Today I am going to tell you about this picture. Our day to day living is for the most part boring to your lives. Older people sometimes live in the past. I really am not living in the past. This is to tell you about our lives.
This picture was taken in Paso Robles California.
When Gerald and I had been married two months, he was inducted into the Army. On that morning he went to Fort Douglas. I went up there with him for the day. At night he went by train to Ft. Lewis Washington to begin his training. He was later sent to Camp Roberts in California. After his basic training, I went with another soldier’s wife to find a room in Paso de Robles. We didn’t own a car, Later Gerald was able to live off the base. We found a room in a house where we shared the bathroom and had no kitchen. . Rooms were at a premium. The whole town was full of young married couples that had been married only a few months there was even a line-up to find a room. Apartments were scarce. The local LDS meetings were held in a Woman’s club. Gerald went with a carpool to base each morning. On one such morning he got up and walked to the corner to meet his carpool at 4:30 A M. I rolled over to go back to sleep, the bed didn’t stop moving. I froze in fear. The mirror on the dresser was moving back and forth. There was a loud rumbling on the front porch which sounded like a herd of horses I surmised there was an earthquake. When the light of day appeared, I went to the local store to hear conversation and to verify what I suspected. Yes it was true. The earthquake was in a town close to Bakersfield. The local bank had a crack in the wall. The noise on the front porch was from wheelchairs rocking back and forth. This home had been a rest home at one time. Gerald was walking and didn’t even feel the earthquake. There were many tremors after that. When I felt the bed move under my legs, I wasn’t sure if it was real or not. I would always wait to see if there had been a real aftershock. Such was the life in the army. This picture was taken in front of the house where we had our room.
This picture was taken in Paso Robles California.
When Gerald and I had been married two months, he was inducted into the Army. On that morning he went to Fort Douglas. I went up there with him for the day. At night he went by train to Ft. Lewis Washington to begin his training. He was later sent to Camp Roberts in California. After his basic training, I went with another soldier’s wife to find a room in Paso de Robles. We didn’t own a car, Later Gerald was able to live off the base. We found a room in a house where we shared the bathroom and had no kitchen. . Rooms were at a premium. The whole town was full of young married couples that had been married only a few months there was even a line-up to find a room. Apartments were scarce. The local LDS meetings were held in a Woman’s club. Gerald went with a carpool to base each morning. On one such morning he got up and walked to the corner to meet his carpool at 4:30 A M. I rolled over to go back to sleep, the bed didn’t stop moving. I froze in fear. The mirror on the dresser was moving back and forth. There was a loud rumbling on the front porch which sounded like a herd of horses I surmised there was an earthquake. When the light of day appeared, I went to the local store to hear conversation and to verify what I suspected. Yes it was true. The earthquake was in a town close to Bakersfield. The local bank had a crack in the wall. The noise on the front porch was from wheelchairs rocking back and forth. This home had been a rest home at one time. Gerald was walking and didn’t even feel the earthquake. There were many tremors after that. When I felt the bed move under my legs, I wasn’t sure if it was real or not. I would always wait to see if there had been a real aftershock. Such was the life in the army. This picture was taken in front of the house where we had our room.
Due to technical difficulties, the above picture is different.
Ron and Maud Mary Family:
Brent, Melissa & Boys:
We’ve had an exciting month! On the 7th Brent and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. Elf turned 1 on the 8th. On the 9th we went to the temple to have Elf sealed to our family. What a beautiful experience to be in the temple with our children and our loved ones! We also celebrated Elf’s birthday that evening. Thanks to those that supported us, whether by attending that day or being there in spirit! Then on the 10th we blessed Elf in church! Whew! Very busy few days but SO WORTH IT!! We enjoyed our last couple of weeks of summer break and now the older boys have started school, Bear in 3rd grade and Bug in all day kindergarten. They both LOVE their teachers and are excited for the school year. Brent is just doing his usual WORK WORK WORK and as for me it is a little quieter around the house during the day, but don’t worry there is plenty to fill my days!
Dan and Verna Family:
Yes, school has begun for us. Verna is back at school, Anthony, is at daycare, :(, and the girls are loving the social life once more. Tanya is on the tennis team, pep band, and is working at Stewarts (grocery store) in between times. Dan is also back after a one week break, and is going strong in college.
In other news from our family, John and Liz miscarried which was sad, but she is doing better now. Liz's father passed away from a heart attack a few weeks ago, so they flew to Las Vegas to help with the arrangements. Meanwhile, Sara is in kindergarten and is due to start tennis lessons soon. They are now living with Liz's mother in Orem.
Verna & Dan
Brandon Suzanne and Keaton:
Hello Family! We had an exciting August. We went real camping (no flush toilet) this month with some friends. Keaton quite enjoyed exploring nature with his friend. We also went on a mini-hike and he loved seeing the Great Salt Lake from so high up.
