He is so darn cute!!!!

These are some pictures of us we took for our engagement. We can only pick one, but all of them are just so cute!

You'd Think She'd Never Been To A Zoo Before!

Sammy just called home to tell me about her wonderful day at the Krefeld Zoo. She was so excited about some of the things that she saw and did I hope I can capture that excitement for you. I even took notes of the telephone call, because she made some Samantha-ism type comments (italicized in the text) that just cracked me up! She gave me permission to post her experience, so you can share in her excitement too.

"Mommy, mommy, Krefeld has a zoo! It's much bigger than Willow Park Zoo but smaller than Hoogle Zoo. I went there today with my friend Jenessa and our Krefeld exchange program representative. I had some fun and exciting things happen to me at the zoo. The zoo has elephants, camels, llamas, monkeys, birds, and FLAMINGOS! Guess what mommy, I actually saw a real flamingo! I mean I've seen pictures of them and little lawn statues, but I actually saw my first real live flamingo. 'And guess what! They really are pink! And they really do stand on one leg! And it was so cool because they act like real flamingos!'

"At the zoo there is a building with no cages--it is an open building with crocodiles, monkeys, and some other animals. As we were walking on one of the walkways, Jenessa stopped and screamed because there was a monkey in front of her. She got behind me; she was so scared. I got down, held out my hand, and said, come here little monkey. And wouldn't you know it. The monkey came over and stepped into my hand. He actually stepped in my hand. It was so cool. Then he gave me an underhanded 'high five.' I actually touched a monkey. When he saw that I didn't have any food in my hand, he got down and stepped on my shoulder as he walked away.

" 'I spoke with the peacocks. I had so much fun; the zoo people probably thought I was ten.'
(When I asked her how a peacock sounds, she didn't miss a beat in speaking peacock to me over the telephone.)

"Next, it was so cool because the elephants danced for us. They danced! They were outside waiting to be fed and they rocked back and forth on their legs, wiggled their ears, bobbed their heads, and stepped around--'they did an elephant dance.'

"I talked with the penquins too. (I then asked her if they talked back to her.) Yes, they did talk back, but they scared me because they were speaking in a weird way, in a 'penquin sex talk' kind of way, more of a groan and moan instead of talking.

"Our representative had to leave early, so Jenessa and I stayed at the zoo. When we got to the seals, 'they gave us an impromptu seal show, given by the seals, just for me and Jenessa.'

" 'I was wearing a clean shirt, but I got crapped on by the birds in the bird house.'

" 'I wanted to curl up with the lion, that is, if he wouldn't rip my head off.'

"Oh, mommy, I had such a great time today at the zoo. The worst part of the day was that I didn't have my camera with me! So I'm gonna go back again with my camera."

What's In a Name? A Rose By Any Other Name...

A little over an hour ago we had an interesting telephone call from the local police. Mind you this call was at 10:30 at night! Here's how it went.

"Hello, this is Beverly"

"Hello, I am Officer W. from N.P. Police Department and I am calling concerning some charges of harassment that have recently been filed against Samantha P..."

Needlesstosay I was somewhat shocked by his announcement, but not enough to stop me from telling him, "Stop right there. My daughter is out of the country and has been for a year."

He hestitated somewhat before asking, "Are you sure she's out of the country?"

"Yes," I responded with a slight sarcastic tone, "I just got back from visiting her in Germany where she lives and has been living for almost a year."

"Oh." Pause. "Is she nineteen?" was his next question.

"Yes, but what has that to do with anything? I don't know who filed a complaint against my daughter, but it is obviously false."

"Well, I could have the wrong Samantha. So I will check the complaint again."

"Good, you do that and once you find out who filed this complaint against her, I want to press formal charges against this person for this false complaint."

"Okay, well, I'll check the complaint again."

"You do that and let me know. "
And then we said our goodbyes.

Jeff was half-heartedly listening to my side of the conversation from the livingroom. When I told him what just happened, he called the police station immediately. His intent was to find out if this was a prank telephone call or not. He spoke with an officer, who transferred him to Officer W. who then informed Jeff that he had the wrong Samantha P. He needed a Samantha P. in Idaho.

Okay, the questions that started darting around my brain were numerous. Questions such as Why did he call at 10:30 at night? Does he not have any civility to know that is not an appropriate time to call people? Shouldn't he have checked his complaint report in detail before calling and scaring the wrong person with this information?

