Gary & Mary Lynn 2015

Hello Family,

Well, I have thought about doing this newsletter for a while but haven't gotten around to it.  I'm sorry Curt for delaying the process!  Thank you to you and Chelsea for getting the letters compiled and put on the blog!  I do appreciate having these letters for history even if I can't get my butt in gear and get my letter written.

Gary & Mary Lynn 

We are still farming.  We love it.  Not much different there.  Mary Lynn continued to substitute and work with the PTA.  She enjoyed that.  After Christmas she got a job for their accountant.  She helps with bookkeeping for other companies and filing tax returns.  Once again, she wishes she would have not changed her major after the first year of college and continued with Accounting.  She does feel that her degree in Health is very beneficial, however.

Emalee

Emalee continued playing the violin and fiddle.  She finished the 8th grade in the spring and started the 9th grade in the fall.  She also played club volleyball in the spring and 9th grade volleyball for Blackfoot High School in the fall.  She loves both.  She has sure grown up and is very responsible and helpful.  She also started Drivers Ed in the summer and got her Drivers License this February 2016.  This is a huge help to her mom and dad.

Jake

Jake finished the 6th grade in the spring and started the 7th grade in the fall.  He is growing like a weed and by next month he'll probably be taller than his sister and his mom.  That is exciting but his mom is not sure she's ready to look up to him physically.  He is a great boy and she already has had to look up to him and respect him in other ways.  Jake played basketball during the winter and baseball during the spring.  He rode his motorcycle as much as he could and worked every day of the summer with his dad.  He loves the farm and seems to be able to fix anything already.  He wishes he could drive right now, like his sister so he could go move pipe on his own without his Dad as chauffeur.  Our farm is different than most 50 to 100 years ago where most farmers could work their farms around their houses.  We have to drive 50 mile radius at times to get to all our fields.

Megan

Megan finished the 4th grade in the spring and started the 5th grade in the fall.  Much to her dismay she is not growing quite as fast as her brother.  She played on the Hoops Basketball team during the winter and was the second shortest on her team.  She was also the second youngest I guess.  She loves playing with hoops and we had fun following her around to tournaments in Spokane, Reno (where we got to see Uncle Newell & Aunt Sally), Boise, and Salt Lake.  This year she gets to play with Hadley and she loves that.  Megan loves to sing and has performed a few solos in church and at school. Megan loves to ride her motorcycle and four wheeler with her brothers as much as possible.

Landon

Landon finished the 1st grade in the spring and started the 2nd grade this fall.  He is the youngest in his grade and had a hard time reading at first but by the end of 2015 (middlish of 2nd grade) he has made leaps and bounds and really improved.  He is very good at keeping his room clean and being sort of bossy to all of us.  He also suffers from being the youngest and gets very upset that he can't play basketball all year like his sister gets to.  He played Jazz ball during the winter but thinks that just wasn't enough.  He gets very tired of having to follow his siblings around to their events and not having his own to do.  He also loves to be with his Dad on the farm and riding his four wheeler and motorcycle.

Florence & Larry 2015

Hi Family,

Many thanks to Curt for doing the fun job of the newsletter.  Also Jan, John and all your family for the reunion in Billings.  It was great.  You guys went to a lot of work.  It really was great.

We are settled in Pocatello.  Hard to leave Wyo, but it's only 2 hours from our bedroom to Sharon and Bob or Mariselas.. so....
  
The reunion is ours so here is the plan.
            

Place:  Poky Ross Park.  Ask anybody who you think may know where it is (family members are numerous in this area).
   

Date: July 22 and 23

FRI:  We hope you can come and find a place to stay.  We have lots of family in this area.  Also hotels..  Hope you visit and all the family can come. No formal plans on Friday.

SAT:  Ross park. Pleasure land.  Lunch from 12 noon til 5 p.m. if we want.  This area has a playground next to the shelter where we'll eat.  Walking distance to zoo, pool with big waterslide, skate boarding park.  Prices for pool and zoo are not expensive.

We still have some floor space and a sofa. We can stay in our area til 5 if we want. Hope to see many Humpherys.

Love Flo, Larry, Vance and Parker

Jan & John 2015

Dear Family,

I hope this letter finds everyone healthy and happy.  We are doing well. 

