One Year

I thought I'd take this opportunity to share the commemoration of the one year anniversary of our moving to Arizona. I can't believe that we've been here a year. In some ways it seems like we've been here for a long time. But I can't believe we've been here a year. Time does fly. We came to Arizona with one toddler. One year later, Cole is almost a preschooler and we have a newborn. It's amazing what a year brings. Anyway, just thought I'd share this reminiscent moment with you.

Nicknames

When Kade, his siblings, and cousins were growing up, his maternal grandmother gave them each nicknames, that everyone remembers and still talks about today. Anyway, Kade's mother wants to continue the tradition and so lately, the family has been bouncing around nicknames for all my MIL's grandchildren, and even her children-in-law. That got me thinking about us growing up. I know Mom and Dad weren't in to nicknames, (at least for me, I should say,) but Grandma always called me Brownie. Did any of you have nicknames from our parents or grandparents while growing up? Just curious and trying to fill in large gaps in my gray matter.

Authorship

I'm so glad April figured the authorship thing out. That was going to be my task for today, but now it's all done for me.
So this summer I've been learning new things since I haven't been working or going to school. I learned how to sew. I made one skirt now in the possession of Amber, curtains for my kitchen, and now I'm slowly but surely working on a dress. My next sewing project will be to make a little girl's dress for my baby.
I also have been learning how to blog hence our family blog. And I have been working on family history. This includes family indexing online, teaching Justin how to use PAF, and also getting my own cleaned up and more workable.
Another thing that I have been up to is learning to crochet. So far my efforts have been to watch several you tube vidoes on how to do it. Maybe later today, I will be adventurous and venture to DI where I noticed some yarn and crochet hooks.
If you can think of any other handy skills I should learn feel free to email me with them as I like to feel productive, and I like to prevent myself from getting sucked into spider solitaire.

We're still here.

Disclaimer: Okay, so not to appear the slug of the family, I have to say that we are currently without the internet. We are working to get a working connection, but cannot promise anything, much to my annoyance. But alas, you do what you can. So if I am slow in responding, that is why. That is also why I have not sent photos of little Andrew yet. But Dan was able to do a little updating of our blog today at school so be sure and check it out.

Update: We really had a pretty uneventful Fourth of July. Our ward had a patriotic program and breakfast and that was nice. I was SORELY disappointed that there were no parades anywhere to be had. I even looked online for a parade to watch. I thought, "I don't want to live anywhere that doesn't have a parade for the Fourth." I mean, what kind of patriotic place is this? Anyway, since we didn't have a parade to watch, we went swimming instead. We decided to invite some friends from the ward over for a BBQ since they don't have any family here and we don't have any family here and neither of us had plans. So we had a BBQ and watched fireworks together. They have a little girl Cole's age so they had fun.

As for the rest of our month, I decided to go ahead and have my baby. Actually, he took us by surprise and came three weeks early. My kids tend to do things on their own time table. I was a bit stressed because Amber wasn't going to be here for another four days and I didn't have anyone to watch Cole. But after a lot of stressing and worrying and phone calls and generous friends, we were able to find care for Cole for the day. We love having Andrew in our family. He already adds a lot to our little unit. He is very snuggly and cute. Andrew is healthy and I am happy to report that he passed his newborn hearing screening and that we are not experiencing major eating issues like we did with Cole. All in all, we love are little Andrew and Cole and consider ourselves very fortunate to be their parents.



Favorite game: Like Toni, I don't know that I could narrow it down to one game. Black car, Olympics, oh so many memories. I did enjoy playing deer. That was a great game. And what about buffalo jump? Ah, the good old days.

Just experimenting

I'm just trying a feature out from one of my photo management programs, something I hadn't noticed before but Haleigh brought my attention to it this morning. Bear with me, please! Oh, by the way, the obvious subject matter in this photo is Caleb's baptism last month.

Authorship

I just added myself as an individual author to the blog so my comments would be attributed to me instead of the general stevens chick chat label and it is easier for me to slide between my personal blog and this one. You can do that for yourselves by visiting the settings label and then the permissions tab, I think. Help me out, Jill. Toni, was that you who left the comment about the sense of humor? Just the stevens thing showed up.

