Family Newsletters

Dear Family,

It’s been an eventful three months. We had a friend of mine come and stay with us during the Thanksgiving break. It was even better then I had hoped for. We taught together in Beijing and now she is doing a grad program in NYC. I won’t go into too many details here, but the amazing part about her visit is that our friendship reached new levels as she really came to understand me and my beliefs as a member of the church. We have never seen eye to eye on most religious/political topics, but something happened during those four days that brought a mutual respect. She prayed with us and read scriptures every night; she talked about how unique we were and how nice it was to be in a HOME—she compared me to Martha Stewart, which is hilarious! She expressed how glad she was to have some nice “conservative” friends (she claims we are the ONLY people she knows that do not support gay marriage) like us and I know she felt the spirit in our home and when she was at church with us. Before my friend left we decorated for the Christmas holidays, even though the kids and I would be leaving for Utah Dec. 6^th, we didn’t want to leave Kurt high and dry while we were gone.

Lucy had two birthday parties this year, one at home with Mom, Dad and Owen and the other two days later in Utah with her extended family. She requested a lady bug cake again. I think she had spent too much time looking at the photos of her year old birthday where she also had a lady bug cake. Everyone must have gone behind my back and announced that it was to be a princess theme birthday because all of her presents were princess related and she was in heaven! This must be a result of nature and not nurture.

During all this fun Kurt was stuck in Ithaca finishing up his finals, finalizing summer internship plans (with Sun Microsystems in the Bay area) and killing five mice who were taking over our home. I was so glad to be out of town during that and so very glad to not know there were five of those little critters running around while I was there! At the completion of his semester he was awarded a research assistantship with Cornell’s Center for Advanced Research Studies. This is such a blessing for two reasons—it will enhance his education as he works closely with key faculty members and fortune 500 companies and we’ll receive additional funding to lessen our school debt. We initially had reservations about choosing Cornell, knowing the second year of Kurt’s schooling could be extremely expensive. With this assistantship our school debt will be less then any other school he would have attended. Heavenly Father has been mindful of us—we know this and appreciate it.

Christmas in Utah was awesome. It’s the first time in four years since we’ve been back for the holidays and we were ready for it. We are grateful to Val who spent a lot of time and effort getting fancy gingerbread houses set up for Kurt after she heard it was something he wanted to do. In the end Kurt and I spent over 3 hours trying to decorate it and only finished ¼ of it. (POOR DECISION MAKERS!) If you want to finish the project for us, it is probably tucked away in a corner at Val’s. Lucy had hers finished in no time at all and it is very cute. One more example of nature not nurture.

Another Holiday Highlight was going to a cabin for our first Doug and Val Whitaker reunion. The hot tub was a big success, and many of us fell to dares of jumping in the snow, and then back into the hot “stinging” water. Luckily shoveling snow was fun too, not only did Scott, Kurt, Ashlee and others shovel the long driveway, but they shoveled out half of the street leading up to the driveway as well. After many hours on the job we were able to fit all five cars in the driveway and dinner was on the table by 10 p.m. though Doug was not there to enjoy it. He was still on the road close to midnight, his car battling through the last hours of its life. The next day picture Brent in his car with a ham radio (good thing he is so proficient) and Doug being toed in his car with his ham radio, trying to communicate about when to hit the brakes. After a few hours they gave up making it to St. George and left Doug’s broken down car—later to be donated to “Kidney Kars.”

