Update from California

Hi Family!

First, Congratulations Brittany on your engagement!!! I love the pictures of you and Stuart - you look happy deep down to your soul. I'm so happy for you both! I will see you in January... YAY! =D

It's been busy over the last couple of months. Shortly after the reunion (which was awesome, by the way - we loved seeing everyone!) I began my fall semester. I chose to take two of my classes as short-term classes so my holidays wouldn't get over-run with homework. While I am happy with that decision, those 8 weeks were filled with twice as much homework as usual, and Jason and I are BOTH glad that they are over. I am happy to report that I got A's in both classes. One of my professors even posted: "All in all most of you did well: Brittany Paine took high mark for the course--good job!!!" That made me feel like the hours I spent on my assignments were justified.

Throughout the school madness I also tried to keep up with my training for the run on October 21-22 that Jason and I happily signed up for again - Ragnar Relay, Las Vegas. We didn't train last year, and we walked funny for a week after returning home. We wanted to contribute better mile times to our team this year AND do the run with less discomfort during and after the race, so we actually started training at the beginning of the summer this time. Jason ran his 15.7 miles with an average mile pace of 7min 06sec, and I managed to run my 11.8 miles with an average mile pace of 8min 45sec, a HUGE improvement from last year's 10min+ mile pace! =) We had an awesome team, once again, and had a blast! Here's this year's team video so you can get an insider's look at what we did:

RAGNAR RELAY - LAS VEGAS 2011 from Ryan Southwell on Vimeo.

We plan on doing the Ragnar Relay again next year. =)

Shortly after the Ragnar, Jason started his fall semester. His class is once a week on Thursday for four hours and goes until mid-December, when my last class finishes up as well. Jason realized just this week that this class means he will be missing Thursday-night football for the rest of the year, and he is disappointed, but he'll stick it out anyway. ;-)

Work has been going well for both of us. Jason's on a work trip in Sacramento for a convention right now, and I have my very first piano recital coming up on December 3 for my 14 piano students.

Jason is still the Elder's Quorum Secretary and is trying to come up with ideas for the next EQ activity (the Fantasy Football thing was a hit). I'm wrapping up the year in Primary with my Primary kids who are now all 8 years old. The last one is getting baptized the second Saturday in December. I am so proud of them. I have really grown to love these kids. I had this same class when they were CTR 5's-turning-6, so I've gotten to know them really well over 2 years.

I am thankful for grandma and grandpa's example to us as they serve a mission. I know our family will be richly blessed by their service. I was indecisive about what to put as my favorite hymn at the reunion, so I never wrote anything, but I will say now that my favorite hymn is "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." When I sing the words I feel as if I am singing my own personal testimony.

Love and Hugs!
Brittany and Jason

Dear Family, Here we are October 16 about ready to head off for england. We just experienced a wonderful week at the MTC. I felt I was in the world but not of the world. It was great to be with people who have all the same goals as ourselves.
We leared so much. They tried to teach us how to share the gospel and invite people to come unto Christ.

They have a new building that they just finished where they have the senior missionaries stay. We were the first ones to stay in our room. The building is located on the north end of the MTC campus. Our floor was the third floor. It also houses the book store, postoffice, cleaners, etc. They even have an excercise room there with a few exercise machines in it. In the basement they have a whole room full of excercise machines.

We would get up at 6 am each morning and go exercise for a half hour. Then we would get showered and dressed and head off for the cafeteria for breakfast. I had forgotten how much food 19 year old boys can eat. It is amazing how much they can get on a small tray. We were never hungry while we were there. There are tons of choices and lots of yummy food. Dad gained a couple of pounds in a week.

We usually met for a big meeting at 8:00 for about an hour and then we were divided up in zones and met in classes with newly returned missionaries as teachers. The teachers were awesome and taught us a lot. After a few classes we returned to the cafeteria for lunch. After lunch we sometimes had a big meeting or we returned to our classes. They have volunteers come in and pretend to be nonmembers or inactives and we were supposed to teach them. First we were supposed to find out their needs and fit a lesson around that. We learned that we teach people not lessons. It was a little scary at times trying to figure out what and how to teach. Our
teachers always told us we did a good job. Hopefully we did. After class it was back to the cafeteria for dinner. The rest of the evening we were supposed to study for the next day. We found that we were ready to go to bed pretty early.

It was a wonderful experience and as the time drew near for us to leave we just didn't want to go. The spirit is so strong there. We arrived home after visited with Brittany and Stuart. Congratulations to the two of you. We are sad we won't be here for the happy day. We arrived home and began to pack and get ready for the journey to England.

When we think about leaving all of you and missing all the good things that will be happening while we are gone we get sad, but we know we and all of you will be blessed because we are serving our Heavenly Father.

