MovingCrew.org

Derek and I have put together a new site for the AAU and Family Housing Alums. Unfortunately, the software for this site has continued to frustrate the webmasters, so we are now at:
movingcrew.ning.com. It is, of course, a private site, so you will need to click the link below to sign-up:

http://movingcrew.ning.com/?xgi=2IgdYEB

Please email me if you are having trouble getting on. I will try and check every couple of days to add anyone that registered… Get ready for photo mania, because I’ve added literally 1000’s of photos…
maren
marenjch@gmail.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuZl9tRqjoQ&eurl=http://michaelandjessicafam.blogspot.com/

(We give credit for this card idea to the Hansen’s who posted a more superior one last year on the topic of chocolates.)

The Millward 2007 Holiday Dessert Menu

Andrew’s Fudge Brownie Supreme
This spectacular brownie is made with scientific precision - taste you can count on time and time again. Smother with chocolate ice cream and rich hot fudge and you’ll be ready to complete that honey-do list, wrestle with children, or play church dodge ball. A real crowd pleaser. Be sure to take this to your church Young Men youth groups and scouting programs.

April’s Classic Creamy Cheesecake
This encore dessert is made up of an ultra rich, smooth & creamy cheesecake with the slightest hint of tart lemon flavor. We top this with a yin-yang of fruit preserves that brings balance to lives filled with moments of wild chaos and pure joy. It is the perfect union of patience and sophistication. Sure to melt on the pallette like an afternoon nap, this guilty pleasure is guaranteed to give motivation for that early morning exercise routine. (The chef adds that this description lends itself to. . . tongue-in-cheek.)

Preston’s Apple Pie
A tradition in its seventh year, this comfort food is made up of layer after layer of apples on a light, flaky crust that has made its founding fathers proud. Bursting with 2nd grade know-how, its sure to please even the best kid-tasters. But don’t limit yourself to the holidays: this dessert can be enjoyed during piano lessons and school plays. Stop there and you might find yourself craving it at the pool side and baseball games - which is possibly what makes this dessert “as American as Apple pie”.

Lawrence’s Donuts
In it’s third year, this chameleon of desserts is made to please even the toughest connoisseurs. Come expecting the traditional batter-fried donut but be delighted by the variety of toppings and fillings suited for any occasion, activity, and audience. This one’s sure to bring out good sportsmanship while still keeping the cards in your favor. Not just an early morning treat, these donuts are good for any kind of fun any time. They also tend to create bouts of severe silliness. Now available gluten and dairy free.

Stanton’s Molten Chocolate Cake
The hard crunchy chocolate shell belies this fantastic dessert’s underpinnings: warm chocolate cake, chocolate fudge filling, and vanilla ice cream. Break through the outside layer and you may find yourself softly singing, sensitively serving, and savoring the company of friends and family. After three years of research and development, we find that this special mix of chocolate facilitates the mastery of letters, numbers, and musical lyrics. Those truly bold enough to mix this cake with our donuts will discover a veritable wrestling match of pleasure in their mouth. Also available gluten and dairy free.

Alauna’s Banana Split
This rewarding treat encompasses everything that makes your mouth happy. We begin with a banana peeled to tickle your funny bone, then add three heaping scoops of creamy vanilla ice-cream churned exclusively for us by Lady the Magic Engine’s friends: Thomas and Percy. Drizzles of silky chocolate, sweet strawberry syrup, and buttery caramel sauce with snow caps of whipped cream inspire one to climb high furniture peaks and scale lofty parental figures. Finally, we top it all off with a very dramatic cherry. A requested favorite for two years now.

Callyeva’s Maid of Honor
This pastry delicacy is new to our holiday menu. A mouth-pleasing mini morsel, we’ve started with the classic Millward pie crust and topped her with a crown full of icing. Her baby white cake hides what we guarantee will keep you coming back for more: a berry preserve filling made from the freshest raspberries and zurberts harvested in our very own nursery. This one’s sure to put a smile on your face. Unfortunately, we can’t let you take this recipe home with you.

Bon Appétit & Merry Christmas!

