Message from Mom, Etc.

Dear Family,

Perhaps I've been putting off doing the newsletter in hopes that August would put off arriving...nonetheless, here it is. After the reunion, we spent many hours thinking about how much we missed everyone. It's been a busy summer full of fun and get-togethers. Four out of six of our families have moved, some are still in the process, and some wish they could soon. We've stayed close to home dealing with Ken's shoulder injury. We've spent much time playing out the demands of the insurance company so the doctor can proceed. It might not seem efficient, but in the end I may have to miss some school to take care of him. I guess that's the bright side! Meanwhile we've been back and forth to the cabin. The weather's beautiful up there, and it keeps getting more and more comfortable. Good luck to everyone going back to school.

Love & prayers, Mom

Melanie & Andy

Here's an article that a Seattle magazine recently published.

Artist at Work: Dr. Andrew Atwood, Aesthetics of Bellevue

Charismatic, playful, and passionate are some of the words used to describe cosmetic and reconstructive dentist Dr. Andrew Atwood. His practice at Aesthetics of Bellevue is devoted to implants, full mouth reconstruction, and smile design. His patients and colleagues find him remarkably well rounded - proficient in science and technology and skilled in aesthetics, a real artist. He is fluent in Spanish and learning French and Italian.

He's most at home outdoors where he bikes, hikes, canoes, fishes, and camps with his wife and four children. Dentistry seems to run in his family. Among the network of professional colleagues he can call upon are his father, two brothers, and two brothers-in-law.

Dr. Atwood graduated from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, one of nation's top dental schools, where he won a prestigious grant from a division of the National Institute of Health to study lasers and their effect on tooth enamel. His undergraduate degree is in music composition from Brigham Young University. A gifted pianist, his favorite composer is the "Last Great Romantic" and master of keyboard technique, Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The piano is more than a passion or a pastime for Dr. Atwood. He feels that it has helped him to develop his manual dexterity and refine his hand-eye coordination, essential abilities for a cosmetic dentist. Dr. Atwood feels his appreciation and familiarity with the arts has other professional benefits as well. "So much of cosmetic dentistry is artistic in nature," he explains. "Being in touch with the arts brings balance, wholeness, and perspective to life. I think it also helps me to envision the results of my work before I begin."

Dr. Atwood's mentor in cosmetic dentistry was one of the best known practitioners in the Northwest, Dr. David Baird, who retired earlier this year. Dr. Atwood calls Baird, "a true pioneer, a giant in the field, a great innovator. I feel privileged to have learned from him. When I first inquired about taking over his practice, I was 30 and feared he might hold my youth against me. But Dr. Baird told me that he saw my youth as a plus; he was looking for someone young enough to not require "untraining." He could simply do all the training. I was fortunate to be chosen and am honored to follow in the tradition of excellent patient care and delivering the highest quality of dentistry achievable."

A significant carryover from Dr. Baird's practice at Aesthetics of Bellevue is the presence of an in-house ceramist, Kor Chong. Dr Atwood says, "Orchestrating a new smile is an intricate collaboration. Working hand-in-hand with Kor on site means direct communication between patient, dentist, and ceramist so that all the parties involved can truly work in concert."

"My goal in restoring a patient's smile is to replicate the symmetry and beauty of a natural smile so that no one will suspect that it isn't," Dr. Atwood says. "I have always been fascinated with the more challenging aspects of dentistry. Taking someone from one point where oral health has deteriorated and restoring a natural, healthy state is very satisfying. People sometimes think cosmetic dentistry is all about vanity, but there is much more to it than that. Your smile is with you everywhere you go, and it's important that you feel good about it. An attractive smile is one of the best confidence builders there is."

Dr. Atwood offers you the opportunity to see and feel the results of his work on your teeth before treatment. He uses a temporary, composite mock up to simulate what your new smile will look like. The mock-up can be shaped to lengthen teeth, close noticeable gaps between teeth, and create the appearance of a straighter smile. Patients appreciate being able to see and experience what the actual results of treatment will look like. When the process is finished, the composite material comes right off.

If you are a candidate for cosmetic dentistry, call Aesthetics of Bellevue to arrange a consultation. Put yourself in the hands of an artist, Dr. Andrew Atwood.

Martha & Jeremy

August 2007

The final month of summer is here and I am still waiting for some type of stability to write about. I am happy/relieved to report that we are no longer homeless. We closed on our home two days ago. Jeremy and I shook our heads in amazement when our lenders told us they'd go ahead and give us a decent loan even though we are jobless. We went ahead and did a "courtesy signing" in California. We'll stay up here until the Tanner family events end, Melissa's wedding August 10th. It seemed like a good idea to stay in California until last week. Back in Arizona, Becca did our final walk-through in our new home for us. When she gave us the, "OK," it took all our self-restraint not to jump in the car and go to Arizona to see our new home for ourselves!