Suzanne and Keaton went to the Salt Lake County Fair with our neighbor friends and Keaton loved the petting zoo. Suzanne wanted to introduce our neighbor friend to the missionaries but the friend ran when she saw them.
Brandon and Suzanne finally caught Prince Caspian in the theater and Brandon got to watch Batman on the IMAX screen.Suzanne had another milestone birthday and Brandon endured through MAMMA MIA for her (He actually liked it and has become a fan of ABBA Gold). Suzanne's parents took Keaton for an overnight slumber party and after the days activities Brandon and Suzanne decided to just drive home and sleep in our own bed. It was weird but amazingly nice not having anyone in the other room. We also quietly celebrated our 4years together (Big Celebration has been moved to October).
Brandon and Keaton continues to frequent Lowes kids crafts and loves the school locker and GMC truck they made this month. We wish everyone a September to remember and hope all are doing well. Kellen, congrats on Law School!
Gary and Bev Family:
Gary and Bev doing Ok! Kellen and Camille are getting settled in and getting use to living in AZ. Kellen started law school and is very busy Camille is working part time at Wells fargo bank close to our house.
Riley and Tricia are excited that school is back in, summer seemed a little long this year! Chelsey and Corbin both love their teachers and it has been a great start to what they hope to be a great year!! They have been busy doing work on their house in their little amount of free time!
Brit and Jeremy are just busy! Maya started pre school, dancing, & a music class. Kenyon just follows along.
Dwayne and Patty Family:
Dwayne and Patty: We went to San Francisco the first week of Aug. to visit with Ben, Alissa, and Jacob. We were afraid that Jacob wouldn't remember us. But we were greated at the airport with HI Grandpa and Grandma. We had a great time with them. We went to Pier 39, and Half Moon Bay ( which was cold that day ). Jacob and Grandpa had fun playing with Dinosaurs together, while Grandma was able to give Jacob his baths and read to him.
Brent, Melissa & Boys:
We’ve had an exciting month! On the 7th Brent and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. Elf turned 1 on the 8th. On the 9th we went to the temple to have Elf sealed to our family. What a beautiful experience to be in the temple with our children and our loved ones! We also celebrated Elf’s birthday that evening. Thanks to those that supported us, whether by attending that day or being there in spirit! Then on the 10th we blessed Elf in church! Whew! Very busy few days but SO WORTH IT!! We enjoyed our last couple of weeks of summer break and now the older boys have started school, Bear in 3rd grade and Bug in all day kindergarten. They both LOVE their teachers and are excited for the school year. Brent is just doing his usual WORK WORK WORK and as for me it is a little quieter around the house during the day, but don’t worry there is plenty to fill my days!
Dan and Verna Family:
Yes, school has begun for us. Verna is back at school, Anthony, is at daycare, :(, and the girls are loving the social life once more. Tanya is on the tennis team, pep band, and is working at Stewarts (grocery store) in between times. Dan is also back after a one week break, and is going strong in college.
In other news from our family, John and Liz miscarried which was sad, but she is doing better now. Liz's father passed away from a heart attack a few weeks ago, so they flew to Las Vegas to help with the arrangements. Meanwhile, Sara is in kindergarten and is due to start tennis lessons soon. They are now living with Liz's mother in Orem.
Verna & Dan
Brandon Suzanne and Keaton:
Hello Family! We had an exciting August. We went real camping (no flush toilet) this month with some friends. Keaton quite enjoyed exploring nature with his friend. We also went on a mini-hike and he loved seeing the Great Salt Lake from so high up.
Suzanne and Keaton went to the Salt Lake County Fair with our neighbor friends and Keaton loved the petting zoo. Suzanne wanted to introduce our neighbor friend to the missionaries but the friend ran when she saw them.
Brandon and Suzanne finally caught Prince Caspian in the theater and Brandon got to watch Batman on the IMAX screen.Suzanne had another milestone birthday and Brandon endured through MAMMA MIA for her (He actually liked it and has become a fan of ABBA Gold). Suzanne's parents took Keaton for an overnight slumber party and after the days activities Brandon and Suzanne decided to just drive home and sleep in our own bed. It was weird but amazingly nice not having anyone in the other room. We also quietly celebrated our 4years together (Big Celebration has been moved to October).
Brandon and Keaton continues to frequent Lowes kids crafts and loves the school locker and GMC truck they made this month. We wish everyone a September to remember and hope all are doing well. Kellen, congrats on Law School!
Gary and Bev Family:
Gary and Bev doing Ok! Kellen and Camille are getting settled in and getting use to living in AZ. Kellen started law school and is very busy Camille is working part time at Wells fargo bank close to our house.