Last year was a crazy year for me.  I fell on the ice in January and fractured the sacrum bone in my back.  That definitely took a while to heal, and then the end of May, I broke my wrist.  That was an ordeal!  So far, so good this year!!  Thank goodness….  

Myself, John, Curt, Chelsea and their families had a wonderful time hosting the Humpherys reunion in Billings last year!  It was so good to see everyone, and we appreciated everyone making the effort to be here with us.  The little ones enjoyed playing with their cousins, and the time just went too fast!!

Chelsea and Jackson went out to Curt and Jerri’s to watch Tyler and Ella for two weeks in August.  I was able to go see them for three days, and surprise Curt and the kids.  The trip was short but very fun.   

John and I were able to get to Pocatello for a quick visit with Johns’ son, Derik, and Flo and Larry last October.  First time we had been there. We had a wonderful time visiting with them.   

John goes to Las Vegas every year and works for 3 weeks at the Cowboy Christmas in the convention center for his company.  He was able to take a few days off, so I flew down and we went to Cirque de Sol “Mystere”.  It was so great!       

Thank you Curt, for taking on the responsibility of the Humpherys Newsletter editor!  Sorry, I have been so slow in getting mine to you.  (He’s called me 3 times to tell me to get it doneJ)

Take care and love you allJ

Jan & John     

Curt & Jerri 2015

Hello everyone,

Well I can’t really remember what happened this last year in any sort of chronological order.  Everyone is doing well.  We keep busy working, carting the kids off to whatever sport they are playing, and hanging around the house. 

We got the pleasure of having my mom, sister, and nephew come out here for some visits. It sure is nice to have them here.  They will be here for spring break coming up real soon.  We can’t wait to see them again. 

The kids and I were able to make it to the reunion this summer at my mom’s house.  It was great to see everyone who was able to make it.  We stopped over at Yellowstone and spent the day there seeing the sights.  We even got some close ups of some elk and a few buffalo.  One of the buffalo was close enough that Ella thought he looked mad.  Jerri wasn’t able to make it due to her new job requiring a training class during that time.  She was disappointed that she wasn’t able to see everyone and missing out on the park, but she was happy to get a new challenge with her new position.  We also bought her a new car so that was exciting for her.  I hope we don’t have to shop for a new car again anytime soon. 

Jerri’s mom was able to come spend two weeks with us during Christmas and New Year’s.  It made the holidays even better.  It was the first time we have been able to spend time with her during Christmas.

In November, we had to put our beloved dog Abby down.  She was 14 years old and lived a great life, but it didn’t make it any less sad to have to deal with that.  We did get a new puppy in February named Leia.  She is an English bulldog/lab mix.  She is very much loved. 

Tyler is doing very well in school.  He was recently awarded the awesome author award for his class for a story he wrote about badgers.  He played flag football, little league baseball, and basketball this year.  He likes football so far the most and he scored his first touchdown this year.  I was so happy for him.

Ella is also doing great in school and is getting more and more into reading all the time.  She likes to shop and is very much a girlie-girl.  I am nearly positive she has more shoes than the rest of the family combined.  She is in gymnastics and has been progressing through the different skill levels of this very quickly.  She loves it.

Now I will get to my memories…

The best memories are probably fishing with my Dad, Larry, and Bob.  It didn’t get any better than that.  Those three together were priceless.

I remember going to pizza with Grandma one year in Alpine.  I didn’t get to spend much time with her that was just her and me so I treasure this memory. 

I also remember getting to Flo’s house for a reunion.  I was told to go find Vance.  I went outside, found Vance, and he chased me with a wheat sickle.  I ran back into the house as quickly as I could because I was sure he going to kill me.  I was pretty young, but that’s how I remember it.  I have brought it up to Vance in more recent years and he denies any knowledge of this.

I have a ton more memories, but they are vague and mostly involve misadventures with horses like getting clothes-lined or bucked off so I will end this letter for this year.

Hope everyone is doing well,

Curt, Jerri, Tyler, and Ella

Chelsea & Jason 2015

Dear Family,

I hope this letter finds you all doing well!  I want to start out by saying that I am thankful to be a part of this family. I’m also thankful that Curt had the idea to share family memories this year.  I’m looking forward to reading everyone’s news and the memories they have to share.