A few days before we were getting ready to head back to Ithaca, Owen turned ONE! We tricked everyone by telling them to come for a game night, and then turned it into Owens birthday party. Ok, not planned but it did happen that way. We also invited Kurt’s brother Ryan and his family to join in the festivities. Owen was awesome--he had his hand in the cake before the plate even hit the table and he didn’t stop. He was MESSY!! He is such a boy and Lucy is such a girl. Blake and Maya (Kurt’s nephew and niece) thought it was hilarious to watch a baby dig in like that and after the cake was taken away Blake mentioned this was the best birthday part he had ever been too. It is a good tradition--thank you to whoever started it! Other Owen highlights would include Owens special drinking habits. The poor kid can’t swallow; he chokes on everything and tries to solve it by just drinking more and more, this creates a sprinkler effect shooting from the two corners of his mouth, drenching himself and anyone on either side of him. This has proven to be a problem in Ithaca’s cold weather. Just yesterday he left a restaurant with shirts and pants soaked through. Owen started walking and mastered the stairs while we were staying with Grandma and Grandpa; he is short and just little so it is fun to watch him toddle around. He tries to sing along with me when I put him to sleep but it comes out as more of a moan, it is a good effort though. He likes to lead the music and as far as dancing goes, he has perfected head banging—even if its hymns. Owen loves to look at books and talks on one of his many phones often throughout the day. He has a toothbrush fetish--he owns at least five, but still always just wants mine. He and Lucy are starting to play together more, and the sound of their laughter brightens my days.

Last but not least, perhaps the most valuable part of our holidays has been the short visits we’ve had with Grandpa Blackham. To see him in good spirits; laughing, smiling, crying and enjoying each moment, our time with him was both insightful and fun. One of the more poignant examples was on Christmas Eve at the Whitakers when Val was giving her gift to grandpa. She had made an ornament and explained that the two jewels in the middle represented Gus and Lulie. They were fused together as one and there were rays of light coming from the jewel representing the light and influence possessed by grandma and grandpa. While I can’t do justice to the message, the bond between father and daughter and between husband and wife was evident in the many tears shed. The spirit was strong and testified of families and Gods purposes. We sure love grandpa and are so grateful for this wonderful family that he has so nobly led over the years.

Love Mel, Kurt and Family

Dear Family,

Let’s start with Kurt this time. The highlight from this quarter was his trip this past week to NYC. He’s been working for CAHRS (the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies) in addition to his classes. He has been interviewing HR heads from companies linked to Cornell’s center to gather information related to employee engagement during the current economic crisis. He and his partners interviewed 35 companies and presented their finding at a conference for these leaders. He says it went well and he enjoyed spending time with these leaders in such an intimate setting. All the while, I was home and intimate with two sick kids.

Lucy started school recently. School in this case equals 2 hours of painting and dress ups 3 times a week. Lucy has loved it and enjoys wearing different color clothing for different color days. Lucy also made the leap and had her first hair cut since birth, unless you count the time we cut the duck tail at 3 months. She is constantly commenting on how long her hair has gotten since her cut (3 weeks ago.) “Wow mom, my hair is getting so long” (as she tilts her head down as far as she can to make her hair reach down.) “I’m going to have to get a hair cut soon.” Or “Look at her hair, wow she really needs to get her hair cut.”

Lucy has also discovered the show Little Einstein’s and wants to watch it every day. As a result one of Owen’s first and most clearly spoken words is “pat.” Anyone who has watched the show knows they have to pat pat pat their legs to get the rocket moving. Owen chimes right in and can be seen at random times through out the day with a huge smile on his face patting himself saying “pat pat pat.” Owen also says craka (craker), dee (deer), beebee (binky), seesee (Lucy), shhhh (shoe) dada, mama, baby and UH UH! We hear that one a lot but so far it is cute. We’ll ask him, “Owen can I have kisses?” and he will smile his cute flirtatious smile and shake his head “uh uh.” Or “Owen it’s time to change diapers” smile, shake head “uh uh.” Then run for it! He’s cute. And yes he is running these days. He is fastest when he has taken a toy that he knows Lucy wants, or he’s just put a delicious rock in his mouth that he wants to swish around for a bit before I can fish it out. He also has a “safe spot.” When he’s got something he knows he shouldn’t have, he makes a beeline for the computer chair; because of it’s placement near the wall he can use it as a buffer. If I go right, he goes left; if I go left he goes right. I just love watching him sprint for the chair then turn to face his opponent—ME! When he is caught prematurely he throws a horrible fit. What is cute now will not be so cute later! And last but not least I thoroughly enjoy watching Owen dismount from Lucy’s bike. He is pretty good at getting on, but getting off has proven to be more difficult. So when he’s had his fun on the bike he kind of propels himself off—flopping to the floor then get’s up and gets busy again. He is so smooth.

