I can't live with em, and I can't live without em...

From Dad,

Well howdy happy family.  I'm sitting once again down here on my computer.  But this time it's to do stuff that I want to do...like getting caught up on family blogs.  

I feel like it's been so busy this last week that I haven't had time to do anything but sit in meetings or at the computer.

For example  I was up at 4:45 to get ready for my 6am mtgs.  We had a 6am, 7am meeting.  Then I came home and worked on talks til 11:00am.  I went to a missionary homecoming.  I then  came home worked frantically on talks, and then went upstairs to the wild and wonderful experience we call Winder/Bassett dinner.  It was fun and a wonderful break form everything.

I then gave Nick a blessing, and snuck out to go to a 2:45 interview... I then greeted members of the Stake HP Quorum, and held a 3:15 mtg.  The meeting was great listening to Pres Nielsen and Yorgason, and then speaking myself.  We finished in good time, and then onward to interviews, setting apart missionaries, and setting apart trek chairmen, and having conversations w/ leaders about missionary work and emergency preparedness...before returning home.  The house was quiet.  Prior to leaving for the church it was a joyous crazy noisy place.  Yorgasons and Bassetts gathered for dinner.  Mom had made dinner.  Yorgs had made hamburgers...and everyone was just visiting and laughing at 100 mph. But once I came home and got settled, mom asked me what I wanted to do...and I said, I want to visit with my kids.  But they were all gone.

I had missed my big chance to visit w/ Janey, Blainey and Nick.  I hope they understood.  One thing that was great, was that Nick and Stef then came over just before heading home to St. George.  I just relished in their company.  Oh how I wish everyone was here. It's like drinking cold water to a man dying of thirst.  

Yesterday was moving B&Jeannie to their new country estates in Farmington.  They are living w/ Mom for a month and a half till they can move back into their new home in Farmington.  Incredible and beautiful place.

Day before was stake temple day.  I spoke twice.  Once in the dining room where we had a 180 members of our stake for a dinner, and then once in the chapel where we got to hear from President Crump.  It was so gratifying to see members from our stake everywhere I went in the temple.  The dressing rooms, the bathrooms, the cafeteria, the stairways, the chapel, the endowment rooms, the offices, up on the stand in the chapel, etc.  

Other than that, not much to say except, I've been working working working.  Which brings me to the title of this email.

I live in a world where I sit in a leather chair, look at a beautiful large screen monitor, type on a split ergonomic keyboard, use a worndown mouse, and have an episode of simpsons just waiting for me to press the 'play' button on my Archos.  I have a phone (and headset) on my right hand for phone calls.  I have a headset on my left hand to put on when I'm talking via VOIP on the computer, or have to listen to sounds, voices etc on the computer.  I have a clock in front of me.  I have snacks on the right hand and 1/2 gallons of water on the left hand.  I sit here and type as fast as I can so I can be done.  But it never ends.

Part of that is because when I'm done with work, then I think about church things to do...and they all seem to require using the computer...things like check for email, send emails to Bishops etc.  Make phone calls to people.  Research for talks.  Type up talks and review them.  Everything for church seems to require my little office space.  

When I'm done w/ Church, then I think about what I want to do for family...and everything I want to do seems to require computer...things like email, send emails to family, write to the BAWB, make phone calls to people.  Check out Curts conspiracy links.  Read the Bark, etc. etc. etc.  Everything for family seems to require my use of the little office.

When I'd done w/ Church then I think about some entertainment...and everything I want to do (except watch a movie) seems to require the computer....well I think you get it.  

I hate it because it takes me away from the family action, but it is also the most productive place I have.  So I keep getting drawn to it.

So there you have it...can't live with it, can't live without.  

Loves.

Dad

Thanks for coming to Utah Blaine.  Thanks for coming to SLC Nick and Stef.  Thanks for coming up and sleeping on the floor Jane.  Thanks for coming up and hanging w/ Jeff (I'll leave Rose to tell about her magic date.).

Thank heaven this week is over...cartoons.

Can't wait to see everyone this weekend!

Bret somehow managed to squash himself into the very corner of his play pen bed! It was so funny! This next shot is just one of his fun faces, just wanted you all to see how big he is getting! Its crazy!

We are so excited to come up this weekend. We are sleeping at the Bassett Residence and we are happy to be in the basement with the little boy! We are all yours until 1pm then we have haircuts scheduled at the Morris Residence. Nick will be back at 5 while I go to women's conference with my mamma! We are excited to even get to see Baine.

Dad hope work goes well and you will get all you need to done! Sounds super busy!

Love you guys,

Stef and Baby Bret

Happy Birthday Blaine

Hi family (from mom)

Another late night where dad has worked all day, went to the church this evening, came back home and is downstairs working again. I feel too guilty to go to bed so I'll write while I wait up for him. I'm finally back on the computer after a few days and it was fun fun fun to see so many letters. Thanks everone for writing.

I came home from church on Sunday and there was my Blaine!! He and dad also went to another ward after he arrived on Sunday morning. What fun to see him. We all had lots of visits all afternoon long. I got to hear all about this recruiting trip and his presentation and he shared his circuit boards with me and it has just been fun to have him here. He even tried to explain what he does and I am pretty much in awe at how much I don't know about stuff. Janey and Rosey came up in the early evening. Rosey had a date with Jeff and Janey stayed for dinner and brownies and games. Rosey and Jeff got home from their date and we made Rosey run back out and get Jeff so Blaine could meet him. Except for Jeff calling Blaine "gay" it all went really well!! HTBT It was just a really fun day.

