2015 Christmas Letter

The PDF of the letter is in Dropbox (2015)

Christmas 2015

Christmas Eve 2015 was on a Thursday. All the families met at Grandma and Grandpa's house per usual. There were several soups, breadsticks and treats. Grandpa had the idea to put santa hats upside-down in the big vases, with poinsetta flowers. It was a fun and unique decor idea. 

After eating, everyone gathered for the candy bar game ...

... and then there was the annual slideshow.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

2015 Recap - Slideshow and Calendar Pages

 As the end of the year rolls around, it's time for the calendar and slideshow. 

It is always interesting to reflect on all that happened on the Westra side in 2015.

Most memorable, was Dad(Grandpa) having a heart attack.  Jase, who had been with him when it happened, had to make the phone calls to all the siblings. Dad has been in excellent health and very active, so this was absolutely unexpected. All the siblings gathered at the hospital and it was touch and go for a bit. Then, it seemed he would pull through physically, but his mental health was still in question. Happily, after just a few rough days, Daddy was back.

In Scott's family ... we had a wedding!

The first wedding of a Westra grandchild.

... it was the year of the missionaries! Chris and Kim and THREE missionaries out for 2015. Kim's two girls, Crystal and Kourtney. They both finished their missions here at the end of the year. Kaden is almost home (January) and Corin will be leaving. They will have a combined "homecoming/farewell" for their family! Landon left of course, but so did Janika, Wendy's oldest. 

Shane's family made a big move as the year came to a close ... literally. Due to job changes, they are leaving Utah and heading to California! We've been so lucky to have all our family close by. We will really miss having them around.

Derek and Danielle had some unexpected, but wonderful news! They are pregnant! After infertility and two darling adopted daughters, they were going to get to experience the entire pregnancy process themselves as well. Derek has been so cute documenting Danielle's pregnancy progression. It's another girl, and she's expected in January.

So THAT's what has been up with the Westra bunch this past year. 

Here's the Slideshow 

(it is a little long, I mean it's the WHOLE year from seven families!)

... and there are the calendar pages

 January

 February

 March

April

 May

 June

 July

 August

 September

 October

 November

December

Breadsticks and Rolls

Okay - this was not a classic Westra recipe during the early years. Jen discovered it after she was married. There has been many a Christmas dinner with breadsticks, which everyone seems to enjoy (sans the Celiac folks, sorry!), so they are part of the Westra experience now. Jen picked up this recipe at a Homemaking meeting. A neighbor's mother taught home economics at the high school and after years of students making this recipe, she said that it rarely goes wrong. It's great for dinner rolls, breadsticks, sweet rolls (cinnamon rolls and orange rolls) and even scones. It's flexible, you can use it the day you make it, or you can make it ahead and refrigerate it (which can be a timesaver for rushed mornings or a great way to spread out your "right out of the oven" rolls without having to make it all from scratch each day).

2 Tbls. Yeast

1 Cup Warm Water

2 Cups  Milk

1 Cup Shortening

2 Cups Reconstituted Instant Potatoes

1 Cup Sugar

2 Tsp. Salt

4 Beaten Eggs

10-12 Cups Flour

Dissolve yeast in water and set aside.  Combine milk and shortening in pan and scald. Mix up the potatoes ... let the milk and potatoes cool to lukewarm. Add milk, potatoes, sugar, salt and eggs to the yeast mixture and mix.  Add flour until the dough pulls away from the sides. Knead. Cover and let the dough double in size (or place in refrigerator until ready for use, up to a week). Shape into rolls and let rise until double.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes... ovens to vary, so I always keep an eye on them, leave them in until they are golden brown on top. Spread melted butter over the tops as soon as you pull them out of the oven.

For dinner roll shapes, I like 

• Crescents: Roll dough into a large circle and spread butter over the dough. Using a pizza cutter, cut into pie-shaped pieces and roll up, starting with the larger end. Place the rolls on a large, buttered cookie sheet (with sides), cover and let them rise.
• Butterflake: Roll dough into a large rectangle and spread butter over the dough. Cut the dough into strips about 1 1/2 inch wide. Stack four strips and then cut into individual rolls. Place in greased muffin tins to rise.
• Breadsticks:  Roll dough into a large rectangle and spread butter over the dough. Take a large cookie sheet (with sides) and spread butter all over the pan. sprinkle garlic salt and Parmesan cheese over the butter in the pan. Cut the dough into strips and lay them side by side in the pan. Sprinkle garlic salt and Parmesan cheese over the dough and let them rise.

