Sent: 03/5/2017 From Chris
Subject: Lots of Pics, Blue Lemon, Grove Creek, Christopher and Kim Update March 5, 2017
Westra Family and Friends (March 5, 2017)
Thanks for your update Derek. Little ones sure do say some funny things.
Friday evening we went to Salt Lake and picked up the boys and then met Conner, Amber, and Kadan at the Blue Lemon for dinner. The service was strangely slow, but we finally got our food and we really enjoyed visiting. We have been trying to work out a time with Conner and Amber. They want us to come see their apartment now that they got their remodeling done and it all looks nice. We will plan a time to do that.
Friday during the day I was able to do a lot of yard work and get some more beets planted in the prepared beds. I’m going to grow a lot of food this year!
Yesterday I went on a mountain run up Grove Creek Canyon. I went up to the bench and bridge, and wanted to head up a ridge, but it was too steep in the two areas that I tried. So I headed back across the mountain and then tried the ridge coming from the West, and that was more doable. So I went a ways up that. 211 floors, 17,000 steps. It was good to be up there.
Kadan is up in Logan doing his bus driving training this weekend. He will be driving a tour bus in Alaska in the summer. Elder Taylor is doing well - he is in East Orange in New Jersey. He says it’s “ghetto”. One day a policeman pulled up behind them and said there were shots nearby, and escorted them home with his lights on. Aaron is still enjoying his job at Cinemark - he is now an usher (he started with concessions).
Kim studies hard every day. One reason she really enjoys her schooling is because of the other women who are taking the evening class with her. They really get along well - and Kim has some good friends there. There is one lady about Kim’s age and they do a lot together. She likes the instructor also. The people make such a difference. It was just the opposite at Kneaders - Kim didn’t really bond or feel that she “fit in” at Kneaders with the other three ladies who worked in the bakery. And it didn’t feel like a “team” at all.
I submitted two new apps this week. I spent much of February learning graphics for the apps, and also understanding and using gyroscope data and accelerometer data from the iPad and iPhone. My goal was to get some graphics app into the store by Feb 28. I didn’t quite make it, but I did submit it March 1. It’s not exactly what I want to create, but it’s what I could make in the time and focus I had. I learned lots while doing it, not just about graphics, but about programming in general (which will help me on all other apps).
Then I quickly finished my 101 Sleep Tips app. I actually reduced it to 52 Sleep Tips, in order to finish it up. It had all the essential and basic tips in there. I’m still waiting for approval for those apps.
Here’s something I’m promoting, to help out my friend Iain. He promoted for me over a year ago but his product and page were not ready then. So I’m reciprocating for him now. Check it out below:
Have a great week!
Christopher and Kim
P.S. The word of the week is brevity: concise and exact use of words in writing or speech.
Sent: 03/12/2017 From Chris
Subject: Funny story about Kim, Lots of pics - Christopher and Kim update Sun, 12 Mar 2017 10:51:20 -0600
Westra Family and Friends (March 12, 2017)
Friday evening we went out to eat with Mom and Dad. We went to McGrath’s Fish house, which is our usual favorite. But it was completely shut down for good. Fortunately, we got there quite early, and Mom answered her phone, so we redirected them and went to the Blue Lemon. It was tastier (for me) than the last time we went there. Then since we were close to their house we went over there after for some Speed Rummikub.
Saturday we went to the Belly Dancing Festival to watch Amber dance. She is in a belly dancing club. They had all ages there presenting their belly dancing, and I learned that different countries had different styles. So some dances were Egyptian, and some were Turkish, etc. They also had booths with crafts and food and clothing all around.
Back to the rest of the week. Last Sunday we had our family event, but diverged from waffle fare to lots of smoked meat and side dishes. Gray has been into smoking meets lately and he did that part. We had Camden and Cayson and Krystal and Aaron also went. It was fun to visit with everyone.
I’ve got a funny story about Kim…
Tuesday Kim went to the Honda Dealership to have some work done on our Pilot. She took her homework with her to do in the waiting room, as she knew there would be a wait. Well, after a time the service guy comes out and calls out the name “Taylor” and nobody else responds, and so Kim calls him over. In the back of her mind, she thinks, “I thought I put Westra on the form, but they must have Taylor on the records since I’ve come here for many years.