On Monday Blaine got to sleep in a little. He treated himself to lunch at Noodles and then met us at Valley where grandma Bassett and Winder and I all came to watch Max play volleyball. Not their best game - but you learn more when you lose. I just don't want them to ever give up on themselves because they have some great skills. Max gets better and better. When he got home Blaine went outside to play more volleyball with he and Caroline. Then we hosted a small Bassett gathering with Ben and Kacey (who are in town from Ohio), Jeannie (Bruce was still at work) grandma and Curt. We played more volleyball and it was such a pretty fall evening. Kylie enjoyed our little yellow slide. We ate Hawaiian Haystacks and sang Happy Birthday to Blaine with the candles melting in our hot fudge cake made by Kacey. Yummy!! Blaine opened gifts after everyone left. Just has he was starting with a measley three of us looking on (Max, Dad and I) the Yorgs showed up and made it a party. They even gave him one of his favorite things - a big box of ranch flavored cornnuts. Fun day.

This morning we visited again before my run. I got back just in time to see him driving out of the circle in a van filled with his coworkers who had just arrived in town and picked him up on their way to Provo. They all had on matching NP shirts and were looking pretty cool. I'm sure I was looking fabulous myself as I always do at the end of my runs. I'm wondering if Blaine answered when they asked who is that old lady waving so excitedly at all of us!!

I canned 14 qts of pears today and they make our kitchen look so wholesome! The microwave died today. I found the manual and it is 15 years old, older than Max. We decided it isn't worth another repair so Max and Caroline and Easton added it to the garbage on the curb and hopefully had an appropriate funeral for it. It was such a faithful microwave for all those years. I wonder how many bags of popcorn it cooked? Now to find another one that fits into the space.

I went to a Primary presidency meeting and we have our sacrament meeting programs all written and we are ready to hand out parts. I'm excited about that and I love serving in Primary again.

Tomorrow and Thursday Nancy and I feed 75 teachers at Valley Junior High before Parent-Teacher Conferences. It's taco soup with fixin's and cake the first night and pizza, salad bar and rice krispie treats the second night.

We are sooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited to have Nick, Stef and Bret come on Friday. Blaine will be back, too. Fun times. I miss you Kristi and Gwen and Ben.

Love, Mom

Calvin smile?

Hey everyone,

First I want to thank my sweet wife for all that she does for me. Besides waiting up for me long hours at work and having a hot meal ready for me when I come home, taking care of our son, and all the other nice things she does for me....thank you Stef for getting us internet. This place was supposed to have it, but it didn't and so she took the initiative to "complain" to the landlord and make sure that they would pay for it. It took some persuasion but she did it, and I am sure we are all very grateful. As fun as our internet dates were to the town sqaure, it is nice to be able to use internet in the comfort of our own home on a saturday afternoon.

So, the title of this letter has to do with Calvin and Hobbes the comics. Don't you think Bret has a smile just like Calvin? This picture I attached is supposed to illustrate that. He get more fun every day. We love having him around. One of the most interesting things about him, is how much he LOVES to be outside. He will be screaming his head off in the house, and almost without fail, as soon as you walk outside with him, he stops crying. It's crazy but it works...when he is outside he is almost always happy.

Work has been going good, but it has certainly been very busy. We are doing the operating budget right now and we do all of our work on a server that is up in Salt Lake. Also, they are trying a new way to create the budget and it hasn't been going as smooth as we all anticipated. Either way, this past week I put in probably 55-60 hrs at the office. I know that probably isn't much compared to Dad or Blaine, but it has certainly been long week. One of the hardest parts about it, is our server in Salt Lake has been down a bunch and so I never really know how long I am going to be. I go to work somedays and don't have any idea how long I will be there until I leave. We work in a group for everything. Almost nothing is individual. Either all four of us are at the office working, or none of us are there. I kind of like that set up, but it is a little frustrating too to not be on my own time. Either way, I am grateful I get along well with the guys I work with. Also, I am getting a lot of good experience and it is certainly different from working with TI. Working for a smaller corporation has its benefits and its downfalls. My boss is putting a lot of pressure on me to come back to work for them. It seems almost every day he is making comments abount how he is counting on his time with me to be a good return on his investment. We would love to work here and be in St. George and all that jazz, but even with all the sweet things St. George has to offer we are quickly learning there is no replacement for family. We must admit that we all miss you guys very very much. I am working on how to ask my boss who to ask about getting a job with IHC somewhere up in Salt Lake. I don't really dare ask him though because I am afraid he will take it kind of personal. I know he will understand but I don't want to ruin my relationship with him...especially if there aren't any options up in Salt Lake, and I blow my options down here. I have faith that as we do our best the Lord will help guide us where he wants us to be.

It has been fun watching all of the BYU games this year. Stef is always so nice to let me watch the games. I wish so bad we were there with you guys actually at the games, but I talk to mom during most games and so I feel like I am at least with everyone while we are watching.

I will wrap this up, but I sure love you all. Thanks for your letters. Keep on writing.

Love,

Nick

1

Swimming at IBM

Hi Gang (from Dad)

I'm surfacing for a few minutes to take a breath of family life, before I submerge myself again into the murkey depths known as life at IBM.

