Lanie, 3 yrs. old

Heather and Savannah

Our 18 mo. old, Autumn

Hi Everyone! I have had so much fun reading everyone's blogs and hearing about what you're all doing! I thought I would add a little update- although as I write this, I realize I don't have near as much exciting news to report as most of you guys. Lately I have been dividing my time between teaching my daughter Lanie (Melanie) the Christmas songs she has to learn for our family's "Cousin Christmas Program", and learning to make pies so I don't emberass myself this Thanksgiving. I did get to take in an awesome show of Disney on Ice this weekend.
Dean and I got to take a trip to Orlando last month for a few days and we went to Sea World, which was my first time there. We were excited our girls were old enough to leave them with our families, it was a rare treat.

So I don't really know how to organize pictures with the text on this site, but I tried. I put up a picture of Heather with her new baby girl, Savannah...so adorable!
I am so excited to get together at Christmas. I was looking through my High School pictures to send some to Liz that she wanted for the big evening, and it brought back a lot of fun memories.

hope everyone is wonderful!

Adrienne

Merry Christmas to US!

Word is we're gonna have a lil' reunion on the Friday before Christmas in Las Vegas. Come one, come all!!! Contact Lizbuff if you have questions (used to be VanDyke, now is Mortensen). =)

Soweto, a slum of Nairobi, Kenya

Leave some comments, will ya? I think we should write back and forth more often. My lil Jerusalem group created a hotmail account and we write each other back and forth. That's what this thing is, right? Write up! lafsalott@hotmail.com

Kayz was here

Well, I decided it was about time I posted somethin' on here. A quick update....I'll try to keep it as condensed as possible. Since I graduated from high school, I attended Snow College and graduated with my Associates. Ran out of money, went back to UNLV, then used the last of my bonds I'd saved and went to Jerusalem in 2000. I visited Jordan, Egypt (only the Siani peninsula, we couldn't go to Cairo because they were burning American Flags), and obviously all over Israel. I lead teams to the nearby Palestinian hospital, was invited by several muslims to visit with their families and jumped all the way into their culture. After 5 weeks, though, we were in lock down because of all the fighting, always had to have our bags packed, had a charter plane arranged daily, and had the first presidency checking up on us each day. We went to Galilee for 17 days, begged President Faust to let us go to Egypt and climb mount Siani. We then had to flee in 3 groups in the middle of the night. We were the last group to go to the Jerusalem Center and left a month early (believe me, I could go on with stories, but I loved it). Then I finished at UNLV with my bachelor degree in Psychology. Came to Utah to work (did it a bit backwards--school in LV, work in Utah). I work with abused and neglected children in the Wasatch county (3 school districts)as a Case Manager/ Social Service Worker (teaching social skills, working with them educationally and lots o' fun things). In 2004 I went to the slums of Kenya and donated 140 pounds of medical and school supplies and built a school. Most had never seen a white person before, so we were quite the celebrities. For sure none had seen a white girl who could pick and mix cement with the boys. The local Kenyans stopped, watched and clapped---not really what I was going for, but the school was built and that's all that matters. I also hung out with the Massai tribe, did a safari, kissed a giraffe, helped 5 orphanages, worked on a secondary school, painted a home for severely abused or neglected children, chilled on the coast of Mombasa and saw poverty most people never witness.AMAZING! I'd highly recommend it.

Yep, think that's about it for me. Good times. My next goals are to help orphans in India and visit my second cousin (and other family) in Greece. It should be possible now that I'm taking the educational route and will have my summers open for humanitarian work. I'll let you know how that goes. =) Thanks everyone for writing. I love reading everything. I don't have any kids of my own, but the kids I work with sort of count---their parents don't want them and I have about 30 at a time, all of which I adore. They want to come home with me. I've also been called 'Mom' by several kids over the years of the learning center, residential treatment center and case management. That counts as sort of being a mom, right? =)

Hope to hear from you all later. I can't wait for our little reunion in December.
Cya lata,
Kali

Leaves changing color in the Fall? I'm not used to that!

Hello all, how is everyone? This is Brad again. Well, I think this little blog thing has been fantastic, thanks to all who have posted. I decided to take a break from studying and being bored to give you all a little update. Angela and Hayley are across the border right now in Washington helping my sister-in-law while she's on bedrest. So I'm all by myself today! :( Anways, things are great up here in the great Northwest. Fall has now become my favorite season of the year, it is sooooo beautiful up here! I've never really had a 'real' fall, with orange, red, and yellow trees and all. Let me tell you what, it's great! I really enjoy my drive to school every day. Enough about the weather. Man, after hearing from most of you, I'm jealous! It basically seems like I'll be in school forever! :) Hey, I was the youngest of the group, I guess that's what I get. I'm loving optometry school, even though it is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life! It seems like I'm tired all the time, probably because I've been pulling all-nighters at the library for the past few weeks. It's been great though, I absolutely love the eye.