So the guy explains that this needs to be done, and that needs to be done, and what is most important. Kim decides to have some of the work done, but not all of it. Then about 30 minutes later the same guy comes out into the waiting room and calls out “Westra”. At this point, Kim is thinking, “Oh no”. She meekly raises her hand and the guy gives her a strange look.
Yep, Kim approved some other lady’s work. When the lady found out (lady in her 60s), she is shocked and looks at Kim and says, “What did you have done to my car?” Kim answers sheepishly, “Only what I could afford.” So Kim had a story to tell, and I’m sure that the other lady and the service guy went home and shared the funny experience too.
It turned out OK. Apparently they did the other lady’s work for free since she didn’t actually approve it. When they found that out, the lady said to Kim, “I wish you had approved the other work too”. She gave us a coupon worth $100 (since she didn’t need it), so we got some savings on our bill.
Wednesday I went on a mountain run across Mt. Mahogany. I went up Grove Creek for the one long switchback, which put me back out on high on the foothills. Then I went across the mountain to the north on a trail that I discovered the other day (and traced out on Google Earth). It was more up and down than I had thought, but I like that. I got 244 floors, and 20,000 steps. I saw one other mountain runner up there, and he had actually left from Battle Creek Canyon (and so had come farther than I did). I would have had to turn back earlier due to thirst, but then I ran into some snow and ate that to provide for my water needs.
Aaron showed up Thursday and went on a date with a girl up here in Orem. He had met her through some teen dating app, and so this was their first time actually meeting. They went sock shopping at the mall, and got food, and also went hiking. He said he will probably go out with her again.
Kim is nearing the end of unit 2. I submitted a new app called 101 Quotes from the Science of Getting Rich. Aspen came over last night and she and Krystal went out and did some stuff together. We got a picture of Elder Taylor with his Mission President and wife. See below.
Have a super week!
Christopher and Kim
P.S. The word of the week is prevalent: widespread in a particular area at a particular time.
Sent: 03/19/2017 From Chris
Subject: 6 Pics - Mt. Olympus Hike, The Shack, Thoughts
Westra Family and Friends (March 19, 2017)
It’s been another great week. Kadan was off school for Spring Break and came up Wednesday. Thursday he and I drove to Salt Lake to go on a hike with Grandpa. We picked him up and then drove up to the Mt. Olympus trail, starting about 2:20. We planned to hike until about 5:00, so we would have time to get ready for Camden’s Percussion Concert that evening. It was a super nice day, and there were lots of other hikers. I left them after a while, and started running. I got about 3/4 of the way to the top, maybe 4/5 of the way. I was up pretty high and getting into the snow. I met one group coming down and they made it to the top, and said it was pretty slick. Their shoes and the lower part of their pants were wet, and I really didn’t want to run down with wet shoes.
So I turned around and headed down, and met Kadan and Grandpa a short ways after the stream. I hiked with them for a while, and then explored the Bonneville Shore Line trail and took a loop on that to the bottom. 18,000 steps by the end of the day. 243 floors.
Then we all went to Camden’s concert - he plays the Xylophone and other percussion instruments. I drove Camden and Cayson home in my car. They skipped school Friday. Casandra had my car. Tuesday her car broke down in American Fork and she couldn’t get it going again. So she ended up taking my car so she could get home. We drove up to Salt Lake Thursday in Kadan’s car, so that worked out well for me to get it Thursday eve.
Saturday morning Kim went to the Women’s Conference for our Stake, and really enjoyed it. She was particularly impressed with one speaker who had some major trials in her life, and told me all about it when she got home. Cayson worked with me cleaning the carport and pruning, and Camden and I worked on Grandma’s MargiesMessages.com website, getting the Printable Thoughts linked and published and categorized.