For sweet rolls

• Orange Rolls:  Roll dough into a large rectangle and spread butter over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with sugar and orange rind. Roll the dough (jellyroll style) and then cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Place them in buttered muffin tins to rise. Bake. Make icing from powdered sugar and orange juice. Spread over cooled rolls.
• Cinnamon Rolls:  Roll dough into a large rectangle and spread butter over the dough. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over the dough. Sprinkle a little brown sugar over the dough as well. If you like raisins, add them at this point. Roll the dough jelly roll style. Cut into individual rolls (about 2" thick) and position them on a buttered cookie sheet. Leave space between the rolls for them to rise. Bake. Make icing from powdered sugar and milk, or top with cream cheese frosting.

For scones ... simply roll out the dough, cut into strips or squares, and fry them in hot oil. There is also Aunt Lorrie's recipe specifically for scones (which calls for them to rise) but this "frybread" seems to be a hit too. Top with butter and sugar.

Birthday Upside-Down Cake

 

In 2015, the Westra Clan was doing a good job of meeting each month to celebrate birthdays and just get together and enjoy each other's company. Westras and Waffles (you can see the waffles in the photos above). When there were birthdays, there was also cake. November birthdays are Adria, Margie, Jen, Calder, Grayson, Rick and Mitch. The cake from Sam's Club, white with buttercream frosting is a favorite of Mom/Margie's. Jen wanted to get a picture, and tilted it (just slightly) for a better camera view when, whoops! It slipped right off and fell upside-down onto the counter! You may have heard of pineapple-upside-down cake, which is something that it supposed to have an upside-down issue. The poor cake here didn't look so good ... but hey, it still tasted yummy ... ish. There was lots of laughter with the minor food fiasco.

Derek shared his view of the event ...

Mom had a couple other food mess-up memories ... she mentioned a time when she and Dad were living in Richland. She made a pumpkin pie and then accidentally dumped it upside-down on the open oven door.  Another upside-down upset had Aunt Lorrie's cheesecake right onto Grandma Norman's carpet (Mom/Margie had to claim responsibility for this one as well). 

What other food fiascos are out there in Westra history? Jen forgetting about the toffee cooking on the stove and filling the kitchen with smoke. The gingersnaps that Shane made that didn't bake ... leading Mom and Dad to buy a new oven, just to try and bake the dough to the same effect (it hadn't been the oven after all!)  If you have additional memories, write them in the comments, or text/email them to Jen and they'll be added in an update. You KNOW there have to be more fun food stories out there!

... and Happy November birthdays, even upside-down!

Father's Day 2015

Every year, we have our annual Westra Family Father's Day BBQ at Scott's home. Scott doesn't send out emails often, but we enjoy it when he does, because they showcase his humor. Here is his invite for 2015 (for future reference and posterity!) 

Greetings! 
Here is your formal invitation to the annual Father's Day BBQ at the Draper Westra's. The weather report is indicating sunny with clear skies and a high of 86 degrees. 
We plan on starting at 5:00 pm with dinner. We will have some gluten free chicken and hot dogs and baked beans and a fruit and/or seven layer salad. We would love it if you could bring some Brazilian cheese rolls, chips, salad, desserts or Brazilian cheese rolls. 
Special invitations and activities: 

• Significant others are of course invited but don't expect any of us to be on our best behavior. Take that as fair warning. For the FIRST time ever, in an effort to be more inclusive, Roxy, as well as Grayson's duck(s) are invited to participate. Sorry Chris, the only chickens allowed will be those on the grill. All other species will need to be cleared with the Father's Day BBQ Committee and we assume no responsibility for the health or safety of your pets (or for you or your children for that matter.) Disclaimer: We have placed snail bait in the flower gardens and will "fog" the yard with insect spray two hours before guest arrival. 
• The annual Westra Family Father's Day photo session will take place between 6:10 pm and 6:11 pm (yes, we realize that creates a minimal familial time commitment of 72 minutes - deal with it). 
• Immediately following the family photo session will be the first annual "Lamar Westra Look-Alike contest." That's right, get your multiple plaid button down shirts and baseball cap on and grab your trekking poles. Winners will be determined by the number of likes for all pictures posted in Instagram! The cut-off for judging will be 8:00 pm. 
• I will fire up my cotton candy machine about 8:00 pm. A power washer will be available if you want to clean off any family members prior to departure. 
• Optional Hike: Suncrest to Triangle peak to watch Sunset on Summer Solstice: Kemery will lead this under 1 mile (1/3 mile up and back). Sunset will be at 9:02 pm (but the actual summer solstice will have already occurred at10:39 am). Depart Westra home at 8:30 pm, return by 9:30 pm. Note: sacrificing of virgins is NOT permitted within Draper City limits at any time and summer solstice is no exception.

