Exciting news for the Thompsons!!

Bret & Lisa are very happy to announce that they will be adding a new member to thier family next year!

Lisa is pregnant! Her due date is April 21st!

Emily was asked what she thought it was, a boy or a girl, she thinks she is getting a little sister!

Congrats to Bret & Lisa!! Our Prayers are with you during your pregnancy!!!

Email Bret & Lisa @

THOMPSONBL@peoplepc.com

or call @

Home~ 801-298-3840
Lisa Cell~ 801-721-5859
Bret Cell~ 801-232-9353

New pics! and Stewart news!

I thought I would send you out our latest family photo, this was taken up at

Albion Basin at Alta Ski Resort. I hope it finds you all well.

Here in the Stewart household life is well. Emma has started Kindergarten

and is the smartest in her class. Okay, I might be a little prejudice, but

she is the only one in her class that can read. It will be a challenge for

Shawn and I to keep her moving forward this year.

Isaac is getting so big and is not only busy but he keeps us laughing.

I go back to school on the 29th, until then I'm spending one day a week in

Emma's classroom and trying to get everything I can done with my primary

calling so that school won't get in the way of it.

We love you all,

And hope to hear from each of you soon.

Love,

Lisa

The summer Get together at the McArthurs

Speaking for ourselves, Tucker and I had a great time at the BBQ at the McArthurs house this summer!!
We are so glad that so many of you came, as we don't get to see you all as much as we would like. I hope you all had fun, and thanks so much for bringing food! Here are some pics from all the fun!

Amy & Brian Palmer Family

Brian and Amy are enjoying a little more time together as Brian just finished his summer finals. They are now just crossing their fingers until his grades are posted. Brian is working for the math department where he is programming Java applets for Math Tutorial software for students age K-12. This project is actually called, as they find comical, the “Matty Project.” If you want to check out what Brian is doing, go to this website…

Click Here (http://enlvm.usu.edu/ma/nav/index.jsp)

Upon returning home from an enjoyable visit with Mom and Dad Gentry in California with Maddy, Amy began the search with Brian for a new family car. Theirs was laid to rest (after many prior repairs). They found a silver 2002 Toyota Corolla, and are happy to have a properly working vehicle.

Madeline (Maddy) is a rambunctious and adorable toddler. She keeps mommy busy and smiling
each day. Maddy is enjoying gymnastics at Julie & Jason’s gym. Mom and dad enjoyed a more peaceful church day today, with Maddy finally staying in Nursery all through church.

Though, this peace has been replaced by a new calling in the stake, as the Stake Institute Reps. They are currently also teaching the Marriage & Relations class in their ward.

Eric & Amber Gentry Family

Hello Family!!

We are doing very well in HOT St. George. We are looking forward to school starting in a couple of weeks. It’s amazing how fast the summer has flown by!

Christian is getting ready for third grade, and will turn nine-years-old in October. He is an accomplished and avid reader. We have to pry the book out of his hands and take away his glasses at bedtime. Even then, when he thinks we are not looking, he will get the book back off the shelf and squint by moonlight until he can’t keep his eyes open any longer. I’ve never met a child who enjoys reading like Christian does. Christian has also become quite the artist, creating all sorts of dinosaurs and other creatures. If you ask him, he will tell you all about them. He wants to be a paleontologist and airplane pilot when he grows up. Christian is also very knowledgeable about the Gospel. He knows the scripture stories and always has the right answers in Primary. His teachers have nicknamed him the little General Authority. He is a great kid, and we feel blessed that he is with us. We love Christian and are proud of the excellent young man he is becoming. He often seems older and wiser than his years.

Ethan is six-years-old now and is just about to enter the First Grade. He is so excited that he will have three recesses now, and will get to eat in the lunch room. He is just starting to read, and enjoys sounding out simple books with his mom. He has more energy than the rest of us combined, and is a real mamma’s boy. He loves any attention he can get from his mom and lights up every time he is with her. Ethan enjoys physical activity and competition of any sort, and he loves to be with his friends. He has many friends, and is not afraid of making new ones. He will approach anyone with a toothy grin and a hearty “Hi – my name is Ethan.” Ethan is curious about everything, and loves to live life to the fullest. He wants to be a construction worker when he grows up. We love Ethan very much and are proud of him. If only we could have half of his energy…

Rebekah is our little princess. She gets cuter everyday. She knows that she has her daddy wrapped around her little finger, and takes advantage of it as much as she can (not that her daddy minds all that much). She is learning so much so quickly. We are continually amazed at the new things that come out of her mouth. She is quite eloquent for a three-year-old – most of the time it’s cute, sometimes not so much.

She also loves to sing, and is very good at it. She can remember songs and has a surprisingly developed sense of pitch and rhythm. We love Rebekah very much.