This year, in honor of Rob’s favorite show, Hero’s, we would like to share the heroes in our home:

MIGHTY MOUNTAIN MAN. Quite an outdoorsman, this superhero does it all: fishing, camping, and even hunting. He continues working with scouts, now as Varsity Coach. Mighty Mt. Man led his family on brave adventures this year, including camping and hiking at Zions (with a 2 and 1 year old… a fearsome quest!), family reunions at Moab and Colorado, and he did a triathlon. He also bravely hunted pheasants in cold, snowy South Dakota. His disguise: Rob, the PhD student for U of Michigan, working at the U of Utah. Did I mention that he grew a beard?

ELASTAMOM . With two little kids, this superhero has to stretch and flex. She worked in the Primary presidency at church and she is a nurse once a week at an Urgent Care. Stretching every free minute she had, Elastamom dazzled family this year by publishing a book with family stories. She showed her superhuman strength carrying children hiking around Moab, Zions, Bryce, and in Colorado this summer and was magical enough to cook what her husband hunted, including rabbit stew. Her disguise: Christina, who sometimes finds it a stretch to keep her sanity but loves having fun with her family.

BEKAZELLE. Just like Enchanted’s Gizelle, this hero loves to sing. Already this Christmas she has learned most of the Christmas songs and sings constantly (just not when we want her to). She also loves to go to Joy school, ride her bike, and pretend to cook with her brother. Like Gizelle, our Hero is very good with the local wildlife: mainly her younger brother. She loves to play with him and occasionally mother him. Disguise: Rebekah, strong willed 3 year old, cute and very energetic.

DASHING. He loves to run… especially if he knows you are chasing him. Dashing was never a petite thing (he is 90 percentile for his age in both height and weight), but the boy can move with superhuman speed and usually does so while giggling hysterically. With his strawberry blond curls and huge grin, he is a cute (albeit mischievous) hero. Like his counterpart Dash Incredible, he also likes his older sister. His first word in the morning is usually an excited, “BEKAH!” Disguise: Kyle, a 20 month old who loves to bang things and shout new words.

We wish you all a wonderful holiday as we remember our real hero and Lord, Jesus Christ. We are so thankful for all He has taught us and given us. This year, we have faced some interesting trials (haven’t we all?), but we have felt the Lord’s peace and love. We hope that you feel the same.

The Franklins
1559 S. 870 W.
Woods Cross, UT

Hi! We are now part of the blog group (cheers from the peanut gallery)! And excited to be updated on where you all are! We are happily situated here at:1234 W. Peacock Midge Dr., Bluffdale, UT 84065.  Hope to here from you!

Angela and John Christensen

Happy Holidays from the Ewers in Idaho. The Lord has blessed us so much and life has been good.

Jacob is still working for OSHA and though he doesn’t enjoy the confrontations, he is learning quite a bit. He is serving as the second counselor in the Young Men’s Presidency. Those boys keep him as busy as our own children. He loves to read a good fantasy novel in all his “spare time” or do anything that involves working with his hands.

Amy is a full time mom. She loves to read to her children, hear them laugh and play games with them. She loves her exercise during quiet time; it’s a great time to read all the Ensigns, church lessons, and other good books. She also enjoys cross word puzzles, adventure/romance novels, talking to Jacob and dreaming of one day having her own horse.

Ammon is 8 and was just baptized on his birthday, November 3rd. We’re so grateful and proud of him for making this most important decision. He’s a great reader at school, but still loves P.E. and recess the best. He’s our master Lego builder, Star Wars craft being his specialty. He has such a big heart, and is especially tender with little Aubrey. We’re so blessed with his goodness and love.

Heber is 5 (turning 6 on Dec. 29th) and loving Kindergarten. He creates robots and spaceships in his free time at school and loves to go to music and P.E. He can make up games with almost anything at home and loves to create things with paper, string, tape, etc. His favorite food is still tacos and he has a big sweet tooth. He has a big smile to match his big heart. He loves life and is our comic relief. He reminds us to relax and enjoy living. He’s a wonderful boy.

Savannah is 3 and if she wants to do things, “I will,” is her latest saying. She can be found creating conversations between animals and people on tables, windowsills, counters, etc. She LOVES books and sitting on laps to have them read to her. Her smile is contagious and her laughter like medicine. She enjoys playing in the sink and helping to measure and cook in the kitchen. She loves to play with Heber and she and he love any water games they can get away with. She’s a special, beautiful girl.