There is something wonderful about working from home. The commute takes about 30 seconds. I can keep gallons of water in my office and snacks w/o worry of theives. If there's an accident on Bangerter you don't have to sit in stop and go for an hour. No listening to innane conversations over the cubical wall. If church phone calls come in I can take them w/o having to find a conference room for some privacy. Leftover lunches everyday, etc. etc. But there are also some downsides. I don't ever listen to the radio morning show and hear that bit of trivia, or that guessing contest that they always have. I don't get to walk in the sunshine from my car to the building. When emergencies used to come up, I was at least 40 minutes from home so I could get my head together. I got to dress up in uncomfortable yet styling and expensive clothes. And on and on. But perhaps the hardest thing about working from home, is that when work has to get done, you can't just walk away from it. It's right there. It's so convenient. And so you work and work and work every spare moment. At least when you're done, you're home already.

So having said that, mom is nice to make dinner, and then call me up for dinner. It's one of my favorite times of the day. I can leave for an hour and visit w/ everyone about their day, eat, then clean up dishes. It's wonderful. I then either go to the church for church work, or back to work if something is due tomorrow.

Tonight, I go to the church to interview a couple who have asked me to marry them on Saturday. Of course they didn't ask me directly...I think cuz they were embarrased that they waited until 3 days before their wedding to ask!! I can't believe it. Anyway, so rather than going to Fountain Green with the Yorgasons for a wonderful outing and lunch, I'll be driving to Ogden to perform a wedding for a person I don't know. Oh well...I'll hvae to give you a report on how it goes.

A couple of comments from your letters:

- Janey - you asked for ideas on the Jeff issue ... ideas for what? For pursueing him? Yeah my idea is, easy come, easy go. I wouldn't pursue him. You hardly know him. And where he has a couple of strikes, there are undoubtedly a lot of breath-taking guys who don't have the strikes.
- Rosey - you asked for ideas on your Jeff story... I hope you don't go camping with your friends. My opinon is that because camping for YSA has a reputation, it's not worth going because it can give you a reputation even years after it's over.
- Nick and Steph - you said you spend a lot of time talking about future locations...Do you have REAL options yet? Or still just pretty strong hopes? I suspect that like Blaine, when it comes time actually find a job, it will be trickier than it sounds...so just work hard so you get options!
- Blaine and Kristi - Love to hear that Gwen is such a sweet sister that she will pick up that cup over and over again for a smiling and happy Bentley boy. Let me ponder how sweet they are.
Max - work hard, play hard. And even though your vball team hasn't won, learn from Rosey's example in HS Soccer. It will be fun and exciting. Follow Janey's example of just being out there if needed.
- Wendy - I love you!

Loves to all...I'm swimming back down now...party on!

Good Laugh

I know I already posted something today, but I just had to write this because I know you will all get a good chuckle out of this: I just played my first intermural soccer game. I know, I know, take a moment and just imagine the site....me, swinging my leg with a good hearty kick....the ball is coming closer.....and.....I totally miss the ball, it went right under my leg. I just need to work on my foot-ball coordination and I'll be a pro. That scene I have just described for you happened multiple times. Oh well, you win some and you loose some. However, I did hit the ball a couple of times (usually out of bounds) so that was a bonus.
You might all wonder what has gotten into me? It's called: I am a loving kind sister. Rose called me last night and was desperate, so I agreed when she pretty much assured me that I wouldn't have to play, I was there just in case. Well, they needed that "just in case" person and I played a full 40 minutes of soccer.
That's it. Rosey is a pro and I wish I could play like her. I guess it just takes years of practice (and a desire to play). Anyway, I figured you all might get a good laugh out of that. Oh, and we won our game (I think Rosey scored almost everyone of them!)

Happy Birthday Ben

I don't want Kristi to stop writing either, so I will put in a little update on the Provo life. First, happy birthday little Ben! I am so happy he is in our family, I just wish we could see him! Also, congrats to B&K on new baby Jane. :) I am doing Kristi a favor so she said she would name the baby after me. Sorry everyone. I would love to hear to story about how Gwen was moved to tears!
Quick update:
School: I love it! I still feel like I am staying on top of things pretty good. I know when I work the best and try to utilize that time the very best I can (that time is right now so I need to make this quick!) I have found that a good 7-8 hours of sleep makes all the difference in the world. I love my major. I understand the subjects and find them interesting. One of my favorite parts are the people. The girls in my major are so nice, and because I see the same girls in almost every class, I feel like I am back in highschool again (not really). I feel like I have lots of friends and am not too lost in the crowd.
Living Conditions: We had cleaning checks the other day which means that our apt. was so clean! I loved it! We also got our carpets cleaned, so I just feel great now. We had a broken toilet for a few days, but, it is fixed and all is well. My roommates are the best part! I love them all so much. It's great because they like to do stuff together and be social, but nobody is clingy. I can do my own thing, and I feel like I can join them when I want. It's still way fun to have Rosey downstairs. They are a wild bunch but lots of fun. I am actually playing on her intermural soccer team (she was desperate with a capitial D). I am just hoping that 7 players show up so I don't have to play. If not, I can just run around on the field and pretend I know what I am doing (until the ball comes to me.) Our ward is great. Waffle boys (aka the boys I met in the laundry room) are our new best friends. We love them. Our FHE group should be good too!
Work: I still like work. It's some long hours but I need the money and I love having the break from school. I love just having school 4 days, and work 2 days. The biggest pain is when there is a BYU home football game. They are all in the afternoon this year so I always have to work extra hard (and early) to even make it to the game. Which, did ya'll see the last game? Pretty amazing stuff. Other than that, work is same old.
Boys: (A new category) I know you are all excited, but there isn't anything or anyone. Rose bud on the other hand....just kidding Rosey. Her and Jeff sound like they are good friends. I have never talked to a boy EVERY night. I have been on a random date with Bruce Bassetts friend from Texas, but other than that, nothing while I have been down here. That is okay though, I feel quit content with my life. I think most of you have kind of been updated on the whole Jeff West situation, but if not, here is a quick update: He called me last week and we talked for 20 min or so. Then, he called on Friday and asked me if I wanted to go to a tailgate party before the football game. I told him I couldn't go because of work and that I was hoping to even make it to the game. He then asked if I wanted to meet up at half time for a "caffine free diet coke" (I think he has labled our family as "perfect"). I right before half time I was still driving home from work and so I texted him and told him I wouldn't be able to make it for our little get together. He didn't text back at all (weird, right?) So, on Sunday afternoon he texted and asked if I ever even made it to the game. We texted for a little bit and that is the end of the story. I don't know if he thinks I am trying to avoid him (I have seriously been busy.) I don't really know what to do about the whole situation so I try not to think about it. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Okay, play time is over...I need to do homework. Sorry it is long.
Oh, one last thing. I do believe I have to be the oldest girl in my ward.:) Last quick in church when the 1st councilor was giving me my calling, he started by saying "You are a unique person in our ward." "Oh," I said. "Yes, you are the only endowed sister in the ward so we want to call you to serve in as the temple prep teacher," he said. Although it kind of made me feel old, I did feel unique and special and so blessed. I am very grateful I have been through the temple and am so excited to share in people's preperation time of going to the temple. This will be perfect and will hopefully get me going to the temple more often!
Okay, have a good day.
Janey

