For all those who may see this blog and know my family, below is a very comprehensive update of what we are all doing, courtesy of my amazing mom, Chris. It's long, and you may get more detail than you want, but we members of Clan Hunter find it vastly entertaining and applicable to all major aspects of the world at large... enjoy!
From Mom:
Dad and I had a sweet time with the Adamsons and their dog, Daisy, in Scottsdale golfing amid the rain storms, cooking fun dinners and trying the restaurant at the Boulders (remember Josh and Abby?). Joanna and I saw the Chihuly glass exhibit in the Desert Botanical Gardens--spectacula r! I'll add a picture if I can get someone to help me attach a picture to this email. Anyone, anyone?? We went from the desert to the freezing snowy weather of Island Park at the Talls cabin with the DaBells and Nanny, where we snow-machined across the frozen reservoir, played games and talked and ate cabin meals (ten lbs.) I won't tell what our menu was because it would freak out Hillary, but we had a relaxing time. And this weekend we are going to celebrate Katelyn's 8th birthday and baptism and Austin's 2nd birthday in San Clemente. Are we lucky or what! Dad spends long hours in between all these escapades working hard, and overseing all his committee work. I am only working in the Senate as needed as I am phasing out after ten years on the floor as a Page. Doing a little more painting--just finished a waterlily painting tonight.
We are looking forward to Valentine's Day when we will have the Cranneys and the Larsens here for a visit--Cranneys are coming for five days to see the snow and Larsens are coming to get out of the tundra (and of course to see cousins!). I got a great phone call from Graham in New Canaan showing me how he learned how to whistle in pre-school (Kate was greatly dismayed) and Dave called to tell us he was sitting next to Glenn Beck at a SuperBowl party. (Mary Kay would be so jealous!) Dave also mentioned that they were going to be going out to check out the areas around San Francisco where they could possibly rent a three-bedroom home to move into in June. Kate is checking out lots of areas, San Ramone, Burlinggame, etc--her pregnancy is going well and a new little boy will arrive the end of April. We all enjoyed viewing Graham and Gracie skiing down the hill like gangbusters, but what we didn't see was the hour and-a-half that it took to get from the car to the lift. Good work Dave! Kate enjoyed a Girls day out at Dunkin' Donuts while he did that. Gracie loves her school but her new dance class teacher is not what she had hoped. Where is Mindy when you need her! Dave is working hard in this financial climate and gave a seven hour presentation to the Cambridge Company which should bring in some new clients, and is off to meetings all over this week. They have loved living in New Caanan and will be sad to leave their friends there.
Hillary called laughing yesterday morning and explained that Hunter had been up since 4 am not feeling too well (might have been that his "sewing project" (a felt shark) was not done yet--although he had a slight fever), then at 5 am Jack jumps out of bed running around the house waking everyone up to go to the free breakfast at Denny's (after the SuperBowl) and by 6 am they were all in the car heading out for a breakfast with Joe remarking that it was a surreal experience they they all (Especially Hills) were up and in the car at such an early hour. Katie Rose, our budding artist, ate more than anyone else and was proud of it. She wakes up every morning and states that "This is just going to be a perfectly delicious day!" She is learning new words and creating new ones (scridiliyicious) all the time and loves to go to preschool and dancing and annoy poor Jack, who adores her. Jack the Jock really loves school and his indoor soccer and basketball, but with this horrible freezing weather (-14) needs to get out and run more to use up his energy. Joe takes the kids swimming often, but the winter has been hard. Duke the dog is getting better from his attack and has no more tubes sticking out. Hunter (who finished his cool shark sewing project) traded in all his Play Station stuff, shoveled snow, and earned enough money for a used X-Box 360 which he loves. He is working hard in school and making good grades, but has a hard time with his first hour staying on task--I heard this morning on the Today Show (Todayshow.com- -talking with teens) that the average teenager isn't fully with it until after noon--and they should start classes then. Hunter agrees. He is going this weekend on the scout Klondike overnighter. It is supposed to snow and be well below zero--Joe would rather be on the beach in California! Hunter loves to snow board with his friends each Friday night. Hillary's show in Atlanta was a great success--if she could only get paid! Her next market will be in Dallas in March and she is working to get items in catalogs. Teaching yoga saves her balance in life--and they are all looking forward to a trip to Del Mar the end of March during spring break with Nana and Papa.
