging looking for a job, but I know with the Lord’s help I will find one that will be right for me.
For a while now I have been considering going to law school. At first it was just something I thought may come in the future, but not something I was actively pursuing. A couple of weeks ago I decided to look into the LSAT, the entrance exam for law school. I decided to purchase a book that will help me prepare to take the test. I am now setting the June test as my target date for taking the LSAT. It is supposed to be a tough test, but I think I can do well because it is completely based on logic and reasoning. I don’t have to have any prior knowledge. The book I bought should help me know how to answer those types of questions. I think this test will end up being right up my alley and I should do well if I put in the time to prepare. Right now that is about all that is going on in my life.

Summer Singpost-Cindy and Nate

Where in World is Spring?

Will spring ever arrive? That is the big question in the Cederlof home about this time every year. We are officially tired of the snow here in Kaysville. This past week we have had three big snowstorms with more on its way. You would think that after living in Utah these past 17 ½ years (holy cow has it really been that long!), I wouldn’t think twice about driving in the snow, but no, it still terrifies me. I have never been close to having an accident, but I have slid a few too many times. We are hoping that having a super snowy February will mean we have a nice warm March. Nate is very excited to get his aerator going again and get back to work. He and Annika have enjoyed their time together this winter. They have gotten t o know each other better and have become much closer than before. I know Annika will wonder where in the world her daddy has gone when he finally goes back to work. A few things that Annika and

Daddy like to do together are

dance to Annika’s keyboard music, watch wiggles, read books, eat grilled cheese sandwiches while watching the noon news, and taking walks with Jory boy. With all that fun going on at home, it’s no wonder Mom hates to leave them every day and go to work.

Speaking of work…it is definitely work, but I am grateful for the flexible hours and my wonderful laptop that makes it easier to be a mommy and a wife. There is a small chance that my job could be cut next year with all the cuts in education, so with that little thought in the back of mind, I am really grateful for my job – and praying I don’t have to go back to teaching kindergarten part-time. We did have a district audit a week ago. That is basically a fancy way to say the district came to check up on us to see that we are jumping through all the various hoops they give us. My principal told me that they were very impressed with our extended day program. That was VERY nice to hear from my boss!

We are, for the most part, enjoying the terrific twos with Annika. She is a testament to the fact that children come with their own personality. She continues to amaze us with her confidence and ability to be outgoing in virtually any situation. She loves nursery and often welcomes other children as they come in, “Hi Rocky”, “Hi Leah, how you?”… She

also loves to go to play dates, but we are still working on appropriate social skills. The other day she played at Leah’s (our neighbor across the street). The next day she told me “Leah cried.” Then I said, “Oh, did you make Leah feel happy?” Then with all the innocence of a two year old she said, “Annika pushed Leah”. As you can see, we need to work on social skills! She often plays with her stuffed animals like they were friends; maybe they can help her out in that area.

Well that about does it for the Cederlof clan. We hope all is well with your clans wherever you may be. We love you all!

Summer singpost-Debbie and Karl

5-yr-old Speller

Life has been crazy in the Gee household. We had a nice holiday season even though Karl was very busy with work. It was the first time we have had our own Christmas in our own home so we tried to make it special and I think we succeeded. We spent Christmas Eve with the Cederlofs and that was fun. Matthew’s preschool class put on a really cute little program on the 23rd. Santa Claus brought a fish tank for Christmas so we bought each of the kids a goldfish. Unfortunately two of them died within 2 weeks. So Matthew’s is the sole survivor. We also enjoyed ringing in the New Year by watching Kung Fu Panda and eating yummy food. We put the kids to bed at 8:00, they are a little young to make it to midnight. Steven didn’t even make it to 8, he fell asleep on the couch! The kids were excited because Karl bought them New Year’s Eve hats.
Karl’s store had a great month in December, making money for the first time ever. He even got special recognition at a manager’s meeting for the highest percentage of increase.
Matthew was ready for his birthday as soon as Christmas was over. It could not get here fast enough. It finally came and he is now a big 5-year-old! He wanted to have his first ever kid birthday party so we had one. We got a good turnout-8 kids plus Matthew and Steven. We played “Button Button, Who has the Button?” “Don’t Eat Pete!” (a game Karl’s family played when he was little), and “Duck Duck Goose”. They also decorated their own cupcakes and they had a good time with that.
On his actual birthday we had a pizza and ice cream and cake. He also opened his presents from us. We celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa this past Sunday. Now Steven is excited for his birthday and says he wants a Spiderman birthday!
Matthew also enjoyed his Valentine’s Day party at preschool. He thought it was the most exciting thing ever.
Matthew is doing well at preschool. He is currently learning how to print his letters. He can sort of write his name but he struggles with M’s and W’s. He also knows how to spell “stop”. Spelling is one of his favorite things right now. He always wants to spell everything for him and then he repeats it He has always loved to learn new things. His fine motor skills have also improved greatly, especially cutting. Now he just needs to learn how to hold a pencil correctly!

