My New Blog

This is a new update on me(Sarah). I actually have my own blog now so I probably won't write in here again for a while. My blog is smileysarahsblog.blogspot.com. I also got my bottom braces off! It wasn't too exciting though 'cause I already have my top ones off.

Oh and how could I forget the kittens! Yes one of our cats(Socks) had 7 kittens! They are very cute! Here are a few pictures. Just FYI we are giving them away for free so if you know someone in Perry or wants to come down to Perry who wants a kitten then you can tell them.

Mi-Ko has come and gone

Since I forgot to update this while Mi-Ko was here I guess I'll do it now. Mi-Ko had a lot of fun here. We worked a lot. We played even more. And we slept out on the trampoline a lot. We went to Lagoon, we went swimming, Mi-Ko made delicious Japanese food, we went horseback riding, we went to family reunion and hit a pinate, played baseball with Rick, made churros, and after a bit of Mi-Ko getting used to her we played with Dixie. Mi-Ko even died her hair a little brown! Oh, and I can't forget that the rabbits had babies and since the Moms didn't take care of the babies we hand fed them! Here are a few pictures of things we did.

Braces Finally Off!!!

I can't believe my braces are finally off! It feels weird having them off. It's definitely something to get used to. But my retainer that I had to get today definitely doesn't help. At least the retainer looks cool! Here's what I look like without my top braces on. Pretty huh! Here's my awesome retainer.
As for the rest of my life? Misaki's (She's gonna be our Japanese Exchange Student) coming on the 26th! She'll be here 'till August 19th. I can't wait!
Brenda and Rick and Patcy are coming and are going to live in our basement!! But what's cool is Misaki will still be here when they come! Yes, August will be a very interesting month. Well, that's my life right now! Toodles!

Newsy Letter Sent to Greg

Dear Greg, Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Good Morning! How are you this fine day? Probably not much new on your end, since you do pretty much the same thing every day! How is the Italian? How is your nose? What else about MTC life can you share with us?

Well, here is what has happened over the last week:

Matthew got his top retainer/splitter. It is a retainer that is split down the middle allowing us to “turn the screw” so that is gradually opens up to widen his jaw and create more room for his permanent teeth. He is pretty good about wearing it, and after five days has finally figured out how not to “sluuurrrrrrrp”!

We went to our homeschooling end of the year party. It was cold, but the kids had fun ice blocking on a small hill anyway. We are going to have to find a better hill. I enjoyed visiting with some of the moms. Wednesday, Sarah went to the temple and did baptisms for the dead with the Young Women’s (Dad met them there to help). Then they met up at Gina Harris’ for a campfire/speaker/etc…it was a “Standard’s Day” She enjoyed it.

Friday was Callie’s birthday and she planned a big family party to celebrate! She had her family and ours..total of about 30 people. We were going to have it in our backyard, but the weather was cold and threatening rain, so we went to the church. She had made a pinata and all the kids loved it. They also play “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” Jason and family made it up, as well as Jon and Rachel. (They had planned a camping trip for the weekend, but it fell through, so they came up here and spent the weekend with us!) Everyone had a great time at Callie’s Party!

While we were at the party, we got a call from Jared announcing the arrival of little Marissa! She and Laura are doing great! Grandbaby number ten!

Saturday we finally had some warmer, dryer weather so we could get outside and catch up on some work. We cultivated and weeded the goji berries, which they desperately needed! Jon and Dad took a trip to Smith and Edwards to look at 22’s, and that afternoon Dad, Matthew, Jon and Rachel went shooting the 22’s and 243’s. It was a nice evening, so we were out playing Bocci Ball on the lawn and had a fire. Dad and I went to bed around 10:00, but Alan and Robin stayed until about 11:30pm and Jon and Rachel and Brian and Callie stayed up visiting (seeing who could tell the best story) until after 1:00am. We had everyone over for dinner on Sunday and had a fun time. (Saturday was Elisabeth’s 7th birthday! They had a big day Saturday fishing at Cabela’s and going to the Children’s Museum.)

Sarah and Matthew are busy cleaning the rabbit cages we bought, mowing the lawn, watering the grapes and blackberries, some school work and playing with friends. Donel cut the hay/grass Saturday afternoon…the only problem is he ran over one of the risers (in the grass field). So last night for FHE we went down and dug it out. Dad will go up to Logan and get the pieces to rebuild it. We had the pumps pulled and checked out to see why we weren’t’ getting the pressure we used to. They checked them out and are putting them back in, but I don’t know if it will make any difference.

The garden is all planted and doing all right. We have lots of corn and beans coming up, the tomatoes look good, but the cucumbers and watermelons aren’t doing so well. I think the wind has just dried them out, in spite of keeping them watered. Oh well…we will just have to plant some more. I’m still looking for the cantaloupes, zucchini and a few other things I planed from seed to sprout. We have lots of broccoli, spinach, and swiss chard coming up!

We talked to Brenda and Rick and they are definitely planning on coming here in August and going to school! They will be moving in downstairs, so I need to get in there and finish cleaning up and packing your room! Because Jon and Rachel were coming, I finally got down there and cleaned up the den and the bathroom, but I just closed your door! It will get done eventually!