We had a great 2015, here are the highlights…

In March,  Jackson and I traveled to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, to visit a good friend of mine and her family.  Another couple of close friends, Jeff and Kim (they were at the reunion a few years ago) met us there with their twins.  It was a relaxing week and was wonderful to introduce Jackson to his buddies, Logan and Lila.   

In April, we headed out to Vancouver to spend the week with Curt and his family during Tyler and Ella’s spring break.  We enjoyed lots of walks to the park, going to indoor playgrounds, spent Easter together, and Jackson just loved playing with his older cousins.  They are such responsible kids and take such great care of little Jackson.

In May, Jason, Jackson and I joined Jason’s sister and her husband on a trip to Panama City Beach, FL.  It was Jackson’s first time to the beach and he LOVED it!  My brother-in-law is a chef so he spoiled us with an amazing meal each evening.  We will definitely be taking more trips with their family, as they have a little girl (Eleanor) who is just 6 months older than Jackson, so they are quickly becoming the best of friends.

 

In July, Jason, Jackson and I spent several weeks in Montana.  We had such a great time hosting the family reunion in Billings and are thankful for everyone who made the trip.  We are hoping to get to the reunion this summer so we can catch up with everyone again!  Jason and I took Jackson for a quick trip through Yellowstone and enjoyed showing him the sites.  I can’t wait to take him on the full tour when he’s older.  My Mom and John also took us on a beautiful drive along Chief Joseph Highway, where we came upon a cattle drive that was so impressive to Jackson (and Jason!). 

In August, we headed back to the beach but this time it was with all of Jason’s family on St. George Island, FL.  It was a secluded beach which was nice, except for the fact that the water was full of stingrays :/ so we weren’t able to swim in the ocean as much as we would have liked.  But aside from that, it was a wonderful trip!  Jason took Jackson on a sunrise walk each morning and let me sleep in. :)

Later in August, Jackson and I were blessed to be able to make another trip to visit Curt’s family.  My mom surprised everyone (except me :) by flying in late one night and spending a few days with us.  It was so much fun, we enjoy every minute of our time together. I took the kids to the Oregon coast one day and that was fun, got Jackson’s toes in the Pacific for the first time.

In October, Jason, Jackson and I took our last trip of the year to visit our friends in California.  We started off the trip by going to Disneyland and that was fun but kind of a bust.  Jackson didn’t understand the concept of “waiting in line” so we ended up just going on a handful of rides. We met my good friend, Cindy, there with her two boys and we enjoyed catching up as we strolled the kids around the park.  She treated us to lunch at the Blue Bayou, which is the restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  That was a highlight of the day for me. Yes, I know I'm getting old when a good meal was a highlight at Disneyland, haha!  But Jackson got to meet Mickey and Goofy and he thought that it was pretty cool overall.  We spent the rest of the week with our friends Jeff and Kim and their two kids.  Kim hosted a BBQ for all of our California friends to attend so we could see everyone in one day.  It was a great day, and we also celebrated Jason’s birthday that fell during the trip. 

In summary, Jackson is growing up way too fast!  He is obsessed with airplanes and can identify everything from a Gee Bee to an X1 to a fighter jet, sea plane, flying laboratory plane, you name it.  We recently took him to the second largest aviation museum in the country in Warner Robins, GA and that truly was his Disneyland.  He raised his hands in the air as he was running through all the planes outside and said, “I’m so excited!”  He’s really getting sweeter all the time and has recently started to thank us (unprompted) for taking him to places that he likes.  I think that he will be a gentleman when he grows up, at least that’s our goal. :)

 (Visit to the pumpkin patch)

(2nd birthday party)

Curt asked that we share some memories of the family.  I was very fortunate to be able to spend several weeks each summer starting when I was 8 or 9 with Grandma Humpherys . My Dad and his band were usually driving down to Star Valley so I would catch a ride with them to get to Grandma's house.  I had so many fun times with Grandma!  We used to go to the dairy to buy milk and she would let me drive her Chevy Citation around the “parking lot”, it was more of a field.  I would just drive slowly in circles, I think I was only 10 or 11 then, so you can imagine the thrill.  She was a brave woman, haha!  I also used to help her make those hangars that are wrapped in yarn and have the little pom-poms on them.  It was a fun craft we did together.  I also remember one night she said we could take turns painting each other’s nails.  I ended up getting some nail polish on my jeans and I was really upset because they were my “good” jeans.  She made light of it and said it was okay and that I could just look at that stain and remember the good time we’d had together.  That pretty much solved it in my mind, and that stuck with me.  She would make me ice cream cones in the afternoons and just always made sure I was having a good time.  Oh, and her homemade bread, that was something special to me.  I miss her so much, and I so wish she could have met Jason and Jackson.

