Jennifer & Steve

Finn and Grandma
Dear Family,

I have the best sisters in the world! It was an enjoyable few days being in Boise with Mom, Angela, Dorothy, Lucy, Priscilla, Emily, Becky, Wendy, Heather, Penny, Lynnette, Reba, babies Finn and Benjamin, and Lucy’s family (Dave, Rachel, Nathan, and Kristen). Lucy was an incredible hostess! Thanks for the talks, the walks, the laughs, the games, the food, ping-pong, roasting chocolate marshmallows, jumping on the trampoline, Wii bowling (and other games that I’m so terrible at), open house tours, garage sales and the big hit – sewing babylegs! We had the best weather! and the time just flew by. I got to spend some extra time with Finn flying from Seattle to Boise and back, and gave Ammon a hug at the Seattle airport before flying to Oakland. When I arrived home Steve and I celebrated his 60th birthday at Claim Jumpers -- we ate just half the meal (took the rest home) so that we'd have room for dessert, Mud Pie. It was delish!

It has been fun playing scrabulous with a few of you on facebook – I like the online version because you can use abbreviations and slang and the computer adds up your points for you. It does take a while to get through a game, but that’s okay when your lives are so busy. It’s kind of a nice little break to check and see if it’s your turn. Thanks Saera for inviting me to facebook – I had never heard of it before then. And while I’m not into doing all the creative things you can do on this site, I do like scrabble.

We had a team building event at work where we went to the Crucible (a warehouse where art projects are made), divided into four teams and each person created a tile made out of either wood, glass, metal, or foundry. I learned foundry. This is when you carve a design in hard sand, pour melted metal into the design and when it is cooled, the design is reversed (kind of like a jello mold). It was interesting and a fun "work" day.

We've been reading Harry Potter (yeah, I know it's about time). We borrowed the books from Ammon and Angela and while Steve read all 7 books in less than two weeks, I just completed book 4. Once I finish a book, then we watch the corresponding movie (at least the ones that are out).

Steve is officially retired (on April 30)! It’s been nice having a house husband around. He does the laundry, grocery shopping, and even prepares dinner a few times a week. He has more time to read (which he loves). And we’re slowly starting to de-clutter.

Thanks to Angela for setting me up with photobucket so we could have a Lingo slideshow! (And thanks to those of you who responded to my plea for help.)

Love, Jennifer & Steve