September 2011 - Woodward, Kevin & Tammy & Family

Woodward Fam,

With August coming to an end, we look back and take inventory.  I had the chance to visit Sacramento at the beginning of the month and spend time with dad, Wendy, Zach, Josh, Stephanie and Susan.  It was a trip that was long overdue, and was thoroughly enjoyable.  With dad treating Zach, Josh and me to Sam’s Hof Brau, and with his allowing me to stay in his room while he took to the couch at bedtime, it is more than appropriate to declare all debts from the 2010 World Series and All-Star games settled.  In fact, I will go on to declare that all debts from the 2011 and 2012 World Series and All-Star games settled as well.

Mid-month, I took a business trip to Washington, D.C for a few days.  While there, I felt first-hand that largest earthquake to rock to eastern seaboard in nearly 70 years.  However, I got out of town before the second of the”one-two punch” to hit the area in the way of hurricane Irene.   When the flight attendant told everyone to quickly take their seats so that we could take off though an open weather window as the rain began to fall, I sensed that our departure was teetering on the ragged edge, yet was very  timely.

Tammy headed for Mukilteo, Washington (20 miles north of Seattle) to spend time with Torrie & Levi and their family.  I’m scheduled to join her on September 1st.  Arianna spent the better part of a week up there as well prior to her starting her Fall semester at BYU.  Tammy told me of their daily excursions to a fashionable restaurant, the aquarium, the tide pools, the outlet mall, and of a ferry ride to a nearby island in the Puget Sound.  And all of these activities took place west of the I-5 (yes, that same I-5 we all know and love) where Levi and Torrie live.   So now the family is covered with places of refuge west of the I-5 on both our nation’s southern and northern borders.  However, come to think of it, most of Los Angeles proper also exists west of the I-5, which may come as mild a surprise to many.  But then that is a topic for another time.

Looking forward to September.

Much love,

The Woodwards

August 2011 - Picture of the Month

Crossing the Sweetwater, Trek 2011, for the Colrado Springs North Stake

August 2011 - Executive Office of Ken Woodward

Dear Family

To you five ancient members of our clan, I failed to mention last month of the passing of our dear neighbor of 57 years, Mary Sidebotham, 85.  She died about the middle of June. Her husband John, 90, is living alone at the house.  How long he will be able to continue to do so is uncertain.

Sixty four years ago today (August 1, 1947) I arrived in Sacramento via greyhound bus  on one of the hottest days of the 20th century, wearing a straw hat and carrying all my possessions in a  small suitcase.  I had no place to stay, and knew not one person in the entire city. Fortunately, today is a bit cooler.

A thousand thanks to Kristy for arranging and hosting on July 21 a very enjoyable gathering  of the Utah-contingent of our family, some of which I had never previously met, i.e., Ryan, Seth, Maija and Averie.  Ryan passed inspection and I’m now willing to forget and forgive Alexis for her violation of my long-standing pre-approval requirement.  But that doesn’t exempt Cassie and Arianna. I was also pleased to find a New York Yankee fan soul-mate in Jilina.  Kevin would be well advised not to get involved with Jilina in the milkshake baseball betting contest..

It was also good to see John Christiansen, although an early departee from the gathering with the weak excuse of a golfing engagement. ( My definition of an early departee is one who leaves before me.)

Whether the afternoon and evening was enjoyable, some sage once said a picture is as good as a thousand words, Jilina, Alexis and Katelyn speaks for the entire group.

Road construction presently underway along Interstate 15 between Salt Lake and Provo should be a deterrent to any temple recommend carrying visitor.. When President Obama said he was looking for “shovel ready” projects to spur the economy he must have looked only at the Salt Lake-Provo corridor

 

When I drove Susan to BYU to enroll as a freshman in the late 1960’s the main route to Provo was State Street, with a traffic light at every other intersection. For a simple southern Idaho farm boy, now living east of I-5, the State Street route now looks more attractive to me than the I-15 speedway.. 

Even the light rail trip from Sandy to Salt Lake and back was an abomination.  The train broke down at its Salt Lake City terminus causing  a 45-minute delay on the return trip, and then it stopped every few minutes because there was an obstruction on the tracks.  We could have walked it faster. Kristy, next time lets just drive.