As for me, I started updating our blog from 2 years ago, and we’ll see how that goes. I’m trying it out for the year and then we’ll see what happens after that. We kind of miss calculated our budget a little bit, so this quarter I’ve spent more time and energy trying to be even more frugal and that actually has been fine. No fresh flowers in my house thoughL. We’ve all been sick a lot the past three months--me the least of us four though, that’s taken up a chunk of my time and energy. I’ve started exercising more regularly and a little more intensely; I am thinking about training for something, I don’t know what, but it just sounds fun to be in good shape again, and I did enjoy my trip to Utah for grandpa’s funeral. Only the kids and I made it out. It was wonderful to hear all the stories shared from Grandpa’s life, and the comments made by all the grandchildren about grandpa. Watching home videos at Butch and Phoebe’s was another highlight. I’ve been able to have a few simple conversations with friends not of our faith about my anticipation of being with my grandma and grandpa again and that is always a great experience. It is different looking at the picture I have of G. and G. on our dresser now. I most often feel so happy for them that they made it, and encouraged with the thought that they may be checking in on me from time to time. I don’t know how that works, but I still feel their love in all that they did for us while they were here with us. I’m glad that together we all share the commonality of having Grandma and Grandpa as part of our lives. We love you all!

Kurt, Mel, Lucy and Owen

Dear Family,

It’s been a busy few months. Back In August we were able to host Kent, Jennie, and Family in Mountain View CA. just before finishing up our internship with Sun Microsystems. It was so much fun having them with us for a week. Being the first time Kaden and Coleman had seen the Ocean, their excitement was contagious. I’m not sure how many trips to the beach we made that week but it was enough that Millie was saddle sore from her sandy wet suit. She walked bowlegged for a few days which kept us laughing, when she wasn’t crying. In the middle of their stay, we joined the nelsons and Curtis’s for a fun day at Marine World. Lucy begged to go back multiple times as this was clearly a highlight of her summer. She made it a point to hug every Looney tune character she came across although we had never seen a cartoon with these characters before.

Since our return to Ithaca Mel has been ooohing and aaahing at everything Ithaca has to offer. We really do love this area and are continually impressed at all the activities open to us here, mostly the outdoors. We have been back to our beloved farmers market, we’ve been back multiple times to the Cornell plantations, we’ve hiked around lakes and bridges, and we even ventured out one cold night for a camping trip which resulted in Owen and Dad heading home at Midnight to avoid the freezing temperatures. Mel and Lucy toughed it out alone and best of all, Mel doesn’t want to go camping every weekend anymore. We also took advantage of the plantations and old Cornell architecture to have our first family pictures done. We’ve seen a few of these and are excited to see the rest soon.

In September, we took a little family outing to exotic Buffalo. We had wanted to see some gradeschool/highschool friends who are living there. We toured the Buffalo Bills stadium--He plays for the Buffalo Bills, and then visited with them and their cute girls in their home. They treated us to a "Chicken Finger" Pizza, which Mel LOVED. It was pizza with a white sauce (not red), LETTUCE, tomatoes, secret-sauce chicken fingers and who knows what else on top. Sounds creepy, but it was awesome. Too bad it’s only found in Buffalo. It was so enjoyable visiting with them and learning about their families’ life amidst a career in the NFL. They are an inspiring couple and we’re so glad we made it out there.

