Answer to the thing about "Cathy's Lie"

Yes, I love to organize and to teach others how to do things (not necessarily substitute teach a bunch of 5th graders). It seems I am always organizing something in our home, and I really detest Bruce's file system, which is basically a pile of papers. I do not enjoy supervising others, even though sometimes I get almost forced into that position. I would much rather consult instead of supervise.

Travelers are back home

Now that we have been traveling for 2 weeks, we are back home in our own beds, and even though we had a wonderful time, it is true that there is no place like home. If you want to view our travel log, go to http://cathyandbruce.blogspot.com

Families Are Forever

On Friday, I spent the day at the temple doing my mom's temple work. The best part of the day was our own special sealing session where my mom was sealed to her parents, my mom and dad were sealed to each other, and I was sealed to them. It was a glorious day for me, and I'm sure there was a happy reunion in heaven. What a blessing to know that families CAN be together forever, and now we are one big family on the Knudson and Fucsko side.

August Happenings

Bruce and Cathy

We took a trip to Utah for Tom and Amanda to bless their new baby girl, Lucy. We brought Emma back with us for a week, and had a fun time with her. Brent and Rachel and family came a week later for a couple of days to pick up Emma. I have been busy with several cake orders this summer, and have 3 more this month. Still plan on subbing this year, but no calls yet. Bruce is still working at the retreat, and we do a magazine route together each Thursday. We're looking forward to a trip to NY in November to spend Thanksgiving with Tom, Amanda, and Lucy.

Rob and Tiff

We have been very busy. We started putting in our new laminate wood floors. They are so pretty but it has been a lot of work for Robbie, we also painted one wall in our living room red. I just love it.We put Elijah in a hockey camp ( I just love hockey) he did really well I think we will continue it but not until he is done with soccer we don't want to overwhelm him he is only 4 after all.They had Howler and Rocky there they are the mascotts from the coyotes and the roadrunners and he got to skate with Howler and he got a picture with both of them. It is blurry though... oh well. He should start soccer in Sept or Oct. We also went to visit my grandparents in Flagstaff for a weekend. We had such a good time. They have a little museum up there and they had a sickle claw dinosaur which Elijah just loved. The day we left the temperature was 78 and we were going back to 105 I asked Robbie what was wrong with this picture.... Kylie had her 6th birthday and we celebrated the Friday before with just a few friends at build a bear. We went out to dinner with Grandpa Bob on her real birthday. She started school on the 25th and is really enjoying it. She is in 1st grade now. I can't believe it. Elijah's 1st day at preschool is today ( Sept 2) He has already went for 1 year and a half but since his birthday is in Feb he can't go to kindergarten until next year. Which is the thing that is hardest for me it's not that Kylie is in 1st grade it's that next fall my boy will be in kindergarten. I know it's a whole year away but you think that they are going to be home with you forever and some days I can't wait for school to start but most days I really enjoy spending time with them and I miss them when they aren't here. They grow up so fast and I know that is a cliche but it's so true.

Brent and Rachel

We had fun at Grandma and Grandpa Leavitts at the beginning of the month and now the kids are off to school. It's been a little hard for Aaron to deal with the all day thing which makes me think I was right in not putting him in all day kindergarten last year. He just has a hard time stopping whatever it is he is doing. Other than that though, I think they enjoy school:) I've been able to take the other kids out to the park and library more on school days which is nice for them.

Springtime happenings

Rob and Tiff

Kylie graduated kindergarten and Elijah finished preschool for this year. He is going back for another year in Aug since his birthday isn't until Feb he doesn't get to go to kindergarten for a while yet.

Kylie got Academic honors at school which means she was on the honor roll or principals pride all year long. She is so smart and can't wait until 1st grade.

This summer we aren't doing much. The kids aren't enrolled in anything so we are just hanging out at home. Robbie did build a swing set in our backyard for the kids to play on but it's too hot right now. They go out there and then the swings burn them and they come running back inside. I found this cool website that has crafts and worksheets and stuff like that on it so everyday we download some thing to do and if the kids are good for quite time then we get to do crafts and activites in the afternoon. So far it has worked pretty good.

We took Porter to the dr for his 6 month well check up. Can you believe 6 months already!!!
Well he is skinny and they are worried about his weight since he hasn't gained any since he was 2 months old. He was 16 lbs at 2 months and then 15 at 4 months and now he is 15lb 14 oz. But he nurses and eats baby food and drinks formula so I don't know what else I can do for the kid. But he does puke all the time so I'm going to talk to the dr about that when I take him in for his weight check in 2 weeks.

Robbie applied for a new position in Intel and he got it. He was sopose to get a promotion and a raise but his current manager tried to block him from leaving by saying that he didn't deserve it because they didn't want Robbie to leave. So he should start his new position in July sometime. And we are finally getting our wood floors (not real wood of course) but Costco has some really good flooring with the pad already attached to it and then they came out with a coupon for $8.00 off each box so the price went down to $1.50

Paula and Eddie

My guess for Tom is B, because I could see A happening and I know C is true. Anyways, happenings for us.

