EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER!!

The home they are doing is on 5th south at about 650 East. If you go on Medical Drive toward 5th you would run into it on the south side. It is an old home with dark brick. This coming Monday it will be torn down. I think they are starting from scratch. We were told they send the families to San Diego--there are three families living there [according to their neighbors]. I didn't go up to see them tell the family, but I do plan to go see some of the tear down and rebuilding. I'll post some pics if I can get close enough to get some. The road has been closed all day, but it is accessable from Medical Drive.
Happy home makeover to some lucky folks!!!!

EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER!!

I was going on my walk this morning and as I passed the Bountiful city offices ---there was definitely something happening. There were about 50 vehicles --tons of people--and a bus and a couple of semis. We [Janette was with me] were very curious as to what might be going on at 7:15 in the morning.
As we were coming back past we ask "what is going on?" We were surprised to find out it was "Extreme Home Makeover". The bus was even in the parking lot running!! They would not tell us where it was happening, as we think the people didn't know about it yet. I'll keep you posted when I find out--it is somewhere in Bountiful. I guess this will put Bountiful on the map!!

We're at Land's End. (Not the catalog)

We're now in Portland, Maine. What a fun town with a very vibrant arts community. The picture above is Gunther and Hannah looking at Plymouth Rock where the Pilgrims landed in 1620. Being here makes you grateful for this country and for all the sacrifices that came before us.

Greetings from New England.

This picture is looking out of the Pilgrim Monument on the hilltop above Provincetown, Massachusetts. It is beautiful. We were able to suprise a friend who moved here from Venice a couple of months ago. It was a big surprise.

Jacob's new adventures

I am so excited for Jake that I decided to let you all know. He just found an apt. in SLC (6th S. 9th E.). It is a 1 bedroom apt. in a 4 plex. It is great for the price and will be very adequate for him. Thanks to Kalyn for all the help. He will be moving the first part of Aug and will start at the U the end of Aug. He is looking for a job and a little furniture. Let us know of any job leads. Also If you are getting rid of any furniture or if you see a great piece at the DI he may be interested. Thanks. This is a great opportunity for Jake to spread his wings. I hope he learns how to fly.

do not call list

Good Morning!
I was listening to the radio this morning and in a month our cell phone numbers are going to be released to telemarketers. Well, there is hope in sight! Just go to www.donotcall.gov and register your cell phone number and even your home number to block telemarketers from calling. It's super easy and lasts for the next 5 years!

P.S. The picture has nothing to do with my comment, just thought it was cute!

Trip To Jackson

I just thought I would share with everyone about my little trip to Jackson. I have some friends that live here during the summer to work and I came up to visit. It is my first actual trip to Jackson and it has been a fun trip.

Yesterday we did a little shopping and went on the Alpine slide, which was a first for me. And then today we were able to run the snake river. One of my friends is a guide on the river so he guided the boat for us. We went through Big Kahuna and Luch Counter. We did a little cliff jumping (yes, we were safe mom), and got a lot of sun.

It was a good trip and is very beautiful up in Jackson, but it is quite expensive. If you haven't ever gone I suggest planning a trip.

Hope all is well and I love you all tons!!!!

Love, Aly

Cousins day at Liberty Park

Thanks to Kalyn we had a fun day with cousins. We appreciate your planning of
this outing--we all had fun. We had hotdogs at Kalyn's ---then headed for Liberty
Park. We were somewhat dissappointed that the rivers and
pools were closed, but did enjoy the fountains for a while.

Did I forget a birthday?

Well, I didn't actually forget, I just temporarily misplaced it in my memory. It was the day I left for New York and since I was a raving lunatic getting ready to go, it slipped by. But did everyone know that our darling AMY is a year older? It's true. She's still just a kid but I do hope she had a great birthday on the 25th. Happy Birthday Amy. We love you.

Do You Like Creamed Zucchini?

Today I posted the recipe on my blog for creamed zucchini. If you like it, I would love to get lots and lots and lots of comments on the blog saying how good it is, because I know that people will read the recipe and turn up their noses when they read about the powdered coffee creamer. Click here to leave a comment:

http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com

Thanks! People who don't know me read the comments and judge how good the food is and whether or not many people read the blog, so comments are important.

Lazy days of summer :)

We've been havin' a blast out here on the east coast this summer! Just thought we'd share some of our travels with y'all:

Earlier this summer, we went to Gettysburg and learned all about the battle there and what it meant for the war and the nation at that particular time. That was a humbling experience...to say the least.

