Nadean's Clan 2017

Nadean

Dear Family,   I am watching the news broadcast of the new presidency of the church.  I  am amazed at how much they cover in their brief messages. When I tell you I can remember when GEORGE Albert Smith was the president then you will really realize how old I am.  I have to take a "walker" with me to make church a possibility. I have helpers hired to take me around shopping  and help with the housework.  So, I am doing pretty darn good.

I went with Carol and Blair to Salt Lake for Thanksgiving.  I had dinner with Stacys family.  it was a very nice day, along with A very tasty dinner I came home with my friend Ellen Hale.  Carol stayed a day longer.  I know now, why Dad always wanted to get right home as fast as he could.  The Humpherys cousins had a reunion in Clinton, Utah.  I rode up with Kent Humpherys. That was fun to go up in a new red jazzy car.  

 When Christmas rolled around, I was happy to stay home.  Jase came and brought his "youthfulness", with him. It was was a restful, fun holiday. 

Hope everyone is happy and healthy.  Healthy is my greatest wish.  I am so pleased with Kens results on his last operation.  He tells me always how well he and Myrna are doing with their exercising at the gym.  It makes such a difference when you have someone one to go with you.

                                      My Love to all of you, 

                                      Nadean

Jim & Stacy

Hi Humpherys Family!

This past year was filled with some challenges and some blessings. Stacy’s mom passed away from complications due to a brain aneurysm. She survived a month in the hospital, until her body could no longer endure the effects. With her sudden passing we have experienced heartache as a family, but also the blessing of knowing that she can still be with us in our hearts and as our guardian angel until we too will join her again in the next life. The lesson of enduring challenges big and small is a hard one. But realizing that challenges are what help us grow and become stronger and better is powerful. We really appreciate all the love and support our Humphreys family has given us!

Now, for some of the many blessings we have had!...Rilee started esthetician school in Provo and will graduate this October with a Master Esthetician certificate. So, if any of you want or need any kind of skin treatments, she’s your girl! She has always been interested in beauty and science and we are very proud of her!

Katie and Ty have some pretty big news of their own!!! I’m not going to spoil it…You will have to read their newsletter to find that out! But I will say we are all SUPER excited! Logan and Annie moved into their newly built house right before Christmas and love it! We are so happy for them! And also love that it is only 7-8 minutes from mom and dad!

Jim is still super busy with work. Their company continues to grow and Jim has been a major part of that growth, with hiring new good people and adding new products like, cloud services to their expertise.

Stacy just got a new calling in church and is excited to be back in the Young Women’s program as the Personal Progress Leader. She loves the leaders and thinks the girls are the best!

Our family got the opportunity to spend the 4^th of July in San Diego and had a blast being all together and even got Stacy’s dad up on a paddleboard! Jim and Stacy were fortunate to spend a week on the island of Kauai and have deemed it their new favorite place in the world! It’s stunning beauty and abundance of activities shot it right to the top of their list!

We are looking forward to this new year and it’s new set of challenges and blessings and have made the goal to enjoy each moment and cherish family and friends! Can’t wait to see everyone at the reunion this summer in South Dakota!

Love The Cassell Family  -- Jim, Stacy and Rilee

Logan & Annie

Dear Family,

                This has been a great year for the Cassell family. Of course there were a lot of ups and downs as everybody experiences, but we have so much to be grateful for, and some amazing family and friends to share in this journey.

We spent most of the year still living in Logan’s grandparent’s basement. Logan’s grandma passed away in April, and while we all miss her greatly, we are beyond grateful that we got to spend the last few years of her life living with her. She was truly an amazing woman, and taught all those in her life by her example of love and kindness. Though she didn’t know many of you in the family, she frequently asked about those she did know, and cared about you deeply. We love you and miss you, Grandma. J

In December we closed on our 1^st house!!! It is in Bluffdale, Utah (about 20 minutes south of Salt Lake), and we could not be more excited. We ended up building it, and it was so fun to go through the building process and pick out everything that would make this house our home. No matter what Annie tells you, just know that it was really Logan who picked out and designed everything.

Logan got exciting news this summer as he finished up the prerequisites for the nursing program and found out that he got into the program! He is now in his second semester and is loving it. Logan still works for his dad’s company, and got to spend more time working this summer while he was out of school. It was great to spend more time at the office and learn more about the company. Oh, and spend more time with his dear old dad. J Logan’s big passions are still golf and backpacking. He was able to go on a golf trip to Saint George, and on several backpacking trips to Zion, Canyonlands, Escalante, and a “trans-Wasatch” trip where he hiked from Salt Lake to Pleasant Grove across the Wasatch Mountains.

