| 2004 |
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| Hello and Merry Christmas! Thinking back on this past year we realize that it hasn't been all that eventful in our own lives -- no new jobs, no moves, no babies. It seems that the general theme for this year has been about family and taking time for important relationships. The months of April to July were a complete whirldwind for our family. In that space of time we had two brothers leave on missions and two brothers get married. And of course, none of those events happened in Oregon so it meant quite a bit of travel. In April we drove to Idaho for Randy's (Scott's brother) mission farewell before he entered the MTC to serve in Washington -- Cambodian speaking. Then May and June ushered in the wedding season. Scott's brother Brian was married in Utah followed by Shannon's brother Sam marrying in Arizona. Finally, we made a trip to California to give Kent (Shannon's brother) a warm send off to his mission in Portugal. |
| We were so glad that we had the opportunity to be present for each of these important events and offer our support. After celebrating 5 years of marriage in January, we decided that it was time to make some time just for us. In early March we took a 4-day vacation to Las Vegas and in September we celebrated Shannon's birthday with a quick trip to Vancouver, B.C. for a Josh Groban concert. It was wonderful to get away and forget about feeding kids and changing diapers! We had no worries because the boys were in such good hands -- special thanks to both of our moms. Conner started preschool this fall and he absolutely loves it. His latest obsession is Star Wars. He loves the movies, re-enacts scenes with his Star Wars guys complete with sound effects and background music, and he carries a light saber (real or imaginary) in his pocket most hours of the day. He'll also give his first Primary talk in the next couple weeks and we are very excited about that. Payton is Conner's little shadow and follows him around most of the day. They play together so well and love each other so much (most of the time). Payton enjoys playing with the train set and loves pirates (just mention the word and he'll go "aarrhhhh"). Shannon spends her time busy with scrapbooking and relief society assignments. Scott was called to be the Scoutmaster a few months ago and is thoroughly enjoying his new position. We hope you have a wonderful holiday and wish you the best in the new year! |