Maybe I'm just a simpleton, but, come on now people, whatever happened to basic common sense!

I feel bad for Samantha knowing that she has a doppelganger in Idaho. It's something she will need to be aware of at least until she gets married and changes her name.

There is a Jeff P. in the same town as us. We often get calls for the other Jeff P. Just last week a bill collector called about an outstanding bill. I had a heck of a time convincing this guy that he had the wrong Jeff P. My Jeff has had to deal with a bunch of crap having to do with the other Jeff P. ever since the other Jeff P. moved into the area about 6 years ago. It has been a "royal" pain in the arse!

I looked up my name on the internet once and found five people with the exact same name (first, middle and last names).

The more people there are the greater the likelihood that someone else will have the same name as you. In this age of fraud and identity theft our names aren't safe. Don't ever let things slide if they concern your name, but not you. Such as this telephone call from the police. This could have become a BIG complicated mess if we didn't take an immediate stand and see it properly resolved.

Be safe and do whatever you need to protect yourself!

Measure Twice Cut Once

Jeff and I have been together for 33 years now (8 1/2 dating, 25 married), and you would think in all that time I would have learned the carpenter's phrase, "Measure Twice, Cut Once." I admit I have heard Jeff say it 200 to 300 times in the last 33 years. But it's a guy thing; I never paid too much attention to it because I don't do any carpentry work at home. Jeff and Dylan do it all! It's a good thing too because they knew how to shave, cut, and strip part of the wall and the cupboard to get the refrigerator I bought to fit!!! I guess 3/4 inch does make a difference after all!!!

Moral of the story: Measure Twice Cut Once is a good thing for women to keep in mind when buying refrigerators.

Another Crook update.

Me, Brad, and Elliot went down to Tucson, Arizona for all those who didn't know and we had a BLAST! We stayed in the Marriott Hotel for the first three nights, then stayed over at Nate and Jyll's through the weekend. The hotel was very nice, but expensive and even though Brad's work was paying for it, I didn't want to spend the money on the extra things. So While Brad was at work, I would stay in or go hang out with Jyll. It was nice seeing Nate, Jyll, and all the nieces and nephew's again and I know Elliot loved it as well. He had a blast! I think hanging out with the cousins helped him walk more, because before we visited them he would only would walk to us, now that we've been home that's all he's doing! Just walking around, if he falls he gets right back up. The things we did in Tucson was......

Visiting "Old Town Tucson" for anyone that doesn't know what that is is basically where they shoot all the western movies, Brad found a book that listed all the movies that filmed there, and well I think it had like 100 pages, so TUNS! We got there at 5:00pm and they close down at 6:00pm the only reason why because after five is only five bucks! I think it was plenty of time to hang around, watch a little cowboy fight, and take some silly pic. Overall it was fun.

Watched Tristens, and Caleb's baseball games, and that was a full day for itself but we had a lot of fun as well. Watching the games made me more excited for our boys to grow up and do these little activities. Plus watching Tristen pitch his first game is priceless, he was awesome, better then the 11 year old (well, I think he was a 11) but he was great, Caleb is getting to be a good player as well, we only caught the last half our from his game, but what I had seen those two boys are gunna make mommy and daddy rich one day. :)

We also did little activities such as....Eat out, had some good home cookin, hung out watched movies, chatted, and just had a good time. I actually told Brad that I wouldn't mind moving to Tucson, the feeling I had there reminded me so much of Las Vegas but I would never move back to las vegas, but Tucson? now theirs a possibility.

Now for alittle update, Brad is doing his final exams and is pretty much busy with that. Elliot is now walking and keeping mommy busy, but Brad and I are proud. I am slowly giving Brad hints that next weekend is our fourth year anniversary, so he can prepare something amazing!! :)

Some more pic

Some pic I thought you guys would enjoy :)

The first picture is of Elliot in his little toy box down stairs, he climbed in all by himself. How cute!

The second is him in the bath tub taking a bath.

The Third is him playing in the park.

The fourth one is Elliot closing his eye's, it just looked darling!

And the last but not least is him walking!!

Andrea is on the Blog!!!