NE Hillsboro Update

We LOVE LOVE LOVED seeing all of you at the Reunion. It was a nice week. Our kids were in "cousin heaven."

We were happy to see our home after being away for 17 days. Our garden was a jungle though. We had lots of zucchini awaiting us. Unfortunately, it's been a cool summer, so no red tomatoes yet. (We just had our first day OF THE YEAR over 90 degrees on the weekend. We are still waiting for red tomatoes. Isn't that crazy??)

We got home in time for Jason to go to Cub Camp. He loved every minute! Plus, he got a special treat as Ryan's Pack was there the same week.

We've just enjoyed the little things this summer: swimming at the local pool, family bike rides to the library, playing with friends, arts and crafts, lunch with Dad (it's nice that Chad can come home for lunch!), and playing lots of games. Matt made a goal to learn EVERY game that we own. (It's kept us quite busy. :) )

We LOVED having Pauline and the kids come for a week and were glad that Terry could also come for a couple of days. We had a GREAT time with them. Kira, Elijah, and Makell went to EFY at the Stake Center by our house everyday from 9-9. We liked hearing about their adventures each day. (AND you should see Elijah's new sweet dance moves!!) We played, shopped, and stayed up late. The kids were entertained for HOURS and HOURS doing "melting beads." Who would have thunk it?

Soccer has now started. Crazy! All four kids are playing. We are enjoying and relishing our last couple of weeks of summer as we hear about the Utahns going back to school. Hope it's a great school year for everyone!

And Then There Were 4

Thanks Julie for the reminder about posting.

So, things are getting pretty quiet at our house. On Saturday we took Kelsey up to Utah State and got her settled in. She came back that weekend to attend a farewell, but she is gone again. We only have four kids in the house now. Pretty strange. With school starting today it was pretty quiet. I worked at home to keep Lynette company. :)

We will soon have someone else home to help fill in the space. This past week we received Nate's release date in the mail. It was kind of cool to get that. It felt a lot closer and more real even though he still has a quarter of a year. He will be released on November 22. Funny thing is that we found out Zach's release date as well even though he has quite a while left. He will be released on February 7.

Just as everyone seems to be leaving we are starting to get our basement finished. We are close to having the bathroom done. We hope we can get the great room done before the end of the year. We will see how that goes. Once those two things are done then everything will be finish (except of course for the storage room).

As mentioned everyone is back in school now. They had a good first day. Anna continues to have hard classes. She has AP Lit and AP Calculus this year. The Calculus class is with an infamous teacher. Anna has made it through one year with that teacher, so she can do it again. She is a good teacher, just very hard.

Tyson is in eighth grade this year. Brianna is the Queen of her school since she is in sixth. Max really likes his teacher as well.

We hope everyone is doing well.

Eagle Mountain Update

Hello, Everyone--


BRITT and Jason are doing well in CA, though I've only texted Britt, so I don't have details on much (other than that she's trying to work out a ride to come and visit here in September over Labor Day week.)

AUDREY is moving out on Friday (party at MY house on Saturday--haha--just kiddin'), and is counting down 'til she escapes the life of confinement she's been living and sails into the blissful sea of independence (double haha--I'm guessing she'll like us a LOT better within a few months =). She also begins her f/t college classes August 29th.

JAMES is dreading school beginning (August 23rd). He has managed quite well to avoid learning much of anything this summer, although I must admit that he has almost perfected his dish-washing/counter-wiping skills. Those will be of great benefit with Audrey moving out: we need his hands to help with KP when school starts again. Today, James was set apart to be the Teacher's Quorum Secretary, and he's quite excited. (Now that I think about it, perhaps his excitement was the result of noticing that he can now look DOWN on his dad's bald spot?)

KATIE now has all of her uniform clothes for her first year of middle school at Dave's (private LDS) school. She makes a gagging noise when someone mentions it, but when we were shopping for the shirts, she picked out a few hair "things" to go with the uniforms, and she wears the sweats (embroidered with the school logo) constantly (it's relatively chilly in our basement). She has done a FABULOUS job learning to clean to my spec's this summer: it helped that she did NOT try to avoid such learning experiences! I am sooo grateful that she'll be here to help this school year--again, with KP duty especially.

ISAAC has enjoyed the summer library trips, reading and drawing each day, but alas, has given a middling amount of effort learning to clean "things." One notable exception was cleaning the bathroom: he was so proud he showed his dad as SOON as Dave walked in the door from his summer-school gig. He and I have enjoyed our time together this summer, and it's bittersweet to have him tell me he wishes school wouldn't start so I could be here more with him. Ah, well....