Annie is now in her 4^th year at Traeger. She loves working for a great company, and loves all of her coworkers that she gets to spend so much time with. She is surrounded by some great people, and has been blessed to learn and grow so much from them. It has been a dream come true for Annie to get into the new house. She would take Logan to our construction site almost every single day to look at the latest updates and dream about where we were going to put things and how it was going to look. Now that we are finally in she has had a blast decorating, cleaning, and trying to “infuse good scents into the walls.” Annie served the whole year as the Primary Chorister in church, and loved planning singing time every week for the primary kids. She also was the Girls Camp Director for the 2^nd year, and had so much fun spending a week with the young women.

That’s about it for us, we love you all so much!  Love,     Logan and Annie

Katie and Ty

Dear Family,

This year will bring big changes for us. We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting our first baby in September! We couldn’t be more excited and are happy to finally let the secret out! That has really been all that is on our minds lately. We know we’ve got a lot to do before the baby gets here! Other than that everything else is pretty much the same around here. I am still working as a medical assistant at the dermatologists office and Ty is still doing Medicare insurance sales. He and a buddy of his were able to break off and start their own insurance business this past October and were able to sell their own policies from home. They had a successful open enrollment period and are now amping up for next year. It has been a blessing for us and will be even more of a blessing to have him working from home when the baby gets here!
See you all soon! - -Katie and Ty

Jase Lancaster

Hey Family, 

     I’m sorry I don’t get a chance to see you more. But I’ll quickly tell you what I get up to. I work at a group home for mentally disabled individuals. It’s been a good experience. I’ve grown a lot with these people along with trying to develop myself at home. I am in an apartment in Orem, living with some roommates. And trying to pick up on some Spanish. I’m in a community class and enjoying that a lot. 

     Love Jase Lancaster

Josh & Ester

Sharon's Clan 2017

Sharon, Pam & Ray

Hello everyone       mom and I are doing our letter together this year .As a lot of you know we moved mom here to the great state of  Montana in November It was quite a move , Jeff and Sandra came to help also .don't know how we did it but if it hadn't been for Kim we, would probably still be there .     Not a great year for 2017   as far as weather goes winter went on endlessly and then when  it got nice we were on fire , lasted till about first snowfall.  This didn't help Rays health at all but he did squeeze a couple one day fishing trips to Helena.    I didn't get to do a lot this year but am looking forward to 2018   and seeing as many of you as we can.            Here's some from mom   

Ok its my turn sure k
MISS EVERONE IN STARVALLEY especially neva and marisella  .the house and truck still haven't sold in case anyone is interested.  As soon as it sells I’m gonna buy the old house and fix it up as a bed and breakfast if marisella will sell it to me.  Looking forward to the family reunion in Hill city S.D.  when bob and I were there before Chris took us thru the park you could almost reach out and touch the presidents.on the dirt banks you could see speckles of gold.  Sure was a lot of buffalo.  Be good to see you all.  - Love Sharon and Pam and Ray

Kim and Bryan

Dear Humpherys Family

I just received Barry’s email about the family news letter and decided now was as good a time as any…let’s get er done!

2017 was an eventful year.  January thru March was the usual waiting for winter to end and the babies to start arriving.  We both spend our evenings looking at stud books together  and discussing  (arguing haha) who would compliment each mare.  We have a young stallion and we are feeling pretty good about his off spring so far.  One of them I will start running this summer.  We have a couple of others who are getting some training now, and we look for good things from them. All I know is, if we were doing this for the money we would be in trouble, but the happiness it brings to both of us keeps us going.  It takes a long time to build a reputation and get a few out there running and proving themselves.  Although I do my best to help with the chores when I’m off on the weekends, Bryan keeps everything rolling.  He puts up all the hay, does the daily chores, and puts up with me.  I’m very lucky to have him. 

I had a fun season barrel racing.  Years ago I read an article in the quarter horse publication about a mother, daughter and grand daughter barrel racing together.  When I read that I thought…we need to be doing something with all of these horses.  It took awhile to get it all going, but this year, mother, daughter, grand daughter and grand son all competed.  Sawyer and Sophia both did the pattern on their own, while Mandy, Chris and I stood on the side lines holding our breath.  Of course they wear helmets and we have put them on a very safe horse, but as anyone knows…things can happen.  They have both gained so much confidence and it will be fun to see where it all goes.  We have met some wonderful friends with kids and it’s a good family thing.  Chris is a saint.  He too helps keep things going.  I will brag on Mandy a little because I know she won’t in her letter.  She and Josie are a site to be seen!  I love watching them run.  She always gives me pointers and I listen because she’s a dang good rider.  I’m not going to lie…I’m living a bit of a dream getting to do what I love with my daughter and grand kids.  And I’ll repeat the part about being thankful for Bryan and Chris because none of it would happen without them. 