St. George Bassetts :)

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the fun posts and comments! We have been without internet since we moved (0k so we have made a couple trips to the library to sit outside and use their wireless which strangely reminded us of Dallas :) ) but we finally got it installed today!!! Its funny how you feel so out of the loop without it. Grateful to be back in!
The longer we are here, the more we love it. The view surrounding our condo is just gorgeous. The mornings and evenings are absolutely perfect. It still gets pretty hot in the day, but the fall is really nice here. Nick is liking his job lots. They are working on next year's budget so he has been working a lot. He goes in around 8, sometimes earlier and hasn't been coming home until 6 and sometimes later. He is exhausted, its hardest for him because they don't really let him know what to plan for, they just say whenever they are done. We are always excited when he comes home. Little Bret gets cuter every day. He has been giggling for awhile, but it was only a couple times a day. Now its all the time and it has got to be one of my most favorite sounds in the world! He loves trying to sit up and stand up. He also loves his rice cereal. He has been watching us eat for so long that he is all over trying to feed himself! He also likes his sweet potatoes. He is almost ready to try something new! He is getting close to rolling over. Everywhere we go, he is such a charmer. He is the reason for lots of fun conversations with store clerks and other "strangers."
Our ward is lots of fun still. I am helping out with the next enrichment activity, we are doing a service auction. It should be lots of fun and help me get to know some more sisters.

As far as our plans go for where we want to end up...well that is still the hot topic of conversation. Its kind of like choosing a name for your baby, its so much more than a name, its their life, so you talk about it every chance you get, then you get a headache from thinking so hard about it that you just have to leave it alone until the time comes that you have to decide :0. Make sense? Its been fun talking with Blaine and Kris about it (vicariously through Nick). Our number one is just to make the right decision according to the Lord's will for us.

We love you all and we are so excited for Blaine and Kris and "the girl." What a neat thing.
Love, Nick, Stef and baby Bret

An Even Score!

Dear Family,

Our computer is still acting up so I'm afraid I will have to take it back to Circuit City tomorrow. I won't bore you with details but I must say that I am repenting of my distaste for technology and I really really hope we can get this guy back to normal again. So while I have this window of opportunity I think I will write. (I'm mainly writing so Kristi will write again since she said she doesn't do more than three in a row!!)

We are sooooo happy the score is going to be even. The grandchild score that is! We were excited for the fun phone call from B&K today to hear there is a little girl coming. Hopefully Blaine shared with all of you that the technician thought Gwen was so cute about the whole thing that it moved her to tears. (Feel free to write the long version - and include how brilliant her first Primary talk was, too.)

Things are busy around here. Frankly I can't remember a time when dad has worked so many hours at his job. It is 11:15 pm and he is downstairs again (after being at the stake center for a few hours tonight) finishing up a report. He is up before the sun (and takes Max to volleyball practice at 6:30 - hurray!) and works and works and works! I love him for it but I do hope that things settle a bit. Actually, they do settle sometimes, but then they get wild again.

I went to Provo yesterday and got some peaches and pears to freeze/can. I also took the girls to lunch and then we had to hustle and get Rosey back to work. Provo is beautiful in the Fall and it was a fun day for me. I visited Aunt Janet at the Health Center, too.

Max is busy with his volleyball. No wins yet and today's game was a bummer, but he is getting really good. He has a great serve and some good blocks and spikes. Now if they could just play as a team and keep their heads in the game (hey, someone should write a song about that)

Rosey reported at lunch that she talks to Jeff every night. That's all I'm going to say about that. Anything to add, Rosey?

We had a great stake conference last weekend. Dad said it was his kind of conference. It was a broadcast so all he had to do was show up! Dad had a leadership meeting in the Conference Center on Sat. morning where he got to sit on the stand in those big, comfy chairs. Then Sunday morning we watched it in our stake house. The conference included 73 stakes. We heard from the Prophet, Elder Ballard and others. All were very inspiring!

