School Winds Down and Summer Vacation Begins!

So a few quick updates. . .

Mark, Tess, Jayna and Brenna Webster, Levi, and Jake Evans

We enjoyed a lovely 9-mile hike on a perfectly cloudy Memorial Day in the Iceberg Wilderness (about an hour up the hill from our house), with the Websters and Levi's friend Jake!

Tess, Levi, and Mom "picking cherries"

Our cherry trees (really, just one that produces much) went into high production mode, and despite the fact we shared some with the birds, we're enjoying the fruits of the harvest!

Ready to try drying some!

The graduate!

Of course, a high point of the end of the school year was Marta's graduation on Thursday night (June 6).  She did a fine job on her speech.  We did pull it together to have her computer (complete with decorative cover and neoprene holder) wrapped in a "brown paper package tied up with string" (you should be singing "My Favorite Things" as you think of that), and a dinner out, before graduation.  She didn't attend sober grad, opting to head directly to Stake Youth Conference instead.  So, we celebrated as much as we could before, and now graduation is long past.

Luke thinks our family looks pitifully small in this picture!

Besides last days of school filled with movies and swimming parties and Levi playing at Soulsbyville's graduation, our other major activity was Modesto North Stake Youth Conference.  I was asked to be nurse, which involved some prep and some tricky maneuvering to get things going Thursday morning then jump back to home and graduation and afterward (with a van full of 1st ward boys) head to youth conference again and get back in the saddle.  It was a privilege to associate with some of the finest leaders in the stake, and try to be part of uplifting the youth.  I loved the musical number they practiced, and then performed at Stake Conference on Sunday.  

While the girls were at Youth Conference, Levi and Dad did a "training backpacking trip" to El Capitan.  

Impressive, eh?  Okay, really they didn't climb the face of it, but they did about 18 miles to get to the top from the backside.  

So now we're looking forward to the lazy days of summer.  Ha!  Tess has procured a job at Tuolumne Pool (but she's still working on her license. . .so Mom drives), Marta will be lifeguarding at Twain Harte Lake, Water Polo camp starts tomorrow, the assault on Half Dome is scheduled for Monday, and there are still cherries to be picked and dried.  Let the games begin!

Denise

Oliver Wood?

We received word yesterday that Luke arrived to his mission in Birmingham from the Preston MTC, and was assigned to the town of Stroud.  His companion's name is Elder Wood.!

Elder Wood and Elder Houghton

Oliver Wood?

We're huge "Harry Potter" fans at the Houghton home.  Thus, the news that Luke, in England,  had been assigned a training companion with the name of Elder Wood brings this to mind. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vZL4eHdhRM 

Hope Luke learns to be a great "Seeker."  

Denise

2 Down, 3 to go!

Luke's off!  We dropped him off at the Sacramento airport at 4:00 this morning, and away he flew!  In the man time, we visited teh Sacramento temple last night and did some family baptisms before we took a few hours of sleep and then said goodbye.  Going to the temple was a wonderful way to spend our last day with Elder Houghton!

 In the mean time, on Saturday Mom helped put on a service project for our church, while Dad supported the girls at their VOL league swim meet!  Tess came in 2nd in the 500 free, and Marta finished 2nd as well for her 100 backstroke- dropping her time to a 1:05!

Our cousins the Murphys came up for barbecue and an evening of fun on Saturday... oh, and they volunteered to do dishes!

 On Sunday we spent the afternoon eating and chatting with extended family from California- Caitlyn's on the left, then Macky, Luke, and Jacklyn, with Riley laying on top!

 Sunday Luke spoke in Sacrament Meeting, and we had an Open House/Missionary Farewell in the evening- complete with ice cream sundaes, light sabers, and wrestling!

 After the party was over and the family had left, Luke got to work doing some serious sorting and packing.

Tuesday we packed the suitcases into the van, and headed down to Modesto where Luke was set apart by President Marshall.  Then we drove to the temple, and now we have come full circle back to the beginning of the post!

Life goes on with school, swimming, signing up for college classes, work, senior projects, cooking, church activities, band practices, parades, AP tests, and more!  We will miss our latest missionary, but we know that he is where he needs to be!

If you wish to keep up with Luke on his mission, his emails and any photos he sends will be posted on his blog at www.elderlukehoughton.blogspot.com!  Enjoy!

And so we Marched into April...

