Family Update

I've had a lot of people asking me for updates lately. I was with the whole family last weekend, so I decided now would be a great time to catch up on the lives of all of my siblings and my parents.
Dad retired last fall. Since then, he has been working on his life history. He already sent us his chapter about his mission, which was very interesting. He also fills his time with temple work, babysitting his grandkids, and going to Dillon and Cassidy's athletic events. He was recently released as the branch president of their branch and now serves as a High Counselor incharge of missionary work in their Stake. Dad will be 65 this fall.

Mom is Amazing! Between mothering her 11 children, 7 children in-law and 16 grandchildren (with 3 on the way) she has managed to lose 72 lbs since last July! She has become a pro at planning weddings, the last was just last weekend. She serves as the Relief Society President of her branch and still has two kids at home! She looks incredibly young at 57.

Joel is the proud father of 6 children (ages 11 and younger). He lives in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, only a few minutes from my parents. He went to Law School at the University of Michigan, but abandoned the practice of law 3.5 years later to start a pest control company. He owns a cow, chickens, two dogs and numerous cats and lives out in the country on a beautiful piece of property surrounded by mountains. Joel is 33. (Joel also wants you to know he was the captain of his highschool football team :)

This is me. You already know me. Just didn't want to be left out. I live in Johnstown, PA. I have four sweet children and Matt is a dentist. We're very happy here. I am 32.

Justin lives in Dallas, TX. He and his wife have three sweet and spunky kids. Justin also graduated from Law school (UVA) and he is now working for Kaplan teaching a few classes and doing a myriad of other administrative and marketing duties there. Justin is 30.

Heather lives in Des Moines, IA. She has two cute boys and another baby on the way in October. Her husband, Austin, is in Podiatry School there. Heather is also the Relief Society President in her ward. Heather is 29.

Bethany lives in Socorro, NM. Her darling daughter, Grace, is the spitting image of her mother! Bethany is also expecting a baby in October. Bethany's husband, Paul, is attending grad school there. Bethany is 28.

Haley got married last weekend in the Provo temple. Haley teaches first grade at Farrer Elementary in Provo, Utah. Greg is just graduating in music from UVU. Haley is 25.

Whitney is currently serving a mission in the Argentina Mendoza Mission. She has about three months left and she'll be home! We can't wait. Whitney hopes to attend SVU in the fall. She is 23.

Ashley and her husband, Ben, live in Provo. Ashley will graduate from BYU in secondary ed this spring and her husband will graduate in December with a masters in Electrical Engineering. Ashley is pregnant and due in November. She is 21.

Derek is currently a freshman at BYU. He is so excited to go on his mission on June 2nd. He will be serving in San Fernando, CA speaking Korean. Derek is currently the Elder's Quorum President of his ward. He is 18.

Dillon is a junior at Horseshoe Bend Highschool (housed in the same building as Joel's kids' elemenary school). Dillon played basketball, cross country and track on his highschool team. Dillon is 17.

Cassidy is a freshman at Horseshoe bend High. She is deaf, but fully integrated into a normal classroom with an interpreter. She played volleyball, basketball and track this year. She is 15.

I guess it's a lot to keep track of for my Mom, but we all greatly enjoy being part of such a large family. We love each other and support one another however we can. As we become adults, we find that the differences in age are nothing anymore. We are all best friends. I'm proud to be a Flake.