Family news
Our boys
Matthew (born in '79) and Philip (born in '84) grew up here in Spring City, which is still the kind of place kids can ride their bikes to school or a friend's house. They were cub scouts, played in T-ball and youth soccer leagues, and had ponies they "raced" on the back roads, and rode successfully in 4-H and USPC competitions, though neither of them still have a strong interest in horses.
Matthew was always a quiet, self-contained and academically gifted child. The only time he got in trouble in elementary school was a spring day in fourth grade when he skipped school and shoplifted a pencil from the town gas station so he could sit on the grass and work problems out of an algebra book he had found in the basement. He loved reading and computers from the start. He graduated from Wasatch Academy, a private high school in Mt. Pleasant, and after deciding he wasn't interested in college, went right to work as a programmer. He married a girl he met on the internet (Cassie), and the two of them now live in Springville. He works in Provo, and she is finishing college at UVSC in Orem.
Philip, on the other hand, was people-oriented and high-energy from birth. Oddly, he didn't really talk till he was nearly four years old - and then didn't stop talking for years, to the dismay of his teachers. He had a temper, and was regularly in trouble with his teachers right on through middle school. He liked school - he just didn't like schoolWORK, but he did eventually discover he was good at reading and math. In high school, he played soccer, ran lights and sound for the school plays, learned ballroom dance, and had lots of girl friends (not girlfriends, friends who were girls). He graduated from North Sanpete High School, and went off to basic training for the Utah National Guard. He had barely started his first quarter at Snow College when the unit was activated and sent to Iraq - thank goodness they are now back. He married Alina Chang in June of 2005, and they now live in Saratoga Springs. Philip went through the Utah police academy, and is working as a corrections officer at the state prison. Alina is working at Walmart, and considering taking her real estate and insurance licensing tests.
Don's family
Don's father has been dead for a few years now, but his mom is active and healthy, still bowling and volunteering in school and church, living in Hermiston, Oregon, where his "baby" sister Ginger and her husband also still live. His brother Bill (and wife Raney) are living in Colorado, and Bill has been working as a contractor and studying for the ministry. Brother Rob has settled back in Nebraska, where they were born, with his wife Esther, where he works for UPS as a mechanic. His older sister Kathy and her husband Doug live in central Kentucky. Our nieces and nephews on that side of the family are now all grown up, and scattering around the country (Bill's boy Ryan has served in Afghanistan but is back in the States now).
Ellen's family
My parents are retired on Lopez Island, one of the San Juan Islands in northwest Washington, living in a house they designed and built. My mother is a weaver and helps out in the public library. My dad still enjoys gardening, cutting firewood and fishing or crabbing. My sister Lisa, a commercial interior designer, lives in Redmond, Washington with her husband Jon, where they have a glass-fusing studio and try to keep up with son Eli (Bryan is now married). Brother Paul works for Microsoft, and finally got married, years after my mother had given up hope. He and his wife Kelli have a house in Woodinville, and a brand new baby, Benjamin. Our youngest sister Ingrid and her husband Andy are living on Maui with their young children Naomi and Aaron. Actually, at the moment Andy is in Iraq as an Army officer called up from the Individual Ready Reserve - he should get home in summer of 2006.