Aubrey is 1 (17 months). She’s a doll, as many people tell us. She’s a petite little gal, but her lungs work very well. She loves baby dolls and pictures of babies. She just got her two bottom teeth about 1 month ago. She loves to dance to music in the living room and climb on the sinks in the bathrooms and the chairs in the kitchen. Her favorite phrases are “Uh huh,” “bye bye,” “baby,” and she’s just started calling her parents “Mimi”. She’s a joy in our lives.

What an incredible blessing to know that the Savior lives and loves us immensely. We love you all. May the Lord bless you in your lives.

Love, Jacob, Amy, Ammon, Heber, Savannah and Aubrey

Dear Friends and Family,

Last night as we took around our holiday bread, we remembered the sleet, snow, and below-freezing temperatures of other Christmas treat adventures in Ann Arbor. Warm weather certainly makes delivering Christmas goodies and Christmas caroling more fun. California continues to delight us with warm weather and blue skies. In addition, we get more visits from friends and family here than we’ve had anywhere else we’ve lived. And for a week last summer, we had whales visiting the harbor just a mile away from our house.

Evan is 9, Addison is 6 and Owen is 2, which means we’re mobile and have had a lot of fun exploring this year. Emily’s mom remarried, which served as a catalyst for a crazy (we’re still recovering) adventure which started the night of the book-release party for Harry Potter #7 and continued over the following 3 weeks. We traveled over 4,600 miles to visit family all over the country and make it back to California in time for school to start. Laramie skipped the last week (1,300 miles) to get home in time for his term to start.

The boys all learned to love the water and took every opportunity to swim. We had fun camping with both family and friends (the giant redwoods were fabulous!). Other highlights included visiting with several old friends and fossil hunting in 3 different states (successfully).

Evan started learning the piano on Valentine’s day and is now on his his fourth set of books and loving it. Addison makes new friends wherever he goes and is excited to do his own act in the school talent show. Owen is growing again after giving us a scare earlier this year and losing more than a pound a week for awhile. His favorite phrase is “’Scuse me!” which he applies liberally to all bodily noises. We are all happy. We love our boys and rejoice that they have been sent to our home. We are grateful for the gospel and especially for our Savior. We hope you are all well and send our love.

Love, the Taylors
2692 Tyler Way
West Sacramento, CA 95691
(916) 373-3351

Dear friends and family,

In this age of acronyms, we’d like to sum up the 2007 year in our family name:

L is for our lovely, loveable Diana Joy, who has stolen our hearts with her dimples and bright blue eyes since her birth in May. She makes it clear what food she likes with vociferous “Mmmmmm’s” and is on the verge of crawling.

I is for interests that are ever expanding. Nathan has rediscovered reading for pleasure, Shalissa has been called to learn the organ, Katie is tackling soccer and piano, James is our budding marine biologist (with a specialty in beluga whales), Michael (aka “Air Jordan”) loves hoops, and Diana is interesting for everyone in the room.

N is for North Carolina, where we moved in June. We live 15 minutes from the beach in the “Port City” of Wilmington, and have been enjoying weather in the mid-70’s during December. This almost makes up for winters endured in Siberia and Michigan.

D is for dissertation and doctorate—yes, after nine years, Nathan is finally finished with school. He is now Director of Student Life Assessment at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

S is for special moments as parents that seem fleeting—good times on the park slides, lots of UNO and Monopoly Jr., dancing in a family circle, and bedtime stories.

A is for abode. We are living the American dream as first-time homeowners, and have enjoyed mowing the yard, using the fireplace, and swimming in the neighborhood pool. We have not enjoyed fighting the fire ants and fixing everything that breaks.

Y is for yearning. Yearning to raise good kids. Yearning to be away from the kids! Yearning to have closer ties with friends and family. Yearning to be good disciples.

We fixed the members page so it will now display everyones’ name and address. Just in time to get Christmas cards out! You can go there by clicking on the members link in the header.

Remember to update your information on your profile page so everyone will have your latest address.We also hope you enjoy the new Christmas theme to celebrate the holidays!