DAVE finished his two summer school classes last Friday, which means he has two weeks to get everything together for teaching his core classes this year: English and World History (9th grade) and Yearbook. He's excited to have Katie going with him every day, and SWEARS he'll be home by 4p to get the kids a) working on homework/chores, and b) have dinner ready by 5:30p. He's figuring I'll be stressed out, and he's probably right. ("If I only had [his] brain"--while working f/t and being in grad school f/t--I would be fine!) He plans on going golfing with Dad sometime over the next two weeks before his school begins (August 30th). He also just bought some aluminum wire so he can make himself a chain-mail shirt this fall--sounds fun, right?

As for ME--here's your laugh of the hour: I am attending MATH CAMP Monday through Thursday this week! Yes, in only 8 hours a day, for four days, I will be completely reviewing all 16 chapters of the semester-long College Algebra text (gulp). Friday, I'll be helping Audrey move in and prepping my room/self for the first day of class at my school, Monday, August 22nd. Then, August 23rd-24th, I'll be at school 'til 4p and driving to Provo for my MPA Orientation nights (5-10p). Back to School Night (at my school) is Thursday, August 25th, from 6-8p. I did tell Dave that I'd do this "double whammy" deal through the semester (December break, really) and possibly quit at that point, depending on whether or not I sense a nervous breakdown coming on. If I tell myself I have a choice--even if it's not much of one--the semester doesn't seem so daunting. (If you happen to know any other mind tricks I might be able to play on myself, feel free to email them to me!)

You're all in our thoughts and prayers--it was good to see you all at the Reunion--

Elizabeth "Libby" Hancock

April/May Catch-Up Post

Hi Family!

I feel I have somewhat neglected this blog this last month, but there is a lot to tell!

I got to take a surprise trip to Utah in April by hitching a ride with a cousin who was traveling that way anyway. I also drove back with her, and so only got to stay for a few days, but I was grateful for at least a short visit! I am very much looking forward to the Reunion. =D

April is the month of Jason's birthday and our anniversary, so to celebrate both we took a trip to Vegas! We started off the trip with a visit to the Las Vegas Temple, which we'd never been to. After the session we enjoyed a scrumptious meal at Buca Di Beppo and then checked into our room at the Venetian, where we were given 3 free nights (!!!). The weekend was packed, as we were determined to walk the entire Strip and catch all the free shows. We were also able to see The Lion King at Mandalay Bay, which was awesome - the costumes were incredible!!! On the way home (sort of) we decided to visit the Hoover Dam also. For pictures, go to my Facebook album "Our Second Anniversary and Jason's B-Day Celebrations."

This month I finished school until the fall (the community college I am currently attending canceled all the summer classes due to budget cuts) so I have decided to enjoy the time off and sew, sew, sew! I have lots of projects lined up. Here's a picture of the project I just finished (for more detailed pictures see my Facebook album "My Craft Projects"):



I also replanted everything that the snails ate in my garden, and took preventative measures this time. So far everything is growing quite well. The garden includes peppers, onions, tomatoes, herbs (can you tell Jason wants to make more salsa?), squash, zucchini, beans, grapes, and some random kind of berry given to us by a lady in the ward. Jason and I are still working, of course, and Jason's schedule has been a bit nuts this month, but we're grateful for the extra work! I'm up to seven piano students. I also baby-sit on occasion, since I have the time to help.

I guess the only other thing to mention is that we spent Memorial Day in Big Bear garage sailing and enjoying cabin life and games. It was nice to "get away" for a weekend. =)

We Love and Miss You All,
Brittany & Jason

Hello Everyone, Where is the time going. We can't believe it is already May. We wanted to update everyone on what we've been doing. We have been enjoying retirement especially Dad/Grandpa. He doesn't get to sleep in very much though, because we get up at 6:30 every morning to go to the gym. We are trying to get healthy for the mission. We are doing pretty good. We have both been to the doctor and we passed our exams. The mission papers are almost ready to go. Mom/Grandma still needs to finish her dental work (which she is so excited about.) It should all be done this week. The bishop and stake president needs to meet with us and then we will be ready to submit the papers. Hopefully we will be able to open our call at the reunion. That is our plan. Everyone keeps asking us where we want to go, but we are just going to go where the Lord needs us. We are getting pretty excited.

Since this is the last year Jared will be dancing for BYU, we have been going to some of his concerts. They have put on some really entertaining performances. We will miss not being able to watch him dance. Right now he is Bangkok. It is really a great opportunity for him.

We are so happy to be Great Grandparents. Little Gabe is so cute. It makes us feel old but it is worth it. The next generation is starting. We were so glad we could go to his blessing. It was really special. We were all able to go to Steve and Lynette's house after the blessing and have dinner together. They had a million people there. I think everyone got fed. It makes for a big group when all the family and friends come. It was really fun.