And then we took a trip up to NYC! We stayed with some friends and did things the dirt cheap way (it helped that we used a book called, "New York, Free and Dirt Cheap" - it was VERY helpful). It was great! Eddie had never been there before so it was fun to see it all with a newbie.

Just a few weekends ago we hiked up to a place called White Oak Canyon where there are natural waterslides and beautiful surroundings. We were pretty lucky...Eddie got a little case of poison ivy on his foot and lower leg but other than that, we came out unscathed.
And finally, just last weekend Eddie took me on a date up to DC to see the monuments at night. We ate sub sandwiches on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and watched the Washington Monument begin to glow as the sun went down. It was beautiful. (There were way too many awkward teenage boy scouts around...but hey...it's a good thing DC's a big place)

Our last adventure will be going up to the beach in Delaware this Saturday. I have loved Virginia this summer but I have to admit that I do terribly miss the dry, western air - this humidity is too much for me! (although, my hair does a lot better here than it ever did back west...)

Well, we love you all and hope to see a lot of you when we get back to Utah to start our last year at the "Y". Woo hoo! The end is in sight!

Be sure to see the movie "March of the Penguins

Today Livi, Emma, and Ethan went to see a good movie called "The March of the Penguins" with Aunt Kalyn. It was about how Emperor Penguins walk 70 miles to lay their eggs, then the father keeps the egg warm while the mother goes back 70 miles to get food. The movie was filmed in Antarctica where it is really cold. Ethan said, "That sure is a lot of penguins" when the penguins were marching. Emma said, the baby penguins were cute." Livi said, "It was so sad when the baby penguin egg got dropped by the parents and it froze before the baby was born."

We think all the kids in the family (except the really little ones) should go see this movie. We are sure you will like it.

By Livi, Emma, and Ethan

THANKS (from the Mark Dennys)

Hello to everyone!

We returned from Las Cruces yesterday (Monday) and are so glad to be home. It's been a long two weeks. I'd like to thank everyone for the beautiful flowers.

You might have heard my story of not wanting an open casket at my viewing (only for family) because I think people should remember me with LOTS of pictures and not a made up body. Anyway, I was having a hard time during the family time going up to look because I was just sure that he would look fake, so as I was getting the courage to walk up there, my eyes settled on a beautiful arrangement of flowers right behind the casket, bright orange orchids and yellow. It was so simple and yet incredibly gorgeous. Next to it was another beautiful arrangement, with pinks and yellows and lots of other colors. I walked to the flowers first (before focusing on him) and the orange set was from the family and the others were from Twin D. I sobbed. I hadn't really cried since he died. It was like a big warm hug to feel everyone there. As I looked at him, and he did look wonderful, I was at total peace. Thanks for your love and support, always, but especially at this time.

I took pictures of the flowers, maybe one day you can see them. (My digital is being repaired so I didn't have it; I'm not sure how to post them anyway.)

We love you all. Sorry to do a blog thanks, but it's be a little while until I get Thank You's out to everyone.

I also wanted to let you know we are home safe and sound.

We're off to the Big Apple.

I need a vacation just from preparing for our vacation. Ugh...I'm exhausted. We're off to New York, New Jersey, Conneticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia. We'll be gone for twenty days. Dr Love is coming along and so are Gunther and Hannah. I hope we're all friends when we're done. Actually, I'm sure we'll have a good time. Somebody run untangledlife.com while
we're gone will ya? We'll keep you posted with updates. Wireless of course. Much love. R

Welcome Home Brandon.

Welcome Home Elder Bern....we're so glad to have you back safely. Now we want you to post some pictures. Enjoy the adjustment back to civilian life. We love you.

A Liberty Park "Cousins Outing" for Denny Kids (and Adults) - Wednesday, July 27

Today I'm going to go to Ephraim and pick up a few of the Ostler kids so they can stay at my house for a couple of day. We're planning to go to the Days of 47 Parade tomorrow, and maybe even walk to Liberty Park and see the fireworks.

On Wednesday, July 27, we are having a "cousins outing" for anyone who wants to come. We will meet at my house at 11:30 for lunch on the porch, and then after lunch we will all go to Liberty Park to play in the Seven Canyons Fountain and maybe visit the playground too.

If you want to come, meet at my house at 11:30 that day. I will buy hot dogs, buns, and "kids soda pop" for whomever is coming. Bring whatever else you want to contribute for lunch.

If you're planning to come, please leave a comment on this post so I know how stuff I need to buy for lunch.

An Idea Worth Passing on: ICE on your cell phone lets paramedics know who to contact if there is an emergency

I received this from a friend and I thought it was worth letting everyone know. Maybe other's have already heard about this, but I hadn't.
Kalyn

Paramedics will turn to a victim's cell phone for clues to that person's identity. You can make their job much easier with a simple idea that they are trying to get everyone to adopt: ICE.

ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. If you add an entry in the contacts list in your cell phone under ICE, with the name and phone no. of the person that the emergency services should call on your behalf, you can save them a lot of time and have your loved ones contacted quickly.. It only takes a few moments of your time to do.

Paramedics know what ICE means and they look for it immediately. ICE your cell phone NOW!

Flowers for Lisa's Dad

Dad has ordered some flowers for the funeral for Lisa's dad. I'm sorry about being so impersonal in posting it here, but we felt that was the best way to reach most of you. He is sending them in the name of all the Denny family. If you would like to donate, please send Dad $10-15 to contribute toward the flowers.

(We did this before the obituary was posted so we didn't know about the idea of donations for Alzheimer's research.)

Kalyn

Jose Garcia Obituary (lisa's Dad)

I thought some of you might like to see this.

Getz Funeral home
Jose Eustaquio Garcia (March 25, 1926 - July 21, 2005)
Jose Eustaquio Garcia passed away into the loving arms of his Heavenly Father on July 21, 2005 at the age of 79. He left this earthly life at his home surrounded by his soul mate and eternal companion, Carmen, children and grandchildren. Jose, also known as Joe, Pepe and JoGar, was born March 25, 1926 in Hurley, NM to Alejandro and Josefina Garcia. He lived his younger life in Aguascalientes, Mexico. He came back to the United States at the age of 24. He married Carmen Chavez on December 7, 1956 in the LDS Mesa Temple. He graduated from BYU in 1960 in Education and later received his Master’s Degree from NMSU. He was a great educator and teacher, always touching the loves of those around him for good. Jose was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He served a mission in Texas from 1952-1953. He held various positions of leadership and loved the gospel and His Savior with all his heart, dedicating his life to serving and helping others. He will be remembered by most Las Crucens as “JoGar”. He was a very successful businessman, trader, and dealer in the turquoise jewelry business and was an excellent silversmith. He loved to travel all over the western states with his wife and children to jewelry shows. He will be remembered for his sense of humor, how he could tell jokes, being silly, making everybody laugh, his love of dancing, his ability to make a deal, how he would give rides in the Jaguar, going on trips in the motor home, and always wanting to play. He worked hard, but he played hard too. In his later years he loved wheelchair rides from his grandchildren, going out to eat Chinese food, eating bananas, sticking his tongue out when he was being stubborn, playing dominoes, and being cared for by his loving wife. He will be deeply missed by his true love, Carmen, who stayed by his side through thick and thin. He will also be missed by his children: Joe H., Lisa (Mark), Carlos (Wendy), Hector (Delores), Nefi (Kathy), and Christy. He will always be remembered by his 16 grandchildren: CJ, Nicole (Robert), and Julie (Las Cruces); Matt, Justin, and Travis (Layton, UT); Anthony, Jordan, Tyler, Conner and Michael (Brush Prairie, WA); Miguel and Alejandra (El Paso); and Ashleigh, Christian, and Emily (Las Vegas. NV. He is also survived by two sisters, Lupe and Chela, one brother Roberto and other extended family. Preceding him in death were his parents, his brothers Pablo, Lucio, Enrique, Alejandro, a sister Margarita, four nephews and a niece. A viewing will be held from 6 to 8 PM Friday, July 22, 2005 at Getz Funeral Home. Funeral Services are at 9:30 AM on Saturday, July 23, 2005 at the LDS Church Venus Chapel, 3210 Venus, with President Jose Molina officiating. Interment will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Carmen and the family would like to thank all those who assisted them through the stages of Alzheimer’s, especially Dr. Jaine, Dr. Huerta, the staff at Las Cruces Nursing Center, Good Samaritan Nursing Home, and Hospice. In lieu of flowers, Memorial Donations may be given in Jose’s name to the local chapter of Alzheimer’s Association at 1-888-588-0005.

We Love you Mark, Lisa and Garcia Family.

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; The soul that rises with us, our life's star, hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar; Not in entire forgetfulness, And not in utter nakedness, but trailing clouds of glory do we come From God, who is our home.

I am thankful that you're father is now peaceful again Lisa. I am sending you and your entire family continuous strength, peace, prayers, and lots and lots of hugs.

Lisa's Dad

I just got off the phone with Mark and he asked me to post that at about 6:00 a.m. today Lisa's Dad passed peacefully into the lext life. Carmen mentioned that for the past couple days he's been visited by realatives who passed away previously and today he went to meet them and his Savior. the blessing is that he went peacefully with no sign of pain and now has full control of his spirit body and mind again. I'm confident he's in a great place with many loved ones and, although it's now hard for those left behind, they will all get to see him again someday.

we all love you Lisa and Mark and our prayers are for you and your family and their comfort at this time.

