Monday, August 18, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Dear Family,
It is already July and into the last half of 2008. How time flies. Frontier Days are about here. Not looking forward to it.For a person who has sworn off traveling I have been very busy traveling this year - Tommy Mills blessing day - Kinsey Erickson's baptism -Meghan Curry's (and Ryan Clyde's) graduation followed almost immediately by their marriage in the Manti Temple. Following the wedding I rode with the Evans to California to visit while Pat & Dave went on a short cruise. We all rode back to Cheyenne after that. What a long, tedious ride that was!
On June 20th I mustered up the courage to go back to California, this time by plane. The trip was pretty routine and I got along fine. Jared and Meghan's wedding was beautiful. All the Brown children (and grands) were there and many of Barbara's family came. Helen & Tim and Virginia & John also came. It was great to have so many of my family there.
Life, otherwise, has been pretty routine. We seem to stay pretty dry here but I am grateful that we have not had floods and heavy rains here like the eastern states and more floods like the Midwestern states (from the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio Rivers). We did have a cluster of tornados here and in Northern Colorado. Some damage was done but, thankfully, not much. And no Santa Ana winds or California wild fires - so far.
I have had a couple of serendipitous things here - just little things, but they have brightened my life a bit. 1) My Christmas cactus bloomed in June: totally unexpected! 2) A robin built a nest in the entryway overhang. She must have laid four eggs and one by fell out and died. After that I would see three wide open beaks every time the mother (I think the father helped with the feeding also) flew back with food. One Saturday the three sat on the edge of the nest chirping. Then there were two, and by nightfall only one. By the next morning they were all gone. Where they went and if they survived, I don't know. But it was interesting watching this event of nature up close. Now, how do I get the painting contractor back to finish his work?
Love, Mom
Disclaimer from the Editor:
Once again the Editor apologizes for this getting out so tardy. In the past I have put the letters in order of birth and then by children of each family. However, this time I just put them in order of arrival. Some of you often comment for the lateness...now you can no how you fair with your siblings &/or children. Hope everyone enjoys this last little bit of summer before fall hits. I am very thankful for my family and the opportunity I have had to do the family letter. I am very proud of our wonderful family. We have such a wide variety of talents and things to offer each other. Once again...please disregard my typos, misspelled words or mistakes...That being said, Whew I am really glad my turn is done as the Editor. With the growing world of email, im’s blogs, website, etc...I have made us a family blog spot. Attached at the end of this is the address and information to get into it and make additions, changes or add photos. In the past I did not get cartoons or pictures attached that were sent do to not being able to open or access them-I am hopeing this will help with this. We have had so many births, weddings, & fun events that this would be a good place to share them-if anyone is interested? Jennifer
Name of Blog: CS & Jane Brown Family Access blog through BLOG SPOT http://csbrownfamily.blogspot.com/ Email Address: csbrownfamily Pass word: Jane Brown 1
Pat and Dave get back their green thumbs-sort of?
Dave and I have a garden this year. It seems to have lots of weeds, but we're also getting
lots of radishes. They are so good. We tried corn this year even though corn usually doesn't do well at this altitude. We thought if we had enough corn this year we could sell it to make ethanol and get rich. Ha ha!
We made a spring trip to Utah, Nevada and California in late April and early May. While in California we went on a four day cruise to Baja California. It was really nice but not very warm. At least it wasn't as warm as we would have liked. We stayed with John and Virginia and the boys for a weekend before catching the boat. It was really an adventure for us to drive through Los Angeles to get to the port. But thanks to John for the directions, we got there without incidence.
Mama and I went to Utah in early June to see Kinsey get baptized. She sure is growing up and is a beautiful young lady. Greg brought the three boys with him by himself. Kathy was out of town to a cousin's wedding. Greg does a really good job wrestling with all the boys. Clayton enjoyed singing "Book of Mormon Stories," at the baptism and after we got back home he kept holding out his hands like a book so we would sing the song again.
Dave flew to Michigan in the middle of June so he and David could go see a NASCAR race. Dave's brother Darryl drove up from Kentucky and also attended the race. After, they were able to get some supper and catch up on things. Dave hasn't seen Darryl for over nine years.
Kristi and David are doing well except that their little Jimmie dog got really sick and died. He had stomach cancer and seemed to be doing really well after his surgery. But the poor little guy just got too sick. Kristi stays really busy with work and the dog rescue program on weekends. David also stays really busy with his work at General Dynamics.
We hope everyone is doing well. Love, Pat and Dave
Newly Wed News
The last month has been busy for us in Northern California. Jeff moved out of our apartment and my new wife Meghan moved in. We had a really nice wedding in June. We enjoyed seeing those of you who made it out for the wedding. After our wedding we flew out to Hawaii. We stayed at the JW Marriott at Ko'Olina and would recommend it to anyone. We've both been to Hawaii a number of times, so we mostly sat on the beach and enjoyed having nothing to do. We really enjoyed our honeymoon. We will stay at our apartment in Menlo Park until the end of July and then we will move closer to Meghan's parents in Cupertino so that they can help with Sofia when Meghan starts school this fall.
Jared, Meghan, and Sofia
Wedding, Shingles, and a break from Primary
(no this is not the beginning of a bad joke)...
Dear Family,
This letter finds our little branch of the family happy and well. The most anticipated and exciting activity was the wedding of Jared and Meghan. Barbara, Heather, Melissa, and Jennifer were able to go to California for a bridal shower. Barbara also had the exciting experience of going down there to arrange for hotel rooms, a place for the rehearsal dinner, and to meet Meghan’s family. Dad couldn’t get the time off. We had met Meghan and Sofia in January when they visited Washington but it is always good to meet the people to whom we are now linked as "coat-tail" relatives. The rehearsal dinner was an interesting affair at an Italian Restaurant. It was part of a chain and we ended up going to the wrong one at first. I was "comforted" by being told that I would surely arrive in time to pay the bill. Fortunately, we also made it in time to enjoy the evening, eat some good food, and meet Meghan’s family. It had been very hot in the Bay Area but we got a slight break during the week-end with a touch of cooler weather. The next day Barbara and Jim went to pick up the flowers and the cake. The businesses were separated by many miles and many twists and turns. We are thankful for the fabulous Global Positioning System (GPS) in place. Ten dollars a day for the device was money well spent. The wedding was held at the Testarossa Winery in Los Gatos, the oldest continuously operating such facility in California. It was beautiful but quaint. It looks like it had once been a monastery. My theory is that it had been sold to pay for the many law suits that the Catholic Archdiocese had to deal with in recent history. Jared and Meghan’s Bishop performed the ceremony and did a beautiful job. We then enjoyed a meal and dancing afterwards. The Testarossa people were probably disappointed to have not sold as much of their product as they would have liked since we don’t drink. There was however some consumption since Meghan comes from a family that is mixed LDS and otherwise. We are delighted to welcome Meghan and Sofia to the family. Jared has sent his version of the past several months separately.
While in California, Barbara suffered a case of the shingles (herpes zoster). It started out as an unusual headache or ear ache. It was positioned on the right side behind her ear and onto the upper neck. That happens to correspond perfectly with the posterior auricular nerve. After I saw the skin lesions it became apparent that we were dealing with a miserable case of shingles. As soon as we got home I was able to prescribe some acyclovir and prednisone and she improved steadily. It is now about 99% resolved. There is still a modicum of pain when she gets too hot. Barbara was finally released from her calling as the Stake Primary Presidency Secretary. Overall, she has served in the Stake for 12 of the 17 years we have lived here. She is now in charge of food for the dance festival held in the Tacoma Dome from July 24-26. It is a challenge that you cannot cook at the Dome. It is also a blessing that you cannot cook there. The logistics and expectations are actually more favorable as a result. This summer has witnessed a particularly active and intense allergy season. We also hired another allergist, Dr. Ted Song. We hope that this results in a more favorable overhead picture. The master plan is for him to work full time and then for my partner, Dr. Andrade, and I to go half time in 3-4 years when we can attract another allergist. Our hope is to be able to do some of the traveling we desire to do, including visiting our scattered progeny.
Jeffrey is working extra hard at Franklin-Templeton in San Jose. He really likes his work and they are doing some good things to smooth out the year so that there are not the harrowing weeks before tax deadlines. Heather has made the decision to enroll in classes at UNLV. She is excited and so are we. Her work is going well enough but she knows that this is not her "calling in life." Jimmy is taking one class at BYU this summer, a biology and physiology class. He is also working as a waiter at "The Chef’s Table."
Jared and Meghan, Jason and Jennifer, and Melissa and Mark are sending their own summaries. They can give more detail than I. I have also sent an uninvited editorial regarding my prior abortive attempt to gather a family health history. I have come to believe that the failure to get a complete history (besides the genetic condition of severe procrastination) derives from the fact that it is not necessary to give detail about each person and it can be somewhat threatening in many ways. That is also one of the reasons that the Federal Government has implemented the HIPPA guidelines. Some of the health issues constitute sensitive material. After discussion with some family members I have taken a different approach. I have listed various conditions known to be present in the family with the intention of informing each of us about the possible increased risk which we may have. When you look at the "laundry list" of serious and less than serious things you may despair. Let me tell you, we are no different than most families in which there are a variety of maladies. That is the human condition. Yet, if knowledge can help us through some of these problems, we need to become informed. Early diagnosis gives hope for early intervention and control or even full recovery. In the end, our sojourn on this wonderful planet is finite. Our days are numbered but known only to the Lord. Let us make the most of the wonderful gift of life and of this family. In that spirit, we need to become very active in deciding on what we are doing next year for our family reunion. I have been an advocate for a cruise but am not adamant about such a venue. I only want to meet with each of you, preferably in something less than 102 degrees, or at least in a place
that is adequately cooled. Let us give feedback and support to Virginia. We can have a great reunion. Love, Jim
Dan was off to O K L A H O M A ...
" where the wind comes sweepin down the plains "....
Things have been "as usual" at the Gibson home. Dan stays busy with storytelling. He regrets that he now has to charge a "fuel fee" along with his regular fee, but nobody seems to complain about it. I guess everyone understands. He had his first ever Oklahoma storytelling performances, so he can add another state to his list. His doctor seems pleased that his cholesterol and blood pressure are under control. He spent some time in North Carolina with his dad and plans another trip in November.
Julia is enjoying doing practically nothing this summer. Aside from a little housecleaning, cooking and grocery shopping, my main activities have been teaching my Primary class, taking Colleen to her doctor’s appointments and taking Isis for a ride.
Dan and Julia are planning a trip to Cheyenne to visit Mama and Pat. This is the trip we had planned last summer, but medical issues took over and we never went. We hope the weather is cool and that gas prices aren’t too high.
Amy and family are weathering the summer. Amy’s company had to "furlough" several workers due to decreased business and Amy was one of them. She is working at home on several private contracts and says she will continue that as long as she can get some business. The plus side is that she can spend some time with her children. She also has auditioned for and made her dance class performance group. Jesse plays drums for the dance performances and the kids usually go to watch their parents show off. Brennan’s news is that he made the select band at his school for next year. He’s proud of the fact that very few seventh graders make the band and that he is second chair French horn. He informed me that the first chair is an eighth grader so he has more experience. Brittany’s news is that she scored "commended" on her state tests. That’s pretty hard to do. Jason went to summer school and got to go out on several field trips to different businesses. They’re working on their "real world" skills and beginning to prepare them for future jobs. He thinks it would be cool to have a job.
Karen is still with us, but is looking for her own apartment. She has become a corporate trainer for the company, which means she gets to supervise and train new employees. They have also talked to her about going to Boulder, Colorado this fall to help them open a new restaurant. Some things have been said about transferring her there, but she’s looked into cost of living issues and has decided she can stay in Texas. Her managers are pleased with her work and her willingness to take initiative. She has told them she would like to be considered for management.