Note: Amy reserves the right to alter the menu or activities schedule at any time, including the day of the event.  We look forward to seeing you this coming Sunday!  Scott

Our Father's Day celebration was actually in jeopardy this year though. The Tuesday before, Dad had a heart attack. Tuesday night and Wednesday, there was some question as to whether or not he would pull through. Then, the physical recovery looked quite optimistic, but there were still some worrisome neurological issues. But happily, Grandpa Westra progressed leaps and bounds ahead of what was expected, and the doctors actually released him on Sunday, and he was able to come to the Father's Day party! If you weren't aware he'd just been in intensive care for the preceding days,  you wouldn't have known!

 Ah, the annual family picture! We were missing our missionaries (five of them). Mckenna was in Washington, Rick was gone to EFY, Callahan had to work a REAL game... 

As promised, there was a cotton candy machine. Yum! Pink ...

... and blue!

There was frisbee fun, water balloons, some juggling, jump-rope, lawn darts ....

Until next year!

Peanut Butter AND Butter ... On Graham Crackers?

 

In May of 2015, Derek sent out an email to the Westra Siblings, inquiring about a strange combination. Graham crackers with butter and peanut butter. He sent along a picture to nudge any memories ...

Westra Siblings,

I need you to help jog my memory. :) I don't have many memories of Dad fixing the food at home -- in fact the only things I can really remember Dad making was a salad, and on occasion, spaghetti-o's with cashews (weird, I know). However, I distinctly remember eating graham crackers sandwiches with butter on one side, and peanut butter on the other (as pictured in the attached photo). For fun (and fatness) I made these yesterday and it brought back childhood memories. 

So, was this something that we ate as kids - and if so, was it Dad that made them, or am I remembering wrong? Was this a thing?

These are all very important questions. 

Inquisitively yours,

Derek 

There wasn't a flood a memories from the Westra Siblings (or from the Father in question)... at least at that time, or not "reply all" anyway for me to have had access to (but keep reading, the memories ARE there). Jen did answer immediately...

I don't really remember this ... I KNOW I NEVER ate one! Disgusting! Maybe I'm just repressing memories ... Of course we all dipped graham crackers in milk. And frosted them with leftover icing ... they were better when they'd sat overnight and softened. I don't know how many other people do either of those things either. I recall my roommates in college thinking I was a bit strange for both of those. ~Jen

Years later, Jen made said "frosted graham crackers" and posted a picture to Facebook, asking if this was a "Westra" thing, or if it was more widespread. There was actually quite a bit of feedback from neighbors and friends with fond memories of frosted graham crackers. Frosted Graham Crackers have their own blog post and Chris responded there saying ...

"I remember them, especially when Mom was gone. Dad didn't cook, so we resorted to Graham Crackers, which we didn't mind at all." ~ Christopher

Frosted graham crackers were mentioned in Shane's childhood journal also!

When the call came out for memories of Dad for a Father's Day tribute June of 2020, one of Scott's memories was a mirror of Derek's original inquiry ...

"I remember the terror of finding out mom was going fishing with grandma and grandpa and knowing that we would have to live on graham crackers with butter and peanut butter in between them or maybe toast if we were lucky until she got back." ~ Scott

((Read more memories of Dad in the Father's Day 2020 blog post.)) 

Before THAT post of memories, even before Derek's email inquiry, Wendy had written up some of her recollections for Dad's birthday back in 2003. In it, she also made mention of graham crackers ...  "Making peanut butter and butter graham cracker sandwiches!" was on her list.

So Derek - you weren't remembering wrong! 

Great memory prompt!

Mom had some graham cracker memories (prompted by Derek's 2015 email & the answers there) ...

I really miss graham crackers dipped in milk-- because of my diabetes and too many carbs. It is hard to limit it if I start. I never ate the graham crackers with butter and peanut butter--sounds yucky!.