Well, other than that, life is pretty much the same! We love hearing from you every week! We can tell you are working hard and doing your best to be receptive to the spirit while you are learning “Preach My Gospel” and the discussions. Remember that we are praying for you! Have a great week and keep smiling and keep striving! (Why do I always say that??? I don’t know, I think it is because that is what my Mom always said at the end of her letters.

WE LOVE YOU!

Love, Dad and Mom


PS...do you have a favorite scripture, yet?????

Exchange Student (by Sarah)

Our newest news is that we are having a Japanese Exchange Student, a thirteen year old girl, come live with us for three weeks. Her name is Misaki, and we are going to pick her up on July 26th and take her back August 19th. I am very excited because I will be the one to host Misaki in our family and show her what American life is like.

STEVEN'S Update

Steven, right now is in Pittsburgh, Pennsilvania, installing security systems. Since he won't make his own blog, or update the one on our blog, we're doing it for him. I guess there's not that much to update, because that's just about it. When he gets back from Pennsilvania he's going to go to college at Utah State. Maybe when he gets back we can get him to make his own blog.

Update for GREG

Greg is currently serving a mission. Actually right now he's in the MTC learning how to speak Italian. Yes, there is a reason he's learning how to speak Italian. He got his mission call to Rome, Italy. If you want to read his letters you can go to his blog. Click the link, Elder Greg Daniels, on the side and you'll be there.

MATTHEW'S update (written by Sarah)

Matthew is now a new Cub Scout. He likes to go to the den meetings and learn new things. He helps outside mowing the lawn, planting the garden, moving pipe, and lately he's learning how to drive the tractor. He loves to play in the water, whether it be in a swimming pool, running in the sprinklers, or jumping on the wet trampoline. He is also getting his retainers in a couple days. Since he decided to have a spider be the decoration on his top retainer, he likes tell people that he's going to have a spider in his mouth. Here are a couple of new pictures of him.

An Update from SARAH

Two weeks ago I was in a play called Robinson Crusoe. I was Oscar the Octopus, leader of the Octet.(The play was very, very, loosely based). It was really fun. I learned a lot about acting, though I don't know how good I was at it. It was a lot of work, and the costume was really itchy, but it was still a lot of fun. Here's what I looked like. Aren't I beautiful?

Right now there really isn't that much going on. Since it's summer now, I mostly do work, but also plenty of playing too. And since the weather hasn't been cooperating the past two weeks, we're all getting used to the warm weather. Pretty soon we'll want winter again. This summer I plan on harvesting and selling blackberries. It'll be different since I spent the last two summers doing onions. I'm also going to go to girls camp this summer. I am really excited. Oh, yeah!!! How could I forget! I'm getting my bottom braces off July 15. And yes, I'm counting down the days. Hey, can you blame me for being excited?! The only down side of getting my braces off is that my teeth are going to be yellow. Well, that's about it. Here's a recent picture of me.

FAMILY NEWSLETTER - January 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

This year we are sending out a "New Year’s Letter" to say "HI" to all of our wonderful family and friends! 2007 has come and gone very quickly, and we are all happy and healthy and doing well.

Here is a quick update on our family if you want to read on!

The first part of the year, we worked hard to finish the basement apartment in our home next door that we built for Louise’s mother. It was fun watching it finally all come together with the painting, tile, carpet, kitchen, lights, etc. Brian and Callie moved in the end of April and really love it. We love having them as neighbors! It is also nice to have them close to Grandma Webb.

Spring fever brought the urge to cultivate and plant, so we were busy with the grapes, blackberries, blueberries, and planting some onions, corn and watermelon. We didn’t do a large garden because we needed to focus on our new venture: Goji Berries. In May, we planted 80 Goji Berry plants, decided we needed more and ended up with a field of about 250 plants total! (Look up "Goji Berries" on the web.) They have grown really well, and we were excited to get a few berries this first year. The berries taste really good! We look forward to a great crop next year. Sarah did a good job planting, weeding, picking and selling the baby Walla-Walla onions. Matthew was proud of his watermelon patch, and we had some delicious melons! We enjoyed lots of grapes and blackberries! We did our share of canning peaches and grape juice.

Of course, we were constantly involved with the kids’ activities throughout the year. Greg (18) had his Eagle Court of Honor in March. He had a great season in cross-country where he received the Coach’s Award for his hard work and leadership. He did very well in track, helping his team take the State Championship! He took 5th in the 800 meter with a time of 1:59.61. Greg graduated from Box Elder High School in June with high honors. He was called to be the Youth Leader for our Stake’s Aaronic Priesthood Training Camp for all the priests. It was quite a responsibility, and he did an outstanding job. After the camp, he immediately flew to Chicago where he worked selling satellite systems. He returned the end of August and started working for Superior Computers and Wendy’s. He has been working hard to earn enough money for his mission. His mission papers have been sent in, and he will probably be on his way to ??? by the end of March or April.


