The Transition into 2009!

Wow, another year has gone and it is now 2009! Things keep moving on.

We had a very nice Christmas. It was a little different this year, I'm not so sure why though. It could have been the snow, or it could have been that our family is now mostly made up of teenagers. So it was quiet and nice. We got up at 6am, and enjoyed giving gifts to each other and lounging around. Jennifer got a camera (so she could document her time at BYU-I), Kevin got a computer game called the Orange Box, Jessica got an ipod, Melissa got the British version of Harry Potter (although she had to wait until yesterday when it finally got here), Rachel got an Nintendo DS, Dad got a new computer chair, and I got Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.

We had a big breakfast, and ate leftovers from our Christmas Eve Dinner (so sad that the Wiseman's didn't make it, but we enjoyed eating their portions!)

Before sending Jennifer off to college we had to get some family photos taken. So on the 30th we met Sarah Kang at Pacific University in Forest Grove. It was cold, but we survived by sitting on plastic bags, and kicking snow out of the way. Here a picture that she has given us for a sneak peak:

New Years eve was also quiet. Jennifer was busy packing up, Kevin went to a friends house, Jessica went to the tri-stake dance, and Brian and I went to some friends home for some soup then stayed up late playing Life with Rachel while Melissa read a book. We cheered in the new year with poppers, then headed to bed.

New Years Day, the kids loaded up the suburban and Brian and I headed off to Idaho with Jennifer. We made it to Boise at about 8pm and were able to go to the last minutes of a Kinney get together at Deanna's home. We then met up with Dave, Jennifer, Jessica, and Aurthur Wiseman and went to Lynne's house for the night. Jessica W. and Jennifer L. had a fun time seeing each other and talking college stuff. On the 2nd we headed towards BYU-Idaho. We stayed in Idaho Falls, and the Wiseman's went on to Rexburg. On the 3rd we got to BYU Idaho and Jennifer did all the Freshman get connected stuff. We hauled all her stuff into her dorm. Her dorm door faces out to Jessica W's dorm room. We did a couple of shopping trips to get her all settled in. We met one of her roommates: Venessa Carulla who was also moving in. Their other two roommates weren't there, but are both freshmen that started in the Fall.

We went to the parent/new student Luau that evening. Then we said our goodbyes, and headed off to our hotel in Idaho Falls.

Her address:

Jennifer Leete

BYU-Idaho

Barnes Hall

Rexburg, Idaho 83460 0033

It was cold in Idaho!!!! The next morning it was Zero degrees. Our water bottle froze solid in the car. We had some car trouble - one of the rear brakes was sticking. But to find a place to fix it in Idaho Falls on a Sunday wasn't easy. The first place that we found open, said they couldn't get the brake drum off- and if they did it would mean it was broken, and because it was Sunday they wouldn't be able to get the parts they needed. We made an appointment for 12:30 the next day. So to spend the day, we went to the temple visitor center. The Sr. Missionaries were very happy to tour us around and we watched a 2 hour movie about Joseph Smith that was very good. After that the missionaries had lots of ideas of where we could go to get the car fixed up so we could get on the road home. We ended up at Sears at the mall. We had to wander around a while killing time until our 2:00 appointment. We ate some lunch, and found a couch in the mall to rest on (Brian snoozed). The car was fixed in a jiffy, and only cost us $19.99! A spring had gotten loose and was sideways. They put it back in place and we were off!!!! So we made it to Lynne's at 8pm and had a yummy dinner. Deanna called later to ask me to if I would teach an art lesson in her class the next day- since the roads were closed because of an incoming snow STORM! Brian was up early the next morning monitoring the road conditions on the internet. As soon as they opened we took off and were on the road at about 2pm. Lynne made sure we were properly equipped for the storm with candle, newspapers, blanket, water, and snacks. The roads were pretty snowy- only one lane open most of the time. We saw one car upside down on the side of the road, and a truck that had jackknifed in the middle section. We went slower after that. But we made it safely home before 11pm and it was great to see our kids again! They did well on their own, getting to church and to school on Monday.

It is so good to be home. We miss Jennifer, but know she is in the right place.