Michelle, Nate, Addison and Bryn
Michelle and Nate have started potty training with Bryn. They say it is a “joy of joys”. She is a smart little thing though so I’m sure it won’t be too bad. For Labor Day they went down to St. George to be with Nate’s family. They did an insane hike/slot canyon that they say was really fun. Everyone should check out their blog to see all about it. Yes it was insane but it sure did look fun! I sure was jealous.
This last month Nate turned 29. I guess that means next year he will be an old man (I can say this since I will be the same age in a couple of months). Michelle had been serving as the Young Women’t president in her ward but recently was released and called to be the Primary secretary.
Addison has started Joy school this month and I’m sure is loving it.
Check out their blog that is linked on the side to see pictures of some of these happenings and their cute kiddos.
Doyle, Chelsea and Eve
Doyle just started his second year of law school. They have heard that the first year is the hardest so I’m sure they are keeping their fingers crossed that this is a true fact. Hopefully he does have a little more time because hunting season is about to begin and it is all he and his dad talk about. All Chelsea ever hears about is deer, guns and other hunting equipment they need.
Chelsea is loving being a stay at home mom with Eve. Occasionally she gets called in to work as a dental hygienist but for the most part gets to be at home with her little one. Her and Eve just recently took a trip out to California to visit her parents and of course loved it.
Eve just turned 4 months old and is bringing more and more joy to their lives. They don’t know what they would do without her. She is a well mannered baby who is full of smiles and just recently added giggles to her bag of tricks.
As a family they are getting ready for opposumfest on Oct. 8th. For those of you unfamiliar with this, last year Doyle caught a opossum and wanted to cook it so they threw a party to watch football, eat it (and other food) and just have a good time. Anyone local who is interested is invited. It will be in the backyard and will include the GA/TN game, country dancing, soups, fall desserts, homemade rootbeer, and cider. There will be more details later. Check out her blog as well!
Kelly, Danny, Chloe, Hayden and Jayce
The school year has started again, with Chloe in 2nd grade and Hayden in Kindergarten. They are both doing very well and excited to get up every morning to get ready (so far). Jayce enjoys one on one time with me while his siblings are in school and we do fun Pre-K activities together. He will be turning 4 years old on the 19th! We are all glad that it is starting to cool off a little. It will be nice when the kids can enjoy playing outside again. Danny is still doing school here and there and I will probably start again soon.
I have been doing little remodeling projects in Danny's Gmas house we are living in. It sure needs a lot of work. We are trying to make the best of it, but hopefully we will find another place to live soon. :)
We love and miss you all.
Kelli & the kids.
Reid, Susie and Abigail
Since the reunion, Reid, Abigail and I have been able to finally set up our apartment, getting new furniture off of Craigslist. Reid started school and has already had like 4 or 5 tests, with 2 more next week! Someone in our ward gave a talk and mentioned how the first year of medical school is like a frog (the first year student) being put into pot of water and someone slowly turning up the heat from a nice hot tub to a boiling pot of water. It is starting to get boiling. Abigail and I went to my parents for a week, my sister came up and we got to spend some time with them, and then Reid met us up there Labor day weekend. Reid and I have made some great new friends. We've gone to the Iowa state fair and had dinners. Reid goes mountain biking a lot with his friends and the ladies have play groups for the kids. We've both been trying to exercise with the facilities they have at school. We have been to a farmers market and got the best corn, corn you can eat raw and is so sweet! Today is Abigail 2nd birthday and we are having a birthday party for her and my dad next weekend. We really love Iowa so far a lot better than just corn here! Check out their blog to see life in Iowa!
Lamar, Chris, Dylan, Garrett, Carter, Sierra and Savannah
School started up on August 29. Dylan is a senior (!!!), Garrett is in 9th grade, Carter is in 4th grade, and Sierra and Savannah are in 3rd grade. Dylan has a total party schedule for his senior year--band (playing trumpet), art, sculpture, astronomy, etc. He chose his classes based on whether they would assign homework--if they did, he didn't take it. (eyeroll) Garrett is also taking band (playing oboe), as well as Spanish, honors math, and the bane of his existence, PE. He'll start taking seminary for the first time next trimester. Carter and the girls all seem to really like their teachers, and we're all still trying to adjust to the nightly homework of reading, math practice, and spelling words (the bane of MY existence).
The kids are also staying busy with their extracurricular stuff, although not as busy as last year, thank goodness. Garrett and Carter are still on the tumbling team, Dylan is on the parkour team, and the girls are taking gymnastics. Sierra is also continuing with ballet. Dylan has decided he wants to discontinue his private trumpet lessons, but he's trying to talk me into letting him take singing lessons for some mysterious reason. Garrett is trying to decide if he wants to start up piano lessons again--I wish he would, because he has a lot of potential. He is getting ready to audition on Saturday for the Lincoln Youth Symphony, a community symphonic orchestra. He participated in it last year and really liked it, so he's looking forward to participating again. The audition is a formality, he's pretty much guaranteed a spot.
The girls are having great fun doing Achievement Days, and I'm having almost as much fun being their Achievement Day leader. Yesterday we went out to the Bear River Bird Refuge, where they had "junior ranger backpacks" for the girls to borrow. We spent an hour being explorers--capturing bugs and examining them, trying to identify birds and butterflies, and looking for animal tracks. They loved it.
Carter has kind of stalled with his Cub Scouting; his leaders took a lot of time off this summer, and now they are meeting at the same time that Carter has tumbling. He's got less than two months before he moves into Webelos, so I guess we'd better get cracking and get his Bear earned! Sigh. Always too much to do. Dylan and Garrett are actually both progressing in Boy Scouts--we just had a Court of Honor on Tuesday, and Dylan was advanced to the rank of Life while Garrett was advanced to the rank of Star. Dylan has less than 6 months til he turns 18, so it's gonna be close to see whether he gets his Eagle earned.
