Dear Family and Friends,
We look forward to this time of year when we get to hear from so many of you that are near and dear to us and we hope you are all well and enjoying this time of year. It's always a challenge to take a moment and reflect on the past year, but it's a good way to review all the changes that have happened in our family. Each time I sit down to write this letter I try to make it short and sweet, but when you have six children--that's just sort of an impossible task. Nothing like sifting through the memories to appreciate all the many blessings we've enjoyed in 2016!
Christi and Jim and their family welcomed Samantha Louise Higham on May 28, 2016. It was the start of an incredibly busy two months for them. Jim graduated from Roseman Dental School the next week; left for Army Officers basic training three days after that and was gone to Texas for the next 8 weeks. I was able to come help Christi and the kids for about 3 1/2 weeks before I had to get home. During this time they were getting their house ready to sell and packing and purging so things would be ready. Not to mention ballet recitals, end of school parties, gymnastics, piano recitals, etc. We were simply amazed at all she was able to handle while taking care of a new baby and recovering from labor. They sold their house in only a few days and once Jim had driven back from Texas, they packed the house in two days and were on their way to Lacey, Washington where Jim is spending a year in an AEGD program (Advanced Education in General Dentistry at Fort Lewis). He passed his training with flying colors and is now working full time as a dentist in the army. Their oldest, Tori, was baptized in November and Samantha was blessed too. We spent a wonderful weekend with them. They will probably only spend a year in Washington before being sent somewhere else, so we are enjoying the easy flight up there to see them and spend time with the grandkids. They continue to work hard at raising their beautiful family and we just wish they lived closer!
Jeremy and Sierra continue working and living in Manhattan, New York. Sierra is teaching at the same high school she started with last year and will finish her Masters from Teacher's College at Columbia University this December. They recently moved to a different apartment since they were in student housing and they knew their lease would end once she graduated. 
They found a wonderful dog in a shelter last year who they named Maeby and tell us she's the best dog ever! Jeremy is still working at his start up Hue and Stripe and began another project related to the new Pokemon Go game. These two endeavors keep him up late into the night and working hard non-stop. They finally decided they needed a break and headed over to Puerto Rico and had a great adventure there. Sierra serves in the Young Women and Jeremy is serves as the Elders Quorum Secretary in their ward. We don't get to see them often enough but were lucky to have Emma's wedding to get everyone back to the West Coast. Any excuse!! We were hoping to see them on our trip to Maine, but we missed them which gives us a good excuse to head back to the East coast in the near future.
Russ and Annie are still in Lebanon, New Hampshire while he finishes his MBA at Tuck (Dartmouth University). Russ was in San Francisco this summer working at Bain & Company as an intern and has been offered a place there after graduation if he decides to accept it. He and a few of his friends are also working hard on a startup which is going well and makes the decision to stay or go just a little bit more complicated. They have loved the experiences they are having on the East coast and just about every weekend is filled with some kind of adventure. They taught several ballroom dance classes this year which were a big hit! They also took a trip to visit Turkey during one of his breaks and enjoyed seeing that part of the world. Annie continues to work at Dartmouth in their fundraising department. She plans their donor events and alumni events and was able to spend a few weeks in San Francisco at their office there so she could be with Russ this past summer. Their exciting news is the birth of Emily Annette Walker born November 20, 2016 weighing in at 5 lb 13 oz. She was a month early and Annie had a 21 hour labor of love bringing her into this world. She already has Mom and Dad totally wrapped around her teeny tiny finger! This brings the grandchildren count to 5!
released from the Young Adult ward Bishopric at BYU. They seem to take great delight in the shenanigans of their class and it's fun to see the funny things these kids do and say. They brought pink and blue fireworks to Island Park to surprise us with the gender of their baby and it turns out they are having a boy! They also found a dog they named Remus and went through all the training and growing pains of having a puppy, but they love their dog something fierce. I don't think Dave has done as much fishing as he would like, but they are still enjoying living in Provo. They have both taken up photography as a hobby and send us some great pictures one in awhile.