Hey,
it's Andrea. My mom told me how to use the Blog. Well, I just got home from school. We had a guest speeker in 7th hour. She talked about Pork. It's way funny when ever we have a speeker on some type of food. They tell us how great the food is and they tell us things that we can do with the food, but it's funny that the food market most be so low that they have to start telling KIDS to get it and make it and to tell their parents it is the BEST thing ever. I bet by doing that the kids go home saying, "Oh mom we learned about this food it is so cool and good!!!" and the mom is like "Well ok we will try it today!" then the sales go up! It is all a gimik! They are not trying to teach you about the food they are trying to brain wash you into bying it! Today the lady gave us a sample and she told us how wonderful it is, and you start thinking "mmmm that sounds good!" so in your mind you think it is good already! Then she gives you the sample and it...SUCKS!!! Believe me I was the only one that did not raise my hand when she asked if we liked it. Also I was the only one who did not think it even sounded good. I did not even think of it! The point is that the world has weird ways of brain washing now-a-days.~*~*Andrea*~*~

HELLO!!

Hello Family!!

I'm still here, sorry you haven't heard from me in a long time. I've been...well, we can say busy...but what I really mean is playing in the German pool with my German host siblings in GERMANY! I have a little sun burn, from the German sun... I'm not obsessed really!

Yep, thats right, I'm still here and I'm going to be for another two months. It's weird to think that I have spent almost a whole year in another country away from Family and Friends.... Weird! I do have to say, the weather here is amazing! It's the warmest/sunniest April Germany has had in many years. Everybody is saying that I'm lucky to be here this year cause it's been so beautiful. I must agree, I am lucky to be here, regardless of the weather. It's almost been unreal...

Enough rambeling, I wanted to let you all know that I'm still around....well in Germany but still alive at least. For awhile I thought I was going to slowly turn into a German cause I'v been here a long time, but then I realized, that's what they want!! AHH!! Don't worry I'm still me....mostly!

Love you all so much! My family means everything to me, it hasn't been the easiest 8 months of my life without you. I'm looking forward to seeing most of you (I hope all of you) in June for my big sister's/best friend's wedding.. Until then!

babysitting info again, please.

i have a question about the whole babysitting thing for the wedding. do you have babysitters available or do we need to find someone? we would like to come but we don't know what to do with Robyn. She will be 10 months then if that changes anything. we have family in provo but we don't want to leave robyn there because we would like to stay as long as possible.

Changes to Powell Family Blog

Due to comments from non-members of the blog on May 15 I have decided to restrict the blog to just those who have been invited to use it. The process now for reading the blog will require you to sign in first with your username and password. If the 'sign in' box is not showing, all you need to do is click on the big blogger "B" to get it to show. If you need another invitation or you know another family member who would like one, let me know.

Time to Plan for 2008 Family Reunion

Gramma Rainy will be sending family members a proposed schedule for the 2008 Family Reunion. If you do not receive one either by e-mail or regular mail, contact me or Rainy to receive one. I would like as much input from family as possible and as soon as possible. It's not to early to start planning for next year's event!

No Wedding Brunch Afterall

This is to inform you the Wedding brunch that was tentatively scheduled for Saturday morning (June 30) has been removed from the schedule altogether. Everything else is the same. Official announcements should be going out the first week in June.
Lots of love!

Asphalt, sandals and skateboarding

So today me, Richard and Andrea were over at Richards mothers house on a hill. Well we brought the long board (extra long skateboard), needless to say no one would go down the hill on the board so i decided to be the courageous one and attempt it. As i was flying down the hill my board started to tip and ...well... i went flying through the air landed on the asphalt and slid about two feet on the asphalt. My main concern was my board, but i ended up with 10 abrasions and i split open my toe because... i was wearing sandals.

The moral of this and as i later explained to Richards nieces and nephew was... you never go skateboarding with out the proper equipment, ie helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, and of course real shoes!!!! So what does asphalt, sandals and skateboarding have in common???? A real rough ride and yet another embarrassing moment foe Meghann.

Good Question

Someone asked me the other day if the wedding plans have changed because of Richard's accident. I figured others might have the same question in mind. Rest assured, although Richard's recovery is going very slowly, wedding plans remain unchanged. He will be on bed rest for another few weeks, he is scheduled for an MRI this week, and still antsy to get back to work.

Recap of wedding plans:
June 27 - Bridal Shower in Logan
June 29 - Open House in Logan
June 30 - Wedding brunch (Place, time, cost still to be determined)
June 30 (evening) - Wedding* and reception*

(*reminder: no children under 14 allowed. This isn't our rule; it is the wedding/reception place's requirement.)

Looking forward to seeing you in June!