Cole, the French Horn Player

I watched Cole's french horn video late Saturday night after a long weekend of Great America and our nephew's birthday party and baptism. I must admit I was quite hysterical as I laughed my head off. I defiinitely agree with Jill. If you have not seen Ann's blog, and more particularly, Cole's famous performance, you MUST. It was a wonderful treat for my children, who are all big-time Cole fans, after church yesterday.

I too am really enjoying this sharing mechanism Jill has set up for us. What a great way to communicate. And I appreciated the tip on hiding my dirty dishes. Unfortunately, I don't think my oven's big enough for the task. Perhaps I'll keep a shelf in the refrigerator handy and make sure our guests don't insist on making themselves at home (and helping themselves to something in the refrigerator.)

By the way, the photo is from the 4th of July

Random Posting

First of all, I have to say I am so proud of you all for posting and keeping this blog going. It is wonderful to see all the comments.
Second, if you haven't checked out Ann's blog, you should because the funniest little video of Cole and his French horn is posted on there, and it is hilarious. Justin and I laughed so hard over it. Justin made me play it two or three times. We just couldn't get over it. I think we're going to have to invest in a webcam....
Third, yesterday Justin and I had one of Justin's friends over for dinner last night. As we were getting ready, I hurried and washed, dried, and put away the few dishes we had left over from dinner the night before. Well, our guest came and after he had gone, Justin looked around at the sink and the counters like he was confused. I asked him what he was looking for. He said "where "What dishes? And why on earth would dishes be in the oven?" I asked.
"Weren't there dishes from last night?"
"Yes, I washed them and put them away before Robbie got here."
I guess he hadn't realized that I had done that, and he thought that I hidden the dirty dishes in the oven so I wouldn't be embarrassed by them when Robbie came over. I thought that was the funniest thing ever. Whoever heard of hiding dishes in the oven...well, apparently that's what Justin's mom did sometimes when they had dirty dishes and people would come over. I guess it also backfired a couple times, and they forgot the dishes were in the oven. Then they would go to bake something, and preheat the oven, and some plastic dishes got melted. I thought this was so funny I had to share it with the rest of you.
Lastly, I think the reunion is a great idea. Justin votes for a camping trip. I'm fine with whatever. I'm really excited about it.

Propaganda Galore!

Hello All! I do hope you'll forgive me for using this glorious resource as a tool to spread my propaganda. I'm guessing by now that you've all at least HEARD about my crazy idea of planning a STEVENS FAMILY REUNION for 2009. If not, well, here's your first notice (don't you even worry--you'll be hearing from me over and over and over and over--get the point?!). Anyway, I've been thinking a lot lately how everyone I know has a family reunion and they don't even have as cool of a family as we do (just kidding!). No really, though. I decided that we should get together and have a smashing good time next summer (in April's terms, "preserve the family legacy"). It doesn't have to be anything grand and glorious--just a few days spent together to have fun and get to know each other better. I have all sorts of ideas and would love to hear ideas from all of you as well. To impress upon you how serious I am about pulling this off, I'm giving everyone almost a YEAR's notice to get used to the idea. I'm taking full responsibility for planning and organizing and coordinating, etc. everything. For those of you who may be worried about financing the trip, I'm even willing to pay for everything. It means that much to me. There really shouldn't be any excuses for not participating (well, death, serious injury, etc. will be acceptable excuses; simply not wanting to to come will not be accepted, and we'll label you a pantywaist forever if that's your excuse - okay maybe not FOREVER). Anyway, I hope you all will agree to participate in this upcoming shin-dig because it's going to be one that you won't want to miss. I will definitely be sending out more information in the near future but get your brains a-goin' thinking of things we can do as a family to have a woppin' good time. - TONI-

Games from the past

Okay, so I failed to weigh in the first time on the activities we Stevens youngsters enjoyed in the good old days. I noticed that no one mentioned the classic "Buffalo Jump." What an iconic example of pure genius. And what about deer: that fabulous cross between dodgeball and baseball--did we really use rocks sometimes instead of a ball!!!!!! And I'll never forget using the two hinged windows on the porch as restaurant "walk-up" windows; the porch also carrying the label of what I guess would be considered a time-out for me and Mary when we were up way past our bedtime "tittering" while Dad watched TV. Of course, we just "tittered" some more once we were out there. Isn't that the word they used? APRIL