Katie continues her assignment at Fujitsu, but is looking for a different assignment or a permanent job somewhere else. She says she is tired of working nights and would like a social life. Her cats are doing well.
It’s been hot here in Texas, but not the worst summer we’ve ever had. We could use a little more rain. Hope everyone is doing well.
Love, Julia, Dan and everyone
Summer --flying by busy with many activities & wonderful accomplishments
We our enjoying our summer and always wish it could last forever, but it always goes too by too fast! Hope you are all enjoying your summers too.
Erin is busy with school and looks forward to being done with it, but that won’t be until sometime next summer. After that she will have to do an internship. She is having a nice summer in spite of being so busy. She likes to go boating and wakeboarding and goes every chance she gets. She is moving back to Provo next month and is looking forward to that.
Meghan and Ryan are busy working and have had a change of plans for after the summer. They have decided to move back to the Washington, DC area and work for a year and then Ryan will go to law school next year. He has a job lined up, but Meghan is still looking. They did fly out there a few weeks ago and had some interviews so we hope something will come up for her.
Chris is two months into a six month deployment on the USS Ronald Reagan. He works very hard and says he is doing as well as he can be out on the ship. He usually emails us a few times a week and we got a call from him a few days ago when he was in port in South Korea. It was great to talk to him. If any of you want to email him, his address is:
christopher.m.curry1@cvw14.navy.mil He has been in port in Hong Kong (which they had to leave a day early because of bad weather), Guam and Korea. They will also go to Japan at some point. They were detoured to the Philippines for a few days to help with cyclone relief.
Sean has been playing baseball nearly nonstop since March. He is currently playing summer ball for his high school team and is tearing it up! He has hit two home runs, a bunch of doubles and triples and an occasional base hit here and there. He was recently moved up to the varsity level after playing down for the first part of the summer. The coach finally saw the light after long enough and brought him up. They have their state tournament at the end of the month so we hope he and the rest of the team can keep up their good play.
Tim is golfing as usual and has good days and bad days. Guess that is just the nature of the game. He and a bunch of his friends from work climbed Mount St. Helen’s on July 19th. He said it was much more difficult than he had expected, and his legs cramped up a lot. It took about seven hours to climb it and about four to get down. He is glad he did it since the views were amazing. He was able to see all the mountains in the area – Ranier, Adams, Hood, Jefferson and one called Three Finger Jack.
Helen is just enjoying the laid back days of summer. She goes walking with a friend of hers most days and then goes to work for a few hours. She is loving watching Sean play baseball and is dreading back to school! Primary keeps her a little busy, but not too much when they are completely staffed. That seems to last for a while and then someone decides to move so it is back to the drawing board to find new teachers. We will spend the first week of August in Seaside and get back in time for Sean to start soccer camp and then tryouts and then back to the school and Seminary schedule. Time just goes by too fast!
Love,
The Curry Family
SUN & FUN (& Surgery?) IN TX
My letter will be pretty short this issue. Just not much going on for me during the dog days of summer. The dog days consist of me walking the dog every day. She really loves her "W". She loves to check her p-mail every day. Some of her mail is very long. I have to drag her away from the most interesting letters. The walk is good for her and good for me. I can walk for a much longer period of time than when I started.
I’m having some trouble with my stamina when it comes to my Gospel Doctrine Class. Week after Week. I’m ready for a break. Don’t think I’m going to get it though.
Elizabeth, Brett, Makayla and Parker are having quite a summer. They have a pool in their back yard that never closes. And there are only four people in the pool. Makes for lots of swimming for
everyone. Parker has learned to swim. He was a little cautious before this summer. Now he is fearless. Makayla has been swimming for years. She loves to go off the diving board. And is also fearless.
Brett had to have surgery on his neck in May. He had to have two vertebra replaced with cadaver bone and now has many pins and plates in his neck. When Parker saw his x-ray he asked, Daddy, how can you swallow? When Elizabeth was about his age she asked a young women with really long hair about how she was able to go to the bathroom. Brett had to be off work for about 2-3 weeks and a whole month before he could drive. He could walk and float in the pool, but no swimming. On his last trip to the doctor he asked if he could go off the diving board. The doctor said yes, feet first only. Take another 3 months before head first diving. And no diving off the high dive. By the way the high dive is the roof. Yikes! He really misses getting in the water and playing with the kids.
That's about all from us Texans in this neck of the woods.
Love to you all, Coe, Brett, Elizabeth, Makayla, Parker and tada!! Isis
Schools Out & Travelers hit Europe
Not much is new in Las Vegas for Mark and I. We enjoyed going to Jared and Meghan's wedding last month and seeing some of you there too. After the wedding Mark returned to Las Vegas and I went to Washington for a week. The weather was wonderful in Washington and I enjoyed spending time with my family and relaxing. A highlight was going golfing with my Dad at the Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place. The views were spectacular but unfortunately I can't say the same for my golf game. Mark has been in school almost the whole summer with the exception of a few weeks break between his semesters and I have just been trying to get a lot of my work done so we can go to Europe in August with my parents and Jimmy. We are getting pretty excited to go to Europe since I don't remember too much and Mark has never been. Other than that we are just coping with the heat in the summer. Hope all is well with everyone!Mark and Melissa
Evan’s Family Enjoys the 4th In Nations Capital
Dear Family,
We have had quite a summer so far. We just returned from a family vacation to the eastern seaboard. There is so much to tell so I will just give the highlights.
We flew in to Washington D.C. and visited the sights there. We were on the mall in D.C. on the fourth of July. It was very packed but we were able to watch the fireworks from the Lincoln Memorial. It was pouring rain but we had cover of the memorial. We later stayed in the Shenandoah valley in a little cottage not far from the West Virginia border. We spent about a week going to Civil war sights including Gettysburg and Appomattox. After this we went to Philadelphia and saw where the Declaration of Independence was signed and we saw the Liberty Bell. After Philly we went to New York. We visited NY for two days. We were able to go to the observation deck on the Empire State building. The boys thought it was pretty cool. We walked to Times Square and Central Park. The next day we went to ground zero and then to the Statue of Liberty.
After New York City we traveled north to Palmyra and saw the Sacred Grove and were able to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant. While there I thought I might see someone I know. You know that when you have been a member of the church for a long time there is almost always someone you run in to. Sure enough a member of our Stake passed by. They were shocked to see us there as we were too. After Palmyra we went to Vermont and then to Boston where we saw many Revolutionary War sights including Paul Revere's home and the Old North Church.
Now to the business of our family. John and Virginia and the boys finished school in June. Virginia has to go back the end of July but the others don't have to begin school until the end of August. John will teach 5th grade again while Virginia will return to 2nd grade. I am excited but nervous since it has been 18 years since I taught 2nd grade. I was getting pretty good at Kindergarten.
Stuart is doing fantastic in Brazil. Thank you all for your prayers in his behalf. He is enjoying missionary work. He has had several baptisms and has other families lined up. Of course, as many of you know, sometimes you get a good family and then they back out. They tell him that they have always been Catholic and could never change even though they know nothing about being Catholic. Traditions of our Fathers."
Spencer came home for one day in June. He was happy to be home. He is a big and handsome young man. We love him a lot.
Stephen finished his Sophomore year. He did a great job. He is enjoying his summer so far. He got his learning permit and is practicing driving. He is ready to begin a new season of Cross Country. Practice has already begun. Stephen is participating in our big 12 stake dance festival. He and the other priests and laurels in the stake are dancing the swing. The performance is on July 25th and 26th. Stephen has recently become an Eagle Scout. Hurray!!
Taylor successfully finished his Freshman year in high school. He is eager to begin practice for football. He hopes to play first string again this year on the J.V. team and maybe even on the varsity. Taylor too is participating in the dance festival. He and the other Teachers and MiaMaids are doing the Cha Cha. We'll send pictures of his ruffled Latin shirt later!
Benjamin is now in the fifth grade. He got the honor of being chosen to receive the principals award from his class. Only one student receives this award in each class. He loves school and he has a great time with his friends. He received straight A's on his last report card. What a guy!! His favorite part of our vacation was the swimming pools at the hotels and the elevators. He is truly Virginia's son.
We hope you all have a great rest of the summer. It was wonderful to see family at Meghan's wedding in Manti and Jared's wedding in Los Gatos.
Love The Evans
Kansas or Bust!!
We're outta here! We're moving to Topeka, Kansas on Monday July 28th. Hopefully we'll
make it there before the beginning of August. I'll start law school at Washburn University on Monday August 18th. I can't wait for the change in lifestyle, but I'm sure I'll soon be longing for the ime when
I didn't have a ton of homework and thousands of pages to read everyday. We're looking forward to moving into our new home and getting to know new people.
In the meantime I've been trying to enjoy summer as much as possible. I've been playing softball for both our ward and for the company I work for. Both teams have been surprisingly good. I've been well accustomed to playing on baseball teams that lose a lot more than they win, but both softball teams have won a lot more games than I expected at the beginning of the season. I played in my last company game last night and did something I've never done on any level--I hit a home run. I think I was more surprised than anybody! Anyway, that felt good. Erica hasn't played on any teams, but we've gone to the park a few times to hone her softball playing skills.
Moving and raising a baby have been sort of like a double whammy for Erica. I think she's putting up with it all pretty well. Her enrichment calling has kept her extra occupied. She has been organizing a reading group for the Relief Society (even though we're moving). Our new home should be a big help since we will be able to put Tommy in his own room. I think he's waking up from my snoring and our talking (yes, we tend to talk in our sleep).
Tommy just started crawling a couple days ago. He's always been a good stander and he started flipping over a little over a month ago. He has two teeth so far, but will probably have more by the time we leave. He's generally a happy boy, as long as he gets his way. He loves his books, a habit we hope he will continue with.
Our new address is 1252 Burnett Rd, Topeka, KS, 66604.
Hope you all are doing well,
Love, Bobby, Erica, and Tommy
It’s a boy...No, it’s a girl...No it’s a boy?
Dear Family:
Summer is in full swing and we are enjoying the hot days and warm nights. Our summer activities make it seem like the time just flies by. Earlier this month we went down to Utah for a few days. Lauren and Dallas were out visiting in Ogden on their way to Bear Lake. Dallas’s extended family has a cabin at the lake and gives family members a week every summer to go boating, jet skiing, water skiing, etc. We visited with Dallas and Lauren; Michael and Lindsey came down from Idaho and Drew came up from Provo, so it was a mini family reunion of sorts. While we were there Lauren announced her good news that she is pregnant. She should have the baby around mid December. Yes, it is still "the baby" because they don’t know and don’t want to know the gender. They want to be surprised. Lauren plans to keep working up until about three weeks before the baby is born. Everything is going well so far.
Michael is taking the Idaho state bar exam tomorrow and the next day. As you may remember,
he passed the Colorado state bar exam last summer, so he really only has to take half the Idaho exam. His score on the multi-state exam, which makes up half of the exam, transfers from Colorado to Idaho. That is a relief, but there is still some pressure to do well on the Idaho specific essay portion of the test. Lindsey and Annabelle came back to Sheridan with us so that Michael could study without distraction right before he takes the test. We are really having a good time with them up here. Naturally, Annabelle is just so smart and cute. The ladies at Church made several very complimentary remarks about her, which I agreed with, of course.
Drew is still enjoying his BYU experience. He is working on campus in the trademarks office. His job is to obtain permission for BYU professors to quote from others’ books or use portions of those books as handouts in their classes. Many schools just do it without obtaining permission or paying for it. BYU is rated as one of the top five universities in the country for scrupulously complying with the trademark laws. Many authors or their agents just give the permission to use excerpts without charging anything for it. Some charge a few cents per copy used. BYU regards it as small price to pay for following the law and keeping on the good side of other academics. Drew brought a couple of friends with him to see Sheridan’s famous rodeo in early July. One was his roommate, Cody Cutler, and the other was a friend named Janae. At least that was all we knew. On the second day of their visit, I was chatting with Janae and discovered that her father had grown up in Evanston, Wyoming. Since I have known quite a few people from Evanston, I asked her what was her father’s name. She said "David Holt." I asked if her grandparents are Ruth and Dean Holt and she said "Yes." So, we were hosting our second cousin for three days. Janae called her father and reported on the discovery. He must have called Ruth right away because the next morning Ruth called me to talk and chuckle about the discovery. It was quite a humorous thing.
