The Thompson Family

Crescendo on YouTube

2010-06-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

This was an assignment for my music class. It was fun, and I think it turned out really well!

Happy 100th Birthday, Gram-Mim!

2010-01-17T20:30:00.000-08:00

The three Miriams: Gram-Mim, looking fantastic at 100, and still mobile, though she uses a walker; yours truly; and Miriam Youngberg (Gram-Mim's daughter).

Send Thanks to Our Troops

2009-12-10T11:07:00.001-08:00

100th post

2009-11-06T09:39:00.000-08:00

So maybe this is totally dorky; okay, I know this is totally dorky...Guess what guys this is the 100th post! So happy to post the 100th post Thompson Family Blog!

Happy Halloween! (Thank you, Jaime!!)

2009-10-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

2009-09-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

Looks like Asher's taken up smoking...

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2009-09-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

England Pictures

2009-08-07T13:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to my pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/miriamwhittam/England2009#

A very nice trip, indeed. Kaelyn was a excellent traveler, garnering rave reviews from the other airline passengers. Matt did a great job driving on the wrong side of the street.

Our beautiful high school graduate:

2009-07-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

Here she is, with a 4.0 GPA for her last semester...

Happy Birthday, Rico...Richard!

2009-07-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Wish you guys (ALL y'all) lived closer...

Happy Birthday, Clara "Bee"

2009-07-15T08:09:00.000-07:00

When my kids were born, Grandma started signing things "Grandma Bee"...

Happy Birthday, Betty!

2009-07-02T07:54:00.001-07:00

Hope you are keeping well.

update

2009-05-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

You are all hiding again... I have an excuse, at least. Four weeks ago, I had a small stroke and was in the hospital for about a week. I am doing fine now, but my typing was ragged for a while. I have some weakness on my left side, but it is coming along with some physical therapy. I'm pretty much back to doing everything I did before.

Other than that, things are pretty good. Everyone was over on Saturday for a barbecue, and it was a little hectic. Clara Bea has developed a way to get attention: she makes a sound like a Jurassic Park velociraptor (sp?). Fortunately, one of the other tenants has a macaw, and everyone may mistake Clara's screams for those of the bird.

Kind of like a chain letter, only better

2009-04-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

I saw this on Breanna's blog and thought it sounded like fun! Here's how this works:The first 3 people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees you will like what I make.

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It will be done this year.

4. You have no clue what it's going to be.

5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch is that you must re post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog. The first 3 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post of picture of what you win when you get it! Who's in?

The rest of the story

2009-04-17T11:24:00.000-07:00

You've seen the pictures of the baby, but here are the events leading up to her entrance into the world.
Feb. 14, 2009: Breanna called about 3 p.m. to ask what it feels like when the water breaks. I told her, and she said she thought that was what had happened. I started packing right away, but didn't leave until Matt called to say the birth was definitely a go.

I raced up as quickly as I could--not quickly enough, but I would not have wished a longer labor on Breanna. Her contractions started an hour after her water broke, and Kaelyn was born less than 7 hours later!

As the numbers on the Elevation signs went up, the numbers on my car's thermometer went down. It was about 16 degrees in Orem when I arrived at 2 a.m. Kaelyn was relaxing in Breanna's arms, without a doubt the most beautiful baby ever!

Hospital policy dictated that the baby stay for a minimum of 24 hours, and fortunately we were able to leave right at the 24-hour mark. After being at home one day, Kaelyn had to go back for a bilirubin test. We thought it would just be a formality, but the level was high, and was STILL high the following day, too. So Kaelyn ended up having to go inside the UV "light box". Matt and I took turns watching her through the night, while Breanna got up every 2 1/2 hours to feed her. (Watched a lot of HGTV and Food Network; it was either that or infomercials.)

Due to our diligence in keeping Kaelyn in the box, her bilirubin dropped dramatically after 48 hours, but after two more days out of the box, the bili level shot back up. Back in the box for Kaelyn, and now daily blood tests. The lethargy made her almost oblivious to the heel sticks, but it broke my heart to see her little heel all cut up.

In the meantime, we took Kaelyn to Salt Lake, to Primary Children's Medical Center, to see a pediatric orthopedist. Breanna had noticed when Kaelyn was first born that one of her feet looked "funny", so she asked one of the nurses about it. She said it was nothing, that it would resolve by itself. The pediatrician, however, said it was a mild clubfoot, and needed to be checked by a pediatric orthopedist within the week. The orthopedist's office was a little scary, with a sculpture of little casts hanging on the wall! Fortunately, Kaelyn does NOT have a clubfoot--pretty much the opposite, in fact: calcaneovalgus--which should be easily corrected with some simple stretching exercises.

I stayed a few extra days to help watch Kaelyn through the night, but she improved quickly with the continued UV treatment. She's so beautiful and sweet, I could hardly stand to leave her.

Her blessing was scheduled for when she was three weeks old, so I didn't have to wait too long to see her again. Peter and I left on the Friday afternoon and stayed in Las Vegas for the night. We didn't run into too much weather in Utah, but Matt's family, who had preceded us by several hours, had to wait out a storm on the way. All we encountered was some slush between Cedar City and Parowan.

Got into Orem in time to spend some time with Kaelyn before her blessing. (And Matt and Breanna, too.) Matt's Aunt Liz graciously opened her home for the occasion. Mom and Dad came, as well as Mario and his family, so I finally got to meet Joseph and Andrea!

