Friday, October 31, 2008

autumn

Dear Family,
    I have decided that I m going to learn how to do this so I am not afraid of trying to find out what is happening to our family and look at all your cool pictures.  That is my next step is to figure out how to put pictures on, not that I have that many.  But as boring as a letter is without pictures, you'll just have to wait til next time.  Update on those of us here.  Isaac finished football today.  The game was with Alta and we won't mention the score, but they improved in the second half.  He'll find something to occupy his after school time I am sure.  Doubt that it will be homework, but we can keep hoping.  Actually, his grades aren't that bad for the load he has had.  He might fail seminary, but that is the only things.  His dreams still consist of a motorcycle and watching himself drive off (fast) in the sunset or up a hill or over a sand dune.  Dream on.  Dad ties flies, goes fishing, or mostly watches Hannity and Coombs.  What will he do after the election?  Be sure to vote and remember the early Americans and what the Revolutionary war was fought for and those founding fathers' dreams of America.  Sometimes I think that the big and spacious building is next door.  It feels like it anyway with so many people throwing out values and common sense.  Okay, let's turn off those guys and continue.  Me, the musical is over, thanks to all who came, that was very nice of you.  The visiting teaching enrichment is over, and thank you Catherine for all your late night help.  Now it is just back to a normal (whatever that is) routine. 
  Here are things Dad and I really like:  Your coming to visit whenever it is; inviting us to programs, games, and other special events;  Sunday dinners; when you come and help in the yard and play; pictures; thank you notes or any letters;  and lots more and it all has to do with you, our family.
    Some things to look forward to:  Thanksgiving will be on thanksgiving, Nov. 27.  Those who can come let us know and those who can't can come , come on Friday. We will have left overs and play.  Then eat some pie.  In December, Aaron graduates on Dec. 5.  We will be going back to cheer him on.  On Dec. 13 is the Jon Schmidt Concert.  Those who have spoken for tickets are Miriam and Jordan, Hyrum and Jenna, Dad and Mom, and I have four left.  Gingerbread houses will be on the Saturday afternoon (around 3:00 p.m.) and each child should bring their own house or train or bus or whatever to decorate.  This seemed to work well last time.  We will provide the candy and frosting and  anything else to make it interesting.  Most of you have your Christmas Eve traditions now, so we will just come visit you on Christmas.  We might be going during the break to do something with Isaac and anyone else who wants to join us.  Probably snowmobiling up at Yellowstone.  (Okay, that brings back memories, but we have to create some for Isaac.)  If there is snow we will organize a sledding party and try to have some fun.  If there are other things you would like to host or do let us know and we will schedule them in. 
    Jordan is having a baptism tomorrow.  Wayne and Donna are being baptized.  Beth, the other one, has moved and is finishing the lessons there.  He has admonished us to make sure our food storage is intact.  Also pack one bag with duct tape, scissors, pocket knife, matches, plastic bags, etc. rope, anything that could help out that way.  We often forget the things that make all the difference.  Let conference messages be our guiding post this next six months.  FHE can always be an adaptation of a talk.  We need to burn it into the hearts of our children that they must follow the prophet no matter what.  The very best thing you can do is to teach your children to pray, to love the Saviour and to choose the right.  It is a mad, mad world out there and will become less safe as these next few years unfold.  Stay close as a family and spend time with each of your children.  Love them and teach them.  There will be less problems in the future if you teach them the gospel now.  That takes time and effort but it is worth every sleepless moment.  We love you and love what you are doing.  We love your children and are so thankful for you.  We pray for each of you every day.  Stay happy and as this festive season approaches, may we be filled up with giving thanks.  "Count your many blessings , name them one by one.  And it will surprise you what the Lord has done."
                                                                                                                                                  Love you, Mom and Dad


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Sunday, October 19, 2008

Live from American Fork!

So, it being my turn to write our entry I have some kudos and gratitude to give out.

Thank you to Alicia, Travis and Family for making it a great conference weekend for us. We sure had a great time and the accomodations were awesome!

Thank you to Mom Pitt and who ever else watched our kids so I could go down to my Grandma's in SLC. It was good to see my Whitchurch family especially my Grandma. And thank you as well for helping us make Rebekah's birthday a memorable one!

Mostly though I want to give my kudos (great job) and gratitude to my wonderful husband. Ryan has been so supportive to me and the kids in all we do. He always has our best interest in mind and has been a real trouper in getting to be with the kids a lot more on the evening nights when I have to be gone for YW or dance. I am forever grateful that we met so long ago in the summer of 1994.

Well, September was full of fun and birthdays for us as I know it was for most all of you. We had fun celebrating Matthias' first birthday as I already posted and then a couple of days later Ryan and I had a great date out some friends of ours to celebrate Ryan's birthday. (A BIG thank you to Hyrum and Jenna for watching our kids that night!) In between the Matthias' and Ryan's birthdays, Ryan and I got to run a relay marathon with a couple of our friends and their brother. It was so much fun! We both really like to run, but it was real cool to do it in a relay and be on a team. I think the next race I am shooting for is another half-marathon some time the end of next summer.

The kids are all thriving and doing well. We just had parent teacher conferences and one of our children's teachers said "I wish the whole school was full of Pitts!" and I replied back that he could fill a couple of classrooms full of them. Anyway we are grateful are kids are having a generally positive experience in their education. I grateful I am to educators who value the individuality of each child in the classroom and looks for ways to magnify their great spirits.