I talked to Austin this morning and he told me that he was "two and had a new twuck." He spontaneously starts singing ABC's or Twinkle or eensy weensy spider (or some new one they learned at Library Time) all day, and he and Gabe are interacting more all the time. Gabe is so happy and smiley--he went to Abby's nursing training course with her and was the hit of the class--Not much got done. They go down to Karsen's to a Spanish immersion Mother and Me group with Emma and Paige each week and to the beach each Wednesday while Katelyn and Haley take their art lessons. Abby works each Friday night 7-7am at a local hospital and Pete holds down the fort with the boys. They love their new neighbors- LDS from Clovis-- who have little girls Austin and Gabe's ages, and they play often together. Abs is in the Young Women's presidency (beehives) (oh boy--beehive camp in Yosemite) and Pete just got set apart as the new Elder's Quorum president--busy getting organized. They just refinanced their house with a much better rate, hallelujah!
Karsen and Kevin love having the Lambs so close--Katelyn and Austin have a special relationship- -they adore each other. They all love going to the beach together (we are all envious). Katelyn not only has had her eighth birthday, but is having her first visits to the orthodontist. She has earnestly prepared for her baptism on Saturday--the home teachers came by with a challenge chart listing things that would prepare her for baptism(prayer, reading scriptures, etc) and by the time they came back the next month, she had 345 points checked off. She and Haley are having a contest to see who can read the most Book of Mormon pages each week. Haley also loves the Magic Tree House series and they both take art and soccer. Paigey is full of personality, loves her Sun Beams class and going to Joy School. She is Mom's great "helper" and loves to direct everyone (Like her mother did). Emmalicious loves her baby dolls and gets very territorial about her mother. She does however go into Nursery by herself now, Hooray! while Karsen teaches her Gospel Doctrine class. Karsen is running a triathlon Feb 21st (after their trip to SLC). Kevin is applying reluctantly for a new area in Pfizer as they love being in San Clemente, hoping that by some miracle they can stay there. Kev keeps busy with managing Pfizer elements as the go-to man for creating reports and analyzing data and running the Stake Athletic Program with amazing involvement (Regional Basketball starting). They love their neighbohood and the BEACH.
It was delightful to meet with Mindy and Gary with kids for dinner on the way up to Island Park last week, and see how Gary's creativity is on fire with his dance group preparing for their concert March 5, 6 and 7th and then leaving for Russia in April. He feels as though he has just been an conduit for ideas flowing from the spirit as he has created dances which show the Plan of Salvation through the different genres of dance. It will be very exciting, and they have all been working long hours with costuming, rehearsals, etc. The new performing arts building is half-way built (like the Conference Center) housing 15,000 and a beautiful stage. Mindy runs their dance studios "Foot Works" and also teaches classes in St. Anthony. She has been excited about a new recipe book, trying new recipes to change up meals. The other day when school was canceled because it was too cold, she hosted a neighborhood crepes fest. She loves her neighbors, the schools, her life and her friends--and the friends of her children. Maggie has 8 little girls in her Primary class and loves doing crafts with neighbors. She is composing songs now that are amazing and Gary accompanies her on his guitar. She is in a gifted program at school and was explaining what an isosceles triangle is compared to an equilateral to me. She is growing like a weed, and is excited to be eight in June. Sophie Joy is Spencer's advocate, so compassionate and endearing and squishy and loveable. She loves mermaids and learning her letters, and she has a very best friend, Charlotte, who lives next door and goes to the same pre-school at BYU-Idaho. Spencer is long, lean and tall--and black and blue from jumping off things. But he is finally sleeping through the night in his big-boy bed. He loves Dr. Zeuss books, his bottle, and Mindy's mole on her neck and has garbled reflections on life while he is constantly laughing at himself. He is all boy and revels in farting on command to make the girls giggle. (Why does that seem so funny to guys?). He loves making animal sounds, especially piggy noises.
