36

Jonathan's 36th Birthday

The front of the card my mom gave to Jonathan
Happy Birthday Jonathan :D

Jonathan blows his candles out

Jonathan testing his "one bite" abilities...observe the next video

Impressed?

General Conference Weekend April 2009

General Conference Weekend is a great weekend for us. We get together as a family and "sit at the feet" of our Church Leaders, while they counsel us on ways to improve ourselves and to become better disciples of Jesus Christ. All of the talks were so good, but I especially enjoyed the talk given by Jeffrey R. Holland (of the Twelve Apostles) on the Savior.

We have lots of traditions during this weekend, we eat, watch, eat some more :D

Often times our time together, turns in to a family wrestle fest.

Today was Jonathan's Birthday, and Tiffany's birthday was at the end of March...we were able to celebrate their birthdays with them. Happy Birthday Jonathan and Tiffany :D

Dylan's 1st Track Meet

Arbor Hills Jr. High Track team vs. Maumee Gateway Meet

April 1st 2009

My favorite Track Star :D

Dylan is a strong long distance runner.

He ran the 1 mile and came in second place. He ran the 1600 meter in 5 minutes 56 seconds. He lost the race by 2 seconds...he said to me "Wow, Mom I never realized the value of 2 seconds before today!"

The Start Up Line for the 800 meter.

Dylan ran in the 800 meter and came in 4th....running it in 2 minutes 48 seconds.

Dylan said "it surprised him just how competitive he really was." He usually doesn't like competing. He is learning more and more about running and Coach Campbell says "At the rate Dylan is going...He is going to be a BEAST by the end of the season."

Dylan came in 4th place in the 800 meter race.

Toledo Connection

Heide Vence and Maria Simons Reunion

Heide and I were best friends when Jonathan and I were dating. In fact, she was the Maid of Honor in our wedding. We have lots of great memories of time we spent together doing Singles activities. Once I got married, our friendship dissipated because our worlds were so different. Heide was off still doing Singles things and I was becoming a wife and mom. We lost touch, and have tried to get together a few times this last year. This was the first time, we found success.

Heide and her husband Jim came in to town for the weekend, and I stopped up to visit them in their suite. We had a great time reminiscing about the old days and catching up on the new ones.

I've really missed Heide and her Zany ways...
We took picture after picture because I was trying to get a pic that didn't make me look so fat. A diet and exercise are right around the corner

I love you Heide :)

Sister Hansen's Visit

Sister Charlotte Hansen served a mission here until December of last year. She was an integral part in teaching Grandma, and was sad that she wouldn't be here for Grandma's baptism. She returned during her Spring Break from school with a couple of other sisters who served out this way. We were very excited to see her...especially Grandma!

Playing at Mar's

Family dinner at Mar and Grandpa Newbold's

March 15th, 2009

Me and my Momma!

I love you Mom!

Carly just loves playing outside with the kids

Luke playing ball

Luke and Nicholas with sticks! I am vehemently opposed to them "playing" with sticks...and yet everytime I go outside to check on them, they are playing with sticks.

Boys!...and their "warrior" spirits!

Dylan performing Sasuke Naruto maneuvers

"Warrior Leader"

My first experience at a Japanese Restaurant

My friend Liz McLaughlin from work was celebrating her 30th birthday with friends and family
She chose Sakura Japanese Restaurant on Monroe Street...the staff sang her "Happy Birthday" in Japanese.


This is our Hibachi grill chef. It was really fun watching him prepare our food right in front of us.

He popped chunks of cucumber into the air and we had to try to catch them in our mouths. My mouth was big enough to catch mine. Big surprise!

I have never had Japanese food before today. I've tried Sushi once before, but that is the extent of it. I wasn't sure how I would like it, but was ready to try something new. Fortunately, I sat next to Pam Gainsley...who is an old pro at ordering Japanese food. She explained things to me and helped me order. I loved it!

These are some of my work friends...from left to right...

Joyce Shank, Cory Hampton, Kim Davis, Melissa Barnhart,

Irene Jones and the birthday girl...Liz McLaughlin

Pam and I joined this pic...so now it is (from left to right)

Cory Hampton, Pam Gainsley, Melissa Barnhart, Irene Jones,

Me and Liz McLaughlin.

Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We had our Pack's Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet to celebrate Cub Scouts and recognize the achievements of the boys. Nicholas was awarded his Wolf Badge. Luke was awarded his Webelos Badge and he is one elective away from having his Arrow of Light. It was a proud night for us :)

Thomas Edison

Luke had his fifth grade presentation today. Luke learned all about Thomas Edison. He then dressed like him and gave a speech in front of the class. Luke is very excited about Thomas Edison and his contributions to our world.

Thomas Alva Edison~American inventor
Birth
February 11, 1847
Place of Birth
Milan, Ohio

Death October 18, 1931

Known for
Inventing numerous useful devices, including a practical electric light bulb and the phonograph
Milestones
1869 Received his first patent, for a vote-recording machine
1876 Set up a research laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey
1877 Invented the phonograph
1879 Invented the first practical incandescent electric light bulb
1882 Provided electricity, generated by a central power station, to New York City
1883 Discovered that incandescent materials emit electrons. This phenomenon is known as the Edison effect or thermionic emission.
1887 Moved his research laboratory to larger quarters in West Orange, New Jersey
1891 Finished the kinetoscope, a device designed by Edison and his employee, William Dickson, to produce brief motion pictures
1910 Invented the Edison battery, which used an alkaline electrolyte
1913 Produced the first talking motion pictures
Did You Know
As a young man Edison saved a stationmaster's son from being hit by a train, and out of gratitude the stationmaster taught him how to use the telegraph.
Edison patented over 1,000 inventions.
Edison worked for the Navy during World War I, improving submarines and flamethrowers.

Luke's favorite Thomas Edison Fun fact...he once set the family barn on fire while attempting some experiments.

Many people in his class thought Luke really resembled Thomas Edison as a child. Luke asked if we could check our family history to see if we might be related. After all, they are both from Ohio.

The Man In My Life

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? The History Channel...seriously what is so intriguing about the History Channel...I'll never know. Although, truthfully half of the time he is snoring...my sentiments exactly :P

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? French or Blue Cheese

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Liver

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order? Diet Pepsi or Mountain Dew

5. Where did he go to high school? Sylvania Northview and Southview (He also did a short stint at Start)

6. What size shoe does he wear? 10 1/2 - 11 depending on the shoe

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Subs...either cold cut, or chicken/bacon/ranch

9. What would this person eat every day if he could? It's a toss up between Steak and baked potatoes or Lasagna

10. What is his favorite cereal? He doesn't really eat breakfast...I can't tell you the last time I saw him eat a bowl of cereal. I think he would choose a Pop Tart, Donut, or eggs/sausage/toast before cereal.

11. What would he never wear? A man bag

12. What is his favorite sports team? Michigan football or Chicago Bulls

13. Who is his best friend? Me of course.... he doesn't really stay in touch with his old buddies from back in the day. He will socialize if given the circumstance, but he never pursues hanging out with the guys...he'd rather hang out with the fam.

14. What is his favorite ice cream flavor? He likes different flavors of Milkshakes...depending on his mood. He definitely is an ice cream fan.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Spend so much time on the computer

16. What is his heritage? It's been a while since I have worked on his family heritage and I have only researched one side of the family. On top of that, Jonathan's biological father is adopted...so it is hard telling. Therefore, I would say German/French and there is a smidgin of Indian in there.

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday what kind of cake? Carrot cake or German Chocolate

18. Did he play sports in high school? Nope

19. What could he spend hours doing? xbox360, watching movies, or working on the hot rod.

20. What is one unique talent he has? He is great with his hands...he usually only needs someone to show him how to do or build something once and then he has it.

Dylan's 8th grade Orchestra Concert

Dylan's 8th Grade Orchestra Concert

February 19th, 2009

Northview Theatre

Dylan and Ian play the cello
The 8th grade plays
The Dynamic Duo


A little tidbit of Dylan's Orchestra Performance

Kyle's Choir Concert

Kyle's 7th Grade Choir Concert

Wednesday, Febuary 18th, 2009

Arbor Hills Gymnasium

Dylan and Nicholas as we came in looking for a place to sit down. Kyle proud of his affiliation with the choir
Kyle decided playing the cello wasn't for him...so his next step was singing with the choir. He really likes it.
Kyle ready to sing
The mixed choirs sing together

Here's a little demo of the boys singing



Nicholas decided he was extremely bored during Kyle's choir concert, so he proceeded to do this little number. Before I escorted him out in to the hallway for his behavior, I decided to catch some of it on tape :)