June has been a fun month for us. We were all really sick in May, so June was a welcome relief. Paula and Lexi have fun going to the park to play on the playgrounds and swimming in our apt. pool. Lexi loves the water! Lexi just turned 1 (June 24) on Tuesday and her mom thinks it's awesome that her and Lucy share a birthday. That will be fun when they get older. She had lots of family and friends spoil her and she's set in her wardrobe for a while now. She was very delicate with her cake but went to town with her ice cream. We got a visit from Gram-Eni (Eddie's mom) from Idaho and we all enjoyed that. We look forward to taking Lexi to see fireworks this year, since she's into bright lights and sounds.

Rachel and Brent

This is going to be quick cause I am just about out the door. Spring has been wonderful here in Utah. Gorgeous flowers and just enough rain to add variety. Brent is working on expanding his business. He now has someone working with him doing web design and he is in the process of working out the details on getting some children's programing made with puppets?!! Emma, Aaron and Dallin have been doing swimming lessons for about a month now with their grandma Thomas. I've enjoyed the break as well as the time I get to spend with the two little ones. It's nice to be able to play outside again:)

Exciting News from Debbie

I just saw the pic's of Tommy and Amanda's new little one. She is sooo precious as are all the Leavitt little ones. We have some exciting news to share. I am not sure how the family blog works so I hope you can relay the news to the family. Our Jessica just completed her bachelors degree in dental hygiene and is now certified to practice here in Arizona.

Our Ashley just announced her engagement to a fine young gentleman named Kal Lines. They are the cutest couple and a perfect match. They plan to be married / sealed in the Arizona Temple on January 3, 2009. We are so glad they chose to get married when the whether is cooler here and give us plenty of time to make it a special celebration for all.

I just returned from Utah as both Jessica and Ashley are living there now. I will let Ashley fill everyone in on that "Story." She found a beautiful wedding dress after trying on so many. It was difficult to choose as she was so beautiful in them all... I know I am rambling on just soooo excited.

The rest of the family is doing well would love to get hooked up on the family blog with your help. Thanks for all you do.

Love you all,
Debbie

Dancing Lexi

Correction

Well, I've been corrected. Amanda and Tom's baby was 8lbs 4oz(it's Brent's fault:)) Congrats anyways.

New Baby arrival

Lucy June has arrived! Angela Hubbard got the right date-June 24. And Amanda's mom got the right lbs 8lbs 1oz. Way to go!!! I think I'll do some cold stone gift certificates for them.

April/May Happenings

Bruce and Cathy

Well, here it is May 1^st, and it’s snowing again! We have always known that Colorado weather was strange, but we are definitely ready for summer. Yesterday, I was out working in the yard and it was about 75 degrees…today it’s 30 something and snowing…go figure.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a fun visit from Brent and Rachel and family. The first day they were here, we went to the Bear Creek Nature Center and went on a short hike with the kids…we wore hats and were hot because it was about 80 degrees. The next day it snowed and we cooked a turkey dinner, so we felt like it was Thanksgiving or Christmas again.

I have been doing a lot of sewing lately—mainly blessing outfits for people in and out of our ward. Also, the cake business has been picking up—I keep getting more wedding cake orders and party cake orders fill in the cracks between. So that should help this summer when school is out and I can’t sub. Bruce still needs to find another job to help pay the bills.

We are enjoying taking care of Lexi when Paula and Eddie go out. We wish the other grandchildren were closer. It was fun to see Lexi and Jacob together during their visit. We are looking forward to having Emma stay with us for a week this summer.

Tiff and Rob

Elijah fell and almost broke his arm (very exciting week for us) and Kylie has more dr apts to find out what is going on with all of her UTI's.

She did get all O's on her report card. Which O's are outstanding which is the highest you can get.

Porter can roll over and is babbling and smiling at us all. Robbie is working hard for our family and I'm trying to keep up with the kids.

Paula and Eddie

not much has changed/happened in the last month for us Rachel...Eddie is getting a new position at his current job with a tiny raise, but that's about it.... I

Tom and Amanda

Our news for April is that we were able to situate ourselves into our new apartment after having an attack of termites. We really like our apartment because it fits most of our needs and wants. We both can't wait for our baby girl to be born. Also, in April my Dad was able to come out to New York to visit us. We had a great time having him here. We saw 'Wicked' the broadway show, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park and many more things.