Bryan and the crew had a good year hunting.  His daughter Kresha got a nice buck this fall. We had hunters come in to hunt the pheasants.  Although the pheasant numbers are down in the state, our hunters have had some good hunts.  Bryan has done a lot over the years to help the population.  He plants food plots to help them winter and he is conservative about not over hunting the land.  No big game this year, but he did fill the freezer with a steer we traded for hay.  Bryan fattened him up with corn and he’s pretty good eating!

The other big event this year was moving Mom from Wyoming to Montana.  This was not an easy thing for Mom.  We got the entire house and contents moved in about 4 days.  Jeff and Sandra, Pam, Bryan and I along with help from the church and family dug in and worked till it was done.  A pending storm in Montana caused us to kick it up several notches and knock 2 days off of the initial estimate to get it done.  It was hard.  It was especially hard for Mom, but I’m proud of her and I’m thankful that she is in Montana and can enjoy my wonderful sister and Ray.  I wish she would have considered coming here, but let’s be honest…Eastern South Dakota is a far cry from Wyoming.  I’ve grown to love it, but if it weren’t for my family here, I would pack up and head for the mountains.  I think you always long for the type of area you grew up in. 

We are in charge of the family reunion this year.  I will send out a separate email with details.  We’ve decided on Black Hills of South Dakota.  I am hoping that many of you will be able to come.  The Black Hills can rival the beauty of Montana, Idaho or Wyoming.  Mt Rushmore is in the Black Hills, along with tons of other activities.  Mt Rushmore is truly something that I think everyone should see at least once in their lifetime.  The High Country Ranch, just outside of Hill City will be our central location.  I really love this place and have stayed there many times over the years.  I am actually going a couple of days prior to the family reunion so I can make sure everything is ready, plus enjoy a few days to ride.

So as a wrap up…it’s still pretty much the same thing.  Work, hunting, horses and do it all over again until we can’t anymore…which hopefully will be a very long time.  Like all of you…sometimes life is great and sometimes it’s a challenge.  I’m thankful for my Humpherys family roots, which I believe makes us tough.  Bryan and I recently saw a movie called 12 Strong.  It was a great movie, but more importantly it made me once again appreciate the sacrifices our military has made for all of us.  I have told the story to many how Grandpa enlisted while still having a young family at home to go and fight for our country.  That patriotism runs deep in our family.  Let’s make sure all of those young ones know the sacrifices that were made by Grandpa Dean and Grandma Neva and other family members. Let’s never take it for granted. 

Thank you Barry for doing the news letter.  Thank you Kenny’s family for a great family reunion.  It was so fun and well organized. 

Looking forward to what this year will bring. 

Love to all!  Kim and Bryan

Mandy & Chris
 Wonderful Family,

Can’t believe it is newsletter time again and that another year has come and gone!  Here are a few highlights of what happened this last year in the Williams household!

Sawyer and Sophia turned six in January.  Can’t believe that we sent our babies off to Kindergarten this year….seemed like we blinked and they were starting school!  They have really been enjoying school this year and are doing extremely well.  We are very proud of the polite, smart, kind kids that they are!  A few new things that they have enjoyed this year together are t-ball, swimming lessons, horse riding lessons, and they also participated in an American Ninja Warrior class at our local gymnastics gym.          

Sophia is my little spit fire!  She has a zest for life and likes to be lovingly ornery to her brother!  She loves to tease him that she is the older one and took full advantage of this status back in January.  We were at the Black Hills Stock Show celebrating Mom’s 60^th Birthday and Sawyer entered into a roping contest for kids his age (which he did quite well and roped the steer dummy 3 out of 5 times!).  There was a little girl that wanted Sophia to play with her while the competition was going on.  Sophia kindly said, “I can’t right now because I need to watch my little brother rope!”  Oh my!!  I’m glad she takes that two minutes older in life thing pretty seriously and makes sure that Sawyer knows he is her “little brother”!  Too bad Sawyer is about 3 inches taller than her so it appears that she is the “younger sister!” HA!:)  Sophia also really enjoys singing along with her karaoke machine.  She has quite the little voice and loves to put some dance moves in while singing to her Kids Bop CD.  Sophia also has a love for making arts and crafts.  She got an art table for Christmas and you will find her quite often sitting at it designing and creating very unique things.  I was blessed beyond measure to find a whole basketful of birthday gifts that she had been lovingly creating for me for quite some time and secretly storing them until it was time for my birthday!  I felt loved for sure!:)  Sophia is quite the little smarty pants and has self-taught herself how to write her first and last name in cursive just by watching me write.  She also started reading the chapter book Charlotte’s Web here recently.  Needless to say she loves school!             