Kurt is back to recruiting. This time for a full-time job that will begin next summer. It’s been an interesting experience that is keeping him good and confused. We’re trying to figure out locations, career paths, family needs, and other considerations that must go into the decision making mix. On Kurt’s most recent recruiting trip to Minnesota, the kids and I came along and we all enjoyed a few days with Greg, Amy, and family. It was such a great trip. When Amy picked us up in their new/used 12 passenger van—I new it was going to be amazing. I so enjoyed talking with Amy while the kids played in a perfectly Owen proofed house (that was incredible—I could actually relax a bit). Lucy went to a Burt and Ernie play with Greg, Susanna, and Stuart our first night there, so Amy and I stayed up talking some more. Day by day you could sense Susanna, Stuart and Lucy getting more and more comfortable with each other and enjoying each others company. By Sunday night they were dancing, laughing, running around like a bunch of goofs while we watched “The Music Man” and loving their time together. I even think I heard some fighting over who got to sit by Lucy in the car that day…so the trip was a success. Eli and Owen played well considering their ages and personalities, a few minor struggles were easily taken care of in-between more chatting between Amy and I. In the evenings and weekend when Greg and Kurt were around we stayed up talking and laughing about childhood memories and eating delicious Halloween treats that Amy baked for us. We also made it out on a fun seasonal trip to a local orchard, picked apples, ran through the corn maze and watched goats climbing on a barn roof. Saturday evening some of us went to the Mall of America. It was huge and amazing but it was still a mall. I just don’t love them, so we didn’t stay long. Thanks again Greg and Amy for showing us such a great time. I could absolutely live in Minnesota.

If there was a prize for cutest one year old in a Halloween costume this year….I think Owen might have won it. I honestly would stare at him and watch him walk around our various parties and trick-or-treatings that we did this year and couldn’t get over how cute he was. Maybe I will buy him glasses forever. Thanks to Cami and Jennie for all their work in last summers Harry Potter party, I just put him in the costume that he wouldn’t wear last summer and now he loved it. Owen was Harry Potter!!--cape, lightning scar and those glasses. He kept those dark large glasses on with his little nose poking out under the large rims and his cute serious look on his face. He couldn’t believe people were giving him all that candy. His hand was gripped so tightly to that bucket handle I think his knuckles were turning white, and by the end of Halloween night Owen was saying “treat..treat” at ever door then leaving saying “tank you………so much.” It was really too adorable and everyone was mushing over him. We even had a lady lament that she didn’t have a working camera that night because she had never seen a cuter pair of kids….maybe she was just nice, but I agreed with her. It was too fun; I might just pull out that costume whenever I need a good laugh.

Gift of Love

My Grandma and Grandpa started a "gift of love" project for our extended family years ago. It is a chance for us to come together as a large family group and put forth our efforts in a common service activity during the Christmas season. This year my moms youngest sister chose the project and we received our package explaining it all in October. My aunt invited us to read the book "The Ultimate Gift." In the book it refers to a series of gifts such as gratitude, laughter, hard work, friends, giving, problems, etc. We were to choose a couple of gifts and work on related service activities. We've been sharing our experiences on a family list serve. I look forward to my gift of love package each year. I am so grateful for the wonderful family that I have!

We spent the month of November putting a pine cone in a jar every time we felt grateful for something someone had done for us. We had a second jar to fill every time we did a good deed to someone else, encompassing the gift of gratitude and the gift of giving. Lucy LOVED it. Kurt is focusing on the gift of family, making efforts to call his siblings more often. I am working on the gift of learning, by trying to get things organized so I can volunteer as a tutor next semester when Kurt's school load isn't so heavy. We love this extra boost to get us thinking about what really matters and trying to improve areas of our lives that will increase our happiness and potentially bless others as well. It gets us heading in the right direction to honor the birth of the Savior and feel his love for us and any others we get to serve.

a few more family pictures

This is not just a pose--this love and this bond is real! I feel it with my own siblings and count it one of my greatest blessings. It started way back when.

Our photographer told us to kiss if we wanted and we both started laughing, like hmmmmm--we really love each other but kissing for the camera??....didn't even do it for our wedding pictures.

Trying to cheer up Lucy again, she was freezing!

and.... another little tidbit for family history:

Action and Academics:

CAHRS Research Assistant Johnson Bridges Academia and the Marketplace

When Kurt Johnson MILR ’10 was an undergraduate business major at Brigham Young University, he heard about China in nearly every class. Realizing that China had become a powerful force in global commerce, Johnson and his wife made a bold decision.

