Yea Judy and Kids! Come on Sue and Mary!!

I’m guessing most everyone is getting these emails now either directly from Karen or indirectly through their parents but I figure it can’t hurt to post them just in case…

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Dear Family,

Just a quick update.  I heard from Judy today; and she is planning to come, as well as Doug, Kim & Family, and Tyson & Family.  She’s going to talk to her other three kids this week.  Hopefully, they’ll choose to join us.  (Let’s keep our fingers crossed!)  I heard Sue IS getting my emails, so here’s a shout-out to Sue!  We would love to have you and your kids join us, too.  (You, too, Mary!)  Our count is now 54 coming.  This is going to be very memorable!
 
I had the thought.  If you get this tomorrow — even if you don’t — let’s all pray that it comes together for us to stay at Camp Nauvoo.  With this many coming, it will be much more affordable staying at Camp Nauvoo.
 
Thanks to everyone!
 
Love, Karen

More reunion

Please everybody let’s get this thing going! I want to see everybody’s shiny happy faces next summer! Especially the ones who we don’t get to see very often or haven’t seen in a long time!

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Below is the email to the gentleman who reserves Camp Nauvoo.  Judy & Sue – Since I haven’t heard from you, I did not include you or any of your kids (or grandkids) in the reserved number.  Mary – Since you’re sitting on the fence, I also did not include you or your kids.  SISTERS, DEAR — WE LOVE YOU AND YOUR KIDS (AND GRANDKIDS)!  We would LOVE for you to join us at this historic family reunion.  Please let me know as soon as possible if you would like to be added to our reservation at Camp Nauvoo.
 
Everyone — Please let me know if your families will check in on the 22nd or the 23rd.  I hope they will allow flexibility.  If they do not, which day would your families prefer?

Thanks, Everyone!
 
Karen

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From: kbjepp@hotmail.com
To: leeourth@frontiernet.net
Subject: KG HUTCHINSON FAMILY REUNION JULY 2009
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:21:52 -0600

Dear Mr. Ourth:
 
I emailed you in July requesting information for a family reunion.  I greatly appreciated your prompt response and the information you gave me.  We would like to make a reservation for Camp Nauvoo.  We would like to reserve from July 22 to July 26, 2009, checking in on the 22nd and checking out on the 26th.  Mr. Ourth, I think we’re going to have some people who want to check in on the 22nd and others who want to check in on the 23rd.  Does our whole group have to commit to one day or the other?
 
Right now, we have 41 children and adults, as well as five babies in cribs, and would like to reserve cabins.  Do you charge $7/night for babies, too?  I have not heard from three siblings, and we have a potential of another 24 people.  Could we make a reservation for the people who have committed to coming as of now and then, before the end of October, add more people (because I really think some of my other siblings and their children will choose to come)?
 
I understand that as of October 1st, you can begin making reservations for groups other than your church groups.  I will wait to hear from you regarding our reservation.
 
Please let me know if you need additional information.  Thank you, Mr. Ourth, for your help!
 
Karen B. Jeppson

More Nauvoo info (again via Karen)

Here is another email from Karen by way of my mom.  I was looking around on the internet and found that Camp Nauvoo has a website http://www.campnauvoo.org/ . They have pricing info, some pictures, descriptions of the lodgings, and directions. And to put my two cents in, it looks like it would be a great place to have a big family reunion. Hopefully we can get as many people as possible there. And to get a little sappy, you never know when you it might be your last chance to see someone (Jake had two cousins killed in a car accident on the way home from a family reunion last summer and everyone was so grateful that they had had that time together). So please, lets everybody try and do this! I know it will be tons of fun!

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I asked Bill if he thought Camp Nauvoo would be a good place for the majority of the group to stay — those who wouldn’t mind sleeping on bunk beds with foam mattresses or tent camping.  (I think it’s $3 per person per night for tent camping; $7 per person per night for cabin camping.)  Anyway, Bill said yes, he thought it would be a good place to stay.  After all, since this is a reunion, part of the fun is staying together — being together.  Shirley’s email with activities was very informative.  Thanks! Thanks, also, to Kari for her input.  I agree that we need to decide about accommodations ASAP so that we don’t miss out.  After that, we should try to get some specifics figured out before the first of the year, such as the park Shirley talked about.  I think that sounds fun, and we should figure out when we would go there and reserve it.
 
The gentleman I emailed about the reunion said that after October 1st, he could sign up groups other than his church’s groups because they have their calendar finalized and reserved before then.  So, I think we should commit by THIS WEEKEND who wants to stay at Camp Nauvoo, indicating your preference of cabin camping or tent camping, email your responses to me.  I will make a tally and send an email to the Camp Nauvoo man so that we can get in line to hopefully get those dates.
 
This will be a fun event!  I hope you talk it up amongst your families and with cousins so that we can get as many people there as possible.  Staying at Camp Nauvoo is obviously the most affordable, which is a concern for all of us.  By the way Trish, I talked to Mom tonight, and she said she thought she would consider staying at Camp Nauvoo with everyone else.  Oh, good!  I just noticed Sue is on this email list.  (And Kurt, too!)  Look how big our family has become!  It’s just so neat!!
 
Enough for now.  Let me know before Sunday.  I’ll send an email Sunday.  I think a deposit of half the amount is due upon reserving it, but I can’t remember for sure.  Thanks, everyone!
 