Eric seems to have settled into the mission routine in Oregon. In his first area he was just minutes away from Helen and Tim. Thanks Helen for looking out for him. I think she took Eric and his companion out to lunch at least two times ( with the mission president’s permission, of course.) Eric even got to play a little basketball at the Church on Prep. day with his cousin, Sean, and one of Sean’s cousins. Eric and his companion were recently both transferred into a new area in North Portland. Just as they were making some good progress with some investigators, the Zone Leaders of his zone decided that they needed to me more centrally located. So, they got themselves transferred into Eric’s area and took over their investigator pool. Oh well; it’s all good if the investigators get baptized it doesn’t matter who does it. Eric’s e-mail address, if any of you want to write to him is ericabrown@myldsmail.net . That is a much faster way of getting a letter to him than using the U.S. mail.
We enjoy receiving the family letter and learning about your activities and important events.
Love, Robert, Cynthia and kids
Hello from the Brown Family from the North!
Jennifer Jacob Jenson and I are doing well. We continue to enjoy our Northwest summer 65-80. We are teaching the boys to camp. They really enjoy chasing the deer and going on hikes.
Jennifer is teaching WASL test prep class for the Clover Park school district. The boys are learning how to deal with a baby sitter. We have two very nice girls from church watching them for about 4 hours 3 days a week.
Jacob is getting ready for school. He starts preschool in the fall. He is learning to share with Jenson and how to play quietly. He is very active and enjoys playing soccer with daddy.
Jenson is a little ripper. He loves to climb,run and hit stuff, the son I always deserved.
I continue to work for Washington Trust Bank. In these times of volatility it is good to work for a conservative and privately held bank. I hope all is well with the family!
End of the Education Tunnel in Site...
Hey family,
The Mills clan is doing ok.
Greg is taking one class this summer and has one left this fall. He will graduate after the fall semester from the U and we are so excited. He hopes to get a different job soon after graduation. He is in a position at work that is not advancing and has almost toped off in the pay scale. It will be nice to get out of the dead-end position he is currently in and transition into a more stable career. He had a job interview with Flying J in there Ogden, UT Headquarters, but still have not heard back. They are taking their time and so far they have not filled all the positions so we will see.
Kathy recently had a retreat for one night with autistic moms just east of Park City and had a really great time. She will be in to St. Louis, MO to the Fragile X Conference July 23 - 27. Greg would have loved to go with her this year but he had a class this summer that needs focused on. Kathy is overwhelmingly busy with everything right now despite having completed being the parent association co-president at Clayton’s school.
Clayton is also in school this summer. He is doing well. His language skills are improving and he loves to swim and play outside. He is still not potty trained and that drives his mom crazy.
Cody is so stinking smart, but he misses the deadline for school. So we are going to do preschool. He can write and spell his name and he is recognizing letters and numbers. He is constantly asking questions and coming up with interesting comments like, "I propose that the pool has enough water." Yes he actually said that to Clayton’s teachers when we were setting up for a class water party. They were busting up and shared that with Kathy.
Cooper has been a bit fussy lately and Kathy is struggling with that. He also has gotten more active and although not crawling he scoots and rolls and maneuvers himself around the floor so it is about time for some gates to protect him from our 3 half flights of stairs. Got to love the split-level house. We just blocked the other boys together in the family room when they were little, but it doesn’t work as well when you have Clayton who is constant motion and we have to constantly watch him since he attacks his brothers, disappears, smears poop on the walls or writes on them and the list goes on of things he does that are not good or pleasant. Besides, Cooper doesn’t like to be alone so we have to tote him from room to room or else he screams. And the listening to screaming isn’t fun.
Well if you are ever passing through Salt Lake feel free to drop by. We love company. We even have a guest room in our basement if you need to rest.
Love, Greg, Kathy, Clayton, Cody, and Cooper Mills
Puppies, poop, and contact lenses?
Once again I will have to apologize for the family letter getting out so late-AGAIN. We have had a crazy, hectic and busy several months. In June Kinsey was baptized by her dad. We had originally set the date out so that 1-hopefully Nathan would be able to walk/stand well enough without crutches and actually do the baptism. 2-we had planned to have Kinsey’s baptism with her cousin (which didn’t end up happening and it was a baptism marathon day).
Our family has also grown by two...after our wonderful dog had to be put to sleep. Myself and the kids started to look for a new one. We had checked on several shelter and rescue web sites. I though one of the dogs wasn’t going to pan out and eventually we ended up with two? (We took advantage of Nathan still on his pain medications) They are wonderful and sweet puppies. (unless they are fighting each other for food or toy and then fur is flying...so any dog training suggestions welcome on that subject) But have become a welcome addition to our crazy house hold. I think I thrive on caious...add that to our family medical problems.
In July David’s whole crew was down here to enjoy the 4th of July Holiday. We all enjoyed being together. Kristina’s Mother and Step Father were able to come to town for about 24 hours. Her Mother brought down a littler of German Shepard puppies so that Kristina could have the pick of the litter. All of the kids enjoyed having their own puppy or two to play with. While down here, Sasha, David, Kristina and Jennifer were able to tour the two local Job Corps locations. Job Corps is a very good program with lots of opportunities... the Weber Basin (by Ogden) is one of the top 10 in the nation out of I think 80 some locations. Sasha has turned in her application and is waiting to hear back.
Kinsey finished up her baseball year going to the play offs. Her team took 2nd place and she got a large trophy and was pretty pleased with herself.. She was very excited to be baptized and is such a good little girl that keeps her parents on track. She is looking forward to starting 2nd grade. She will also be starting soccer next week and has enjoyed helping out with training of the new dogs and currently watching the Olympics.
Mason is doing well. We have struggled so much with potty issues that one doctor finally took pity on his poor parents and suggested we do a abdomen xray. All the other doctors had just told me..."he will do it when he is ready..bla, bla, bla" or gave advise of things we had tried a thousand times, The x-ray revealed that he had a significant blockage in his colon. Apparently you can have this and still be able to have a bm or even diarrhea. With lots of medications and treatments we are hopefully getting out all of the "bad poo poo’s" as Mason calls them. And hopefully on the right track to being a "big boy" all the time. But until we are accident free...I have a note to give his pre-school to cut us some slack! He loves to play out side with his neighborhood friends, tormenting the puppies, enjoys beating mom at various Wii games and is looking forward to starting soccer again this fall.
Nathan and Jennifer are plugging along...let put it this way...March-Nathan hurt, months of workman’s comp head aches, and physically therapy and pain for Nathan. He is now back to work "full time", well 8 hours a day sitting a desk basically doing nothing. However, he was able to finish the last Vampire/Stephanie Myers (700+ pp)book in less than a week. This past month we had our air conditioner break when it was in the 100's, our water heater had to be replaced and flooded out basement, our transmission went out in the truck and our newest car "blew up". Oh, and Jennifer had to jump in with her clothes on at the kids swimming lessons to save Mason who was drowning...but other than that we are doing very well and thankful it is not worse! Jennifer work has been extraordinarily busy with several people in my office that left thus moving up my case load drastically. Not to mention one of my kids was involved in a local shooting and another in a bank robbery. I guess I will look at it as Job Security.
Paul is doing fine. He has tried to seek out several options that can help to improve his fukes disease that he has in his eyes. One think he has been trying is hard contact lenses. He reports it has been somewhat of a challenge to do them while in the truck. Other than that he reports no major complaints. He has cris crossed the country several times lately.
David reports they are doing well. The kids are busy with their various summer actives. Isaac has been helping David at work. His new nick name at work is " paquito diablo" (little devil) He has finished up his baseball season with a whopping win of one game. Linda and Jessy took the summer off of tumbling and will be starting 3rd grade soon. Linda is busy with a daily tutor to brush up on her school skills. Jessy spends most of her day at the YMCA Camp. Kristina loves her new job at Siara Hills Living Center. She will be starting back in school in a few weeks.
Hope all is well-Love, Jennifer, Nathan, Kinsey, Mason, Paul, David, Kristina, Sasha, Isaac, Linda, Jessy, and a wide variety of mutts...
Thanks to Virginia for all her hard work for the next family reunion
Cruise Information:
Dear Brown Family Members:
Congratulations on your decision to book a 4-day Carnival FAMILY REUNION CRUISE to Ensenada July 27, 2009 through July 31, 2009. My husband, Mark, and I are excited to work with you to make this your best cruise ever. Just so nothing gets left out; there are a few things we need to get things started.
Complete the enclosed information sheet. Please print or type as this is what we will use to make sure all documents are correct.
Please send a copy of the information page of your passports. This will help us with making accurate reservations. If you are considering using a passport card, this is not recommended. It’s fine if you are only on a cruise, but if you had to fly home for some reason (emergencies are never planned unfortunately), you would not be able to use this card.
We recommend prepayment of gratuities – this just makes it easier for you. If you would like gratuities of $40.00 per person added to your total, please let us know by circling the Y on the information sheet.
If you will need flight arrangements and you would like us to assist you with that, please provide the departure information or contact us directly at (909)884-0775. If you would like to make your own flight arrangements, simply provide the information regarding the flight and we can arrange for a transfer from the airport to the ship. One thing to consider is if we book your flight through the cruise, and you have a delay, the cruise line will make sure you get to the next port (Catalina) where you can embark.
Mail the information sheet with your check for the amount of the deposit ($100 per person for inside or ocean view staterooms OR $150 per person for demi-suite or suite). Make the check payable to Goldrush Getaways.
If you plan to pay by Credit Card, please complete the enclosed credit card form. We need a copy of your card, as well. If you would like this same card used for future deposits, don’t forget to initial the line at the bottom.
Don’t forget the deadline for the initial deposit is August 23, 2008. I know that is coming up fast, but these deposits will lock in your stateroom (and the price).
FYI: Beginning in November, 2008, Carnival Cruise Lines will be the only cruise line servicing the Baja area. This means there will be no competition for pricing from other lines. Locking in a price now, protects you from increased prices later.
Staterooms will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. This means that the sooner we get your deposit, the better choice you will have of staterooms.
If you have any other questions, or if we can be of service to you in any other way, please do not hesitate to contact us. Annette Wilson
Goldrush Getaways
1130 Monica Ave
San Bernardino, CA 92408
(909) 884-0775
fax: (909) 494-8279
Annette.wilson@verizon.net
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2009 Brown Family Reunion
Aboard the
Carnival Paradise
July 27, 2009 to July 31, 2009
DAY Port Arrive Depart
Monday Los Angeles (Long Beach) 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday Catalina 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday Ensenada 9:00 a.m. 10:00 p.m.
Thursday "Fun Day" at Sea
Friday Los Angeles (Long Beach) 8:00 a.m.
