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.....

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.

Three in High School

It is now official. I have three kids in High School. Jeff graduated from 8th grade last night. It was a nice short ceremony and we loved seeing his baby and current picture flash on the big screen as he accepted his "diploma". They had a fun school dance afterward. He looked so nice. I can't believe how fast he has grown. Next year Alex will be a senior, Molly a junior, and Jeff a freshman. Molly gets her drivers license next month and so the "fight for the car" will begin. It is hard to believe that in one year Alex can submit his mission papers. Where has the time flown?