On that note, dear family, enjoy each other, don’t take anything too serious, and be thankful for the many blessings we all have. 

Love,

Jason, Chelsea & Jackson

Marisela & Neva 2015

Dear Humpherys Family, 
We are doing good, my mom is still working at the hospital and she loves her job. We spend time together a lot and have very good communication and I'm thankful that she is my mother. I'm in high school and I have new friends. I'm in martial arts as well and I enjoy that because you get to learn how to defend yourself if someone tries to hurt you. We love to go shopping, go to the theaters and go out to dinner. I'm excited because next year I get to drive. Me and my mom miss dad and we love him always.

We love you guys! 
Love, Neva and Marisela

Ray & Becky 2015

NEWSLETTER FOR 2016 ABOUT 2015

            The year 2015 was lived as fully as possible! Ray and I have been riding bikes with or without the kids and grandkids for added excitement in our lives. 2015 was a warmer, drier year, so we were even able to ride on Valentine’s Day then get an early dinner at Dickey’s. Melanie and family were just getting off their cruise on that day so we could stop praying so hard for their safety! Taking three kids with them was a worry for us.

            We went on a bike ride a month later on March 14 with Michelle and Ben’s family and had a picnic lunch (made by Ben) by the little pond close to their house.

Our neighbor bought Ray’s car in early March so we got back what we put into it for a new transmission. It was the newest car we ever bought but put more money in it to keep it working than the older cars! Beware of Buicks!  The 4 cylinder Toyota pickup we got in August 2014 has been working well for Ray’s commute to work each day and to haul the bikes around.

            Melanie and I wanted to be in Indiana when Stephanie had their baby on April 23. The only problem was that I hadn’t gotten on a plane in about six years because I’d become claustrophobic on our trip to North Carolina to see Michelle’s family. So for six weeks I worked to overcome such an affliction. I wrote down every saying I could to convince myself it was pretty much all in my head, ask for blessings from heaven and then become braver than I thought I could be! I learned to look at the space I DID have, breathe deeply, repeat my sayings, play with little Wesley and talk to Melanie. We got there without me freaking out and having the plane make an unscheduled landing! We spent a week and a half in the Spear home and enjoyed all the time we had with them. And now little Sadie is growing up so quickly, besides their other cute kids!

Our other worry for 2015 was for Ryan before, during and after he got his carpal tunnel surgery in May. Once a parent, always a parent!

Lisa was able to fly out to visit Stephanie and family in May, too. We want them all to have close relationships even if they live far away. She helped Stephanie with the baby and the housework and rode bikes with the girls. It was hard for Riley to say good-bye to her sweet Aunt Lisa.

 In June we took the RV to camp at The Spruces in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We weren’t able to get our old spot but got an even better spot down lower. It had plenty of shade and a very shallow trickling stream. Michelle’s family went with us and Melanie’s visited. The cousins had a ball together. They got really dirty and wet, ran out of dry clothes and had to use adult clothes, but memories were made! Ray even snapped a picture of a moose that happened to tromp through the woods at the right moment.

The garden eventually produced a lot of nice tomatoes though the beans never did. Salsa and chili sauce were put up. The neighbor’s apricot trees didn’t produce, either, so we have NO nectar now, what a shame!

In July, Ray, Lisa and girls, besides some of my family, went on the annual backpacking trip. It was Paige’s first year so her hike in was a bit hard, but once she got to camp she kept wanting to hike!

The next week took us to Billings for the reunion. We had Michelle’s family come with us, going through Yellowstone Park to see the geysers. We visited Ben’s grandparents in Bozeman before going into Billings and staying with my cousin Stan. We hadn’t been to Billings for a long time. We saw my dad’s brother, Uncle Ted, who had been sick. It seemed almost surreal to see my old home and the places where I had grown up. Jan, John, Curt, Chelsea and Jason put on a great reunion! We were glad to see all those who were able to make it. Thanks again!