Passports Required
Stateroom Prices Starting From:
Inside Ocean View Demi-Suite Suite
$567.03 $617.03 $967.03 $1067.03
All prices are per person and are based on double occupancy, Prices include port charges, taxes, fee’s and fuel charges. Third and Fourth passengers rates by request Cancellation insurance recommended (available through agent).$40.00 per person prepayment of tip recommended
Deposit Due: August 23, 2008
Inside/Ocean view Staterooms: $100.00 pp
Demi-suite and Suites: $150.00 pp
Annette Wilson
909 884-0775
Goldrush Getaways
1130 Monica Ave.
San Bernardino, CA 92408
Family History Project
Contact Julia Gibson at juliagibson@ymail.com
It's time to step up the pace on family history. If' you've been on Family Search you may have discovered that our family history is a patchwork. Many of us have depended on half-remembered information and as a result some of the names, dates and places are just plain wrong. Words of comfort: it isn't just our family. There's a lot of that going around. One of the things I want to work on this summer is a complete and accurate set of family group sheets for the Charles Stuart Brown family. I need the standard information for each family as it applies. Family defined: married couple and spouse, with all their children (living and dead). I need the correct spellings and dates from the person most likely to have the correct information (you). If you have family group sheets, you can fill it out as completely as you can and mail it to me. Or, you can e-mail the following information (if it applies):
name (First/Middle/Last)
date of birth (DD/MM/YYYY)
place of birth (city, county, state/country)
date of baptism
place of baptism
date of endowment
place of endowment
spouse
date of marriage
place of marriage
date of sealing (if applicable)
place of sealing (if applicable)
date of divorce (if applicable)
date of death (if applicable)
place of death
children (in order of birth)
Optional information (nice to have, but not necessary):
priesthood (office and ordinations)
mission(s) served (dates, mission field, including stake and ward missions)
church positions held (date and ward/stake would be nice)
profession(s)
military service (dates, branch of service, rank)
education (degrees held, schools attended)
other accomplishments you want remembered (I've probably forgotten your best category)
We've tried this before, but response has been limited. As I said, it's time to step up the pace. To quote the words of one of my favorite hymns, "the time is far spent. . ."
PLEASE GET THIS TO HER ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HEALTH AND THE FAMILY
I once heard an interesting statement about genetic heritage. It went something like this. "No matter how much we may want, we cannot swim outside our gene pool." We are the beneficiaries of a marvelous genetic, religious, and social legacy. Unfortunately, there are also some genetic or potentially genetic problems. As daunting as that may seem, we are not half as badly affected as some families with whom I have had contact, either personally or in the capacity of providing health care. There are many families in whom cancer and extremely serious mental conditions continuously stalk the members. There are some families in whom there are serious metabolic diseases, heartbreaking genetic syndromes, and crippling arthritis. We cannot be certain, nor have we the wisdom to segregate which problems are entirely genetic and which are environmental. As you know genetics are somewhat random and environmental concerns range from dietary issues to accidents of all sorts. In reality, much of what happens is a combination of the environment acting upon our genetic make-up. I have included a cartoon that I love which was created by Thaves called "Frank and Ernest." He comes up with some gems from time to time and this one is priceless. In many ways it is both frank and somewhat earnest. As one can readily appreciate, there really are genetic and behavioral reasons that predispose a person to obesity. Grandpa Hugh Hurst had uncles that weighed over 400 pounds. He knew that he could weigh that much as well. He was very proactive and exercised his strong will to keep that from happening. He knew to leave the dinner table hungry and go to bed hungry. He was not a snacker. I didn’t know his weight but estimate that he weighed around 200 pounds when I knew him. As one can readily see, there was likely a genetic factor that he controlled by his strong will and discipline. His model for dealing with his tendencies is an example for us all. I honor and respect him for his tremendous self-control. There is another situation that is a demonstration of another genetic and environmental interaction. With Jason’s permission I will share with you his amazing and interesting story. He began to have severe back pain during his sophomore year of high school. He had been playing football and was tackled awkwardly in practice. The back pain seemed to start shortly afterwards. He was troubled for the remainder of the season and we thought it was due to football. When the pain didn’t go away after the season ended we got an x-ray. To our shock he had x-ray evidence of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Blood tests showed him to also have the genetic marker known as HLA-B27 which is the case in 99% of those with that particular condition. As it turns out there are a small number of other conditions which are similarly linked to HLA-B27 but only 8% of all people with it actually have any one of them. Something else needs to take place. One of those other conditions is Reiter’s Syndrome which requires HLA-B27 and a chlamydia infection. After Jason responded to standard therapy for a time, I encountered an article that postulated an intestinal colonization with a certain strain of bacteria. It is actually a common resident of the colon. However, if you happen to have HLA-B27, it could be trouble. The authors of the article had successfully controlled AS by "purging" the colon then repopulating it with friendly kinds of bacteria found in yogurt. We decided to try this approach and to our delight it worked. Jason had better control with continuation of yogurt in his diet than with the standard therapy of sulfasalazine and oral anti-inflammatories. He can tell if hasn’t had enough yogurt or tablets which contain the same bacteria. My purpose in this rather lengthy account is to show how genetics and environment both matter. Neither Barbara nor I have any of the HLA-B27 related conditions, I suppose because we didn’t get that bacteria in our bodies. We didn’t bother to find out who is the carrier because it doesn’t matter. Certainly, one of us has it. There is a 50% chance that any one of our other five children may have the same gene. The cumulative likelihood suggests that at least two of them are carriers. So having a gene doesn’t necessarily condemn anyone to have certain genetic conditions. There is another sort of condition which has raised its ugly head in the family. I suspect that the genetics of AS and that of these other conditions is different. As a family we have had autoimmune hepatitis, ulcerative colitis, polymyositis, scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosis, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, pulmonary hypertension (possibly secondary to the SLE), diabetes, possible autoimmune pancreatitis, and markers for autoimmune disease that have not become manifest. All of them may be linked. The amazing thing is that with the exception of the diabetes, none of this is known to have been present, neither in our parents’ generation nor in our grandparents’ generation. So where did it come from? Frankly, we can’t know right now but it could stem from a large number of things, including dietary factors or toxins in our environment. A colleague of mine has done some marvelous research and is convinced that autoimmune-type inflammation is facilitated by the relative lack of omega-3 fatty acids in our diets. He has shown how omega-3 has been systematically stripped from our diets. He has had many patients with known autoimmune disease now that have improved remarkably by daily omega-3 supplements. Sources for omega-3 are readily available and fairly inexpensive. You can get it by eating fish oil, olive oil, flax seed oil, and canola oil. Corn oil is not as good as it has more omega-6. In fact it may be part of the problem as many cattle and chickens are fed with corn. Range fed cattle and chickens are perhaps less of a problem. Pasteurization of milk converts omega-3 to omega-6. I would like to make a pitch for supplementing our diets with omega-3 each and every day whether you have an autoimmune disease or not. We don’t know who is at risk right now. I take flax seed oil or fish oil each day to improve my dangerous cholesterol profile. It has helped. When I found out about the inflammatory issues I was delighted that I had already begun to use them for the cholesterol issues.
Julia has become motivated to fix our genealogy as there are many errors present in the data bases sponsored by the church. I have again suggested that we get a good medical database at the same time. My purpose is to help each other to recognize certain problems in time to intervene more effectively. There is a certain amount of wisdom in being as complete and accurate in both temporal matters such as genetic illness and in eternal matters such as our genealogy. The following is a list of conditions which are known to exist or which may have existed in some of our ancestors.
Autism
Autoimmune disorders including: RA, lupus, polymyositis, autoimmune hepatitis, and possibly autoimmune pancreatitis.
Ankylosing spondylitis.
Arthritis, degenerative
Asthma
Alcoholism
Diabetes
Coronary insufficiency and heart attack
Pulmonary hypertension
Obesity
Kidney stones
Urinary tract infections
Gallstones
Hiatal hernia and GERD
Duodenal ulcers
Ulcerative Colitis
High Blood pressure
Atherosclerotic vascular disease: coronary, or peripheral and the unfavorable cholesterol profile that predisposes to these.
Stroke
Cancer and pre-cancerous conditions. Cancer of the colon, prostatic cancer,
Colonic polyps
Pilonidal sinus which may develop into pilonidal cysts
Appendicitis
Inguinal hernia
Mental health disorders (low self-esteem, depression, OCD)
Visual problems: nearsightedness, astigmatism, cataracts, macular degeneration
Female problems: stillbirth, miscarriage, ovarian cysts, PMS or its more severe cousin known as "Pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder" or PMDD.
There is a great deal of societal bias and misinformation regarding some conditions. Possibly the most glaring is the belief that mental conditions such as depression or OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) are some sort of moral failing or weakness. This they are not and there is a suggestion that depression may have been present for as much as five generations in the past. It has then been carried forward with variable manifestations in each successive generation. The extent to which it is manifest could reflect the interaction with other genes and the environment. Certainly adversity or disappointment may play a role. I will tell my family frankly that I was depressed when Dad died and then when I had two sons in Iraq at the same time. Some would characterize that as "situational depression" and something that most of mankind is at risk to have. Perhaps, but it is the case that there are varying degrees of susceptibility. It might take some greater adversity for it to become manifest in some. For others it might take less. If ignored, certain other problems could occur and one could slip into a dysfunctional sort of problem that could harm personal relationships or even job security. If these complications take place, one’s problems could really accelerate, if the situation is not dealt with adequately.
Symptoms characteristic of depression include: 1) persistent feelings of sadness or inadequacy 2) sleep disturbance, especially early morning awakening, then not being able to go back to sleep 3) lack of initiative 4) poor appetite or an increase in appetite or a 5% weight change, up or down, in a month may indicate there is a problem.
5) irritability or sluggishness. A day or two of such feelings is not unusual but when they just don’t abate, something may be wrong. It is then time to consider seeking competent professional help. There are many reputed remedies such as St. John’s wort, listening to some good comedy monologues, or uplifting music. Reading good literature, including the scriptures, meditation, and talking things through with trusted friends and family must help as well but there are times when professional help is necessary. Some people seek relief by using alcohol or other dangerous substances. Cigarettes offer some a modicum of temporary relief. We know, however, that such attempts are fruitless and harmful in their own way. In fact, one can show they each make the problem worse.
OCD can be useful to an extent when it helps one to make sure that he/she has thoroughly taken care of various things. It is not surprising that there are a number of people in medicine or other disciplines that demand detailed work who appear to have OCD. However, it can be debilitating in the more extreme manifestations. Obsessions or compulsions can occur separately or together.
Obsessions
Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.
The thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems.
The person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action.
The person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind, and are not based in reality.
Compulsions
Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.
The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts are not actually connected to the issue, or they are excessive.
Obsessive and compulsive disorders can be horribly debilitating and warrant intervention as soon as it has been identified.
There are surprisingly effective remedies that can be used.
Pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) PMDD is similar to (PMS), but differs from it in severity. Treatment is recommended because PMDD interferes with the sufferer's ability to function in her environment. The cardinal symptom--surfacing between ovulation and menstruation, and disappearing within a few days after the onset of the bleeding--is irritability. Anxiety, anger, and depression may also occur. The main symptoms, which can be disabling, include
feelings of sadness or despair, or possibly suicidal thoughts
feelings of tension or anxiety
panic attacks
mood swings, crying
lasting irritability or anger, increased interpersonal conflicts
disinterest in daily activities and relationships
trouble thinking or focusing
tiredness or low energy
food cravings or binge eating
having trouble sleeping
feeling out of control
increased sex drive
increased need for emotional closeness
physical symptoms, such as bloating, heart palpitations, breast tenderness, headaches, and joint or muscle pain
Five or more of these symptoms may indicate PMDD. Symptoms occur during the week before the menstrual cycle and disappear within a few days after the onset of the bleeding.
What I am asking is that we use this information to help recognize problems in time to intervene appropriately. If you have other medical conditions to add to this list let me know. As I mentioned above, some conditions are such that any of us might want to keep them private. That is okay because the main purpose is to help us to become aware and then do something. Someone could look at the list of maladies and suppose that they should not have children. I will tell you now that one will find similar or worse lists in most families. I saw a woman in consultation recently who has eight major diagnoses. Four of her five children have already died from one of them and she is only 51 years old. Though cancer is present, we don’t have a fraction of cancer seen in most families. That is partially due to our observance of the Word of Wisdom. It could also mean that we are fairly lucky in that regard.
