Annual Family Camping Trip

Starting Friday afternoon Sept. 4th - Monday Sept. 6th we went on our Annual Stevens Family Camping Trip. This year we joined Jeff's friend, Micky Cecil, and his family at Lake Roosevelt. it was quite the task to prepare for leaving, as it always is.
I put a lot of effort and time in to making sure we have all the things we need to enjoy our time together. (Food, clothes, games, supplies, extra blankets, sleeping bags,tent and much more)
This year we allowed the girls to each bring one friend. Jolyn chose her friend, Madison. Jalani chose her friend, Delaney. The friends were very polite and helped when needed. It was great!!
the trip to get to the campsite was an adventure in itself. If you do not know where this campground (it only has 9 sites) is, good luck in finding it. There are no signs per say to get you were you need to go. :-) It is many miles of dirt road and gravel roads. ICKY!! We had to take both the van and truck in order to fit all of us and all our gear.
We had a grand time once we were settled in.
The first night, we got there later than we wanted, so I felt unprepared at first.
That same night a big group came in late at night (11:45pm) and decided to party it up all night long. (no this is not an exaggeration) I woke up in the middle of the night(around 4 am) and they still had their music blaring and lots of loud talking.
I was mad!!! I told the ranger the next day and they went and talked to them. They still played their music and talked each night but nothing compared to the first night. I was grateful when I asked each of the girls the next day if that bothered them, that it didn't. :-)
Micky brought his jetskis and we were able to enjoy riding on them. Jolyn got her first real taste of freedom by driving one with her friend on with her. She thought that was amazing. We all had a great time. Ask Lani about her fish experience. lol
Lani and her friend spent a lot of time fishing and catching crawdads, and frogs. They seemed to really enjoy themselves.
It was nice to be away from home and phones, computers, etc. The cell reception was sketchy so you only had it every once in awhile in certain places. :-) I liked that part of the campground.
It is nice to spend time together as a family!!

Graduation, finally!!

Sat. August 28, 2010 was a grand day for the Stevens household. Jeff finally graduated with his MSW from Eastern Washington University. We are all so proud of him. It was a 3 year part-time program, and at times he wanted to quit and give up, but he didn't. He pushed onward and upward and now is finished! Good job, honey!! I am extremely proud of you and am grateful for your example and dedication in going back to school to get your Masters degree. :-)
YOU ARE AMAZING!!
After the graduation, Jeff's brother, Cory and his wonderful wife, Robyn hosted a after graduation BBQ at their home in Spokane. How grateful we are to them for having us in their home and cooking up some delicious food to eat. :-) YOU ARE GREAT!!
We had family and lots of fun!!
Thanks to Dorothy for traveling from California to be there for Jeff. I know it meant a lot to him, to have you there as well.
Congratulations, Jeff!! YOU DID IT!!

Days of Change

We received sad news on August 8, 2010. The passing of Grandpa Burt.
He was 90 years old. It was sad to say goodbye, but I am happy for him to be able to see Grandma again, and his siblings, parents, etc. What a reunion that must have been. How grateful I am that I was able to spend time with him this summer and have a good relationship with him. How I miss you Gpa (Bfar)!!! You are such an inspiration to me and my family. You brought so much laughter and good times to all occasions! :-)
We will miss your one-liners such as "It was a good chest till it fell", "I need to go drain my radiator", and much, much more.
I was so grateful for the week you came and spent with our family after the passing of Grandma(Bmor). It was such a joy to have you in our home, and be able to play dominoes and cards with you. Thank you Grandpa for being the wonderful person you always were!
I LOVE YOU FOREVER!! :-)
We sent grandpa off with a 21 gun salute of: Silly String. We had the great grandchildren lined up to send him off in style at the cemetery. We know he was probably laughing about that from in heaven. :-)


This was his obituary:
There were smiles in heaven and tears on earth when our kind, gentle, and loving father, grandfather, and great-grandfather passed away surrounded by loving family and friends on August 8, 2010.

Glenn Wayne Burt, was born October 26, 1919, in Goldthwaite, Texas to William Tyson and Edna Belle Faust Burt. January 12, 1941, he married Esther Christiansen in Yuma, Arizona. He was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 10, 1991. Pete and Esther solemnized their marriage in the LDS temple on December 27, 1993.

Pete was a retired member of the Plumber and Steamfitters Union Local 19.

