Emmie

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For Christmas of 1995 we decided to surprise our girls with a dog- they hadn't asked for one, we just fell in love with the Johnson's golden retriever and thought that it would be a fun edition to our family. We had no idea at the time what that puppy would come to mean to our family! When we told them we had to go pick up their present they were sure we had bought a jet ski- imagine our concern that they would be disappointed when we showed up with a puppy! Thankfully, they were so happy when we walked through the door with that fat little puppy- it was love at first sight. They never thought their dad would let them have a dog to go with our three cats, but I had caught him a moment of weakness and he grudgingly said okay. I'm not sure how we decided to call her Emmie, but it seemed to fit her perfectly and our adventure began! Whitney put the adventures here in pictures!

Emmie immediately taught us lessons- when we only had her for a couple of weeks the girls were home alone with her and someone left the side gate open. When they discovered her gone, we got a tearful phone call and everyone started looking- she had simply disappeared. We drove up and down street after street and brought home some pretty sad little girls. We decided to paint big signs and we hung them on the busiest corners of our neighborhood and then Lynn suggested having a family prayer that someone would see the signs and would call. Several days went by with no word and then one morning I got a phone call. Someone had a message on their answering machine from someone that had found Emmie- they had written the number down wrong! This person got in the car, drove to find the sign and our phone number and called to relay the message- we were overjoyed to say the least and learned the power of family prayer.

It was not an easy relationship for Lynn and Emmie to begin with- there were times when we weren't sure who was going to win! She had a stubborn streak and refused to be house broken and it would drive Lynn crazy when she had an accident in the house. She loved to dig holes in the yard and systematically went through the backyard and chewed up every single one of our Malibu lights, not to mention burying anything she could find of the girls- clothes, toys, you name it. She could pull a dishcloth off the counter with cooling cookies and eat them all. And she knew exactly which shoes were expensive and loved to chew them up. But at about a year and a half old she seemed to finally decide to behave- and not a moment to soon! She loved to play catch, but would refuse to give back the ball and she would chase up and down next to the pool when the girls were swimming until she had to jump in to join them. They would put her on a raft and she would let them push her all around the pool. Sometimes on hot days when the girls were at school I'd hear a splash in the backyard and find her swimming in circles to cool off. She was in all the first day of school pictures, dance pictures, Halloween pictures- she was included in our family Christmas pictures and anything momentous we had to document. Emmie was our hero too- one night while Lindsey and Whitney were home alone during the summer with all the doors open a man came into our backyard and was hiding looking in. Emmie started barking like crazy and the girls hid in their room and she went into the backyard after the man. He kicked her and ran for the front, but her barking alerted the neighbors who chased him down the street. Emmie loved our neighborhood and our neighbors. She would never step off the curb unless you were with her and said okay- until our neighbors moved in across the street. It they were outside and she was in the front yard she'd run madly across the street to say hello. We had a family with three little girls a few doors down and she loved to go and visit them. But most of all, she loved to go for a walk every night with Lynn. She didn't wear a leash and knew exactly where they would go. When she got a little older and we had gotten Trixie and P-Kitty sometimes she would only go part way and then turn around and come home on her own while the rest of them finished the walk. I think she always missed our old house and neighbors- for a week after we moved she would go to the front door at night and put her nose on it wanting to go home.

She loved the girls and no matter how long they had been gone from the house she would greet them with cries and wind around their legs. She was a little bit neurotic and at times a little bit jealous, but she was devoted to our family. As the girls grew older and started to leave for college, Lynn and I started to rely on Emmie and Trixie to fill the empty spots they left. We would take them everywhere with us and they loved to go to the office. Quite often in the summertime we would take them with us when we got Baskin and Robbins ice cream- they would sit in the back seat and share a vanilla ice cream cone, each of them licking from a side- I'm sure people walking by thought we were crazy! We watched as her snout started to turn grey and her legs a little wobbly. She would at times still grab a ball and want us to chase her, but those times started to get fewer and fewer. When we would go out to the front yard to take a walk around the cul-de-sac with the dogs she would lay on the front grass and watch as we went around with Trixie. She would rarely come downstairs when we left hoping to go with us- it was just too difficult to get down the stairs and into the car for her. She would have been 13 years old this November.

Lynn and I returned home from New York last night to find that Ryan had to carry her downstairs several mornings while we were gone and she had developed several hot spots and was having trouble walking. I left her at the vet this morning and when Dr. Watson called he told us what we've been dreading to hear- it was time to let her go. We called Whitney, met her there and we sat on the floor with Emmie and spent some time saying good-bye. Lynn told her we would see her in a bit, Whit patted her and gave her a kiss, and I held her sweet face in my hands and gave her a kiss on her snout.

She put her head in my lap, closed her eyes and went to sleep.

She was a good dog and we will miss her.

For Sister Halladay's Mom!

Hi Gina-
We had a great tour given by Sister Halladay at the Smith Farm. She told us stories about the cabin the Smith's first lived in and about when the Angel Moroni visited Joseph. She told us in Joseph's words the First Vision and bore her testimony- what a sweet spirit! Best of all, she finished the tour by singing her mission song with her companion- she said there was no way you would believe she did that! It was awesome seeing her in this setting- she's going to have a great adventure here! After a teaching appointment we took her out for Thai food with her companion, SIster Nielson, and the Pinegar's- we left her with a big hug! All my best- Susie

Meeting the Pinegar's

Hi Family-

We had a wonderful day today! We met up with Matthew's grandparents at the Peter Whitmer Sr farm and they gave us a tour of the log cabin where the church was organized. They are an amazing couple with such great knowledge of the church- we loved them, Matthew! We stood and looked out and imagined all the people coming to see the Prophet Joseph and the excitement that they must have felt over the Book of Mormon.