Kaelyn's other grandparents, Virla and Pat

and Great-grandpa Jim

Kaelyn behaved herself during the blessing, which is more than I can say for Matt and his brothers. After dinner, they took the Rice Krispie layer of Mike and Charaty's wedding cake (they got married that morning), and set it afloat in the stream in the backyard! (It was inedible, anyway.)

We stayed the night at Breanna and Matt's, then set off early Sunday morning and drove straight back home--back to Real Life...

My favorite road sign, just outside of Baker, CA:

Four Generations

2009-04-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

Coming out of hibernation...
Here's a 4-generation picture from Kaelyn's blessing:

And my current favorite picture of her:

Now I understand grandparents' compulsion to show off pictures of their grandbabies!

Hi

2009-04-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

Here's Thomas & Kaelyn (Thomas & Mommy came up the first week of this month)

Just thought I'd let y'all know I'm keeping my blog pretty up-to-date & there's a link to it on the right side of this blog; so, if you want to see more pictures of Kaelyn you can find them there.

2009-03-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

Hi! Where is everybody? Are you hibernating??

Here are some new pix of the grandkids.

David and Michael came for a visit, and Brian was trying out Michael's scooter. Clara was just happy to be there...

Baby

2009-02-28T13:26:00.000-08:00

We've updated our blog now that Kaelyn has made it here. http://mattnbreannastevens.blogspot.com/

Aloha!

2009-02-03T15:31:00.000-08:00

Thought you all might enjoy a sunset off the Na Pali coast of Kaui. Just got back from a week's cruise with some friends.

Check us out!

2009-01-23T18:25:00.000-08:00

So we scored a "College" reading level (whoo-hoo!), though I didn't know how to incorporate it into this post...still learning.

Adventures in Shopping

2009-01-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

Thomas is going to Big Bear, so naturally he needed some boots and gloves. Boots weren't too hard to find; Big 5 had some in his size, and ON SALE. Gloves were another matter, however. Big 5 had some--for FORTY DOLLARS. Just couldn't bring myself to pay that much. Even though that's a mere pittance compared to the cost of treating frostbite.

Seemed everywhere else was sold out. Go figure.
Target had nothing. Wal-Mart had one pair which was simply inadequate. So we tried a few other stores at Anaheim Plaza. No luck until we went into T.J. Maxx-just because it was there, not because we thought they'd actually have gloves. But lo and behold, we hit pay dirt!

Please note that they are cashmere-lined--and for fifteen bucks!

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T19:18:00.000-08:00

So last night I went to sleep before 10 pm, too. Then I had to pick Thomas up at 12:30 (I had told him to call, figuring I'd be asleep!) and drove very slo-o-o-wly through the fog. It was pretty bad. Had a scare when I BLEW right through a stop sign and worried for a moment that a cop might pull me over--in my jammies!! On the way home I was extra careful to watch for that stop sign, and a good thing, too, 'cause by then there WAS a cop right there!!

Happy 2009!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-29T17:55:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone's was enjoyable!
Breanna and Matt were here, which was terrific; they were even here for my Crescendo concert.
They brought their dog, Charlie, with whom Asher apparently fell in love. It was like the little nerdy kid tagging along after the cool football player.

On Christmas Day, Maya brought her boyfriend, Marty--very nice guy.

Breanna spent most of her time until Christmas Eve working on a beautiful quilt for her mother-in-law. She used special transfer paper to put photographs of all TEN of Virla's children and their families on fabric squares, then put them together to make the quilt. (I should have taken a picture!)

Global Warming?

2008-12-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

The high temp on Sunday is going to be 58, not to bad for this time of year.
The next day the HIGH temp will be 17. Ouch

2008-12-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

Hi, Everyone,

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I don't remember every turkey I ever tasted, but I think Alia's just may be the best of all (Sorry, Peter).
David wants to know: Does anyone know what happened to Grandpa Thompson's shooting trophies? Just curious.

Betty

Twilight (what else?)

2008-11-24T20:49:00.000-08:00

Alyx and I went to see "Twilight". Fortunately, she had no school, so we were able to hit an early matinee and completely missed the crowds. (Still, $9.50 for a matinee??!?)

Anyway, I enjoyed it very much. I thought it was quite faithful to the book, but even better in that both Edward and Bella got over their grumpiness much more quickly than in the book.

So go see it; I don't think you'll be disappointed!

2008-11-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

Here's what we saw today; these fires are closer than any we've seen in recent years (Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills!), and have also caused more property damage than any in a long time.

Thank you, Dennis Prager!

2008-11-12T14:58:00.001-08:00

I've always liked Dennis Prager tremendously, but now he has shown how truly noble he is. In response to the hateful gay-rights activists who are protesting outside our temples, he says, "We are ALL Mormons!" (Even though he's Jewish.)

This reminds me of Denmark's beloved King Christian, who, when the Nazis marched in, donned a Star of David, and all his faithful subjects followed suit.

Veterans' Day

2008-11-12T06:26:00.001-08:00

Thank you to our veterans! I heard that there's still ONE MAN LEFT who fought in World War I--of course, he's 108 years old. Amazing.

Halloween

2008-10-31T17:00:00.001-07:00

Here's my costume that I've entitled "The Web of Life"---doesn't our baby look cute as a spider?