If you have more to add to our family database, send the information to me:
James S. Brown, 4701 Memory Lane W, University Place, WA 98466
Love, Jim
It is already July and into the last half of 2008. How time flies. Frontier Days are about here. Not looking forward to it.For a person who has sworn off traveling I have been very busy traveling this year - Tommy Mills blessing day - Kinsey Erickson's baptism -Meghan Curry's (and Ryan Clyde's) graduation followed almost immediately by their marriage in the Manti Temple. Following the wedding I rode with the Evans to California to visit while Pat & Dave went on a short cruise. We all rode back to Cheyenne after that. What a long, tedious ride that was!
On June 20th I mustered up the courage to go back to California, this time by plane. The trip was pretty routine and I got along fine. Jared and Meghan's wedding was beautiful. All the Brown children (and grands) were there and many of Barbara's family came. Helen & Tim and Virginia & John also came. It was great to have so many of my family there.
Life, otherwise, has been pretty routine. We seem to stay pretty dry here but I am grateful that we have not had floods and heavy rains here like the eastern states and more floods like the Midwestern states (from the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio Rivers). We did have a cluster of tornados here and in Northern Colorado. Some damage was done but, thankfully, not much. And no Santa Ana winds or California wild fires - so far.
I have had a couple of serendipitous things here - just little things, but they have brightened my life a bit. 1) My Christmas cactus bloomed in June: totally unexpected! 2) A robin built a nest in the entryway overhang. She must have laid four eggs and one by fell out and died. After that I would see three wide open beaks every time the mother (I think the father helped with the feeding also) flew back with food. One Saturday the three sat on the edge of the nest chirping. Then there were two, and by nightfall only one. By the next morning they were all gone. Where they went and if they survived, I don't know. But it was interesting watching this event of nature up close. Now, how do I get the painting contractor back to finish his work?
Love, Mom
Disclaimer from the Editor:
Once again the Editor apologizes for this getting out so tardy. In the past I have put the letters in order of birth and then by children of each family. However, this time I just put them in order of arrival. Some of you often comment for the lateness...now you can no how you fair with your siblings &/or children. Hope everyone enjoys this last little bit of summer before fall hits. I am very thankful for my family and the opportunity I have had to do the family letter. I am very proud of our wonderful family. We have such a wide variety of talents and things to offer each other. Once again...please disregard my typos, misspelled words or mistakes...That being said, Whew I am really glad my turn is done as the Editor. With the growing world of email, im’s blogs, website, etc...I have made us a family blog spot. Attached at the end of this is the address and information to get into it and make additions, changes or add photos. In the past I did not get cartoons or pictures attached that were sent do to not being able to open or access them-I am hopeing this will help with this. We have had so many births, weddings, & fun events that this would be a good place to share them-if anyone is interested? Jennifer
Name of Blog: CS & Jane Brown Family Access blog through BLOG SPOT http://csbrownfamily.blogspot.com/ Email Address: csbrownfamily Pass word: Jane Brown 1
Pat and Dave get back their green thumbs-sort of?
Dave and I have a garden this year. It seems to have lots of weeds, but we're also getting
lots of radishes. They are so good. We tried corn this year even though corn usually doesn't do well at this altitude. We thought if we had enough corn this year we could sell it to make ethanol and get rich. Ha ha!
We made a spring trip to Utah, Nevada and California in late April and early May. While in California we went on a four day cruise to Baja California. It was really nice but not very warm. At least it wasn't as warm as we would have liked. We stayed with John and Virginia and the boys for a weekend before catching the boat. It was really an adventure for us to drive through Los Angeles to get to the port. But thanks to John for the directions, we got there without incidence.
Mama and I went to Utah in early June to see Kinsey get baptized. She sure is growing up and is a beautiful young lady. Greg brought the three boys with him by himself. Kathy was out of town to a cousin's wedding. Greg does a really good job wrestling with all the boys. Clayton enjoyed singing "Book of Mormon Stories," at the baptism and after we got back home he kept holding out his hands like a book so we would sing the song again.
Dave flew to Michigan in the middle of June so he and David could go see a NASCAR race. Dave's brother Darryl drove up from Kentucky and also attended the race. After, they were able to get some supper and catch up on things. Dave hasn't seen Darryl for over nine years.
Kristi and David are doing well except that their little Jimmie dog got really sick and died. He had stomach cancer and seemed to be doing really well after his surgery. But the poor little guy just got too sick. Kristi stays really busy with work and the dog rescue program on weekends. David also stays really busy with his work at General Dynamics.
We hope everyone is doing well. Love, Pat and Dave
Newly Wed News
The last month has been busy for us in Northern California. Jeff moved out of our apartment and my new wife Meghan moved in. We had a really nice wedding in June. We enjoyed seeing those of you who made it out for the wedding. After our wedding we flew out to Hawaii. We stayed at the JW Marriott at Ko'Olina and would recommend it to anyone. We've both been to Hawaii a number of times, so we mostly sat on the beach and enjoyed having nothing to do. We really enjoyed our honeymoon. We will stay at our apartment in Menlo Park until the end of July and then we will move closer to Meghan's parents in Cupertino so that they can help with Sofia when Meghan starts school this fall.
Jared, Meghan, and Sofia
Wedding, Shingles, and a break from Primary
(no this is not the beginning of a bad joke)...
Dear Family,
This letter finds our little branch of the family happy and well. The most anticipated and exciting activity was the wedding of Jared and Meghan. Barbara, Heather, Melissa, and Jennifer were able to go to California for a bridal shower. Barbara also had the exciting experience of going down there to arrange for hotel rooms, a place for the rehearsal dinner, and to meet Meghan’s family. Dad couldn’t get the time off. We had met Meghan and Sofia in January when they visited Washington but it is always good to meet the people to whom we are now linked as "coat-tail" relatives. The rehearsal dinner was an interesting affair at an Italian Restaurant. It was part of a chain and we ended up going to the wrong one at first. I was "comforted" by being told that I would surely arrive in time to pay the bill. Fortunately, we also made it in time to enjoy the evening, eat some good food, and meet Meghan’s family. It had been very hot in the Bay Area but we got a slight break during the week-end with a touch of cooler weather. The next day Barbara and Jim went to pick up the flowers and the cake. The businesses were separated by many miles and many twists and turns. We are thankful for the fabulous Global Positioning System (GPS) in place. Ten dollars a day for the device was money well spent. The wedding was held at the Testarossa Winery in Los Gatos, the oldest continuously operating such facility in California. It was beautiful but quaint. It looks like it had once been a monastery. My theory is that it had been sold to pay for the many law suits that the Catholic Archdiocese had to deal with in recent history. Jared and Meghan’s Bishop performed the ceremony and did a beautiful job. We then enjoyed a meal and dancing afterwards. The Testarossa people were probably disappointed to have not sold as much of their product as they would have liked since we don’t drink. There was however some consumption since Meghan comes from a family that is mixed LDS and otherwise. We are delighted to welcome Meghan and Sofia to the family. Jared has sent his version of the past several months separately.
While in California, Barbara suffered a case of the shingles (herpes zoster). It started out as an unusual headache or ear ache. It was positioned on the right side behind her ear and onto the upper neck. That happens to correspond perfectly with the posterior auricular nerve. After I saw the skin lesions it became apparent that we were dealing with a miserable case of shingles. As soon as we got home I was able to prescribe some acyclovir and prednisone and she improved steadily. It is now about 99% resolved. There is still a modicum of pain when she gets too hot. Barbara was finally released from her calling as the Stake Primary Presidency Secretary. Overall, she has served in the Stake for 12 of the 17 years we have lived here. She is now in charge of food for the dance festival held in the Tacoma Dome from July 24-26. It is a challenge that you cannot cook at the Dome. It is also a blessing that you cannot cook there. The logistics and expectations are actually more favorable as a result. This summer has witnessed a particularly active and intense allergy season. We also hired another allergist, Dr. Ted Song. We hope that this results in a more favorable overhead picture. The master plan is for him to work full time and then for my partner, Dr. Andrade, and I to go half time in 3-4 years when we can attract another allergist. Our hope is to be able to do some of the traveling we desire to do, including visiting our scattered progeny.
Jeffrey is working extra hard at Franklin-Templeton in San Jose. He really likes his work and they are doing some good things to smooth out the year so that there are not the harrowing weeks before tax deadlines. Heather has made the decision to enroll in classes at UNLV. She is excited and so are we. Her work is going well enough but she knows that this is not her "calling in life." Jimmy is taking one class at BYU this summer, a biology and physiology class. He is also working as a waiter at "The Chef’s Table."
Jared and Meghan, Jason and Jennifer, and Melissa and Mark are sending their own summaries. They can give more detail than I. I have also sent an uninvited editorial regarding my prior abortive attempt to gather a family health history. I have come to believe that the failure to get a complete history (besides the genetic condition of severe procrastination) derives from the fact that it is not necessary to give detail about each person and it can be somewhat threatening in many ways. That is also one of the reasons that the Federal Government has implemented the HIPPA guidelines. Some of the health issues constitute sensitive material. After discussion with some family members I have taken a different approach. I have listed various conditions known to be present in the family with the intention of informing each of us about the possible increased risk which we may have. When you look at the "laundry list" of serious and less than serious things you may despair. Let me tell you, we are no different than most families in which there are a variety of maladies. That is the human condition. Yet, if knowledge can help us through some of these problems, we need to become informed. Early diagnosis gives hope for early intervention and control or even full recovery. In the end, our sojourn on this wonderful planet is finite. Our days are numbered but known only to the Lord. Let us make the most of the wonderful gift of life and of this family. In that spirit, we need to become very active in deciding on what we are doing next year for our family reunion. I have been an advocate for a cruise but am not adamant about such a venue. I only want to meet with each of you, preferably in something less than 102 degrees, or at least in a place
that is adequately cooled. Let us give feedback and support to Virginia. We can have a great reunion. Love, Jim
Dan was off to O K L A H O M A ...
" where the wind comes sweepin down the plains "....
Things have been "as usual" at the Gibson home. Dan stays busy with storytelling. He regrets that he now has to charge a "fuel fee" along with his regular fee, but nobody seems to complain about it. I guess everyone understands. He had his first ever Oklahoma storytelling performances, so he can add another state to his list. His doctor seems pleased that his cholesterol and blood pressure are under control. He spent some time in North Carolina with his dad and plans another trip in November.
Julia is enjoying doing practically nothing this summer. Aside from a little housecleaning, cooking and grocery shopping, my main activities have been teaching my Primary class, taking Colleen to her doctor’s appointments and taking Isis for a ride.
Dan and Julia are planning a trip to Cheyenne to visit Mama and Pat. This is the trip we had planned last summer, but medical issues took over and we never went. We hope the weather is cool and that gas prices aren’t too high.
Amy and family are weathering the summer. Amy’s company had to "furlough" several workers due to decreased business and Amy was one of them. She is working at home on several private contracts and says she will continue that as long as she can get some business. The plus side is that she can spend some time with her children. She also has auditioned for and made her dance class performance group. Jesse plays drums for the dance performances and the kids usually go to watch their parents show off. Brennan’s news is that he made the select band at his school for next year. He’s proud of the fact that very few seventh graders make the band and that he is second chair French horn. He informed me that the first chair is an eighth grader so he has more experience. Brittany’s news is that she scored "commended" on her state tests. That’s pretty hard to do. Jason went to summer school and got to go out on several field trips to different businesses. They’re working on their "real world" skills and beginning to prepare them for future jobs. He thinks it would be cool to have a job.
Karen is still with us, but is looking for her own apartment. She has become a corporate trainer for the company, which means she gets to supervise and train new employees. They have also talked to her about going to Boulder, Colorado this fall to help them open a new restaurant. Some things have been said about transferring her there, but she’s looked into cost of living issues and has decided she can stay in Texas. Her managers are pleased with her work and her willingness to take initiative. She has told them she would like to be considered for management.