Who Would have "Thunk" It!

The results of a major research study comparing every city in the United States has recently been published. The study focused on a number of factors including population growth, income, employment, education and higher education, etc... and ranked the cities from best to worst in the US. It blew me away when I saw the number three ranked city was none other than Logan, Utah. All these years I've been bitching to get the hell out of Logan only to discover it is the third best city in the US. Who would have "thunk" it.

It's ironic that the only negative comment made about Logan was that its population is 70% mormon.

Please pray for Richard

All hospitals have a "Code Blue" team, that is a team of employees that is called when there is an medical emergency, and Richard is on that team at Pioneer. On Feb 20 Richard responded to a code and was giving CPR. During the compressions the person working the defibrillator did not yell clear and Richard touching the patient got the full blow of 360 joules of the shock. To non-medical this type of shock is to stop the heart and reset it in a normal beat. This bolt of electricity went through Richards body making all of his muscles cramp up, the doctors say that it crossed over his body in his chest and exited his left big toe. Thank goodness it did not stop his heart, but it did throw him into a slower heart rhythm . For the first two weeks Richard has been dealing with his arm being numb and chest tightness.

But Richard has been complaining of chest pain the last week, so he got checked out and they found that when electric bolt crossed his chest it burnt his right lung and nerves to his lungs giving him a hemorrageic contusion. Because of that blood has leaked into his lungs and he is at risk for pulmonary embolisms(PE which are deadly) and he has contracted an infection and pneumonia. He has been put on bed rest with very little activity-he can't get his heart rate up because it would cause his lungs to expand and dislodge a PE. This is very serious because this can cause permanent damage.

So that is all the news i have to update people on sorry its not good news but hey news is news.

Passed the First Time!

Dylan passed his driving test the first time! The ironic thing is that neither Jeff nor I even knew he was taking his road test. He did it at school with the Driver Ed teacher. Dylan may have his license now, but Jeff and I feel he needs more driving experience, especially highway driving. So we will be taking a road trip to Vegas one of these upcoming weekends. We'll let you know when--look forward to seeing you!

The POWER TO POST!!

Yaaaay!!! I regot the invite!! Ahem, I forgot my user name and password from before.... :-)

Oh wait, I should have something to say, huh? Um, Meghann's forwards are really funny. I'm trying to find a Wii for Dylan, because they ROCK and I bet the Beverly will even get totally into it. Um, well, that's about it. Seriously thinking of moving to Utah in a year, but we'll see.

Okay, that really is it.

Love you all!!!!
Kim

Snow At Last!

We were beginning to fear the trees would bud early because of how warm it's been in the valley. But no fear snow has finally come! There are only three inches on the ground and the mountains still have more trees than snow visible and it will probably melt by tomorrow but... at least there's snow for today!

Samantha Doll Gets Ready For Easter

The Christmas costume was getting out-dated for the wonderful spring weather we are having, so Samantha Doll asked me to get her an Easter dress. The only problem I'm having with her right now is she doesn't want to take off her elf hat. She said that if I find the "most perfectest" Easter bonnet, then maybe she'll reconsider. Golly gee, she is as stubborn as her name-sake!

Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

I've looked all over . . .
and still can't find my Sammy!

Good and Bad News

Bad news first. Jeff won't be transferring to the Aircraft Sustainment Division as Branch Chief afterall. Everyone in his current division (and I do mean everyone from the Manager, Supervisors, Engineers, and the workers on the floor) went to the Senior Branch Manager and put in a "stop request" on his promotion and transfer. Because of this he has been deemed "Mission Critical" to the Airforce in his current division. :(

Now the Good news. The Airforce will be giving him a promotion of title and the pay increase he would have gotten with the original promotion just for staying where he is and doing what he has been doing. Plus, being deemed "Mission Critical" is now in his file. This will dramatically increase his chances for promotions and advancements within his current division. :)

Missed Photos read 'a wonderful new year...not'

here are the pictures they didn't work the first time sorry

What a wonderful New Year....NOT!!!!

After a wonderful Christmas with the family, Richard and I had a sucky New Year. We both got the stomach virus that was going around SLC. It consisted of vomiting and major diarrhea, you cannot go more than a room away from a bathroom because there is no warning when it comes…it just comes!!! It causes you to get extremely dehydrated, which physiologically makes your muscles cramp. So not only are you constantly expelling liquid from both ends but every muscle in your body is aching. Needless we celebrated our New Years hooked up to IVs in the Emergency Room at Pioneer Valley Hospital in complete misery.