“When I graduated with my business degree, I didn’t know what I wanted to do; I just knew that going to China and learning Chinese seemed like a smart thing,” says Johnson. “So a month after graduation, my wife and I moved to Beijing. We had no jobs! We just picked up and left.”

Johnson landed on his feet, finding a job in human resources at Beijing United Family Hospital and Clinics. It was a brave and strategic decision, one that exemplifies both his nature and the quality of students in the Master of Industrial and Labor Relations (MILR) degree program at the Cornell ILR School (Industrial and Labor Relations).

Doing Real Work for Real Companies

Johnson leapt into his graduate work as well, supplementing his book learning with a series of real projects for real companies. For an online research techniques course taught by Stuart Basefsky, ILR’s senior reference librarian, Johnson researched the Employee Free Choice Act, at the request of The Gap. He gave the company tips on how to prepare for its possible enactment. “This is a hot topic in HR right now,” says Johnson. “I picked it because I wanted to be a subject matter expert on it.”

For the same class, he also researched whether the phenomenon of baby boomers delaying retirement during the economic downturn will affect the future talent shortage for Archer Daniels Midland Company. In their research, Johnson and his team members found that “the shortage of talent may be on hiatus today, thanks to continued layoffs that feed an already large pool of available talent, but the talent crisis definitely isn’t over.”

Johnson has also found that his Chinese work and language experience are already very helpful for companies. In a course about leadership taught by HR Studies department chair Lee Dyer, he and other student team members worked on a project for Merck about attracting and retaining key talent in China and India.

“It was a meaty, hands-on experience which put me right in front of a company and a real issue,” says Johnson. “From working on this project, I learned more about the global complexities of HR. Although China and India now have massive educated populations, companies doing business there still find it hard to recruit key talent pools. Looking at Merck’s issues showed how difficult some of these human resources challenges are. There’s not necessarily a perfect answer out there. You’re just trying to develop something that’s better.”

Bringing Research to CAHRS Companies

Johnson has also done real world work through his research assistantship with the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS). Each semester, three CAHRS research assistants (RAs) focus on a specific question for all partner companies. In spring 2009, they studied employee engagement, a particularly important factor in companies weathering the recession.

In their report, Keeping the Workforce Engaged During Crisis, Johnson, along with fellow RAs Rex Fitzpatrick and Kelley Joy, discovered that “there was no one size fits all answer in terms of keeping employees engaged,” says Johnson. “Everybody has their own program, and it makes sense, because every company has different needs.”

Helping a Company in Transition

It seems like a lot of experience to pack into the academic year, and it is. But Johnson also spent summer 2009 using his Chinese connections while interning for Sun Microsystems in Ventura, California. The company, currently in a drawn-out acquisition by Oracle, gave him a lot of chances to see how workers in transition need support.

“It wasn’t so much of an intern experience as it was a real employee experience,” he says, because many human resource employees had already been laid off in anticipation of the acquisition.

While at Sun, he prepared documentation for worker layoffs, investigated employee relations complaints, and organized and conducted four focus groups of Sun employees in Beijing, China and St. Petersburg, Russia to survey their communication needs.

He enjoyed in particular the internal process of addressing employee complaints. “It was fun to resolve a case,” says Johnson, “to leave people in a situation where they’re satisfied with the outcome or at least they understand it. Meeting the needs of individuals—it’s human resources’ purpose and the core of business.”

“The thing that I think distinguished Kurt’s performance for me was that because he has had prior experience before going to Cornell he has a level of maturity,” says his internship mentor, Vivienne Nigro, senior human resources director at Sun Microsystems. “In the HR function it is almost impossible to be effective unless you project confidence and have good relationship and influencing skills. Because of Kurt’s level of maturity, he was able to approach vice presidents, directors, and managers equally well.”