In August, Ray and Michelle flew out to spend time with Stephanie and family. They got to tour the new Indianapolis Temple, too. I tended the Burnett kids; hard, but fun! The next week we went to the Ray Rich Humpherys’ reunion in Paris, Idaho seeing Ray’s cousins and their kids. Lisa learned she already knew a cousin (Stanley’s daughter) and didn’t even know they were related! She has enjoyed spending even more time with her since they live close to each other.

It’s been 40 years since we got married so the kids threw a very nice anniversary party. Thanks again for all your work, we have an awesome family!

We taught The New Testament in Primary to the 10-11 year old kids all year and learned a lot ourselves. Ray continues to volunteer at the temple and I continue to find Coulson cousins to add to the family tree!

At the end of September we bought some recumbent bikes like we had ridden at the Bear Lake KOA campground during the reunion in 2013. It took a while to get them put together, but they have been so much fun!!

October conference time was spent in the RV back at The Spruces. Camille came up and spent the night with us. It was rainy and cool but the mountains smelled so good; someone should bottle that smell!

A week later, after Brayden was baptized, we secretly picked up Stephanie and kids from the airport. We wanted to surprise everyone at our annual R and B family reunion in Park City the next week. We barely kept the secret but pulled it off! We had a lot of fun swimming, hiking, eating and playing together! The pictures show all thirteen grandkids sitting on a rock wall and Michelle was expecting baby number four. They are all growing up so quickly!

November still had great weather. We rode the bikes with Ryan and Nat on the Utah State campus, a wonderful place with wide walkways. The fall day was so beautiful! Then the next weekend we rode the recumbent bikes with Lisa and Michelle’s kids near their house in Clearfield.

I hadn’t worked at my clinic for a couple months, (though I’ve worked there part-time for 20 years now), but started getting work again and now am scheduled regularly. Michelle and Ben’s baby Taylor was born on the 23^rd, two weeks earlier than expected, so glad they are healthy and his legs are better.

My niece Karen got married in the Jordan River Temple the week after Thanksgiving so we got to see my sister and family from Colorado Springs.

The Christmas Season was wonderful. Ryan and Natalie spent Christmas Eve and morning again with us then the whole family came the next day. What a fun, noisy bunch they are!

We had two more graduations in 2015: Drew from law school and Elliot from University of Utah. Way to go, guys, proud of you!

2015 was great! We have been blessed with continued good health and work and family activities and hope to be so in 2016! See you all at the reunion.

MEMORIES OF VISITING THE HOMESTEAD BY BECKY

Way back when I was dating Ray (1974-75) I learned what a beautiful area he grew up in: Star Valley, Wyoming. It got way too cold for me in the winter; way below zero quite often, but it was beautifully green and a bit too hot at times in the summer, though it would cool down a lot at night.

One very cold, bright morning when Ray and I were staying with Kenny and Tawny, we drove to where Dean was out feeding the elk.  We couldn’t stay long, my feet were starting to freeze, yes I remember the temperature to be -40, but what do I remember any more? I only had hiking boots on (waffle stompers) and not my trusty moon boots, oh, yeah, got those later on in life. But it was fun to see all those elk so tame come down and gather around the wagon and eat the hay next to Dean.

In the summer of 1974 I rode up from Utah with Robert to spend time with Ray for a few days before going back for more summer school classes. I got to hang out with Newell during the day while Ray was at work. He was cutting the hay and I rode with him on the tractor. He was a fun guy then, too! I snapped a picture of him on the tractor and bottle feeding a calf in the barn. At that time Dean had screeching peacocks, a momma pig with a lot of piglets, chickens, some sheep and pretty horses. It was a fun experience for a city girl like myself.