We are looking forward to welcoming a new addition to our family in October. The boys are relieved that it is not a girl, since that would have evened the teams – an unbearable thought for a six- and eight-year-old. For the present, we are calling him “Lumpster” at Christian’s inspired suggestion, but we are not sure that the name will last after birth. Amber and the baby are doing fine, and at least Amber is anxiously counting down the days. I am not too excited about losing my office to a nursery, but such is the interminable march of progress, I suppose. I guess it’s a small sacrifice in the long run. We are grateful that the Lord is entrusting us with another.

Christian is doing very well with his chemotherapy. It has been a long, hard road, but we are so grateful for the blessings from above and the expert medical attention he has received. On the one hand, we are ready to be done with his treatments in January, but on the other hand, it will be a little difficult to cut the moorings. Although regular checks and constant attention are often cumbersome and inconvenient, they are also comforting in a way. We are nervous to pull away from the safety of the dock and head back out to sea. We know in whom we have placed our faith, however, and we will continue to do so.

It was so nice to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa (I love saying that!) in California. We really enjoyed their hospitality and spirit. We miss them very much and wish they were closer.

We love you all, and are looking forward to the time that we can see you again.

Love Always,

Eric, Amber, Christian, Ethan, Rebekah, and “Lumpster”

The pictures are a little old... but still fun!

Adam Gentry

Adam has no email at this time, so I spoke with him instead. Adam is doing very well and living in Las Vegas for the time being. He’s not sure what he thinks of Vegas, but he is trying to make the best of it. He sees his two daughters as much as possible and loves them dearly. He is happy, and working on becoming truly happier.

While in Overton, Nevada last month Tucker and I got to have a barbeque with Aaron’s family and Adam. We gathered in Aaron’s backyard. There was food, fun, and laughs. The boys shot BB guns while the women chatted. We all had a great time!

Dad and Mom from Roseville:

We are certainly enjoying the visits from the grandchildren and we appreciate the parents driving them here (and we are glad you stayed too)

We really miss all of you.

Eric and Amber and family are here this week, Lisa and kids were here three weeks ago. Jason and Julie ran through Saturday / Sunday (July 16-17). It is so good to see how well everyone is doing and the good parenting that is going on. We enjoyed our 2 trips to Marine World with Lisa and kids and Eric and family.

· July 1: We took non-member couple to a concert presented by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the Arco Arena (Kings basketball home). The place was packed and our guests were thrilled, as were we. It was an incredible and inspiring concert.

· July 1: I started my new assignment at the Rocklin Institute and supervising three Stakes of Seminary. The program has been floundering as of late and the Area Director is expecting me to give the program a boost. With the Lord's help, I will do the best that I can. This will, hopefully, be our last assignment before retirement (did I say the "r" word) in 6 years.

· July 10: Kathy and I felt impressed that it was time to invite our neighbors, Chris and Kim to hear the missionary discussions. We went to their house and asked them. They are thinking about it. We love this family and feel that is one of the reasons that we are living in this area right now. Chris said that he would have lots of questions. It is so thrilling to invite others to experience the joy and peace that the restored gospel brings. I hope that we all live up to the message that we carry.

· Josh has been working hard this summer in helping others at hard labor - sometimes for pay and other times for the service experience. He stained our wood fence in the 100+ heat and then he and I volunteered to stain our neighbor’s (Chris and Kim) fence. I am really proud of how hard Josh worked. *(inserted by Stephanie) Josh also went to Oregon with us for a week to help Tucker get ready for this summer's seniors, building photography sets. He did a wonderful job, and got us ahead of schedule. Here is a picture of the set he made mostly himself!*

· Amy and Madi visited July 25-29. It was wonderful to have them here. Grandpa must be a softy, Madi dragged me into a “Hello Kitty” store in the mall and she picked up a pink plastic fake cell phone, put it up to her ear and said: “Hello, hello, hello, grampa” I bought the three dollar phone. I think all of the grandkids have their grandpa’s little finger wrapped pretty tight.

· August 1 – Josh left for a week long 50 mile hike with our Ward’s priests. Kathy and I are celebrating by walking around the house listening to the silence. (We do miss the noises of the grand kids)

Until next month. Keep in touch.

Love

Dad and Mom Gentry

Shawn & Lisa Stewart Family

Shawn has left for Arkansas (of course by the time this goes out he will be home), and Emma gets up every morning and asks me how many day until daddy comes home. The second day Shawn was gone Isaac was so upset with Shawn that he wouldn’t talk to my dad at all. I got to be #1 for the day.

Emma starts Kindergarten in just 2 short weeks. I can’t believe she is already so grown up. It simply isn’t fair. She is already reading and writing (although her spelling still has a long way to go) and she is finally grasping math concepts.

I just interviewed last Friday with USU for their education program, there are 144 applicants an only 60 slots. I guess we will find out soon enough if I won the lottery or not. There is nothing like putting all your eggs in one basket.

