Written update

Hi everybody!

Our family has been enjoying the end of the summer. The most defining part of our summer was that Christian was gone working for Eric in Kansas City. That work experience turned out well, and Eric was a fantastic manager (Christian says the best he's ever had). The best part, though, was seeing each other again, and we took some time as a family at Mel's grandmother's cabin to catch up and relax before Christian started BYU's MBA program. We've also been very lucky to have grandparents from both sides come out and stay with us, and that's always a blast. We've done phone calls and web cam conversations, but nothing beats the real thing.

Christian couldn't believe how much Kyler was talking when he came home after being gone for three months. Kyler's added all sorts of words (some we'd be happy to have him forget). One thing that Kyler seems to really get is hyperbole. He melts Mel every time he looks up at her in his cute voice and says, "You're the BEST mom." Then he floors her when he doesn't get his way, and he says, "You're a bad mom." One of our favorite things that Kyler says when given something or after somebody has helped him, and he does it with surprising regularity, is, "Oh, thank you." And, frankly, it's just a whole lot better when you hear it from his cute voice.

Kyler is also doing everything he can to be just like his big brother. Sometimes it's funny to see a little 3 year old (just turned 3 on Oct 19) try so hard to keep up with his 5-year-old-going-on-10-year-old big brother. One time when we asked Kyler who his friends were, he just named off all of Jaden's friends. We've also learned that no matter where Kyler's mind is at for one second, if Jaden's is different, then Kyler's mind will change immediately to match his big brother's. Mel's been working hard to set up Kyler with some playmates of his own. We're lucky to live in one of the best neighborhoods in the world, and there are lots of young families with kids his age.

Jaden started kindergarten a couple months ago, and he's already standing out as a bright kid in his class. He reads extremely well, and his teacher has offered lots of positive comments about how well-behaved he is in class. Jaden's reminded us a couple times that he's "never been in the Power Chair." (The Power Chair is the timeout chair where the unruly kids go to "get their power back" - right). Sometimes being Jaden's parents can be a little intimidating. Not only is he standing out at school, but his memory blows our minds, and the way he picks up on little nuances of things we say surprises us all the time. Not only that, but he's very athletically talented. We could name a number of sports that he stands out in (and a couple that he definitely does not), but one example is the way he throws a football. Get Jaden warmed up, and you have a little 5 year old throwing a ball at your chest that you better not take your eye off of - it's accurate, and it's very very fast. It's fun to watch Jaden get a sly smile when he realizes he just hummed one in a little faster than we expected. The bottom line is that we just want to keep exposing him to activities and events and new subjects and seeing what he latches on to.

Mel, well Mel is pregnant and due in May! For all we know the baby is healthy and growing well. Among all the fun that comes with being pregnant, Mel has also gotten the bug for canning and trying all sorts of new recipes. She's been cooking up a storm and making sure that our food storage is well-stocked. She just finished canning the world's best spaghetti sauce, and the salsa she canned isn't far behind. Mel really enjoys cooking, and she's really good at it, but she admits that all this time in the kitchen is taking a bit of a toll on her, and she's looking forward to slowing down now that the garden has yielded its last batch of tomatoes - and what a batch it was. Thanks Opa for being our gardening inspiration! Your garden is always the standard we measure ours by. It's also worth noting that Mel took care of everything at home while Christian was gone for the summer. Christian will always be grateful for how she stepped up and did everything from cooking meals, to taking out the trash, to mowing the lawn, to even replacing the faucet on the kitchen sink! Mel is a woman of many talents and lots of surprises, and our home is far more elegant and fun because of her.

Christian is really enjoying his time in BYU's MBA program as a marketing student. He admits that he's still not entirely sure what he expects to get out of the MBA program (now there's a line to share with recruiters), but he's sure that he's in the right place. He has his sights set on getting a job in brand or product management and has interviewed with a number of very exciting companies. He's still trying to sort out some of his thoughts about balancing his efforts for taking care of his family and making an impact on the world in the best way he can. His ultimate goal is help connect business solutions with the most developing parts of our world, but he's not entirely sure what the road is to get there. If you talk to him about it, he has all sorts of ideas (he's even tossed around the idea of PhD), and he's spending a lot of his extra time trying to sort those out. Christian is also trying to be involved in school and serve in the MBA program where he can. He's one of the chairs of the service committee in the MBA program, he's an editor for the MBA newsletter, and he's also on the board for BYU's Social Venture Competition (a business plan competition for businesses that want to make an impact on poverty, healthcare, the environment, etc.). He's very busy, and it can be tough for the family to connect with him, but he's really enjoying the experience, and we all are expecting great things to come of it.

You can also learn more about Christian's MBA experience at www.christianmealey.com.

Our family is really happy with where we're at. We're safely together in a fantastic part of the world, and we have great friends and the best family anybody can expect. We can't wait to see what next high flying fun our kids lead us into (we can wait for the next bruises and breaks their high flying fun leads us into - ehem, Kyler.) We're looking forward to the holidays, and we wish you all the best during the coming season.

Mel, Christian, Jaden, Kyler