Sarah (13) is now a genuine teenager, turning 13 in December. She has enjoyed her first year in the Young Women’s program. She loved playing basketball and volleyball and enjoys making goals and working on her personal progress. She really loved girls’ camp! She was involved in ballet and was a beautiful dancer at her recital in May. She did the mile run on the 4th of July, coming in first for her age group. She is busy with her studies, piano, reading, playing with friends and babysitting.

Matthew (7) is a ball of fire seven-year old, soon to be eight. He is always busy, using his imagination to slay the dragons and monsters around the house, build rockets, weapons, etc with his Kinex and Legos, play with his dinosaurs and castles, and of course investigate all the worms and bugs he can find. He is a "Certified Jedi Knight" (from Disneyland), and he wields his light saber like a pro! He is all boy! He loves playing with his friends, his nieces and nephews, and messing around with his older brothers. He also ran the mile on the 4th of July, with a time of 8.21.

We had some fun family times throughout the year. We had a great day at Cherry Hill Park with Greg, Sarah and Matthew playing in the water slides and swimming pools, miniature golf, batting cages, climbing walls, etc. On the 4th of July and again on the 24th of July we enjoyed our own family fireworks show in the back yard! Louise enjoyed going with Dave on a business trip to Ft. Worth, Texas in October. It was a welcome break! Then we had a great trip to Disneyland and California Adventure with Sarah and Matthew. They loved it! The plans included a trip to San Diego to Sea World, but we couldn’t go because of the wildfires.

We topped the year off with a great Family Reunion with the entire family (except Steven). We all gathered together over the Christmas Holidays at Bear Lake for four days. With a household of 15 adults and 9 kids, it was quite a group! We enjoyed each others company, ate good food, cut down a Christmas Tree and made home-made decorations, played in the snow tubing and snowboarding, built Gingerbread Houses, played basketball, X-box, slingshot paint ball and lots of games, had a newlywed game, enjoyed a special nativity story, and had a great Christmas morning opening presents. It was AWESOME!!!

Until recently Dave has been serving in the bishopric, but because of ward boundary changes, he has been called to be the Bishop of a brand new ward, the Hargis Hill Ward. He and his counselors are working hard to staff an entire ward before Jan. 27th. He is still working at Lockheed as a manager, and he enjoys the country life and working the farm. He also helped out the high school track team as the long distant coach. Louise has been serving in the RS Presidency. She is still home schooling Sarah and Matthew. She enjoys her early morning walks, rejoices in her children and grandchildren, and stays busy doing all the things wives, moms and grandma’s do.

Here’s a quick rundown on the rest of the kids:

Jason and Kristine with Elisabeth (6), Rebekah (5), Jonathan (3) and Alex (9 mo) are still in Lehi, UT. Jason is working for the LDS Church debugging the New Family Search Website, and is busy finishing his thesis for his master’s degree. Kristine is busy being full-time mom and a stock market analyst. Of course, their kids are great! They are so fun and cute, and we love having them visit. http://jkfamily814.blogspot.com/2007/12/merry-christmas.html



Jared and Laura with Erin(3) and Alex(15 mo) are still in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Jared is still "Mr. Bluetooth" with Motorola, and Laura is still working on her degree in architecture. You should have seen her gingerbread house! Their kids are also so much fun and so cute. They are expecting baby #3 at the end of June. They are going to wait until delivery to see if it is a boy or girl. http://jldanielsfamily.blogspot.com/


Brenda and Rick have been married for one year now and are still in Fremont, CA. They are expecting a little girl in mid-February! We are thrilled. Brenda is still with Oracle, but has a job where she can mostly work from home. Rick is working hard and is moving forward rapidly in his classes to obtain his journeyman license in sheet metal. http://rbkeizer.blogspot.com/

Alan and Robin with Kimberly (16 mo) are now living in Roy, UT. He graduated in April from Utah State in English and has a job doing technical writing. They sold their newly remodeled home in Brigham City, and purchased a townhouse in Roy. Kimberly is a little charmer, and she will have a new little brother join the family sometime in June. Robin is a great mom and is also coaching volleyball part-time. www.alandanielsfamily.blogspot.com

Brian and Callie are both attending Utah State, Brian full-time in Structural Engineering and Callie part-time in Business Management. Callie is still working at Honeyville Grain and loving it. It is fun to have them has next-door neighbors. Brian’s new love is golf.

Rachel and Jon are doing great down in Provo, UT. Their big news is that Rachel is DONE with school! She graduated in December, and has started a great new job she really likes. Jon is going to BYU majoring in Political Science. They have a cute dog named Caesar. He is lots of fun, but sometimes tests their patience – good training for future parenting! Jon’s passion (after Rachel) is ice hockey.

Steven (21) is currently serving in the Illinois Peoria Mission. He has loved teaching the gospel and serving the people there. He has been able to share some special times taking investigators to Nauvoo. We had a great phone visit with him Christmas Day. His release date is Feb.14th, and we are all excited to see him.

Our lives are truly full! We have so much gratitude for the wonderful family we have and all the blessings we have been blessed with. We also are grateful for all of you, our extended family and friends.

May the Lord bless you all through the coming year. Let’s all make 2008 a great year!

All our love, Dave and Louise