SPECIAL NOTE: Get comfortable, this is a long post!
How was your week? Ours? When you live in the "frozen north-country" as we do, you go with the flow - even if it's a blizzard in April - you think . . . "water in the summer" . . .
right?
Things are about the same around here - we did have some excitement this week . . . the street sweeper came by and cleaned "both" sides of the street 😲 - can you believe that? Okay, truthfully, Rexburg really isn't that exciting most of the time! Things haven't changed that much since last week. There was an interesting occurrence that caught national attention - it happened in Idaho Falls. 50-60 geese migrating fell from the sky 'deader-than-a-door-nail' - the local news station caught it on camera! Remember the picture I shared last week of the tornado warning - well, it happened that day! Fish and Game are investigating but think lightening could have been responsible for stopping their hearts!? Read the story HERE!
( ↓ NOW, click "Read More" button below-left to go to page 2.)
Saturday, Gma had visitors at her little apartment at Homestead. Heather and boys dropped by to see her, Les and Jessee Marbry, as well as Dad and I. They were showing a good movie, "The Greatest Showman" downstairs but she opted for visiting.
PICKLEBALL . . . what's Pickleball? SO FUN! Dad and I went Friday to the 'old Jr. High' and learned to play this really fun game! Google it - they say it's the fastest growing sport in the U.S. Check it out HERE!
NOW, for some FAMILY UPDATES:
FROM: GRIFFIN, CAROLINA & ANNABELLE -
(Editor's note: "Family, meet Carolina & Annabelle!")
We've been busy. I quit making music this year to startup a company called "ev8". we are doing something called sound immersion. It's like being in a space ship surrounded by speakers while doing yoga with your breath. It's fun and it's helping people awaken creativity and maintain mental balance in their lives. I'm doing all of this with my business partners Steve and Lucas as well as my love Carolina, who I'm sure you'll meet soon!
Other than business, we've fixed up the Venice apartment nice to Airbnb while I'm in Seattle with Carolina and her 5 year old daughter Annabelle. It's a way to pay for the apartment while I'm in Seattle or traveling. If anyone wants to stay there, it's a block from the beach and you can stay for free.
Hope to see you all soon. Try to live as efficiently as you can.
Love,
Griffin, Caro, and Annabelle
FROM THE "KIDDOS":
UPDATE FROM: DAD -
Well, another week has flown by and I bet you are on the edge of your seat waiting to see what thrilling activities we’ve had this week. Well here we go....
Monday I played golf and it was really cold but we played anyway. Louis Clements (History teacher at the high school) and I play really close to each other. I think we both had a 41.
After golf we go see Grandma at 3:30 or 4:00. She seems to be doing better. Each time she has a major problem she seems to kick it and get stronger. It does help to have a nurse visit two or three times a week and more if she is having some major issues. She also has a gal come in and shower her at least once a week. Some days we bring her Peanut butter M&MS and some days we take bottled water. She doesn't drink much at all.
Tuesday we had a great time at the Temple. I said goodbye to some of the college students that are taking off since the semester ended.
Wednesday it was cold again but we golfed / 39 degrees - we can't sit around and wait for good weather without wind or we would never play. After this I picked up some Chinese food and we had our assistant coordinators come over so they can learn to schedule on the computer. That is not fun and it is not easy.
Thursday we did something different we played golf and again it was cold. After golf I went to Grandma's house and raked the carpets and did some damage control from some of the heavy rains we had.
Friday, after golf, we saw Alice and then we tried something new we went to the old Jr. High and played Pickleball with my friend Wally (that had the heart attack and stroke) and his wife Carolyn. They go to St George and stay for two months in the winter. Little did they know who they were messing with when we won the first game. We were really close and it wound up 3/3 and since we are in such great shape I told them let's go one more and as all good stories end up we won. We decided since we had burned so many calories we would go to Dairy Queen and have an ice cream cone. It was really fun and now we have a new winter game.
Saturday I took Bella for a long walk and then we went and saw the movie “Paul” the Apostle. We left the show and hurried to see Grandma and visit with Heather, Cooper and Kelton.
Sunday we will go to her place for church at 9 am. They are having Conference and the new Apostle is coming to visit. Well, that is the extent of my week other than each night I read the Book of Mormon that gives me help to get through another day.
Love U All
UPDATE: CORTNEY & ASHLEY & BOYS -
Hello Family!
This year has been a busy one so far for us! We've been doing a whole bunch of updates to our house since the new year, new furnace and air, windows, water heaters, and we are remodeling our whole kitchen. It's been exhausting and one project after the next. We knocked down a wall in our kitchen to give us more space which should be really awesome once it's done.
Cort spent 2 weeks in Argentina (Patagonia). He was in the southern most city in the world. He had the best time but didn't catch many big fish. We sure miss him when he is gone though and it is always a hard time for us at home. He has two trips coming up in May - Iceland, and Belize. We can't believe what a world traveler he has become. Blue Halo continues to do well and keep us all busy. Our whole basement is dedicated Blue Halo space and it is so nice having our "work" so close. Cortney has been so sick with sinus infections this winter and he finally went to a specialist and his sinus cavities are FILLED with Polyps. He will most likely be getting surgery here soon. Poor guy.