Steven is his usual funny self. His vocabulary has greatly improved and he is getting easier to understand as well as talking in complete sentences. He is now in the SR nursery at church and it was a challenge for him at first but now he seems to have adjusted. He is into everything and wants to do everything that Matthew does. He is becoming very independent and wants to do everything all by himself. If we try to help him with anything he says “No, self!” which of course means “I can do it myself!” He loves the “Wiggles”, “Backyardigans”, “Blues Clues”, and “Bob the Builder”. He is also very into cars and thanks to Matthew-light sabers! He is a lot of fun and has a great sense of humor. No one can make Summer laugh like him!
Summer is growing and learning. She crawls about 100 mph and pulls herself up. She will stand for a few seconds by herself. She also tries to reach for things while standing so we expect her to start cruising around the furniture any day. Summer is now sporting 4 teeth all in the front-two on top, two on the bottom. She is a tiny little thing. She weighed just 13 lbs 10 oz at her nine month visit and has fallen off the charts. They are hoping she picks back up by her one year visit. We will see.
Summer loves baby dolls, anything that makes sounds or lights, and keys. Her favorite things to eat are chicken nuggets, crackers, and cheese. She has an adorable smile and it is hard not to be happy when you are her around.

Summer Singpost-Gina and Kirk

Life According to Tyler

Hi this Tyler filling in for my mom this month!
I played basketball for the St. Helens Trojans this year. There were two b teams that was the team I was on. We got to play half the games and they got to play half. Well it turned out if my team had played all the games we

would have gone to championships easily :( Oh well I got over it! The last two games were cancelled because of that stupid snow. I am also trying to get flying colors on the state writing test which i have already done with the other two tests!!

Well for Christmas Grandma and Grandpa were there, oh and we can't forget Uncle Nathan. I got the best gift this century getting an autographed Brandon Roy picture from Grandma and Grandpa. Shannon, Evan, and Lauren each got a Webkinz. Whitney got a lot of candy that she ate in a few days so then she went to desperate measures stealing all our candy by doing the trickiest things. Like pushing a stool against the counter than scooting a chair against the stool. She climbed up them like stairs to get my candy.
We had a ridiculous amount of snow. We got a couple feet of snow and had the most snow ever on Christmas day in Oregon, the most it had snowed in 40 years. We also missed 4 days of school and got an extra long Christmas break:)

A couple of weeks ago we had a scare because the fire alarm went of in the middle of the night, which didn't wake anyone up besides Evan and my parents. Evan lost his first teeth, to some people that’s a miracle!:) I think I am going to call him tunnel teeth. Ev is also reading good now too. He can read the scriptures by himself now with just a little help with words here and there.
Shan is taking drawing classes and lovin school! Whitney likes to talk now and calls herself nonny, her fav phrase is and I quote "watch a show" as she points at the T.V. screen. She likes to watch "Baby Stein" as she calls it. Lauren is still in preschool and has turned into quite the sonic fan. She is obsessed with playing the Wii and has gotten quite good at it. She was happy that she got valentines this year for valentines day instead of watching us get them.

Not much other than that has happened. Don't forget to check out the family blog www.bigolfamily.blogspot.com the user name is asumfamily@gmail.com and the pass word is stevensum. If you have any questions please email me @ Tygar44@gmail.com.

Summer Singpost - amy and jeb

Think Spring

I am not sure when we did the last newsletter, so I’ll just start with Christmas. We had a very nice and quiet Christmas. We went to Jeb’s parents’ house on Christmas Eve day and then we came home had pizza and soda and watched Mr. Kruger’s Christmas. This movie is becoming an annual tradition. The kids were excited with their gifts. We surprised the boys with a Nintendo DS. They love it.

On New Year’s Eve, we had some couples over from church. We had a great time and they stayed until about 2:30 a.m. The kids went to our friend’s house until the party was over. Jacob could not stay up that late and ended up falling to sleep before midnight.

Jeb is keeping busy with work and his calling. He has become very popular at church and is always being invited over to people’s houses. His home teaching numbers were 74% in December. His EQ presidency even got recognition from the Stake for this. He is really enjoying his calling and his very good at it.

I am plugging away at school. I am taking two classes this semester, Algebra and Medical Billing and Coding. They are both upper level courses and take a lot of time to study for. In church, I still teach the CTR 8 class. It is a very challenging class and I am getting Primary burnout. I have been in Primary (or Nursery) for 4 years now.

Alyssa is doing well in school. She is the Beehive secretary at church. They are going snow tubing tomorrow. That should be fun. I can’t believe she is almost 13. Yikes!

Jacob is still going to the tutor. His grades are slowly improving. He has gained some self confidence and that helps. We have the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Dinner tonight and he will get his Bear badge, so he is now a Webelo.

We are thankful that Brent’s tests came out fine. He is full of energy and I would hate to see that wane due to a serious illness. He continues to get straight A’s in school. His teacher told me that Brent is so helpful in class. There is a girl with severe autism in his class and she likes to pick Brent as her partner because Brent always smiles at her and is so kind. He is getting is Wolf Badge tonight and a golden arrow point.

We love you all! Remember to think spring! I am tired of winter.