I went to the temple today and saw grandma Bassett at work. That was fun. Dad's up for bed. Love you all. Mom

He's got skills

I was just doing a run through with Bentley on all of his "skills" he is at a really fun age and I thought I would bring you up to speed on what he's doing, he was just starting to do some of these things when we were in Utah. To date Bentley can....

*imitate a cough when you cough
*Say mama, dada, nana, hey, and I think I heard him say no the other day
*clap
*point to his head on command
*crawl (still army crawl)
*crawl up the stairs (joy)
*Pull himself up occasionally, I only know this because he actually fell into the bathtub and I heard the crash. He doesn't pull himself up too often.
*Blow kisses (which is really funny because instead of a kissing sound he growls)
*and my new personal favorite--- head buts. He is way into it, all you have to say is the word and he'll smack his head against yours and laugh. It's too bad though because yesterday he hit his head so hard against mine he got a bruise! Still loves it though.

He is also in the--- let's see how often mom will pick up my cup that I throw down stage. Which is extra unfortunate because Gwen will pick it up for him everytime, making it a game. So he just smiles big and chucks his cups as far away from us as he can. Drives me crazy!

Anyway, can't believe he has been around for a year!

Cue the angels!

I just wanted to say that my windows are open and my air conditioner is off and someone finally turned off the giant broiler that has been grilling Texas since April. HOLY COW. It's only 80 dgs today and it feels fantastic! It's crazy because on Sunday it was like 110, just like it has been since April, but today, it's magnificent. Words can't express how nice it is to be able to actually go outside once in a while. Ahhhh......

Firsts...

Nervous as a Freshmen

Greetings from P-town
I am back to being a student and living in an apartment on my own. I am determined to not be negative because although there are lots of things that I really don’t like, such as how dirty my apt is and not having dinner made for me every night, life really is great and I really do have so much to be grateful for. It’s just hard when you feel comfortable and really like the life you are living, to suddenly just move to something else. It really is a whole different world to be a full time student and work and live on your own. I guess working full time for a year just got me prepared and excited for having a full-time job again someday. I have also noticed it has helped me be a better student. I don’t know if it was just that I had a year break from school so I feel like my mind is fresh, or if I learned how to work extra hard at my job, either way, I feel good about the new school year.
I think I will divide the rest of this letter up into separate categories or else it will all be a jumbled mess.

Work: I will start with work because it is pretty much my favorite part thus far. I still work at Smart Cookie in American Fork. I know I have said in the past that I hated this job and that I was so excited to quit. Although there are days like that, for the most part I don’t mind it and even enjoy work. I LOVE the high school aged girls I work with, the hours are great, I have learned how to communicate a little bit better with my boss, I feel like I pretty much run the store, and I just got a great raise which I couldn’t turn down. Basically, I really like work because it is my second home. Everything else in my life is new so it is so nice to have something that I really feel familiar with. I feel loved and needed at work. I still have my boss calling me when I am not at work, asking ME questions about the store. I just found out that this new “job chart” that I created for the girls at work is now also being used in the other store as well (maybe I should get a copyright on it. J ) Anyway, I am only working Friday and Saturday. Friday is a little bit of a hassle because I have to leave in the middle of the day to go to one class, but other than that, I like it. (Please note, the next letter I write I could feel totally opposite and hate my job…that is just how it is at Smart Cookie!)

Living Conditions: I am living at the Glenwood apts. They are old as heck, but nice and cheap. The best part is that I live right above Rosey. You probably think we are in the same ward….we’re not. I know, weird huh? We are in the same stake, but not the same ward. She lives 50 walking steps away and we aren’t in the same ward.
I am learning to really love all my roommates. They are all sophomores (which I knew I was in for when I moved here) and they are all from the American Fork area. Needless to say some of them go home a lot. Actually, in some ways its nice because I feel like I have my own room. For the most part though, there are usually at least 4 of us here so it never feels too crowded or too lonely. My roommates are fun and social which is great because I need a little bit of extra help getting out and about visiting people. Last night at midnight, I was finishing up some laundry when some guys came down and took all six of the washing machines at one time (I thought that was rude to take them all). Anyway, I got talking to them and found out they are in my ward. They invited my roommates and I to a “waffle party” (it’s the “cool” thing to do down here) after church. When I got to the apt., my roommates were excited about it so most of us went today. They are just the people I need to help get me out and about.
I couldn’t finish up this “living conditions” portion of the letter without mentioning the leaking ceiling. One day after coming home from school I could hear a weird noise somewhere in my apt. My roommate freaks out and says that there is water leaking from our ceiling bathroom fan. We aren’t just talking a few drips of water, we’re talking A LOT of water. We ran upstairs to the apt. above ours and told them to tell whoever was in the shower to turn it off because it was leaking. They then informed us that their toilet was overflowing. SICK!!!!! I had already put my arm in that water to try and catch it with a bucket. I was so grossed out. They got their toilet fixed and we cleaned up our nasty water. The funny part was that the girls from the apt. below us came up and told us water was dripping from their ceiling too. I guess that is what happens when you live in a cheap place.
The best part (and saving grace for me) of living at the Glenwood is having Rosey right downstairs. Seriously, it’s almost like if she were at home down in her bedroom. I see her almost every day and I love it. I love just going down for even just a few minutes, joke around a little bit, maybe even eat some food, and then go home (Rosey can whip up some tasty looking stuff too.) She is so nice to let me hang out with her and her friends. I just feel like I always have a friend. I miss not being able to go to Blaine and Kristi’s, but life must move on, right?

