Wendy Settles In

Wendy just finished her master's degree in civil and environmental engineering at BYU and is ready to start hunting for oil with Exxon-Mobile. (Remember to click on the pictures for a closer look.)


So we headed out to Houston to find her a place to live. She'll be on the third floor of this apartment complex in Spring, Texas.


When she stands on her balcony, she should be able to see the Houston Temple one block away. Here you see Wendy and Debbie showing off the grounds.


Robert and Jen live about half an hour away near Memorial Park. Here you see them with Braden.


Here you see Wendy and Debbie with Ella checking out the dinosaur bones as they find out in the Natural History Museum how oil is formed.

Meeting Eric

You might remember me telling you about a missionary who wrote last January after his mission in Romania "this isn't a proposal, but Sora Thompson is the best missionary in Romania" and requesting that we add him to the missionary letter forwarding list. In July after Grandma's Camp he came to Florida to check things out.


He didn't know it, but he had to be put through the Thompson testing system to see if he was good enough for Debbie. Of course, first of all he had to pass the horse lovers test...


then the water lover's test...




the bubble catching test...


and the adventuresome explorers test.


He also had to pass the relatives worthiness interviews. (Not all of these are relatives--just the row he is sitting on. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you'll see Chrissy and Randy doing their family duty.)


Last of all, we went to Layton, Utah to meet his family. Wendy and Debbie are on the left. The rest are most of his family. We also checked his reading history. He has read all the Louis L'Amour cowboy stories, Mom Caroly's favorites. He's passed all his tests so far.

The Florida Thompsons 2009

Here are all the Florida Thompsons together for the first time in several years now that our last child is home from her mission. (Remember, you can click on pictures for a closer look. The families are color coded so you can tell which child belongs to which parents in the group pictures.)


Here are Roger and Caroly (grandpa and grandma)


Carrie, Allie, Maddie and
Cassie (Daddy Jammie had to leave earlier in the week to get back to work)


Troy, Aurelia, David
Mary, Sage (the bulge is Stephen), Victoria, Jessica, and Summer


Rob, Jen, Braden
Ella


Joe, Heather
Spencer, Blake,and Joseph


Corby, Bonnie, Brenna
Maren, Conner (Daddy Sean had to get back to work)


Chrissy and Randy


Debbie, Kim, and Wendy

Grandma's Camp 2009

What happens when you rent a 4000 square foot beach house...


and invite all 18 grandchildren...


and their parents for a week of fun?


Well, you watch great sunrises...


fend off pirates...


and hunt for buried treasure.


You build sand castles...


play in the surf...


fly kites...


wrestle gators...



and go for boat rides...


in search of dolphins...


and mermaids.


Throw in some tumbling...


story telling...


and quilt making.


Then end it all with a great sunset.

Grandma's Camp Preview

Are you getting ready for Grandma's Camp?


Don't expect to stand around in your fancy clothes pretending to have a good time. (Remember to click on a picture for a closer view.)


You're going to have a week of adventures and fun. For example, how would you and your cousins as a team harvest mangoes high up in a tree (with adult supervision, of course)?


You could shake the branches...


or climb up the tree...



or stand on someone's shoulders.


Maybe you'd prefer to stand around being beautiful.


In any case, you'd get plenty of mangoes to share.


Maybe instead, you'll get to go snorkeling looking for sea creatures...


but watch out for sand monsters.


No matter what you do, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful Florida sunrises and sunsets. See you there in July!!