Sawyer is my little softy.  He loves his family and loves spending time with us!  Even though his sister likes to pick on him, he is her knight in shining armor and will do anything to make her happy.  He is very protective and is always looking out for her.  He is going to make one awesome husband some day!  Sawyer is still my little sports nut.  You will find him with some sort of ball in the house 24/7 at home.  He can’t wait for us to put up his basketball hoop that he got for Christmas so that he can start practicing outside as soon as the weather warms up.  He has quite the arm and did very well hitting and throwing on the t-ball team this year.  It was pretty cute because he went to a kid’s baseball camp that our local town baseball team put on.  They had all the kid’s up close fielding the balls as the kids would take turns hitting the balls either off the tee or pitches that the coaches would pitch to them.  When Sawyer got up there, he hit a smoking line drive at the coach on the first pitch and then one that hit the back gym wall on the second pitch.  Needless to say they had the other kids back up after those two!:)  Sawyer also really enjoys hunting.  He got a BB gun this Christmas and enjoys going hunting for sparrows and rabbits and also shooting target practice.  He is also learning how to rope.  His practice targets are the goats that we bought for the kids a couple years ago.  We thought it would be a “fun” idea at the time to buy these cute, little goats for the kids to play with….they were cute for awhile,… but then we quickly realized they are also LOUD and SMELLY and ANNOYING!!  I guess it’s all worth it when you see Sawyer running around having a blast  chasing them and trying to rope the little buggers!   He is also doing well in school and really enjoys math!

Chris is on his 11th year of working at Trail King.  He very recently got promoted to an engineering manager!  He is very well respected within the company by not only his peers, but also the customers that he designs trailers for.  He and his dad continue to hobby farm on his grandparents land in Winner, as well as still doing a little dirt work with their excavator and custom harvesting in the fall.  I am very thankful for the amazing husband and father that he is and how hard he works to provide for our family.    

Since the twins started Kindergarten this year, I am finally back to work as an educator again!  I am a paraprofessional in the Plankinton School District where the twins go to school.  It is very nice to be in the same school as them.  I thank God for his timing and faithfulness as I turned down a couple teaching positions in other school districts because I didn’t have peace about them and really wanted to be in the same school district as the kids.  He provided this para position at the beginning of November and it has been really nice.  I work one on one with students in the Special Ed room.  It has been the best of both worlds as I am back to working with students but don’t have all the responsibilities, lesson planning, and correcting as a classroom teacher would have.  Getting to leave when the bell rings with the kids is priceless!        

We are looking forward to another year of horses, riding, and barrel racing with the family.  The summer is pretty much spent with all things horses.  It is a blessing that we get to do this alongside mom.  She is my rock and is there before and after every run.  We both had pretty good years!  She started the year off rocking it at the State NBHA finals winning quite a bit of moolah and I had to spend the rest of the year trying to win enough money to beat her amount!:)  Don’t know if I ever quite got there or not….I think it was pretty close!  We aren’t the least bit competitive are we?!  Don’t know where we get that from!?  Mom also won a beautiful breast collar and a couple other prizes at some different races and I was thrilled when I placed 3^rd in the 1D this last summer at the Blazin Barrels Finals and won a pretty nice check and chore cart.  The twins officially “ran” their first race ALL BY THEMSELVES on their horse, Sugar at a couple of the races.  It’s one thing to run alongside with them, but it’s a whole new level as a mom to let your five year old child go out in an open arena by themselves to trot through the pattern on a live horse.  Wowzers!  There was a lot of praying going on!  It was cute because before one of their first runs, I was telling Sawyer, “ Now make sure you look at where you are riding to, and make sure you are paying attention to what you are doing so you go on the correct side of the barrel, and MOST IMPORTANT….and before I could say pull back on the reins if Sugar starts to take off, Sawyer says, “ I know, I know Mom, just go out there and have fun!”  Yah, that too buddy but also PULL BACK ON THE REINS IF SUGAR STARTS TO TAKE OFF!!  LOL! I am excited to see what this summer brings! 