Mario's e-mail to a soldier in Iraq

2008-10-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

Mario wrote this email to a soldier that is currently in Iraq and whose
platoon he used to be in until he came home. I found it very moving and definitely worth sharing and preserving.

Hi Brian,

Sorry for writing to your Army email address, but I don't know any
other one.

Anyway, just wanted to say hello and let you know a bit about what's
going on in my life right now.

I found a job (very blessed) as a programmer analyst, and am quite
happy, thank you. There's no yelling, no threatening, and the
employees work hard voluntarily and cheerfully. We all want to be
there.

There's a massage room, and exercise room, and sometimes the company
sponsors lunch.

I respect my co-workers and boss; I wear no uniform; I don't lift heavy
items all day in the motor pool. I don't wait for somebody to tell me
what to do or release me so I can go home. There's none of that. I
only work 8 hours per day. In fact, sometimes I choose to work longer.
Why? Because I enjoy my job. I want the company to succeed. Because
commerce is important; it supports families; it feeds children. In
fact, with the proper perspective, commerce is even virtuous.

I do my job how I want to do it. Nobody micro-manages me. After I'm
done with a project, my supervisor checks my work; he cares mainly
about one thing--does it work?

I don't have to tell someone where I'm going if I choose to take a
break. I can work from 7 until 3 p.m. I can work from 8 to 4, or 9 to
5 or get to work at 9, take an hour for lunch, then finish at 6 p.m.

There is an on-call programmer but that's fine with me. Why? Because
I'm loyal to the company, they treat me well, and I actually want to do
well. We have a clear mission that relates directly to adding value to
our customers' lives.

I wake up around 7:15. I still shave, although I don't have to feel
under the gun about it. I have hair to comb and now wear contacts
rather than glasses.

When I get to work, I use my brain. I analyze, problem solve, learn,
discover.

There are of course, some downsides. Theresa is still having medical
problems, which could get very expensive. While I do have insurance,
it's very expensive. I have no guarantee that my job will be there the
next day.

But I do value some things more highly than safety and security:
freedom, liberty, the dignity of the individual, and the pursuit of
happiness.

War should only be used as a last resort, in self-defense, not in a
pre-emptive strike derived from fear. Peace is should be sought after
always and should only be sacrificed for liberty. Fear is never a
reason to sacrifice peace.

Before we seek war, let us repent of our lies, adulteries, and take
care of our poor. Then let us have faith that God will protect and
defend us as a nation as long as we prepare ourselves and stay strong
morally as well as militarily.

Wish you all the best, my friend,

Mario

Talk softly and carry a big stick...

2008-10-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

A Bit of a Scare

2008-10-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

Oh, my gosh!!
Last Saturday, a strange woman tried to get in my car! I had just come out of Der Wienerschnitzel (they have the closest ATM to my house), got back in my car, and could see her approaching. In slow motion, it seemed--just like a bad dream. She was not hesitant; I could tell she was going to try the car door. I pushed the button to lock the doors, but in my panic, I foolishly UNlocked the doors instead.

She opened the passenger-side door and I yelled at her to get out. She said, "Do you want my coat?" and took off said coat. I kept yelling, "GET OUT OF MY CAR! GET OUT!" She offered me her coat again and tossed it on the passenger seat. I told her, "I'M CALLING THE POLICE!" She was completely unfazed. I yelled some more and she finally started to leave. I yelled at her to take her coat, too, which she did.

By then I'd dialed 911, and had this delightful exchange:

911: 911; what is your emergency?

Me: Some woman just tried to get in my car!

911: Tell me what happened, ma'am.

(I give her an account of the events to that point.)

Me: Now she's getting in the car next to me! There's a whole family in there, but they don't seem to be doing anything.

Other Driver: Is she with you?

Me: NO! I'M ON THE PHONE WITH THE POLICE!

Me (to dispatcher): Oh, they're going into the restaurant, and the man is holding the door for her. Maybe they're going to buy her lunch??

Well (my panic subsiding), she doesn't appear to be dangerous. Clearly, she's mentally ill, though.

911: What makes you say that, ma'am? (Catches herself) Other than her trying to get in your car, I mean?

The nice dispatcher lady then told me the officers were on their way. The other driver man came out; I rolled down the window (just a bit) and told him the police were coming. He said, "Well, I don't want to get involved. I'm leaving right now." But just then the police arrived. One of the officers talked to the car-invader woman, and the other talked to me and a gal from the other family.

Me: I'm the one who called.

PO: Can I see your license, ma'am? (I gave it to him.)

Gal: I don't want to get involved; I'm just going to go...

PO: That's fine, ma'am; can I just get your name?

Gal: Ok--(gives her name)

PO: What's your birthdate, ma'am?

Gal: (gives birthdate)

PO: Great. You got a phone, ma'am?

Gal: Yeah. (gives phone number)

Gotta love those hard-line interrogation techniques.

Kind of anti-climactic from that point. I told the officer what had happened, and he said they'd probably be taking the woman to the hospital, which is really what she needed. Whew! A little scary for a moment, but all ended well.

COLLEGE!