Pete brought lots of laughter wherever he went. He loved his family and cherished the time spent with them. He will forever be remembered for his famous one liners! His generosity and his unconditional love and acceptance of everyone is how he lived his life. He taught by example the importance of honesty, integrity, and keeping your word.

He is survived by his five children Linda (Lynn) Weight, Marilyn (Leonard) Holmquist, Chris Lillie, Rosanne (Ray) Christensen, and Bill (Rhonda) Burt. Pete and Esther were blessed with 18 grandchildren and 33 1/2 great grandchildren and a great-great grandchild on the way! He was preceded in death by his wife, Esther, his three brothers, four sisters, his daughter Patricia, and his grandson, Justin Holmquist.

We want to acknowledge our appreciation for the loving care, support, and friendship given to our Dad by Bob and Loretta Stearley and Mark Christiansen. Also to Chris Lillie, for her constant care, love, and unwavering service to our dad. A sincere thanks to Vista Care Hospice, especially Cliphane and Walter.

A viewing will be held on Thursday evening from 6:00pm to 8:00pm and also on Friday morning from 9:30am to 10:40am prior to services. A celebration of Pete’s life will be held on Friday August 13th at 11:00am at the Holbrook Mortuary, 3251 South 2300 East. Interment: Redwood Memorial Estates. Online memories and tributes can be sent to the family at: www.holbrookmortuary.com

Something to talk about.

Here it is another long time since I have written anything on my blog. Time is flying by and I am sitting watching it go by.

Many things have come and gone and I can't recall them all, so I will just begin with today.

Jalani is still playing soccer with the Wenatchee Fire U-11 girls team. So far this season, they are undefeated. :-) GO FIRE!! She is contemplating quitting soccer for the time being. I think she is having burn out. She has been playing soccer since she was 4 yrs. old. I think she is ready for a change. But she does such an amazing job, it is sad to think she wants to give it up. People on her team and parents have asked me if it is true that she is quitting. I say yes, and they say something like ...You can't let her quit, and then I say we are encouraging her but it is her decision. Tryouts are on May 21 and May 23, she would only be able to tryout the one day as the second day is Sunday. She is doing really well in school. She is an amazing artist. She loves life.


Jolyn is still in the high school marching band, and they are preparing for parade season. The Apple blossom Parade here in Wenatchee will start them off. She was doing track and then had some knee issues and shin splints which we were working to help her with.,(taking her to physical therapy and chiropractor) .but she decided to quit. (we wish she would have stayed) She is doing great in school.(A's & B's)
She is going to quit band for next year and concentrate on sports. Hope she enjoys that. She loves to text her friends, and has an amazing amount of texts each month. (we were a little concerned when our first mobile bill came in a box.) lol ;-) We are proud of her and her accomplishments, she even made the Honor Roll last semester. Good job, Jolyn!!



Jeff is still working at Children's Home Society. He seems to enjoy that job. We are grateful he has employment and is doing well at it. The biggest news for Jeff is that he only has 2 more quarters of school to get his Master's Degree. He has been going to school since 2007. It has been a long hard haul and we will be happy to see it end. He is doing amazing with his grades. I believe he currently holds a 3.82 gpa. woohoo!! We are proud of him. Go Jeff!!
He recently was given a new assignment at church, he was released as ward clerk and given the job of executive secretary. He is in the ward choir, and can't wait till he is done with school so he can sing with one of the community choirs again. He misses that.

I am still being a stay at home Mom, but have worked some temporary jobs for a company called JTEC, along with my substituting at times. I am still the RS secretary and for the most part enjoy that. I am thankful for my husband and children and their love and support. They are amazing!!
I love my parents, and siblings and am ever grateful that we have a great relationship among each other. They are something I could never live without! Blessed am I for having such an amazing family!!

My brother Layne, his wife Jayme, and their sons Payce & Tayo are coming in one week to visit. I am way excited by this. I look forward to our time together. THey will get to experience a small amount of the Apple Blossom Festival. for those who don't know about this festival, you may see more about it on www.appleblossom.org

Halloween and Bestefar's 90th bday!!