After recovering from that we continued life as normal, but I had the added bonus to plan for a wedding. My soon to be sister-in-law is getting married in September so we planned to go to bridal fairs together. I never realized how much a person can spend on a wedding…it is insane!!!! I want a nice wedding to remember-special to Richard and me, and that is what we are going to have… Our wedding.

To top off the New Year Richard's grand parents give him a truck, at no cost, just gives it to him. As he pulls in the drive way it dies. A week and a couple hundred later it works. Then a week after that on the way to the hospital the clutch goes. So another week and another couple hundred and it works. Well something was still not right so yet another week and another hundred and now it works just fine…knock on wood.

Well on Jan 26 around 2pm on my way home from work a (here come the racial slurs) stupid un-insured non-english speaking Mexican runs a red light and smashes…let me repeat SMASHES into my car. I get out to look at the damage and he says, “I from mexico…no insurance… I pay… I pay…give me your number…I pay.” Luckily for me there was a cop who saw the accident and came over. I had to file a police report-that whole shebang. I hit my head on the side of the car and got a major head ache and had to go to the hospital (Pioneer Valley, home away from home) There I got checked out with nothing but whip-lash. But my head has not stopped hurting so more medical testing is being looked into. Here are some pictures of the car. I was hit on the driver’s side front tire to the end of the front end, it shifted everything over by about 6 inches. My guess is that I will need a new hood, bumper, and 2 fenders, a door, and a window.

So I want to make sure that everyone else is having a better year so far than I am!!!! And you all better be. I love you and wish you the best.

Totally Random

When I lived in New York and Nevada I would get compliments on my long straight freshly washed hair. Since moving to Utah, strangers approach me weekly complimenting me on my long, full head of hair. No lie, people approach me at the grocery store, doctor's office, and even at the temple! So what's the big deal you ask? Well, I only get compliments from Utahns when my hair is 3 or more days dirty and I have to back-comb it so it doesn't stick to my head. I never get compliments when my hair is freshly washed, shiny, straightened or styled. So this leads me to believe that one of the following is true about Utahns: 1) they long for the big hair of the 80s and their sense of style is freakishly antiquated, 2) they have no sense of style, or 3) they only compliment my hair when it's dirty to be nice. Either way it is really beginning to freak me out!

To make matters worse. Yesterday a complete stranger complimented my fingernails and asked me where I got them done. The only response I could muster was, "I grew them."

God help me; I need a break from Utah!

WazUp?

Some news to share...

Meghann and Richard have found a place for the wedding/reception. It's a greenhouse garden reception hall. From what I saw it looks beautiful. Meg will tell you more later.

Jeff applied for a promotion and got it. He is now the Branch Chief of the Aircraft
Sustainment Wing (division). (That makes him equivalent to a Major in the Air Force.)


Meggie and Richard's bird, Twilight, doesn't like Jeff because of his beard.
Here is a once in a life time shot of the two of them together.

Love to all!

Hi everybody. Some of you have asked about the wedding plans. Well, we are still working on them. The date is set for June 30, and it will be in Salt Lake City -- somewhere. The place is still undetermined. I want an out-of-doors late afternoon wedding (4 ish), then a family dinner, then a reception (6:30 ish) Sorry nothing set in stone yet. But at least you have the date! I hope you can schedule to attend.
love ya
Megs

Happy Birthday Sammy!

A picture is worth a thousand words!
Sam, would you please buy a doll liederhosen costume for our 37" Sammy Elf?
Hey Sam, dad wants you to pass the salt!
Ducky sends her love.
Happy 19th Sammy!

Guess What?

I've been dating this really cute, adorable, amazing guy Richard for nine months. On December 22nd he became my fiance. That's right--I'm engaged!!!!!! Wedding date is set for June 30, 2007. (This is only 5 days after Samantha gets home from Germany.) More info to come at later date.


The ring is a family heirloom from Richard's mother's side. It has 6 small diamonds around a larger center diamond.










This is a picture of me and my sweetie taken during our family annual river rafting trip (July 2006). This is my favorite picture of us. It shows our adventurous side. He is an EMT-I and works at Pioneer Valley Hospital in the Emergency Room. That is where we met--I work in the Lab at the Hospital. Richard's hobbies include ultimate fighting, jujitsu martial arts, snow boarding, mountain biking, hunting, and just about every other out-of-doors activity and sport.

