JCFree Family

Hello, this is Mike Free. I don't know if ya'll remember me, or not. I was the one that made those one cookies...you know, the ones with MILK chocolate...not the fake-o semi-sweet chocolate.
Anyways, I was just writing a short email to Sese Fry and wanted to show her a photo. I also wanted to see if I still remembered how to post things on the blog. So, I hope you enjoy this photo and entry. The photo was taken by Jopes' phone.
I've just got to say, that I have such an awesome nephew!

We haven't uploaded pictures in some time. Here are some of the surprise visit with Elizabeth, Joseph and baby Jopes. We also have Becca's graduation and even some cub scout ones. I think there might be some birthday ones as well. I think it starts with us opening a package from Melinda! See them all here.

Our good neighbors to the west moved last week to Connecticut. One of the things they were trying to get rid of was an oversize bean bag chair. Turns out it was very oversized. Tonight we proved that by getting our whole family on it at the same time. Amazing the things you can figure out to do when you have a free Sunday evening together...

Here is the first picture taken of Joseph Hord Free, by his Dad's phone. He came right on schedule at 8:50pm. He weighed in at 6 lbs 6 oz and 19 inches long with lots of dark almost curly hair!

We had a great family trip taking Jake to the MTC last week. We captured a few pictures along the way. Though we missed some of the best parts: a session in the Salt Lake Temple, an open house tour of the new Draper Temple, and visiting all of our friends and family in Utah. It was a great time.

We haven't heard from Jake yet but are confident that all is well. If you would like to write to him his PO Box in the MTC is 217.

Looking at the pictures you would think all we ever do is eat out! That just happens to be the only time we think about breaking out the camera!

Here are all the pictures:

Jessica's call arrived today right on schedule. Only problem is she's in Provo--not Mesa! So just like last time we are going to wait patiently for a whole week to learn what it says! Last chance to get your guesses in....

Elizabeth and I decided to try some recipe that we saw a while ago. I got the recipe from Sis. Foster...the amazing women my companion and I stayed with in my last area. She sent me two cook books that she had made for our wedding. So, Doodle Wopps was a fun name and it looked good. So, with some of our left over ham we tried it out! It was really good and was very easy clean up. You can see pictures by clicking here.

As of today, Jessica's mission papers are in Salt Lake! Within the next few weeks we will know where she is heading. In the mean time, it's lots of fun to guess! So please add comments below and let us know what part of the vineyard you think Jess will be called to serve in.

Here is a nice picture of a pinyon jay taken from our back window. I like it because it shows his eyes, The eyes always have it when you take bird pictures. Perhaps in sharing it on the blog all of my family will see that I love beautiful wildlife and that we can share pictures when we get them.

This is the tail end of the building process of the sleigh that took place on Christmas Day, in Grandpa's garage.
On Christmas Eve, the plan was hatched and ready to be put into motion the following morning. There was hardware to buy and large wood to secure. Measurements were discussed, reworked, and refigured. Runners were cut, metals was pounded, beat and forced into place. Seats were set in and braced for the worst, hand rails installed for the turns and the worst. Doubters were present mocking was plenty! But there tune changed from the ride a plenty! Deer were seen and chased of course; Lauren was fleet but not so nimble as their course. The young ones were cold but toughed it through a ride. Problems were present and then pacified. All went well and now at Grandpas, a sleigh awaits for the next hands to touch, to bestow a name and color but no fluff. Enjoy the images, there will be others I am sure, as the evolution of the "Sled” will continue into next year!

Jake's mission call arrived today, but Jake isn't due to get home from BYU-I until Monday. So far he is saying he will wait till he gets home but I don't how long that resolve will last. So hurry and get your guesses in. We're looking for both location and leave date.

ps. has anyone ever actually steamed open a letter? we're wondering if there is anything we should be aware of before we attempt it....

Hey everyone! Just thought we'd give a quick little update on life way up north!
Joseph played on a competitive ultimate frisbee team this semester. His team, the Titans, only lost one game the entire season, which took them to the championship finals. They played and practiced hard, and it payed off! They won the championship 14-10. Yay! Go Titans! I love going to watch him play... he enjoys it so much.
About three weeks ago, we were accepted as the new assistant managers for one of the mens housing complexes, so we packed up and moved that very weekend! Now we live right across from campus again, right next door to where we both lived before we were married. It's a 3 bedroom apartment, and we love it! One of the bedrooms is even painted pink!
Which brings us to our next bit of news... we're sure most of you have heard already that we're having a baby boy! Makes the pink bedroom kinda pointless, but we're excited nonetheless! I'll just have to turn the pink room into my project room or something. :)

This is our fearsome duo! Audrey, as Jen says, is no longer into the sweet costumes. So, without further delay I introduce Countess Audrey Free! Bringing the sweet side to our Halloween component is the Snow Princess Savannah. We finished off the night with the girls taking Jen and I to High School Musical 3 at the Scera! We had a Cake Cook off that happened in September, that turned into a Cake Decorating extravaganza!!!!!! We had two teams consisting of; Audrey representing Sweet Tomboys, Momma Jen and Savannah were the Sweet Cakes! The battle was fierce, creative juices flowing, sugar headaches following…….. ENJOY!!!!!!!

"Count" Jordan had a Halloween Band Concert this evening and it was really good (of course). All the trophies from his marching band (Orem High Marching Band with half Mountain View students) were displayed in the lobby. They did very well this year and racked up 23 trophies in six competitions earning first place in their division in each. Just in case the slideshow does not display or you want to see larger pictures, you can see them here

We're a little slow in getting these first pictures up here, but here they are - our first pictures of the baby! These are actually from our first appointment back in August. We find out if we've got a boy or girl on October 30th, so if you want to guess, do so before then!! :) We love you all!