We really do try to post, but sometimes, we get so caught up in living life (everything below), that it just doesn't make it to the list of priorities, but I think anybody reading this can probably relate.  Just note that everything I tell you about is not necessarily in order, but you will get the gist of it, I'm sure.

Dad, Marta, Levi, Luke and Mom got to go to the Jordan River Temple in Utah the week before Easter.

Our soon-to-be missionary in front of one of the best buildings on Earth!

Meanwhile, I stayed with some friends and became a certified Lifeguard!

 Dad has mountain fever- he made it up to Angel's landing with Levi in 3 hours in Zion's National Park (above), and took a quick trip up through the Sierras with Mom yesterday (below)!

Marta and I got to go to Disneyland with the Most Awesome Band in the Universe!

Me (far left) and my roommates walking through Downtown Disney.

Marta with some of her roommates waiting for dinner to arrive.

After many attempts (and fails) at a Sections qualifying time on the 500 freestyle, I finally did it two days ago.    Not only that, but I also got a personal record! :)!

At our high school, every senior must do a "project."  Marta's was putting on an event for the man below, who has taught at/substituted for our high school for 50 years now.  That is a lot.  Not to mention that he has the respect of every student on campus because of his jokes and stories.

His last name being Lemon, Marta made the whole event lemon themed (decorations, refreshments, etc.).  This resulted in lots of lemony leftovers that are still being consumed in our home on an almost daily basis.

 We also had April Fools' day, which Mom prepared for with gusto!  We had "dessert" first, which consisted of what appeared to be a cake, complete with piped frosting.  April Fools!  It was really meat loaf covered in mashed potatoes, some of which had been dyed green and piped onto the rest.  Sneaky Mom!  For veggies, we had Oscar the Grouch (shown above, although this wasn't ours).  Then we had "dinner." Rice Krispie Treats with licorice inside and covered in Fruit by the Foot results in very yummy sushi.





Despite the ice cream shown, I was not happy when this picture was taken.  That was the day that it was finalized that Marta, my roommate for 15 1/2 years (a.k.a. my whole life!), is going to leave me in August.  She officially has housing now, and she not only got a new roommate, but she is replacing me as well.  Her roommate is a lovely person (they've gotten to know each other), but she is the girl who must not be named in my presence.  Don't get me wrong, she is a fantastic person, but she is replacing me, which isn't her fault, but I am still getting over it.

A while back, Levi was selected out of hundreds of kids from our county to go to the California State Science Fair for his project (above right).  Since our grandpa provided the most assistance during the experimentation, he flew out for two days to go to the big event with Levi (above left).  As I understand it, they had a wonderful time and got to see lots of cool, sciency stuff!

Yet another fantastic thing that has happened lately was our Church's General Conference, in which we hear modern revelation from our inspired prophet (below right), Thomas S. Monson.  Afterwards, we decided to print out a bunch of our favorite quotes, make them look beauteous, and then put them in our guest bathroom. (below, right)

 Hermana Houghton has been working hard, being trained in her mission, and has started to train others now.    She is at left with her brand new trainee, her trainer, and her trainer's new trainee.  The work goes on!

Meanwhile, Luke has been preparing for his mission in England.  He will get back from BYU on Wednesday and leave a week from then to go straight to the British MTC.  We look forward to his return home and all the excitement of his leaving for two years, although we will miss him lots.

There has been lots happening and we will sincerely try to keep this here blog updated!

Pictures by Marta, captions by Tess.

The Plague

Drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs! The flu hit hard at the Houghton house this week, and Tess and Levi were comatose on the couch for days!  After holding out all week, I (Marta) got it as well and I am struggling to stay alive!  With the help of Mom, boxes of tissues, ibuprofen, sudafed, and other modern medicines, we might all pull through.

Belle the cat has been enjoying her increased inside-cat-freedoms, while we all lie around!

 In the meantime, Mom and Dad remain healthy, but sleepy

especially on this quiet Sunday afternoon.

 Marta and Tess are looking forward to being healthy again, and attending the Band field trip to Disneyland and the Hermosa Beach St. Patrick's Day parade this coming week.

 Mom, Tess, Marta, and some friends did spend Saturday at a conference called Time Out for Women in Visalia.  We heard from some great speakers and felt uplifted by the music and inspiring messages shared with us there.

