I am alive and thinking of all of you just out of touch

there is no chance of me catching you up on life so i decided that i would write little excerpts of what i have been thinking about.

jessica and tony thank you for sharing about indie. we did fast for her last fast sunday. what can i say except that i have been visiting most of my kid's lately and it has been so sweet to hear them all pray for baby indie jess and tony in their family prayers--all of the big and little cousins!!! we know in a way what it is like for you because of our little ellyn.

chels, the wedding is still the 1st of dec. right? did you ever read the comment about fun books to read to the boys this summer? now that summer is over i remember the book your mom read to you "where the red fern grows" oh well next summer maybe. i'm excited about your running program. i went a long time hating running but now i'm back. i don't love it like meags but i do love it. i tell meagan i would rather work in my yard for 6-7 hours and see something for my effort than run for that long. i love listening to books on tape or conference talks. i know it sounds crazy, but listening to conference really motivates me and i love it. i have been listening to "the fire and the covenant" it's about the willey martin handcart company. it's the first time i've ever loaded my shuffle. cory had loaded a bunch of music on it for ellynn and when i loaded it with the book it went on random so i'm listening to this really intense part in the book--someone is dying and i'm starting to tear up and the people in the cars passing me are going--hey lady if it's that bad just stop. and then it will skip to bob marley or something. i am still technologically challenged but entertained.

dear lydia, who would have guessed you shared your dad's lust for adventure--the desire to visit foreign ports--the call of the unknown--the previously unexplored regions of the world beyond the borders of kaysville. we're glad you are home safe and are anxious to see pictures and hear all about it!!!

too bad you all live there and can't think of a good reason to have to spend the night at moni and cameron's. they are so cute and absolutely wonderful hosts. cameron we are so sorry we didn't get to see you at all. jackson asked if all our family in utah lived in mansions. you all do have beautiful homes and families. i am so glad to see you all doing so well. you are such good kids you deserve it we miss seeing you all, but these multi trips to utah are about to kill me. i think next year i'm just staying home.

you are all invited to the wedding on the 15th of september. it will be in the portland temple. we have a big house with plenty of floor space and meagan and cory should have their hippie commune open for company by then too. so please believe me the more the merrier we would love to have you come and stay!!!

to finish up the story with mindi the kids and me getting here after getting the alternator fixed on the truck. we were cruising right along until we got a mile short of dead man's pass in the blue mountains and the truck dies. keep in mind the truck is loaded to the guns and we are pulling a trailer that is also fully loaded with stuff for meags and corys. no power brakes and no power steering in and less than a mile a 6% decline with 2 runaway truck ramps because it is so long and steep. i told mindi we were flying dead stick. i got it off to the side of the road just fine thanks to the angels that mindi had prayed for us. we got a tow into penelton were we found out the clip on the alternator had broken and so the wire had come loose. i asked them if it were job for duck tape. the manager pretended some offence and told me they were a reputable auto repair shop they tried not to use duck tape to do their repairs. i said it all had to do with the age you are--if you were my husbands age everything was fixed with baling wire--now my boys use duck tape. the mechanic has me look at the cable connection--gives me a wink and shows me the zip tie. it was pretty funny. and so we made it home. only to go again last weekend for the bennett reunion. sorry i won't make it for the stevenson reunion--just can't do it again.

last story, i know this is long but too good to pass up. the sunday before girl's camp. meags is the camp director and i am the assistant. we are all standing around in the kitchen and hazel tips over in the chair. naturally everything is slow motion, but we still can't reach her in time. meags runs around the bar and picks her up. now m. is not the coolest calmest person in a crisis. i however appear to be so simply because i'm slow and so i appear to be calm when in actuality i'm just slowly processing the situation. meags starts to cry, "i think her finger's broken," and brings her around for me to take a look. sure enough it has started to swell already. then meags says i don't feel well. i tell cory to grab his baby and i'll get mine as meags faints and i lower her to the floor. she almost instantly comes to but is shaking and crying hysterically. she wants to go to the hospital with hazel. i convince her the last thing cory needs is 2 victims. cory and ellery take hazel to the hospital while i try to calm meags and benny who is just as good in an emergency situation as her mother. i have them get pillows for her feet and head to keep them distracted. jack is worried, but not vim. he leans over her putting his hand on her shoulder and his face right in hers and says in his deep little lisping voice "mom, just bweeve deep--just bweeve deep. like this." then he precedes to puff out his chubby little cheeks and blow into her face. it was so stinking funny. he is such a funny little kids and our future e.r. dr.

enough already, it's late, love to all le anne