School: School is school and a whole new adventure. On the first day of school I really did feel like a freshman all over again. Although I know where everything is, I was just so nervous. I switched majors to Speech Pathology, so that made everything new. Walking to school from the West side rather than the South side of campus made everything new too (I have always lived south of campus). I think I will really like Speech Pathology. I find it interesting (so far), the hardest thing has been to just get back in the groove of everything and figure out what professors want from me (I have one professor who is so unorganized, it really drives me crazy). So far I still feel like I am on top of everything (okay, I know it has only been one week). I really miss not having Blaine and Nick to eat with at lunch. I didn’t realize how much I really liked and needed it. At least Nick will be back in January…Blaine, there is always graduate school! (I am so excited for you to come in a few weeks!)
That’s my new life. No guy’s to report or anything. I really miss living at home but I know this will work out to be okay. I really do need to learn how to take care of myself, handles stress, and get to know new people, but it just isn’t my number one choice of things to do. Thanks for all your love, support, phone calls, and prayers for me. I really appreciated one person from each family emailing, calling, or texting me the first day of school. I need all the lovin I can get.
I love you all.
Janey

September toons

Bawb letter from Stef

Hey Bawbers:
For all you Rascal Flatts fans, Nick and I have been saying that we should “Bawb (bob) our heads every Friday night” and do a BAWB entry every Friday night, but so far the beauty of St. George has distracted us from Bawbing every Friday night!
We have only been here for one week and five days, but they have been quite action packed. Bret and I spent a lot of time inside the first week we were here, so last Friday when we dropped Nick off at work, we decided to go on a little adventure. We started off the day by going to the Chamber of Commerce to find out some tourist information. There were two cute old ladies working there who loaded us up with brochures and maps! Afterwards, we just walked over to the Daughter of Utah Pioneers museum . There were some cool silk dresses made from locally raised silk worms and lots of other neat things. I learned that when St. George was settled, they put the name of every boy over 18 in a hat and put all the lots in another hat and drew out a lot and a man’s name and they were just given the lots. After that they could do whatever they wanted: build, trade, sell, etc. Wouldn’t it be sweet to settle a new town : ) ? Best part of the museum- it was free! Little Bret is such a charmer, every where we go, people just love him! After the museum, we went and checked out the new library. Its really nice, free wireless and all! The new library sits in the Town Square which is really fun. It’s by the Tabernacle and the St. George Art Museum and has a little water park type thing running through it. Adults and kids had their suits on and were just playing in it! Everyone here is so friendly, everywhere I went that day I found people that just chatted with me!
The neatest thing I found out at the Chamber of Commerce was about the St. George live bus tour. Three bucks a person, free candy, meet Brigham Young…can’t beat that. Saturday morning we went downtown at 8:30 to get on the last bus tour of this year. We got to meet Jacob Hamblin, Orson Pratt, Brigham Young and one other I forgot…. We saw the Brigham Young winter home, the Tabernacle, the Judd store, and the opera house. It was lots of fun! With our three dollar tickets, we also got free entry into an art museum which had a special showing of a bunch of paintings of Zions. We also got free entry into a dinosaur museum. We saw dinosaur fossils and you guessed it dinosaur tail drags! It was a fun day!
For Labor Day we went to Snow Canyon and did the three ponds hike. It was way fun, I was grateful to Nick for carrying Bret in his little pack. If I had him, guaranteed we would have biffed, Nick is a lot quicker on his feet! We are finding lots of fun stuff to do down here. It’s warm and beautiful. We have seen lots of incredible sunsets. Nick is enjoying his job and we have had lots of fun talks about where we hope to take a job. We still don’t know yet J but its sure fun to talk about!
Our ward down here is the most friendly ward we have ever been to! Its definitely a wealthy ward mostly full of older people, but there are about four or five other couples that have kids and we are excited to get to know them! Well Bret just woke up from a nap! Hopefully we will get internet soon so we can keep up on the BAWB a little better! We love and miss you guys!

Love, Stef and Bret J

Just Bawbing along

Well life just keeps moving forward, almost faster than we'd like.

Blaine-

Blaine is getting anxious to come out to Utah. I can't decide what he is the most excited for seeing you guys or eating on the companies dime (Heaven help us). I am nervous to have him gone for an entire week, but luckily my schedule is quickly filling with dinner dates with friends (to Red Lobster, Texas Roadhouse, etc.), nights out by myself to go see movies (I plan on getting a babysitter most nights), letting the dogs sleep in Blaine's spot to keep me safe from bad guys, etc. Okay, alright, none of those things are true...I'm going to miss him and I am not sure how well I am going to handle being alone for so long. It's amazing how most days I spend a lot of time just watching the clock waiting for him to come home. : ) Things are going okay for him at work. He had his performance review and his boss said he was doing "staff" level work (which is a level above what he is employed as) and that hopefully sometime soon he will be promoted to staff (does anyone else think it degrading that he isn't even referred to as staff? ). Anyway, he is working on a really tough project but has supposedly made some good breakthroughs this week. He got released from his calling of co-ward organist and was called to be the ward organist and the second counselor in the Sunday School Presidency. He has been doing lots of good things around the house too like repairing our garage door opener and garage light and stuff. Every Saturday I marvel at what a stud muffin he is as he works so hard on our lawn, etc. He's been enjoying watching Battlestar Galactica ("Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica"), and we just started the Andromeda mini series and the Roswell series, both of which have proven to be pretty good! Right now he is making us a tasty paella (with chicken, shrimp, clams, pepperoni and bacon.....not sure quite what happened to the weight watchers plan). He also came home from the store yesterday with two pie pumpkins, he is looking forward to the pumpkin seeds which are slowly roasting right now, and he plans to also make a pumpkin pie. We are excited for this time of year with the holidays coming and the cooler weather (so help me there better be cooler weather, this is ridiculous) and of course we are anxiously awaiting a visit from you guys (oh wait, that was last year, dang it!).

