Day family newsletter - September 2012

October 1, 2012 SEPTEMBER NEWS FROM THE DAYS: The biggest news for our household was Stephanie and the kids moving back into our home at the middle of the month. She has since cleaned her condo, and will put it up for sale in the near future. Her hopes are to sell it and find something affordable with more bedrooms and a small yard for the kids. She also brought her cat, and it’s still a tossup as to whether our cat will give in and accept the change. Between Shelley and me, we got Danny to the airport and back home again after his vacation to James and Abby’s home in Colorado. Thanks to them for having Danny and entertaining him. He sure enjoyed the time at their home and the surrounding area. Kaylee (Debbie’s youngest) had her 7th birthday party the same time the Janssen reunion was held, so Linda went to the birthday bash, and I attended the reunion. In as much as I already gave you all an account of the reunion, I won’t go into details here again. However, at least two different cousins came up to tell me they had Obama pictures/campaign literature in their home, as I think I mentioned Obama care when I talked about working at the DMV to get health insurance because I am uninsurable and can’t get it on my own. When we returned from our New York trip, we found the refrigerator on the blink. Amazing how we are so dependent on modern appliances to get by. Linda and Stephanie attended a night out at Kingsbury Hall seeing The Price is Right. Not the actual TV taping, but still quite entertaining. Linda and I saw a good musical play, In the Heights, at the U of U. About immigrants from Puerto Rico and The Dominican Republic trying to survive in the Washington Terrace Manhattan district. Stephanie celebrated her birthday at The Training Table, her favorite hamburger place, and we enjoyed getting together as a family to wish her a happy birthday. I went golfing a few times. Debbie announced she is going back to American Express in a different position than before, and is taking on-line classes thru Weber State to finish her Associates and then get a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. Jackie and Wiggins missed Stephanie’s birthday, as they were in Wiggin’s home town, Blanding, for the Elk hunt and visiting family. They are all moved into their new home and are enjoying not living in a motor home. And their new home is plenty big enough to have us all over for Thanksgiving! Katie recently did a triathlon where you run, swim and bike. She enjoyed participating. Christopher (Debbie’s son) is enjoying college life at SLCC after serving four years in the Army. Kaylee’s front teeth are finally coming in – and she is growing in leaps and bounds. Jessica (Steph’s 9 yr. old) is enjoying violin lessons and has another recital come up. Sarah and Taylor (6 and 4 yrs.) are inseparable and keep each other entertained. Little Jack (Katie’s 3 yr. old) is really growing up, and Sofie is already 1 ½ yrs. old and a little cutie. Bill’s been off with a neighbor at his cabin somewhere east of Cedar City for a golf/fishing/guy outing the past several days. I look forward to the presidential debates, and will be glad when the election is over and Obama (probably) gets another four years. As I heard Bill Clinton recently said during an interview, regardless of who wins, congress will go back to working together in 2013, and some legislation will get passed. He said that if Obama wins, the republicans will no longer seek as their primary goal making Obama a one term president, as that possibility goes away. As for me, the problem with this country is not who is president; it’s the congress who has an approval rating of about 10% because of their antics. I plan on voting against every incumbent congressman on the national level. I’ve been reading Howard’s End, and rereading a book about Buddhism. I also read a good book called The Glass Castle. It was good to see Alisyn and Joseph (after their two years in Germany) at the Janssen reunion. Our garden keeps producing, and we have enjoyed its fruits over the past few months. And that’s the news from the Days. Love, Tom & Linda