It is hard to believe that six of our seven sons are now highpriests. Darrin recently got called into the bishopic in his ward. We were able to go to Oregon so that Dad/Grandpa could ordain him a highpriest. He was pretty nervous about the call, but we know he will do a great job. We feel so blessed that all of you are trying to live the gospel and serve in your wards. It was great seeing everyone in Oregon and spending time with the family. We were there for six days and we all had dinner together every night. Thank you Oregonites for all of your hospitality.

In February we took a little trip to San Diego. We had a really good time. We even got to see Brittany and Jason. The weather was beautiful. We spent time at the beach, went to Sea World, and relaxed. We haven't been warm since we got home. The weather in Utah has been pretty bad this year.

We were in the temple the other day, and we were talking about how blessed we are in our family. We are so looking forward to the reunion. It will be so nice to all be together for a week. We love you and miss you. Be happy and stay safe. Love, Dad/Grandpa and Mom/Grandma.

Hey Family!

I thought I'd just use the blog to let everyone know that we will be blessing Gabe this sunday. For anyone that wants to come, our church is located at 700 N and 900 E in Provo, and it is in the North chapel in that building. We have sacrament meeting last, at 2:45. We'll be getting together at my parents house afterwards. If anyone has any questions, just call me! 801.636.6095.

Love you all!

March in CA

Hi Family,

March consisted of much of the same, though there were a few mentionable things. Jason's basketball league team made it to the semi-finals, I got an A in my first-quarter class (yay!), I planted a garden that is actually GROWING (gasp), and I finished the front side of the quilt I've been working on. I think I'm going to wait until the front, batting, and back, are all basted together and I've finished the edges before I post pictures, and then you can all be impressed. ;-) We absolutely can't wait for the reunion, we miss you all.

Love and Hugs,
Brittany and Jason

Hillsborito Update - the Other ones

Chad's been feeling the pressure...all these families posting...but not us.  He's been trying to "inspire" me to get on the ball and write.  Not sure why he doesn't just do it himself.  He gave me the option of writing the blog or doing the taxes.  Nuf said.  I'm GLADLY writing the blog.

If you heard a collective sigh last Thursday, it was because we FINALLY finished basketball season at this house.  Trevor's season went from December to January.  Matt's season was from November to March.  We were getting in a LOT of basketball.  Watching a LOT of basketball games.  Good thing it's a sport we love to watch.

Trevor had a great basketball coach who worked really well with the boys.  Trev had a great experience and improved his skills.  Trevor is doing great in school.  He is definitely becoming a teenager...in every way.  Moving to the new house has been great for him: he likes his friends, has lots of good friends, and enjoys middle school.

When Matt first made the competitive team, I had a feeling in my heart that this would be an important experience for him.  I THOUGHT it would be that he would learn more about basketball and gain some important basketball skills.  However, I was wrong about the lessons he (and we!) were going to learn.  He did learn a lot about basketball, but he also learned many important LIFE SKILLS (the hard way: through blood, sweat, and tears--sometimes LOTS of tears).  He learned how to pick up the pieces when life doesn't happen like you think it should.  He learned how to be positive when it's hard to FIND the positive.  He learned that hard work isn't always rewarded immediately, if at all.  He learned how to give your all even if you only get 2 minutes to give it.  It was a tough season, but he learned some life skills that will probably be useful in the years to come.  We're glad that he still loves basketball and wants to keep playing.

Jason is a piano-playing-maniac.  Seriously, he can't walk by the piano without playing it.  We got a keyboard at Christmas, so now he can play to his heart's content (with earphones on).  I rarely have to remind him to practice the piano (usually I just have to remind him to practice his assigned songs...).  It's great that he has found something he loves.

After weeks of Jenna complaining that "even babies know how to read" (thanks a lot, TV commercials!), Chad and I have taken a more serious effort to teach that girl how to read.  She's pretty proud of her budding reading skills.  As part of our FHE, we have a family member share their testimony.  Jenna surprised us last Sunday with a "Primary Presentation" of her testimony.  She had drawn pictures of "things she knows" on notecards.  Then she had attached them to the whiteboard with magnets.  She had about 15 cards.  So, if ever you need a Sharing Time presentation, Jenna is ready.

