Size of The Echo?

How long was the Echo - 22' or 32'? For some reason, I can never keep it straight. I mentioned her in my post about tsunamis on my other blog - said she was 32' - but now I'm worried I have the wrong length.

As I look again at the dimensions of Jessica's Watson's sailboat (34'), I'm thinking that it looks a lot bigger than the Echo. Maybe the Echo just seemed bigger to me because I was so small?

Could you email me to let me know, please?

Photos of Joseph John

They call him JJ. Can you get on to Angela's blog? Try this link to see if you can connect to her blog and see some darling photos of the new baby and the twins. Not sure if you will need special permissions...

Kendra Update

Kendra called last night to say that she and Chris have decided to move their family to Emporia, Kansas next month! That's where his master's program is based, and he will have more employment opportunities there. The rent is about half what they are paying in Provo. The whole family will drive back to Provo for Chris' graduation in April, and he will fly back one more weekend for his last class there, but they will save more in rent than what the flight will cost.

Sunday Morning Walk

Went for an early-morning walk today--walked all over, up hills and down, about 3 miles. Saw so many interesting things! Here are a few photos:

I could see all the way to Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams.

There were robins everywhere!

A few more photos on my other blog.

Sunshine

It's a beautiful day here. The weather is supposed to be nice all week, until we get rain again on Sunday. Yay! It's nice to see some sunshine. Mark and I are planning to go snowshoeing on Saturday with another couple, and it looks like the weather will hold.

Angela went home today with her baby. They named him Joseph John West. Her neck is sore, but other than that everyone is fine.

I have my PSU class tonight - I've been scrambling, trying to get the midterm paper finished in time. It's due at 6:30, so I'd better close - almost finished, but I have to go back and proofread, and write the conclusion. It will nice to have this assignment finished.

Mark and me, snowshoeing in 2008. 

I'm doing the "Meriwether Lewis" pose. :)

Cupid Update

Just got off the phone with Angela - she is ecstatic about her new baby. He is healthy and strong and she says he looks more like Tim than even Sam does. She is feeling well and loving the new baby. Still haven't decided on a name--either Joseph John or Michael William. We've nicknamed him Cupid for now, which made her laugh.

Our new little Cupid

Angela had her baby yesterday, on Valentines Day. He was born about 10:45, and weighed 8 lb 5 oz. He has blonde/red hair, like Audrey and Sam. We haven't gotten to talk with her yet, but they kept us updated with text messages, and it appears that her labor went well. Her water broke around noon.

Too bad - yesterday was Tim's last day of a 2-week vacation. Angela was really hoping that the baby would come early, but he showed up exactly on his due date. She has lots of friends lined up to help out, and her mom is coming soon, I think. We'll go down for several days over spring break.

I got up early and went to Curves this morning, even though it's a day off. I have tons of homework to do for my PSU class, and I wanted to get an early start. Mark and I will have dinner with Maleena tonight before I go to class, and we hope that will go well.

Peaceful Friday Night

I used some flex time to come home early today. I was going to get started on my midterm paper for the PSU class - due next Wednesday. Wrote a couple of paragraphs, then my eyes got heavy, so I decided to lie down for a short nap...

and woke up 2 hours later!

Sheesh. I guess I've been sleep-deprived. I've been working on some other things this evening. I think I'll go to bed early (9:00) and get up early and start on the paper again when I'm fresh.

I am really looking forward to a long weekend to catch up on rest and homework!

But before I head off to bed, I want to wish you a very happy Valentine's Day. We'll be keeping it pretty simple this year. I'll probably make some flan for dessert - it's Mark's favorite.

Oh, and speaking of flan, which always makes me think of being in Central America, Mark and I sent in applications to be chaperones for a month-long exchange program in Costa Rica this summer. It's the same program that Kendra went on in 1998. We'll probably be gone most of August. I don't have any official dates or anything yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Still no baby for Angela.
Nate & Ashley found out they are having a....girl!

Ha ha - it's only Wednesday and I remembered to post!

Can you believe it - we have to work 5 days this week! Gimme a break! Between in-service days, conference flex days, Martin Luther King, Jr. day, and President's day, most of the weeks in February are only 4-day weeks for the teachers. Somehow we'll make it through this week (just kidding, of course.) (And besides, we have a 3-day weekend coming up.)

Two days ago it was light on the way to work! Since then it's been overcast again, but the days really are starting to get longer. So nice.

Maleena met with Mark on Monday night, and I guess he made some progress talking with her. She wants to meet with both of us this coming Monday. It's just sad to watch a train wreck in slow motion. We think she's making some decisions now that will have some long-lasting impacts on her, but we're not able to have much influence at this point.

Chris had a job interview Tuesday morning that went well. It is a fulltime job with the church's archives, so it's in his field. He would still be able to continue his masters degree studies, as that is a weekend program. They are supposed to let him know at the end of this week.

We keep thinking of Mike's mom, Grandma Jane, in New Jersey with all the snow. She has power, thank goodness. Those poor people! I wonder how Pat Jenkins and family are doing?

Still no baby for Angela. Ashley and Nate found out they're having a girl.

I think that's about all the news - I'm heading to class. Love you!

Here's a cute photo of Maddy & Rebecca - when Polly & family were down for Katie's birthday. 

I don't think I posted it before.

Friday

Sorry I've been so slow to post again this week! It's been a tough week. We're glad to have today off after two nights of conferences. I went to class Monday and Wednesday night, and just did conferences on Thursday.

The toughest part of the week was some family difficulties. Maleena got very upset with us Saturday night when we tried to talk with her about some of her plans, and she packed up her things and moved out. We still don't know where she's staying. Some of the other kids are taking sides and the situation is kind of messy for now. Not fun! We are hopeful that things will heal with time.

This morning Mark and I went to the "Bed Bath & Beyond" store to shop for a new dish drainer. It's been bugging him that the one we have collects water and sometimes leaks on the counter. We ended up buying a the cadillac of all dish drainers - $70.00!  Yikes! I never thought I would spend that much money on something like a dish drainer. It seems extravagant and excessive, but we don't splurge very often, and this one really is very nice. Plus, the main thing is, it has a very good way to drain the water into the sink with a little spout.

Ha ha! I guess we'd better really enjoy watching our dishes from now on!

Anyway, we'll do some playing today, plus I have homework to do for my PSU class, and we both have papers to grade. I should be around tomorrow morning, for however your work/phoning schedule works out.

Love you!