Toni

1. Independence Day bash - well, I was going to head up to Montana on the night of the 2nd, but then work scheduled an important meeting for half a day on the 3rd (how irritating!) so I didn't get to leave until after the boring meeting was over. It turned out to be okay though, because by the time the meeting was over, Matt was back in UT (after a couple days fishing in Montana) and we were able to go to lunch. I hadn't seen him for years so I really enjoyed being able to have lunch with him. Then I drove to ID, picked up Jill & Justin, and we continued on to Montana. Upon arriving in Butte, we immediately proceeded to MT Tech to watch the fireworks (after getting some gas). It was kind of rainy, but I had faith that they'd still light the fireworks anyway--they're Montanans after all--not pantywaists like most people. I WASN'T disappointed in my hopes and sure enough, we got to enjoy another fabulous fireworks display this year. Good work, Butte! On the 4th, we went to the parade as usual. Amber and I cheered for pretty much everything (except the questionable and sketchy ones). They actually had a Republican float in the parade this year and guess who was the only one cheering for them--yep, you guessed it, me! Oh well, ask me if I care what a bunch of Democrats think! I must say that I was HIGHLY disappointed over the fact that there was not one single bagpiper in the entire parade--NOT A SINGLE ONE! Can you believe it? Talk about getting shafted! I did feel a little better, however, because the US Forest Service had a truck in the parade (with Smokey the Bear in the back). So, I at least got to shout, "I love the US Forest Service!!!" at the top of my lungs, which made me feel a little better about the lack of kilt-wearers. If there's one thing that I love as much as I love bagpipers it's park rangers. Well, I hung out with the family for a few days and then I had to go back to work (snore)! For the adventurous, I'll just briefly mention that Amber and I went on a couple of treacherous outings (I won't go into explicit detail for the sake of the faint-hearted). All in all, it was a glorious, incredible, fantastic, super-duper, jolly good time. I think I should do it every weekend. period.

2. Favorite childhood shin-dig: well, I don't know if I'd say it was my FAVORITE--I mean, after all, some of our games are quite legendary--it's hard to pick JUST ONE FAVORITE--but I really enjoyed our homemade Olympics. From long-jumping on old couch cushions (that we also used to put in the van on Saturday nights in glorious preparation for our Sabbath conveyance to church) to the back stroke (crab-walking backwards to the hedge and back) in our "swimming pool" lawn, our Olympics was quite the event for us kids. John seemed to be the one who headed up the festivities, even carving "medals" out of washed meat trays (rather disgusting to think about NOW if you ask me--come on, old used meat trays that had been washed? Ick!). But you don't think of those things as kids. Anyway, we had all sorts of events: high-jump (we got a big long plastic pipe from somewhere to use as our bar), long-jump (already mentioned), floor exercise (Mary & I just reminsced about this the other day) on the rectangle front lawn, swimming races (crawling, crab-walking, etc. to the hedge & back, depending on the "length" of the race), various races (usually around the block), diving (off Mom and Dad's desk onto their bed--while they were otherwise occupied of course!) and we even hung a bar in the garage (remember the old ropes used to hang deer? Yep, those are what we used to hang our bar) to do all sorts of gymnastic routines on. C'mon! Could life be possibly better than this?! ESPECIALLY when you compare it to what children THESE DAYS do for "fun"--sit on their behinds and play video games or watch TV for hours on end. Okay, I'll just say it bluntly--we were some pretty amazing and creative children if you ask me.

Jane

For the 4th, we went to the parade, then we had a bbq. After that we took
naps and went to a neighborhood fireworks show. Very tiring but fun. We
also went to Jill's graduation. That was fun. It was a fast trip but lots of
fun. Jane

Jill

We spent Indendence Day in Butte doing the usual routine of fireworks and parade...and then we visited the Dobb family reunion. I already posted about graduation and I think everybody knows by now that I'm having a girl...I think that is all the eventful things going on in our lives.

One of my favorite childhood games was black car. I don't remember the older kids playing it with us so I'll describe it just in case. Some one rode around the front yard on the pac man bike, and this was the "black car," and I think it represented a kidnapper maybe a murderer. If you got tagged by the "black car" you were out of the game. I think the porch was a safety zone. I guess "black car" was our morbid twist to tag.