My labor with Scott was quick--especially for a 1st baby. I had just eaten lots of graham crackers and milk before I went into labor. So at the hospital and I was sick and lost it all! But that experience didn't turn me against graham crackers and milk, as sometimes happens. 

When we moved to Richland and I was 3 months pregnant with Scott. Dad started work and I sat in the empty house waiting for the moving truck to arrive. I had a bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips to munch on. With morning sickness I was experiencing, I have not been able to eat barbecue-flavored potato chips for 50 years!

Now we just need DAD'S input ... "I think the depiction by Derek is a bit overdone.  I would never have put that much butter, or peanut butter on my Graham Crackers.  That is one thing I do miss with my Celiac, not being able to eat Graham crackers.  I think someone has come up with a gluten free Graham cracker, but I haven't really tested them out yet.  Some gluten free products have been very good, like GF Oreos, but others have not been as good."

Have any grandchildren been exposed to this unique treat? Tagging this with the "Recipes" label ... NOT that this is a recipe (not that it needs a recipe) but just so it's included with the other food posts!

Westra Wills&Trusts, Finances&Fico Scores

August 10, 2015. It was a notarized Papa Murphy's pizza party. Mom had been learning all things Suze Orman, finances, trusts, wills, etc. and was encouraging all the kids to get their affairs in order, just in case (and they did the same for themselves). Chris and Derek were the first to finish up their paperwork (I guess Jensens were on top of things and had it done). Once Derek was done, he offered to help the other siblings along ... here's a compilation of a few of his emails: 

Siblings, for those of you taking Mom and Dad up on their offer/incentive for completing the will and trust documentation and funding your trust with your title -- I have a contact for you to utilize to complete your quit claim deed. Laurie Waite at Advanced Title in SLC will prepare the Quit Claim Deed for you for free, and will charge you $15 to file it with the County (the same you'll pay at the County).  You just need to email and provide her: Your full names (husband and wife), The name of your trust you want the title transferred to, The property address, Your contact information (email and phone). She can then prepare your quit-claim-deed the same day and email it over to you to have notarized when you sign and notarize your other documents. It shouldn't take her long to prepare it. 

Alicia had asked if we liked the notary that came to our house and if we'd recommend her. Yes, it was very easy - she lives up by us and she was probably only at our place for 10-15 minutes and I paid her $20 to notarize all of our docs. I asked her if she would do yours (S&A) and she said that she only does it close to her home, so you'd be more than welcome to do it over here. Also, I'm helping Jen and Gray with all of their stuff and they are at the point of needing the docs notarized as well, so it might be nice (if our schedules could miraculously align for one evening) to have you all over for pizza and just take care of all the notary signing at once. :)  Let me know what nights would work best for you couples and we can plan a night to take care of it. :) Also, Shane and Alicia - if you haven't done the Quit Claim Deed portion of this, let me know as I have a contact who can do it very simple and easy for you (I think at little or no cost). 

I scheduled a Notary for tomorrow. :) Should we plan on 6:00? We'll get pizzas (and one Jen likes). :) Notary PAR-TAY 2015!! Your kids can come tomorrow as well - just let us know if they are coming or not so we know how many pizzas to get. :) Shane and Alicia - if you have your Trust done, you could get Laurie to do your QCD before tomorrow. :) Thanks!

So there you have it! A trust/will notary party with pizza. The Blackham boys enjoyed playing with their little cousins and Roxi the dog. The adults did the signing thing, the notary did her thing, and now the kids can rest a little easier knowing the end would be a bit more organized.

From Derek:  We had several families over to our house, to sign the papers and we hired a notary to come and notarize everyone's documents. The notary showed up, and I said, "hey everyone - she's here!" Grayson looked around at the boxes of pizza and the solo cups filled with Root Beer and said something like, "This feels like a bachelor frat party, and the "dancer" just showed up! "Hey everyone - she's here!" Only, the Dave Ramsey version of that scenario."

Here's a few more earlier emails  ... it started back in January 2015.
(Included for reference and to get a feel for the whole experience).