Riley and Tricia are excited that school is back in, summer seemed a little long this year! Chelsey and Corbin both love their teachers and it has been a great start to what they hope to be a great year!! They have been busy doing work on their house in their little amount of free time!
Brit and Jeremy are just busy! Maya started pre school, dancing, & a music class. Kenyon just follows along.
Dwayne and Patty Family:
Dwayne and Patty: We went to San Francisco the first week of Aug. to visit with Ben, Alissa, and Jacob. We were afraid that Jacob wouldn't remember us. But we were greated at the airport with HI Grandpa and Grandma. We had a great time with them. We went to Pier 39, and Half Moon Bay ( which was cold that day ). Jacob and Grandpa had fun playing with Dinosaurs together, while Grandma was able to give Jacob his baths and read to him.
Ben and Alissa: Are staying busy with work and Jacob, and being tour guides to us while we were there. Jacob loves pointing out Police cars, and fire trucks.
Todd and Jade: Todd has started his final year of school and can hardly wait for May to arrive when he will graduate. They are having a boy in November and his name will be Ryder. We are very excited for them!
Steph: Is planning on moving to St. George sometime in the fall. We are excited to have her closer to us and Heather and Jade are excited to have her join them to watch One Tree Hill on Monday nights.
Heather: Has started school at Dixie. She has made good friends and stays busy with school, work and friends, and coming home every so often to visit us.
Hal and Diana Family:
What did you do for your summer vacation? by Diana Wilkinson Jensen
Once upon a time it was summer., then Aug 1st hit. That was the end of doing whatever I wanted. Now I am on "School District time".First there was Law Conference, then just as soon as I got back, it was hurry to get my classroom ready. There were letters to send to parents, a room that had to be re-put back together.(Janitors clean then just walk away and figure someone else can move it back) lists to be made, lesson plains to write,a bus list to figure out, and I can't forget those special IEP meetings. If you do not know what an IEP meeting is, ask someone in the Special Ed department even better, go to one sometime, they are loads of laughs.Then the first day of school came, after spending several Saturdays and many extra weekdays, I was ready. Those little tike's came in and the phone started to ring. " I want to have my little tike in your school," how do I put her in? The numbers started to grow and grow and grow. Now my cute little class is growing and still we had to have a childfind. What's a childfind you ask? It's a day where we test all kids in the community to see if they qualify for school. Yes, there are many out there who need a little bit of help.Well that's where I am now, wondering how to fit so many bodies in one classroom, Did I forget to mention that next Tuesday the Mainstream start?Who are the Mainstream you ask?. They are those who pay to come to school because they don't qualify but are suppose to be good models for those who qualify. I will start 12 of them on Tuesday.But Aug wasn't all bad, Josh came and brought his kids, He took McKendry fishing while I got to know Connor a little bit more. (A real sweetheart).then Kelly and Steph dropped in one weekend, that was fun to see them, and this past weekend we were able to go visit with Jared and Brittany and spend some time with them. They now live across from Hillcrest High if anyone wants to say hi. Also, we spent time with Mom and Dad or grandparent Wilkinson for you young people. Did you guys know that they have something new in their bathroom downstairs? Go visit them and check it out. I'm not telling what it is, you have to visit them.We also stopped in on Jeremy and Laura and cute little Paul. Yes it was a fun weekend but now it's time for Summer to end and Sept to start. We are all well and by the way, did I mention we are building a garage in the backyard? Oh that is for another time and another newsletter.
The end
Jeremy and Laura and Family:
We are having a girl. (we don't remember if we already said something)
School starts after labor day.
Everyone working, in school, or in daycare ALL day until mid December. :(
-jeremy and laura
Josh and Jessica Family:
We have had a great summer but are looking forward to the fall and the awesome weather that comes with it. It's our reward for making it through the summer down here. McKendry started preschool and is loving it and learning lots. Her hair is slowly growing out and I have been able to put some ponytails in it so that is a big plus. Connor is starting to talk a little more. Both the kids love to watch Max and Ruby and Connor will wave his hands in the air when it comes on. Jess is still training for the marathon and is excited for it to be over. I am still working and getting excited for the deer hunt. That's about it for our family!
Editor Note:
I am not going to beg, ok, well, maybe I will . . . I really want everyone to participate in the newsletter. I know that sometimes it seems like we just did it and here I am asking for more updates again!!! But, even if you just say, Hi, we're happy and healthy. Or send a recipe or a picture or something, just fill in the space below your name!!
I really appreciate everyone that has and did send me stuff!
Grandma and Grandpa, I hope that you are OK, it is not like you to not send me something, I usually get yours without even asking!!!
So, please everyone, just play along!!!!
Thanks!