Katie continues her assignment at Fujitsu, but is looking for a different assignment or a permanent job somewhere else. She says she is tired of working nights and would like a social life. Her cats are doing well.
It’s been hot here in Texas, but not the worst summer we’ve ever had. We could use a little more rain. Hope everyone is doing well.
Love, Julia, Dan and everyone
Summer --flying by busy with many activities & wonderful accomplishments
We our enjoying our summer and always wish it could last forever, but it always goes too by too fast! Hope you are all enjoying your summers too.
Erin is busy with school and looks forward to being done with it, but that won’t be until sometime next summer. After that she will have to do an internship. She is having a nice summer in spite of being so busy. She likes to go boating and wakeboarding and goes every chance she gets. She is moving back to Provo next month and is looking forward to that.
Meghan and Ryan are busy working and have had a change of plans for after the summer. They have decided to move back to the Washington, DC area and work for a year and then Ryan will go to law school next year. He has a job lined up, but Meghan is still looking. They did fly out there a few weeks ago and had some interviews so we hope something will come up for her.
Chris is two months into a six month deployment on the USS Ronald Reagan. He works very hard and says he is doing as well as he can be out on the ship. He usually emails us a few times a week and we got a call from him a few days ago when he was in port in South Korea. It was great to talk to him. If any of you want to email him, his address is:
christopher.m.curry1@cvw14.navy.mil He has been in port in Hong Kong (which they had to leave a day early because of bad weather), Guam and Korea. They will also go to Japan at some point. They were detoured to the Philippines for a few days to help with cyclone relief.
Sean has been playing baseball nearly nonstop since March. He is currently playing summer ball for his high school team and is tearing it up! He has hit two home runs, a bunch of doubles and triples and an occasional base hit here and there. He was recently moved up to the varsity level after playing down for the first part of the summer. The coach finally saw the light after long enough and brought him up. They have their state tournament at the end of the month so we hope he and the rest of the team can keep up their good play.
Tim is golfing as usual and has good days and bad days. Guess that is just the nature of the game. He and a bunch of his friends from work climbed Mount St. Helen’s on July 19th. He said it was much more difficult than he had expected, and his legs cramped up a lot. It took about seven hours to climb it and about four to get down. He is glad he did it since the views were amazing. He was able to see all the mountains in the area – Ranier, Adams, Hood, Jefferson and one called Three Finger Jack.
Helen is just enjoying the laid back days of summer. She goes walking with a friend of hers most days and then goes to work for a few hours. She is loving watching Sean play baseball and is dreading back to school! Primary keeps her a little busy, but not too much when they are completely staffed. That seems to last for a while and then someone decides to move so it is back to the drawing board to find new teachers. We will spend the first week of August in Seaside and get back in time for Sean to start soccer camp and then tryouts and then back to the school and Seminary schedule. Time just goes by too fast!
Love,
The Curry Family
SUN & FUN (& Surgery?) IN TX
My letter will be pretty short this issue. Just not much going on for me during the dog days of summer. The dog days consist of me walking the dog every day. She really loves her "W". She loves to check her p-mail every day. Some of her mail is very long. I have to drag her away from the most interesting letters. The walk is good for her and good for me. I can walk for a much longer period of time than when I started.
I’m having some trouble with my stamina when it comes to my Gospel Doctrine Class. Week after Week. I’m ready for a break. Don’t think I’m going to get it though.
Elizabeth, Brett, Makayla and Parker are having quite a summer. They have a pool in their back yard that never closes. And there are only four people in the pool. Makes for lots of swimming for
everyone. Parker has learned to swim. He was a little cautious before this summer. Now he is fearless. Makayla has been swimming for years. She loves to go off the diving board. And is also fearless.
Brett had to have surgery on his neck in May. He had to have two vertebra replaced with cadaver bone and now has many pins and plates in his neck. When Parker saw his x-ray he asked, Daddy, how can you swallow? When Elizabeth was about his age she asked a young women with really long hair about how she was able to go to the bathroom. Brett had to be off work for about 2-3 weeks and a whole month before he could drive. He could walk and float in the pool, but no swimming. On his last trip to the doctor he asked if he could go off the diving board. The doctor said yes, feet first only. Take another 3 months before head first diving. And no diving off the high dive. By the way the high dive is the roof. Yikes! He really misses getting in the water and playing with the kids.
That's about all from us Texans in this neck of the woods.
Love to you all, Coe, Brett, Elizabeth, Makayla, Parker and tada!! Isis
Schools Out & Travelers hit Europe
Not much is new in Las Vegas for Mark and I. We enjoyed going to Jared and Meghan's wedding last month and seeing some of you there too. After the wedding Mark returned to Las Vegas and I went to Washington for a week. The weather was wonderful in Washington and I enjoyed spending time with my family and relaxing. A highlight was going golfing with my Dad at the Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place. The views were spectacular but unfortunately I can't say the same for my golf game. Mark has been in school almost the whole summer with the exception of a few weeks break between his semesters and I have just been trying to get a lot of my work done so we can go to Europe in August with my parents and Jimmy. We are getting pretty excited to go to Europe since I don't remember too much and Mark has never been. Other than that we are just coping with the heat in the summer. Hope all is well with everyone!Mark and Melissa
Evan’s Family Enjoys the 4th In Nations Capital
Dear Family,
We have had quite a summer so far. We just returned from a family vacation to the eastern seaboard. There is so much to tell so I will just give the highlights.
We flew in to Washington D.C. and visited the sights there. We were on the mall in D.C. on the fourth of July. It was very packed but we were able to watch the fireworks from the Lincoln Memorial. It was pouring rain but we had cover of the memorial. We later stayed in the Shenandoah valley in a little cottage not far from the West Virginia border. We spent about a week going to Civil war sights including Gettysburg and Appomattox. After this we went to Philadelphia and saw where the Declaration of Independence was signed and we saw the Liberty Bell. After Philly we went to New York. We visited NY for two days. We were able to go to the observation deck on the Empire State building. The boys thought it was pretty cool. We walked to Times Square and Central Park. The next day we went to ground zero and then to the Statue of Liberty.
After New York City we traveled north to Palmyra and saw the Sacred Grove and were able to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant. While there I thought I might see someone I know. You know that when you have been a member of the church for a long time there is almost always someone you run in to. Sure enough a member of our Stake passed by. They were shocked to see us there as we were too. After Palmyra we went to Vermont and then to Boston where we saw many Revolutionary War sights including Paul Revere's home and the Old North Church.
Now to the business of our family. John and Virginia and the boys finished school in June. Virginia has to go back the end of July but the others don't have to begin school until the end of August. John will teach 5th grade again while Virginia will return to 2nd grade. I am excited but nervous since it has been 18 years since I taught 2nd grade. I was getting pretty good at Kindergarten.
Stuart is doing fantastic in Brazil. Thank you all for your prayers in his behalf. He is enjoying missionary work. He has had several baptisms and has other families lined up. Of course, as many of you know, sometimes you get a good family and then they back out. They tell him that they have always been Catholic and could never change even though they know nothing about being Catholic. Traditions of our Fathers."
Spencer came home for one day in June. He was happy to be home. He is a big and handsome young man. We love him a lot.
Stephen finished his Sophomore year. He did a great job. He is enjoying his summer so far. He got his learning permit and is practicing driving. He is ready to begin a new season of Cross Country. Practice has already begun. Stephen is participating in our big 12 stake dance festival. He and the other priests and laurels in the stake are dancing the swing. The performance is on July 25th and 26th. Stephen has recently become an Eagle Scout. Hurray!!
Taylor successfully finished his Freshman year in high school. He is eager to begin practice for football. He hopes to play first string again this year on the J.V. team and maybe even on the varsity. Taylor too is participating in the dance festival. He and the other Teachers and MiaMaids are doing the Cha Cha. We'll send pictures of his ruffled Latin shirt later!
Benjamin is now in the fifth grade. He got the honor of being chosen to receive the principals award from his class. Only one student receives this award in each class. He loves school and he has a great time with his friends. He received straight A's on his last report card. What a guy!! His favorite part of our vacation was the swimming pools at the hotels and the elevators. He is truly Virginia's son.
We hope you all have a great rest of the summer. It was wonderful to see family at Meghan's wedding in Manti and Jared's wedding in Los Gatos.
Love The Evans
Kansas or Bust!!
We're outta here! We're moving to Topeka, Kansas on Monday July 28th. Hopefully we'll
make it there before the beginning of August. I'll start law school at Washburn University on Monday August 18th. I can't wait for the change in lifestyle, but I'm sure I'll soon be longing for the ime when
I didn't have a ton of homework and thousands of pages to read everyday. We're looking forward to moving into our new home and getting to know new people.
In the meantime I've been trying to enjoy summer as much as possible. I've been playing softball for both our ward and for the company I work for. Both teams have been surprisingly good. I've been well accustomed to playing on baseball teams that lose a lot more than they win, but both softball teams have won a lot more games than I expected at the beginning of the season. I played in my last company game last night and did something I've never done on any level--I hit a home run. I think I was more surprised than anybody! Anyway, that felt good. Erica hasn't played on any teams, but we've gone to the park a few times to hone her softball playing skills.
Moving and raising a baby have been sort of like a double whammy for Erica. I think she's putting up with it all pretty well. Her enrichment calling has kept her extra occupied. She has been organizing a reading group for the Relief Society (even though we're moving). Our new home should be a big help since we will be able to put Tommy in his own room. I think he's waking up from my snoring and our talking (yes, we tend to talk in our sleep).
Tommy just started crawling a couple days ago. He's always been a good stander and he started flipping over a little over a month ago. He has two teeth so far, but will probably have more by the time we leave. He's generally a happy boy, as long as he gets his way. He loves his books, a habit we hope he will continue with.
Our new address is 1252 Burnett Rd, Topeka, KS, 66604.
Hope you all are doing well,
Love, Bobby, Erica, and Tommy
It’s a boy...No, it’s a girl...No it’s a boy?
Dear Family:
Summer is in full swing and we are enjoying the hot days and warm nights. Our summer activities make it seem like the time just flies by. Earlier this month we went down to Utah for a few days. Lauren and Dallas were out visiting in Ogden on their way to Bear Lake. Dallas’s extended family has a cabin at the lake and gives family members a week every summer to go boating, jet skiing, water skiing, etc. We visited with Dallas and Lauren; Michael and Lindsey came down from Idaho and Drew came up from Provo, so it was a mini family reunion of sorts. While we were there Lauren announced her good news that she is pregnant. She should have the baby around mid December. Yes, it is still "the baby" because they don’t know and don’t want to know the gender. They want to be surprised. Lauren plans to keep working up until about three weeks before the baby is born. Everything is going well so far.
Michael is taking the Idaho state bar exam tomorrow and the next day. As you may remember,
he passed the Colorado state bar exam last summer, so he really only has to take half the Idaho exam. His score on the multi-state exam, which makes up half of the exam, transfers from Colorado to Idaho. That is a relief, but there is still some pressure to do well on the Idaho specific essay portion of the test. Lindsey and Annabelle came back to Sheridan with us so that Michael could study without distraction right before he takes the test. We are really having a good time with them up here. Naturally, Annabelle is just so smart and cute. The ladies at Church made several very complimentary remarks about her, which I agreed with, of course.
Drew is still enjoying his BYU experience. He is working on campus in the trademarks office. His job is to obtain permission for BYU professors to quote from others’ books or use portions of those books as handouts in their classes. Many schools just do it without obtaining permission or paying for it. BYU is rated as one of the top five universities in the country for scrupulously complying with the trademark laws. Many authors or their agents just give the permission to use excerpts without charging anything for it. Some charge a few cents per copy used. BYU regards it as small price to pay for following the law and keeping on the good side of other academics. Drew brought a couple of friends with him to see Sheridan’s famous rodeo in early July. One was his roommate, Cody Cutler, and the other was a friend named Janae. At least that was all we knew. On the second day of their visit, I was chatting with Janae and discovered that her father had grown up in Evanston, Wyoming. Since I have known quite a few people from Evanston, I asked her what was her father’s name. She said "David Holt." I asked if her grandparents are Ruth and Dean Holt and she said "Yes." So, we were hosting our second cousin for three days. Janae called her father and reported on the discovery. He must have called Ruth right away because the next morning Ruth called me to talk and chuckle about the discovery. It was quite a humorous thing.