We were gone seven days.  Zach, Josh and I stayed in Lehi, mostly to honor the birthplace of Earl Taylor.  Earl, who had a major hand in my calling to the stake presidency in 1967 was interred in the Lehi cemetery earlier this year.. 

We visited  BYU, Bingham copper mine, temple square, the conference center, Joseph Smith Memorial building, Thanksgiving Point, and drove around the Alpine Loop. 

The boys traveled well, missing very few rest stops and fast food restaurants en-route. For all you naysayers who questioned my sanity in driving instead of fly, I might even be tempted to do again.

Love, Dad

August 2011 - Haupt, Levi & Torrie & Family

July has been a fun month here in the Haupt household. It started off with us fully enjoying the Fourth of July weekend. Since Levi’s Brother Reuben and his wife Chantile are still with us, we’ve been geocaching like crazy, the fourth was no different. We rode a ferry across the Sound to Kingston and enjoyed a Farmers market, a hometown parade complete with a zillion princesses that Charlotte had to wave at, and more geocaching. When we arrived back on our side of the water we visited some tide pools with Levi that the girls and I had previously frequented. We had a fantastic long day.

Since moving up here Levi has known that he would most likely be involved in cycling the STP aka Seattle to Portland bicycle ride. His dad has been doing it for the past 10 years, he’s a seasoned pro and this time he was able to have 2 of his sons complete it. Its usually a weekend event, however Dave and a bunch of his friends from their ward ride the 200+ miles in one day in order to still be able to be at church the next day. Its quite the accomplishment and I know Levi is grateful he did it and that its over, until next year.

After the STP we left the girls in Portland to enjoy Levi’s parents, Levi left for a week -long meeting in Utah and Reuben, Chantile and I returned to Mukilteo to continue our conquest of the endless painting jobs we’d given ourselves. My kitchen is well on its way to looking wonderful, I hope to post before and after pics next month.

We also got to enjoy the rare opportunity of a midnight premiere since we were sans children. Levi returned from Utah just in tiem for the four of us to gather on early Friday morning to watch the final Harry Potter installment. What a wonderful end to an era. For those of you who haven’t seen it, what are you waiting for?!   

The girls continue to enjoy the outdoors, our backyard especially, and we even spent the last Friday of the month on our very first Family camp-out, complete with tent and sleeping bags, it was so much fun. It brought back wonderful memories as we made our own.

We should have a lot of fun pics next month and more adventures to post about. We love you all and hope you enjoy August!

With love,

Charlotte, Emma, Torrie & Levi

Kingston Ferry

watching the parade  (I have a similar pic of emma exactly 3 years ago)

tromping in boots around the tide pools

start of STP, 4am-ish and proudly sporting our "Haupt Cycling" pride!

halfway stop for lunch

very proud of Daddy at the finish line!

Miss Fix-it!

First Family camp-out

August 2011 - McClintock Robert & Susan

July was more interesting that expected.  Aunt Susan went back to Los Angeles to visit Emily and Justin one more time before they left for Boston. It was an eventful trip and one Aunt Susan is so glad she made.  In fact, on Sunday, Aunt Susan and the Ekins attended Kimber's ward instead of the UCLA ward.  When Aunt Susan introduced herself and Emily in Relief Society, Aunt Susan made mention that they were related to Kimber Scott.  The sound of acknowledgment from the Sisters was highly satisfying to Aunt Susan. It meant that Kimber was still known in her ward  and any concerns about her testimony or activity can be brushed aside. Aunt Susan wonders if Kimber got back home in time for Carmageddon. (The folks in the southland do have some interesting ideas about what is important.)

Rocco was a bit of handful, according to Emily, the day the movers came.  He set up such a fuss Justin and Emily had to sit with him in a closet while the movers removed the furniture and boxes from their apartment.  Oh, nay.  Aunt Susan can not even image how Rocco stood the trip across country yet again.  If you recall, the week the Ekins drove across country they drove into the worst heat wave in the Midwest and East Coast in a decade. 