Marta

Getting Your Ducks in a Row

Marta challenged me to write a post that fit the duck pictures and title she had inserted.  I think the pictures and title stem from a comment Mark made that emphasized Marta's need to get her SENIOR PROJECT in order before she romps off to Disneyland with the Sonora Golden Regiment Band.  And you might say that this first picture has some distinct similarities with the band. . .lines, streets. many participants, a leader, and noise, to name a few.

Golden Regiment Band

Marta's first duck picture.

Luke's official pre-mission
picture.  Love the stripes?

Now, "getting your ducks in a row" typically refers to putting things in order--in preparation for a significant event.  We have a number of significant events coming up in our family--Marta's SENIOR PROJECT being one of them.  Others include a trip to Utah to visit Luke and help him "line up his ducks" in preparation for his mission (he will only be home from school for a week before he needs to leave on May 1!)  Oh, and then there are the graduation and getting ready for college ducks for Marta.  The rest of us have our own duck situations, but they don't represent the significant milestones that Luke and Marta will be experiencing this Spring.

Being involved in the Young Women's program at church for almost all of the last eight years has often made me feel like this mother duck.  I was released from that responsibility on Sunday.  Not sure if I can get used to not having a brood of ducklings following along behind me!

And this picture reminds me of how it feels (like I'm underwater) when I haven't done what I need to do (Marta, note this) to "get my ducks in a row!"  It also kind of symbolizes how Tess and Levi are feeling.  They both have the flu.  Tess is especially down and out.  I think she's slept 44 of 48 hours for the last two days.  I hope she gets to feeling better! 

Can I tell you that bugging kids to get their SENIOR PROJECTS done makes me crazy?

Denise

February Frazzle

 First of all, I'd like you all to know that today was a Snow Day for the Soulsbyvillans!!  I'd also like you to know that this storm was completely unexpected, so unexpected in fact, that swim practice was held in the blizzard, which everyone expected to blow over.  As soon as school got out yesterday, it was a mad rush to the cars and buses, as students scrambled to get home in the slush that was quickly building into a couple of inches of snow.  Sonora cleared out fast, but some people were stuck on blocked or snow covered roads for hours.  Fortunately for Tess and I, we have some family friends who live about a mile away from the high school.  After fish-tailing while trying to get out of the parking lot, we opted to wait out the storm at their house and we were both very grateful for the warm house and food.  It was an adventure, and the best part of that adventure is that  today is a snow day!

 Now I am going to go back a few days and fill in some gaps in the calendar.  It has been crazy here!  A week-and-a-half ago, our family traveled to the Marin Headlands for a few days and enjoyed the beauty and sunshine of the beach and the bay.  We returned to school for a few days, during which I (Marta) discovered a serious poison oak rash (blisters and all), we celebrated Valentine's Day (notice the cleverly cut carrots below), swimming continued, and Marta and Tess went on "El World Tour" with the band and performed at all 6 of the elementary feeder schools in the county.  When the weekend hit Mom took a trip to San Francisco with her friend Jayna to see "Wicked" and visit the temple, Levi and Dad spent a night in the "snow" (there wasn't much left) at the Klondike Derby, and Marta and Tess held the fort down and made a very colorful cake (see pic. below) with the help of our friends Ariel and Brenna.  When everyone finally got back in the house Saturday night, we had a family meeting and Mom and Dad let us know that Dad was going to be released from his calling at church (2nd counselor in the bishopric).  We were all getting excited because after 6.3 years of him sitting on the stand, we'd finally get to sit with dear old Dad in church!  Of course, that's not what Heavenly Father had planned for us, and we found out that Dad had also been called to be the new Bishop of our ward.  Fortunately for Dad, I knew right away what he needed to be Bishop, so by Sunday morning we already had a nice stash of candy for his desk :)  On Sunday, Dad was sustained as Bishop Houghton and his two counselors were called as well.  Monday we spent the day cleaning out files and manuals in Dad's new office, and playing basketball at the church.  We also had the families of the 1st and 2nd counselors in the bishopric over, and enjoyed dinner and FHE with them.

 Anyway, I guess you could say that our family is embarking on a new chapter in life, and it's only getting more exciting.  We receive letters from Eliza and calls from an increasingly mission-anxious Luke all the time, and church, swimming, school, work, and retaining walls occupy the rest of our attention all too well.  

But it's days like these- when you're stuck at home for a while and Mother nature reminds you that she can control life more than any school project or swim practice- that time seems to hold still and give you a breather.  I love snow days!