Our Missionary

This has been a crazy busy couple of months for us. On September 28th In October Kenin accepted a job in Tucson, AZ with a compny called Sunquest Information Systems as their Director of Software Systems. He was offered a job on a Wednesday and started the next Monday, ten days before Alex entered the MTC.


Kenin flew home for Alex's farewell weekend. Ron, Sandy and Jonne drove up; Sarah, Bob, Joe, Amy & Glenn plus kids and my dear friend Jean Zemba all came for Alex's goodbye celebration. It was a full house but we had so much fun. On Saturday night we had an open house at the Murray home to celebrate Alex's high school graduation, Eagle Scout Award, Graduation, and Mission. So many friends were there, along with good food and conversation.


On Sunday Alex did a great job speaking in church and immediately afterward Kenin left to drive to Tucson. We loaded his car with apartment furnishings, and it was totally full. Kenin's family left on Monday and they took Alex's packed MTC suitcases with them. On Monday night we went to President Petersen's home and he set Alex apart as a Missionary. We were grateful to have good friends there to stand in for Kenin and family. It is hard to be away from family, but it makes you so grateful to have dear friends to support you.



Alex and I flew to SLC on Tuesday to meet Cooper, visit Utah family and to get him to the MTC on Wednesday. We had a nice Page family get together on Tuesday night, and continued the family tradition of having lunch at Cafe Rio before going to the MTC. Matt, Jolynn, Sydney, Cooper, Chris, Lisa all drove with us to Provo where we met Erica in the parking lot to say good bye. After taking the customary photo's at the "Welcome to the MTC" sign we said good bye to Alex and off he went. Of course I fell apart in the car; it is so hard to say good bye for two years!

After spending a few days with my Utah kids and the cutest Grandchildren ever, I flew home to Molly and Jeff. It is so weird going from having five family members at home to having only three in just a few days.

Where has the time gone?

Today is my Mom's Birthday. It is hard to believe that she has been gone for almost ten years. She would have been 79 today. My dad turns 80 next week. I guess that means that I am 50 years old. Time sure flies by quickly.

I can't believe what a pathetic blogger that I am. My family keeps asking why my page is stuck on "Wicked" from last February. So much and so little have happened since last February that I keep putting off posting. I started doing this so I could document what takes place in the Pagehousehold and I have definitely been slacking. So here is an update:

March - Molly flew to Boston with her highschool orchestra group. They competed in a festival and took home several awards. They toured all over and Molly flew from Boston straight to Hawaii. We went to Hawaii as a family. We stayed at the Marriott in Kauai and had the most wonderful vacation ever. We did not do much more than sit by the pool, swim in the pool and ocean, and tour the island. We cooked all of our own food, except for our big "eat out meal" at Costco! It was so fun to have all of the kids there and to spend time with them and our dear Sydney. I can't believe how fast she has grown. She is such a good toddler and really doesn't get into things like her Dad used to do.

This is all of us on the deck of our room.

I love this shot of the boys with Jeff hanging upsidedown!

Our sweet Sydney

A ward friend, Dale Keeps, from Salem moved to Kauai 2 years ago. He took the kids to a fun cliff jumping spot. Here is Molly jumping - but it doesn't show the ten minutes it took her standing on the edge before she finally did jump. They all had a blast.

We stopped at a roadside booth for shaved ice.

We had a wonderful time and hated to come back home. The week after returning home Ken's company closed the division here in Salem and his new job is looking for a new job. His office is now at home and he spends his days online searching and applying. I spent a month getting all of my teaching items in order so I could apply to substitute teach in Salem. It is a long process to complete, which includes a training seminar that is only offered once a month. I received my id number and clearance just one week before the school year ended. So no sub jobs yet! But I am all signed up for this year.

On June 4th Alex graduate from West Salem High School. Ron, Sandy & Jonne drove up and Matt surprised us by accompanying them! There was a huge storm, almost tornado like, and it poured for an hour in the afternoon. The gutters overflowed and streets were flooded. We left early for the ceremony to get good seats (surprise surprise) and were glad we did as the flooding caused lots of traffic back ups. The ceremony was in the pavilion at the Fairgrounds and someone had left one of the big doors open and the floor flooded. They swept and vacuumed it until the ceremony but there was still standing water on the floor. After the ceremony we had cake at the house and then Alex left for his all night grad party. They bussed the kids to the South Courthouse Athletic Club. He had a great time. We are sure proud of him.