Last month, Chad instituted a "kitty lock-down."  One of Trevor's friends asked why the cats couldn't leave the garage to which he replied, "We are helping them keep the Law of Chastity."  Miss Leia was seen fraternizing with a Big-Black-Bad-Bowtie Kitty (not our cat, he was big and was about his "business.").  This was 5 days before Leia's scheduled "not-going-to-be-a-momma" surgery.  Chad was going to have none of that kind of business on his sweet little kitty girl...especially BEFORE her surgery.  I think if Chad would have had a BB gun, he would have used it.  Chad was especially upset that Big-Black-Bad-Bowtie Kitty wasn't even scared of him.  So, he "grounded" the cats to keep them "pure."  I couldn't help but flashforward 10-15 years in the future.  Beware any boy who thinks of dating Chad's daughter...

Lastly, it wouldn't be a true update if I didn't mention the serious "man crush" going on at my house over a specific BYU player.  You know who it is.  Number 32.  The number of electronic hours spent learning about, watching, and re-watching anything that has to do with Jimmer Fredette has been pretty astronomical this past month.  Course, Chad has been watching him for years and waiting for the rest of the world to figure it out.  The "screeching halt" that came on Monday for BYU was devastating for our truest True Blue Fan.  Others felt it was just "raising the bar" of basketball for Jimmer.  "Let's see what Jimmer does without his tall man."  On Wednesday, Chad felt the doom of the "Empire Strikes Back."  On Saturday, he had "A New Hope."

Ok, I'm tired and it's late.  This is getting silly.  Maybe you wish I would have chosen the taxes!  Love you all.

Darrin’s fam

Well, everyone seems to posting, so we will follow suit!

Things here have been busy. 

Luke is getting to be so big.  He loves to play with his brothers and is excited to go to preschool in the fall.  He loves to go to nursery, and I’m told is the most well behaved kid in the class   He’s starting to learn his letters and loves looking for the letter “L” all over the place.  He still loves his milk and his sippy cup and would live off of only milk if we let him.  He really starting to like playing with his friends as this past week he had two playdates and loved playing with kids his own age.  He hates getting haircuts as he is screaming right now because Darrin’s barber shop is open, and it’s his turn.

Andrew just started Taekwondo a month ago and this week he graduated from a white belt to a white with a yellow stripe.  He got to break his first board which he thought was AWESOME!  Check out our blog for the video.  It was at that moment that Josh wished he was in Taekwondo too.  But for now I’m hoping to just keep that Andrew’s thing.  We registered Andrew for kindergarten yesterday.  He’s very ready as he will be 6 in September.  This year our school did all day kindergarten and I’m afraid next year they are going to switch back to half day…just my luck.  Andrew is getting to be quite independent which is nice…sometimes.  He will climb up on the counters and get whatever he needs including gum, cups, candy, etc…  If he wants to paint, he will get everything out and paint.  He especially takes advantage of this when I’m on the phone. 

Josh is almost 7.  His b-day is in 12 days.  He really wants a green fish for his b-day, so we’ll see if that happens.  Josh started piano lessons a month ago.  He really likes it, I think.  He’s learning to play by ear and play duets with his teacher.  His first piano recital is coming up on the 19th.  He really loving reading and stays up late in his bed reading.  He, too, has been having growing pains and complains about them every night.  I’m hoping they stop soon like Noah’s did.  He’s also had trouble sleeping…won’t go to bed at night and lays in bed for hours…sounds like his dad, right?? Any advice is welcome.

Kim is busy, busy.  I signed up for a new BYU Independent study class.  I passed my last one with flying colors   This one I’m taking is family finance.  It’s math and it’s harder.  I’m not a fan of math.  I got put back in YW a couple months ago.  I’m the secretary and like it a lot.  It’ll give me a good year break from scouts before we have to start scouts in our own family.  I was thinking this will be our last summer without summer camp for a long time!  I’m also trying to sew a few things this month and read few good books…there just isn’t enough time in a day for everything I want to do.

Darrin is busy with work and church.  He gets to take his sabbatical this summer, so we are having fun planning that.  I finally talked him into going on a cruise so we’ll be doing that in August.  Darrin went skiing last weekend up on Mt. Hood.  I think he’s finally walking normal…he was very sore   He’s looking to go one more time before the season ends.  Darrin won tickets for STOMP through work so we’ll be going to see them next Friday.  I’m really excited! 

Well, that’s a pretty good update. 

Love and miss you all!

love,

Kim

Hey Everyone,

Long time no type. I still haven't found a new job so I am still doing the 3,000 mile commute, Aaron has been busy so he hasn't had much time to update you on our family and Pauline....well Pauline is Pauline and over-plans and under-executes. A quick update on the family. Kira turns seventeen today. I can't believe I have a child that old. Pauline and I were discussing the other day that Kira is the same age that Pauline and I were when we first started hanging out with each other. Two more years and Pauline will officially be a Hancock longer that she was a Moreno....enough digression. We were really exited for Kira this month she won first place in Lincoln-Douglas debate at the Davis Dart tournament (Apparently this is a big tournament and with a lot of good debaters). She bounced around and was so excited (I think she slept with the trophy). Unfortunately, at the end of the month we had region. Kira didn't do as well as she wanted to and did not make it to state. I felt really bad for her.