Hoping we get to see as many of you as possible at this year’s reunion in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota!  It truly is a breathtaking area with so many things to do and see!  Love and miss you all! 

With Love, Chris, Mandy, Sawyer, and Sophia Williams

Ken's Clan 2017

Ken & Myrna

Hello to family from the California Roseville Mission!

Once again we have the blessing in our lives for being able to participate in these great family news letters. It is great to be able to learn of activities of everyone. We have seven months left on our mission, and, yes, we are excited and looking forward to the time of our release on September 3, 2018.  

We have witnessed many blessings and miracles the last year and a half.  We are thankful for modern technology that surround us from communications to the advancement of modern medicine.  We have come to realize how much our Heavenly Father loves and looks after all of our best interests. Our mission president felt that we were assigned to the California Roseville Mission because of excellent health care facilities and doctors.  That has proven to be true.  On June 26, 2017, Ken underwent major open heart surgery for aorta artery and valve replacement and installing a pacemaker at UCDavis hospital in Sacramento.  We are so grateful for Kelly and Sandra, Barry and Alisa and there family who came to be with us during these trying times.  

Newell and Sally have been a constant support to us since being here and living only a few miles from them.  When Newell realized we were not on an insurance plan that was honored in Nevada County and paid for only emergencies, he immediately went to work and found a plan that covers all.  With the surgery and the lengthy hospital stay, we were completely covered! We will be forever grateful for their constant service and kindness to us.  We have been blessed to meet several people who knew Elder Newell Humpherys when he served a mission in this area.  The comments are about his willingness to serve and to help all.  We have been blessed to witness Sally's musical talents as Stake music director. 

The real blessings in our lives come when we try to be an instrument in the Lord's hand to seek out those that are lonely, discouraged, and need a helping hand.  We have made friends with many people who have lifted and encouraged us and help us to reach a higher potential.  We feel that friendships have developed that will last forever.

Another highlight are the young Elder and Sister missionaries who we meet with weekly.  It wasn't long after arriving in the mission field that we learned we couldn't keep up with the 18 and 19 year olds!  We are so thankful for their faithful dedication and service to their callings and the example they set for us.

We are looking forward to seeing all of you at the family reunion in South Dakota and only hope and pray that nothing comes up to alter or change our plans.

We appreciate the hills and valleys, the tall pines and green grass of California, but Ken says he is looking forward to returning to Arizona where he can stand on a bale of hay and see for 30 miles!

                                                     Love, Elder and Sister Humpherys

                                                               (Ken and Myrna)

Kelly & Sandra

Another year has zoomed by,

While my mind seems to have forgotten most of the trauma over the last year-haha, I am reminded of the great summer vacation we enjoyed.  It was a real treat to get to be with mom, and Brooke and Sandra and all the laughter while traveling through Yellowstone.  Of course, most of the laughter was at my expense.  But, what do you expect…right?  Some say I’m a funny guy…others not so much.

The really, super, duper great news was that we finally became grandparents in November.  Little Scarlet Rae Humpherys joined the family.  She is certainly a beautiful angel.  I look forward to the day she actually says grandpa.

The Vegas area is still hot during the summer and not so bad during the winter as far as weather.  We’ve been enduring a very dry and drought plagued year.  In spite of the many challenges there is good around us in many directions.  I’m grateful for my trials.  At times I wonder how I’ve made it this far, but here I am still.  I would much rather live back in southern Utah.  Who knows maybe someday things may work out to move there, but if not, Que será, será…

I’d like to mention how good it was to see uncle Newell and aunt Sally and cuz Damien while visiting Dad and Myrna while on their mission, just prior to Dad’s surgery. It was equally enjoyable to be there with my own brother Barry and his fam-damily (who i think you all know).

So normally we try and stuff a timeline of all the things we did during the year in these news letters.  But I am going to go out on a limb.  Some of you may not even read this, some of you will roll your eyes and hurry through it, and some may not. But thats all fine and dandy either way.

But, I just want to say a few things... some food for thought... you may be hungry later-lack of nourishment. If you dont get it, just move on.  Maybe this will end up being a “Jerry Maguire” moment, but who knows, and really, I don’t care.