“Kurt has distinguished himself as one of the top students in the MILR class of 2010 through both his strong academic performance and thoughtful participation in class discussions,” says Christopher Collins, CAHRS director and associate HR professor. “His international business experience has given him insight into a different business and cultural environment, but also taught him how to make tough decisions and work collaboratively to get tasks completed.”

Nigro, who has hosted previous ILR interns, notes that Johnson is carrying on the ILR high quality tradition. “The Cornell ILR School training is so appropriately focused to the kind of work that HR is doing in more leading-edge companies,” says Nigro.

Caring for People

While Johnson has had plenty of projects at Cornell, he also has had a little time away from the work world to reflect on and develop his philosophy of human resources.

“Ultimately, the purpose of life is to grow and develop as a person, to become better,” says Johnson. “HR’s responsibility is to take that on for people in a company. I want to help people achieve things that they didn’t think they could do. I believe that having happy, productive people is honestly the best way to get business results. I think it’s a win-win situation.”

For Johnson, his Cornell ILR and CAHRS experiences are also a win-win. While receiving a world-class education to further his HR career, he’s also providing real help to CAHRS partners by searching out the latest in HR research to help them survive and thrive. And one lucky CAHRS partner, Citi, will soon be the full-time beneficiary of that experience and education—when Johnson completes his degree next year, he'll begin a job with the company in their two-year HR associate rotation program.

Dicken's Festival

It is always hard to keep book club going in December, so this year our group decided to read "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, a quick read and a classic, then meet the first week of the month. We pulled it off.

Anyways after having just read the book (for the first time) It seemed appropriate to head out to the Dickens festival in a fabulous New York town, Skaneateles. We wondered the streets, sang a carol, visited Santa, saw a magic show and walked down a pier on the lake with a lighted Christmas tree at the end (my favorite part of the day).

I had to laugh because Lucy doesn't know that you can ask Santa to bring you a toy. He asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she pointed to the mini candy canes he was handing out to everyone. He gave her one and asked what else she wanted for Christmas, she said "nothing." I think he was impressed with her "pure and selfless nature":) so he handed her something special out of his other bag--some 'reindeer' food to spread on her lawn to make sure Santa found her house this year. I was laughing on the sidelines. She might as well have said all she wants for Christmas was peace on earth! It was cute.

Lucy's b-day/fun in the snow

Kurts fall photo's

A fun fall day--our VERY favorite kind of outings. I live for these kind of days.

For the record

I am getting ready to print out my blog and wanted to get a few things down, so for the next few days there will be a lot of random stuff--and lots of writing. Feel free to skip it and catch up with us later on. :)

Owen's favorite songs right now are "Honey Honey" and "Lay all Your Love on Me" from the Mama Mia musical. He requests them at night when I put him to bed (replacing my nice lullabies) in the car, whenever I'm at the computer and will randomly break out in song throughout the day. It is so cute and so funny. He definitely has some serious musical opinions already, often requesting certain songs to be played again and again and letting me know other songs are not worth his time.

Owen also has truly pulled at my heartstrings a lot the past couple months with his extreme politeness! This little boy cannot let someone fall with out asking in his sweet little voice "you ok?" or my favorite to his sister "you ok Yucy?" If he bumps you he immediately says "sorry." If someone around him burps or otherwise :) he says "excuse you." When we were trick or treating this year he even learned "thank you..........so much." There are many pleases through out each day and hundreds of "thank you's." It is SO sweet. He thanks me for EVERYTHING. I will finish wiping his messy face (which he hates) and then with tears in his eyes will say "Thank you mommy" I will DO ANYTHING for that boy. It is amazing that he is expressing appreciation even for things he doesn't like. It brings up feelings in me that I can't explain and I am really happy to serve and care for him. He is teaching me to suck it up myself and say Thank you even to the things I don't like.

My dad is so sweet to me and when I go home for a visit I get SO spoiled...just wanted it recorded, this was my fathers day letter to him this year.