Angela and Hayley are doing great, I think they're pretty much adjusted now. Ang is working for her Dad doing internet research, which has been nice to help pay the bills and keep a handle on the hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt we'll be racking up. They've had a blast doing things though, going to the zoo, childrens' museum, the park, ect. I guess we need to shove in as much outdoor time as we can before the rains come!

Here's a few pics of us:




This is a pic of my girls at Cannon Beach. Great sunset!


Ang and Hayley in front of our house (pretty rainbow!)

Here's a couple of pics at Tilamook Cheese Factory (they have really good ice cream)




Take care you guys! Make sure you all go to Vegas for Christmas!! We'll be down there, and we'd better be doing something! :) See ya!

I thought I would say hello!! So HI!! :) Heather and Adrienne...I think I forgot to send this pic on 3 months ago. Sorry!! If you can't save it to your computer from here, let me know...I'll send it over email. This was a fun day- Heather and Adrienne were in town at the same time in June and invited me to lunch. I suggested Cafe Ba Ba Reeba (Spanish style restaurant at the Fashion Show). I love that place and it was so nice to catch up w/ them. Adrienne looks great and Heather is still just as cute as ever!

Well, for those of you wondering about the bar...I have about 9 more days until I find out. The bar was probably one of the worst experiences of my life. So not fun. After the bar I felt kind of indifferent- like it could go either way, and I wouldn't be surprised. As the weeks have gone on, I feel worse and worse about it. I'm pretty sure I did not pass, but we shall see. NV is one of the hardest bars in the nation w/ pass rate being around 50%. I'm getting really nervous, and it's all I think about lately. Hopefully I will have some good news to share soon, but if not, it's back to the books to prep for the February bar!

Since the bar, I've had fun for once! I went to the beach a couple of times in August. I slept in everyday. I went to the gym a lot. I talked on the phone. I went out in the middle of the week just because I could. Having nothing to do was extremely nice, but it got a little boring. My job ending up falling into my lap. I know I was blessed. I hadn't been looking for jobs (although I should have been). The law clerk for the judge I used to extern for called me up and said that she was looking into another job and asked me if I'd be interested in clerking for the judge. Of course I said yes and Natalie ended up getting the job. So I went from jobless to employed w/in a couple of days. I love my job and it is in the practice area I'm interested in. She is the judge I was trying to get in w/...just goes to show God is watching out for us. And the nice thing is that my job is not contingent on the bar.


These are Lisa's little ones. I love them and glad that they are back in Vegas. This picture is at that park we all used to hang out at. Lisa, the kids and I had a picnic. Great day! Lisa and Taylor are currently awaiting the arrival their baby boy...probably sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Not too much else is going on. I've had a hard time adjusting to working. I'm not used to getting up so early. I certainly miss my daily nap. So I haven't done too much this past month.

Last wknd was an excellent reunion of all my college friends. It was the UNR v. UNLV game. Reno kicked UNLV's butt (GO PACK!!!)! It was a super fun weekend.


I've rambled long enough. I love to read your guys' posts, so keep the blogs and pics coming (please :) )!! Keep on Keepin' On. And always remember that Amber loves you!

"Monteamigue"

(monty-aim-ih-gyoo)
Amy Montague here, now Amy Potthast. I can't beleive I remembered that! But it was the first thing that came to my mind when I tried to come up with a title. It was a name that Matt Higgenson and Brian Lanier gave me freshman year when we were studying Romeo and Juliet in English.

I am really excited about this blog. I love reading about how everyone is doing. As for myself, I am living in Selma, California with my husband Matt. We will celebrate 5 years this October. Friday the 13th! We have a 6 month old daughter, Railey. She is the light of our lives right now. I do have to say that work, school and an infant are a difficult combination. Thank goodness for online classes! I work full-time at Heald College. It is a private college here in CA. We have a campus in Orgeon and Hawaii too. I am the Assistant to the Executive Director and the HR liaison. The job turned me from accounting to human resources. I'll finish with my BA in Human Resource Management in January from DeVry University.