Aaron is busy practicing for the play (Honk Jr.). He had to sing during the tryouts so he roped grandma into helping him. He did well just not as good as hoped; he did not get a lead so he was disappointed but he did get several minor parts. He did not like who they had playing the piano so he volunteered his grandmother so she gets to go to practice with him.

Elijah is being Elijah. He is driving his mother nuts because he just is not motivated to do his school work. He will just sit there and stare at his books and doesn't do anything for hours on end. When Pauline finally stumbles upon something that will motivate him he flies through the work; however, we are really struggling with finding things that motivate him. He really enjoyed being the team manager for the freshman basketball team. I am going to try to talk him into trying to do track. I am not sure what event - speed is not his strong suit - he makes Steve putting on his sock look like superman in a phone booth when he is getting dressed. But then again Steve did manage to get up and move it out when he was running. I am just flabbergasted that none our children (except Isabelle) inherited the competitive Pauline and I's competitive drive (Yes Pauline is VERY competitive - she just hides it well).

Noah is growing like a weed (my only hope for a child as tall as I am). This last month he has been suffering from growing pains. I was talking to him last night and he is very glad that his legs have finally quit hurting him. He is doing well in school except that he is suffering form a lack of confidence. He has a wonderful first grade teacher that is really helping him and now Pauline is helping in his class twice a week. He and Isabelle are booth taking dance, gymnastics and swim. Unfortunately for Noah, his little sister is doing better than he is in both classes. He is really loving his Hip Hop class (the boy can get Jiggy). He is now thinking he want to take Tae Kwon Do because he wants to be able to do the cool moves like people in the movies.

Isabelle is still "The Princess" and is very determined that she will get her way. She is working very hard on her letters and numbers. She decided that she needed to learn to read so we are working with her. She is making good progress. It has forced us to work really hard with Noah so she doesn't catch up with him. She is loving swimming and is a little fish. She is running Pauline ragged as her only playmate and I have learned not to call during playtime or I will get in trouble for interfering with imagination time. She has been labeling everything by it's nationality lately and has Pauline and I confused at were she is getting it. The other day she saw a women in a beret and said mommy she is French.

The other day we took the kids out to Virg's and ordered the ten pound hamburger. It was fun watching everybody try to eat the monster. I have included some pictures. If they don't make it - write it off to my inexperience at blogging. I hope everyone is doing well. Love TPKEANI

Hi Family!

I debated whether or not I should post, considering the fact that we will have more exciting news to post about in just a few weeks, but I thought that that particular "news" might actually be a reason for my not posting, even though it, in itself, would actually be the reason I'd have something about. It. Him. Baby.

So, here I am.

Life is good in our little corner of P-town. It's been an interesting little while, that's for sure, but we are very happy.

A month or so ago, LJ lost his job, which was a little scary considering the fact that as soon as I have this baby, I will no longer be working. He's been looking, though, and we think he's found a pretty good job tutoring student athletes and multi-cultural students.

School is marching right along, and is surprisingly not too difficult for either of us this semester. I'm taking my senior course, and finishing up some major requirements, so after this semester, I'll just have one semester of credits to fill before I graduate. I am planning on taking those classes this Fall. LJ was on track to graduate in April, but he recently decided to get a minor in business management. BYU has also recently offered a language program that certifies you to work in that particular language. It'll be a piece of cake for him to get, he just has to get into the classes. With both of those additions, it looks like he'll be graduating next December instead of April. He's planning on working for a couple years and then getting his MBA. That's the plan for now.

We're getting really excited for this baby to come. Three weeks out. I've been feeling really good, and think that I've been really blessed with how easy this pregnancy has been for me. We're almost ready--we have a place for him to sleep at least. We're just excited, and we can't believe how fast time has gone...that he'll actually be with us this month!

That's pretty much it for us, though. We'll post pictures of baby on here and on facebook for those out-of-staters who want to see him. For everyone else, we're planning on blessing him on the 10th of April (yes, I know how young he will be, but LJ's family will be here still so we wanted to bless him so that they could be here for it), and you are all invited. More details to come after he (baby) does.

We love you all, and look forward to seeing everyone this summer!

-Kaylie&LJ

Eagle Mountain Update

AUDREY has been in CA for the last week enjoying her sister and time away from frustrations here (and not just her siblings and parents, so there!). Britt and Jason have been very kind and gracious hosts and she's had a lot of fun.