Our soccer season ended last Saturday. Both Joshua and Lydia played this year and did a great job. Rebekah took the year off. She is loving her dance class and I think her teacher too. She really is an amazing dancer and it is so fun to watch her move so gracefully. Lydia is enjoying dance, but keeps asking me when she gets to go to gymnastics. Sarah is loving dance and pre-school and every day she wakes up saying is it "dance day or pre-school day?"

Our lives are full and then some, which has made me grateful for the quiet (or not so quiet) moments of the day where I get focus on just playing with kids or reading stories or just talking to Rebekah. I find that when I recognize these moments of my life that I really have nothing but gratitude to give to my Heavenly Father. What more could I ask for than a loving family, a home to raise them in and the gospel to share with them!

We hope you all know how very much we love all of you near and far. You are always in our prayers and our thoughts. Have a great October and a very spooky Halloween!

Love the Pitt clan in AF

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

I am now a Blogger!


So it has taken me almost a year to figure this out. Well, actually it just took a call to Ryan, but Jenny and I are officially on the blog site. There is a lot we could write about, but the most exciting thing that has happened in our lives lately has been our trip to Italy. It has been a month now since we left. We planned the trip for over three years, and I cannot believe how fast it came and how fast it went. We had the most amazing time. We started out in Venice where, as you all know, the streets are not streets but canals. You know how they say the city is on the water. Well, when we were there, they were definitely right. We got there just as a massive rain storm hit and flooded the main square. Water was up past our ankles. It was a crazy experience. We then went to Pisa where we participated in a, Mass that was held in a beautiful cathedral right next to the leaning tower. It was all in Italian, but we felt the spirit of those priests who had given their lives to serve God. We left Pisa and traveled to Cinque Terra. Cinque Terra is a region along the Mediterranean Sea made up of five cities joined together by hiking trails. This place was Italy at it's finest. The pace was slow, the people were nice, and the views were breathtaking. All of the cities are set into the mountainside overlooking the sea. The surrounding areas are made up of terraced grape and lemon tree vineyards. Dad would have loved to see their jet black soil. No wonder they can grow anything over there. We then went to Florence. The city of the Renaissance.


The highlight of this city was mixed for Jenny and me. Jenny would say it was the Ufizi gallery, an amazing collection of the most remarkable paintings of the Renaissance period. Or, she might say it was the Academia where we saw the David statue by Michelangelo. I, on the other hand, would say the highlight of that city was renting a scooter and cruising around the town. Scooter drivers are crazy in Florence and, besides the convenience of getting around the town, driving with those crazy drivers was awesome. Actually the real highlight of Florence for both of us was the gelato (Italian ice cream) I think we had gelato at least five times a day in Florence.

We then traveled to Voltera. Voltera is a castle town set in the heart of Tuscany.
It was as if we were back in time. The roads were cobble stone and narrow. The shops were quaint. The people didn't speak English, and the food was unbelievable.

The best part about Voltera was driving through the countryside to get there. We arrived just before dark and the city was all lit up. It was as if we were driving up to a medieval castle.

We went from Voltera down to Rome. We finished our trip with two days in Rome. Rome is unbelievable. It is ancient city meets big city. We ate in great squares and saw amazing buildings. We saw the Coliseum, the Pantheon and the Vatican. We listened to an Italian opera in St. Mary's Cathedral. There was so much to see and do in Rome. I have to say that our entire trip turned out perfect. Our planes were on
time, our luggage got there in one piece, our GPS lead us to every place we needed to go; and, for the most part, the weather was great. I must say that the best part of the trip for me was just simply being with Jenny. She is so much fun to be with. We have been married now ten years, and every year gets better and better. I absolutely love being with her, and going to Italy together was amazing. We will blog again soon. Love Jason, Jenny and Kids

Monday, October 13, 2008

P-TOWN

Well family my in-laws happened to run across our family blog and reminded us that we hadn't written in quite some time. I do apologize for that and submit that we will do better. Just to fill you in on the most important news....are you ready for it....we got a Bosch mixer. I know very exciting huh. So ok that isn't the most exciting news however its amazing was how priorities change once you get married. When i was single i only invested in music, shoes, and an ocasionaly arby's melt. Now that I am married i am constantly searching online for nice comforters, curtains, and kitchen appliances.

So on to the real important and exciting stuff. For those of you that don't know, Jenna and I are both taking full loads here at school. Jenna is taking 18 credits, and I am with 17.5. We both work, I as a TA for the framing class and the electrical class and Jenna works in the testing center. We both involved with our respective majors acting in various leadership roles in our clubs. I just found out that I got chosen for the Design Build competition team so I will be putting in a lot of time for that. We will be going to Reno next semester to compete and probably to Vegas for a convention. We were called as the ward greeters in our ward and are in charge of the program each week. Last week we failed miserably in our duties since they were reorganizing the bishopric and didn't happen to tell us. We just put down "Testimonies" for the program like any normal fast sunday but were suprised when no testimonies were given. Oh well, we tried. Other than that we frequent the Lavell Edwards Stadium every home football game and enjoy our second row seats, watch an ocasional movie, and check the paper for coupons and specials. Jenna also manages through all this to always cook a great meal and she has a place looking pretty sweet. (you are all welcome to come over whenever you want) Needless to say you now know why I am not going to re-read and edit this after I get done...I simply do not have the time.

Well thats about it. It was really good to see some of you over conference weekend and really fun to come to some of the many soccer games that happen each week. We love you all and hope you all well.

WITH A LOT OF LOVE,
HYRUM & JENNA