We then went and saw where the first Book of Mormon was printed, Martin Harris's farm, the temple, and ended at the Hill Cummorah. The visitor center there is beautiful and has some great displays and videos. Two very sweet sister missionaries showed us around and shared their testimonies then we watched the Joseph Smith movie. Afterwards, we took a walk up at the top of the hill- it was a beautiful view and we thought about Moroni walking there and Joseph finding the plates.















Love to you all- Mom and Dad

PS- I miss my puppies, it must be time to go home!

Jet Boats- Really Fun??

Dear Jon-

Lynn says thanks for the idea of going on the jet boats up the Niagra River through the class 5 rapids. I just want to thank you for giving Lynn the idea so I could be terrified and clean out my sinuses with the thousands of gallons of water that went up my nose. Please, next time keep your ideas to yourself-

Susie

So Tired and So Wet!

Hi Everybody!

-flew to Rochester
-drove to Niagra Falls, Canada
-went on Maid of the Mist
-got soaked
-saw IMAX movie about the falls
-got back to the hotel right before a big storm blew in
-hung over our 16th floor balcony to get a picture of the falls at night!!!
-will never do that again
-miss our soft squishy bed at the St Regis and Harold and McKinley
-love you all

mom and dad

A Quick Hi!

Hi Guys-
It's been another great day- astounding, somber, hot, gross, scary, and fun!
Central Park was astounding- as soon as you walked down the path into the park the noise of the city disappeared! What a beautiful park- it reminded me of the park in Paris! We just walked in without knowing where we were going and after asking a few people for directions we found The Boathouse and had brunch next to a pond- very nice!

We went to St. Paul's Church- it's right across the street from the WTC and when the buildings fell not a single window was broken. I think it's the 2nd oldest church in NYC and during the recovery efforts it became the center for the rescue workers and people looking for loved ones. It has memorials through the church and I hesitated taking pictures in there because it felt so sacred, but we wanted you to see some of the things in there. It just made Dad mad all over again and I of course had to wear my sunglasses so no one would see me crying.

The subway was DANG HOT today! Not only that, we stood and let 2 trains go by until we realized the one we were waiting for didn't run on weekends! Also, not only are California girls cuter, but our rats are too! While we were waiting about 5 or 6 rats ran along the tracks- they were not like our minky brown rats with the cute eyes- they were ugly grey city rats!


Holy Cow- New York is one big city! We went to the Top of the Rock and yes, I was brave enough to go to the very top of the observation deck. You can't see very well from the picture, but I'm clutching the glass so hard my knuckles are white! I kept telling Dad that I could feel the building sway, but he told me there was no way it was- I still think it was though!



I felt so bad tonight- we needed some ice and there are no ice machines anywhere! So we called the butler and he said "Right away Mrs. Kershaw, can I bring you anything else?" I assured him that was all we needed and a few minutes later he showed up at the door in his tails and white gloves with the ice in a bucket on a silver tray! He bowed and noticed we'd eaten some of our fruit and he wanted to know would we like more or maybe did we have a favorite fruit we like better? I think he felt bad we only needed some ice! I was sad I didn't think to get a picture of him though since we'll never have a butler again- thank heavens for AmEx points! Heading to bed to finish watching the USC game. BYU did great today- GO COUGS! Off to Niagra Falls tommorrow, love you all!

Mom and Dad

PS for Emma, Sophie, and Logan- watch the mailbox for a surprise from us!

NYC

Dear Kids-
We flew into New York City on September 11- a little nervous to fly that day, but Lynn kept assuring me it was one of the safest days- there was quite a bit of extra security at LAX so it's probably true! We took a taxi from JFK into the city where we were staying and had the most fascinating talk with our driver- he told us he was from Haiti but had been here so long that he considers himself to be American. Of course our conversation touched on 9/11 and he told us he was in a building next to the WTC when it was hit by the airplanes and how proud he was of how our country stood behind New York. We talked lots about what made our country so great- the opportunities available for anyone willing to work and the diversity that makes it so interesting. I really wanted to invite him to our house so he could do a fireside for the YM/YW about appreciating all they have. I almost gave him a hug when he dropped us off- he was awesome!





















We have been having a great time- we saw "South Pacific", ate Italian sausage sandwiches from a street vendor, took a bus tour of the city, spent 3 hours in the rain at the Statue of Liberty and walked up 158 stairs (ask us any question about her and we could answer them!), made lots of new friends from England, ate at two great Italian restaurants thanks to our new best friends Harold and McKinley (the concierge at the hotel), conquered the subway thanks to some great New Yorkers who pointed out the right platform and train, saw the Manhattan Temple and the lights last night from the WTC- all in just 30 hours! We love our country and seeing this all-especially on 9/11- has made us even prouder of America!

Thanks everyone for the flowers- it was so sweet of you all and we loved them! There were certain things we saw that we knew you would love:


Mandy- you would have loved figuring out the subway!
Chelsea- you would have loved South Pacific- and probably been singing along!
Liz- shoes, what more can I say? We ate dinner next door to the Manilo Blanik shoe boutique
Whit- I wish you could have been here w/dad when he saw the Apple Store- it had glass steps!
Ryan and Jon- the Bentley was awesome!
Dan- you would have loved asking questions with Lynn about the Statue of Liberty!
Matthew- you would have loved the Italian sausage sandwiches- they were enormous!
Emma, Sophie, and Logan- we saw FAO Schwartz today and know you would all have loved playing on the big piano!

Love you all and see you soon!

Mom and Dad