JAMES, KATIE, and ISAAC: nothing new, really: Dave, James, and I met with his Scout leaders the other night and found out for sure that he only needs about 6 more Merit Badges to be ready for his Eagle Project, which we're planning to do next summer, so no sweat! (Pun intended, all you Eagle Nest inhabitants. =) Katie is turning 12 (good grief!) in April, and so I'm not going to cut her hair 'til after her birthday so she can immediately pass off a goal for "Good Works" (if she cuts it and donates it, I figure that will be a good "category"). Isaac is doing well at school--especially since his teacher finally emailed me and told me that he was needing to be a little more focused/on task (and not talk/be goofy with two particular friends). We've implemented a 1-5 measurement, with 5 being the best: his teacher emails me daily with the number of his behavior, and if it gets to a 3 he knows he'll have a looong talk with us at home.

DAVE has been asked whether he wants to be on an "Administrative" or "Teaching" track (so to speak) next year at his school; he hasn't decided yet which one he'll go for--the politics will always be there with any kind of Admin.

I had an issue at school this week that made me think (again) that small charter schools are just NOT where I want to be; I also decided that I will no longer stay later than 4p on site. (The family is happy about that, but I'm wondering when I'll be able to focus and get work done. On the other hand, maybe--as Dad once asked me--80-90% is good enough when most everyone else does 60-70%? =P ) I have FIVE BYU positions that I'm applying for this week (by March 3rd), so who knows? Sometimes I wonder if I'll be stuck teaching for longer than 3 years (my 3rd year ends in June: HALLELUAH!!!)...and sometimes I wouldn't mind, but I really, really, really wish that, if that's the case, I could do it in a public school. Ah, well...if wishes were fishes, we'd all cast nets, right? After a particularly rough Friday, I decided that I was SERIOUS about getting in shape, and, since I'm getting home at 4:30 or so, from now on, I'll spend 30 minutes before school on the elliptical machine, and 30 minutes after doing Pilates or yoga or FIRM workouts...I'm hoping that I'll feel more "in control" of my life if something is improving (mainly, my muscle tone =).
That's pretty much it for us. TAKE CARE, and know you are in our prayers daily/nightly (whichever I remember, and occasionally both =),

LOVE AND HUGS,

Lib

Greetings from CA

Hello Family!

I am happy to report that February has been MUCH better than January, and that the car is fixed. =)

My birthday was awesome! Grandma and Grandpa were in San Diego that weekend and decided to come have breakfast with me at I-Hop. Yum! It was so good to see them, especially since I'd been planning on coming to Utah in January and didn't get to and, consequently, was really missing everyone. Later in the day Jason took me to... are you ready?drum-role please... Star Trek: The Exhibition! That was tremendous amounts of fun, especially since my husband (who is NOT a Trekky by the way) actually found some of it interesting (to which I said, laughing, "that's what I've been telling you!"). Then we wandered around the Mission Inn, went to dinner, saw a movie, and ate Coldstone ice-cream. It was, as I said, awesome!!! I love my husband. <3

The week after my birthday Audrey came to stay with us. In fact, she's here now. We have to take her back to the airport tomorrow. =( It's been so fun having her here! We visited our nearby California family, introduced her to my in-laws (which was entertaining to say the least), toured the Mission Inn (Jason makes one hilarious tour-guide), went to the gym, played tennis outside where it was NOT snowing (I mention this because Audrey was quite happy and a little bit smug about it), went to John's Incredible Pizza for an all-you-can-eat buffet and arcade games, visited the San Diego Zoo, went to Seaport Village for shopping and fudge, ate at Jack and the Box (apparently there aren't any in Utah), and played lots of games. Audrey attempted to teach me to dance and "role" (I had a great teacher, but...), and Jason successfully taught Audrey how to drive a stick-shift.

Just as an update, I did find a way to get my CTR 7 class to be reverent. We came up with some class rules and agreed on some consequences and rewards. So far it has worked surprisingly well! I Love Primary.

We love you all and are looking forward to the Hancock Family Reunion this summer.

Brittany & Jason

When It Rains It Pours - Thank Goodness for "Tender Mercies"

Hi Family,

January's been a rough month for us. To start off the month, I was let go from Barnes & Noble. I have applied for upward of 25 jobs since then, and even had a couple of interviews, but so far nothing has come up. In the mean time, I am spreading the word that I teach piano. I've had two kids for a few months now, and LOVE teaching. I've added one student so far, and am scheduled to meet with a lady about two of her kids the first week of February. I figure if I end up adding enough students to my schedule I won't have to worry about finding a "real" job. That's not to say that if I happen to get a job offer and my piano schedule hasn't filled up, I won't take it - I most certainly will.

