Greetings from the north.

We hope you all are keeping cool, or in some cases warm. The weather has been wonderful it has been getting up in the high eighties. Chris and Les are trying to get our garden underway, but with his work schedule it's been a challenge. Leslie and I spent three weeks in Denver last month we had a great time and we finally got les potty trained while we were there, and Chris well he just worked. We went to Spanish Fork last week to look at a job that Don Whipple found for Chris, unfortunately it's not going to work out. So for now we will stay in Elko. My church calling is a challenge to say the least. I'm trying to learn the songs and trying to read the music. Sundays are quite the event at our house. Chris got a fish tank for Leslie's Birthday, he really is enjoying Leslie's present. Every time we go to Wal-mart I have to drag the two of them out of the fish department before they buy out the store. We have a reunion location Lehman Caves in the Great Basin National Park. We have sent an attached file with some info. The camp site we have chosen is the Lower Lehman camp site. There are 11 camp sites to choose from. No more than two auto and eight people per site. The sites are $10.00 per night. The DATES are July 25, 26, 27, 28. I am not sure how we should do meals, but I thought we should all take care of our own food on the 25 and then start with assigned meals. We would have two breakfast, two lunches, and Two dinners. (I think) please help me out with the details.

Feel free to give us your input this is just our thoughts on this Reunion. We Love you and miss you all

Have A Happy Day!!!!! Summer, Chris and of course Leslie

Food Update as of June 8

Here is the schedule of meals so that you can choose what your family can prepare. Also you will need to bring your own eating utensils.

Wednesday 25--No food prepared as families will be arriving.

We had a heck of a party during the month of May!! We drove through six states and played all along the way. I really enjoyed hanging out with my kids without the usual annoyances of cleaning and cooking and grocery shopping and dumb stuff.

We had fun in Salem. We loved seeing Richie come home from Argentina and we are anticipating Aaron and Kim's baby being due any time now! Luckily Mike and Marilyn didn't have full-out heart attacks when we surprised the pants off them by arriving a week early! I was excited to be reunited with old buddies Becky (DeMille)Paulson and Jaime(Dodd) Anderson.

In NV we enjoyed getting a much covetted-by-Iowans bronze coloring from all our water adventures! The climax of them all was at WetnWild. The kids still ask on a daily basis if we can go there. It was awesome to see McKay and Matt. You guys are cool uncles. Michael was especially happy not to see gramma monkey. Good job Becca on finding and capturing Nick!! We are so excited for you two! Come again as to the when and where of the knot tying?

We took the train back to IA adding CO and bringing the states total up to seven and overall between 750mi(Eastern IA to Cheyene, WY [where we slept])+ 550 (to Salem, UT)+ 350mi (to Logandale)+350mi(back to salem)+ various trips to SLC and St. G and LV and Lake Powell and 29 hours on the train everyone only threw up a total of 4 times with only two pee-pee leak-outs and very low crying levels, for a total of a very successful adventure as rated by this critic. We are definitely looking forward to July when Andy-Daddy gets to come! (Maybe this time Mama will fly) No way I could miss out!

Love your CRAZY daughter and sista, Melanie

It's a great feeling to almost finish a first year of teaching. The kids are fun. For our spring concert, we had a guest artist come and play with the band, Becca. The kids loved it. The next day Becca played the harp for each of my classes. After that, all the boys had crushes on her. It was fun to show her off. She is famous now at my middle school. The school year is quickly coming to a close. Last weekend was our final band review. I don't know how the kids can manage to wear those whool band uniforms and play in 100 degree weather. They played with sweat pouring down their faces dripping onto their instruments. It payed off though becuase they won first place. There's no other age group as unique as junior high kids and I really enjoy teaching them. The other day I had some 8th grade students tell me they wanted to do my hair in corn rows for graduation becuase that is how all of the 8th grade girls our doing their hair (that's how it sounds, I have no idea how it's spelled). I was so excited I came home and told Jeremy about my new hair style. He couldn't stop laughing at me that I would even consider doing my hair the same way as an 8th grader! I guess hat's a sign that I need a summer break. So it's a lot of fun. Jeremy's also having fun with his schooling. He's just finishing up this semester and getting ready for summer term. He also has a new job working in a genetics lab. If school continues to go well, he will be ready to apply a year earlier than planned for dental school. Take care and hope everyone is doing well.

Dear Family,

Well, I had a very exciting month this month. I started out by turning the big 2-1. I don't feel any older. In fact people still think I'm 18. I've been 18 for like five years now. (Nick is 25 so my music theory Teacher Assistant started giving me the lecture on dating older men after she asked me his age. She started to explain to me about how older men take advantage of young freshman girls. .. I started giggling and told her I was 21 and a junior. She was shocked, she had thought all year that I was 18, possibly barely 19 at the very oldest and either way fresh out of high school.)

Also I went on my first solo performance harp tour this month. I toured the San Jose area of California playing with an orchestra and playing a private recital. So that's the story I told my boss at work. .. he he he. Well that is all true. I played with the Crushank middle school band and did a private recital for all of Martha's mother-in-law's friends in Merced. Well, it was very successful and I got to see what a good job Martha does at her school. What an inspiration! She really works those kids and impresses all their parents with her amazing concerts and hard work.

Hmmmm, , what else happened this month . . . he he he. I got a fat rock on my left hand now :) Well I was wondering there for a little while. A few days after I got back from visiting Martha in California Nick gave me his High school class ring. It was a big fat man-sized ring with a great big "N" (standing for Nick) over the school colored stone in the middle. Then he told me that he was having problems with the credit card he was trying to use to buy my engagemnet ring with. (We'd already been ring shopping and I knew that it was coming any day now.) So he asked me to wear his class ring until he could get me the real engagement ring. Uh, yeah, you can imagine how excited I was. . . There's nothing that will make me look more like a 17 year old then my boyfriends 10 sizes too big class ring on my wedding finger. In my mind the song "She's in Love with the Boy" kept playing through my head. "He said my high school ring will have to do until I can buy a wedding band." Well, I smiled nicely at his gesture, tied some grey yarn around the ring so it would fit, and slipped it on my ring finger not knowing whether to be excited or disapointed. So I was nice. Well that Mr. Sly showed me with that little decoy cause he sure did surprise me later that night when he popped out the real ring from his pocket along with an official marriage proposal. I thought about saying no just to tease him for tricking me like that, but I just couldn't resist his gesture. Besides, I really wanted to marry him (and I still do :)). Well now we have a slot in the Mesa temple** at 12:45 on Saturday, July 14th. I'm getting my endownments out the evening before. But if it is easier for everyone to do it Saturday morning let me know and we can switch around with things. I just thought this would be the least stressful way for me. We're getting pictures done early Saturday morning to beat the heat so you might rather come Friday anyway. Friday the 13th that is . . . :) Well I'll keep you posted on everything else that happens. I will talk to you all later!

Love, Becca

**Note from the editor:
There have been some changes about the location of the wedding. As to my understanding, the dates are the same but the location is now St. George. I'm sure that someone will keep you all posted.