It looks like Jeremy will have to wait until late October before he can get his Dental License. It's going to be an interesting next couple of months.

When I think about our past few months, I just shake my head. Just when I thought I had our life neatly planned out, one thing after another kept going haywire. I guess we are a stronger family because of it. I guess I have more patience. I also know how much stress I can handle before I get sick with a migraine. I also noticed some new facial wrinkles. I guess we're here on earth to learn and Jeremy and I experienced an upper division crammed-slammed summer course! I just hope fall term is paced a little better.

We're all alive and in good health. Our kids are well and cute as always, which everyone already knows because of the reunion last month! We enjoyed spending time with everyone and savor the fun times spent together. The tune, "Secret Agent Man," still runs through my head often and I'll find myself suddenly laughing out loud. I can't wait to have another "cousin swimming party"!

Take care, Love, The Tanners

Becca & Nick

News from June

Jonathan is a wealth of knowledge. Estelle is eager to learn, so Jonathan gives her little lessons daily. In the car they were talking about monsters, and Estelle was telling him how she was scared of monsters. Jonathan told her not to worry because monsters do not live in St. David, Tucson, Rocky Point, or Pennsylvania. One evening outside, Jonathan took Estelle aside and pointed in the sky. He said, "See that star Estelle? That is where Neverland is." I think he was actually pointing to Mars.

Estelle is still the miniature mommy in the family. She takes good care of her babies, Cinderella, her baby doll, and Lissy. Stelli feeds Elissa her baby doll's bottle and I think Lissy likes it. Well at least she doesn't complain. She also leads Elissa around the house coaxing her in a higher pitched voice, "Lissa come on, Lissy come here."

Elissa crawls at full speed and can pull herself up to the train table. Jonathan is not eager to play trains with her yet though, as she only knows how to destroy the tracks. Whenever I hear her cry or call for help I instinctively yell, "Estelle!" I think Elissa likes to be dirty though; she loves to crawl through the kitchen dust.

Speaking of dust . . . last night it looked like it snowed in the kitchen. Nick was covered in white dust along with the rest of the kitchen. Cabinets are supposed to be ready next week??? We'll see you all soon.

Love, the Bryces

McKay & Keresa

Over the last few days, Sydney has been singing one song that has had us worried. There is a part in the song where she says, "Oh my God..." then continues on. Keresa and I always look at each other kind of asking what we should do about it, and she sings on with more words that we can't understand. Well finally she finished the song and we heard, "Teach me all that I must do... to live with him some day." Of course! So we just taught her how to sing the first part correctly. "I am a child of God..."

Jackson got his haircut before church today. This makes "haircut number two" for his life so far. He is standing up to everything in sight. It seems like he will walk on his own any day now. He likes to walk around with me holding one hand and Sydney holding his other hand. He is pretty shaky still. He is also understanding and responding to more English. He says his own version of Uh-oh when he drops stuff, he plays lots of games, even initiates them -- games like peek-a-boo, and if we ever sneak up on him, he crawls away as fast and excitedly as he can.

We ventured over to Williamsburg and went to a sweet water park with a big wet jungle gym. There is a huge 1,000 gallon bucket on top that fills up and tips over every ten minutes or so. Sydney said later, "Dad, remember the big sippy cup that spilled and got water on me?"

We also spent time at Virginia Beach. You gotta love that warm Atlantic Ocean.

MK KGW SRW JGW

Matthias & Megan

Dear Fam,

Let's see all the exciting things we've done since the 6th! It just seems like we've never had a moment to be bored!

Our new ward has fully embraced us into their arms and assimilated us into the fold. Our first week, the bishop took us aside to snap our picture for his records. Later that day, we were asked to sing a special musical number the following Sunday in sacrament and also do building security check every evening that week. The following week, after singing, one of the bishop's counselors pulled us over and gave us an assignment (not a calling) to teach the 12 and 13 year old Sunday school class for two weeks.

It turns out that a lot of our other recently married friends are in this ward too, as it is the ward with geographic boundaries next to U of A campus, so we've had fun meeting new friends as well as having some old ones. Some of our old friends from my freshman year invited us over for cookies and games one Sunday afternoon that was also my birthday. So Megan and I made a cake and candles to share. It was a good birthday.