I (Ashley) got called into the stake Young Women's presidency. It has been a lot of work so far with the 11 wards in our stake. I spent the first 3 months of the year going to ward conference's and only got to go to church with my family 2 times. It's been crazy but I love the women I serve with and it is getting easier now that conferences are over.
I've been dreaming of going to Disneyland for YEARS and in February my dreams came true and we got to go. We had the funnest time and all the boys loved it. We made so many great memories. We also got to go to Mexico for spring break again and we had the best time. We all love the beach so much.
Our big boys got season passes to Sundance this year and even though there was no snow they had the time of their lives learning to snowboard. Oli is doing good in school and skates any chance he can.
Rob was on a team for a Battle of the books (the kids read 20 books and then have to answer questions) and his team took 1st place in the school. His team went on to districts and they got 7th place out of 44 teams. It was pretty awesome to see the kids battle it out. He is still so tall for his grade and growing more by the day. He will be happy once sixth grade is over and he can move on to the junior high.
Theo and Henry are doing great in school. They are both funny and make our home a fun place to be. They start soccer here this month.
We love you all and are excited for the chronicles to be going strong again.
UPDATE: HEATHER, BRIAN & BOYS -
Wow, has life just passed us by? We get so caught up in the day-to-day of living that sometimes we forget what is most important - FAMILY! Here is a short update on how things have been going in our lives.
Carson has been quite the help at the Kelson shop the past few weeks. He has learned the art of carbon fiber dropout building. He catches on to things quickly! In his spare time he finds peace with nature and making music. I never really understood his talent until I went out and listened to his music/beats. It looks like he is taking after Grandpa Ward, and Griff. He will continue to work at the shop until he figures out that hard path we call LIFE. We have loved having him around and will be truly heartbroken when he finds his wings to fly.
Kelton - This kid keeps us on our toes. He has pounded through summer school 100 miles an hour and taken double the credits this semester to graduate a year early as a Junior. He will be a couple credits short of reaching his goal, but is happy to be almost done with High School and applying for college. He has been so busy snowboarding with his Switzerland buddy Jonas. We will all be sad to see Jonas go, as he has become a new member of our family the past couple of months. He still has a dream of one day being in the Olympics for snowboarding and cycling. Dreams come true with a bit of hard work and dedication.
Cooper has the power to make people laugh. He has been such a blessing in our family. When times have been hard, he has a way to make you feel special and that no matter what is going on in life - EVERYTHING will be okay. He continues to grow like a friggin weed. His bulging quads are splitting through his worn out pant legs, and his toes have broken through the ends of his once little shoes. He has been shooting his bow, hoping one day to go hunting elk with his dad. He has started up baseball again and will continue to play through Idaho's most incredibly frigid Spring weather.
Brian has spent the past three years of his life living in a cave. Cave being his place of work. He has put hundreds of thousands of hours into a carbon fiber project that is paying off. He started selling his tubing to other builders, and they are incredibly grateful. His product is by far the best any carbon fiber tubing place has to offer. He has dabbled a bit on the ski hill, and thrown a line in the river for fish a few times here and there. I have learned so many incredible life lessons from his dedication to NEVER GIVE UP. He blows my mind on a daily basis, and I truly hope that someday soon he will be able to get out of his cave and be able to enjoy his life's passions again.
Lastly, I (Heather) have been helping Brian at the shop roll/build tubes. It has been fun working with Brian and Carson in the Kelson shop. I have enjoyed the snowboard season at Targhee this past year and will cherish all the memories made on the mountainside with my family. Friday was a pretty epic day. We woke up to Kelton yelling about how much snow Targhee received in the past 24 hours. When you hear 20" of new snow all you have to do is CANCEL all activities and work for a full day. We loaded the gear and all headed to the mountain where we had glorious smiles from fresh pow.
I have learned a lot the past few years! I have learned that life is most definitely short. I have learned that children grow up in a blink of an eye! And I have also learned how incredible my siblings and parents are. I wanted to let you all know how much we think about you every day. Not a day goes by that I don't have a thought or memory of the many wonderful adventures we had as kids. We really did have a great childhood! Thanks dad and mom for your sacrifices. I don't think I appreciated it much growing up, but now that I am a mother of three children I realize what a sacrifice it was. Can't wait until we can come together for our next family adventure.
I have learned a lot the past few years! I have learned that life is most definitely short. I have learned that children grow up in a blink of an eye! And I have also learned how incredible my siblings and parents are. I wanted to let you all know how much we think about you every day. Not a day goes by that I don't have a thought or memory of the many wonderful adventures we had as kids. We really did have a great childhood! Thanks dad and mom for your sacrifices. I don't think I appreciated it much growing up, but now that I am a mother of three children I realize what a sacrifice it was. Can't wait until we can come together for our next family adventure.