2008-10-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

I have been accepeted to my number one choice for college! The Academy Of Art University in Sanfran! So this time next year i will be sitting in my DORM room blogging! I am super stoked. It wasn't that hard.. i spent a month talking to the admissions guy and then just applied and i got in! I'm majoring in the motion pictures productions stuff, I'm going there for acting, as you probably all know it's been my dream since i was 9 years old when i was in my very first play to be an actress and now I'm going to go out there and do it :D

Pictures

2008-10-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

In case I have an out-of-date email for you...we've posted pictures of our baby at our blog http://mattnbreannastevens.blogspot.com/

Life's funny little coincidences

2008-10-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

I pull up to the post office just as Dennis Prager is saying, "Save time and gas. DON'T drive to the post office; use stamps.com!"

Walking the dog, I round the corner, facing directly into the late afternoon sun, and a neighbor's stereo is playing "Blinded By the Light".

My new friend...?

2008-10-03T23:06:00.000-07:00

Miriam is so much more brave than I am!! Here's the creepy spider that took up residence in my garage. It's the size of a hermit crab, and I've built it a little house, and take it on walks daily.

Arachnophobia

2008-09-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

The other night, as I approached my car after song practice, I saw a fantastic, large economy-sized spider rising in the air (climbing its silk). I thought it would be great for Thomas to take to his entomology class. Didn't have a container of any kind in the car, so I went back in the church building, hoping to find a plastic cup or two, which I did. Still didn't know how I was going to reach the darn thing, but on my way out I came across three of Thomas' friends—all Boy Scouts—who were eager to lend a hand.

The spider was still there, but pretty high up, so two of the boys interlaced their fingers while the third stood on their hands and clapped the cups together, capturing the spider.

Now, of course the cups weren't stuck together, so I had to HOLD them together all the way home! Drove one-handed, turned the radio up so I couldn't hear the skritch-skritch noises coming from oh-so-near my hand and tried not to think about the extra passenger I'd taken on. (The creepy-crawlies are fascinating—from a distance!)

Unfortunately, in my excitement and haste, I was almost home when I realized I'd FORGOTTEN to PICK UP ALYX!! Don't know that she'd have wanted to be in the car, anyway. (I went back and got her after delivering the spider to Thomas. For some reason, she wasn't even surprised I'd forgotten her—sorry, Baby!)

I hoped Thomas would be as excited as I was, and he was. He identified the creature as an Orb Weaver—entirely harmless, but impressive nonetheless.

Now the challenge is keeping the sucker ALIVE for a week, until Thomas' next class. So it's in our fridge (to slow its metabolism). Just don't look in that paper bag...

See our new look!

2008-09-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

Thought we could try something different, for a while, at least...

Another Musician?

2008-09-11T10:27:00.001-07:00

Ashley has decided to give the Viola a try. She decided on it without knowing I used to attempt
to play it. The other picture shows some local wildlife (baby rabbit).

Big Day

2008-09-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

Michael started kindergarten on Monday. He finally got a "big boy" haircut, and he looks so grown up!

Ralph Johnston

2008-09-09T02:21:00.000-07:00

Al's brother Ralph passed away on Thursday, Sept. 4. He was 78 years old, and he died of cancer. Ralph worked for the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management for many years, and he was well thought of among his colleagues. He was one of the first smoke jumpers in Southern California and he and others pioneered the use of helicopters in fighting forest fires. A memorial service will be held on October 18, at which time the heliport at Chilao in the Angeles National Forest will be renamed the Ralph Johnston Heliport.

Al was able to spend some time with Ralph a couple of weeks ago.

Stork Announcement

2008-08-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

I'm sure some of you have already heard, but thanks to faith, a great fertility specialist (and the modern marvel of drugs) we're having a baby. I'm finally in my 12th week; I should also say that I'm very grateful for Zofran (that little pill that helps me still feel like a person, rather than spending my time praying to the porcelain god). More on us and the baby later.

2008-08-23T20:55:00.001-07:00

Aaack! Your parents LET you DYE your HAIR???
They must be sooo cool!

Updatesss

2008-08-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

i updated my profile a bit, there's a pic of me up on there now :]

the parents finally let me dye my hair so for the moment it is dark brown with purple streaks and chunks its pretty sweet.

so check it out if you want, i have my email address on there if you have any questions about me or my life as of now :]

tty[all]l♥ [ttyl= talk to you later]

First Day of School

2008-08-18T05:40:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again, Yeah!

...which leads to another...

2008-08-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

So we got the big ol' TV, and we got the Wii (now working together), and now we're being good consumers and getting more games, the latest being Rock Band. It is very groovy, indeed, though I'm hopelessly inept at it. I reckon it would give me a Fitness Age of "Old Fogey", considering I've only ever HEARD of two songs on it!
The young'uns are having fun, though, which is the whole point.

Grrr

2008-07-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

It seems the ghostly fingers of something-or-other are reaching out through cyberspace and touching us. Comments are appearing here on our blog from sites such as "online gambling" and "lottery numbers". They must be automated, because they seem to appear immediately after a post.

Please go ahead and delete them permanently. What a pain! It's fun to get comments from (the few) friends who read us, so I don't want to disallow comments unless I have to.

Anyone else know anything about this??

One thing leads to another...

2008-07-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

So after we got the Wii, I thought it would be nifty to play it on a big-screen TV. (Another major consideration was that the living room stays about ten degrees cooler than the family room--more comfortable for TV-viewing in the evening.)

Then the new TV necessitated new furniture...and the next thing will be new carpeting--after the dog is fully potty-trained!

Finally Moved In!