Hey Dad,

As promised here is the list I wanted to send you this fathers day but it was stored away here in New York. This is all in a typical Utah day :)

Everything you did for us (at least most everything....I could have missed a bit)
• help spoonfeed Owen--trying to sooth him at breakfast
• got Lucy vitamins.....then water (I'm sure she never said please)
• took Lucy to get the paper
• watched Lucy so I could have a nap
• asked us what we needed for lunch--and you would have made it but I offered
• took Owen outside while I was loading up the car
• scraped snow off our car
• strapped Owen into his car seat when we were leaving
• asked if we would be home for dinner--what you could get us---I said don't worry about it we'll be back late
• when we got back Owen had fallen asleep and Lucy was sick and wanted to be held. So you made Lucy macaroni, got her water
• then Owen woke up so you got Owen out of his car seat and fed him macaroni while I fed Lucy
• got Owen water
• got me milk and poured for me when you saw I was trying to do it all while holding Owen
• disinfected the humidifier for me when you overheard me tell Lucy I would get that for her
• brought me a thermometer
• filled and positioned the humidifier
• washed the sheets for the bed I was sleeping on and when you saw I was putting them on rushed to help me--then finished alone because Lucy cried out

Were you tired after all of that?? I love you. I appreciate you. I don't think I could visit Utah with out you! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

love,
Mel

We had a couple great trips this fall that I wanted to get recorded. The first was a trip out to Minnesota. Kurt had an interview with General Mills and our cousins out in Minneapolis so generously invited the kids and I to come along and stay with them while Kurt interviewed and then enjoy the weekend all together. When Amy (my cousin’s wife) picked me and the kids up in their new 12 passenger van—I knew it was going to be an awesome trip!!

One highlight was Sunday evening when the kids were dancing, laughing, and running around like a bunch of goofs while we watched “The Music Man.” They were all dressed in princess costumes, boys and girls alike and loving their time together. We also made it out on a fun seasonal trip to a local orchard, picked apples, ran through the corn maze and watched goats climbing on a barn roof. Saturday evening some of us went to the Mall of America. It was huge and amazing but it was still a mall. I just don’t love them, so we didn’t stay long.

I could absolutely live in Minnesota, but won’t be anytime soon as Kurt did not get the job offer—bummer. I was really excited for Kurt to work with a company that has filled my days with my favorite food--CEREAL, though my current favorite is still Honey Bunches of Oats which is a POST brand. I guess it was not meant to be.



Kurt wanted a record of all Owens hand me down miss matched clothes!

Our next trip was up to Ottawa Canada. We were up there visiting last fall and randomly ran into some friends at the famous Parliament building who had recently been engaged. This last trip we went up for their Wedding. It was an incredible experience for us. Our friends had a Jewish Wedding Ceremony, and I felt pleased that I got to be there with them. I (who don’t tear up easy) was tearing up as I saw Aaron walking down the isle. He is just such a great who married such a great girl/woman/young lady--nothing sounds quite right, and I’m always so happy when people make that choice to commit themselves to each other. These relationships can bring so much joy.

There were three wedding celebrations and they were all put together so well (this is a major understatement but I’m not a great writer). I showed up horribly under dressed to the first wedding dinner and because of that kind of drew a blank as I met my friend’s parents at the door, I managed a hello and stumbled through some kissing of the cheeks. It was the first time in a long time that I felt genuinely embarrassed. I found a corner and tried to compose myself then tried to forget about my clothes and have a good time with everyone. I think it would have worked if Owen wasn’t kind of a terror that night. 5 hours in the car that afternoon might have had sometime to do with his behavior and my poor choice of wardrobe.

The dancing after the wedding was definitely a highlight! The music was so lively the band played so well and I SOMEHOW even got Kurt out on the dance floor.

We stayed with some other friends of ours who used to be our “neighbors”(meaning only a 5-10 min Taxi ride) in Beijing, so it was great to catch up a bit and my friend really went above and beyond and offered to babysit our kids during the ceremony as well as host us for the weekend.

This is the First Events dinner--which I never got to taste because we left early, after Owen spilled a bowl of nuts and wouldn't stop climbing across all the chairs. :)