Our summer so far (written on August 12th en route to Oregon)

The most exciting news since my last newsletter...

Jessica delivered Ammon on June 25.  We are on the plane to meet him right now.  He is a cute, mellow, little guy who just started smiling.  Jessica, Michael and Quin have adjusted well to this wonderful addition to their family (with occaisional meltdowns).    

Baby Ammon

I completed a weekend-long CERT training and joined the Nashua team.  Community Emergency Response Teams respond to emergencies and assist paid professionals (often first responders on the scene).  Jonathan will attend the next training as he was busy at a Ham Radio event.  He joined a club with his friend Murray and he's been studying for the next level of licensing so he can operate the equipment he's already purchased:)  He also bought a second cargo trailer and his latest project is fabricating metal hand carts in case we have to go off road when the "guacamole hits the fan."

Our garden had a slow start with some erratic weather.  Also with too many chicken in the coop we started letting them out in the back yard and they got into the greenhouse a few times. They destroyed the spinach and kale but left the radished and tomato plants alone.  We added a screen door and put chicken wire on the open side of the greenhouse and everyone is much happier.  Now the garden is really producing and with the abundance of cucumbers and zuchini I have been canning pickle relish.  I also pressure-canned most of white meat from our own chickens to add more protein to our food storage.

I was released as Relief Society president last month after 2 years 9 months.  I learned a lot from serving in Relief Society and really grew to love the women in the ward.  It was a big time commitment, however, and I had a hard time juggling everything. Now I'm back teaching the four year-olds.  Whew! It's fun to be in Primary with Jonathan.  He plays the piano during singing time and then visits my class.

Castle in the Clouds

We took a fun day trip with Curtis to "Castle in the Clouds" in Wolfeborough, NH.  I had free libary passes and sold Jonathan on the idea because in addition to being free there was a large classic car show event there.  It's a large estate and mansion built  with the state of the art technology at the turn of the century by a self-made millionaire. We had a great time in spite of rain clouds obscurring the view of Lake Winnepesauke. 

"View" of Lake Winnepesauke

Trevor started a job last week!  His transitional program set it up and it is his program right now to work four mornings a week "bagging and tagging" at a facility that manufactures magnetic shields for surgery equipment.  He was very excited to get his first pay check yesterday.  The work is pretty monotonous so he was happy that he can listen to audio books/music while he works.  He is looking  for good young adult book recommendations.

This has been a summer of change and growth for Trevor in many ways.  He is more aware of his need for help and has worked hard with counseling and medication.  He is really pushing himself to learn new things and make social connections.  He often attends FHE with the student ward that meets in Lowell, MA and is taking music lessons.

Curtis has had a fun summer.  His extended school year program focused on lots of outdoor, team-building activities with a field trip every Thursday.  Stake Youth Conference was a unique experience as he went with 120 people on three tour buses to Palmyra.  They went to the Smith farm, sacred grove, Grandin building, Palmyra temple and of course, the Hill Cumorrah pageant.   He is ready to attempt the DMV drivers test as soon as we get back from Oregon.  He is way more excited than we are.

Jason is driving to the family reunion with his girlfriend, Isa.  We're looking forward to seeing him and meeting Isa.  He recently changed jobs and will start next week working at three different storage units in Salt Lake area.  He plans to start taking night classes at LDS business college.

Jason and Isa

Well, we're on our way to Oregon for 10 days.  Next newsletter will be about our family-event  packed trip that will include a memorial for Carl, family reunion, wedding reception for nephew Berkeley and baby blessing for Ammon.