Looking forward to Grandkid Visits
Oh no! It's July already. Where did June go?? We must have been busy. Anyway, we didn't do many great things this month. But we did see Nate and Connie's play, which was fun and interesting. A British flare so had to follow closely. But they did a good job.
Last week we went to the Manti Temple Pagent with Connie and family. We met Scott and Staci and the boys there. The weather was perfect and we quite enjoyed it. We met a very nice lady who lives there and she gave us a pass to park in her driveway and that saved us a lot of walking because she lives just across the street from where the chairs are set up on the lawn. And by coincidence, she knew Doreen and Frank when they lived in Los Gatos. In fact she taught Cathy in primary. She also has some Jacksons in her line that came from England. We will follow up on that.
We had a fun talk with Jackson on his birthday; age 7 already. Everyone is growing up so fast. Today we went to see Bradley Johnson. He was having a good day today. It is so nice to see him when he can talk clearly and we can enjoy being with him. It's very frustrating for him when he can't be understood. He is such a good person and we love him a lot.
Mick worked at the temple 4 days last week. And although he enjoys it very much, I think it kinda takes a little tole on him. He has a hard time saying no to people who need a substitute.
It's very hot here right now, so we are staying in the house as much as we can. We are looking forward to Jen and family coming next week and then the week after Carri and kids. It is always so much fun when we have them here. Hope everyone is well and happy. We heard that John passed his running test. Hooray for John!
We love you all very much, Mom and Dad
Gunnison is Home Sweet Home
Oh no! It's July already. Where did June go?? We must have been busy. Anyway, we didn't do many great things this month. But we did see Nate and Connie's play, which was fun and interesting. A British flare so had to follow closely. But they did a good job.
Last week we went to the Manti Temple Pagent with Connie and family. We met Scott and Staci and the boys there. The weather was perfect and we quite enjoyed it. We met a very nice lady who lives there and she gave us a pass to park in her driveway and that saved us a lot of walking because she lives just across the street from where the chairs are set up on the lawn. And by coincidence, she knew Doreen and Frank when they lived in Los Gatos. In fact she taught Cathy in primary. She also has some Jacksons in her line that came from England. We will follow up on that.
We had a fun talk with Jackson on his birthday; age 7 already. Everyone is growing up so fast. Today we went to see Bradley Johnson. He was having a good day today. It is so nice to see him when he can talk clearly and we can enjoy being with him. It's very frustrating for him when he can't be understood. He is such a good person and we love him a lot.
Mick worked at the temple 4 days last week. And although he enjoys it very much, I think it kinda takes a little tole on him. He has a hard time saying no to people who need a substitute.
It's very hot here right now, so we are staying in the house as much as we can. We are looking forward to Jen and family coming next week and then the week after Carri and kids. It is always so much fun when we have them here. Hope everyone is well and happy. We heard that John passed his running test. Hooray for John!
We love you all very much, Mom and Dad
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| Stewart Falls Hike July 4th 2009 |
It looks like we will be making Gunnison our home! Our many prayers have been answered and Scott was able to secure a high school teaching position! A couple of months ago we learned that there was a possibility of a high school Social Studies position opening up at Gunnison Valley High. It required a chain of events to fall exactly into place in order for it to happen. The current principal had to be hired as the new Superintendent, the current vice principal be hired as the new principal, the Social Studies teacher to be hired as the vice principal, and then for Scott to be hired as the new Social Studies teacher! Amazingly, it all worked out. Almost thirty people applied for the job and some of the competition was pretty tough, but Scott impressed the committee and was hired. We have had so many people from the community tell us that they were hoping that Scott would get the job. We know that the Lord has had his hand in this and we are very grateful!
We are sad that just as we will be making Gunnison our permanent home, John and Christine will be leaving. We will be renting their house from them so hopefully they decide to come back and visit often! William, Adam, and Jacob are thrilled to be able to stay living down the street from the Hill cousins, as well as Grandpa and Grandma Pickett. We are having a fun-packed summer and I can't believe how fast it is already flying by. We have been busy with swimming lessons, baseball, and family gatherings, as well as helping Christine get ready to move in the fall. The house has been in constant transition mode for months as we temporarily moved in, John moved out, Christine prepares to move out, and we prepare to permanently move in. I think we are all tired of looking at cardboard boxes! But we feel very blessed and are grateful for what is ahead for our family.
Staci Jackson
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Holtrys are Heating Up
Hi everyone- I hope you all are staying cool. We are trying to here in the 106 degree heat. Bleh. Jackson told me yesterday how glad he is that we have a pool and he doesn't know what he would do if we didn’t. I agreed with him. I think if we didn't have a pool we would be sitting in the house all day long. So far this summer we have been going to lots of movies, swimming, barbecuing and taking care of other peoples animals who are on vacation. Not fair! This week alone the kids are taking care of 3 different cats!
Hannah and Jackson had a lemonade stand last week. Hannah is trying to raise money to go to Tennis Camp in July. She ended up making $38 towards it! Not bad for a couple hours work. She’s also been folding laundry and babysitting for me. She made up some cute little flyers all by herself and handed them out to the young moms in the ward hoping to make some cash. She’s quite the little entrepreneur. I think she just might have enough to go to that Tennis Camp after all.
Hannah the Helper
I can do:
Yard Work
Mother’s Helper
(helping watch little ones while you are at home)
Cleaning
I will do
anything you need me to do!
Please call
Josh has been working and is really enjoying it. He helps teach swim lessons at the community pool and also lifeguards public swim. There has only been about 3 “fecal contaminations” this season. EWW
Brent had been studying like a madman to take the bar in July but then for reasons beyond our control the date to take the bar had to be postponed to February. He still studies a lot but is able to focus more time on the family and looking for a job or internship in the meantime.
