The beginning of the next two years . . .

Here is Elder Tyler Elison at his "new" home until Feburary 3rd when he leaves for Hamburg, Germany! His letters report that he is happy and wondering if he will be able to learn enough German before he leaves! We love you Tyler!

Family time . . .

Here we have Tyler, Natalie, Bary (holding Colton), Deanna, Darren and little Connor, and Jared. Not pictured are Melissa and Emily (they are taking pictures) and Brandon who stayed home because he had to work.

Shepherds . . .

After viewing the Nativity, as we were walking away I looked back and saw the perspective you see here with the shepherds walking toward the manger. At this point the thought crossed my mind "Who do you follow?" and "What do you look to in this life?"

Christmas Light on Temple Square

The night before we took Tyler to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo we visited Temple Square in Salt Lake City and saw the beautiful lights. This was something Tyler wanted to do as a family . . . we all enjoyed the experience.

. . . undivided attention!

Now that Tyler is out of the house Miss Natalie has ALL of our undivided attention - lucky (?) girl! She is getting used to it but we're not so sure she is prepared for having her parents focusing on her all the time! Only 4 1/2 years to go Natalie!!! We're sure glad you're here!

"I Hope They Call Me on a Mission"

After checking the mail day after day after day after day . . . Tyler finally got what he has been waiting for! In this big white envelope he got his mission call to the Hamburg, Germany Mission! He will enter the MTC on December 3rd! Way to go Tyler!!!! We Love You!!!!!

Fall Sports

Soccer keeps Natalie busy after school. Our little 8th grader is having lots of fun and so are we . . . we who do the watching. It's part of a parent's job you know!

Grandchildren

September was another great month with the addition of little (chubby cheeks) Colton! Brandon and Melissa are the happy parents and we are really excited to have a grandchild so close! We can hardly wait to take these little cousins camping!

Our family is growing . . . thanks to the addition of grandchildren! (he he) This is Darren and Emily's cute little Connor! He joined the family in June and we love every chance we get to see him! (and his parents!)

Our last day sailing back to Bellingham . . . even the skies were sad that our week was ending . . . We'll be back!!!!

The Northwind is a 50' Catalina and has four comfortable staterooms. She made a great bed and breakfast (and lunch and dinner) for our week in July. Eugene and Louise are enjoying the evening on deck.

Although I am not showing pictures of them, we were able to see Orca whales while on this trip. John, our captain, and Jette, our chef extraordinaire are the best hosts. This was the essence of relaxing and just reading a book sometimes felt like work . . .

sea glass

Here are Bary, Larry, and Vanessa (our fellow sailors) hunting for beach glass on Cypress Island. We had a nice hike from Eagle Harbor (where we spent the night) over to the west side of the island for this little adventure.

relax

The weather was perfect and we were able to relax and enjoy a little paddling in Reid Harbor off Stuart Island.

Ok, so we are catching up from our summer fun; we were able to spend another awesome week sailing around the San Juan Islands here in the Pacific Northwest. (We did this two years ago and we were hooked!) Check out sailthesanjuans.com for the definition of the word "vacation". Here we are heading out of Bellingham Bay. You can see Mt. Baker in the background.

Here is our (wet) college student home on a break from BYU Idaho. We love you Jared!

This was Labor Day on the Columbia River. We had all the family with us - yippeee! Oh yeah, Jared learned that kayaks do roll! (he he)

Beach chair au natural. It was a good rest after 7 miles of paddling from Elliot Bay, around Alki Point and across the Puget Sound to Blake Island.

Kayaking to Blake Island

September 12-13: We had a great time kayaking to Blake Island with the Grimmets, and some new acquaintances.

Absolutely fantastic weather...we could see from Mt. Baker to Mt. Rainier during the day, and the Seattle skyline all lit up at night.