See I told you he was a cutie!!!!!!


Merry Christmas. Love to all!

Concerned about flying with Robyn

Beverly, do you know of an over the counter seditive i could give robyn to sleep on an airplain? one that wont harm her.

Samantha Elf

We have a 37 inch daily reminder of Sammy on our kitchen table. On the scarf I put a small angel pin and a larger heart pin with a sister poem on it. On the hat we put a picture of Sammy blowing us a kiss. The Smile on our Samantha Elf reminds us of Sam's beautiful smile. The Samantha Elf helps us not miss her so much especially during the holidays. WE LOVE YOU SAM!

Merry Christmas to everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving Family!

Hello agian! I wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. My family here decided to have a Thanksgiving dinner so I won't feel homesick, but the trick is, I have to cook it!! I've help my mom for years with Thanksgiving dinner but I don't really pay close attention to things like that, I just help. Well now I'm stuck learning how to make a Turkey, let alone ALL the other food...Oops! I wish I knew what I was doing. This calls for a mommy and daddy to the rescue!

Other than that, Germany is great. I have to addmit that I haven't been feeling my best for the last while but I've been working on it. I have been sick for two weeks cause it's getting colder and I have to ride my bike every morning to school. I've just started feeling better. I've been keeping busy here, for the most part. I am in the community theater, surprise surprise I know. I have also been doing a lot with my host mom, running erands mostly but if I can help I try. I have friends but only do things on the weekend with them. And my teachers in school are taking me more seriously, which is a bad thing cause now I have to much homework and I only understand every third word. Over my head! Well that is about whats going on here in Deutschland for me. Surprised it's only 5 sentences? I am!

Happy Thanksgiving Family!! I wanted to tell you know how thankful I am for everyone of you. I wouldn't be here if I didn't have you guys. Every single one of you mean so much to me. Love you, Take care.

**Samantha-isms** (lost in Danglish) ....To feel = "tasten" in German, that one is self-explanatory. I know I lost my Sanity but I didn't think I was getting my five senses mix up....until now.

You all know I love pickles!! Pickles pickles pickles I'll eat them anywhere, anyhow, anytime. Love Pickles, yummy!! Now that you know how much I love eating pickles, guess what pickle mean in German???......ZIT. that's right, zit. Now with that in mind go back and read the first few sentences again. YEP, I know....gross! I deffinatley made that mistake. I actually said that, I love eating pickles, of course I got a lot of grossed out looks...I actually felt like vomitting after all that....So now I hope you all enjoy eating your pickles and that it "feels" good. Thank you, Thank ya very much....peace out

The Drumm's new addition!!!

Wow! This is my beautifull family.

Bethany Elaine Drumm arived on Monday the 13th of November at 3:24pm. Weighing at 8 bls 1 oz.

They induced me at 12:00pm, broke my water around 2:00pm (while diolated at a 5) and checked my cervex again an hour later. The nurse said, "Oh! I can't find your cervex!! Your ready!" Doc. Swainston was in the middle of a C-section and said to hold for 5 min. I started to get the urge to push right before he came in. He checked me and said,
"Yep! There's a baby in there."
"Are you sure?" lol
"Well, we'll soon find out. Do you feel a contraction?"
"Yeah, I feel one right now."
"Okay, push."
2 1/2 mins later, Bethany was born.

Emilee loves her baby sister. "Bunny" as she calls her. Emilee has been wonderful. Bethany sleeps through the night and isn't colicy and takes my milk really well. She also takes a pacifier and a bottle. I wanted to test a bottle the other day to see if Josh would be able to take me to a Birthday movie ("stranger then fiction"-great movie) while mom watched the kids. :) Even Emilee did well without us. It could be cause we left Emilee with Mom for a whole 24 hours the day Bethany was born, with the help of Aunt Beverly (thank you). I have a beautifull family and it just keeps getting more beautifull.

Bethany doesn't look like Emilee. She looks just like baby pic's of Josh. But they both have my double-jointed thombs. ;) And we think Bethany might have my green eyes.

Well, it all feels like another dream. I'm ready to do it again!!! :) Well, maybe I should wait a while and just enjoy the moments with my new family.

i found some pics

hey guys i found these pictures i took that i forgot all about. hope you like it. its nothing fancy but you guys look great.

lots of love,

sarah

Happy Birthday Dylan!