LaMar took up jogging this summer, and he's now running 5K six days a week. He has lost about 20 pounds and he's starting to get runner's legs. During the summer, he went early in the morning, and almost every day, Sierra went with him riding her bike alongside. Now he's going in the evenings, and often Garrett will go with him. He's definitely inspiring the kids to stay fit. I keep hoping the inspiration will hit me....
LaMar and I both stay busy with the clinic. I am working there about 30 hours a week now and trying to keep work, family, and self in some kind of a balance. It's been a challenge. I keep dreaming about doing my writing on a regular basis, but finding the time and the energy to do it right now is a challenge. I am working with a consultant for the clinic who is trying to help us plan for the future. We're working to make sure our practice value stays strong, and that we have systems in place so that it will run efficently even when we are not there. I am really hoping that by next year we will be able to bring on another full-time veterinarian and LaMar can cut back on his hours some.
And I guess that's about it for us! I could give you details about our 5 cats, 3 dogs, 5 horses, and 1 turkey, but y'all are probably already asleep, so I'll quit here. :-) Hope to hear from everyone else!
Chris, LaMar, and family
Scott, Debbie and Daily
Scott and Debbie have been busy trying to stay out of the heat and watching their grass die. It has been very hot down there and there has not been a lot of rain so they are left without many other options.
Scott, Lena and little Scott came out to visit for a couple of weeks in the middle of the summer and as much as they loved have them here they loved having Scotty the most. They did a lot of playing with him and almost didn’t let him go back home.
Daily was home all summer with them and while there she worked at a mental hospital or something. It was an internship for her major and I think she really enjoyed the work as a whole. As a family they went on vacation up to the north. While there they got to spend 3 days with Alan and Michelle and their kids that were home for the summer. They jumped over to Philadelphia to visit Debbie’s cousin who she hadn’t seen in a really long time and then over to Ithaca, NY to visit her brother. They visisted many church history sites, including Palmyra and it’s temple, Cumorah, the John Johnson farm and Kirtland. In Kirtland they found Perry and Hulet family land from the 1830’s (these are ancestors for those new in the family). They also found many family grave markers. They also went up to Niagra falls and while in Ohio they went to the Ohio State fair where they saw things like pig races and the world’s largest butter sculpture!
After the fire this past winter they have begun to rebuild the barn again. They have had a lot of help from family and friends and always seem to be working on it now.
Having Doyle and Chelsea there they have had a lot of time with Evie. They get to do a lot of babysitting and playing with her and love it.
They had a good harvest from their garden this summer and so they have been canning, freezing, drying… any other suggestions? J They planted a fall garden for the first time only to have the cows get into it and either eat or trample everything in it. They took their revenge and had a cow processed. It now lives in their freezer.
They say that they have kept up with their jobs even though now they are always talking about hunting or football when I call home. Sounds like fall is here in GA!
Jessie, Paul, Bryton and Riley
September is usually a big month for us, our yearly lease is up, so we either stay... but usually move. We moved 8 houses up the road from our previous house... silly we know, but it was out of necessity. Our businesses are growing and functioning very well. Bryton Turned 2 on September 3rd. He is also talking in full sentences... can't really believe it ourselves. He is also potty training! Yeah! Riley is 6 months old... weighs about 20lbs... and keeps Jess busy all day. We are all doing fantastic, but hope that Octobers schedule will slow down!
Jessie also sent a quick little update on the other Isenbergers for us:
Gary- Hunting season has begun, so to the forest he goes on Saturday mornings
Sandy- taking some personal time... and carrying number 9 which is 15 weeks along now.
Racheal and Brian - are doing great…ask rach for more info!
Heather - working dilligently on her GED and thinking about a mission
Tyler - on a mission! yeah! growing spiritually in every way... and currently suffering from an ingrown toenail... ouch!
Britne - in school, working and dating a handsome returned missionary!!!!!!
Jennifer - gorgeous, working on homeschool and is an amazing artist.
Matthew - working on school while taking breaks to practice his bow skills
Sara - a very hard worker! loves reading and playing the piano... can't believe shes in YW!
Scott, Lena and Scotty
As for our little family we are doing well. Scott is busy at work. It is a busy time for his company as it is their big convention and he is getting busier and busier. I can’t wait for November so that he will be done with that. He is also applying for a job with church security up in Salt Lake and this week he has a physical test with them so he has been busy working out to get ready for that. I guess we will let you know more about that in the next newsletter.
Lena is busy with Scotty. She is trying not to go crazy at home but is truly loving just being with him. She even turns down every subbing opportunity at he old job because she can’t bear to leave him. She has taken a job 3 nights a week for an hour each night teaching tumbling at a dance studio. Scotty gets to spend the time with his dad and since it is only half a mile away she is gone just enough to get her out of the house. So far, she is enjoying it.
Scotty continues to grow up. He finally has reached 20 lbs. He won’t eat ANYTHING anymore but he will eat a wide variety of foods so mom is happy with it. He says more, shoes, daddy… sometimes he repeats other words but not really on a regular basis. He is learning to eat with a spoon (messy) and likes to drink our water bottles (messier). He is too smart for his own good sometimes but is a happy, giggly little boy. He is so fun to have all the time and we love him so much.
Thank you for the responses for this first newsletter. We have loved hearing from all of you and hope to hear from you next time as well as everyone who was not able to participate this time around. I plan to get the next one out mid November so be ready. Love everyone!
Lena