2008-07-29T11:21:00.001-07:00

It seems like it took forever, but we finally are in our new condo and paying a mortgage instead of rent! Thanks to Mommy for coming and helping with lots of unpacking! We love it and will be posting new pictures of it (with our stuff instead of the old pictures on the seller's blog). Although we're not terribly fond of HOA's, the one we're in is pretty good, we have a pool, playground, workout room, the grounds and buildings are maintained regularly--in fact even though our buildings are a few years old than the condo-complex right next to us, ours looks significantly newer because the HOA is on top of keeping things up. Charlie has gotten a little territorial of the condo, but with the advice of the lady on "It's Me or the Dog" we're working on some behavior modification to stop him from barking when people come to the door and waiting a few feet from the door while we open it so he doesn't charge at visitors to try and smell them. Anyway, I should get back from my lunch, I'll post more on our blog (http://mattnbreannastevens.blogspot.com/) later.

Cute kids!

2008-07-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Betty, I took the liberty of posting the pictures you sent.
Congratulations, Alia and Brian!!

Julybugs?

2008-07-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

It's a little late for these critters--they're not affixing themselves to the screen door anymore--but Asher found one in the grass. I tried to upload a video of him torturing it, but it was taking WAY too long. Here are some stills.

A Farewell to Wheels...

2008-07-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

...AKA "The Bubble".
Well, more like au revoir. It's now in Utah, with Breanna and Matt. Check out the odometer!
After a major repair job last year, though, it should be good for another long while. I got to make a solo road trip (whoo hoo!) and had a great visit with the kiddies.

I got there in time to help them move, though Matt hardly needed any help. He manhandled both couches into the truck by himself.

Their new condo is beautiful!! New Pergo flooring, new paint, and those modern rounded corners on all the walls. The complex looks very upscale, and it's very quiet--can't hear the neighbors at all.
And there's very pretty sparkly rock on the exterior! (I think I've used up my quota of exclamation points.)

Before I left to come home, Breanna took me to a place called "Pudding on the Rice", where they sell--of all things--rice pudding, in quite an array of flavors. VERY yummy!

I got to meet their dog, Charlie, too. He has moments of boisterousness, but is very good-natured.

Congrats, Kiddos! Well done!!

Announcing:

2008-07-15T21:30:00.000-07:00

the arrival of Clara Bea Johnston at 4:30 PM today. Yes, a GIRL! She is a little bit early - there were a couple of complications - but she and Mommy are OK. She weighs 5 lbs. 15 oz. We haven't seen her yet; she is in isolation for the first six hours to make sure her lungs are OK. Brian just called to say she is improving rapidly and probably will be with Alia tonight. Will post pictures as soon as we can take some.

Betty

A series of unfortunate events

2008-07-05T10:09:00.000-07:00

Fireworks are illegal in Orange, but 4 or 5 houses down the street, it becomes Garden Grove, where they ARE legal. The kids had some money to burn (literally), and decided to buy some fireworks. I needed to come along because one must be 18 in order to buy said FW.

I decided to bring the dog along and walk to the stand.

We'd gotten about 100 yards down the street when we noticed a German Shepherd in a neighbor's driveway--unleashed and unattended. We proceeded anyway, not confronting the other dog, just minding our own business. After we passed the house, Alyx said, "Mom, he's following us; pick up Asher." I hesitated, not wanting to do anything that might provoke an attack. In that moment, however, the German Shepherd DID attack!

Of course, we yelled at him; fortunately, he released Asher immediately, and I picked him up. I turned around and went all "Dog Whisperer" on the GS, shouting "No!" and pointing my finger at him and stepping toward him. I was nervous as all get out, but tried not to show it. The dog turned around and went back.

Meanwhile, Alyx had run back to the house where the dog had been, and banged on the door. When a woman answered the door, she yelled, "Your dog just attacked my dog!" The woman said, "We don't have a dog." The German Shepherd had returned by then, and Alyx pointed to him. "That dog!"

Turned out that he was visiting for the 4th of July. The owner hadn't realized he was outside. He apologized profusely and gave me his name and phone number, in case some damage came to light later. The bite didn't break Asher's skin; there doesn't seem to be any injury.

Now get this: the owner's name is Bitderback--which is exactly what his dog did!

So we took a walk we don't usually take, in a direction we don't usually go, and encountered a dog who usually isn't there, but it all turned out ok in the end. Whew!

Asher got a haircut a couple weeks ago; cuter that ever, don'tcha think?

Mario was here...

2008-07-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

We had a nice visit with Mario last week when he was here jobhunting. I wanted to get a picture, though I am by far the least proficient photog in the fam. You know how there's a delay with the digital cameras? Well, Mario kept closing his eyes at the moment the picture was taken, and I was just sure if he would only hold his eyes open long enough, we'd get a good one. He said it was the flash that messed him up, but I didn't believe him until I took the flash off, and voila! We got some!

A couple more of our faves...

2008-06-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

Now, it is widely acknowledged that I watch a lot of TV (making up for all those years when we weren't allowed to watch!)-- just thought I'd let you know that Monk and Psych are coming back on July 18.

It's almost time, folks...

2008-06-17T17:33:00.001-07:00

...for one of the best TV shows to make its return. Not that I'm a fanatic or anything, but you can count down the days with me!

address

2008-06-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

Well, we're not in the Provo apartment anymore, (don't worry Betty we got your graduation card it was so cute! thanks). Sunday we found mold growing in the bathroom wall. All the drywall in that wall is being replaced. We got the heck out of there; we're sleeping at the American Fork house (Della and Mike were kind enough so we have somewhere to sleep). To make a long story short, we are now condo-shopping. We'll keep you updated.

one more day!