I’m grateful for the heritage of our family.  For years I thought we were a perfect family, and we knew that our way was the only  way and everyone else didn’t have a clue.  Things we all go through in some degree or another—I suppose.  But one thing I’m so glad about is experience.  I’m thankful for the experience that God has given me.  I’ve been through hell and back, through many hours of therapy, and counseled with good people—people who in their own right were and are flawed but are good at their specialty.  I’ve had a lot of depression, mainly because I haven’t felt like I measured up to whatever “it” was or is.  But through it all I have learned just a couple of things.   I have learned that it’s so important to love our selves, to be kind to ourselves, and to forgive ourselves. The term "I'm not perfect" is over saturated and used out of context and frankly very missunderstood. The belief that we should be free from error in our lives or that we think we shouldn't make errors or expect others to not make errors is a false narrative. That belief is shame based and it makes it difficult to love ourselves. And we all know that if you cant love yourself then who can you love. Winky winky. Or air quotes....  I read an article by Russell M Nelson in which he points out that the proper definition of the word "perfect" being used in context is to reach a conclusion, to complete the journey just like our heavenly fathet did and eventually the Lord.  We dont need to feel bad about circumstances,  or our inability to attain something (you fill in the blank). What i believe is imprtant is that we just keep trying to do our best and God in his infinite wisdom will fill in the crevices and gaps of incompleteness and brokenness with the magical dust of the the Atonement. And that's why im glad for experience, because i start to realize that through humility we gain better insite in how to change.

I may not be the most eloquent writer, and may not be able to really express what I would really like.  But, just know this…I love each of you for who you are.  I miss each of you and I hope each of you know that.  In my own way this is me just saying “you are the best”.

So to all you cousins, I miss you.  To all my Uncles and Aunts, I cherish your love and support and all the memories so far, and look forward to more in the future.

I salute you all, Love Cousin Kelly and Family (Sandra, Brooke, Tanner & Teesha and Scarlette)

And dont forget to say thanks to my brother Barry for doing the news letter this year...

Brent and Sherrie 

Dear family,

Greetings from Alaska!!!

I really love living here in Ketchikan. But to be honest I am pretty sure I take this place for granted, and some day when I’m not here anymore I will be kicking myself for not exploring and getting out more and enjoying the beautiful place that I live. (I just realized I am using this letter mor as a confessional hahahaha) Brent has been all over this state and back more than once and after 6 years living here I still feel like a newby. So my goal this year is to get healthier and smaller and kick some butt in the way of adventure and memories! 

Brent still works for NOAA. I still stay home and spoil Ruger and that’s about it. We didn’t get much fishing  in last summer. I was trying to get my fibromyalgia under control but I think I have a handle on it now for the most part as long as I exercise and eat right, hmmmmm interesting concept, so I am gonna try and get us out fishing as much as humanly possible this summer. Did you know that fishing with Brent L. Chandler Jr. is more work than play? You can take the man out of the military but you can’t take the military out of the man! but that’s ok, I’m on my way to being able to keep up with him.

He’s definitely a work horse and he’s my hero and since I love horses it’s ok.

We won’t be able to make it to the reunion this year unfortunately. I wish it was cheaper to fly, but it’s not... I’ll just leave it at that.

I enjoyed the family reunion last summer. It was good to see all of you that I did. We’ll have to do it here one year .

Love Brent and Sherrie 

DeAna & Brian

Another year has come and gone.

 2017 was much like 2016 except Savannah started High School and Ian and Abby moved up a grade to 7th and 4th. Lexie worked and attended BYU-I and Bray was serving his mission in Kentucky. Braylan is still serving in Kentucky and we all did pretty much the exact same thing as the last year except at the end of the year, November 29 Lexie entered the MTC to learn Dutch to go serve a mission in the Belgium Netherlands mission.

So now the twins are both serving missions, Savannah is in High School and has her drivers permit.

I worked at South Fork Lodge all summer and tried to grow a fabulous garden and Brian plowed in the winter and striped roads in the summer. Brian was really sick at the end of the year. After taking three rounds of steroids for his cluster headaches his immune system and adrenals crashed and it took a few months for doctors to figure out what was going on. We have figured out that a lower elevation helps Brian with some of his health issues. So Bahamas here we come! Ha

The church here in Swan Valley is coming along nicely and supposedly will be finished by August. 

I just want to say how much I love you all. How blessed I am to have you as family. Not only family, but friends. I hope to see you at the reunion. 