We are about half done with the thoughts - check them out below:
Then Saturday evening we went to the movies. Camden and Cayson saw Beauty and the Beast, and Kim and I and Kadan and Krystal saw The Shack. A couple of years ago Kim and I listened to the audiobook of The Shack and really enjoyed it. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, and the movie followed the book well and was excellent also. Go see it and support good movies like this one. There is some controversy about the movie, which I think is silly (the controversy, not the movie). I can look beyond how God is portrayed and learn from the lessons of Love, Eternal Perspective, and Forgiveness. God is Love.
Kadan went to Conner’s place on Saturday morning and afternoon and they worked on his car together. Aaron came to our house a couple afternoons after school to work on homework, trying to get some work in before the end of the term, which was Friday.
At the first of the week a couple of Kim’s teeth were hurting badly. She was in a lot of pain, so she had me call and make an appointment. Wednesday morning was the first we could get, by calling around. She ended up having some serious (and expensive) work done and was groggy when she came home, so she took that evening off of school.
I got another app finished and in the store - 101 Best Science of Getting Rich Quotes. I haven’t even promoted it, but it’s getting good downloads already. I’m a lot closer to getting ads on my free apps (it’s more complex than you might think). I did a lot more planting this week. More abdominal pain this week - sometimes so bad that it’s hard to focus and work, and gets me discouraged. Not sure what to do - I’ve been to so many doctors with no help. I’m glad I’ve got my business, and yard work, to keep me occupied and productive!
Have a super week!
Christopher and Kim
P.S. The word of the day is Disparage: regard or represent as being of little worth.
Sent: 03/26/2017 From Chris
Subject: 2 Pics, Short Update
from Christopher and Kim - March 26, 2017
Sun, 26 Mar 2017 11:21:17 -0600
Westra Family and Friends
(March 26, 2017)
Here is an update about our week.
Krystal had a party on Friday night with a bunch of friends, at her
apartment. They played games and had food. Camden went camping Friday to
Saturday up American Fork Canyon. They got rained on in the morning so
they didn’t stay too long on Saturday. Saturday evening was the Women’s
Conference, and Kim and Krystal went and joined Courtney at her ward for a
dinner and the conference. Kadan came up Friday for an ice skating
activity and then stayed here that night. Aaron stopped by (I think Wednesday)
for a date with a girl in Orem. It was the same girl he went out with
before. Courtney and Seth stopped by for lunch on Thursday.
Kim finished up her book report for school, which was many pages long.
She got full credit for it. It was on the book “The Last Lecture” which
is a great book. I’ve been working all week on apps and websites.
One main focus is getting ads on my free apps. It turned out to be quite
complex, and I did need to hire my programmer on Upwork to do a bit for me (and
teach me). I have one app re-submitted and waiting for approval. My
Quote apps have been very popular, and the ability to “share” the quote from
the app via email or FB has helped a lot. It took many months to get my
first 1000 app downloads, and now I’m 94 percent of the way to my second 1000
downloads (in a much shorter time). I average about 10 downloads per day
right now.
Tuesday I went on a mountain run up Big Baldy. It was a warm day here, so
I didn’t dress very warmly. But 5/6 of the way up, several thousand feet
higher, and with a 40 mile an hour wind, I got very cold. I was cold in
spite of the warm hat and thick gloves that I did have… I just had shorts and a
T-shirt. I went up a ridge, with no real trail, and I won’t take that
route again. I fell a couple times coming down, as it was very steep, and
almost fell many other times. Great workout, 270 floors. I’m really
glad I had my poles. I didn’t quite make it to the top.
Kim and I have been enjoying Wild Blueberry Pie - I found a recipe and she has
been making a couple pies per week. Friday we had a pie and watched a
couple episodes of Scorpion. It’s a good mix of action, humor, repartee,
and science. It’s been very rainy the last part of the week, so that’s
slowed down my yard work and planting. Next week is General Conference
and we will have Camden and Cayson here, and a couple of Krystal's friends from
her mission are staying over with us also.
Have a super week!
Christopher and Kim
P.S. The word of the day is felicity: Intense happiness. It’s the
last word in the hymn “Sweet is the Work” (Page 147).
Here are a
couple pics of Elder Taylor
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