Home Again

I am home again, after having a great 8 days in California visiting Norma's daughters, Karyn and Bobbi. I thought I would tell you a little more about Riverlane Resort, which Bobbi manages with her husband Rick Harrington. Any time you are planning to make a trip to California, you should consider stopping in Guerneville for a day or two to visit them. They told me they would love having anyone from the family visit. Riverlane is in a great location, right in the middle of the little town of Guerneville, and right on the Russian River. Guerneville is in Somona County, so you see some beautiful scenery on the way there. There are spectacular views of the ocean with huge rocks and rugged cliffs just a short drive from where they are.

Close to Riverlane, the river is beautiful, but very shallow in some spots, so it is great for taking kids to play around in the water. The cabins from Riverlane look out right on the river. From Rick and Bobbi's house you can walk less than two blocks down a road and you are at the river. in Guerneville there are places where you can rent canoes for a day for a float down the river and they pick you up at the end of the day on the other side of town. There is also a wonderful redwood forest called Armstrong Woods which is just outside of town. Even though Guerneville is kind of a tourist town, they had very inexpensive restaurants and some quaint little stores.

I thought it was a very fun place to visit. Use this link to check out Riverlane some more.
Kalyn

Denver

Hey. Has anyone ever been to Denver? We're thinking of planning a family vacation there and would love some ideas. Keep in mind that we have a some kids. 9,6,2, and little one. Thanks for the help.

Ang

stu's letter for the week

here's Elder Denny's letter for the week. I also e-mail it to many in case they don't look at the blog. thanks for all your support. Dave

how is everything going in Layton. i hope all is well. because everything here in maine is going great. this last week we had 4 baptisms it was great we had two on tuesday and two on thursday. they were really cool and it was great to be involved in that. I performed 3 out of the 4 and a man in the ward performed the other. it was AMAZING. we are trying to find more people now i think that we are going to have some more here really soon the lord is really blessing this town and is really blessing us i see really great things that are about to happen here. Me and elder Kerby are getting along great every now and then we have some down spots but that's just normal. oh by the way no i didn't get transfered i'm staying here in sanford however, Elder Grote did so i'm very very upset i really liked him but transfers have to happen.one thing that i'm getting really frustrated with is the weather because it is so humid i never feel clean. even after i get out of the shower and get dressed i still just feel grose it is really crapppy. I can't believe that you are rubbing in the whole waverunning thing you know i miss that and i loved and you and Aaron both told me about it ahhhh!! i miss it a lot. but it is good to hear that you all are having fun. it just sucks i miss you all so much. especially Brayden. he's the man. the people here in the Sanford ward are so nice it is gonna be really hard to leave here the people are great . oh remember that guy who trains dogs that only has one leg. well this last week he got his prosthetic leg and he is starting to walk it was amazing to see a grown man try to learn how to walk again. it was pretty cool cuz i've grown pretty close to him.well i best go now i'm gonna send you all some hand written letters this week i promisei love you all and miss you all so muchElder Stuart J. Denny

Does anybody have T-Mobile?

The T-Mobile cell phone above needs a new home. The phone is only 1 month old and works great. I had to switch to another carrier so I could have high speed internet connections over my cell line. The phone is the V300 which is apparently now discontinued by T-mobile but this phone being brand new has lots of use left in it. And it's free. I guess the only stipulation is that you would need to be a current (or sign up new) as a T-Mobile customer as the phone is only used by T-Mobile. Let me know if anybody wants it and I'll send it your way.

Two little Monkeys

Hi!,

Just thought we would show you what the girls have been up to lately. CLIMBING!!!!! They are climbing up anything that they can. Keeping up with them keeps everyone pretty busy.

Have a good one.

Erin & Jeff

Drapers went hikin'

Well, the first annual Draper Birthday hike was a success. We ate tons, hiked a bit, and even caught some fish. The scenery was beautiful, but the bugs were plentiful. Here's a few shots...

Click on this one to make it bigger. Check out the dots... they're bugs.

A few fish...

A little swimmin'

Later,

D

Ryan? Are you getting older?

I think you are. And I think today is the day the doctor held you up by the feet and swatted your bottom good. Happy Birthday Ryan. I hope your day is great. We love you.

Mason's Birthday

Happy Birthday to Batman. Thought I would post a couple of pictures. Mason is actually backpacking in the Uintahs for his birthday. Darren took him with Clayton and Ryan. That's all...