Much love, DeAna, Brian, Braylan, Lexie, Savannah, Ian and Abby 

Gary & Mary Lynn

Dear Family,

Gary has been farming, we still farm the same things. Mary Lynn has been subbing at MVMS middle school. She has been teaching health, she likes it. She has also been doing the high school girls basketball teams book, she goes to every game even the away games. Emalee is a junior in high school. She made the volleyball team and they did pretty good, their season is over. Emalee had a birthday on the 8^th of December and she is now 17 years old. Jake is a freshman in high school. He made the freshman basketball team and they are doing well, their season is not yet over they have two more games. Jake is 14 and will turn 15 on February 21^st. He has his permit and will get his license in April. Megan is a seventh grader and goes to the middle school. She made the middle school’s girls basketball team. Megan also played on the school volleyball team. Megan is 12 and will turn 13 on March 28^th. Finally, Landon is a fourth grader and goes to Wapello Elementary.  He loves basketball and he played Jazz basketball. He is probably going to start up baseball again soon. Landon is 9 and will turn 10 on August 27^th. -                                 Love, The Evans’

Barry & Alisa

The 2017 year was a busy year for our family.  Barry continues to work as the area manager for Schwan’s in Blackfoot.  He is also in the Marine Corps reserves which means he has duties that he works on once a month.  To add to that, he started his first year of Command and Staff which is a course that he needs to make promotion in the future.  All of this makes him super busy.  Luckily the course only lasts two years and he has the summers off.  We tried to enjoy summer but only got in a couple of camping trips with the kids. Alisa still works for the Piano Gallery in Pocatello two days a week teaching music classes.  She enjoys getting out for a bit and also enjoys her time at home with the kids.  Addyson is 10 now and is loving school as always. She loves hanging out with friends and doing dance.  Garrett is 7 and enjoys first grade and playing minecraft and legos.  Wyatt is 3 now and loves to play with his trucks, dinosaurs and whatever his brother and sister are playing with.  We were able to take a trip to California and visit Grandpa Humpherys and Myrna on their mission which was really neat.  We were also able to stay with Uncle Newell and Sally and that was so much fun to get to know them better.  Overall, it has been a great year.  Love Barry & Alisa, Addyson, Garrett & Wyatt

Tanner & Teesha

Carlos & Kimmie
Hi everyone! Long time no talk. I'll just get right into this :) Carlos and I have been married for ten years and have four kids. Dustin, Jacob, Lydia, and Kasidee. Dustin is eight, Jacob is six, Lydia is three, and Kasidee is one. Carlos works at Les Schwab and has been there for 5 years and he really enjoys it. They are a good company to work for and treat our family really well. Dustin loves video games and going on hikes and being outside. Jacob prefers to be outside and loves to ride dirt bikes. He races a KTM sx 50 mini and he's fearless. Lydia is really shy but loves her dance class and it's really helping her break out of her shell. She will be starting pre-school soon and it makes me want to cry. Kasidee is our last and we finally got something right haha just kidding. She just turned one but I think she is my most independent kid. Carlos and I moved our family to Kuna, a little town outside of Boise, 5 years ago and it's really became our home. Carlos and I really like to be outside also and it shows through our kids. Carlos' hobbies include his Yamaha motorcycle and helping the kids with their dirt bikes. He provides very well for our family and I couldn't be more thankful to have him in my life. I love to read and I am always reading a book. I'm lucky enough to stay home with our kids and babysit daily for a family friend. We have two dogs and a parakeet :) our dogs are Hotch who is a boxer and Sparky a cute little mutt. Well that's our family in a nut shell. Love and miss all of you! 

Florence's Clan 2017

Florence & Larry

hi family.. wow time flies.  thanks Barry and Alisa..so nice that you  are the chosen ones..We are doing fine

Old age is fabulous and that's  a lie

Larry is recovering well from his brain bleed. He loves his treadmill..I love physical therapy.  another couple little  fibs.  We are grateful we are as good as we are.

We get Parker every   couple a months while Lacee goes out of town for her  work.So good to have him. He's  such a great kid and fun to have around..His grades are all  great. He has a solo in his band concert  this month. MEAN CLARINET...  We are happy to have Vance  and Parker  close by.  Also Camille  Lance and Damien  all Gerald and Tena and  their  expanding family.  I  hear Maddie has a ring you can see from space..yay!!!  Mary Lynn   and Barry are close.  We should  see them more.   Everyone  gets so wrapped up just getting stuff done. 

It seems so strange  to realize that we have no home to go to in Star Valley..Marisela and Neva ...YOU GUYS  HAVE TO STAY IN ETNA FOREVER..OR TIL THE ROAD SITUATION.  ACTUALLY HAPPENS.. WE MISS SHARON AND NADEAN..I guess  life goes on.  Hope we get to go to the reunion  this year.. 

hope everyone  is well and happy..the longer we live the more I see that we all have bumps  in the road.  I  guess we just keep on going.  Larry misses Bob and his fishing trips but what can you do.