Pioneer day went well in this neck of the woods…nothing like the celebration in Utah but still a decent commemoration.  Grandpa and the boys returned from a glorious trip to Utah on that day but they were not greeted with Pioneer parades or bands. Aunt Susan was eager to hear the particulars and Grandpa obliged.  It occurred to Aunt Susan that Jilina was able to meet her very own Great-Grandfather because of that trip.  Grandpa will probably give you a more accurate recounting of just how well they got along and why.

This McClintock wishes all the rest of the family a reasonably interesting rest of Summer.

August 2011 - Slade, Jeff & Crystal & Family

I know that we are getting this in on August first, but we do have great news.... Jeff and  I both have found jobs that willl keep us in the area of a while.  Jeff i s working for Anderson Merchandizing (he will have to explain it.) but is in the process of applying for doctoral programs in finance and I believe that that unltimatley we will do something in that area.  I will be working full-time as a achool psychologist in the Poudre School District in Ft.Collins.  We are very happy as are kids can stay in the in the district ehy are most commfortable with and we have access to top destricts in the state.  We are also thrilled to be having a temple come in aboot 1  5 minutes from us!!!!!  so many wonderful things, so few words to decscrible them.  We love you!!

  
  Crystal

August 2011 - Woodward, Kevin & Tammy & Family

During the month of July, I took a short business trip to the nation’s capital.  It was pleasant, interesting and productive, but it paled in comparison to the experience which Tammy and I enjoyed a week later, as we accompanied 300 youth and 130 adults from our stake on our quadrennial pioneer trek over 30 miles of the Mormon Trail through central Wyoming.  We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather, something which the members of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies did not enjoy in late October of 1856.

 
We began our journey, right out of the gate, going up and over Rocky Ridge, the highest point along the entire Mormon Trail.  There were numerous, massive boulders jutting up in the trail, making it extremely difficult to pull the handcart.  For a one mile stretch along this torturous path, only the women in our party of 430 pulled the handcarts.  This was referred to as the “women’s pull”, representative of those families whose husbands and fathers were either too sick to pull their handcart, or who had died along the way.  In a word, the “women’s pull” was brutal, but it served as a wonderful object lesson for each of us about priesthood service, and about the need for men and women to work together in our journey back to our heavenly home. 
Once over the summit, we continued for another 12 miles to Rock Creek Hollow to camp for the night. 

For the Willie Handcart Company, which was two weeks ahead of the Martin Company on the trail, the 15 miles up and over Rocky Ridge to Rock Creek Hollow was a forced march in blizzard conditions.  It was 27 hours of non-stop effort to get to where supplies awaited them.  Unfortunately, once they arrived at Rock Creek Hollow on October 24, this march took the lives of 13 individuals in one night.  Even the 22-year old young man who dug the mass grave for these 13 died the next day.  There is a monument which was placed there to honor those who died at Rock Creek Hollow.  This was the company for which 23-year old, returning missionary William Woodward served as a captain of a hundred.  Each one of us on the trek represented someone who actual made that journey.  I had the privilege of representing William Woodward.

On the following day, our company of 430 climbed aboard air conditioned buses to head back east to where the Martin Company would have been on the trail in late October.  Tammy represented Elizabeth Robinson Condie, a great grandmother of ours, who was 19 years old when she traveled with the Martin Company with her mother and her sister Dorothy.  The Martin Company had crossed the Platt River not far from Casper, Wyoming where they were discovered by the advance rescue riders from Salt Lake.  They were likewise told that they needed to move quickly about 50 miles west where supplies awaited them.   As they moved westward, they came to the Sweetwater River.  Crossing the Sweetwater was necessary for them to get to a nearby cove where the entire company could find relative shelter from the winter storms.  The company remembered well the deadly crossing of the Platt.  The Sweetwater isn’t nearly as big as the Platt.   But because they were totally drained of strength, it was on the banks of this river where grown men simply fell to the ground and cried.  It was here where four young men from the rescue team sent from Salt Lake carried nearly the entire company across the Sweetwater.

Our party of 430 had a chance to spend an evening of quiet reflection up in Martin’s Cove.  We came to the cove in four groups of 100.  As each group departed the cove, I had the chance to give each member a hug and to thank them for coming.  As I waited for each group to arrive, I had a chance to enjoy some quiet reflection of my own.  As I sat there in solitude, I heard a noise overhead.  I looked up and saw a commercial jetliner flying high above me.  A definition of a miracle is a condition where higher order laws, that we don’t currently understand, are at work (Bible Dictionary). Obviously in 1856, the physical laws that permit air travel certainly were not understood.  Yet if an aircraft could have been there to carry these valiant saints safely to the Salt Lake Valley, that would have been a miracle.