More to follow.....

A "Wicked" Night

This past Wednesday Molly, Jeff and I finally enjoyed our Christmas presents. We were able to see the production of "Wicked" in Portland. In November a few of us decided to give our girls tickets to Wicked for Christmas. When Jeff heard we were going he decided that he wanted to go too. So on Wednesday 10 of us had a wonderful dinner at Jenny Gates home and traveled to Portland for a fantastic night. It was wonderful! I love Broadway shows and have been fortunate enough to attend many of them through the years. My favorites have been Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Joseph; but now I have a new favorite. The story, music, and sets were amazing. I want to go and see it again. My only regret is that Alex and Kenin did not see it too. Here are some fun pictures from our night out on the town.

On Friday Molly had her widsom teeth removed. Kenin was able to take her, and other than having trouble getting the IV in place, everything went well. I can't believe how cute she looks with her chipmunk cheeks. The boys had swelling along the jawline, but Molly looks like our hamster, Hammy, when he stuffs himself with food. She is doing really well and is primarily just using Advil. I am so proud of her!

Alex has been busy this week getting all of his medical and dental paperwork completed for submitting his mission papers. It is hard to believe how fast the date is approaching for him to submit his papers (June 13th). This week he had his physical, dental check, and visited the eye doctor; he is getting glasses for driving! Jeff is also getting glasses and I ordered reading glasses (7 years after eye surgery I still have 20/20 - 20/15 vision, but need reading glasses for one eye. Considering that my vision was 20/875 - 20/825 pre-surgery, I feel so fortunate that I can still see so well.

We had a blast this last week having John and Grace Moore spend a few days with us. They are so much fun, and it was great having "little ones" around the house for a few days. I think that Grace's favorite activities are eating Kenin's Mickey Mouse Pancakes and swimming in the tub. We loved hearing John sing away to Rock Band and he plays a mean guitar! I actually enjoyed visiting McDonald's with the kids to buy Happy Meals (the toys are so cute). I don't know if having your kids outgrow McDonald's is a good or bad thing, but for me it shows that they are no longer "little kids". We love the Moore's!

Is it really February?

I can't believe that it is already February 15th and over two months has passed since I have written on this blog. Life is so crazy busy and so I decided to take some time today to catch up. I am taking two classes from Chemeketa Community College to renew my teaching certificate. I thought it would be fun to take classes that I would really use once back in the classroom. I am taking Instructional Technology and Integrating Science and Math in the Elementary Classroom. Easy and fun classes I thought, only 3 hours each and I could work on them for a few hours each day while the kids are at school. What was I thinking? These are the most time consuming classes that I have ever seen. I spend all day, every day working on them. Kenin reminded me a few weeks ago that I did not have to get an "A", I only had to pass them. I don't know what it is with me, but I have to get an "A". There is something about seeing that 100% score that takes me back to my childhood and having to get grades to please my my parents. I told my kids that they now can see first hand how important studying is to me, and my sweet daughter said, "but you don't have anything to do all day except for homework". I laughed, nothing to do? This month I have had YW New Beginnings program, attended Molly's school musical (orchestra pit), book club at my house, destist appointments, site council, YW activities, registration for Titan Kids Cheer Camp, and Orchestra Boston Trip account balances due (I am student account treasurer); but I don't have anything to do all day except for homework! :)

The highlight of my classes is that I get to work with a group of students each week. My groups is made of five 10yr old boys. They are loud, active, and the cutest things that you have ever seen. I just LOVE working with them. Last week we studied patterns and used skittles and lego's, and this week we worked on volume,using containers, and then we planted seeds to chart plant growth.

This weekend was Stake Conference. We attended meetings yesterday and today in Monmouth. They were wonderful. Today Molly and Gwen played a violin obligato for the main meeting. It was so beautiful. I love hearing the violin, especially when my daughter is playing it. I could listen to her all day long (when I'm not doing homework).