Mentioning sheep, after we were married with kids, there was a mean ram complete with big curly horns out in the barnyard. Jimmy and Kelly had played toro and matador with it, from what I was told, so it was ready to butt any innocent by-standers. So, one evening the men went up into the pasture to get the horses and my job was to open the gate when they came down. I stood facing the metal gate inside the barnyard talking to about ten year old Carol as she sat on a horse. Then, suddenly, I was hit so hard on the lower half of my body that my shins were crushed into the metal. I turned around to see what had hit me and the shaggy sheep was pawing at the dirt with his horns down ready to ram me again. I climbed the gate slowly to escape. I asked Carol why didn’t she tell me the ram was about ready to charge? She asked me how I could tell it was a boy sheep? I tried to explain… She didn’t act like she’d noticed and had no idea that was the dangerous on-site ram. Ha! The horses came thundering down, kicking up dirt and dust as I clung to the top of the gate, but I couldn’t open it, in too much pain, and worried about hanging on to it as it swung open! The men asked me why I didn’t open the gate. I told them there was this ram…

I took pictures of Dean and Newell having fun with the hats and the boys and Neva and Dean in a carriage. I think they were born too late sometimes, wishing they had lived during the Wild West.

We got to go on one of Dean’s Wagon’s West wagon train expeditions before we were married. Dean was the big man people looked up to and the kids followed during camp.

One summer when John and Jan and his friend Frank Carter were visiting they went fishing. I have a picture of them lined up outside with Dennis Madsen and Dean showing the fish fried up in a pan. It was really hot so they had bandanas around their foreheads. Dean went and got one of Neva’s polyester, red scarfs and put that on to look like one of the group. It was pretty funny.

Later on they had a leg-wrestling match in the front yard. At the end of that day it was when Dean said we should have a family reunion like this “get-together” every year. Now you all know when the family reunion idea started, right from the lips of the family patriarch! So sad we lost him about 7 years later.

We took our kids to SV for Thanksgiving many times. They had fun sledding down the hills near Florence’s house. One time Ray rode a white Appaloosa horse as it pulled the kids on their sleds. As the horse would start up they’d nearly get whiplash but would hold on tight. We have it on video little Melanie in her blue coat hanging onto the sled as the horse took off.

The kids were often sick with bad colds when we were to travel up there, but they seemed to sleep well in the crib and get better pretty fast, faster than at home. I always wondered if it was the differences in the altitude.

The summer visits were always exciting, trying to enjoy some time away from the usual grind and to keep the kids safe.

When Lisa was about five, she slammed her thumb in the trailer door. It took out a piece in the middle. Dean poured turpentine over it. It healed up quite nicely! Maybe there was something to the old home remedies, after all, I remember thinking.

The summer of 1985, when I was occupied with baby Melanie, I went looking for two year old Stephanie. She had gotten away from me. I thought she had gone to the backyard. I called her name and could hear her and Michelle and Shawn, who were five at the time. I looked up and all three were straddling the top of the little metal shed. I asked them how they got Stephanie up there. (I figured the other two could have climbed on something.) Shawn said in his matter of fact tone, “It was nothin’, I just put my rope ‘round her and pulled her up!”

In about 1983 all the kids got on horses for a ride up the pasture. One of Robert’s dogs started barking at the horses and they started running. All the kids fell off and got bumps and bruises. Of course they were all terrified. I got outside just after it happened. Ray said I just missed all the excitement. I’m glad I didn’t see it. I do remember all the kids walking back to the house crying and then seeing Shawn sitting next to Gerald on the couch saying his back hurt. Angels must have been watching out for them that day and all the other times there were accidents. I guess this wasn’t a good memory, only that the kids didn’t get hurt seriously.

The activities at the reunions are great memories. The tug-a-rope was always fun to see who would end up in the mud.

Ray has shown me the boundaries of the land his different family lines have owned in each direction from his home. I think he felt connected to them and the history of his family. As I have read the family histories and even visited Archie Gardner’s home in Scotland I think it is neat our kids have these brave people as their ancestors. Ray told me his stories so I told him I’d type them for him next.

STORIES GROWING UP IN STAR VALLEY BY RAY

                      (dictated to Becky)

            Ray said that he and his brothers did their fair share of fighting. He remembered one he had with Robert. They wrestled until they both were too exhausted to go on and mutually agreed to quit…no winner and no loser!

            Another time he punched Gerald in the mouth and chipped his tooth. He’s not sure he’s forgiven him for that one!

            One summer Dean was going to be gone doing a “bug job” (spraying for bugs in trees) so he told the boys what work had to be done on the farm and put Robert in charge. Robert would tell his three younger brothers what to do. Things didn’t change much later on in their lives, either. The running joke became, “Oh, no, here comes Robert, he’s going to put us to work!”