The following day we each had a chance to cross the Sweetwater River.  It was a moving experience for everyone.  President Hinckley referred to Martin’s Cove, as well as the other areas we had traveled, as the outdoor temple of Wyoming.  It is no surprise as to why he would designate this area as such.

 We love you,

The Woodwards

Kevin and Tammy Crossing the sweetwater

July 2011 - Picture of the Month

A VIP lunch!!!

July 2011 - Executive Office of Ken Woodward

Dear Family,
We are now into the third week of summer vacation from school.  Joshua and Zachari are adjusting very well to a new schedule.   Their only regret is that it will not last long enough. 

The three of us took a trip to Franklin to participate in the annual Idaho Days celebration.  As you can appreciate, my social schedule while there was very tight, but overall, it was a delightful and relaxing experience.  We stayed in a motel in Logan.  I have decided  that hereafter, neither the price of the motel nor the quality of its accommodations are of any concern so long as it has a reasonable continental breakfast and Zack is with me. If it does and he is, the motel loses.. 

 I thought I should attend this year as it may be my last opportunity.  At my advanced age, I realize my future is very uncertain.  I wouldn’t want this to go beyond the family, but I now subscribe to the Ensign only  3 months at a time.

There were co-Grand Marshalls chosen for the celebration this year, a set of identical twins, Dilly Morrison and his bulldog.  Remarkable look-a-likes.  Dilly is now in his 90's and was fined $50 recently for assaulting one of the local citizens. 

The 3-floats parade was outstanding,.  It started on 1st and Main, continued east to Heber Lowe’s old home on the corner, turned around and returned to the starting point. This way we could  view both sides of each float without getting out of our lounge chairs.  Some had been there since the night before to assure a favorable location on the route. The Grand Marshalls rode atop the city’s waste management truck, an impressive sight, streamers and all.

The afternoon activities were somewhat disappointing.  While the ladies mud-wrestle was top-notch, the hanging could  have been better planned.  The program committee thought they had a viable candidate in Bill Hull, arrested for changing the brand on one of Tom Mendenhalls’ bulls.  At the last minute, Bill.asked for a jury trial.  But as some of the spectators in the grandstand had to get home to milk their cows so they could get back for the evening melodrama, they couldn’t wait for the verdict.
The word on the street later was the jury was leaning toward  acquittal.

The attached picture is the float ridden by the Idaho Days queen and her attendants but after the first block the wind changed, so they had to finish the parade atop of a front-loader. 

I can hardly wait for next year.

Love,  Dad

July 2011 - Cannon, Aaron & Mindy & Family

Hello June.  Goodbye June.

June has been all baseball all the time in the Cannon home.  Jakob made his first all star team and was immediately greeted with daily 4 hour practices.  His thought was the same as mine....what?  He had a brief little tournament in which he hit a game winning home run (inside the park) and now it's on to football.

Hannah comes with us to the games and appropriately cheers for her big brother and yells at anyone else who is not cheering for her big brother.

Mindy had girls camp and is happy to be done with that.....again.  She is still baking and has a blog out there somewhere with some really cool pictures of some of the stuff she has thrown together.

I ran a marathon in Utah on June 11.  It was a bad idea when I thought of it and it was a bad idea when I was running it and it was a bad idea for about a week after I was finished.  I will never run again.  Not if there is a fire.  Not if there is a riot.  Not if a car comes zooming at me.  Never.

And that's all.

July 2011 - Cannon, Cassie

Family- It's official!  I am finally done!  I am  now a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the state of California.  I will now only respond to the name "PSY24315."  The coolest thing ever?  If you look on the California Board of Psychology website under "License Verification" and look up "Cannon,"  you will find Dad, Aaron and me. 

What's next?  I'm looking at my options and taking my time in making a decision.  Fortunately I like       my job and they're not rushing me out of here quite yet.  Hope all is well with the rest of the family!

