By Lisa Allen, July 9
It's our turn to start the monthly reports.
Well is hot here. And then it's not. And then it is. And then it's nice. So we just take the good days when we get them.
Last week was our official family vacation week. We drove to Michigan and rented a little cottage on the beach. We all loved it so much. The beach was so clean and the weather was beautiful and just right. The kids loved the jacuzzi. And we went to a train museum near by and rode very mini trains. Asher was in heaven.
Then we came home for a day then drove down to Champagne IL with about 4 or 5 families that we are friends with. It was a farm with a little pond that everyone could swim with. It was so fun.
So we are kind of still recovering from all the vacation fun.
Hannah is starting to earn money. She has her usual chores, but then I will pay her for extra stuff. And when I watch some of my friends kids I'll pay her to help me keep the babies happy. She tries to save her money for some of the big stuff she wants (like a hair coloring kit for little girls) but she usually can't wait and ends up spending her money. She currently has 4 or 5 dollars and is saving up for a snake. She is obsessed with getting a pet. I hoping she will lose interest. But trying to be supportive at the same time. I'm not a big pet person anymore.
Asher is his usual self. Naked and obsessed with trains. He makes us laugh with his funny words and non-sense explanations for things.
Short and sweet this month.
Love you all!
Lisa Christensen, July 10
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haha, I laughed, Lisa, when I read about Hannah and Asher. They are very funny kids. I love how she is learning about money. And Asher....that is hilarious. I'm sure as his mother, you agree;D
Andrew's email for those that don't have it is aaxelc@gmail.com
Well, Andrew and I are Back in Vegas now for good. We are staying in his moms vacay rental for this month and then after that we will be renting a small house. We quit Andrew's internship-we didn't want to do it in the first place but let ourselves get talked into it. Andrew wanted to take the summer off and start the company he has wanted to start for some years now and finish his internship in the fall or spring. Which he still plans on doing. We just won't be doing it with Boy Scouts. We don't like Boy Scouts anyway. Andrew feels they are no longer an organization of integrity-paying their execs too much and the boys paying a lot to participate and nothing goes back to the boys. For example, Andrew told me how much the camps are run down before we got there. I thought he was exaggerating but he def wasn't. The first week we were there was staff week and our program director fell through the stairs in his cabin and broke his ankle. The leadership and the way that situation was handled was sad and ridiculous. After that, we made the decision to come home and felt that our summer would be better spent by me preparing to go to NYC in Sept to record and Andrew starting his business. So that's what we did. And we don't regret it.
We will be in Dallas this week. If you want to check out Andrew's new site, it's diamondbodytraining.com. Andrew is still working on it.
Hello family!
It was fun to hear from Lisa and Jared - that sounded like a fun vacation week! - and Lisa and Andrew - I checked out the website, pretty cool! I don't think Kevin and I sent an update for June, so sorry about that! We don't have internet at our apartment since our awesome neighbors Charlie and Liz who we shared internet with moved on Sunday : (, so I'm writing on my lunch break at work to make sure we don't have a repeat of June!
Anyway, we are both doing well. Kevin got a part time job working with a boy named Joel who has down syndrome and epilepsy. He is about Kevin's age, but isn't able to walk or talk. He has this cool hi-tech computer that tracks where his eyes are looking so that he can communicate by looking at letters on the screen to spell words - pretty cool, huh! So Kevin and him practice talking and Kevin takes him to the ASU Memorial Union to meet girls (not Kevin, Joel : ). Kevin starts school at the end of July and he is getting ahead by studying his anatomy book and reading another book about preparing for med school.
Kevin is SUPER helpful at home now, too. He is still doing all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. while I'm in crunch mode for my last section of the CPA exam. I passed my last test I took in May and am taking my last section on July 25th (I'm trying really hard to take them before Kevin starts school). I will appreciate your prayers a lot, I will need them. I don't think I have it in me to take another one of these! I'm really looking forward to being finished with the exams.
We did have a ton of fun a couple of weeks ago at the Diamondbacks game. University of Phoenix (I work for the parent company) is a huge sponsor and so they have some sweet tickets in the "Clubhouse" right behind home plate. I usually am not a huge baseball fan but it was by far the most exciting game I had been to. The Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs (sorry Jared and Lisa) 10-5. And it is very exciting sitting behind home plate not just because of the view but because there are a ton of foul balls coming your way all the time - very exciting.
Random fact of the month is that I am on a lucky streak - did you know that I have won a bunch of stuff in the last 3 months or so? I seriously never win anything. It all started when I entered a contest on the phoenix suns website when I was checking their schedule -
1. I won 2 box seats to the Phoenix Suns game and got to go on the court during the 3rd quarter for a 1 in 5 chance at a half court shot for 100K (no, I didn't get to take the shot, but thank goodness!)