Matt turned 25 this month. I can not believe that he is that old, or that I am old enough to have a 25yr old son. He works so hard at both school and at Discover Card. He reminds me of Kenin. I am so proud of him and his cute family. I wish we could see them more often. (I took this picture from their family blog - thanks Jolynn!)

Chris and Lisa's Wedding

Saturday, November 22nd, Chris and Lisa were married in the Sacramento Temple. It was a perfect day. All of our family was there and it was so neat to see how nice everyone looked. It is not often that all of us are dressed up or all together. The ceremony was performed by a family friend, Glenn Haas; which made it extra special. Nana, Papa, Jonne, Jana, Connie & Dennis, Nanci & Peter, Kierra and Kenneth were all there to help celebrate the day.

Sydney is so cute and she looked darling in her wedding outfit. She is walking now and it was so fun to see her toddling around.

The reception was beautiful. Everything was in black, red and white. They had lights strung above and the food was wonderful. Lisa and her dad danced a father/daughter dance and it was so sweet when Chris cut in and they danced their first dance. The boys had fun decorating their car. Lisa and Chris left for a Mexican Cruise and had a wonderful time. We left for Utah on Monday for Thanksgiving with Kenin's family and then we held our Utah Reception on Saturday the 29th. A tiring but wonderful week.

Alex

Last month Alex turned 18. He is now a legal adult, and is ready to vote in the election. It is so amazing to me that he is going to graduate this year, and in less than a year he could be on his mission. He has really grown up quickly. He has been working at a gas station, pumping gas. He is always on time and is very dependable. The commute has become hard and so he is now looking for something closer to home. He loves reading which gives his Mom great pleasure. He is excited for Lacrosse to start in the spring. He is taking culinary arts at school, and I wish that he would cook more for us, as he is a great cook. Alex has become a "guitar hero" fanatic and is really quite good. He enjoys spending time with Andrew and Fadi; and is nice to include Jeff in his group too. We are proud of you Alex! Thank you for bringing us such joy. I hope that this year goes by very slowly.

October Fun

I can't believe that it is almost the middle of October. Only 5 weeks left until Chris and Lisa get married. I flew to Utah last week to make reception plans, visit family and friends, and to attend Lisa's Bridal Shower. It was hectic, but so much fun. I stayed the first night with Chris is his new apartment. He is living there until Lisa joins him after the wedding. It is a cute two bedroom place. It will be fun to see how they fix up their "first" place. I remember our first apartment. It actually was similar to theirs.

The shower was so much fun. Jolynn put it on and did a great job. She created a question/answer dvd of Chris for Lisa to answer and it was fun to hear their responses. Lisa answered most of them correctly, and even I learned new things. Lisa's roommate gave her a bridal princess tiara to wear and she received wonderful gifts. They were so excited!

Of course one of the highlights of the trip was getting to spend time with Sydney. She is so cute. My favorite is when she sees Matt and waves to him saying, "Hi, Dada". She uses the sideways open & shut finger wave. She is gettin a third tooth, and smiles all of the time. She is such a sweet happy baby. It is so fun to watch her "read" books. She looks so intently at them. I really have never seen such a content baby. I miss her already.

Kenin's parents were gracious enough to let me stay with them, they let me use their car, and Ron always has a great breakfast for me. It is fun to spend time with them and Jonne. Jonne is now the queen of texting. She always has her phone in hand texting non-stop.

Mike & Nancy Moore helped out with the kids while I was gone (of course Ken had to fly to CA). Both Molly and Jeff were sick with the flu while at their house and I hear it was not a pretty sight. Both of them even missed a day of school, and Jeff even missed his football game. Of course he called and begged to go and just stand on the sidelines, even though he was unable to even keep Sprite down. I said no, and then he went to bed and slept for 6 hours so you could tell he really wasn't feeling better. The Moores are the greatest friends and there are not many people who will watch your kids, nurse them when sick, and still talk to you afterwards. We love you guys!

I flew back in time to go to the Homecoming Football Game. Molly cheered and it is so fun to watch her. They really are doing a great job this year, cheering I mean; as the team got creamed. It poured and even hailed a bit. We still had a great time.