Josh is so happy that the Boards are over and he passed, and the next few months are going to be much less stressful! His interviews are all over, and he and Jill went to Danville, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York, for a "Second Look" while Marianne watched their two girls. Their first choice is still Loma Linda in Redlands, California, however, and they will find out the first of March how he matches with the choices made by the Hospitals. He got great letters of recommendation from his teachers, and the residents at Loma Linda told him that he was one of their top resident choices. So we'll keep our fingers crossed. He just has a couple of easy rotations this spring and he will graduate May 15. They just spent a week in the Wisconsin Dells with some of thier friends and had a good time at the water parks and snow boarding. Jill is getting along well with little Hailey sleeping through the nights. She is gooing and making such cute little giggling noises (Hailey, not Jill). She is alert and always looking for someone to engage with her so she can show off her precious little smile. Alyse is as ever the queen of layering, stacking and organizing. She has been known to wear all eight pairs of panties at once with seven or eight skirts and as many hats as she can get on, only to take them off and put on another set of whatever. She is so double jointed, she is like a rag doll when she falls--just loose and limber. She thinks she can do whatever Mikayla can do, and usually she gets pretty close especially with princess dress-ups. Milayla however is still the queen of drama, and sings all the day in a beautiful voice to most any song from any movie or CD she has ever heard. She is very adept at picking up songs and remembering stories. She goes to school every morning from 8-10:30 am and loves her little neighbor friends, as does Leesy Lou. Josh and Jill will miss their great friends as they all go their separate ways, but will be friends for life. They all adore little Hailey, and she gets much attention because she is so yummy!
Well, anyone feel free to add to these ramblings--just what I remembered from phone conversations and visits. I love reading your emails and blogs (thanks Abby and Pete at austinlambs. blogspot. com) when you have time to send them. For bookclub, Dad and I just reviewed "No Ordinary Time" by Doris Kearns Goodwin who won the Pulitzer prize for it.--one of the best books we have read. Dad is in the middle of "Snowball" by Warren Buffett and I just finished "The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Society" and am in the middle of "I Hate My Neck" that Kate gave me for Christmas--hilariou s for someone my age. I am still working away in the Relief Society (We will probably be released in April--three years) and Dad still loves teaching the Teachers--they love his lessons. We have enjoyed reading The South Blog from Morocco where they will be for the next three months. Dad and I are working on our health (a broken record) yoga anyone? and an hour of pain? swimming? and still love gazing at the Christmas tree. I am taking a CES class from Michael Wilcox that I truly love. We love studying Joseph Smith's teachings and reading the D & C again and stil have our daily morning devotional with the B of M.. Vadim is enjoying his nursing classes, working at the Cannon center and periodic dating (or should I say hanging out--He doesn't know how to really court yet, but he hasn't found the "right one"and will work this summer before going back to nursing classes in the fall. He and Gary Larsen have found the buzz look for their hair--easy and cheap. Dad and I still go to Jacque, who is in love and dating a nice guy. I think that is all the news on the Utah front. Hoping this finds you all well and happily engaged in holding down your forts from the surrounding fray!
You are missed and loved and cherished, love Mamar
We are looking forward to Valentine's Day when we will have the Cranneys and the Larsens here for a visit--Cranneys are coming for five days to see the snow and Larsens are coming to get out of the tundra (and of course to see cousins!). I got a great phone call from Graham in New Canaan showing me how he learned how to whistle in pre-school (Kate was greatly dismayed) and Dave called to tell us he was sitting next to Glenn Beck at a SuperBowl party. (Mary Kay would be so jealous!) Dave also mentioned that they were going to be going out to check out the areas around San Francisco where they could possibly rent a three-bedroom home to move into in June. Kate is checking out lots of areas, San Ramone, Burlinggame, etc--her pregnancy is going well and a new little boy will arrive the end of April. We all enjoyed viewing Graham and Gracie skiing down the hill like gangbusters, but what we didn't see was the hour and-a-half that it took to get from the car to the lift. Good work Dave! Kate enjoyed a Girls day out at Dunkin' Donuts while he did that. Gracie loves her school but her new dance class teacher is not what she had hoped. Where is Mindy when you need her! Dave is working hard in this financial climate and gave a seven hour presentation to the Cambridge Company which should bring in some new clients, and is off to meetings all over this week. They have loved living in New Caanan and will be sad to leave their friends there.