Love, Karen

I confess

So, since I was called out by Aunt Terrie I guess I’ll announce my news. I am 18 weeks pregnant! We have the ultrasound on October 14th so then I’ll finally be able to see what is inside me. I have decided to announce what we are having (boy or girl) by emailing out the ultrasound that night and letting everyone guess. If any of you are interested in receiving this email just let me know. We are really excited but I’m due right in the middle of my last semester (February 26th) so now it won’t be my last semester.  Oh, well.

An update long overdue

I have been meaning to write on this blog to update everyone on how and what we have been doing lately, but this is the third blog I’m apart of and between being a wife and mother and making friends, I just keep putting it off.  Well, Noah is sleeping and I thought it was about time.

For those who don’t know, Eric was eventually accepted to graduate school at A.T. Still University in Kirksville, MO-we had 5 weeks to prepare everything to move before we came out here.  It was a little hectic.  But we got it all done and with the help of Eric’s brother we even had enough time to buy a house.  We moved out here in the middle of June and are loving it.  Kirksville is a small town and there isn’t much to do but make friends.  They have a organization here for the significant others that are supporting the graduate/medical students at the university call SAA.  Through this organization I have met some really awesome people and made some really good friends.  This makes living here a lot easier for me-and it’s good because Eric plans to attend medical school here when he has his master’s, so we’ll be here for a while.  They also do a lot of activities and it gives me a nice release and helps me feel normal.

Eric is loving school-so far.  The graduate program is not as time consuming as the medical so he is home quite often, this quarter.  He is taking an anatomy class with the medical students where they fully disect a body and he just can’t get enough.  And the nice part is that because he is taking this class now, he will not have to repeat it in medical school, making his first year not so demanding.  There are some other DO classes that he has the opprotunity to take if he so chooses that would also be eliminated from medical school, so he is thinking about it.

Noah continues to grow and learn.  He is starting to get upper teeth-but they will be fangs -so it makes him a little cranky, and he already has his bottom two.  He can also roll over, scoot, sit up, feed himself, and he has also started to get up on his knees every once in a while.  He will also give kisses-but only on his time- and wave bye (although he doesn’t know what it means).  He is a handful but so much fun.  He is a very happy baby and loves to laugh and smile and so relaxed in social situations that some people don’t believe me when I tell them he’s been cranky that day.  I just can’t believe that he will be 8 months old on Monday-it seems old and yet not old enough for all the things he is able to do.

Recently my parents came to visit and I am including a link to veiw all the pictures I took.  We had a great time and fabulous weather-except the first couple of days when we were in Nauvoo, it rained and rained and there was some serious flooding-you won’t see any pictures from those days.  So besides the torrential rain (thank goodness for sump pumps) and the mosquitoes, we love it here and are excited about our stay.  We are very excited also about the reunion and to see all of you who are coming-by the way, the paegant is amazing!  And by then Noah will be a year and a half and running around wreaking havoc-it will be nice to have a few extra hands to help

Nauvoo Reunion (via Karen)

Below is an email Karen sent out to everyone whose email address she had.  Angela and I figured it might be a good idea to post it here as well so that hopefully everyone gets it one way or the other.  Also, to anyone who might have any big events coming up in their lives, like being pregnant (you know who you are), feel free to post it on here as I am sure all of the cousins would like to know.

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Hello, Ya’ll!
 
I apologize that I haven’t emailed sooner.  I’ve been distracted for a few months; it’s been probably the worst summer of my life.  For those who don’t know, Bob and I are getting a divorce; it should be final within a month.  I now have to work full time; life is very challenging at the moment.  So, onward and upward!
 
Bill sent me an email about a month ago with some housing possibilities for Nauvoo.  I am attaching a link so you can look at what’s available.  http://nauvoovacation.com/.  I know Dad & Mom don’t have internet, so I’ve cut and pasted the page (below) so they can see the options.
 
Bill said he didn’t want to camp; and I realized that with my hip, I can’t camp, either.  Bill suggested that if some people wanted to stay at the camp I emailed you about before, we could probably feed everyone at one (or two) of the houses since it will have a full kitchen.
 
As far as dates for the reunion, I’m suggesting July 23-26, 2009.  Would this be okay?  I think we should decide by the end of September who is going and reserve housing.  We can decide activities and meals later.
 
If someone needs to know this information and isn’t listed above, please forward this email to them, especially your adult children.  (Terrie – Please send this to Angela right now before you forget.  Thanks!)  I have heard from some of you, saying you are planning to go.  I think others are planning to go, but I just haven’t heard from you.  Siblings – do you want to coordinate housing amongst your families, including married children, and just let us all know where you’re planning to stay?
 
Thanks for your kind support!  Thanks, Bill, for your help and suggestions!!  Love to you all!  Karen
 
PS  If I have a wrong email address for Mary, someone forward this to her — please.  Also, I don’t have Sue’s email address.  Someone please forward this to her.

My baby turns 1!

Sorry this post is a little late but I have been trying to finish some projects that I have been working on for family members, Sarah’s quiet book and Katie’s changing table baskets. We had a little party for Dylan at the park on his birthday. Grandma Terrie ordered Roy’s Pizza and we played on the playground for about an hour and then on Sunday we had cake and ice cream with my aunt Carol and Great Grandma. We took some pics of Dylan trying to open presents but the best was watching him try and eat the cupcake with chocolate icing. He did fairly well and got most of the cake into his mouth. Enjoy. I think it is a long video but well worth the laugh.

Here is a link to the video with Dylan eating his birthday cake so you don’t have to listen to background noise while you read the other posts.