Ang

Hill Cummorah Pageant was Spectacular!!

We had a fabulous trip to Canada and New York. This photo is with our friends the Longs (from WV) and was taken in front of the Peter Whitmer Farmhouse.

The day of the pageant it poured down rain. The locals said that it always does; however, it always stops for the pageant. We stopped into a little store in Palmyra and lucked out to purchase the last 9 ponchos that they had!! We were still totally soaked, but delighted to be there. About 15 minutes before it was to begin -- the rain completely stopped and about 4-5 minutes before it was over, it began to sprinkle again. Our prayers were certainly answered that day!! We all thoroughly enjoyed it. Timothy said he liked the part "where Christ came down out of the sky and visited the nephites" and his second favorite part "was all the battles".

Imagine our surprise when we were waiting for the pageant to begin and we see Kevan Kjar -- dressed as Orson Hyde!! He and his family were all participants in the pageant. We visited with him and Anita for a few minutes before the show. We were in the same ward with them when we were first married and we grew a garden together!! Many of you remember Kevan -- he grew up in Bountiful and was a good friend and roommate with Rand at BYU.

We are now back into the thick of life. We're trying to enjoy the remainder of the summer, which seems to be flying by. I can't believe that in 1 month school will begin. It will be an adjustment this year as we all adapt to having Laurel teach seminary at 6:00 am each day.

For now, we are trying to relish the summer days -- full of swimming and other summer fun!

Much love,

CLEAT

Happy Birthday times two.

Todays birthdays are brought to us by the letters "E" and "M." Does anybody know who was born on this day? I'll give you a clue....both are male. That's it. That's all I'm going to tell you. Happy, Happy birthday "E" and "M." I hope both of you have great days. We love you.

update from mark

I spoke to mark today and he said they've brought lisa's dad home and he has hospice care. he's been having such bad seasures (?) that they don't think it'll be too much longer. however Mark and I think Nephi gave Jose a priesthood blessing and from that moment on he hasn't had a single seasure (?). if you're wondering if the power of the priesthood is real there's a testimony builder. now he can rest peacefully and return to his heavenly father comfortably. what a blessing that is. mark said they don't expect him too be around more than just a couple days, but it's now in the Lord's hands. Lisa's last brother was coming in this afternoon and they felt he would be around at least that long. what a blessing it is to have a testimony of the gospel and the life after this. Death is not a curse, just a passing to something better. we just have to prepare. I'm confident that Jose has done that as he and Carmen are wonderful people. I think they are going to post some more and don't want to overstep my bounds, but I thought I'd share what was said to me. Love ya all and at this time especially mark and Lisa. we're praying for your family

Does anybody have an update from Lisa?

I've just been thinking a lot about Lisa and her family and wondered if anyone had heard anything. Thanks. R.

Visiting Norma's Daughters

I'm having a fun time in California visiting two of Norma's daughters. I flew in on Saturday to Oakland and Karyn picked me up with her husband Tom and their daughter Isabella. We went to San Francisco and had dim sum at a fabulous restaurant called Yank Sing. We spent that day exploring the city before going to Karyn's house in El Cerrito.

The next day Karyn and I did the foodie tour of Oakland and Berkley. We went to every ethnic grocery store Karyn could think of and I bought all kinds of assorted spices, condiments and seasonings. I also bought a pretty interesting collection of bumper stickers in Berkley.

Monday Karyn had to go back to work after being on vacation, so I rode to Berkley with her and spent the day wandering around the city while she was at work. I saw a very interesting documentary called "Enron, the Smartest Guys in the Room" about how the big guys at Enron thought they were so smart they could get away with perpetuating fraud on a massive level. Pretty shocking. I also had some great Thai food.

On Tuesday Bobbi drove down from Guernville to take me to her house. She and her husband Rick manage a resort on the Russian River. It's a lovely little town and the resort is great. Some of the houses and the way they are on the sides of the hills remind me of Park City, but of course this town is not in the mountains. Bobbi has been showing me the sights in this part of California, beautiful coastline and lovely forests, (Sonoma county) and we've also been having fun hanging out at the pool a little. I met Bobbi and Rick's son Casey today, but Shelbie is still in Italy.

Tomorrow we are going to go early and walk on the beach. Then on Friday Bobbi will take me back to Karyn's. Isabella has requested Golden Gate Park for my last day on Saturday, so we will be going there for sure.