Matt has finished his BA in Accouning and will start working on his MBA in Accounting and preparing for the CPA exam in January. He tells people he's doing it because he wants me to be able to stay home. I think he's doing it because he likes to count other people's money! lol

My parents are now living in Utah. Paragonah. Yeah, I've never heard of it either. They built a house there and are trying to talk Matt and I into building a house on their property too. I like the idea, but it is more of a long-term goal. My mom works at the Wal-Mart in Cedar City in the photo center. So, if you are ever in the neighborhood, she'd love to see some familiar faces.

YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAY'N?

MY OH MY... well I was told this was here and I am exctited. Believe it or not this is BIG CHIEF Dave Smith... that is right the Tall Dark and well you know the rest. LOL just kidding. It is great to read things about everyone and see that they are doing great. Well, since I read about everyone else I thought I should tell how I am doing as well. After I got back from my Mission in Atlanta Georgia i moved to Salt Lake City to Go to School and of Course.....Have fun! I First went to school At Salt Lake Community School where I got Two Assoc. one in mathmatics and got as far as Calc and thought mmmm nay math is not for me. So then I got my other Assoc. in Health Science i was studying the Nutrition side of it and Teach High school and Coach High School Volleyball. Then I thought maybe that is not the best future financial job to be in. So after a few years of School and Changing my mind... I am now a Electrician just starting my second year. I AM PROUD TO SAY I LOVE IT!!!!! Just wish i would of figured it out four years ago. After I become a joureyman I will go to school, again, to take small business classes so I can have my own business. That is in the Future

Now the fun side... In my Years of college I have been playing volleyball for The Club team I first started as the Back up to the outside, middle and setter. Then I moved all the way up the team captain and helped lead my team to the final four in the Division III National Tournament in Kansas City, Then took the next year off and I have been asked to come back and be a Coach Player for the same team. I play Doubles as well from April to October every saturday. LOVE IT LLLLLOOOOVVVVVE IT! I also love to get in my car and just drive and go camping or go to a show or symphony. I love to try new things and talk to People. I want to travel to Boston for a red socks game then take the train to Philly to see the history there and in DC also I want to experience NY during Christmas. Then one day I want to go Back packing through Europe. I HAVE DREAMS TOO...lol

Now for the "Love" scene... I am still single and surviving. I have been engaged twice. The First time She broke my Heart. The Second I had to make a decision to stay with the woman I love, even though she had gone completely inactive, or break my own Heart and keep my Faith and Trust in the lord. Proud to report that I am happy. Went through hard times, but I know i made the right decision.

Well, I have written way too much, but I can talk for hours... I have posted some pics so I hope you like them and Write me some time bigvballchief@hotmail.com . If you are going to be Visiting Utah anytime let me know I would love to see y'all. I miss and Love all y'all Keep in touch.

Gotta Love me,

Dave Smith

It's about time!

Hi all! I figured since Jess posted my pic, and I love to hear what everyone else is up to that it was about time for me to write something. Life is good...busy but good. I'm living in Bountiful, UT with my sister, her husband, and their four adorable kids! I love it! I'm going to school full time at the UofU and will graduate in the Spring in Health Promotion and Education, then I plan to continue in the fall getting my Masters of Public Health. I'm writing this on here so you will all keep me to it! Hopefully next summer will be spent doing an internship abroad as was this past one. I spent two months in Bolivia working with CARE (an international non-profit organization). I absolutely loved it. The two projects I worked with were Maternal and Infant Health out in the campo (middle of no-where Bolivia communities) and then with Adolescents and Violence Prevention in the larger cities. It truly was amazing to be there learning about a new culture and loving every minute of it.

Along with going to school full time, I'm currently working two jobs. Well kind of, one of my jobs is actually a year of service that I am doing with the AmeriCorps. (Kind of like the Peace Corps but domestic.) They have placed me with the Health Access Project where I help people who do not have any medical insurance and who qualify by their low income, get the medical care they need donated. It is a great program and I love it! I will finish the end of this month, but am hoping they will hire me as staff...I'll keep you posted! I'm also still working at the Olive Garden...5 years and still going strong. Crazy, I know. It is just the perfect job to have while I'm still in school.

Boys are still dumb, just in case any of you were wondering...I did fall in love with a Spanish/German/Peruvian while I was in Bolivia, but the long distance thing is hard to work out (he is in Spain right now), so I am enjoying just being single.

Love you all, can't wait to hear from more of you.
--Trisha Petersen

Trish and Jess

Hey guys! Thought i would post a picture of Trish and I at my brother's wedding. Hope all is well with eveyone!! Take care! Jess
*Also included in picture Trisha's Dad Dale and Step-mom Connie!

