March 2012 - Picture of the Month

Averie Bessey - Waiting for the Rest of the Family to Get Ready for Church

March 2012 - Executive Office of Ken Woodward

Dear Family,

February was a good month. Joshua and Zachari attended every day of seminary and school, whenever they were held, which weren’t often. And they are now resting up for Easter vacation which is only a few weeks away. They continue to have a perfect attendance record for the entire school year.

Zack visited the barber recently just to even up his sideburns and came out looking like a billiard ball. Our old barber, Frank, took an unplanned vacation to Indonesia just ahead of the FBI, and the new barber is an undocumented Latino who has a little trouble with English. Rumors on the street are Frank will not be returning. Joshua hasn’t seen a barber since early last June. It’s amazing how much these boys now resemble Moe and Curly.

I plowed my garden a few days ago. The current weather in Superior California east of I-5 suggests a favorable early planting season, but the calendar doesn’t support that conclusion. Of course, if I had been wise like a certain member of my extended family and located west of I-5 I wouldn’t have to worry about the possibility of a killing frost or a summer drought. And concerning a possible drought, a news item on the front page of “The Wall Street Journal” under a heading “The Western Drought Worsens…” contains the following quotation: “The snow and bad weather hit the east so fast that their problems were immediate apparent. A drought is so much more subtle,” said Kenneth Woodward, “It creeps up on you, and you may find out you’re in trouble far later than you should have.” Mr. Woodward is an official of the California Department of Water Resources. ( WSJ February 10, 1977). As condition now look in Northern California, the WSJ may have an opportunity to use that quote in some near-future article.

Love, Dad

March 2012 - Cannon, Aaron & Mindy & Family

Dear Family and Grandpa:

You would think that facebook banter would soon take the place of the newswire but alas....I hear grandpa has forgotten his password so we must continue to rely on archaic means of passing information. The month of February has seen the start of baseball season in the Cannon home. Jakob is coming off his first ever all star season and expectations are unrealistically high. This will be the first season of "kid pitch" whereas in seasons past he has been hitting off a pitching machine. Mindy and I are alllllll ready for 3 hour 2 inning games with 2342334 walks and 2343235 runs.

Hannah will be starting tee ball this month as well. She has been ready for this for at least 3 years. Finally she is on the road to earning her keep.

Mindy continues to co-chair the bake sale where the Loma Portal Bake Sale committee finds itself in a pitched battle with Michelle Obama over bake sale regulations. That's right fellow communists....the feds are trying to shut down the bake sale. Why you ask? Because they can't regulate what comes out of mama's kitchen and therefore have decided that the most sound and courageous course of action is immediately closure. How will the school continue to pay for it's music program, physical education program, and librarian you ask? Michelle is gonna cut us a check.....I'm sure.

What am I doing you ask? Good question. I took the opportunity this last weekend to run the "tough mudder" event here in southern california. This was a 12 mile military grade obstacle course complete with electrified obstacles that send 10k volts coursing through your brain if you are unlucky enough to come in contact with the random live wire. Also included are "monkey bars" that are covered in grease and twist, a swim through ice water (as in ice.....and water) jumping off stuff, crawling through.....stuff...and other various and sundry goodies. I recommend going on over to the website and checking it out. Other than that...exactly.

March 2012 - Cannon, Adam & Erica & Family

Dear To Whom It May Concern.

The Cannon, Adam family has been doing great. I figured I would submit something this month because it has been a while.

We are doing very well. Maja and Annika are excelling in school. Ava and Lilah are excelling in making a hugh mess at home. Erica is excelling in keeping us all alive and somewhat organized. I competed in a Tough Mudder last weekend in Temecula, Ca. You can look it up online at toughmudder.com and see what it is I did. Aaron went with me but I pretty much had to carry him the whole way.

That is all we have to report. Cannon, Adam Etc...

March 2012 - Woodward, Kevin & Tammy & Family

Dear Family:

We each enjoyed the benefit of one additional day during the month of February, a phenomenon which coincides with the year in which we have a presidential election. It is also an additional day for which every Melchizedek Priesthood leader or Relief Society president in the church could take credit as having provided their organization for purposes of completing home and visiting teaching. I can hardly wait to see the February spike in visits accomplished when the stake’s 1st Quarter results become available.

A thorough analysis of my historical business travel trends of the past several years suggests that I participate in an out-of-town “boondoggle” about every six weeks. February was true to form. I enjoyed a three-day, all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. I won this trip by offering my labor at one of Lockheed Martin's east coast offices. Of course this required that I venture outside of our garage door and commence to dig a path through the snow which we recently experienced, so that I could drive to the airport. I didn’t have the luxury of waiting around for those warm Chinook (snow-eater) winds coming off of the Rockies to clear the driveway and sidewalks for me.

During this past month I had a chance to enjoy a private, 75-minute luncheon with the mayor of Colorado Springs. I wouldn't want anyone to mistakenly believe that he sought me out to ask my opinion regarding the state of the city. I readily acknowledge that I initiated the gathering to see how the Church could be of greater service to the city. It was a very enjoyable and productive meeting.

We’re looking forward to the month of March. And in the words of Adam, “that is all for now.”

Love,

The Woodwards