What's worse than one teenage boy playing "Halo 2?"

Answer: 15 teenage boys playing "Halo 2."

For Dylan's 16th b-day party he had the Halo party of the century. Seven tvs, two router stations, and 15 controllers attached to 15 pairs of teenage boys hands spread out from the garage, dining room, hallway, and livingroom. The noise level could be compared to a sonic boom except it lasted for 7 hours... 6 pizzas, 5 boys sleeping over, 4 cases of pop, 3 quarts of ice cream, 2 cakes, and a partridge in a pear tree!

I'm glad he will only turn 16 once. All in all I think he had FUN.

And yes, he does have his driving permit. He got it last month.

Samantha-isms..My struggles with taking it literally

How cute am I? I love those pictures...by the way, Donnie is the guy is the first picture. I love my Donnie! So, now the good stuff. There are so many things here I think of that make me laugh and I wanted to share them with you. Yes, I do think.. These are some German words that always make me laugh... But it's only because, at the moment, I'm thinking in Doinglish....German/English. (I explain the Samantha-ism before telling it, Samantha-ism = ** )

1. The word "trip" in German is Fart, and that word always makes me laugh. So when I say, "I'm going on a school trip to Paris" this is how it sounds from me, "I'm going to Paris on a class..hee hee...fart....(checks turning red) hee hee."
**"You have to fart to get anywhere around here, what a trip!"**

2. I found it odd that, coming straight from the dictionary, Chaste, Modesty, Well-behaved, decency,and good manners all have the same word. "Sittsam" or how I see it, **"SIT SAM!" "Don't play with the boys, just sit there."**

3. The word "Sinn" in German means "to have a sense of something, consciousness"..**sinning, consciousness, sinning, consciousness, I'm so confused...what do I do? Oh I get it, sinning is like being conscious!..?"** ( that probably wasn't a good one to follow the last one)

4. In German "to be horny", sexually, and "to think something is extremely cool, or interesting" is the same word. "Geil" so you have to watch out how you use that word. **True story, I said once, wow that tree makes me horny...I wanted to say, I find that tree extremely cool..Oops!**

5. The word "Smoking" has nothing to do with smoking. Only in the form of have we use it as slang...Wow she's smokin! In German it means "dinner jacket, Tuxedo...to be wearing" **Germans wouldn't understand when the American girls see a half naked guy at the beach and we say He's smokin! The Germans would say, no he's not....he's half naked...he's horny!**

And you would only get that one if you paid attention to # 4.

Well I think I'm done for now, but I'll let you know when I find something else that is completely stupid forth telling you... I'm still alive..

p.s. You know you are an American in Germany when you are the only one in your gym class that doesn't smoke....and you're still the one dragging behind, gasping for air.

From Sam (Via Beverly)

Pic 1: Friends from language camp.
Pic 2: Looking out over Hedersleben.
Pic 3: The courtyard of language camp which is a renovated old monastery.
Pic 4: Hi Guys! I'm having tons of fun!


Sam's computer won't let her send pictures, so she sent me some using her host mama's computer. She also sends the following Samantha-ism.

Samantha is looking for her Sanity. She lost it when she left Hedersleben. If you have any information about where her Sanity might be, please contact her asap.

Hedersleben was where she was for language camp. Apparently school and life have caught up with her and stolen her sanity. At least she's in good company with herself because she's always been a little insane anyway!

Here are the finished pictures of Elliots room, we'll post some of our house soon, I've been busy getting things organized. We also bought a new car a 2005 Mazda6 hatchback, its pretty nice, nicer then any other car we owned so we're kinda excited.

Buzz, buzzz, buzzz

So much has happened in the past few weeks. Busy, busy, busy--I should be a bee! We learned last week that Jeff's medical condition was caused by the medicine the Doctor prescribed to counteract the side effect of yet another medicine. And to top it all off the Doctor had the wrong diagnosis and Jeff was on a medicine he didn't even need! Now I understand why Doctors are nicknamed "pill pushers." I also found out the reason I've been in so much pain this summer is that my hip is about two inches out of alignment and my s-i joint is locked. Physical therapy has been wonderful so far. I hate growing old!!!!!!!!!