Hillary called laughing yesterday morning and explained that Hunter had been up since 4 am not feeling too well (might have been that his "sewing project" (a felt shark) was not done yet--although he had a slight fever), then at 5 am Jack jumps out of bed running around the house waking everyone up to go to the free breakfast at Denny's (after the SuperBowl) and by 6 am they were all in the car heading out for a breakfast with Joe remarking that it was a surreal experience they they all (Especially Hills) were up and in the car at such an early hour. Katie Rose, our budding artist, ate more than anyone else and was proud of it. She wakes up every morning and states that "This is just going to be a perfectly delicious day!" She is learning new words and creating new ones (scridiliyicious) all the time and loves to go to preschool and dancing and annoy poor Jack, who adores her. Jack the Jock really loves school and his indoor soccer and basketball, but with this horrible freezing weather (-14) needs to get out and run more to use up his energy. Joe takes the kids swimming often, but the winter has been hard. Duke the dog is getting better from his attack and has no more tubes sticking out. Hunter (who finished his cool shark sewing project) traded in all his Play Station stuff, shoveled snow, and earned enough money for a used X-Box 360 which he loves. He is working hard in school and making good grades, but has a hard time with his first hour staying on task--I heard this morning on the Today Show (Todayshow.com- -talking with teens) that the average teenager isn't fully with it until after noon--and they should start classes then. Hunter agrees. He is going this weekend on the scout Klondike overnighter. It is supposed to snow and be well below zero--Joe would rather be on the beach in California! Hunter loves to snow board with his friends each Friday night. Hillary's show in Atlanta was a great success--if she could only get paid! Her next market will be in Dallas in March and she is working to get items in catalogs. Teaching yoga saves her balance in life--and they are all looking forward to a trip to Del Mar the end of March during spring break with Nana and Papa.
I talked to Austin this morning and he told me that he was "two and had a new twuck." He spontaneously starts singing ABC's or Twinkle or eensy weensy spider (or some new one they learned at Library Time) all day, and he and Gabe are interacting more all the time. Gabe is so happy and smiley--he went to Abby's nursing training course with her and was the hit of the class--Not much got done. They go down to Karsen's to a Spanish immersion Mother and Me group with Emma and Paige each week and to the beach each Wednesday while Katelyn and Haley take their art lessons. Abby works each Friday night 7-7am at a local hospital and Pete holds down the fort with the boys. They love their new neighbors- LDS from Clovis-- who have little girls Austin and Gabe's ages, and they play often together. Abs is in the Young Women's presidency (beehives) (oh boy--beehive camp in Yosemite) and Pete just got set apart as the new Elder's Quorum president--busy getting organized. They just refinanced their house with a much better rate, hallelujah!
Karsen and Kevin love having the Lambs so close--Katelyn and Austin have a special relationship- -they adore each other. They all love going to the beach together (we are all envious). Katelyn not only has had her eighth birthday, but is having her first visits to the orthodontist. She has earnestly prepared for her baptism on Saturday--the home teachers came by with a challenge chart listing things that would prepare her for baptism(prayer, reading scriptures, etc) and by the time they came back the next month, she had 345 points checked off. She and Haley are having a contest to see who can read the most Book of Mormon pages each week. Haley also loves the Magic Tree House series and they both take art and soccer. Paigey is full of personality, loves her Sun Beams class and going to Joy School. She is Mom's great "helper" and loves to direct everyone (Like her mother did). Emmalicious loves her baby dolls and gets very territorial about her mother. She does however go into Nursery by herself now, Hooray! while Karsen teaches her Gospel Doctrine class. Karsen is running a triathlon Feb 21st (after their trip to SLC). Kevin is applying reluctantly for a new area in Pfizer as they love being in San Clemente, hoping that by some miracle they can stay there. Kev keeps busy with managing Pfizer elements as the go-to man for creating reports and analyzing data and running the Stake Athletic Program with amazing involvement (Regional Basketball starting). They love their neighbohood and the BEACH.