I'm having a great time and Karyn and Bobbi are both spoiling me.
Love,
Kalyn

Brandon's last letter home

wow, those letters you sent were awesome! thanx a ton for your heartfelt testimonies about this work. it really helps me alot to see that it effects other people other than those here. you all have been a huge support for me. thanx again. today i got almost all the preparations done for the trip. you all are gonna love what i got for you! hehe. just wait.
the Lord has really blessed us this last transfer of the mission. my companion and i were talking the other day that even though we didnt really get along that much we still worked hard and the Lord blessed us. Last friday Rodrigo and Yesica Farias got baptized together with another 8 yearold kid from the ward. it was really cool to see that there were quite a few people that showed up to support them. For being pretty disorganized, it went pretty smoothly and the Spirit was strong. in fact...Vanessa(yesica and rodrigos older sister) was in doubt all the way up until that baptism and she felt the Spirit really strong and now she wants to be baptized on the 23rd. Also the Muñoz family showed up to church again for the 3rd time in a row and their kids are ready to be baptized the same day of the 23rd. it still hasnt really hit me that im not gonna be there to see their baptisms but i guess it probably wont hit me until im in my own bed at home wondering why im sleeping alone. hehe. i love this work. i love you all.
elder bern
dont worry mom, ill make it there safe.

Thanks Kalyn!!!
Today we were in SLC and it was HOT! Kara, Cooper and I went to enjoy a few minutes at Liberty Park [Cooper's favorite].
I suggested we go up to Kalyn's for a little respite from the heat. Thanks K your house was a welcome relief & relaxing. I can see why you enjoy it so much.
Thanks also for the chocolate ice cream bars we enjoyed while there--hope that was ok! I also picked several zucchini and yellow squash--[I bought some at the store just last night}--you still have plenty more where it came from!
Hope you are having a great time in Cali. It was great timing for you as SLC is a scorcher right now. Every day this week is 100+ degrees.

Thanks again--Cooper gives you a big hug for the popsicle.
Pam, Kara, & Cooper

It's a Party!!
The annual Bountiful City Parade is on Friday, July 22--at 6:30pm.
We are going to save a few places---we only have so many chairs--it will be somewhere near the IHC on 300 north.
After the parade we are going to have a BBQ--just hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and watermelon. Everyone is invited.
It would help food wise if you could let us know if you wish to come.
Hope to have some of you join the Willey family that day.
Love to All--
Pam
I

Gunther is seven!

Happy, Happy Birthday Gunther. In the picture, he's a pretty busy Jedi Knight doing battle with his light saber. Good thing we got those extra long candles for the cake, he's going to be awhile.

My thoughts are with the Garcia Family

I am in California visiting Norma's daughters Karyn and Bobbie and I read on the blog about Lisa's dad. This is such a difficult time for a family. I just wanted to send a message to Lisa and all the Garcia family to let you know my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Love,
Kalyn

stu's letter

hey dad how is everything going. that's sweet that you got your truck did you take any pictures of it. if so i would like some so i can show everyone what kinds of trucks i use to operate and stuff.so do you all have like tons of work or something is that why your buying a new tv van did you sale the seal van. and then another in January huh. that's sweet. i'm proud of you dad for building such a good buisness all on your own and for it being a successful one.so what did you think about the video camera thing i really want one so that i don't have to borrow other peoples that had to buy them. and then brayden will have one to use when he gets out maybe he'll just want to go half on it with me. let me know what you want to do i'll pretty much do anything.well everything here is looking up we have 4 baptisms this week we have two on tuesday the 12th and then 2 more on thursday the 14th. so i'm way excited i'm gonna perform three out of four so i'm so nervous but also at the same time very excited. the lord is blessing us i think because of last week the one girl who skipped out. well i'm staying healthy i try to eat right and i am continually excercizing not because i'm getting fat but i just don't want to start getting fat. good plan huh?me and my comp are doing pretty good at getting along with eachother. our numbers were a little down this week but we made a goal to double them this week.a week from tomorrow are transfers already this one flew by. i personally think that i'm going to stay again and elder kerby is going somewhere else. i don't know why but i think i'm staying here. so i'm not to worried.i had a really good experience the other day. i was on the phone with a born again christian and she was trying to argue with me about the trinity. finally i just commited her to pray about it and she said that she would as long as i would commit to know if there really was a trinity so i agreed.so, i did commit to her that i would pray about it and i know that i would want her to pray about what i asked her to so i did i prayed that i would have the truth shown to me whether or not the trinity was tru or false. well i didn't have like a vision. i was asleep. so i got my answer in a dream. and in my dream i was sitting in front of President Gordon B Hinckley and the first presidency. and they all told me that they knew for a fact that the trinity was false that they all had seen Christ and got standing next to eachother. and the dream ended . i didn't realize that i got my answer until i was in the shower that morning . it dawned on me i got so excited. so i knew that prayer was real and i knew that prayers were answered because i've had many prayers answered but this time it was just in a really different cool way that my prayer was answered.well i best be going i have some work to do.i Love you all and hope everything is doing great.Love Elder Stuart J. DennyP.s. Brayden i wrote you back so write me another letter or else......Nate will hurt you.