2008-06-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

tomorrow is the last day of the school year.
it was a good year, i got very good grades [no lower than a B the entire year] i was involved [i was part of ASB [[student government]] and will continue that next year was well. i don't really have anything planned for the summer, i was suppost to have a job right now... but... we wont get into that [long story short i couldnt make a perfect cone so i didn't get the job i was PROMISED.]
anyway.

over all, a pretty good year :]

It's June, and that means...

2008-06-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

Junebugs! Aren't they the ugliest things ever? Except for potato bugs. At least they're slow movers, and they really are only around for a month. The puppy found one and tortured it for a while.
Gross.

Birthday Greetings-to Miriam

2008-06-10T03:31:00.001-07:00

In case I forget.

Birthday greetings

2008-06-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

Happy (belated) Birthday, Mario!
Hope it was a good one, and that you got to do something fun.

Can I ask y'all (other than my immediate siblings) to post your birthdates? I'll try to remember them, and at least send happy thoughts your way...

We're moving....

2008-05-30T08:41:00.001-07:00

Thought y'all would want to have our new address. It's 707 W Center St. Provo, UT 84601. It's not the nicest apartment, but they allow pets and we're not about to give up Charlie--so it will do for now.

End of the year school program

2008-05-16T13:32:00.001-07:00

I know other peoples kids video can be a bore, but if you are interested
Hope had her end of the year preschool program today.

Hope's B-Day Party

2008-05-16T08:30:00.001-07:00

Had Hope's 5th Birthday party last Saturday.
Just a small party at home with some kids from
her preschool class and some from the neighborhood. If you look closely you can see
Joseph, Andrea and Theresa in the picture below.

How about some recent pictures?

2008-05-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hey Miriam, Maya and others,
I realized the other day that it's been quite a while since we saw Thomas and Alyx. In my mind
I still remember them as little kids but Mom told me they are 15 and 16 (?) now.
And I can't remember the last time we saw Maya.
Here's some of Ashley and Hope.

New dog, old tricks...

2008-05-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

So here's our new puppy--Thomas's, really, but we're all having fun with him (and cleaning up after him!) His name is Asher; he's two months old.

Speaking of dogs...

2008-05-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Today we adopted Charlie a black lab/pointer. We started our own blog, you can see pictures of Charlie there (there's not much on it yet, but we'll be adding to it ---http://mattnbreannastevens.blogspot.com/).

Old dog, new tricks...

2008-05-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

So Thomas got me to try the Wii last night. Have to say, it was waii more fun than I expected! I've always declined to play video/computer games with the excuse that I didn't want to get "hooked", but the truth of the matter is that I suspected I wouldn't be able to play worth a darn--an assumption which was amply borne out when I finally tried "Flat Out 2" last year.
In any case, I particularly enjoyed the golf, and I'm not at all discouraged by the fact that the Wii gave me a "fitness age" of 75!!

Miriam

Family Trip to San Diego

2008-05-04T16:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some pix from our trip to San Diego a few weeks ago. David has better ones; maybe he will post them.

The Studio Diner, which we saw on the Food Network, and wanted to visit. Michael likes to entertain Brian Jr. Michael with Alia (4 1/2 mos. pregnant). The Hotel del Coronado, which is beautiful (and expensive!).

Betty

More graduation photos

2008-05-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

Quite a vicious cougar, evidently, though Matt and Breanna escaped unscathed.
And there's the new, clean-shaven Brigham Young. Maybe sometime I'll figure out how to align the text with the pictures...
(Miriam)

OK, here goes. It's taking me a while to figure this stuff out. (Obviously I still haven't!)

2008-05-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

KC was Rockin last night

2008-05-02T11:40:00.001-07:00

Weather was warm, windy and humid all day with a cold front coming in. It wasn't any surprise
that nasty weather was on it's way. About 7:30 pm the sky really started to darken up and you could see the lighting in the distance. It wasn't long after that the sirens started to blow and the
weather radio alarm goes off. They have a policy here that whenever a rotating storm is within the county limits they blow the sirens for everyone. The first one wasn't near us so we stayed
upstairs (not in the basement). After a while the sirens started again so we went downstairs.
The storms were dropping hail all around us and one even dropped a small tornado to the south
of us for a short while (no damage). Finally after about two hours of non stop lightning it looked
like it was all over and we went to bed around 10:00.
A little before 2:00 am the weather radio goes off and warns of a severe thunderstorm with wind being the main threat. After closing the window I decided not to wake anyone since it didn't seem to be a big deal. This morning on TV I saw that we were pretty lucky and missed
the brunt of the wind.
The picture to the left shows a neighborhood about 15 miles to the north of us, the other one used to be an Arby's in Independence, MO not to far from Mario and Theresa's house.
With all that hail and wind around us, we got nothing but heavy rain. Guess we'll have to wait
a while for that new roof.

hahah here doodle pics

2008-04-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

Doodle Bug

2008-04-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

i just realized you cant get to the web page my puppy is on so lets try again

http://www.1-800-save-a-pet.com/cgi-bin/public/petsearch.cgi/pet_details?pet_id=1216789

if not she is 8 months old, and only 12lbs!

she is a mini poodle/ maltese mix and just adorible!

she is with her foster mommy right now, but i will hopefully meet her soon!