Gwen-
Gwen is currently up resting on our bed. She has been running a very high fever for almost two days now and it finally seems to be subsiding (thank goodness). It never ceases to amaze me how much I can worry when one of my little ones is sick. I can't sleep or think of anything else. I don't know what I'll do if she ever gets more than a cold!I hope she gets better soon because her first day of preschool is on Tuesday! She finally got the Dora backpack that we ordered online on Saturday and that. was. awesome! She is excited to go, but I am quite hesitant. They had a little play group for all of the three year olds that will be attending her preschool on Thursday and it didn't go so well. She tried so hard to go out and introduce herself to the kids and make friends, but she would occasionally run back and tell me "Mom, I tried to play with those girls over there but they said they didn't want to play with me and ran away". That was about the hardest thing I have had to do was to sit there and not go chastise those little twerps. Who wouldn't want to play with Gwen?? It was so sad to watch as she would go introduce herself and then kids would walk away. I think that most kids her age are just not as verbal and maybe it was intimidating to have a kid come up and formally introduce themselves? I am not sure. I remembered that I had seen one little kid being nice to Gwen so I set off with her to go find him. We finally found him, Matt, and he was so nice to her. He took her hand and went down the slides with her and went around the playground with her. It was particularly sweet because Matt looked just like Blaine did when he was little, glasses and all. I just sat on my bench and cried my little heart out. Then I asked Matt who his mom was, he showed me and then I went and cried to her about what a sweet boy she had. Anyway, I don't think Gwen had too much fun, and I wasn't too fond of the whole experience either. Already on the playground there was a "no girls allowed" group and several clicks and lots of bad stuff going on. How can I throw my sweet girl into the wolves like that? It is something I am struggling with...

She had fun at SeaWorld the other day and was able to go on some rides ALL by herself. Isn't that crazy? She was beaming with pride as she went up on the ride, and then she chatted the ear off of all the kids around her the whole ride long. You gotta love Gwen!

Bentley-

What a kid. He smiles so big that it almost seems to be bigger than his face. Last time I went grocery shopping I had at least five people stop me to tell me what a cute boy he is (smile in particular). He is crawling around all over the place (still army crawl). His vocabulary has expanded to include "mama" and I swear he says "hey!". He can pull himself up to standing in his crib and changing his diaper is like roping a calf. He is drinking whole milk only now (thank goodness) and that's been bad news for my diet ;). He is getting excited to celebrate his first birthday and wishes you all could be here to see him eat his cake. He has been promoted to Gwen's old carseat and Gwen has been promoted to a booster. Craziness! He was very well behaved at the beach and didn't eat nearly as much sand as expected. Whew.

Kris-

Well, you know how there are steps to accepting death? I think they are 1- Denial 2- Anger 3- Bargaining 4-Depression 5- Acceptance? I think I have gone through them all in regard to pregnancy and now I am on step 6 - Humor (I made that one up). Because about three times a day I just have a good giggle about what my life is going to be like in six months. Can you imagine? Three kids crammed in the back of the Accord. Grocery shopping? Ha! What a joke. Just imagining life with three children is so scary that if I don't think about how funny it will look to other people I start reverting back to the depression stage, and that isn't good. So humor it is! I mean, if this baby comes when it is supposed to Bentley will be 16 months old and if Bentley is as late walking as Gwen was (17 months) then I will have TWO who can't even walk. I'll be able to take anyone in an arm wrestle that's for sure. Oh the adventures that lie ahead! We go for our ultrasound on the 17th -- we had it scheduled for Bentley's birthday (the 18th) but then realized Gwen would be in preschool and we want her to be there! She seems to be okay with the idea of either a brother or a sister and it is so cute because she will come up and talk to the baby and give it kisses, etc.

There is so much love in this little family I can hardly stand it. It almost scares me to think of having another to love so much because it amplifies the love I already have for the kids I already have and it magnifies my worry (like when they get a fever) and one of these days I am sure my heart is just going to burst.

Anyway, I better get going. Thanks for listening!

Liger Volleyball!!!!!