Sam hasn't had time to add anything lately so I will update you the best I can. Sam's school is taking a field trip (I think she said for four days) to France. Nice field trip. I never had school field trips like this when I was in school. A week after this trip, she will be spending 5 days in another part of Germany with a friend she made through the exchange program. With hope we will all see some pictures from Sam -- Hint, hint, are you reading this Sam?

Did You Already Forget About Me?

Hey Hey Hey, remember me? That's right Sam I Am. Soooo Germany is practically amazing, of course. I got to my host family's house yesterday, it's beautiful! I'm in love with the town, their house, my host parents, my 4 year old host brother, my baby sister, the food, the cars, EVERYTHING!! There is so much to tell you and so little time. I've eaten so much food, I'm always full and NEVER Hungry.
Everything is so beautiful, I can't wait to send you all pictures... Hopefully soon. I start school tomorrow morning. I go in with my host mom, Aruna, and then later I'll be getting registered to live here. The only friends I've made thus far are my host family and a few of their friends, of course they are all almost 30 and older but they all act like kids.
So far I'm surviving. I think that's the best news I can give you. Maybe next time I'll have more time to good into detail about some of my experiences. I just wanted to make sure you all still remember who I am. I have been gone now for about a month, YIKES! Nine more..But who's counting.....Not me. I could live here forever.

Thanks mom for keeping the Samanthaisms alive. I definitely have more for you, but I'll give them to you later....ok fine I'll give you one now to keep ya'll happy.

*** "The only things that run in my family are noses..............and kitties!"

Much Love und Viel Glück zu alle. Bitte vergess mich nicht...

Liebe Deine Austaschulerlin in Deutschland,
Sammy Sam Sam Po-well

Robyn Verena Rockwood is here!

hi everyone! i just wanted to let everyone know that Robyn is here. she arrived on aug 30th my water broke at 4am and i had her by 6:40am. speaking of things happening fast, huh! well she is 3weeks and 3days early but is very healthy. she was 6lbs 2oz, 18in long. here are some pics of our special day!

It's all happening so fast!

well i went to the doctor today and he said i was 3 centimeters dialated and 70% effaced. so what that means is that i can have her in the next week or 2. he said that i will for sure haveing her before her due date. i am so excited about it. i just thought i would let you know so you can expect a call from me soon! love ya all!

Another Samantha-ism!

Even with Samantha gone, her Samantha-isms continue. Found the following words of wisdom in Samantha's room taped on her bookshelf as I was cleaning her room. Thought all of you would enjoy them...

"No matter how much the idiots outnumber you, remember they are still the idiots."

Savannah ;o)

This weekend was great! Savannah was such a good girl in the Temple and during her blessing on Sunday. The Spirit was so strong. The Lord has definatly blessed us.

Update: School, Jeff, Sam, Blah, etc...

Dylan will be taking Drivers Ed this year. He is currently studying the handbook preparing for the permit test. Andrea is being homeschooled again this year except for science and choir.

Jeff is still having problems. He's on new meds, but will have to go to pulmonary specialist soon.

It has been 11 days since Sam left. It has definitely been quieter around here. Sam told us that on the first day there some kid racked up a 50 Euro (approx $65 US) telephone bill so now no one is allowed to use the Language Center telephone. Sam had to walk into town and call us from a telephone booth. She still does not have a host family yet (Yikes!)

Blah, blah... (Sam's favorite word just seems appropriate here!)

Love ya'll

Farewell America!

I'm listening to dad yell, "Get in the car! Let's go!" as I quickly type. I can't believe 'the day' has finally come--I am leaving. I love you all and I hope to read lots of posts and comments on the blog from all of you. I want to know what everyone is doing while I'm away. I promise to add to the blog as often as I can.
Hugs and Kisses,
Samantha

Samantha leaves tomorrow. She still doesn't have her host family assigned yet. She's getting just a wee bit nervous. It's amazing to see how little she is taking for a year abroad. The first month she will be at a language training center, then she will, with hope, have a real address with a real host family. She may not be able to post anything for a while, but she'll get on and read comments as often as she can. I'm going to get off now so she can say farewell.

Officially Ours ;o)

From left to right: Dondi, Vickie, Joshua, Judge Jennifer Elliot, Savannah, Sherry, John, Joey, & Todd Moody (our Lawyer).

hello

hey guys i just wanted to make myself known in the blog. its so nice to keep in touch with family. we dont get out much. i hope everyone will be able to go to Robyn's baby blessing in November. its coming up quick. 7 more weeks! love ya all!