Life is still on hold here in regards to employment out of state. I’m sure glad we didn’t sell our house in March like we had planned. I will let everyone know when we know.

The girls were in the bathroom for a long time and when I went into check on them this is what they looked like.

This yucky stuff was intended to be pretend eye make up for little girls. I guess they figured the more the better.

We love you all!!

Stephanie and Tucker Beesley Family

Well, Tucker and I have had a great summer thus far. It started out fun with Josh coming to stay with us for a week!

Josh was such a help that Tucker got done earlier than expected. So we got to leave early for summer vacation to Utah! The sunset was amazing at the beach in Oregon while Josh was here.
We drove to Utah and had a great time at the party in West Jordan. We spent time with all the family members and loved every minute.



Once in St. George, we saw old friends and visited old canyoneering routes, (like the Subway.. pics below) and climbing walls.



















We got whomped at racquetball by Eric.




We stayed and spent a lot of time with grandpa and grandma Pendleton.















We saw some pretty amazing sunsets while there! (Because of all the fires.) Here is my favorite pic I took from the many.
















Once home again Tucker has been working hard at the studio, using those sets that Josh and he made! Here are the set we made.. a flower wall, and Josh's Bamboo set.

Since we have been home we have gone out a few times to Madras to visit Tucker's parents, who now live only 2 hours from us. They recently moved from St. George for a good job offer here.
We are happy to have them closer. Although now when we stay in Utah for extended amounts of time, we may need places to stay! Thank you Eric and Amber, Bret and Lisa, and Grandpa Pendleton!

We received VIP tickets from Tucker's boss to an all day country show in Sweet Home, Oregon. (Sounds like it should be in Alabama, huh? And the perfect place for a country Jamboree.) We got to see Lonestar in concert only 10 rows back, it was an awesome show! What an experience!

I am having a lot of fun being in one place for a little while, and getting to go to Barbershop every week again. Pics from Indianapolis where we placed 7th in all the world (our Chorus, out of somewhere around 700). Back in October, but I am not sure if many of you heard or saw these pics. I am the young one :) Kind of like, where's waldo? Can you find me? I am not sure if you can tell it's me... all that stage make-up, they pinned me down!:)












Tucker and I have made good friends with the director of the chorus this summer, and are now enjoying singing together with him. Tucker and Ryan will be singing together in church in a few weeks! It's fun to make new friends. I may be starting voice lessons with him soon also! This is very exciting for me! I know there's a great voice inside me somewhere, I just need to learn to use it properly. I am so excited to unleash my potential with some help!

That's just about it for us. We are starting the traveling again in September. So, the summer home has gone by fast. That's okay, even though I love being stable, (well, at least in location ;)) part of me is getting ansy being in one location for so long. It's funny how life adapts, isn't it?

We are so excited to get this newsletter off the ground! We love you all, and thanks for your support! Can't wait to see you soon!

Lisa & Bret Thompson Family

This summer has gone by quickly. The children and I went to California for (June 24-July 3)10 days to see mom & Dad. We had a lot of fun. While we were there we went to Marine World, visited grandma Bjerke and went swimming. Emily went to Build a Bear.

Home for 1 week and then off to Yellowstone with Bret's family( July 11-July 16). We stayed in a cabin at Island Park, Idaho. During our week at Yellowstone, we went into the park for 2 days. The first day as we were driving from Yellowstone Lake to the canyon area, we came extremely close to buffalo. His horns were inches from our van. The picture Bret took was before we carefully went around him. Praying the buffalo would not damage the van.

We spent a day by the cabin, playing in the river and canoeing. The last day we were there we went through Ennis, Montana to Virginia City and Nevada City. Where our family took a train ride between the two little cities and saw a ghost town(buildings from pioneer time), and was able to pan for rubies and gold nuggets. On the way home that day we stopped at the National Fish Hatchery. Bret & Emily (Nathan was in the van sleeping) saw the fish and that is were Emily dropped the little vile of gold nuggets I just panned for.

During the first week of August, The T.V. Show Extreme Makeover Home Edition was in Bountiful. Bret & I were excited to think it was basically in our back yard so to speak.

Last Friday after Bret went to work, the children and I went up to the site were the home was and spent nearly 4 hours up there. A few minutes after arriving, I got to Shake hands with Ty Pennington. I saw Michael Moloney, Paige, Ed (carpenter), & Eduardo (landscaping). We saw them hanging blinds, Cleaning the exterior of the house, building the fence, unloading furniture, finish the landscaping. I got to take home a left over flower plant for my yard. The Makeover crew was also filming the crowd, so there is a chance the kids and I could me on the show. We were standing in the front row behind the makeshift fence in front of the house closer to the drive way. The crowd was looking on from across the street. The entire experience on the site was totally amazing. It is one Emily and I won't forget.