My sweet little Jackson turned 7 last week. It’s hard to believe he’s that old already. We are so blessed to have him in our family and it’s hard to believe he started off at only 2lbs 1 ounce and such a sick little baby and now he’s 50 pounds and super healthy. He is truly a miracle and we are so grateful!
We had a fun time as a family last weekend. We headed to Berkley to see one of our favorite bands, Guster. They are such a great band and so fun to see in concert. The venue was the Greek Theater and I had never been there. It is such a cool place. Very small so everyone had a great view! It was fun to all go as a family and enjoy it.
We are coming to Utah on July 6th to bring Josh to EFY and will be there for a week. We would love to visit with all of you!
Hope your summers are great!
Love,
The Holtry Family
Some Must Push and Some Must Pull
Don’t you just love the
lazy days of summer! I’m not sure that
we’ve been lazy but summer is off to a great start. The last school bell rang and we’ve been
having fun ever since.
June was a month of youth
type activities. And it’s never boring
when the youth are involved! Early June Kels
and Jake headed off on a week-long scouting trip to Palisade State Park, not too far from John and Christine’s house in
Gunnison. Their leaders had planned lots
of merit badge opportunities that included shot guns, rifles, archery,
woodworking, canoeing, kayaking and a whole host of other fun activities that would
keep a kid Jake’s age occupied. Jake
taught some of the boys and the leaders how to spear fish on the lake. Not sure they caught any fish but had fun trying. The group was also given the privilege of
starting camp week with a trip to the Provo temple to perform baptisms for
the dead. It was a nice start to a good
week. That same group ended the week at
the Manti temple.
Girls Camp was that very same
week. It was ward girls camp this year
so our camp director reserved a beautiful camp site at Granite Flats up
American Fork Canyon. Kels managed to go
between scout camp and girl’s camp putting lots of miles on the car but being
able to hang out with both the young men and women of our ward. Lots of good kids that made camping fun and
memorable.
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| Girls Camp service project-clearing trails |
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| Big Mouth Smores |
Two weeks after the youth
camps came the Stake Pioneer Trek.
Another great week of testimony building activity. After 3 ½ days of walking 35
miles in 100 degree weather, one Ma expressed the thoughts of many when she
wrote this:
“We
made it!! We look terrible, smell a lot, hurt ALL over, blister covered feet
and I am dirtier than I've ever been in my entire life, but we have been filled
to overflowing with the spirit of our Father in Heaven! We just finished the
pioneer trek with the youth in our area, along with
3 of our own children. We walked 35 miles over 4 days dressed in pioneer
clothing and pushing our belongings in a hand cart. We camped in primitive
conditions and were not able to shower or wash ourselves. We had an amazing
group of kids who truly learned about their pioneer heritage and developed a
gratitude for the tremendous sacrifices the pioneers made to cross the plains
and start over so they could escape persecution. This was definitely the
hardest thing I've ever done physically, but I'm so grateful for the experience
myself, husband, and children were able to have.” (KJ Fry)
Jake and Kels arrived home
pretty dust and dirt covered and worn but with stories that kept us entertained
the entire evening. The girls decided
the boys needed a big steak dinner after their long hard trek so after their
hour long showers we drove them to Outback Steak House in an air conditioned
car, sat down to eat a chef prepared meal, enjoyed clean water, clean clothes
and good conversation. I would imagine
that after their trek, the early pioneers were grateful for a place to lay
their weary heads. Blessed, honored
pioneers.
Jake reported that his Pa
was from London and had pockets full of Pioneer Pringles. Jake and a friend were the champion wagon
pullers in their group. Jake wasn’t too
keen on the square dancing and other related social activities but dominated the
stick ball game. The ball was made from
yarn and the bat just a stick. Hit a
homerun that kept going for days!
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| Ma and Pa Negus Family (Jake's family) |
Attached is one of the
greatest memories for Kels from the trek.
I don’t know Isaac but after reading Kels’ story I feel great love for him
along with the rest of the Teebles family.
Kels also shared a pioneer ancestor story on the trek. Evidently the woman in this well-known pioneer
story is a relative. That story is attached
as well. (see Tuesday, July 2nd post for the stories)
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| Ma and Pa Teeple's Family (Kels' family) |
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| 3 days razor free |
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| Pioneer Homies |
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| Circle the Wagons |
Bianca continues to work
adding another job to her summer schedule.
She now works at Ruby River along with a shoe store in the Provo Towne
mall. Thankfully they are about a block
apart from each other and she can easily walk from job to job. She is excited to continue to earn and save
for college. We’re grateful she’s
committed to higher learning and working hard to earn it.
Kate, our social butterfly
is perfectly happy hanging out with friends all summer long. Her day is not complete unless she’s met up
with at least one or more of her neighborhood friends. She tried out for a part in the community
play “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.
Kate was quite confident that her Aunt Connie, one of the panel of
directors at the try-outs, would come up with something for her in the
play. She was right. Kate was offered the part of Grandma
Georgina. She is thrilled and has
already memorized her lines…all 3 of them!
Kate also completed another summer session of swim lessons.
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| Lessons went swimmingly |
Baseball/Softball season has
sadly come to a close. We’ve grown
attached to many of the parents and team members during our 6-8 games a week
routine. We will miss them. Jake reminded us that fall ball isn’t too far
away!
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| Hey Batter, Hey Batter |
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| Stealing second base...and he's safe! |
And now it’s time for a few lazy days of summer. SEVEN PEAKS
here we come!
We love you all, Kels, Kellie, Bianca, Jake and Kate
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