Miriam and Peter Whittam abducted by aliens?

2008-04-29T18:02:00.001-07:00

I am now a firm believer in alien abductions.

my dad just bought a Wii [mom wanted me to say we got a wii] at best buy[he wants everyone to know he got it for 250, thats 100 less than ebay], and asked thomas and i if we would like to get a flat screen tv. that in itself is quite out of character, but the next one will really shock you!

Our parents have agreed to let both thomas and me get dogs! [ you can see mine at : http://www.1-800-save-a-pet.com/cgi-bin/public/petsearch.cgi/pet_details?pet_id=1216789&do_count=1]

we are getting two poodles, since they are hypoallergenic.

so if you happen to find our real parents walking about anywhere, thats alright, we'll keep the ones we have :]

--
Alyx.

Weekend at Breanna's

2008-04-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone!

Thought y'all would enjoy Pat's account of our trip to Utah.

Some names you may not recognize:

Pat and Virla-Breanna's parents-in-law

Matthew-Breanna's husband

Miriam-Matt's sister

Steve-Miriam's husband

Rebecca-Matt's other sister

Joshua, John, Ben, Daniel, Michael, Joseph, Sam- Matt's brothers

We traveled to Utah for the graduation of Matthew, Breanna, Miriam and Steve. We didn't have any trouble – we did, however, travel with a trailer, all the way up and all the way home. It was a 6 x 10 trailer, covered. Joshua went with us, as did John. Daniel had to stay home because of work. January's mother came to visit her and Ethan, so she didn't go either. I thought it was good to have John as an extra driver because I do nothing any more to help Dad. Our travel was uneventful, thank goodness, and we got there without any trouble.

We went to Grandpa's house in American Fork where Matt and Breanna are staying. They had gotten a hospital bed for Virla, so that made it easier for her.

The graduates had arranged to all walk together instead of in their separate colleges, which made it possible to see all of them receive their diplomas. Miriam arranged this, (we believe), so the other three were announced with their relationships to her. It was really good to see them all graduate – they came in order, one right after the other. Dad (Pat), of course, took some pictures – it's always good to have some pictures. Miriam graduated in Physics and Astronomy, Steve in Electrical Engineering, Breanna in Marriage, Family and Human Development, (those all Bachelor of Science) and Matt in History (the Bachelor of Arts). [Editor: there was some man I didn't recognize sitting in the audience, who, when we walked into the Wilkinson Center ballroom, indicated we should sit in certain seats. He seemed to know what he wanted us to do, and after we did, and a little time passed, I began to understand that if you have a light beard and at the same time shave your head, you could be Ben and not be known by your own father.] After the pictures and procession, Dad had to go home to get my medicine which he'd forgotten. While he was going, we saw a demonstration of physics principles in the Eyring Science Center (with the Foucault Pendulum) and ate some snacks which were provided. Then we went to the planetarium, where Miriam gave us a little program and demonstration. All of the Stevens' were there, including Dad, Joshua and me, Joseph, Jennifer, Jacob and Sierra, Matt and Breanna, all of Breanna's family, and Steve and his family too. We filled up about 25 seats. Miriam showed us the planets, constellations, and gave a little talk about the origins of the Astrology. She made a big deal of saying that Astrology is not taught at BYU, but some students didn't know the difference between Astrology and Astronomy. It was very interesting to hear her talk about it and run the planetarium projector. The seats leaned back enough so some, if tired, might snore a little while the rest of us listened to the program.

The group broke up and Dad and I went to Rebecca's lab. There she showed us a variety of things which, when immersed in liquid nitrogen, will freeze, and subsequently break. This happens whether they are dropped in the floor, squeezed in the heavily gloved hand, or thrown against the door. While this was all going on for an audience of Stevens, Joseph's children, and Whittams, there was a student or at least a person quietly rebuilding a piece of lab gear. All the accumulation on the floor didn't seem to bother him. Rebecca has no more official connection with the college, but such is her influence that said gear rebuilder said not a word and acted as if we were all sane. Jacob made sure no frozen piece of rubber hose went unpunished. Once released onto the floor he followed it around the room stomping vigorously. Matt, totally in the interest of science, was a little disappointed by the results of a tie, a perfectly good tie, which had so recently been worn as part of the graduation outfit, then willingly cut up and dipped in the dewar of bubbling liquid nitrogen, when it obstinately failed to shatter. Separating the inner foamy tie filling from the outer silky fabric didn't give any better results. The tie maintained its frozen shape but did not break apart. Must have been a winter tie.

Matt had bought a 'ding and dent' table, a little round coffee table, from a local furniture store, so after the mayhem at the lab, capped off by a full dewar of liquid being thrown down the hall, where it could be observed that the liquid runs amazingly quickly down the confined space of the hall, steaming and evaporating on the way, we picked up the table. And went home.

On the way back to the American Fork house, we saw an A&W root beer place, and were about to get some for all four of us, but when I saw the price for a cup and that for a gallon, just bought a gallon. When we arrived at the house, by the time I'd gotten the lift out and put Virla in the chair, said gallon had been guzzled. So, I went back and got two more gallons which had the courtesy to last a little longer. Clayton and Jean, his traveling companion, came with me and we talked about his recent knee surgeries and his plans to visit exotic locations with Jean.