LOVE YOU ALL MORE THAN LIFE!
Heather & Fam
UPDATE: SHAWN, KANDEE AND FAMILY
Our family has been busy. We spent last weekend with Shade, Paige and Ruby. We helped them frame their basement so they can finish it. We went to the discovery museum, went swimming and ate way too much at the most delicious BBQ joint "Nordys". Ruby is walking and starting to say a few words and still hates potatoes in any form. We can't wait for our new“little Boice” to join us in September.
Morgan is working her tail off in the salon trying to get a clientele built up. Thanks to all the family that go out of the way to have her do their hair. She really appreciates it and feels your love. She is also coaching the JV softball and loving it. I hear she is pretty intense!
Carter is playing baseball and going to a dance Saturday and another dance in another couple weeks. He is such a joy. An example of the fun he brings to our lives / his text to me this morning, "This is alpha tango rosco the deal is done repeat the deal is done". He makes us laugh always.
Aspen is playing volleyball and getting ready to start softball. She has her lamb "Jasmine" picked out for 4-H. She has been riding her horse and playing football at school. She says she is the best girl on the team and better than lots of the boys!
We are happy and healthy and feel blessedby our Heavenly Father.
UPDATE: Schuyler, Whitney and Boys
Hello family -
We sure have been feeling a whole lot better and settled since we bought our home the first of this year, It has also brought a lot of chores and to do lists. Every weekend has been jam packed with working on the house, this weekend we spent outdoors fire mitigating around our house doing control burns. We have not received the moisture this year and are preparing for a possible fire season. We love our home and our 10 acres of forest, now if we can all pray for rain to come!
Schuyler’s work continues to be busy as he is coming into the summer season. They love him at the firm and want him to continue working for the company for years to come. He is Survey manager of the office and Drone specialist. He has been reliving his years as a mountain biker and all of his down time is pedaling the hundreds of miles of single track mountain biking this place has to offer. It is his serenity.
As for myself I enjoy working for myself as a hairdresser in Durango, work is constantly coming in and I'm thankful for that. My newest inspiration has been daydreaming of branching off on my own and starting my own small studio. My niche would be the one and only non-toxic, organic salon in Durango, I think it would do brilliantly. My favorite job, however, is being a mom and being with the boys after school.
Bodin has blindsided us with his new hobby, as he has been completely immersed with skateboarding. He takes weekend lessons from a crazy fun local pro skater at the skate park And every free moment he begs to go to the skate park. This week he learned how to drop into the bowls and was successful after a handful of bloody crashes. He is a teachers pet at school and does well in all subjects but his favorite is P.E. and math.
Toren has come so far this year and seems to be very well rounded in all subjects in school. He is an awesome reader and loves art. His current obsession is Soccer and on his down time he watches pro soccer games while kicking the ball. He is on his school soccer team and this last Sat scored 4 goals! He is an animal and his goal is to be a pro soccer player in the future.
We love you all -
Thanks mom for keeping this thing going!
Have a great week!
The Arensbergs (AKA: Schuyler, Whitney, Bodin and Toren!)
Toren describes home:
"Playing soccer with my dad and brother, reading about soccer and watching soccer games."
YOU'VE COME TO THE END -
Well Family, I hope you enjoyed the "update" from your family. Heavenly Father has blessed our family BEYOND MEASURE. I feel of his LOVE everyday as he continues to bless each of you with health, strength and jobs to support your families. I am PROUD, beyond measure, of each of you and the good lives you are living - how you treat each other with love and respect and care for each other's needs. Just because he IS blessing our family doesn't mean life is not without it's challenges / RISE TO THE OCCASION and overcome those tests and trials with resolve, strength and faith (like our pioneer ancestors) that the future will be even better. As your "mama" I pray for you and your family EVERY SINGLE DAY! The blessings that come from attending the temple are ones you don't want to pass up - so, "GO!" Until next week, we LOVE you all so much. God bless you!
YOU'VE COME TO THE END -
Well Family, I hope you enjoyed the "update" from your family. Heavenly Father has blessed our family BEYOND MEASURE. I feel of his LOVE everyday as he continues to bless each of you with health, strength and jobs to support your families. I am PROUD, beyond measure, of each of you and the good lives you are living - how you treat each other with love and respect and care for each other's needs. Just because he IS blessing our family doesn't mean life is not without it's challenges / RISE TO THE OCCASION and overcome those tests and trials with resolve, strength and faith (like our pioneer ancestors) that the future will be even better. As your "mama" I pray for you and your family EVERY SINGLE DAY! The blessings that come from attending the temple are ones you don't want to pass up - so, "GO!" Until next week, we LOVE you all so much. God bless you!
NEXT WEEK:
Learn about some "relatives" from the early 1800's - you think your life is hard wait until to hear about their lives!
Let us know you were here . . . leave a "COMMENT"! 🙏
this is ashley commenting 0n cort's computer. We love this! Good work Roberta!
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