Eric seems to have settled into the mission routine in Oregon. In his first area he was just minutes away from Helen and Tim. Thanks Helen for looking out for him. I think she took Eric and his companion out to lunch at least two times ( with the mission president’s permission, of course.) Eric even got to play a little basketball at the Church on Prep. day with his cousin, Sean, and one of Sean’s cousins. Eric and his companion were recently both transferred into a new area in North Portland. Just as they were making some good progress with some investigators, the Zone Leaders of his zone decided that they needed to me more centrally located. So, they got themselves transferred into Eric’s area and took over their investigator pool. Oh well; it’s all good if the investigators get baptized it doesn’t matter who does it. Eric’s e-mail address, if any of you want to write to him is ericabrown@myldsmail.net . That is a much faster way of getting a letter to him than using the U.S. mail.
We enjoy receiving the family letter and learning about your activities and important events.
Love, Robert, Cynthia and kids
Hello from the Brown Family from the North!
Jennifer Jacob Jenson and I are doing well. We continue to enjoy our Northwest summer 65-80. We are teaching the boys to camp. They really enjoy chasing the deer and going on hikes.
Jennifer is teaching WASL test prep class for the Clover Park school district. The boys are learning how to deal with a baby sitter. We have two very nice girls from church watching them for about 4 hours 3 days a week.
Jacob is getting ready for school. He starts preschool in the fall. He is learning to share with Jenson and how to play quietly. He is very active and enjoys playing soccer with daddy.
Jenson is a little ripper. He loves to climb,run and hit stuff, the son I always deserved.
I continue to work for Washington Trust Bank. In these times of volatility it is good to work for a conservative and privately held bank. I hope all is well with the family!
End of the Education Tunnel in Site...
Hey family,
The Mills clan is doing ok.
Greg is taking one class this summer and has one left this fall. He will graduate after the fall semester from the U and we are so excited. He hopes to get a different job soon after graduation. He is in a position at work that is not advancing and has almost toped off in the pay scale. It will be nice to get out of the dead-end position he is currently in and transition into a more stable career. He had a job interview with Flying J in there Ogden, UT Headquarters, but still have not heard back. They are taking their time and so far they have not filled all the positions so we will see.
Kathy recently had a retreat for one night with autistic moms just east of Park City and had a really great time. She will be in to St. Louis, MO to the Fragile X Conference July 23 - 27. Greg would have loved to go with her this year but he had a class this summer that needs focused on. Kathy is overwhelmingly busy with everything right now despite having completed being the parent association co-president at Clayton’s school.
Clayton is also in school this summer. He is doing well. His language skills are improving and he loves to swim and play outside. He is still not potty trained and that drives his mom crazy.
Cody is so stinking smart, but he misses the deadline for school. So we are going to do preschool. He can write and spell his name and he is recognizing letters and numbers. He is constantly asking questions and coming up with interesting comments like, "I propose that the pool has enough water." Yes he actually said that to Clayton’s teachers when we were setting up for a class water party. They were busting up and shared that with Kathy.
Cooper has been a bit fussy lately and Kathy is struggling with that. He also has gotten more active and although not crawling he scoots and rolls and maneuvers himself around the floor so it is about time for some gates to protect him from our 3 half flights of stairs. Got to love the split-level house. We just blocked the other boys together in the family room when they were little, but it doesn’t work as well when you have Clayton who is constant motion and we have to constantly watch him since he attacks his brothers, disappears, smears poop on the walls or writes on them and the list goes on of things he does that are not good or pleasant. Besides, Cooper doesn’t like to be alone so we have to tote him from room to room or else he screams. And the listening to screaming isn’t fun.
Well if you are ever passing through Salt Lake feel free to drop by. We love company. We even have a guest room in our basement if you need to rest.
Love, Greg, Kathy, Clayton, Cody, and Cooper Mills
Puppies, poop, and contact lenses?
Once again I will have to apologize for the family letter getting out so late-AGAIN. We have had a crazy, hectic and busy several months. In June Kinsey was baptized by her dad. We had originally set the date out so that 1-hopefully Nathan would be able to walk/stand well enough without crutches and actually do the baptism. 2-we had planned to have Kinsey’s baptism with her cousin (which didn’t end up happening and it was a baptism marathon day).
Our family has also grown by two...after our wonderful dog had to be put to sleep. Myself and the kids started to look for a new one. We had checked on several shelter and rescue web sites. I though one of the dogs wasn’t going to pan out and eventually we ended up with two? (We took advantage of Nathan still on his pain medications) They are wonderful and sweet puppies. (unless they are fighting each other for food or toy and then fur is flying...so any dog training suggestions welcome on that subject) But have become a welcome addition to our crazy house hold. I think I thrive on caious...add that to our family medical problems.
In July David’s whole crew was down here to enjoy the 4th of July Holiday. We all enjoyed being together. Kristina’s Mother and Step Father were able to come to town for about 24 hours. Her Mother brought down a littler of German Shepard puppies so that Kristina could have the pick of the litter. All of the kids enjoyed having their own puppy or two to play with. While down here, Sasha, David, Kristina and Jennifer were able to tour the two local Job Corps locations. Job Corps is a very good program with lots of opportunities... the Weber Basin (by Ogden) is one of the top 10 in the nation out of I think 80 some locations. Sasha has turned in her application and is waiting to hear back.
Kinsey finished up her baseball year going to the play offs. Her team took 2nd place and she got a large trophy and was pretty pleased with herself.. She was very excited to be baptized and is such a good little girl that keeps her parents on track. She is looking forward to starting 2nd grade. She will also be starting soccer next week and has enjoyed helping out with training of the new dogs and currently watching the Olympics.
Mason is doing well. We have struggled so much with potty issues that one doctor finally took pity on his poor parents and suggested we do a abdomen xray. All the other doctors had just told me..."he will do it when he is ready..bla, bla, bla" or gave advise of things we had tried a thousand times, The x-ray revealed that he had a significant blockage in his colon. Apparently you can have this and still be able to have a bm or even diarrhea. With lots of medications and treatments we are hopefully getting out all of the "bad poo poo’s" as Mason calls them. And hopefully on the right track to being a "big boy" all the time. But until we are accident free...I have a note to give his pre-school to cut us some slack! He loves to play out side with his neighborhood friends, tormenting the puppies, enjoys beating mom at various Wii games and is looking forward to starting soccer again this fall.
Nathan and Jennifer are plugging along...let put it this way...March-Nathan hurt, months of workman’s comp head aches, and physically therapy and pain for Nathan. He is now back to work "full time", well 8 hours a day sitting a desk basically doing nothing. However, he was able to finish the last Vampire/Stephanie Myers (700+ pp)book in less than a week. This past month we had our air conditioner break when it was in the 100's, our water heater had to be replaced and flooded out basement, our transmission went out in the truck and our newest car "blew up". Oh, and Jennifer had to jump in with her clothes on at the kids swimming lessons to save Mason who was drowning...but other than that we are doing very well and thankful it is not worse! Jennifer work has been extraordinarily busy with several people in my office that left thus moving up my case load drastically. Not to mention one of my kids was involved in a local shooting and another in a bank robbery. I guess I will look at it as Job Security.
Paul is doing fine. He has tried to seek out several options that can help to improve his fukes disease that he has in his eyes. One think he has been trying is hard contact lenses. He reports it has been somewhat of a challenge to do them while in the truck. Other than that he reports no major complaints. He has cris crossed the country several times lately.
David reports they are doing well. The kids are busy with their various summer actives. Isaac has been helping David at work. His new nick name at work is " paquito diablo" (little devil) He has finished up his baseball season with a whopping win of one game. Linda and Jessy took the summer off of tumbling and will be starting 3rd grade soon. Linda is busy with a daily tutor to brush up on her school skills. Jessy spends most of her day at the YMCA Camp. Kristina loves her new job at Siara Hills Living Center. She will be starting back in school in a few weeks.
Hope all is well-Love, Jennifer, Nathan, Kinsey, Mason, Paul, David, Kristina, Sasha, Isaac, Linda, Jessy, and a wide variety of mutts...
Thanks to Virginia for all her hard work for the next family reunion
Cruise Information:
Dear Brown Family Members:
Congratulations on your decision to book a 4-day Carnival FAMILY REUNION CRUISE to Ensenada July 27, 2009 through July 31, 2009. My husband, Mark, and I are excited to work with you to make this your best cruise ever. Just so nothing gets left out; there are a few things we need to get things started.
Complete the enclosed information sheet. Please print or type as this is what we will use to make sure all documents are correct.
Please send a copy of the information page of your passports. This will help us with making accurate reservations. If you are considering using a passport card, this is not recommended. It’s fine if you are only on a cruise, but if you had to fly home for some reason (emergencies are never planned unfortunately), you would not be able to use this card.
We recommend prepayment of gratuities – this just makes it easier for you. If you would like gratuities of $40.00 per person added to your total, please let us know by circling the Y on the information sheet.
If you will need flight arrangements and you would like us to assist you with that, please provide the departure information or contact us directly at (909)884-0775. If you would like to make your own flight arrangements, simply provide the information regarding the flight and we can arrange for a transfer from the airport to the ship. One thing to consider is if we book your flight through the cruise, and you have a delay, the cruise line will make sure you get to the next port (Catalina) where you can embark.
Mail the information sheet with your check for the amount of the deposit ($100 per person for inside or ocean view staterooms OR $150 per person for demi-suite or suite). Make the check payable to Goldrush Getaways.
If you plan to pay by Credit Card, please complete the enclosed credit card form. We need a copy of your card, as well. If you would like this same card used for future deposits, don’t forget to initial the line at the bottom.
Don’t forget the deadline for the initial deposit is August 23, 2008. I know that is coming up fast, but these deposits will lock in your stateroom (and the price).
FYI: Beginning in November, 2008, Carnival Cruise Lines will be the only cruise line servicing the Baja area. This means there will be no competition for pricing from other lines. Locking in a price now, protects you from increased prices later.
Staterooms will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. This means that the sooner we get your deposit, the better choice you will have of staterooms.
If you have any other questions, or if we can be of service to you in any other way, please do not hesitate to contact us. Annette Wilson
Goldrush Getaways
1130 Monica Ave
San Bernardino, CA 92408
(909) 884-0775
fax: (909) 494-8279
Annette.wilson@verizon.net
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2009 Brown Family Reunion
Aboard the
Carnival Paradise
July 27, 2009 to July 31, 2009
DAY Port Arrive Depart
Monday Los Angeles (Long Beach) 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday Catalina 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday Ensenada 9:00 a.m. 10:00 p.m.
Thursday "Fun Day" at Sea
Friday Los Angeles (Long Beach) 8:00 a.m.