Who says you can't have it all????

We decided we wanted to be part of the blog and post some pictures incase any of you forgot what we look like all the way here in Logan. I know these aren't the most attractive pictures, but they are the only ones Rach has on her computer. Once one of us get a digital camera you will be blessed with many, many more beautiful pictures of us!!!

lots of love from Logan,

Aly and Rach

ps....Ryan, have you been bowling lately???

Brandon's coming home

Did I mention that Brandon is coming home in 6 days!! We are so excited! I can hardly wait to hug that boy! He flys in at 5:30 on Saturday the 16th. He is excited to see all of you. I hope that will happen very soon as Iwould like to see you too.
Love you,
J

I am sorry too.

Lisa and gang...

I pray his suffering is very short and my heart and prayers are with you and your family. I never got to meet your dad, Lisa, but I have been told about him and I know he was loved by many and will be missed.
I know how devastating that disease is, Jon's dad died with it too. I love you all. I know I live far away, but please, please tell me if there is anything you want or need me to do for any of you.

All my love and my heart,

Janet and family

Thoughts and prayers to Lisa and family.

I'm so sorry to hear about your father Lisa. Please know that you and your family are in our prayers. Please keep us posted and let us know if there is anything we can do. Much, much love.

Lisa's Dad

Hi everyone,
(This blog is really from Lisa, borrowing Matt's blog.) This is a quick e-mail about some sad news. I sent an e-mail earlier to some of you, and then thought of the blog. My dad has had a stroke. It was a minor one, but it has started some seizures that will not stop. This began on Friday (7/8). The seizures are petit-mal (small), but are coming every 15-20 minutes. His brain is bleeding. They have dropped all the medications except phenobarbital in order to focus on stopping them. Right after the p-b goes in, they slow down for a little bit, but that doesn't last long.

He is beginning the last and final stage of Alzheimer's. One of the symptoms in this stage are the seizures. They start small, sometimes become grand mal, but when they are taking place over 50% of the time, death will soon follow.

A long time ago we made the decision to not prolong life, so he is DNR with no feeding tube or nutrition. If the seizures do not stop soon, he will not last long. If the seizures do slow down, then the focus will be on eating/drinking. Yesterday he was concscious (sp?) and swallowing water, today he is not either conscious or swallowing, but he's not in a coma.

We are all leaving the afternoon of 7/11 (not 7/13 as I said in the email; I was looking at the wrong month), and plan to arrive sometime Tuesday. As of now, we're planning to stay until about Saturday and then head home, though it's possible I will stay longer depending on what is going on.

I'll probably put Mark or Matt in charge of blogging every couple days. We'll also keep Dave&Amy and/or Dad&Norma informed by phone. Call if you'd like.

Lisa cell: 1-801-510-5473
Mark: 1-801-430-4601
Matt: 1-801-510-4629

Carmen Garcia's house: 1-505-523-9430

Thanks for loving us and keeping us in your prayers. I love you all. Thanks so much for loving me and being family.

LISA and family

Austin...is today your birthday?

Happy, Happy Birthday Austin. What number is this? One? Two? I hope your day is great. Don't get sick on cake. And don't tell anyone your wish. We love you.

stuarts july 5th letter

Here's stusrts letter from july 5th -
Well how was everyones 4th of july i hope everything went well. my 4th was alright as you all know we can't stay out late to watch them. however, we live right next to this lake and they shot the fireworks right off of this barge and so we were able to see them from our apartment. they weren't nearly as good as Laytons but they were cool. about the Baptism on saturday or should i say the lack of baptism. everything was set to go we filled the font everyone was there the prelude music was playing but we still didn't have anyone to dunk! that's right she stood us up. which was really upsetting. we weren't able to hear from her until the 4th. she had some excuse but i thought she could have at least called she is still very interested and is most likely going to be baptized on the 14th with the boy named eddie and a lady named Diane. so we are pretty excited to get three in week.
sounds like the trek was fun i know that i enjoyed it when i went. for the 4th i forgot to mention we had six of us missionaries walk in the parade with our ward they had a float. and so we got a lot of possitive contacts. and it was a lot of fun. i didn't get the camera card. i'll go back to the apartment and check again but no i haven't gotten it. thank you so so so much for my two packages the 4th of july stuff was very fun. mom sorry about the birthday card i couldn't remember which 25th it was on but now i know june and july are so similar i just don't ever know. well i'm off i hope i answered everything you asked and i hope that i addressed everything that i needed to but i gotta go do some good.i love you all and thank you all for your supportLoveElder Stuart J. Denny

The Grunions are coming tonight.

