Friday, September 7, 2007

Allen Family News September 2007


We should never permit ourselves to do anything that we are not willing to see our children do.
Brigham Young

Jeanne & Sid Stephenson

So glad we can share a few thoughts with each other through our newsletters each month….thanks Stephanie, for making it possible. One of the fun things that occurred in our lives happened just this week as Sherri sent out a little quiz for several of us to take. As I have received copies of the quiz and the answers from my children, I feel like I know them just a little better than before…. not to mention I have had a few laughs as well. If some of you haven’t shared them with me yet, please pass them on.

We were lucky enough to have Stephanie and Dave come and visit when Dave’s brother got married August 11th. We always enjoy their company and anyone else who will come. The boys were adorable as usual.

I can’t say thanks enough for the wonderful reunion we had at the Plummer’s home in early August. Weren’t they the greatest hosts??? All of the activities were so well thought out and assignments were done ‘par excellence’. Thanks to each of you for your role in making it so successful and enjoyable. I know that many made great sacrifices to be there and I appreciate all the effort you put forth. It was especially nice that Derek’s homecoming and Sydney’s blessing could be included in the week’s activities. How blessed we are to have the family we have…and potential members as well. We love them all! Sid and I don’t have lots of activity in our lives, so we really have to ‘bellow’ when we do. We’ll be talking about the reunion for as long as anybody will listen.

We’re looking forward to a visit from Sandie and Neil next weekend now that summer camp is over. They always bring sunshine into our lives. We have a quick trip planned to Texas to see the Farnsworth’s and Oelkers… some more of out favorite people. We also have a trip planned to Idaho in September and are looking forward to being with Stacy, Greg and family. We surely enjoy being around them. Hope life is beautiful for all of you.

Love, MOM and SID


Sandie & Neil Taft

It was so great being around all of you at the reunion. It is fun to see how the children grow up even though the parents don't seem to grow any older??!!! Sherri and Spencer were very good sports to have all of us in the beautiful home.

Neil and I are still waiting to find out if we are moving to Utah. Hopefully when we find out the news, they will give us a little notice. Maybe it will be after all the electrical is installed underground this winter. Should make the camp a little easier to manage. Every wind or storm branches seem to break and knock out power or phone lines. Thank goodness for good surge protectors!!!

Neil and I are also very busy with our Church callings also. We love our Ward and Stake and feel like we work with the most amazing talented people. I am still with Dr Gordon and learning more each day. He is brilliant and it is like going back to college to be with him.

Meela and Ben are hard workers and both stay very busy with their jobs. They are happiest when they are around each other. Kris and Allison and their family are going great. They have just spent a few days fishing and just being together. The children are excited to be back in school. Kari and Jeremy work hard and both enjoy every minute they spend with Curtis. He weighs 18 lbs now is walking all over the place.

We thank the Lord everyday for such a wonderful family

Sue & Scott Oelkers

This has been the summer of repair. New walls, new ceilings, new carpet, new paint, new plants outside and now sprinklers that work! We are so happy with all our new beginnings just in time for our new beginnings of football, baseball, marching band and school.

We spent a couple of weeks in Minnesota for the boys to complete a wrestling camp at the University of Minnesota. Of course we had just completed a wrestling camp at UNT. Marc also had baseball camp, scout camp. Marshall spent most of his summer at High Adventure (which they refer to as low adventure) and Philmont Scout Camp for two weeks of hiking and backpacking. He also had band camp, drum line camp, drum line sectionals, a correspondence Spanish class (still working on) and yet was able to save a few days before school to complete his summer projects due the first day of school. Me? Well, I was busy running the boys everywhere they needed to be, several times a day!


Marc and I enjoyed our unexpected trip to Utah for the family reunion. I am so happy that it was able to work out for us. It was so much fun being able to be with everyone and laughing, playing and just spending time! I really loved being with my family. Thanks!

Scott, Megan and Myles just worked the summer away. Megan was able to work with Scott this summer. I think she liked it better when her dad was in town. Scott traveled to Asia several times this summer. He was able to fit in a bit of golf with his brothers and he went to the US Open this year with a friend for father’s day! He says it’s the best father’s day gift he ever gave to himself! Megan and Myles took a summer school class together. They both said it was the most worthless class, but hey, they got their humanities credits for it. Not all bad.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ve got my next Taxi run to make! Love ya!