Hey Happy Family.... my title kind of gives away the big news, but I'll give you guys the details. About a week ago, I heard about volleyball tryouts and how a bunch of my friends were going to try out. I didnt really want to do it because I didnt know much about volleyball. So I told my friends I wasnt really interested in trying out. But as days went by, I thought more and more about it and how this year my goal is to get more involved with the activities they have at the school. After a lot of thinking and going to the little meeting about tryouts, I decided I wanted to do it. So I went to the first tryout and didnt do so well. I came home and practied with Caroline and she kind of taught me a little bit. The next day, I did a lot better, and the day after that I felt pretty good about it and thought that I might have a chance. Then the day came when he posted up the list of who made it or not. After the bell rang, I ran down to the gym and looked at the list and my name was 2nd on there for Varsity!!! I was really excited because my friends had also made it, so I knew it was going to be fun!!!
We have practices on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings, and our games our Monday and Wednesday after school. So our first game is on Monday against Matheson, I think, and I'm kinda nervous but I'm really excited!
Anyways, I thought you guys might be interested that I am on the Volley ball team for Valley. I also wanted to show a little LIGER PRIDE!!!!! :) (Kristi, you know what I'm talking about)
Love you all,
Max

Ocean adventures

Darn it all. I was so excited to be the first to post this month and mom beat me to it! Thanks for the fun letter! Really I was just going to refer y'all to my blog since I couldn't figure out how to post this post on both of them. Anyway, I wrote about our vacation, so check it out!!

www.kristibassett.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday James

Dear Family,

This letter really isn't about James, but since today is his birthday I thought I would wish him a happy birthday. That is reminding me how grateful I am to live next to the Yorgasons. That has been a great blessing in all of our lives. Little J-man is 22!

Dad may have been the last to write in August, but I am the first to write in Sept. And may I say what a difference a day or two makes. When dad wrote his letter the air conditioning was probably pumping away keeping him cool. Here I sit on a Tuesday morning and I am cold. It is 44 degrees at 7:45 and I am waiting to go running until it warms up a bit. How weird is that? We had a cold front come in yesterday, on Labor Day, and it is suddenly Fall! I'm really thankful we have seasons, but I already miss the warm weather. I'll have to go stay with Nick and Stef!

We had a good Labor Day weekend. On Saturday Janey and I went to Provo to move her into her apt at the Glenwood. It was fun because Rosey was already there on the floor below and I kept going down to visit her (and get candy) She and her roommates were all getting ready in their blue shirts and heading to BYU's first home game. (Oh Max got to go to the game, too, with Nordgrens and Lindseys) Janey got stuff settled and I cleaned her apt (I don't think it was left very clean) and then we came home. Only one roommate was even there. We stopped at Ikea on the way home and this was our first time there. That is a wild store. First we had to get food, which tasted so good because we were both starving. Then we somehow goofed and we were going through the top floor backwards, against the arrows. It is like a maze. I was so happpy when I finally found a map. The ground floor we did the correct way and that felt better. Janey found some fun apt stuff to buy, mainly a narrow bookcase to replace the big white one. So we got it all put together that night. Then on Monday we went to Provo again, this time Aunt Nancy and grandma joined us for the ride (and to meet Russ to pick up the turkey for dinner that was already in Fountain Green), and we moved in the new bookcase. We met a couple more roommates but still haven't met Janey's room roommate. She has moved lots of stuff in but we keep missing her. I think most of those girls are from Utah County (Am. Fk. or Highland) so they must come and go a lot. Looks like Janey will be the old woman of the group as most of them are Rosey's age. But the ones I met seem really nice. Oh and I have to say how adorable Jane's new quilt looks on her bed. The rag quilt turned out really cute and she was very happy with it!

Rosey came home for the holiday, too. She came on Sunday night and stayed until last night. We had planned to go to Fountain Green with the Yorgs on Monday but it had rained all Sunday night and was still raining in Fountain Green so we decided not to go. So in the spirit of fun, Rosey planned a fun day instead. (Before Max left for school this morning, he said he just wished he could repeat yesterday again as it was so much fun) Rosey called Jeff and invited him over. She got the twins and some Turley's (Amber's cousins) and Easton and they had a big mud football game out in the fields. It wasn't raining but it was cold and muddy. Then they swam (brrrr), then sat in the Yorg's hot tub and then the weather cleared by afternoon and they played volleyball. At that point a bunch of others came to join them. It turned out we b-b-qued turkey outside at Yorgs and had about 30 people (grandma, Karen and Rog, Andrea's and Ned's family, Kent and Sherri, Clay, Issac) at a yummy potluck dinner. (Oh, dad got a movie in with Curt earlier in the afternoon.) After dinner there was more volleyball (did you call know that Cristinne Norgren is a killer volleyball player?) and then lots of us watched the Pink Panther movie downstairs. It was such a fun day.

Then the sad moment of goodbyes came and this time Janey went to Provo to stay! Sniff Sniff. Rosey has already lived down there for a week so at least I didn't have to lose everyone at once. Now there are just three of us! Course dad walked in the house last night from saying goodbye to the girls and tried to say we were having new rules around here, now that I'm outnumbered 2 to 1. But I asked him if he was ready to do Saturday chores because we need more than two on the job chart and that quieted him right down. We are going to be rather lonely. Good thing we are such fun people, right Max and dad? We even went to immediately playing our dice game to show how fun we really are.

So that's our weekend. The above paragraphs may need work but I have to get out on my run. I love and miss you all. I always knew you would grow up and go to college and get married and move away. I am really glad everyone is progressing in their lives, but darn it, it is hard. I miss you all soooooooooooooo much. I think I'll go on my run and have a good cry.

Love, Mom

PS Oh my sharing time went really well on Sunday. I started with a story about Blaine getting his Game Boy gift and then talked about another gift he got that was even better (the Holy Ghost) Course some of those primary boys wanted to just dwell on the game boy. But it turned out well and the kids listened. Janey was chorister for the last time and I wanted to cry about that. I'm going to miss her so much in there. So are the kids. We told the kids it was her last time and after primary little Joey Combs was down on his knees begging her to stay. I guess she has to go bless other lives!