Lyman Universe

Summer is a busy time for everyone. I know that I’m feeling the stress and pull from lots of different places. However, at the end of last week I was able to attend our ward youth conference. From Thursday through Saturday I went with our Young men and Young women up to Paris Springs ID for a youth conference. We had such a wonderful time and the highlight of the event was listening to the youth’s testimony during a campfire testimony meeting on Friday night. It was refreshing to hear what they had to say and see the strength that they exhibit! Carrie and the girls were able to visit Janel and Carter as well as hang out with Grandma Cheri and Karina! I don’t know how she does it… Keeping up with four little ones all the time. She is great for sure.

I just wanted to post a quick hello to all. I think of you often, especially Trent. I’m so proud of you all! I love being able to read about your families. I am doing well here in L.A. I work for Kaiser Permanente. As I told Michael, my title is so long that it doesn’t fit on my badge-too bad they don’t pay by the letter…(OTC Marketing Coordinator, VSA)

Anyway, I work in Pharmacy still, but I travel to all of the Pharmacies in my Service Area (about 60 mile radius with me in the middle). I help 20 locations meet their OTC goals. I never thought I would love a JOB so much!

Marian will go into 5th grade next year. She has been identified as Highly Gifted, and placed into a classroom where she can be taught at her level (she has been terribly bored in the regular class). In this setting, they can also help her to interact better with her age group. She is extremely outgoing, and would make a great Stand Up Comedian. She must have gotten this from her dad…:)

Scott is working on his thesis-for those who don’t know, we originally moved to LA so that Scott could attend Cal Stat Northridge and study for his Masters in Geography. He hopes to have it finished for Fall Graduation. At this time, he is also studying to become a certified personal trainer; he will be taking his NASM certification exam within a few weeks.
We all look forward to a summer filled with the beach and lots of Frisbee!
Lots of Love,
Stephanie

With my current MiTT team leaving soon and the replacement team already having a medic I will more than likely be going back to my unit down south were it is much safer. Although I have enjoyed being close to the combat zone (silly boys) I think that I would much rather prefer being safe until I can come home for good. I’ve been lucky and haven’t seen any combat or any US guys hurt. A couple of IA (Iraqi Army) soldiers were wounded and one killed. I have found that I really do like medicine which only reaffirms my desire to go to PA school. I’ve considered med school but I just don’t have the patience to go through that much school. I’ll keep you all updated on any new occurances. Much love
Trent

For family night last night we spent a family activity planting our garden. This is our first attempt at such an endeavor so we’ll see how it goes. Mya and Olivia were great help with planting seeds. They helped with the corn and pumpkin seeds as well as pulling out weeds. We’ll have to see how the corn turns out because in each little hole I told them to put 2-3 seeds in each hole. Mya followed instructions well but Olivia didn’t really get the concept of only 3 seeds per hole. They were both very excited about planting pumpkins so I think that will go well.

Other plants we are planting are beans, peas, beets, cucumbers (our girls love fresh cucumbers), and radishes. Our garden plot is pretty big and I spent some time getting a sprinkler system setup to water the whole plot on the timer so I don’t have to worry about the watering. I’ll post a picture with progress through out the summer.

Also I finally decided to get out of the Ford Escort I was driving. It would put out a smoke screen driving down the road at odd intervals and it needs a new motor. So rather than spend a couple thousands to fix my old junker I got a new Nissan Altima to drive around and am really enjoying the upgrade from a 1991 to a 2006 car! Fifteen years makes a big difference.

Lastly an update on Madalynn. She is talking quite a bit. I truly believe she is the politest 2 yr old I’ve ever known. When you get something for her she will say “thank you” or when you come into the room she will say “hi”. However, you have to realize that she doesn’t say them normally but uses more of a voice inflection to say her words. She is also walking around and getting better and better with stairs. She still falls on a regular basis and has bumps and scraps from her little falls. She is also enjoying playing with Olivia. She understands many of the fun games that Olivia like to play like monster, chase, and so forth. It is quite cute!

Kennedy is getting chubbier and looking more and more beautiful. She still has a little trouble spitting up after eating but we hope she will grow out of that phase. She sleeps fairly normally but we could always use a little more sleep. Things can get pretty crazy during the day for Carrie as she juggles the needs of all 4 girls. She does a great job and for sure is a full time job!!