Brent and Rachel

I think our highlight was going up to grandma and grandpa Leavitts. (Pictures are in the slideshow). We loved being able to just spend time with them without anything else going on. Spring is here also and that has been fun, though busy with tons of weeds to pull. School is just about out for Emma and Aaron and they both have done great! Love to all, Rachel

News from the Family

Karen Turley

hi, we just hit our 1st 90 degree day, william is rebuilding our trellis out back and fighting a really bad head cold..i prepared 3 income taxes today and will be preparing my sunday school lesson as soon as i am thru with this. amanda, your baby's video was priceless.. she is going to have her grandma leavitt's mouth and your eyes.. thats what i think. she be beautiful no matter what.. she has no options with you two as her parents. Rusty and Olivia finally moved into their new home after 2 long months of slaving every weekend pealing 18 year old wallpaper off the walls and scrapping yucky tile off the floors.. there was no carpet except for the stairs and that was it. i will have to take pics so i can send before and after. they tiled the kitchen, dining room and bathrooms. the living room, stairs, halls and bedrooms have carpet.. it looks very nice. olivia with her artistic flair really beautified it nicely. she will have it totally put together this week as she will start to babysit a baby a few months younger than brayden. the extra money will help. well, take care and write when you can. love Karen

Tom and Amanda

Last Week, our friends Miles and Michelle from California came out to visit and stay with us a few nights. We took them to the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. There we saw some Picaso, Monte and Suerat paintings which was interesting to see the real copy in person. They were beautiful! The other picture is of Michelle and Amanda in front of a maternity store.

Eddie and Paula

Eddie and Paula are enjoying living in Colorado Springs, at least until Eddie gets on with a fire dept elsewhere. Eddie is still with T-Mobile til then and Paula gets to stay home with Lexi. They absolutely love their little girl, who is now keeping them on their toes since she finally mastered crawling this week. It's amazing how a room that appears baby proof, isn't! She has a personality all her own and vocalizes any qualms she may have with you... so we'll just enjoy that until she is actually able to form words. We're looking forward to her birthday in a couple months, and then mom won't feel guilty about sneaking her sweets now and again :-) She's still quite small for her age but makes up for it completely in attitude. You know she's upset when you get the "Angelina Jolie Lips".

Rob and Tiff

Our family has been busy with our crazy life work and school keep us hoppin'.

Plus we had Tiffany's friend from Utah come and spend Easter with us. She comes and visits about once a year. The kids just love her and call her Aunt Jen. We also had a little Easter party and decorated sugar eggs and made sugar cookies. The kids had a lot of fun doing that. Porter is 3 months old now and growing more and more every day. He is such a happy baby and smiles and talks all the time.

Bruce and Cathy

Greetings from Colorado! Springtime here is still like winter in most places. We’re still getting some snow from time to time, and won’t be able to plant our garden until the end of May. We’re ready for summer to be here, even though the snow-capped mountains are beautiful!

Bruce and I are still busy trying to make a living. The inspection business has been slow, but we hope it will be picking up soon. Bruce is still working part-time at the retreat. The deer are starting to frequent the grounds more often and the Santa’s were just there for their annual photo shoot. The cake business is picking up. Between referrals and advertising on Craig’s List, I’ve been getting busy with cake orders. I had a very successful cake tasting day on March 22. I had 5 couples attend, and by the end of the day, I had 5 pending wedding cake orders for this summer. I’m thinking of perhaps having a tasting day every 2 months or so, depending on demand. I am still substitute teaching, but would much rather be home baking and decorating.

One of the highlights of each week is attending our empty-nesters family home evening group. We love each of our friends that we meet with and they have become our family here in Colorado. Bruce is still going down to the prisons a few times each month to teach Sunday School lessons to the inmates there. It is a very rewarding calling. He is also High Priest Group secretary. I am still the Home and Food Storage specialist in our ward, and I stay busy organizing monthly excursions to both the cannery here in the Springs, as well as the cannery in Denver. I also continue to publish the monthly Relief Society newsletter.

We are eagerly anticipating a visit from Brent and Rachel and the grandkids in about a week. We will have to get re-acquainted with the two youngest boys, as they barely know us. In the meantime, we are enjoying Lexi, and are looking forward to another granddaughter in June.

It was a thrill for us to go with our friend Bev to see “Horton” on opening night, and to see Tom’s name up on the big screen, and to see how well the film was received by the crowd. It was one of those “proud parent” moments that we are allowed to have from time to time.

Brent and Rachel

Brent's business had been going pretty well doing web design. The only problem that we've run into is not knowing exactly when people will be able to pay. He's also kept busy with his ward calling as mission leader. Rachel has been staying at home with the kids and herding them off to school and other fun things:) She also works two shifts a week at the hospital close by (she gets to walk there it so close). Both of us feel like it's been hard, but is what we are supposed to do right now for other reasons than the money.

Emma is busy playing with friends and is doing great at school. Her Spanish accent is beautiful. She also has taking the leap to sing in the ward choir. She has wanted to for awhile, but was afraid. She decided to just do it one day and loves it:) Aaron is busy playing with logos and drawing. Bionicles are is new favorite toy. He is able to make the most amazing things with those toys. He also enjoys going to school, especially snack and recess. Dallin and Joseph are bombing around the house together while the older two are at school. The big Duplos are one of their favorites also. Jacob is noisy and wiggly. And is loved by everyone.

Welcome Leavitt family. I really am wanting to try and keep everyone in touch and thought this might be the best way. For right now, I would like to have everyone e-mail a monthly update to let us know what's going on. I might try and do some other stuff also later on. So, stay posted:)