Working Mom

Hi All! It has been so good to hear from everyone. It is fun to see what everyone is up to. Not much here. So as most of you know from the survey, I am living in Albuquerque NM with my hubby and 3 kids. Yes I know WOW 3 kids. They are a hand full. My oldest Ethen is getting ready to start school this year. Good thing, he is counting down the days. Give him a few more years and he will be counting down to when school gets out. Anyway, I am keeping very busy in Albuquerque. I own my own business. It is called All About You Weddings & Events. I started the business just over two years ago. I had a business partner and things where going pretty slow. Well in Dacember she decided she needed to move on so she left. When she left I had one wedding that I was working on. One month later I had 7 weddings. You think planning one wedding is hard. I have had 5 weddings alredy this summer with 3 more to go. And I am already booking weddings in to next summer. I just got a contract for 7-7-07. I am really loving my work. I had a great think happen, an owner of a wedding dress store offered to let me set up my office in her store in exchange for me helping out a bit selling the wedding dresses. This is great, no rent. And the first place most girls go when they get engaged is to find the perfect dress. So it works out really well. The great thing is that I meet people when they are so happy. It is not always easy, but it is always interesting. I know there are still some unattached singles out there so when the time comes I would be happy to help out any of my friends :)

Also I want to put out an Idea, I know in the survey we had put out the idea of everyone getting together. I was thinking of December 22 or 23, just before Christmas. I thought that way people would already be in Las Vegas for the Holiday. I am willing to set everything up, I just need to know if this date will work for everyone? So check the date and let me know. I was thinking of possibly planning like a Christmas party with dinner and things to do for all ages. So If this sounds good I need to start getting head counts from everyone. Also if any one is interested in helping out let me know. I will keep cost down as much as possible, but we will want to eat. So Ideas are greatly appriciated. I want to look into reserving the Cheyenne Seminary building for this get together, so if any one knows who call for that let me know. Ok I think that is all I have for know. I look forward to hearing from everyone about this. Talk to you soon.

Liz
mortensen20@hotmail.com

Hello to All!
It's been nice to hear what you guys have been up to through your surveys and your posts. I thought I should do my part real quick and fill everyone in.

My life has been filled with education and then more education on top of that. I finished up my bachelor's in Reno w/ a Marketing degree and a minor in E-Business in winter 2002. I started law school that following fall. I just graduated in May and am currently studying for the bar that will take place in about 3 weeks (along w/ Lisa's husband, Taylor).

Law school definitely took a toll on my whole life. My social life isn't what it was, and even when I made time to hang out and do anything non-law school, I never could totally relax. I always had all the things I needed to be doing running through my head. Even so, I would try and hang out with my friends and family as much as I could and travel when time allowed. The beach is a nice quick get-away for the wknd. I've been to Miami and Seattle in the last year. They are both beautiful cities in their own right.

After my first year of law school, I travelled and studied in the Mediterranean. I visited Greece and all the Greek Isles, Italy, South of France and Spain. I really had the time of my life and felt that I did a lot of growing up on that trip. I made great friends that I still see/keep in touch w/ on a regular basis.

I externed in the Family Court and worked at a family law firm after my second summer. I may end up practicing family law, but we'll see. I have doubts about being a lawyer now. I'd much rather go back to Europe and live for awhile and work random jobs while I'm not tied down.

I haven't joined the marriage/baby bandwagon yet...which is a good thing for me. There have been lots of frogs, and even good guys where it just hasn't worked out, and broken hearts, and good times, but haven't found "The One". If you know of any good-looking, single, educated, professionals...set me up! I'm on the look-out for Mr. Right- but a Mr. Right now will do too. ;)

The photo above is fairly recent- graduation day in May.

Take care everyone and I look forward to hearing more about what is going on in your lives!
XOXO, Amber

Katrina's cute kids!

Here is the cute picture of Katrina's kids!! She sent it to me and so i wanted to post it!!

FYI katrina, where are my kids, will they still be cute since i abandoned cheyenne to graduate from Layton?? Ha!!!

I love what we have started here and i hope that everyone can get into it! Leave comments! At the end of everyone's post there is a link to make a comment!! It is an easy, quick way to communicate to one another!!