The second week of the month brought me an infection. Go figure that this would happen the week after I lost my health insurance. We'll probably have to pay for the doctor appointment, but at least the bill won't come until after Jason gets paid. Thankfully, the Lord stepped in and the pharmacist gave us a huge discount on my prescriptions, so I have them and am feeling much better!

Our car stopped working during the third week of the month. Our one and only car. Yuck. I guess that's what I get for being frustrated about having only one car (it was part of the reason I lost my job). I got mad at the situation and, even though I did TRY to see the positive side of having one car, I guess I needed some humbling. That being said, I consider it a blessing that [1] the car died while I was at my piano student's home, so I had help trying to figure out what was wrong with the car AND was fed dinner while I waited for the tow truck (I love that family!), [2] towing the car didn't cost us a penny, because we had just signed up for a free AutoVantage trial (meaning to cancel before we got charged but after they sent us the free GPS promised) and towing is free for the first 150 miles (coincidence??? I think not...), [3] our home teacher is good with cars and his wife works for an auto dealer and got us a discount on the part we needed (the part will arrive in a few days... cross your fingers for us!!!), and [4] Jason is able to carpool to work most of the time and my in-laws let us borrow their truck for the other stuff.

Aside from the obstacles that presented themselves, this month has also brought some good things. The first? 70 degree weather!!! It is sunny and green in California already, and I LOVE it. =) It has inspired me to fill some of the new time I have now running more. I'm itching to do another Ragnar Relay, but I'll train in the mean time. I have also used my new-found time to finish a sewing project, clean the fish tank, de-clutter the bedroom, AND, most importantly, read the scriptures with my husband. We've taken our Primary's challenge to heart, and we are reading at least 3 minutes EVERY day (we have a cute little hour glass that keeps time for us and a set of 12 goal cards with boxes to color in for each day we read).

Speaking of the Primary, I was just moved from CTR 5 to CTR 7. I'll be working with the kids I taught two years ago. Part of me is excited because I'll get to watch these kids get baptized this year. The other part of me is worried, because this group of kids was a hand-full two years ago and they haven't changed. I fell in love with this year's CTR 5 group fast, and I'm sad I don't get to keep teaching them, but I'm going to try and feel the same love for the CTR 7 kids. There's got to be some way to get them to be reverent. I just have to find it. Any ideas???

Before I end, I should also probably tell you that I got released as ward organist, and that school started back this month. That's all for now. We love you bunches and are super excited about the family reunion this summer. =D

Love,
Brittany & Jason

New Year Resolution

So, I am starting the new year off right. It has been a couple of months since I last posted, so here is catching everyone up on what has happened recently from the Lehi Hancocks.

This year for Christmas I took a couple of weeks off over the holidays. It has been quite relaxing and a lot of fun. It is a bit different this year with Kaylie, Nate and Zach gone, but we did have Kaylie and LJ with us for a few days before they headed out to New Jersey.

Things have been going pretty well with work. It is very busy, but that has been good. Despite the economy, Rapid Intake has been blessed. We have not been without challenges, but we continue to make it and do well some months.

Lynette has been keeping busy with a number of different things. She spends time doing PTA things. She also spends a lot of time indexing and depending on the season of the year there are other projects she is working on.

On Christmas we were able to speak to Nate and Zach. We almost didn't get through to Zach. He gave us a wrong number. After about 40 minutes, LJ had a burst of inspiration and saved Christmas for us. He suggested we remove one of the numbers and it worked. It was great to talk to them both. Zach's spanish sounds really good to us. He speaks really fast, so we assume he must be comfortable with the language. It was so fun to talk to them. It is amazing how fast 45 mintues can pass when you are talking to them.

Kelsey is of course into her senior year. High School soccer season is over, so she is focussing on getting ready for college, club soccer and school. It looks like she will be going to Utah State come fall. Nate is not too excited about that because Kelsey will be ahead of him in school by the time he gets home.

Annika is in the middle of basketball season. She made the JV team this year and has played some garbage minutes in Varsity. There has been a few games were she has dressed for sophmore, JV and Varsity. I think she gets tired of sitting on the bench. She seems to play the most in JV. So we now spend our Friday evenings and Tuesday evenings at basketball games.

Tyson, Brianna and Max will also be playing basketball starting next week.

This Christmas season Brianna had a couple of performances with her Lehi Choir. She has really enjoyed being a part of the choir. I think we have found something that Brianna can really get interested in.

Tyson and Max have also been playing futsal. Max will still be playing more in January, but Tyson is going to focus on basketball.

I think that gets us caught up on everyone. We hope everyone is doing well.

The Lehi Hancocks