Happy Birthday Kevin!

Kevin celebrated his 20th birthday on February 11, 2008. It seems like yesterday that he was starting kindergarden at Ridgeview Elementary and now he's a freshman at Portland State University. Time really does go by quickly when you're having fun.

We love you Kevin!

Let It Snow!

Snow! What a beautiful sight to wake up to.

It's amazing how a blanket of snow changes the sights and sounds around us. The white covering makes everything more beautiful and the sounds change form the rushing of people and cars to the sounds of children and adults playing together.

These are pictures of our backyard. The first picture was taken at 9:00am on January 27th when there was approx. 2 inches of snow.

The second picture was taken at Noon and you can see how much snow is falling. There was approx. 4 inches of snow.

The third picture was taken at Noon also and if you look really hard you can see our cat with his glowing eyes hiding under a bush on the right side of the picture.

It started snowing again at 8:00 pm for about 45 minutes. Then we started getting phone calls from teachers wondering if school had been cancelled yet! At about 9:45 pm we got the official calls that all Lane County schools would be closed on Monday.

Yippee! It's still fun to get time off from school.

Building a Snowgirl - for Janae

On Monday, January 28th school was closed due to the snow. Steve had fun building a snowgirl to resemble Janae. He even gave her a necklace.

New Table and Chairs

Great Grandma and Grandpa Sharp gave Janae and Kiera this table and chair set for Christmas. After Papa put it together Janae wanted Kiera to sit at the table with her. So with a little help from Auntie Kim, Kiera sat at the table and Janae loved it.

2007 Graham Cracker Houses

One of our favorite family traditions is getting together around the Christmas Holiday to make Graham Cracker Houses.

This year Steve's graham cracker house was reminiscient of Camp Baker. Steve has spent many fun-filled summers with the scouts.

I chose a more traditional style of graham cracker house with lots of candy decorations.

Chris H. chose to construct a chainsaw in memory of the many years his family has gone up to the mountain to find their Christmas Trees.

Andrea built Santa's sleigh including packages to be delivered on Christmas Eve.

Chris B. went inside a graham cracker house and created an interior room, a media room with a flat screen TV.



Kim did a great job making a graham cracker violin.

Kevin put the most work in to his version of a Chinese Courtyard. It took him most of the evening to finish and was very impressive.

Flowers for my birthday!

Steve surprized me with a beautiful red rose and card. He took me out for a Lemon Pepper Crusted Salmon dinner and then took me to Sees Candy for a special chocolate treat.

Heather, Jeff, Janae and Kiera surprized me by sending this georgous bouquet of flowers to my office. I had lots of co-workers stop by to admire them. They lasted for over a week and smelled so good that I missed them when they were gone.

Kisses for baby sister.

The Sweetest Granddaughters Ever!

Here's Janae posing for a picture with her sister Kiera. Janae is 3 years old and Kiera is 5 weeks old, born on October 7, 2007.

Kiera's Blessing - Sunday, November 11, 2007

Kevin

This is a picture of Kevin playing a Star Wars Lego game with his cousin, Evan. Evan loves hanging out with Kevin.

Kevin is going to school at Portland State University. He is working on a double major in Finance and Chinese. He works part-time at Sports Authority in Jantzen Beach.

He is living with Heather and Jeff in Vancouver, Washington. On Tuesdays and Thursdays Kevin and Jeff ride to school together. They start their classes around 8:00am and get home about 9:00pm. Jeff is working on a Doctorate in Econometrics. They are both very busy.

Kim and Chris Blevins

This is a picture of Kim and Chris at a party sponsored by Chris's previous employer. They are currently living in Corvallis. Kim works at the Corvallis Clinic and is taking classes at Linn Benton Community College. Chris is attending OSU working towards a degree in pre-med and then podiatry. They attend a student ward where Kim teaches primary and Chris is a counselor in the Elders Quroum.

Andrea and Chris Hanson

Andrea and Chris are living in Portland. Andrea is working at Tualitan High School and Chris is attending OHSU and is in his second year of dental school. They team teach a lively group of 8 Sunbeams in their Ward.

We just found out that they are expecting their first baby in October! We are so excited for them and for us. We already know they will be great parents and we absolutely love being grandparents!

Heather, Jeff, Janae and Kiera Swanson

I just realized that the most recent picture I have of Heather and Jeff together was taken when Kiera was born on October 7, 2007. What a beautiful family.

Heather and Jeff are living in Vancouver, Washington. Jeff works for Schnitzer Steel and is working toward a Doctorate at Portland State. He also teaches the 17-18 year old Sunday School class in their Ward. Heather is a very busy mother of two and is serving as the Relief Society Enrichment Counselor.

Janae is three years old and very active. She started pre-school in February and loves it. Kiera is now 4 months old. She is rolling over from her back to her stomach and is close to sitting up on her own.

Steve and Brenda 2007-08

Steve is still working for Junction City School District. He finished his School Administrator program at the University of Oregon in August 2007 and received his Administrator License shortly thereafter. He was hired as the Assistant Principal at Territorial Elementary School for half of the day and continues to teach at Junction City High School for the other half of the day. He loves being a principal and working with the elementary age students. Of course, he still loves working at the High School too but has enjoyed the contrast between the two age groups.

I am still working for Lane Education Service District as the Human Resources Administrative Assistant. I enjoy my co-workers and the work I do. There is never a dull moment and just when you think you've heard or seen it all something "new" happens.

Our Growing Family

This is our most recent family photo taken in November 2005.

Back row from left: Chris H., Andrea, Kevin, Kim, Chris B.

Front row from left: Steve, Brenda, Janae, Heather, and Jeff. It's time to get a new one taken...Heather and Jeff had their second daughter, Kiera June, on October 7, 2007.