Passports Required
Stateroom Prices Starting From:
Inside Ocean View Demi-Suite Suite
$567.03 $617.03 $967.03 $1067.03
All prices are per person and are based on double occupancy, Prices include port charges, taxes, fee’s and fuel charges. Third and Fourth passengers rates by request Cancellation insurance recommended (available through agent).$40.00 per person prepayment of tip recommended
Deposit Due: August 23, 2008
Inside/Ocean view Staterooms: $100.00 pp
Demi-suite and Suites: $150.00 pp
Annette Wilson
909 884-0775
Goldrush Getaways
1130 Monica Ave.
San Bernardino, CA 92408
Family History Project
Contact Julia Gibson at juliagibson@ymail.com
It's time to step up the pace on family history. If' you've been on Family Search you may have discovered that our family history is a patchwork. Many of us have depended on half-remembered information and as a result some of the names, dates and places are just plain wrong. Words of comfort: it isn't just our family. There's a lot of that going around. One of the things I want to work on this summer is a complete and accurate set of family group sheets for the Charles Stuart Brown family. I need the standard information for each family as it applies. Family defined: married couple and spouse, with all their children (living and dead). I need the correct spellings and dates from the person most likely to have the correct information (you). If you have family group sheets, you can fill it out as completely as you can and mail it to me. Or, you can e-mail the following information (if it applies):
name (First/Middle/Last)
date of birth (DD/MM/YYYY)
place of birth (city, county, state/country)
date of baptism
place of baptism
date of endowment
place of endowment
spouse
date of marriage
place of marriage
date of sealing (if applicable)
place of sealing (if applicable)
date of divorce (if applicable)
date of death (if applicable)
place of death
children (in order of birth)
Optional information (nice to have, but not necessary):
priesthood (office and ordinations)
mission(s) served (dates, mission field, including stake and ward missions)
church positions held (date and ward/stake would be nice)
profession(s)
military service (dates, branch of service, rank)
education (degrees held, schools attended)
other accomplishments you want remembered (I've probably forgotten your best category)
We've tried this before, but response has been limited. As I said, it's time to step up the pace. To quote the words of one of my favorite hymns, "the time is far spent. . ."
PLEASE GET THIS TO HER ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HEALTH AND THE FAMILY
I once heard an interesting statement about genetic heritage. It went something like this. "No matter how much we may want, we cannot swim outside our gene pool." We are the beneficiaries of a marvelous genetic, religious, and social legacy. Unfortunately, there are also some genetic or potentially genetic problems. As daunting as that may seem, we are not half as badly affected as some families with whom I have had contact, either personally or in the capacity of providing health care. There are many families in whom cancer and extremely serious mental conditions continuously stalk the members. There are some families in whom there are serious metabolic diseases, heartbreaking genetic syndromes, and crippling arthritis. We cannot be certain, nor have we the wisdom to segregate which problems are entirely genetic and which are environmental. As you know genetics are somewhat random and environmental concerns range from dietary issues to accidents of all sorts. In reality, much of what happens is a combination of the environment acting upon our genetic make-up. I have included a cartoon that I love which was created by Thaves called "Frank and Ernest." He comes up with some gems from time to time and this one is priceless. In many ways it is both frank and somewhat earnest. As one can readily appreciate, there really are genetic and behavioral reasons that predispose a person to obesity. Grandpa Hugh Hurst had uncles that weighed over 400 pounds. He knew that he could weigh that much as well. He was very proactive and exercised his strong will to keep that from happening. He knew to leave the dinner table hungry and go to bed hungry. He was not a snacker. I didn’t know his weight but estimate that he weighed around 200 pounds when I knew him. As one can readily see, there was likely a genetic factor that he controlled by his strong will and discipline. His model for dealing with his tendencies is an example for us all. I honor and respect him for his tremendous self-control. There is another situation that is a demonstration of another genetic and environmental interaction. With Jason’s permission I will share with you his amazing and interesting story. He began to have severe back pain during his sophomore year of high school. He had been playing football and was tackled awkwardly in practice. The back pain seemed to start shortly afterwards. He was troubled for the remainder of the season and we thought it was due to football. When the pain didn’t go away after the season ended we got an x-ray. To our shock he had x-ray evidence of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Blood tests showed him to also have the genetic marker known as HLA-B27 which is the case in 99% of those with that particular condition. As it turns out there are a small number of other conditions which are similarly linked to HLA-B27 but only 8% of all people with it actually have any one of them. Something else needs to take place. One of those other conditions is Reiter’s Syndrome which requires HLA-B27 and a chlamydia infection. After Jason responded to standard therapy for a time, I encountered an article that postulated an intestinal colonization with a certain strain of bacteria. It is actually a common resident of the colon. However, if you happen to have HLA-B27, it could be trouble. The authors of the article had successfully controlled AS by "purging" the colon then repopulating it with friendly kinds of bacteria found in yogurt. We decided to try this approach and to our delight it worked. Jason had better control with continuation of yogurt in his diet than with the standard therapy of sulfasalazine and oral anti-inflammatories. He can tell if hasn’t had enough yogurt or tablets which contain the same bacteria. My purpose in this rather lengthy account is to show how genetics and environment both matter. Neither Barbara nor I have any of the HLA-B27 related conditions, I suppose because we didn’t get that bacteria in our bodies. We didn’t bother to find out who is the carrier because it doesn’t matter. Certainly, one of us has it. There is a 50% chance that any one of our other five children may have the same gene. The cumulative likelihood suggests that at least two of them are carriers. So having a gene doesn’t necessarily condemn anyone to have certain genetic conditions. There is another sort of condition which has raised its ugly head in the family. I suspect that the genetics of AS and that of these other conditions is different. As a family we have had autoimmune hepatitis, ulcerative colitis, polymyositis, scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosis, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, pulmonary hypertension (possibly secondary to the SLE), diabetes, possible autoimmune pancreatitis, and markers for autoimmune disease that have not become manifest. All of them may be linked. The amazing thing is that with the exception of the diabetes, none of this is known to have been present, neither in our parents’ generation nor in our grandparents’ generation. So where did it come from? Frankly, we can’t know right now but it could stem from a large number of things, including dietary factors or toxins in our environment. A colleague of mine has done some marvelous research and is convinced that autoimmune-type inflammation is facilitated by the relative lack of omega-3 fatty acids in our diets. He has shown how omega-3 has been systematically stripped from our diets. He has had many patients with known autoimmune disease now that have improved remarkably by daily omega-3 supplements. Sources for omega-3 are readily available and fairly inexpensive. You can get it by eating fish oil, olive oil, flax seed oil, and canola oil. Corn oil is not as good as it has more omega-6. In fact it may be part of the problem as many cattle and chickens are fed with corn. Range fed cattle and chickens are perhaps less of a problem. Pasteurization of milk converts omega-3 to omega-6. I would like to make a pitch for supplementing our diets with omega-3 each and every day whether you have an autoimmune disease or not. We don’t know who is at risk right now. I take flax seed oil or fish oil each day to improve my dangerous cholesterol profile. It has helped. When I found out about the inflammatory issues I was delighted that I had already begun to use them for the cholesterol issues.
Julia has become motivated to fix our genealogy as there are many errors present in the data bases sponsored by the church. I have again suggested that we get a good medical database at the same time. My purpose is to help each other to recognize certain problems in time to intervene more effectively. There is a certain amount of wisdom in being as complete and accurate in both temporal matters such as genetic illness and in eternal matters such as our genealogy. The following is a list of conditions which are known to exist or which may have existed in some of our ancestors.
Autism
Autoimmune disorders including: RA, lupus, polymyositis, autoimmune hepatitis, and possibly autoimmune pancreatitis.
Ankylosing spondylitis.
Arthritis, degenerative
Asthma
Alcoholism
Diabetes
Coronary insufficiency and heart attack
Pulmonary hypertension
Obesity
Kidney stones
Urinary tract infections
Gallstones
Hiatal hernia and GERD
Duodenal ulcers
Ulcerative Colitis
High Blood pressure
Atherosclerotic vascular disease: coronary, or peripheral and the unfavorable cholesterol profile that predisposes to these.
Stroke
Cancer and pre-cancerous conditions. Cancer of the colon, prostatic cancer,
Colonic polyps
Pilonidal sinus which may develop into pilonidal cysts
Appendicitis
Inguinal hernia
Mental health disorders (low self-esteem, depression, OCD)
Visual problems: nearsightedness, astigmatism, cataracts, macular degeneration
Female problems: stillbirth, miscarriage, ovarian cysts, PMS or its more severe cousin known as "Pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder" or PMDD.
There is a great deal of societal bias and misinformation regarding some conditions. Possibly the most glaring is the belief that mental conditions such as depression or OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) are some sort of moral failing or weakness. This they are not and there is a suggestion that depression may have been present for as much as five generations in the past. It has then been carried forward with variable manifestations in each successive generation. The extent to which it is manifest could reflect the interaction with other genes and the environment. Certainly adversity or disappointment may play a role. I will tell my family frankly that I was depressed when Dad died and then when I had two sons in Iraq at the same time. Some would characterize that as "situational depression" and something that most of mankind is at risk to have. Perhaps, but it is the case that there are varying degrees of susceptibility. It might take some greater adversity for it to become manifest in some. For others it might take less. If ignored, certain other problems could occur and one could slip into a dysfunctional sort of problem that could harm personal relationships or even job security. If these complications take place, one’s problems could really accelerate, if the situation is not dealt with adequately.
Symptoms characteristic of depression include: 1) persistent feelings of sadness or inadequacy 2) sleep disturbance, especially early morning awakening, then not being able to go back to sleep 3) lack of initiative 4) poor appetite or an increase in appetite or a 5% weight change, up or down, in a month may indicate there is a problem.
5) irritability or sluggishness. A day or two of such feelings is not unusual but when they just don’t abate, something may be wrong. It is then time to consider seeking competent professional help. There are many reputed remedies such as St. John’s wort, listening to some good comedy monologues, or uplifting music. Reading good literature, including the scriptures, meditation, and talking things through with trusted friends and family must help as well but there are times when professional help is necessary. Some people seek relief by using alcohol or other dangerous substances. Cigarettes offer some a modicum of temporary relief. We know, however, that such attempts are fruitless and harmful in their own way. In fact, one can show they each make the problem worse.
OCD can be useful to an extent when it helps one to make sure that he/she has thoroughly taken care of various things. It is not surprising that there are a number of people in medicine or other disciplines that demand detailed work who appear to have OCD. However, it can be debilitating in the more extreme manifestations. Obsessions or compulsions can occur separately or together.
Obsessions
Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.
The thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems.
The person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action.
The person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind, and are not based in reality.
Compulsions
Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.
The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts are not actually connected to the issue, or they are excessive.
Obsessive and compulsive disorders can be horribly debilitating and warrant intervention as soon as it has been identified.
There are surprisingly effective remedies that can be used.
Pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) PMDD is similar to (PMS), but differs from it in severity. Treatment is recommended because PMDD interferes with the sufferer's ability to function in her environment. The cardinal symptom--surfacing between ovulation and menstruation, and disappearing within a few days after the onset of the bleeding--is irritability. Anxiety, anger, and depression may also occur. The main symptoms, which can be disabling, include
feelings of sadness or despair, or possibly suicidal thoughts
feelings of tension or anxiety
panic attacks
mood swings, crying
lasting irritability or anger, increased interpersonal conflicts
disinterest in daily activities and relationships
trouble thinking or focusing
tiredness or low energy
food cravings or binge eating
having trouble sleeping
feeling out of control
increased sex drive
increased need for emotional closeness
physical symptoms, such as bloating, heart palpitations, breast tenderness, headaches, and joint or muscle pain
Five or more of these symptoms may indicate PMDD. Symptoms occur during the week before the menstrual cycle and disappear within a few days after the onset of the bleeding.
What I am asking is that we use this information to help recognize problems in time to intervene appropriately. If you have other medical conditions to add to this list let me know. As I mentioned above, some conditions are such that any of us might want to keep them private. That is okay because the main purpose is to help us to become aware and then do something. Someone could look at the list of maladies and suppose that they should not have children. I will tell you now that one will find similar or worse lists in most families. I saw a woman in consultation recently who has eight major diagnoses. Four of her five children have already died from one of them and she is only 51 years old. Though cancer is present, we don’t have a fraction of cancer seen in most families. That is partially due to our observance of the Word of Wisdom. It could also mean that we are fairly lucky in that regard.
If you have more to add to our family database, send the information to me:
James S. Brown, 4701 Memory Lane W, University Place, WA 98466
Love, Jim
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