Love to you all.Hoping so much to see you all soon.

                           Flo and Larry   Vance and Parker. 

Johnny's Clan 2017

Dear Family,

Hope all is well with everyone!  We are doing fine up here in snowy Montana!  We have had more snow this year than in the last 40 years.  Ugh!!

Chelsea, Jackson and I visited Curt, Jerri & Kids in April, and we went to the Wildlife Safari in Winston, OR.  It’s a drive through Zoo, and a lot of the animals are allowed to roam free. Then onto the Redwoods in Crescent City, CA.   We had such a wonderful time!  We all loved it!

In May, John, Michelle (my Stepdaughter), and I attended our Daughter-in-law’s college graduation in Pocatello, ID. Derik, John’s Son, and daughter-in-law, Heidi lived in Pocatello while she attended ISU.  She graduated from ISU, with a doctorate in Counseling.  We stayed with Florence and Larry for the weekend.  It’s always so great to spend time with them.

Chelsea, Jackson, Tyler and Ella visited us for 3 weeks in July.  John and I bought a camper trailer a couple of years ago, so we went camping with the kids.  We had the best time while they were here.  Can’t wait until they come back again this Summer.

John and I went to Atlanta to attend Jason’s son, Alex’s wedding the end of September. The wedding was absolutely beautiful!  While we were there we went to an Atlanta Braves game, the Georgia Aquarium, Botanical Gardens, and the World of Coke.   Chelsea and Jason made sure we were able to see some of the many wonderful sights of Atlanta!  It was so fun!! 

On December 16^th of this year, we welcomed a new grandbaby into our family!  June McKinley Olsen was born on Jackson’s birthday.  June is the daughter of John’s son, Derik, and daughter-in-law Heidi McKinley.  It is pretty special to have their birthdays together!  

Curt, Jerri, Tyler, Ella and Leia (the dog) came to Montana for Christmas this year.  They traveled on some of the worst snowy and icy roads that we have had in Montana in a very long time!   It’s been about 8 years since they had been home for Christmas.  Curt said he would never drive here in the winter again! I don’t blame him a bit!! But, it was so wonderful to have them here!  While they were here, we went on a sleigh ride at Zoo Montana.  They have Lights and Christmas displays throughout the grounds.  It snowed so hard, but it was so fun!   The kids and Leia really enjoyed playing in all the snow we had.

We did some remodeling in our kitchen.  We had the cupboards painted off-white, put in new granite countertops and a new backsplash.  It turned out so pretty!

2017  was a wonderfully busy year for us!  We have all been healthy and happy, and I am looking forward to retirement in July.  Yes!!!! 

Love you all,  Jan & John

Curt & Jerri

Hello Family

During spring break last year we went to Northern California with my mom, Chelsea, and Jackson.  It was a lot of fun to get to spend so much time with everyone and we saw some amazing sights.

We sent Tyler and Ella to spend some time in Billings last summer.  It was their first time flying by themselves so I think everyone was a bit nervous.  They always have so much fun there, but they are some pretty sad kids when they get back for a while.  I have to say we do enjoy being kid-free for a little while, but are glad to see them when they get back.

Tyler and I flew down to San Francisco in November.  We spent some time sightseeing and then went over to Oakland to watch the Raiders play the Giants.  It was one of the few wins they pulled out this year so we lucked out there.

We spent Christmas with my mom and John this year in Billings.  The roads driving over there were not a lot of fun, but the rest of time spent there was great.  It had been about 7 years since I had been back home for the holidays.  We were grateful that we were able to do this. 

Tyler is getting bigger on a daily basis.  He will probably be taller than Jerri by this time next year.  He will be going to junior high next year.  He loves playing/watching football.  He will start another year of flag football this week and we enjoy getting to see him develop.  He also likes writing short funny little stories.  He is a pretty funny little dude.

Ella has become quite the busy little girl recently.  If she isn’t over at a friend’s house, then she has a friend over at our house.  She also is active in gymnastics and softball.  She is very talented in all of the sports she participates in.  We love watching her.  She enjoys school, but I think it is just so she can talk with her friends J

Thanks to Barry for running the show on this year’s newsletter.

Hope everyone is doing well

We love you

Curt, Jerri, Tyler, and Ella

Chelsea