-PSY24315

July 2011 - Haupt, Levi & Torrie & Family

We have re-surfaced; It feels like we haven’t stopped since moving back to the West coast. We are officially in our first home.  We closed on May 19^th, over Memorial weekend we went down to see Levi’s youngest brother, Jordan, off on his mission to Minneapolis. We headed back that Tuesday and were officially moved in by the first of June. It’s a wonderful home in a nice neighborhood. We have been busy painting and have greatly enjoyed the help of Reuben, another brother of Levi and his wife Chantile. They have been staying with us for a while now and will be with us through part of August. They have gotten us "hooked" on geocaching! Using GPS coordinates you locate "treasures", you take a trinket and you leave a trinket and you log that you've found it, both online and in the logbook. the girls love it and our rainboots have come in handy bushwacking through the various gulches. We tried to start our our own cache but its ended up going out to sea. We also have visited the tide pools and had fun learning about the different marine life around us.     

Levi and Reuben are gearing up to ride in the “STP”, a bicycle ride from Seattle to Portland. Their dad has been doing it for 10 years and has convinced them to join in doing it “Mormon” style, meaning all 200+ miles in ONE day. Hopefully you’ll hear from us next month.

Emma is 5, as she reminds us daily, and can’t wait to start Kindergarten, she’ll be going half-day starting September 7th. Charlotte is trying to keep up with her big Sis and is very put out that its NOT her birthday yet.  They sure do love their dad and there are days that I wished I had gotten the Master’s degree, Charlotte has already told me to get a job so that daddy can stay home. RUNT.  I know they love me too, most of the time.

We are continuing to enjoy the gorgeous surroundings and moderate temperatures. If any of you get tired of the smog, the arid climate, the deserty surroundings you know who to call……

Oh, and Grandpa, you need to pick up your phone when someone ( grand and great-grand kids) calls you for Father's Day.

We love you all.

Until next month

Charlotte, Emma, Levi and Torrie

Tide pools with Aunt Channi

gotta love that new home "honey-do" list

Charlotte logging our geocaching adventures

Emma finding geocaches

July 2011 - McClintock, Robert & Susan

What a terrific June The McClintock had. There was no spring so the Carmichael land-grant jumped into hot weather briefly.

A visit to Idaho/Utah to fix Grandma's Church Family History information brought enlightenment, inspiration, and tons of fun.
Kristy and Susan found themselves on the wrong city Trax train at 10 o'clock at night. Instead of heading for Sandy they found themselves up at the U of U, which no loyal BYU grad
would ever want to do without a bevy of other BYU folk about. (Sorry Kelly.) They eventually got headed back on the right train. How did it happen you asked? See the next paragraph!
Visiting with Kristy, Todd, Kelly, and Jilina can best be described as a 'gab fest'. Visiting with Aunt Ina and Uncle Eldon can best be described as a Woodward-style 'gab fest.' Visiting with Aunt Bonnie was very touching and a Nielsen-style 'gab fest.' Visiting with Aunt Clarice, Uncle John, Tom, Jill, Bill, and Louise was an all out Nielson-Condie Curse 'gab fest.' Catching up on family news and seeing the spirit work in each one's life cannot be
described, but The McClintock can invite you to inquire, through the spirit, regarding the commission and results of the journey.

Accompanying this submission is a picture of Aunt Bonnie in the Logan Nursing home and a picture of Grandma Corene's school which has been moved to the corner of the Preston city park and awaits renovation into a museum. (I don't think Grandma would particularly like that designation but
since she is on the other side with some of her school mates, who knows..they might be cheering.)
Also attached is a picture of Emily and Justin during the McClintock's visit with them on Memorial Day Weekend.

Aunt Bonnie is entirely dependent upon the nursing home to feed, bath, cloth, and move her. She can move forward and backward in a sitting position and that's it. She turns the pages of books and magazines with her tongue. While we were visiting with her sweet tears flowed and we had to 'mop her up' as she described it. You can call her and visit on the phone, which she loves. To do so one must tell the Nursing Home staff to put on her phone head-set.

The remainder of June was the usual church work, yard work, house work, and work-work.

Here's wishing you all a happy July.