2. Phoenix Symphony tickets - I won them by calling into KBAQ on my way to a work meeting in the middle of the day - random
3. A hotel stay - raffle at employee appreciation week
4. a giftcard to groupon from work
5. The D-back tickets
I keep telling Kevin we need to apply to the Amazing Race (my favorite show) before this lucky streak ends!. It has been a blessing because Kevin and I have rarely had to spend money when we go on dates which is appreciated as we are trying to save money for med school! And, it has given us an opportunity to relax and do some really fun things even though this has been a stressful/busy last couple of months for both of us. We are very grateful!
Hope you are all well! We love you!
Diana and Kevin
The Big Havasupai Hike
The big news from me this month is, I finally made it to Havasupai Falls and back and actually survived. The “and back” part is where some people flat out lied to me. I’ll get to that later.
Everyone told me that I should go. Their website says, “Our Canyon's allure is the blue-green waterfalls that captivate and enchant many people around the world.” If anyone ever wanted to be captivated or enchanted it’s me. One of their enchanted visitors had this to say: "One of the greatest experiences ever. I think this is going to turn into a yearly thing."
With reviews like that how could anyone pass up the opportunity? My opportunity came when Grayson’s Priest Quorum group said that that they were going to go for a super activity and the fathers were welcome to come.
So I walked a lot and tried to get in some kind of shape. I walked along the canal banks in Mesa. I hiked up the Peralta Trail in the Superstitions a couple of times. I hiked up and down Squaw Peak and Camelback Mountains. I would like to thank Mom for going with me. It was nothing for her.
Anyway, people said (Marie, Mom, and Diana) if I could do those hikes I could do Havasupai. I guess they were right. Everyone was right about the switch back part. They were hard. The part that I was deceived about was the 6.5-mile hike from the village to the base of the switchbacks. I was told (by Diana and maybe Marie, but definitely Diana) that this part was flat. It’s not. It’s up hill. Maybe not as up hill as the switchbacks but up hill nonetheless.
On a side note, why do they call it Havasupai Falls? You hike to Supia Village and one of the waterfalls is called Havasu Falls but there is no “Havasupai Falls”. What’s the deal?
My tailbone is still sore. Let me explain. I went to see what Mooney Falls was all about and someone dared me to jump. So I did. Nobody told me that the pool below the falls was only 5 feet deep and I hit my tailbone on a rock and it’s still sore as of today. Did I say Mooney Falls, I meant Supai Falls.
It was a good, not great but good, experience and I’m glad I did it. I actually enjoyed all the work leading up to the “enchantment”. I think that I went to see if I could hike back out. Maybe I should have enjoyed the water more. I have the satisfaction that I did something hard.
For those people who said: "I think this is going to turn into a yearly thing" you are slow learners. I want Grayson to be a slow learner. I have 40 years on Grayson. So Grayson, in 40 years I want you to get yourself in shape and do Havasupai Falls.
Speaking of slow learners, if I do it again I think I will let a horse take my pack down and up and just take a light day pack with snacks and water. I would take a mandatory stop every one or two hours to eat trail mix and drink water and enjoy the trip more.
While the group was playing in the new Navajo Falls another guy and I decided to hike to the village. While I was relaxing on top of a picnic table with my shoes and socks off, two Indians came walking up the trail. They seemingly were paying no attention to us, but as they walked by one of them stopped, turned to us, raised his hand and said, HOW. Then he walked on. I laughed.
It’s good to read HOW you are all doing. I am proud of all of you and love you all. You may not need it, but all of you are in our prayers every day.
ha ha, I am so glad to see that Diana's plan worked! She was trying to kill you off (Pop Allen) so we could gain the inheritance of the family treasures...but I guess we will just have to try to put poison in one of her coconut cream pies or something to do the trick. I think that thought came from watching National Treasure recently too (not the coconut cream pie thing). Yet another thing we can inherit from you when our evil plan comes to full fruition, more movies. I talk about movies a lot because that's what I watch when I am doing stuff at home, as Diana mentioned. My favorite as of late has probably been The Fiddler on the Roof. I had never seen it before. Great movie, great music, and some great shaking done by the main character during the "If I were a rich man," song. Ha ha. That part is hilarious. I had a friend that would often imitate that and it makes me think of Him. Oh and the "Pop Allen" thing came from Zoolander. Not a movie that I would recommend watching, but that's a hilarious quote from it. Here's a link so you can look at the 9 second long clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6QLMUwVBeY
Just for reference, he says that to his father after he has worked one day in the mines, while his brothers have worked for their whole lives in there. Funny stuff. Maybe the little bit doesn't do it justice though. Like I said, I wouldn't recommend watching more than that from the movie though because it tends to get out of hand.
Anyhow, I sent on what Diana said to my family and included this in our update so I thought I would send it your way too.
The thing Diana did not mention is STAR WARS. I borrowed all the movies from the kid that I take care of that she mentioned and I have been going through pretty much the whole saga or whatever you would call it. I felt it was something that I needed to do since I won't see them for the next ten years ;-). Anyhow, I just watch them as I do stuff around the house.