I thought you might find this interesting. We're going late, late tonight to see them. It's really something. Tonight is the official Venice Gunion Festival. Here's what the web site says about them: California grunion are a species of marine fish found only along the coast of southern California and northern Baja California. They are justifiably famous for their unique spawning behavior. Grunion spawn completely out of the water and lay their eggs on many sandy beaches in California. Shortly after high tide, on specific nights, sections of these beaches sometimes are covered with thousands of grunion dancing about on the sand. The popularity of these grunion runs means that some nights there are more people lining the beaches than grunion in the run.

Italian Sausage Pasta Salad

For anyone who is interested (especially Mark) today I posted a recipe on my blog for the Italian Sausage Pasta Salad I made for Mark and Lisa's barbecue on the Fourth of July. It was yum-yum, and low carb too. You can read it here.

Smith's has great Italian Sausage if you live near one of their stores. I actually prefer the turkey Italian Sausage to the pork sausage, and it's lower in fat.

Ciao!
Kalyn

Somebody turned fourteen today.

Happy Birthday Angee. Aren't you fourteen today? Funny, you don't look a day over thirteen.Have a swell day of cake, balloons, presents, and love. Followed by a nice coma.

Change of Address

I have moved so I thought I would give everyone my new address. Rachel and I moved into a townhouse just a few blocks from our other house. I am really excited for my new house even though it is a complete mess and probably will be for a little while.

My new address is:

764 N 100 W #4
Logan, UT 84321

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July and it was good to see everyone that came to Mark and Lisa's for the BBQ.

Love you all, Aly

Tomatoes for the Fourth of July

I know that Rand is way ahead of me, but for the rest of you who live in the more "tomato-challenged" part of the country, I wanted to report that today I ate the very first tomato from my garden. Ironically, it was not a Fourth of July tomato, although I have some of those. This was a yellow Lemon Boy tomato, a type that had been recommended to me by someone at the garden center. It was small, but sweet and delicious. Alas, I don't have any other tomatoes that are even close to getting ripe, so this one must have been something of a free thinker. How appropriate that I ate it on Independence Day.

This year I tried three tomato types I hadn't grown before:

• Lemon Boy - a yellow/gold medium sized tomato
• Red Beefsteak - a large, red tomato that I know is very common but I hadn't ever grown it before
• Black Tomato - an heirloom tomato characterized by "wrinkles" and slight "stripes" radiating out where the stem is attached

All three of the new tomato types are very prolific producers and appear very healthy. I will report later on the flavor.

By the way, if you live in Utah where we have had lots of rain, your tomatoes might have a fungus. I read about this in the Salt Lake Tribune. The fungus will cause the lower leaves to yellow on the edges and curl up, but the newspaper reports it will go away by itself. I have it on some of my plants, but the upper leaves look healthy and green, which is what the newspaper said would let you know that the fungus was going away. I am glad I had read about it, because I would have been tempted to increase the water if I hadn't known what it was, which would have not been good.

This is only the second time in 15 years that I haven't been at the NEA convention on the Fourth of July, and I have to admit I miss the hoopla a little. They always have a big celebration on that day with balloons, noisemakers, and everyone wears their quirkiest red, white and blue clothes. It's fun, but I am happy to be home.

Kalyn

Add your name to the list.

Today something historic is happening. Global concerts are taking place to raise awareness about poverty in Africa. EVERY DAY IN AFRICA 30,000 CHILDREN DIE. Every day. We would not let that happen in California. Or Utah. Or England. Or Germany. So why in Africa? Please go here to add your name to "The Live8 list." It's a worldwide list, an outcry to the leaders of the eight richest most industrialized countries on Earth to make poverty in Africa a priority. You don't have to give an email address or anything other than your name and what country you are from. WE ARE SO BLESSED. Please add your name to the list and let's be part of ending poverty in Africa in our lifetime. I believe we can do it.

D & Ang - Nashville

Back to real life now. It was so nice to have a vacation and Nashville was the lucky recipient of our travels. We had a good time and the highlight had to have been line dancing at the Wild Horse Saloon. I know, we're such wild and crazy country folk. Darren picked up the accent in about 60 seconds and spent the whole trip in Tennessee mode. Pretty funny. That's it. Bye...