The McClintock

Aunt Bonnie and Aunt Kristy

Emily and Justin visiting

Onida Stake Acadamy

July 2011- Westover, Mel & Carol

Hi family!  We hope that you are enjoying your summer.  I know that we are.  It is nice to be on vacation, although I do get involved in numerous projects at home that sometimes seems more like work than a project.  Mel and I just got back from our ACN convention in San Jose.  It was awesome!  ACN is also going into energy, so expect us to ask you for a favor! 

A couple of weekends ago I got to do grandma duty.  I had Adam and Erica's four little girls so that the parents could have some time away at the coast.  We had a great time together and it only took me two days to recover. 

It has also been a sad couple of months.  Sis. Maxine Jones passed away May 30, after fighting cancer for 20 years.  We also had some other ward members pass away.  I guess it is considered the Circle of Life.  Thank goodness for the Gospel.

I also love keeping in touch with all of you on facebook.  Now we just need to get dad to join us.  I'll bet that he doesn't even know that I used his military picture for my profile picture for Father's Day.

We love you all.  Have a safe and wonderful July!

Mel and Carol

July 2011 - Woodward, Kevin & Tammy & Family

Dear Family:

We had a rather eventful month of June.  On Saturday the 4th, I had the privilege of having lunch with Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve and Elder W. Christopher Waddell of the Seventy at the home of President Mark McConkie of the neighboring Colorado Springs Stake.  They were having their stake conference that weekend, and Elder Andersen and President McConkie were very gracious in making time to invite the other two stake presidents in the area and myself for a 2-hour gathering.  Elder Andersen was delightful.  As a bit of trivia, he told us that when he proposed to his wife, before she answered in the affirmative, she asked him if we would be willing to live in Florida, the place where she was from and where her family then lived.  That's where they spent their entire married life prior to his call as a General Authority.  In comparing notes with Elder Waddell, I remember meeting him and his wife when they were first married, since he married the daughter of a family Tammy and I knew well in the Palos Verdes Stake back in the mid-80s.

We had our annual stake Girls Camp during the first week of June.  I, along with our stake presidency and most of our bishops, were able to spend the week with our Young Women.  We started that week with a two-day backpacking excursion with our 4th year YW in the Lost Creek Wilderness area about 90 minutes west of where we live.  We spent the balance of the time at our stake Camp Joseph in the Sange de Cristo mountains in southern Colorado.  The Girls Camp experience set the stage for preparation for our quadrennial pioneer trek scheduled for July to Rocky Ridge and Martin's Cove, Wyoming.

In late June, we held a Sunday evening stake fireside featuring three women who came to speak to the membership about the pioneers in the Willie and Martin handcart companies.  Two of the women are younger sisters of Marjorie Pay Hinckley, wife of President Gordon B. Hinckley.  They spoke of their pioneer heritage, namely the Goble and Pay families.  The other woman, Jolene S. Allphin, is the author of a work entitled "Tell My Story Too."  http://tellmystorytoo.com/books/tell-my-story-too-jolene-s-allphin  Earlier in the day I met Sister Allphin at one of our ward sacrament meetings.  I introduced myself, and immediately she asked if I was related to William Woodward.  I told her that William was my great-great grandfather.  She proceeded to tell me stories of William Woodward related to the Willie Handcart Company for which he served as a captain of a hundred.  Later during our conversation, the subject of Preston, Idaho came up.  I told her that my mother was from Preston, and that her maiden name was Condie.  She ask me if I was related to Gibson Condie.  I told her that Gibson Condie was my great-great grandfather also.  She then told me stories of Gibson Condie (rescuer) and Elizabeth Robison Condie who along with her sister and mother were members of the Martin Handcart Company.  Elizabeth and here family were rescued by Gibson.  They were married three months later (February 1857) by President Brigham Young in the endowment house.

During the course of our fireside that evening, Sister Allphin asked if I would come join her for a few moments at the pulpit.  She then shared these and other stories of William Woodward, Gibson Condie and Elizabeth Robinson, some with which I was not familiar.  What amazed me was her command of so many biographical sketches of these pioneers.  She was able to share a number of stories about pioneers who were related to other members of the stake.  It was indeed an inspiring event.  As a Woodward family, we each share a rich pioneer heritage.

We love you and wish you the very best during the month of July.

The Woodwards      

At the McConkie Home