Elder Reid (#3) enters the MTC

August 13th, 2008 - Well we had the great blessing of taking Elder Dustin Reid to the MTC today. It was hard to say goodbye! It seems as though we should have been more prepared for this day (having done this with Christopher and Brad, as well as some nieces, nephews & friends) but it was sad to hug him for the last time and realize that we will not have his spirit in our home for 2 years. He will be missed !

President Brady and Elder Reid - August 12, 2008

The Grandma's
Nana and Grandpa
Ernie and Elder Reid

CaLleD TO SErvE

Baltic States Mission

Happy Birthday Grandma and Grandpa

One of the coolest things that happens in August around our birthdays that a letter arrives from Kelsi and Taylor with some awesome artwork and birthday messages in it. Here are some that we received as the 2008 editions.




Thank you, thank you Kelsi and Tay we totally love your pictures and cards that you send to us. They are posted on our bulletin board for all of our friends to see.











That is a great looking dolphin Tay!

A speedy car and train

Kelsi is in kindergarten and already can sound out her words and spell them on paper. Nice work!! Love the hearts too.

D's Un-farewell talk 7-20-08 Lexi's Blessing

The day seemed so far away right after D opened his mission call is here! He spoke so amazingly and had a powerful message about tithes and offerings. We are so proud of him. We are grateful for all the support we recieved from our familes and feel like he will work hard and be an amazing missionary for the Lord.

Summer 2008

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Visiting Lexi

The last part of our New York vacation was a fun visit to Rochester to see Brad, Becca and Lexi. We picked up a rental car at LaGuardia airport out in Queens. We got there in a good ole New York taxi equipped to carry all of our luggage. We were proud of ourselves because this is the first taxi ride that we had to take during our entire stay in the city. They are expensive, and sometimes very slow to get around, not to mention trying to find a taxi that will carry 5 of us. When we rented our car, we also rented a GPS system to get us out of the city. If you have never used one of these when you rent a car in a strange place...we highly recommend it! Dad tends to stress out when we take wrong roads and get lost, so this was certainly money well spent. It is like taking your own little guide with you. We programed it to take us out through the country side on the way to Rochester, so we saw some really cool little villages and towns on the way. It was so green and beautiful. A real fun drive.

This is Brad and Becca's home in Rochester. It is in a beautiful area because there a trees and plenty of grass to enjoy. It is named after a renowned professor at University of Rochester who believed that if you study medicine that you have no place in your life for a family at the same time. Interestingly, the complex if filled with Mormons and Asians with a bunch of kids running around everywhere! Brad and Becca have made some great friends who live here and they are very happy to call this home. It is a little over a mile to the medical school, so Brad is able to walk to and from class each day. He loves this time to think or listen to his podcast that he downloads to his iPod. His favorite is one called "The Naked Scientist". Don't worry, it is G rated and is very cool. Try it, you'll see.

We finally arrived in Rochester to get our hands on our little Alexis. She is so fun and was full of smiles and goos for us. Shelley was in Rochester just after she was born, so she was excited to see all of the changes, the rest of us were just happy to get our hands on her. She is a great smiler and very happy to have all of the attention that she thinks she deserves! It was so much fun to meet her and this was definitely going to be the highlight of the whole trip. Erin and Dustin had a bunch of fun with her.

Grandpa gets a little time holding Lexi. She is such a great little girl and loves to be held.

This was a photo that we took on the iPhone and it shows what a cute little face she has. Becca says that she has Brad's mouth and we agree. The beautiful eyes and cute little ears are definitely Becca.

Brad and Becca took us on a tour of the medical school. Dustin found the Nobel Prize that one of the professors at the school was awarded. This is the actual award...and Dustin of course had to hold it!

While in New York, Dustin was able to go through the Palmyra Temple to receive his endowment. It was a very special experience for us and will always be a wonderful memory for Dustin. The Temple is beautiful, and it was very quiet with not many visitors there. When we arrived, they rolled out the red carpet for Dustin. The workers there were like angels and they made our visit a very spiritual experience. Both Dad and Brad were able to be an escort for D and so we all were able to meet in the President's office for a nice instructional visit and hear his testimony. After our visit to the Temple, we went down and took a quiet stroll through the sacred grove. One of those days never to be forgotten.

And if there are roller coasters around...well we just can't resist! A quick one hour trip to Buffalo and we found some awesome coasters and that is where Dad, D and E spent the day before we came home. This one had a 240 foot drop. Good times! As usual though, we found good coasters...bad food. We hurried home and went out to eat at Dinosaur BBQ... a restaurant you just can't miss if you visit Brad and Becca. Sooooo Gooooood for us to eat! We didn't have to convince B & B to go either!

The next day we were up early, packed and off to our little home in Cherry Village. What a fabulous adventure and we are very thankful to have been able to make the trip happen.

Thanks for a fun time in Rochester Brad, Becca and Lexi! We miss you guys and can't wait to see you soon.

More pictures of our New York City trip