It was delightful to meet with Mindy and Gary with kids for dinner on the way up to Island Park last week, and see how Gary's creativity is on fire with his dance group preparing for their concert March 5, 6 and 7th and then leaving for Russia in April. He feels as though he has just been an conduit for ideas flowing from the spirit as he has created dances which show the Plan of Salvation through the different genres of dance. It will be very exciting, and they have all been working long hours with costuming, rehearsals, etc. The new performing arts building is half-way built (like the Conference Center) housing 15,000 and a beautiful stage. Mindy runs their dance studios "Foot Works" and also teaches classes in St. Anthony. She has been excited about a new recipe book, trying new recipes to change up meals. The other day when school was canceled because it was too cold, she hosted a neighborhood crepes fest. She loves her neighbors, the schools, her life and her friends--and the friends of her children. Maggie has 8 little girls in her Primary class and loves doing crafts with neighbors. She is composing songs now that are amazing and Gary accompanies her on his guitar. She is in a gifted program at school and was explaining what an isosceles triangle is compared to an equilateral to me. She is growing like a weed, and is excited to be eight in June. Sophie Joy is Spencer's advocate, so compassionate and endearing and squishy and loveable. She loves mermaids and learning her letters, and she has a very best friend, Charlotte, who lives next door and goes to the same pre-school at BYU-Idaho. Spencer is long, lean and tall--and black and blue from jumping off things. But he is finally sleeping through the night in his big-boy bed. He loves Dr. Zeuss books, his bottle, and Mindy's mole on her neck and has garbled reflections on life while he is constantly laughing at himself. He is all boy and revels in farting on command to make the girls giggle. (Why does that seem so funny to guys?). He loves making animal sounds, especially piggy noises.
Josh is so happy that the Boards are over and he passed, and the next few months are going to be much less stressful! His interviews are all over, and he and Jill went to Danville, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York, for a "Second Look" while Marianne watched their two girls. Their first choice is still Loma Linda in Redlands, California, however, and they will find out the first of March how he matches with the choices made by the Hospitals. He got great letters of recommendation from his teachers, and the residents at Loma Linda told him that he was one of their top resident choices. So we'll keep our fingers crossed. He just has a couple of easy rotations this spring and he will graduate May 15. They just spent a week in the Wisconsin Dells with some of thier friends and had a good time at the water parks and snow boarding. Jill is getting along well with little Hailey sleeping through the nights. She is gooing and making such cute little giggling noises (Hailey, not Jill). She is alert and always looking for someone to engage with her so she can show off her precious little smile. Alyse is as ever the queen of layering, stacking and organizing. She has been known to wear all eight pairs of panties at once with seven or eight skirts and as many hats as she can get on, only to take them off and put on another set of whatever. She is so double jointed, she is like a rag doll when she falls--just loose and limber. She thinks she can do whatever Mikayla can do, and usually she gets pretty close especially with princess dress-ups. Milayla however is still the queen of drama, and sings all the day in a beautiful voice to most any song from any movie or CD she has ever heard. She is very adept at picking up songs and remembering stories. She goes to school every morning from 8-10:30 am and loves her little neighbor friends, as does Leesy Lou. Josh and Jill will miss their great friends as they all go their separate ways, but will be friends for life. They all adore little Hailey, and she gets much attention because she is so yummy!
Well, anyone feel free to add to these ramblings--just what I remembered from phone conversations and visits. I love reading your emails and blogs (thanks Abby and Pete at austinlambs. blogspot. com) when you have time to send them. For bookclub, Dad and I just reviewed "No Ordinary Time" by Doris Kearns Goodwin who won the Pulitzer prize for it.--one of the best books we have read. Dad is in the middle of "Snowball" by Warren Buffett and I just finished "The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Society" and am in the middle of "I Hate My Neck" that Kate gave me for Christmas--hilariou s for someone my age. I am still working away in the Relief Society (We will probably be released in April--three years) and Dad still loves teaching the Teachers--they love his lessons. We have enjoyed reading The South Blog from Morocco where they will be for the next three months. Dad and I are working on our health (a broken record) yoga anyone? and an hour of pain? swimming? and still love gazing at the Christmas tree. I am taking a CES class from Michael Wilcox that I truly love. We love studying Joseph Smith's teachings and reading the D & C again and stil have our daily morning devotional with the B of M.. Vadim is enjoying his nursing classes, working at the Cannon center and periodic dating (or should I say hanging out--He doesn't know how to really court yet, but he hasn't found the "right one"and will work this summer before going back to nursing classes in the fall. He and Gary Larsen have found the buzz look for their hair--easy and cheap. Dad and I still go to Jacque, who is in love and dating a nice guy. I think that is all the news on the Utah front. Hoping this finds you all well and happily engaged in holding down your forts from the surrounding fray!
You are missed and loved and cherished, love Mamar
Hi Mindy! Your blog is adorable. I love your background! With this information, I now feel fully up to date with the happenings of your family! That was awesome! Look forward to keeping up to date with your family and we miss being able to get together and sled and have snowball fights! Keep up the great work!
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