I am getting ready to go fish sometime too. I have seen some big fish in the canal that we go running by in the morning, but I am not sure if they are catfish, carp, or what. I am hoping for catfish so I can eat them because one of them had to be like 20" long. I guess they are algae suckers no matter what but we will see if we can make something of them. I don't get fish too often and I am hoping for something good! We will see. I will likely end up trying to go early Saturday morning to beat the heat. We will see if that is possible in Arizona ;-).
I am also just getting affairs ready for us to move and also doing little things to get everything as ready as it can be for medical school. What I mean by that is calculating out how much loans we need to take out and such. The government offers $87500 a year for expenses, because that's about how much it would cost for me and Diana to be able to survive and have me go to school IF she were NOT working. However, we only had to take out $56000, so we cut down by like $32000 for the first year at least and with 7.9% interest on that puppy it is a good feeling! I sound like an accountant right now with all this talk though...thanks goes to Dad and Diana for that one. I have pretty much lived with an accountant all my life, I figured out, but I am glad for it! It has taught me to not get myself into trouble with money and be a slave to it. Diana and I trying to save money is almost like a fun little game for us too. It is nice to see how much you can save if you are really trying to :-).
Love you guys!
By Marie Guthrie, July 12
My favorite Kevin-ism. "Spendy" it's an adjective used to describe something that is expensive- or pretty much anything you would spend money on :)
The Guthrie's update:
We have had a great summer so far. We've been busy swimming. Grace does swim team in the mornings, then all the kids take lessons while I teach them. Then it's home for lunch and naps (if you're lucky) and then we usually end the day at the pool as well. Grace does a great job at swim team, and is the youngest on the team. I am currently teaching Julie's swim lesson class (sea horse) she does great! She is a little fish- she can hold her breath forever- and she will now go off the diving board (which she's really not supposed to do until she's 5, so don't tell anyone:)
Kyle is also a fish in his own right. He loves to swim. He will bring you his swim suit and say "swim, swim!" he blows bubbles, kicks, jumps in, submerges on his own accord, and can actually put it all together and make forward progress in the water. It's pretty fun to watch him.
Grace really wanted to ride the flow rider at Rhodes. We told her she could- but that she had to earn her own money to pay for it. So she did! We provided her with some extra chores she could do for money, and she worked hard. I think she is now sick of folding laundry:) She has also started taking an abacus math class from a lady in our ward- Sung Turley. Sung is an amazing lady- she moved to America from Korea when she was 13. She learned English (sink or swim style) and went on to get 2 Masters degrees in Engineering. She worked as an Engineer until her son was born. Now she teaches abacus out of her home. People come from all over the valley to take her class- and there are kids of all ages and abilities. Grace has done well so far- she can use her little abacus to do addition and subtraction simultaneously- and Sung was very impressed with her. Grace starts kindergarten in 3 weeks,and i think she's going to be very bored:)
At the end of June I spent 5 days at girls camp with our stake as the assistant girls camp director. (Thanks to Mom for watching our kids while I was away!) It was a great week- the girls did awesome and they had the best attitudes. (Even when it was so hot during the day- up to 100 with no ac, and our rappelling excursion got cancelled because the whole forest is closed because of fire danger) But despite that- everyone was happy and had a great time!
Alan is still working as full time faculty teaching intro business courses for grad and undergrad students. I am preparing to start teaching Let's Play music in the fall- there's a lot of prep right now- but hopefully that will make it easier for me later on:)
Life is good at our house. Though our house is busting at the seems- we have ac and food, and many other blessing for which we are grateful for.
Love you guys!
Marie
I can't think of anything very "new and exciting" to tell, but I really enjoy hearing everyone else's new and exciting news. I can vouch for Marie's kids being little fish. It really is true. As far as watching her kids, it is fun for me to get to do that because when I work, I'm not able to. I have loved the summer. I only have three weeks left now (where did the time go?). I have enjoyed the more relaxed schedule. I've even been cleaning out our desk. (I won't tell you how many years some of that stuff has been in there, but I threw out a few computer floppy discs) Yes, Diana we'll pray for you that you can pass your test. We will have to have a big party to celebrate when you pass! Andrew, sorry your internship didn't work out. That's a bummer because then you just can't finish your degree and be done with it--you still have that internship dangling. I hope it all works out for you. Good luck Lisa with the NYC thing. I hope that works out for you too. That would be really hard. Jared and Lisa, I'm glad you had such a nice vacation--that sounds so fun for you and for Hannah and Asher too. I'm very proud of Greg and the effort he went through to do the Havasupai hike. I'm glad he didn't have to carry Grayson out or anything. (Oh, the miracle of "BodyGlide"!). We just had a RS Meeting for people to come and learn to do indexing. I have just recently learned how and it was really fun and a great way to give service in your spare time. As Greg says, we sure love you all and pray for you every day. Love, Mom