Day family news - August 2012

Sept. 1, 2012 NEWS FROM THE DAYS FOR AUGUST 2012: Linda and I just returned from a wonderful trip to New York – Manhattan. You already received some pictures of our trip – we went on a group tour with a travel agency here in SLC – about 50 of us. So our itinerary was all taken care of – a great tour guide as we traveled around to various sites each day, and we saw four great plays. Would you have guessed The Book of Mormon was my favorite play? Great humor, music and storyline following the mission call of two young men, their surprise to be called to Uganda, and how they had to adapt living together in missionary life with all the rules and regulations that come with it. Long story short, the natives only want to be saved from life’s rough journey – starvation, aids, terrorist war lords, disease and poverty. You’ll have to go see it to hear how it all turns out. Our favorite stops were the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 site where beautiful 30’ waterfalls cascade down from all sides in the original footprints of the buildings into another pool that then cascades down and out of sight. The victims names are all inscribed on a 3 ft. wall that surrounds the waterfalls. I remember way back when Dad and Annette were in town from Everett, and I drove them to pick Aunt Maurine and we all went to lunch at Marie Callenders on Foothill Blvd by the U of U. As we drove up to the restaurant, all three of them wondered where the bathrooms were. I remember saying I hope I’m never at that age when my primary concern is where the bathrooms are. Well, that time has arrived. As our group traveled for 5 days all around Manhattan, most of us were primarily concerned at each stop as to where the bathrooms were. Because Karin keeps sending political emails our way, I decided to start mailing (not emailing) her pictures of Obama or his family, children and their dog. The dog, of course, is shown playing on the White House lawn rather than in a cage on top of their SUV. Steph and her kids held a garage sale at our house and disposed of many toys and clothes. They are getting ready to move into our home again, and hopefully sale their condo. Speaking of moving, Jackie and Wiggins bought a nice home in the Willowcreek area and are moving in this weekend. They just picked up a bunch of stuff they had stored here for the past 1 ½ years. They have sold the motor home they lived in for the past 20 months, and are looking forward to life in a house! It is Wiggin’s birthday tomorrow, and they are having everyone over for pizza and a swim – they have a pool! We’ve already decided to hold Thanksgiving dinner at their place this year. Katie and Bill and kids just left for a week vacation in California with Bill’s side of the family. While we were in New York, all the kids Joined Debbie/Chris/Kaylee and her friend Stewart/his kids for a weekend of camping and fishing at Mirror Lake. Chris has started school at the Salt Lake Community College, or SLCC (pronounced SLICK) after enjoying some time off after coming home from his 4 year stint in the Army. We all joined Cole/Jess/Emry for Cole’s birthday bash at The Pie in South Jordan. Cole, our oldest grandchild, has turned 29 and is in his 30th year. Hard to believe! Cole has staked out an area up East Canyon with camera’s getting ready for the bow hunt that started the day after his birthday. To date, he hasn’t gotten anything, but he knows they are there, as he has captured plenty of deer/elk on his camera. Jessica has started to look PG and is having a much better pregnancy than her first so far. They are having a boy. Linda and I also attended another play earlier in the month, Saturday’s Voyeur, a satire on Utah culture (politics ,Mormons and local goings on). It is put on by the Salt Lake Acting Company, and they use an old LDS wardhouse just east of 3rd West on 5th North for their plays. They have put it on every year for over 25 years and update the material/music to fit the current events. It’s edgy, liberal and a cash cow for the company as it sells out over the two months they perform the play. Linda and I also saw the Batman movie – pretty good - Linda’s reading 50 Shades of Gray, I just finished The Glass Castle, and am re-reading The Idiot’s Guide to Buddhism. We enjoyed the Olympics, caught a little of the RNC, and look forward to the DNC next week. Linda and I celebrate our 45th anniversary tomorrow – is that considered eternal? I just dropped Danny off at the airport for his trip to James/Abby Boone in Oregon for 6 days. Thanks to all the nieces/nephews who include Danny in their lives. He really appreciates you all! Danny lost a lot when JD, his friend who drove Danny around for the past 20 years, lost his license because he got on a freeway by mistake, and didn’t understand on and off ramps. They were pulled over by a policeman, and JD asked to be escorted home as he told the policeman he didn’t understand how to use the on and off ramps. This ended up costing JD his driving privilege when they revoked his driver’s license, and then he couldn’t pass the written test because he doesn’t know how to read. Sad, as Jenny, Danny’s Support Coordinator for the past 6 or 7 years, has been a passenger in JD’s car with Danny on many, many occasions and feels JD was a perfectly good and safe driver all these years. Danny used to host a Sunday night dinner every other week for JD and two other friends. This was just one the events JD provided transportation for. Derek provided transportation for this group a few weeks ago – thanks!! Our garden has been producing a lot – and the plum tree adjacent to The Garden of Eat’n provides forbidden fruit that I’ve shared with fellow workers down at the DMV. And that’s the news from the Days for August, 2012. Tom & Linda