            Ray didn’t remember what trailer door Lisa had gotten her thumb slammed in at age five that I wrote about. Then he realized it must have been the lambing trailer that Dean had used when they would be out over-night waiting for ewes to give birth. He said his dad would get up in the night to check on them, to see if any needed help. If they did, he knew how to turn them.  Sometimes they had to pull out the calves, too.

            Which leads to the next story: how they used to de-horn and castrate the calves and lambs in the spring. The long-ago ranchers used their teeth to help with the lamb’s castration process (which Dean had Ray try once), but then they got tools and banding to do it more efficiently. Ray remembers someone cooking up the Rocky Mountain Oysters…he figured his mom did. Anyone else remember this? Maybe it would be better to forget!

            As a boy, Ray was “farmed out” for two summers by his dad to live with his cousin Deb Wolfley. He doesn’t know why except to learn to work hard. They changed sprinklers, hauled hay, milked cows and fed horses. He remembered it was a Sunday (not a good day to work?) and he was on the tractor pulling a hay wagon with a big load of hay down a hill. He knew he had to go slowly since the wagon and load were too big for the tractor. As he gently applied the brakes it was still too hard and the tractor jack-knifed. He knew he had to jump off to avoid injury, so he baled! The tractor turned completely upside down with the motor still running.

            Ray was reading the 2006 Humpherys’ Herald where Neva told stories in her own words. He enjoyed hearing about the kinds of transportation she grew up with. Go back and read it!

Lisa & Jim 2015

Humpherys Newsletter for 2015

It’s so great that we do these newsletters every year! Thanks Uncle Newell for keeping the tradition alive after all these years.

January started out with Jim taking a trip to see his alumni school team the Oregon Ducks, play in the football College national championship in Arlington, Texas. Even though they lost he loved being there watching his team.

Paige turned 8 and was baptized in January and became a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was such a special time for her and all of our family. Hard to believe that she turned 8!  She started on the swim team with her older sister Allison. She loves it!

We had Isaac in soccer for the 2nd year in a row, and spent every Saturday in the spring at his games with his Special Ed soccer team. He started participating more on the field rather than off the field. Ha!

Allison swam in State again as an 11 year old. She placed in the top 12 out of over 100 in the state in three events. The 50 yard breastroke, 100 yard back stroke and 100 yard medley. We are so proud of her!  (last year she won 1st place in state as a 10 year old)

We took a quick trip to Cedar City for a long course swim meet. It was a nice little mini vacation to have a little break.

In April Stephanie had a little baby girl and I got to fly out in May to spend 5 days with Stephanie and little Sadie. That was such a fun little trip to spend time in Indiana!

Allison finished 5th grade, Paige finished 2nd grade and Isaac graduated from his 2 year program at the Northern Utah Autism program for preschoolers with autism.

He has made leaps and bounds with his language, sensory needs, and completely potty trained! So blessed in so many ways. He loves friends and is a very social friend to all.  He got the award for Mr. Personality!

In June I did my 2nd annual Little Red bike race (ride). I did the max I have ever done, 70 miles! Only one flat tire luckily, but it was a beautiful ride!

In the summer we had many trips to Lagoon and Lagoon a beach, where we have season passes. It’s a great way to keep cool in the summers and have a fun time with the kiddos.

I had my 20 year old high school reunion. Can’t believe it’s been that long since I’ve been out of high school. The time flies!

Paige did her first triathlon this summer. It was so fun to watch her participate! She did a great job!

In August Allison started 6th grade, Paige, started 3rd grade, and Isaac start kindergarten. It’s amazing how fast they have grown up.

Paige and I started clogging and are doing our first competition very soon. It is so much fun!

Labor Day weekend we went backpacking in the Unitahs. What beautiful place to spend the weekend in the mountains, hiking, fishing, and being with family.

October we had our yearly Humpherys reunion in Park City. Stephanie and her family surprised us and flew in from Indiana for the week! That was the best surprise ever! We went hiking, played games at the park, swam in the pool and soaked in the hot tubs. We have so many memories from that week.

We have the same jobs as last year. I was just released as Young women’s president. Jim is now a primary teacher, teaching the 10 and 11 year olds. Allison is in young women’s and enjoying the activities.