Megan and I took an exciting weekend trip to Sierra Vista for the midnight book selling of Harry Potter no. 7. Megan's mom had reserved me a copy in a bookstore there where there was a dress up contest, non-alcoholic butter beer, and other festivities. Megan and I took a slower approach to reading the book, reading it together and finishing on the Tuesday evening after the midnight release on Friday night. Megan's sister, who also joined in the festivities, had it read by 6:30am Saturday morning. Yikes!

Megan is now officially out of the print room at M3 engineering and has her own desk and computer where she does flow sheets and pipe drawings and revisions on AutoCad. She enjoys it most of the time and is gaining super valuable experience. Plus after a few years of classes, it's good to be able to remember why it is that you're even in engineering. My second session summer math class started July 9th and will run for another week and a half, until like the 8th. It's been quite more rigorous than my previous summer classes, but it's almost over.

Also, one of our friends in the ward told me where I could apply for a job that would be perfect for my University schedule. So on Saturday, I did my first day of Valet parking at the Park Place Mall! It was super exciting and tons of fun. I got to see all the amazing things that cars can offer to people who have money. My highlights were parking two Lincoln Navigators, a Saab, an H3 hummer, a new Hybrid Prius, and many other exciting vehicles. But I never realized how much valets have to run! In my five-hour shift, I parked maybe 40 cars and ran well over 2 miles, not to mention that four of those five hours were pouring Tucson monsoon rain! But I still had a good time. I'll probably be working one or two evenings during the week, then Friday and Saturday afternoons.

Thanks again everyone for coming down for the wedding and supporting me and Megan. I hope the wedding was as good a time for everyone else as it was for us!

Con Amor, Matthias and Megan Whitney

Brother Kenneth, Family Patriarch by Joy Stubbs

from Glimpses of Heaven, August '07

Sometime during the first part of July I made a quick trip to Mesa, along with two sisters & two brothers-in-law, to see Matt married. Matt has a gorgeous red-headed bride, by the way, but that's not the topic of this article. One of the most fun features of the trip was the peek at Ken and Linda and their complete brood having their family reunion. What a joyful sight that was! They are the champion grandparents now, by the way, their numbers exceeding all the rest of us, though Adele and McKay are catching up fast.

I enjoyed seeing my brother in his patriarchal role, quietly visiting with his children, sons and daughters in law and his many darling grandchildren. These grandchildren are special to him. He may not know all their birthdays, and he humbly claims that their names even escape him at times, but there is no doubt that he knows and loves each one of them. He's obviously proud, or as Dad reminded us, "pleased" with his grandchildren and other family members. As always, he is respectful and loving to his own "bride," and his children come in for their share of unassuming suggestions and occasional quiet teasing from their dad.

One of the most revealing things about Kenneth as head of his family is the respect that he both gives to and receives from family members. He's never overbearing and from what I observed, speaks kindly of them and to them. In fact, sometimes he's downright reticent. It was obvious to me that Ken wanted to go into the hotel swimming pool with them, but was waiting to be asked. Finally, he just went and changed and got in, much to his family's delight. Everyone was excited to have him join them. "I can't remember the last time Dad went swimming," one son remarked. It's obviously a treat for them all to be together.

The first night restaurant scene is not one I'll soon forget. The whole crew was there at the western-style barbecue. The little ones were tired from their swimming and ready for their supper. They gave the servers a run for their money, but everyone was happy to be together amid the din, that is, dinner. Becca and Nick and their family were the last to arrive, and great was the joy of the cousins to spot each other. It was just as obvious that the sisters and brothers and grandparents were also happy to be re-united again as a whole family. It was a sweet scene, stored away in this aunt's memory bank to warm my heart on a more wintry day.

Another memorable moment occurred after the wedding and photo session outside the temple when Kenneth took the opportunity to give some of his gentle advice to his son Matt. Ken was slightly alarmed to see Matt walking out to the parking lot, visiting with family members and still looking singularly single, with Megan nowhere in sight. Ken put his arm around his son, making sure he knew his dad wasn't being critical, just concerned, and reminded him that as of that day, his wife came first. "Why aren't you with her?" he asked. Matt had a good excuse; he was on a husbandly errand to the car, but the moment was classic Ken.

In thinking about the whole experience of watching my beloved bro do his thing with his family, as well as play host to his visiting sisters and their husbands, I realized how much this guy is like his dad. I have to say, there's a bunch of Bert in the boy. Why should I be surprised? He looks like the Christensens, but his name is Whitney, and he wears it well. Watching Kenneth makes me homesick for another quiet unassuming patriarch, now leading his family from a different dimension.