R's Family Update

S1 and I were recently called to serve for 6 months in the nursery in addition to our regular church callings (S1 as ward clerk, me as Stake RS Secretary). We are actually in seperate nursery classes, each with 9 children and each serving with one other adult. It is fun to do the lessons, and we even "prepare" those lessons together.

J1 is a senior in high school this year. He is busy with work, school, and studying for the ACT and SAT tests that will help him get into a great college (and maybe even earn him a scholarship!!) He recently asked a girl to homecoming. She hasn't responded yet, but who wouldn't want to go to a dance with such a nice young man? J1 drives the old '89 Honda to school each morning, and he is nice enough to take S2 along with him!

S2 is also in high school and she tried out for a spot on the soccer team this summer. She earned a spot on the varsity team, and has played very well so far this season. The team (go Mountain View Mavericks!!) has yet to lose a game. She seems to be enjoying her school experience (math teacher is a little wack-o) and she is working on finishing up the requirements for her Young Women medallion.

H is a 7th grader at Lewis and Clark Middle School. She is running cross country again this year, and at her first meet she ran a mile and a half in 13 minutes, 38 seconds; faster than any of her times last year!! We are excited to see what she will do in the meets to come. She is enjoying school and even likes her math teacher, Mr. Ruhl (pronounced Rule). She is also kept busy practicing her violin and the piano. She loves being twelve and in young women.

E is in 5th grade, her final year in elementary school! She has a tough teacher (nice, but strict) who used to teach at a catholic school. She expects her students to walk to the bus at the end of the school day in two straight lines behind her (kind of sounds like Miss Clavelle in the "Madeline" books!!) E does well in her grades and she still reads and reads and reads!!! She is also involved in soccer and has moved up to a slightly more competitive level. Her coach used to coach S2, and even commented that E is starting to look a lot like S2 as far as her playing ability goes! (We hope that is a positive comment--just kidding, S2!)

SH is a first-grader and she enjoys school. She is an excellent reader and she enjoys math and recess. She rode her bike to school one day, and walked another. The bus is the easiest way to get to school, though. SH loves to play soccer and is very good at scoring goals and cheering for her teammates. When she isn't actually in the game, she is jumping up and down on the sidelines and shouting encouragement to her friends on the field. It is really cute!

J2 is kept quite busy being the lone child home with me all day long. We play cars, jump on the tramp, play cars, play in the sandbox, play cars, watch movies, play cars...well, you get the picture! He is so fun. The other day we were shopping for groceries at Winco and we passed a mentally handicapped man in a wheelchair. He muttered something like "Give me 5" and held his hand out for J2 to slap. J2 did so, and the man grinned really big and gave him the thumbs-up sign. J2 returned the thumbs up, and touched his thumb to the thumb of the man (our version of the high 5). This made him smile even more!!! It was so cute!!

As far as family activities, our favorite activity was traveling back East to visit all the church history sites and New York, Phildelphia, Washington DC, Niagra Falls, and Six Flags in Chicago! We took lots of pictures and have lots of fond memories. What an awesome vacation! We also camped out in our back yard over the Labor Day weekend--complete with tinfoil dinners and s'mores baked over the coals!!! The nice part was the flush toilets and the warm showers!!