Hope eveyone's weeks are going good!! Take care! Jess

Hi everyone

Ok I am so excited to hear about everyone and to see all the cute pictures. Everyone looks so good and boy we all have cute kids!!! There must have been something in the water at Cheyenne!!! Anyway we are doing good, living in Vegas but trying to change our lives so that we can move. We now have two girls, Keilana who is 3 and Maile who is 8 months. We moved back here to be close to family and my parents but now that they have moved we don't really want to stick around much longer. Oh we are going to be a missionary family really soon my little sister is going to Teipae Taiwan in Aug and my parents are going to Jakarta Indonesia in Sept.!! We are very excited for them. Another family update Audrey had a baby girl May 1st. They named her Rachel and love having her in their family, they also have Elijah who just turned 2. Anyway we have a house that is close to Cheyenne and the girls in my Sunday school class just graduated from there. It seens odd because I feel like it was only a little while ago that it was us going to school and graduating from there. Well as I said i love hearing about everyone and I can't wait to see everyone. Has anyone figured out a date to meet? Let me know. My email is katrina.hunter@gmail.com Here is a picture of my girls and we are getting new family pictures soon and I will post them when they are done.
Katrina

Sup Guys!

Hello, hello to all. I thought this blog was a great idea for everyone to use to keep in touch. Well, I decided to use some of the abundance of time I have presently on my hands since finishing school to post this. As I'm sure you're all aware of, we're living down here in Gilbert AZ right now, just waiting to sell the house so we can head up to Oregon in August. I'll be going to Pacific University College of Optometry, and I can't wait. In the mean time, I'm playing Mr. Mom while my sugar momma brings home the bacon. I'll tell you one thing, I've gained a new appreciation for motherhood!

Well anyways, nothing else has really gone on since my last update. I guess I can't tell everyone to root for the Suns anymore, so I'll have to tell you to root for Brazil in the World Cup! E isso ai, vai a terra amada, O Brasil! Since living here, I've become quite the avid Suns fan, and it was too bad they just ran out of gas at the end of game 6, especially since they would've beaten the Heat quite handily. Oh well, they'll win it all next year when Amare Stoudamire returns! Anyways, you guys all take care, and in case I didn't let you know before, you can check out our family website for other pics and stuff: http://www.bywaterfamily.com

see ya!

Thanks Jessica for setting this up!
I hope it will help everyone to stay in touch a little better.
We were in Vegas last week for my little brother Derek's wedding. He married Angela Tippetts, who also graduated from Cheyenne. Anyone know her? I will post a pict. They dated in high school and then got engaged 3 weeks after Derek got home. Crazy, huh?
Well, I don't have much else to add besides what we put on our surveys, so I will just post a pict. of our family. Oh- except that I did see Justin's myspace page for the band, and I really like your teacher song! I was impressed.
See you guys!
Adrienne

Welcome gang!!!

Hey all! Adrianne sent an e-mail about setting up a blod site where we could all post notes and picture, just an easy way for us all to keep one another closer! Friends like us all don't just pop into our lives everyday, so lets group back together and become one again. It is exciting to have "additions" to our close net group, so introduce us to your spouses and children!

Blogger is very easy to use. I will e-mail you all the username and password. Just sign in at the top of the site- hit post and you can add pictures, announcments, whatever you like. What is fun, is that we all can make comments to one another! My e-mail is jessluvscanada@yahoo.com if any of you have any questions!! Another thing- if you would all like to e-mail me some pictures, i can add them to a album and have those posted as well. How about we start with this. For todays assignment (ha) i would love if everyone could e-mail me some high school group pictures! Lets spice up this blog with some funny memories new and old!!

Since i am making the first post, how about i fill you all in on what is happening in my life. I am currently living in Boise Idaho and am actually loving it. I would have never imagined myself in Idaho, but Boise is not what i would have pictured it at all. I graduated from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah in May 05 with a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene. I needed a change of scene and for some reason, that change of scene brought me to Boise. I am currently training for a marathon. It is crazy i know, i am actually planning on doing the Portland marathon next june. I just got back from watching my uncle complete it, and it was inspirational. It is something that i actually am looking forward too! Who knows, maybe i will end up liking it and one day qualikfy for the Boston Marathon!! Yeah!

I am still single, but have just started to realize that i am still a good person, even if i am shunned by the community of Utah! I have kissed alot of toads, came very close to a Prince charming, but really he turned out to be just another toad. I decided in the mean time i am going to work on myself and better the person i am. I am a temple worker in the Boise temple and am loving it. Talk about matchmaker heaven. Those little grandmas are all about finding me a spouse! I figure there couldn't be a better place to find someone!! :) But until i do, keep your eyes open for me you guys, especially Kenny! Hello, there has to be some single dental students out there that need a sugar momma hygienist to get them through school!! Ha!

Well, i really hope you guys all get into this! It is easy and fun and i am sure once all of us participate it is going to turn into a daily place to watch and keep in touch with our friends! You are all great, i think of you often and am so proud of the individuals you have all grown up to be!!! Hope to hear from you all soon and to see many great pictures!! Jess