We are happy for Gary & Ondalynn. They recently closed their partnership with a capital partner and closed on land for their first project; construction of a complex of apartments. This is a huge milestone for their business. Gary has worked extremely hard over the last 2.5 years to make this happen. We are grateful for some consulting jobs he has had to keep them afloat as they ventured out on their own. Also, Ondalynn was a substitute teacher before the pandemic hit. Other great news from the Vance’s, oldest daughter Sydney is a freshman at BYU. This is a new experience to have the first one leave the nest! We are so proud of Sydney for having the courage to audition for Concert Choir, although not accepted, she was chosen for Women’s Choir.
Seth & Tiffany and family just returned from a “Once-in-a-Lifetime” trip to Alaska. They had an incredible experience on a flightseeing tour around Denali. They described it as “an otherworldly experience. Even a spiritual one, in a sense--entering that sacred space way up in the mountains that is accessible in no other way, and which feels awfully close to heaven in several ways. The highlight was landing at 5, 500 feet on a glacier, one that’s an estimated mile deep of ice!” They loved connecting with Bradford & Virginie, and Dayna & Glen’s family. Jackson, their oldest son, will be starting OSU later this month. He has worked the past year for 1Password and recently was promoted to a developer with the company.
Alice-Anne & Gary (Johns), oldest, Kenna, just got her driver’s license. This will be a big help to busy mommy, Alice-Anne. We are grateful for the miracle in their lives that their baby Oliver was able to get off a feeding tube, and finally be able to nurse and breathe at the same time. Miraculously, his vocal cords have begun working about a year sooner than expected! Alice-Anne serves as the 2nd Counselor in the Stake YW’s, and Gary as their Ward Mission Leader. We had a delightful visit with the Johns in the middle of August. They introduced us to Pickleball! Dad Crismon is a natural.
Vivienne recently was hired by Evergreen School District in Vancouver as a Media Assistant covering two schools each day. It’s convenient because she is just 5 minutes away from the Vance’s and ourselves. Daughter Kaeley (4th grade) is going to the same Elementary School as her cousins Isaac and Paxton (Vance). She is able to drop Kaeley off at the Vance’s to walk with the boys to the bus stop as she has to leave earlier in the morning. Daughter Daisy is a 7th grader in the same middle school as Bryson (8th grade), and her son Clark (freshman) is in Mountain View HS with cousin Julia, a sophomore. She is serving as a SS teacher for the 15 year-olds. She meets in our same building, but she is in a different ward, but our same stake.
Dallin continues to teach America and the Enlightenment, and Literary classes at Southern Virginia University. Janelle is working as a Speech Pathologist in a Rehabilitation Center. Their four daughters are happy to be back in school this year.
Meredith & Bryan and their five children are getting settled in their new home in Graham, WA. It was quite the adventure to move from Maryland all the way across the country. They have been working very hard to remove piles of rocks in their backyard and plant grass. Bryan started working in the NICU at Madigan Army Hospital and is really enjoying it.
Crismon & Danielle have moved from Las Vegas back to Manhattan for classes to begin again at Columbia as he continues to work on his PhD in Ancient Chinese History. We are so excited they are expecting a girl in January!
Julia & Austin are loving living in a nice two-story home in Olympia, WA. They have a beautiful park that backs up to their home and they have easy access through the gate in the backyard. It’s fun for them to be just 45 minutes from the Williams family. They have gotten together for great adventures to the beach, and the zoo together. We have loved having Julia and Dallin (3) stay with us this weekend while Austin is in Utah to say goodbye to his parents who left for a 23-month mission as area welfare specialists in the Brazil São Paulo West Mission. Austin is still working from home for Puget Sound Power. Julia is the Primary President in their ward.
Emily was recently released as YW Pres. and now is serving as primary pianist. Bronson is working extra long hours due to the pandemic in his job with Epic (medical software). They are enjoying the fruits of their beautiful garden before fall. Check out Emily’s Instagram for pictures of their amazing garden. They had a concrete patio poured after removing their deck. They have worked so hard remodeling their home and transforming their yard. Emily did mommy and me swim lessons with Elise. It’s hard to believe Elise is now 18-months and attending nursery.
Crismon and Vivienne traveled to Utah the middle of August to see our Johns family and for us to attend my 51st Class Reunion in Logan. Along the way, we connected with my sister Kathi and found that she was driving that day, too. We ended up seeing each other at a rest stop! The chances of us being at the same location, at the same time was crazy!!! I think that must have been designed by our parents in heaven. We had a delightful stay with Stayner and Yufei near Boise on our way down. We toured the Meridian temple grounds and celebrated William and Elizabeth’s 5th birthday. It was a treat to see Corwin & Lynette and tour their beautiful new home. It was wonderful to connect with my stepmother, Julia, my sisters, Meredith & Kathi, and Geoff’s family and Randy, Norene, and missionary son, Corbin, who was in the middle of his MTC-at-home experience. We also enjoyed a wonderful visit with Pres. Allen & Janice Litster, Crismon's mission president. He is a sealer, and he gave Crismon some good counsel, but best of all, we were invited to come to their family sealing session that night. It was a sweet opportunity to be in a sealing session with them, and Alice-Anne and Gary joined us, too. We also visited downtown SLC with our Johns grandchildren and saw up close the major, incredible renovation of the SL temple to be earthquake sound. Pres. Nelson wants this temple to stand through the millennium.
We love living closer to family, and we relish time together. The NW families are good to reach out and serve and help each other. We appreciate their service to us, and the Facetime, Zoom calls, or phone calls from family far away that help us stay connected.