We just returned from a very quick trip to Utah to be with my family for Halloween and Bestefar's 90th Birthday open house. It was so fun to see all of my siblings and their families. We were able to assist my sister, Lynette, in arriving as she had a last minute issue with her vehicle. It worked out great as we have to pass through Boise on our way. We were making the trip with only my brothers knowledge that we were coming, until Friday morning when I called Lynette to see if she wanted to meet up for lunch. She was surprised. Anyhow, we are grateful that she was able to ride with us, and have that time with her.



WE went to Mom & Dad's and had Friday night, Sat., and Sunday with the family.
Halloween day we shopped for pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, carved pumpkins together, had pizza, decorated cookies, the kids went trick or treating together, and had a great time.








Sunday we went to church with Mom & Dad, and then that afternoon to Bestefar's Birthday Open House. He turned 90 years old on Oct. 26, 2009. I am so happy that he is doing well, and is such a joy to be with. I love you Bestefar!!


It was a fun trip, until on the way home when we had a child puking in a plastic pumpkin ..... :-( Poor Jolyn!! She was a trooper!!
We lined the pumpkin with plastic bags.......I know TMI!! (too much information)
Sorry about that!!
Anyhow, it was great to spend time with family and friends. See cousins I haven't seen in awhile. Thanks to all who put time and effort into Bfar's party!! It was great!!

Life here in Wenatchee

Well, it has been forever and a day since writing on my blog. I seem to forget it is here, and not take time to jot down some thoughts.
Our life has been busy since school started with band for Jolyn and soccer for Jalani.
They each have something going on each weekend and I will be really glad when Nov. 7th is over and we can have our weekends back.
Jolyn has been having band competitions and Lani soccer games each Sat. They are of course in different places, so we can't attend both. I feel guilty that we have not gone to a band competition for Jolyn. She rides the bus with the band to and from each one. She seems to really be enjoying it at this point and is talking of being in band next year. :-) Below is a link of the band's performance in Kennewick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7jqxtynqck

Jalani is enjoying playing goalkeeper most of the time. She is enjoying the soccer season, I think. She has 4 more games to go. This weekend we travel to Spokane for 2 games, then one on Halloween here in Wenatchee, and then on Nov. 7th in the Tri-cities. Then we are done for Fall. I am not sure what winter brings, except maybe practicing indoors. Not sure if they have games.

Jeff is back in school, and has a really difficult quarter, but is surviving. He is swamped with paperwork at work, and feels extremely overwhelmed. Pray he survives it all. I am very proud of him and his sacrifices he makes for this family. I love him and am grateful for his dedication to all he does.

I am busy with life....mainly taxi mom to take everyone to their various places.
I haven't subbed this month, but did a bit back in Sept. Hopefully will get some more opportunities to do that.
I guess that is everything for now.

Dryer and more

Our dryer, a few weeks back, quit drying. It would run through the cycle, but leave everything wet instead of drying it. It sucked!!
This past Sat. 9/12/09, our friend & HT (Kris Dahlquist), came over and fixed it for us. He and Jeff had to go and buy a new heating element, but now it works. YEAH!!
No more trips to dry clothes at the laundry mat, what a pain that was!
I am so excited.


Also, on Sat., Jalani & her soccer team had their first official season soccer game.
They played a team from the Tri-cities. They beat us 3-1. Jalani was keeper for the first half of the game, and was injured during that time.
She came out to get a ball approaching the goal, and the opposing team member barreled into her. She and this girl, and a girl from her team were all in a pile. (If I get pictures from a mom on the team, I will add them). When all was said and done, she was up but holding her right upper arm, and crying. I knew she was hurting if she was crying, cause she doesn't cry unless she is really hurting bad!! :-(
I was thinking she dislocated her shoulder or broke an arm................fortunately, she came out of it with minor injuries. She is still hurting today, and has the start of a lovely bruise, but she will survive!!
Glad for that!!
Jolyn played with their band (golden apple band) for the football game on friday night, she seemed to enjoy that. I hope she continues to enjoy the rest of this year with band. Then if she wants to quit, fine with me!! :-)

Jeff is preparing to start school on the 28th of Sept., this will be his last year. I can't believe it. I thought we would never get this far. It has been hard for him, but he is doing amazingly well. He currently holds a 3.83 GPA overall. I am very proud of him for this, and for sticking with it through all the tough times. He is awesome!! I love you, Jeff!!

I am prepared to sub as much as possible this year, to help with financing Jolyn's braces, among other things.
I have had one job already, and another this week.
Well, that is us in a current nutshell!! till next time!