Mark

Nothing exciting has been happening around here. We are still waiting to hear what Ya-ping is doing. The doctors in Taiwan are supposed to tell her today (their Monday) what they are planning to do about her kidney stones. My sweet brother has looked at some of her labs and told us what he thinks about them. Taiwan doctors are just filling her with antibiotics but they don't seem to be helping what ails her. We'll let you know when and if we know anything.

On a brighter note - this week is Mark's 17th birthday. He still doesn't drive by himself except around the ward. Utah has imposed a 40 hour practice time with parents and Mark hasn't completed that yet. He is such a recluse that he seldom likes leaving the house and when he does he won't drive on the freeway or with too many people in the car. I think he is ready to go on his own but he is impecably honest and won't until all 40 hours are done to the minute. He is having some self-esteem problems currently. I don't know why he doesn't know what a great kid he is. He is helpful, kind, honest, smart and funny. Allie will help him figure out some of that stuff because she worships the ground he walks on. Now that she says his name she is constantly talking to him and asking him to do things with her or for her. He is a great uncle. He will play Ring around the Rosie for long stretches of time and gives her most anything she wants.

Well, I need to get ready for work. Don't forget to watch for Mark in the choir on the Sat. afternoon session of conference. We will tape it for those of you who aren't lucky enough to see it.

Success

Wow! I changed the template about 6PM and finally about 9 it changed itself. Now I will have Dave see if he can get the most recent comments posted. I go along thinking I am pretty computer savvy than I try to do somethings and I figure out how incompetent I am.
We still don't know when Ya-ping is coming home. She really wants to stay in Taiwan but we are hoping we can convince her to come back soon. It would be hard to live in another country but either she or David has to do that.

Oops

I tried to help Todd out and change my sidebar. You can see that I just messed up my blog. I am still trying to fix my damage. Wish me luck.

Thanks Todd

Thanks Todd for posting so often. It gives us blog junkies something new to look at when we pull up the blogs seven times a day.
Another week down at school. Our class this year is very chatty and it will take us a while to get that under control. They are doing a little bit better. I stayed at school until after 5 yesterday (the kids go home at 12:30) because I have so much to do. I even brought two tests home to grade after all that time. I am trying to do a better job with Science this year and that takes some doing. I am thinking about taking a class in a couple of weeks about Utah wildlife. Our kids are not great readers this year so we will have to work on getting those skills up and running. I have a mom willing to come volunteer on a regular basis so I need to get that set up. I will probably use her during reading time so I can have smaller groups.
Ya-ping has an enlarged kidney and will have an ultrasound on Monday. We should have a better idea then about what they want to do and how long it will take. I find myself wishing she would just come and have the workups done here in America. We do have lots of problems with our healthcare system (price for poor students being one of them) but it sure has it good points. I generally trust the doctors and hospitals here. We'll keep you posted.

Ya-ping safe in Taiwan

Ya-ping called last night. She made it safely to her parents house in Kaoshang. She said Preston was pretty cute on the plane. Some other passengers played with him and took him for walks so Ya-ping could rest a little. She didn't get to sleep for more than 24 hours so she has to be totally exhausted. Hopefully she'll get some rest in Taiwan with her family there to help. David is depressed and has just stayed in his room. Jesse got him to come out for a little bit yesterday to play with Dave's camera. Hopefully this couple of weeks will just fly by.

Good news/ Bad news

The good news is that the smell did come out of the trailer refrigerator! We used a bleach solution and are back to normal. It was nice to get the trailer so clean again. I know it won't last long, but for now it is great. If only I could do my house so quickly and easily.
The sadder news is both good and bad. Ya-ping and Preston are leaving us for a couple of weeks. I am glad for Ya-ping and her family because she has wanted to go home so badly, but it will be hard to have them gone. We know Allie will ask everyday where Gago and baby are. I also expect David to be a bit depressed. Ya-ping has a two week ticket with an option to stay 3 weeks. David says after two weeks he will quit eating until she gets home. (that is the one area that Ya-ping worries most about - Dave's eating habits) I am glad that Ya-ping gets to show Preston off to her family. He is the cutest, happiest baby. He is jabbering a lot lately just like Kathryn. He can "give you five" and waves goodby. I would not be surprised if he learned to walk while he is gone. I am so glad for the internet because I know we can talk to and see them via webcams.

Fillmore

We just finished our annual Labor Day campout to Fillmore Canyon. Rick's family meet every Memorial and Labor Day and as many people come as possible. It was nice and cool with some light rain. Allie was spoiled by some cousins and is having a hard time being home and not having someone at her beacon call. Dave and Ya-ping stayed home so they are in trouble. The family hasn't seen much of Preston and they wanted to get to see him. It is fun to see the next generation all together. We love having our trailer. We just have to pack food and clothes and everything else is all there together. We had a little tragedy this time. We had forgotten to take a sausage out when we emptied the fridge last time, so our fridge stunk BAD! We brought the trailer home (we usually leave it in Fillmore over the winter) so that we could work on getting the smell out. Hope all is well with you all.