Mary, Toni, Amber, and I were talking about old memories about growing up and such, and we were talking about the songs that grandma used to sing to us. I found some sound clips on the internet for An Eastbound Train and I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles. I thought you might to listen so here are the links.
An Eastbound Train: http://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/1153/index.html
I'm foerever blowing bubbles: http://bubbleblowers.com/music/Music.html
(click on one of the version to the right to listen)

Mary

So, I am giving this a try, but make no promises. For the 4th of July, we attended the parade in Ennis, MT and headed to Sheridan for an Ostler family reunion. The kids enjoyed the time on the ranch. This summer Ethan has also been doing baseball. His last game is on the 31st of this month. Other than that, we are just enjoying summer. A favorite childhood game.......I remember playing kickball in our yard. Looking at it now, I don't know how we managed since our yard was so small. Back then it seemed big.
I can't add a picture right now because we haven't downloaded any new ones from our camera in a while. That will have to wait til next time.

April

Can July be nearing its end? It's so hard to believe my HCE will be headed back to school in two weeks. That doesn't seem right. The fourth of July we did our usual watch the parade with the Graves, then off to their house for a barbecue, and then the fireworks. We watched them from a new place this year and it was amazing. The Graves and we have sworn ourselves to secrecy, fearing all of Manteca will want to join us if we even hint at our good fortune.

Elise turned 6 on the 5th. She enjoyed getting to see WALL-E (or however it's spelled.) That has become a tradition for us it seems these last couple of years. Daddy takes the birthday child out to a movie. Other family members are free to join in. Fortunately, there has always been a family-friendly movie out in theaters in May, July, and December since this tradition has evolved. I usually stay home with the restless toddler or in this case, restless toddler and nursing baby.

Kade has been counseling for summer school this year and I believe it's been a good experience so far. He didn't want to drive in to work everyday (summer school is at a junior high too far from the train station to walk,) so he's been taking his bike on the train then bicycling to work from the train station in Fremont. What a great work-out. I'm envious that he's getting in shape faster than I've been I able to. I'm the one who's had the baby:)

Joshua had his two-month check up on July 7th, and was up to 12 lbs. 13 oz. He's our little chunky monkey. Oh, and he's been consistently sleeping through the night for about a week now, so I AM A NEW WOMAN!

Thanks again, Jill, for such a fabulous way to communicate! And as some of you may know, after months of prodding from Haleigh that we "need our own web page," we've launched our own blog at kapandcompany.blogspot.com (haleigh's name for us.) Please visit us for more details of our California lives. Hopefully it will be longer-lived than the one blog posted on there.

Love you all!

Jordan's Graduation!

I just realized that I should do a little update on Jordan's graduation. It was the last Thursday in May. He barely made it there in time since we were headed out the door and he was still sitting around in his boxers needing to take a shower. However, he made it, and didn't even fall off the stage or anything.
we were all very proud of him. He plans to go to tech in the fall, and he even has a scholarship there that he earned by being so good at welding.
Right now he's staying Las Vegas with John, and we're all hoping that those two boys are behaving themselves down there.

Jill- Graduation

Well, I graduated from BYU-Idaho this weekend. I've been done with classes since April, but I chose to walk in July since it would be easier for family to make it. It was such a blast having everyone here. Justin and I get lonely sometimes so it was fun to have our little apartment filled to the brim with lots of people.
We had tons of fun at the park where we barbecued and played in the water. I posted pictures of all this on my own blog, so you can go there if you want to see more pictures.
We find out what we're having on Thursday so I'll probably be updating everyone again this weekend. Hope everything is going well for everyone and congrats to Ann and Dan on their new little arrival, Andrew Douglas! ...hopefully i got that right

Amber

Hello! I'm not up to much, I just sit around, usually playing video games or reading. Occasionally, I work on the fence or garden, but work on the fence is getting rarer and rarer. I'm gearing up (to use Mom's phrase) to go to Arizona and help the pregnant woman (: D) in about two weeks. I folded laundry today (hooray for my side) and Mom doesn't even know yet. Muahahahaha. Well, that's about it for me.Oh, yeah. and you should check this video out. It's pretty funny. http://youtube.com/watch?v=KpinWlxCdxE