Susan and Elizabeth also were able to come, and before the evening was over, we had Michael's boss and some of his family visiting as well. At first I thought they were from the West family, but it didn't matter – there was pizza and root beer, so they were all happy. While the light lasted a rather fierce game of Pickle was conducted across the street, and after everyone had sat for pictures, the Wii activity, participation TV, kept everyone's attention. It was entertaining to stand in the kitchen and look into the next room where the whole group was watching four people, each with the Wii motion sensor, waving in unison – first side to side, then up and down, in and out, all intensely serious and yet believing they were accomplishing a great deal. At intervals a cheer would arise from the group. Next time you're observing a behavior so odd that nothing in your experience would explain it, think that perhaps there is a TV somewhere, unseen to you but visible to the participants, being controlled by Wii, the combination of which might lend dignity to the occasion. Not.

On the morrow we slowly removed furniture which DeVirl and Beryl had given to Virla into the trailer and van. The boys helped even though after this exercise, the house had no chairs nor tables except one small coffee table from Dent n Ding, which wasn't visible at least upstairs. However, since the Wii was still going, no one seemed to mind.

Rebecca arrived with the most wonderful pizza, two imaginative layers, and we had that and various juices. Matt and Breanna (and probably Miriam and Steve) had planned well for this occasion. But we had to go, and so when the packing was done, we took our leave and found a relatively cheaper filling station. The credit card limit these days is 99 bucks, up from the previous 75, but still not enough. This is why you need to carry two cards. The trip home was equally uneventful, though at GrabApple Station, Yermo, CA, we fully expected the guards to sentence our remaining apple to the trash, but the sight of the trailer so consumed their attention that when they'd looked inside and found, instead of illegals, a lightly loaded trailer and the chair and lift at the very back, they waved us on through. A thoughtful food packer back in American Fork had given us four apples, but no one's appetite included apples that afternoon, so I manfully ate three of them on the way down, thinking it was, if not green, at least not wasteful.

A howling tailwind during the whole trip made it rather easy on fuel, though we were pulling a trailer, and the mpg was near 20.

Virla was happy to have made the trip – the extra effort is entirely worth it to see her happiness and contentment as she watched the graduators, and the large, happy group of family and friends, the children and children of former children. Life is good.

(Thanks, Pat, for letting me borrow your words--

Miriam)

2008-04-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some graduation pictures. It still hasn't quite sunken in that I actually have a B.S. and Matt has a B.A.
In the top photo I'm holding my diploma (well the cover, BYU sends the paper itself in the mail). The last photo includes Paul (Matt's friend since second grade), Jenny & their baby James.

Done With Finals!

2008-04-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of finals. I took my LAST one for all my undergrad education. Plans for now: relax, relax, relax, in a little while start to prep for the GRE, get into grad school and finish a Masters. Matt has practically accepted a position as an agent for United American Insurance (it's a health and life insurance company). That means we'll be in Utah for a while longer. We graduate on Friday! I'll post pictures of graduation in a few days :)

Storms

2008-04-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

We were woken up about 2:00 am last night by lots of thunder and lightning.
It wasn't technically a "severe" storm but I heard what sounded like hail hitting our skylight.
Since we need a new roof I have been praying for large hail to hit our house some time this year.
We took a picture, but I don't think this will be big enough.
Maybe next time.

Good idea!

2008-04-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

HI! We are new at this, too, but we'll try to keep up.

Al and Betty

Alyx Whittam, a working woman

2008-04-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

i have finally managed to get a job! Mike Abbeta [Nani and grampa you might know him he's in 3rd ward] who owns Joe's Italian ice said he is going to hire me once the weather warms up, since it is an Italian ice place and he likes to wait till it gets closer to the summer to have a full staff. i am very excited. in case you have never been to Joe's the people who work there are very preppy and loud, so it looks like my loud preppy personality has finally come in handy xD

Today's post brought to you by...

2008-04-19T07:52:00.001-07:00

Always liked Office Depot, but now I like 'em even better. Several months ago, I bought a 2-phone set there because, with the rebates, they cost only $10. I mailed in the rebate form, and periodically checked on its status, then finally almost forgot about it.
Then earlier this week, out of the blue, here comes a check from Office Depot with a letter explaining that THEY opted to fulfill the rebates since the other company (American Telecom--bad!) had failed to do so.
Not only that, but OD also sent a $10 coupon and a $5 gift card as compensation for having to wait so long! So I got me a new computer desk, and only paid 35 bucks for it!

I've been using Mom's old desk, but Peter said it wasn't ergonomic. Really didn't bother me, but I have to say this is better. Now the old desk can become a sewing table. Don't want to part with it, because it is so sturdy.

Miriam

The new look of the homestead - Produced by Miriam, Breanna, Thomas, Alyx, Matt, Pat and Peter

2008-04-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

Anybody see the Dems debate last night?

2008-04-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen that much tap dancing (by Obama) since Gregory Hines. Can't he answer a
simple question without a five minuet speech?

Where have you been Maya?

2008-04-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

Do you have a new e-mail address or still using the Cox.com?
Where are you living these days and what is going on in your life?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Rico

Let's try this out!

2008-04-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone!
I think this will be a fun way for us all to keep it touch, now that we're all spread out. I'm completely new at this--y'all will be much better than I--so let's give it a go.