Emma's big news of the year was she was getting married to Nicholas Bradford. This after me asking repeatedly to please warn me if there was going to be another wedding! Because of the grandbabies due in December, we had a very limited window of wedding possibilities. Of course she was on her Study Abroad trip in the spring when we began to think it might happen. So we had a very crazy summer planning an August wedding and getting everything finished in order for it to happen! She and Nick were married on August 18, 2016 and it was a beautiful, wonderful day. Nick is the youngest of 8 by 8 years and is from Virginia. Each one of his siblings made it to the wedding and we enjoyed meeting his family. He is currently finishing his degree at BYU and applying/interviewing for dental school. (Even before he knew Emma's dad was a dentist!). He will graduate this April and she is madly trying to cram two years of college into one so she can graduate and go with him when he is accepted. Emma was accepted to the BYU Business school with an emphasis in Strategy and is currently working at an internship at Lucid which she is thoroughly enjoying. Nick is working as a TA and handling all the dental school applications and interviews, etc. along with his classes. They are both insanely busy, but love being married. Update: Nick was accepted to a dental school and is still waiting to hear from a few more before he makes his final decision!
Corinne is in her Junior year at BYU and studying Bioinformatics. She's very good at what she does and is working for two different professors in their labs. She stayed at school during Spring/Summer so we missed having her home with us. She also missed her boyfriend David, who was working in Arizona most of the summer. They were very happy to be reunited a few weeks before school started and got engaged August 27, 2016. (They were nice and waited one week after Emma was married to tell me they were planning to get married too!) So I've been in the throes of planning the last Penrod wedding! She's currently serving as the choir director in her ward and it's been so fun to talk with her and hear what she's working on with the young adults in her ward. It's a switch for Corinne since she's usually the pianist, but she's doing an awesome job. Corinne also went to the temple this year the weekend of Emma's wedding so we were able to have a special experience having all of our children and their spouses with us in the temple. She is still our go to for any graphics we need or technology questions. David was a good sport and came to Emma's wedding and basically saved our lives by helping us out so much. He's in his second year of BYU Law school so they will graduate at the same time, hurray!! He's a great guy and we are excited to have him join the family!
I am still playing the organ (when I'm not gone somewhere) and teach Gospel Doctrine with two other teachers. I have so loved studying the Book of Mormon this year and love teaching the class. We have been able to travel to see the kids often and I was able to spend a week in SLC at the Family History Center working on my family history. I could do that every day for the rest of my life and die happy, but it's a challenge to find the time right now. Hopefully next year will slow down some and I can get back to it. I find that even as an empty nester, I spend a lot of my time mothering and supporting my kids and I still love it. Kris and I were able to fit in two scrapbooking trips this year and she's finally up to date (I'm not, boo). We love our trips together even though we work insanely hard to do as much scrapbooking as we possibly can. On a sad note, my oldest brother Rand passed away from pancreatic cancer. He was too young, but we were glad his suffering has ended.
We were able to take a few trips this year including our traditional Island Park trip. We were able to get most of our kids and spouses there (missing Jim and Sierra) and really enjoyed the perfect summer vacation. It's truly one of my favorite places on the planet. In August we traveled with Carey's parents to Scandinavia and it was the most amazing trip. It was one of Annette's dreams to see Norway where her ancestors were from (and it turns out mine too) and we signed up for a Tauck Tour. We had such a wonderful time and were completely spoiled by the quality of everything on the tour. We spent time in Denmark, Sweden and Norway and even though it rained, it could not have been a better trip. We loved spending time with Carey's parents too. We were also able to take a trip to Acadia, Maine and see Annie and Russ there too. It was so beautiful and the lobster was to die for. We could get used to this travel thing:)Our year was a full one with so many wonderful visits from friends and family. We are really grateful for the many blessings we enjoy and especially at this time of year to reflect on the Savior and the gospel in our lives. I keep thinking of the peace the gospel brings to us and the reassurance that things will be ok. Grateful for our growing family and all the good things they are doing. We hope you and yours are well and happy and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
With love,
Carey and Fawn