We are not sure if we will be at the reunion this summer since it’s the same weekend as Allison’s state swimming meet.  Love hearing about everyone and hope to see you soon!

One quick memory...  I remember when I was about five years old for the first reunion.  I remember playing with Vance, Curt and Linda the most.  We played along the river running back-and-forth between campsites and tents at Gray's river. 

Love, Jim, Lisa, Allison, Paige, and Isaac

Michelle & Ben 2015

                             

Burnett Newsletter for 2015

Let's see, the biggest thing that happened to us last year was having our sweet little boy Taylor Dawson Burnett on November 23. He surprisingly came two weeks early and weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. We were told in a couple of ultrasounds that he would be born with clubbed feet. So we did our research and learned all about what clubbed feet was because I had no idea. Apparently it is the most common birth defect and predominately in males. It's 1 out of 1000 babies. No one knows why it happens. But it wasn't as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. When he was born, his feet looked fine to me, just slightly turned in like pigeon toed. It is very correctable thank goodness. He has had three different casts on his sweet little feet and now he is in special shoes with a bar across the bottom to retain them. The doctor said that it's just the tendons and ligaments that are really tight and they want to just make sure they wouldn't turn in again. So we have made many trips to Shriners hospital and I just feel so blessed that they know what to do to make sure my little Taylor walks, runs and plays basketball with the other kids.

 Brayden and Jasmine are on a Jr Jazz basketball team right now. Brayden is one of the best players on his team and it's so fun to watch him. We took him to a BYU basketball camp this summer and that was a lot of fun. I don't know who was more excited though, Brayden or me. It reminded me of when CJ, Lisa and I went to the weeklong BYU basketball camp back in the day. We stayed with my grandma and grandpa on my mom's side in Provo and they had a ping-pong table at their apartment complex. We would play for hours. When the rec room was closed, we played ping-pong on the sidewalk. Too funny.  Jasmine is really good at defense and it cracks me up because she gets in these boy's faces and it really frustrates them.

 This summer we did a lot of fun trips.  We went to Glacier National Park for the first time and went across the border to Canada. We also went to Yellowstone Park with my mom and dad up to the reunion at Jan and John's house which was a lot of fun. Pretty much that's what Ben and I do in the summers is go to reunions. Ha ha.  We love it. Between his family and mine there are either 5 or 6 reunions every summer. We feel pretty lucky that both sides of our families have reunions every year. It's so much fun.

I would have to say that when it was reunion time in Star Valley we as kids absolutely loved to go to aunt Sharon and uncle Bob's store and pick out a candy, or rent a movie, or just look at all of their awesome antiques. That was always a highlight for sure. A couple other memories would have to do with horses.  I always wanted a horse, still do, but it was so fun to go on that horse pack trip with uncle Kenny, uncle Gerald, Barry and my dad. Or being pulled by a horse on a sled or watching uncle Robert, uncle Gerald and my dad break a horse in Robert's arena. Or going on that mini cattle drive, I loved that.  

 This year will be Ben's and my 10 year anniversary.  I can't believe we have been married that long. 4 kids later, we are feeling pretty blessed. Brayden is 8. He was baptized this year and his teacher at school absolutely loves him. He got straight A's so we are so proud of him. Jasmine is 6 and she is definitely a leader with such a happy, bubbly personality. She loves to keep her room clean and organized. Stasia is 2 and has so much personality we don't know what to do with. She comes up with big words that surprise us every day. She just talks and talks. Taylor is 2 months and such a great addition to our family. 2 boys and 2 girls. He's really starting to smile now, I love it.  We also have a foreign exchange student living with us named Shannon. She is from China and she will be with us the whole year.  She will graduate high school from a Catholic school in Ogden.  

  I can't even say how much I love my family. I am so grateful for them. They are always so willing to help me out and so service oriented. It's nice that Lisa and I live so close that we can help each other out and watch each other's kids. Melanie even volunteered to clean and organize my whole basement. It looks amazing now. My mom watched my kids while my dad and I went to Indiana to visit Stephanie and her family for a week. That was a real treat.  Thanks for doing the newsletter this year Curt. It was fun getting to know you better at the reunion this summer. 

Love,

 Ben, Michelle, Brayden, Jasmine, Stasia, Taylor and Shannon