Stacy & Greg Hansen

August was a really fun month for our family. We started off August with
the reunion. It was incredible to see all of you. Thanks for making the
effort to keep our family close even though we live far away frrom each
other. My children loved it & really had a good chance to get to know
everyone better. That is really important to me. After the reunion we got
the chance to stay home for awhile (YEA!). Greg & I had the opportunity to
go to the parade of homes in SLC with people from his work. It was a lot of
fun even though we were kind of dissapointed in most of the homes. Madelyn
took a little ballet in August & tried out for the Dance Depot dance team &
made it! She is really excited for this great opportunity. Lucky for her,
most of her friends that tried out made it also. This will be a great
experience for her even if it means a little more carpooling for me. I love
to do it though. Koby turned 16 on August 14th. I asked him if he wanted
to have a party & he said he would rather go on a date. So a few days after
his birthday he took out a really cute from our old ward. They had a
lot of fun! It is weird having a child that old. Koby & Maddie started
school last week & have really enjoyed it. Maddie is in 4th grade & Koby is
starting his junior year. Koby is taking some tough classes like honors
pre-calculus (something that I can't help him with if he gets lost), debate,
US history, English, Drama (YEA!), Debate , Seminary & robotics. Koby has
already been practicing his debate skills. I think he will have a great
year. Koby's drama teacher actually took Drama with Greg at Woodscross High
School so his teacher already loves him. That class should actually help
him with debate too. I took a mini vacation to Las Vegas with one of my
friends from college (Christine). We went over the weekend to the Celine
Dion concert. It really was fun! We got to eat at fun places like the
Venetian right on the canal & the Paris buffet. We even went to church with
a friend of mine that lives in Vegas at these two darling missionaries
spoke. I love missionaries! It was a great trip! To top off all the
excitement, Greg & I met Shelly & Dave for dinner in SLC and we all went to
the Josh Groban concert together. It was incredible. He really puts on a
great concert! Thanks to Shelly & Dave, we were really close to the stage
(they switched us tickets). Sherri thoughtfully watched Emma so we could
go. Emma can't wait to start her preschool & dance class next week. I
really am lucky to stay home with her! She makes me happy. I love being a
mom & have to say I have great children. I am thankful for that. I hope
all of you are doing well & staying happy. I love you all & feel so
grateful that I have the best family in the world!

Love, Greg, Stacy, Koby, Madelyn, & Emma


Dave & Stephanie Farnsworth

Well August was a busy month for our family. We spent most of it on vacation and enjoyed it so much! We started the month in Utah. We played with cousins, went to Lagoon, and enjoyed an amazing family reunion in Fruit Heights. It was so much for for adults and kids alike and we stayed up way too late, ate too much, and laughed until we cried! We played a family baseball game, rode horses, had water fights, & relaxed (just a little). As a family we feel so strongly about building family relationships and appreciate so much the effort that went into making it a wonderful time.
Right after our two week vacation to Utah the kids and I went to Arizona & met Dave for Steve & Amanda's wedding (thanks to Kathy for getting us there). It was wonderful to be together with everyone. Austin, Chase & Blake enjoyed so much being with all of their cousins too. We look forward to a day when those get-togethers aren't so rare. We are so happy for Steve & Amanda and were so happy to be a part of that wonderful day.
After returning home from our incredibly long trip we had laundry & endless tasks to accomplish. After some hard work we got the kids ready to start school & for a new semester to begin.
Dave has been working hard to finish his thesis research on the use of mini screws. He has been working on rabbits and has put many long hours to make the project work & had failed a few times and has head back to the drawing board. He thinks he has finally ironed out all of the problems and is headed for a successful research project. He is enjoying a years worth of straightening teeth and has taken off some of his first patients braces. He loves what he does and works so hard to be the best at what he does.
I am still trying to get into a groove with the kids school schedules. This means new charts, new lists & new routines. I was so sad to send Austin off to all day kindergarten & was even more sad to know that he was not only capable of being independent all day long but he liked being it too!!!! I have been working hard in primary for an upcoming primary activity "Come listen to a prophets voice" to teach the children about some ancient prophets and help them get excited to watch our living prophet at conference time. It is SO much work, but I have had so much fun working with the kids. I also finished this month writing the Sacrament meeting presentation. Hopefully most of the busy work for primary is done for a few months! Now that school is officially in and meet the teacher & parent orientations are finished I have been able to get so much more done! Book club, scrapbooking, & other hobbies took a back seat and I am ready to dive in. Hopefully I will be able to get back into the swing of things soon!
Austin started all day kindergarten this month and feels so big. He has already made a new friend everyday he has been at school (this has been his goal he makes every morning at breakfast) I miss having his sweet personality around the house all day long and have tried so hard to make the few hours he is home at night really count. He is so good about getting up and practicing his piano & doing his chores & homework when he gets home. I have no idea how he grew up so fast. Austin also started baseball this month. He is loving coach pitch and is such a natural.
Chase started preschool this month as well and feels "big like Austy". He has the teacher Austin had last year so she knows and loves Chase already. Chase is such a sweet boy and loves "Bwakey" so much and helps take care of him when he is home. We always laugh at the things Chase says. His latest items are "I want to live in.... (that car, the gym, that pool, that tree, those shoes, that church, etc)". When Chasey gets mad now at anything he says "I hate...(our car, the gym, our house, etc)". You can see how Chase teeters back and forth from loving something so much he wants to live in or on it and hating it. He is one funny little boy!
Blake is SO big. He runs everywhere. He LOVES to sing and is found often just singing "Da, da, da, da, da" and we can almost make out the tune he is singing to. He is so happy all of the time and enjoys playing and wrestling with his brothers. He is already (at 1) proficient with a light saber and will occasionally use the force when necessary. He says some fun words now and still uses sign language for things like "more, down, & drink". He has added so much to our family and we love him so much.
We hope this finds all of you well and happy!
The Dave Farnsworth Family