Mom (Jan2015) Yesterday we met Nelva and Arnold at Golden Corral. It was nice to visit with them. We hadn't seen them since around my birthday. We talked for 2 1/2 hours! I wanted to "pick their brains" about setting up a living trust for you kids. It has been weighing on my mind for years. Nelva said we need to add all 6 of you kids to our bank accounts as 2nd beneficiaries with rights of survivorship.  I don't usually do this, but during the PBS pledge breaks, after Suze Orman spoke on finances, I ordered her financial materials!

Mom (Feb2015) We received our Suze Orman packet of materials. I will send on to you access to her online material (she said we can share it) for you to get your own will, trust, etc. made up, so that your family is protected, which will bring you peace of mind and protect your assets.

Mom (March 2015) The financial mistakes we have made over the years, not knowing any better at the time, so you won't make the same mistakes:

• We didn't ever put money in ROTH IRA's---we could have for about 4 years before Dad retired.
• Me not learning about all this earlier, so we could make intelligent decisions together all along the way in our 52 years together.
• Getting "Whole Life Insurance" policies. Suze and others say never waste money on them----it's a ripoff---just get term insurance. You get far more for your money. We just have 1 policy on Dad for about $40,000 and one for me for about $8,000, I think. We never got term insurance---except what his company offered free---two times his annual salary, I think.
• Not getting a trust and wills earlier---thank goodness we haven't needed them, but you never know what might happen to you. Suze tells everyone to do a will and trust-----even single people in their 20's.
• We borrowed once from our 401 (k). Suze says NEVER do that--------you are paying taxes twice on your money that you borrow.

We left the 9 Suze Orman DVD's with Chris and Kim yesterday for them to watch---from her talk shows--each DVD on different topics, such as retirement, etc. Then we can lend them to one of you-you can learn a lot of good stuff.

Mom (March 2015) I can see that we have been dangerously lax to have not done a will and trust before this time! I really want the peace of mind it will bring. Also, I would like the peace of mind it could bring to all of you to have yours done also. So, we have a deal to offer you: If you will get your wills and trusts set up within the next 6 months, we will pay for it, up to $2000 for each couple. If you choose to take advantage of this help, you can work through it on your own, with the Suze Orman CD (which I think all of you could handle if your estates are not too complicated)----in which case you could just have the $2000 for your emergency fund or whatever you choose. Or you could use the $2,000 to pay an attorney to help you do your wills and trust. I think that amount should cover it unless you chose a very expensive attorney. I think with all of us working on this at once, you can help us and each other to work through it and help with questions, etc.  I think we would all feel more peace and happiness in our lives to have it done. I didn't make this offer to Rick and Wendy because they already did it a few years ago. Janika's best friend Madison's dad is an attorney and was the stake president over the deaf branch and is a good friend of Rick's. So Brother Barney did it for them in trade for Madison's fee waiver being in Hands in Harmony Carolers.  So I will figure out another way to help Wendy and Rick.

Derek: This is incredibly generous Mom and Dad!  We'll for sure take you up on this. I'll take a look at the Suze Orman stuff right away. Last year, we looked into some attorneys to come and draft our will and estate trust, but we never actually did it. It seemed like the prices were just over $1,000 for just the will and estate stuff (for an attorney). We also looked a little at LegalZoom for the DIY method. We did get life-insurance all figured out for me with a nice policy for Danielle and the girls should anything happen to me.  Thank you again Mom and Dad for your financial example to all of us, and for your frugality over the years and your generosity. I think it's wonderful that you give so much to your grandkid's missionary, and EFY funds. And this is a great motivation to get things in place. We've been wanting to handle all this for a few years, but with so much going on, it's sometimes hard to find the time and spend the money. So thanks again.  We sure love you and appreciate all that you do for us and your grandkids. Speaking of trusts and estates -- I remember working at Zions Bank and dealing with the disbursements of estates, etc. with the surviving siblings when parents had passed. I remember being disappointed that these disbursements often got mean and contentious with kids fighting with one another over things. I remember thinking "I just can't see that every happening in our family." and I still can't. :)  Personally, I LOVE to see you and Dad spend your hard-earned money on yourselves (in the rare cases where you have - Lexus, etc.) and on positive, motivating things for your grandkids, etc. You've worked hard and you've been financially responsible and I think you deserve to spend money on yourselves. :)

Chris: Thanks so much, Mom and Dad. I created the account online for the Suze Orman site and it was easy - she does walk you through it well. I like the audio along with it also.  Looks like you can create a joint trust but a will is only for one person (no such thing as a joint-will). If you haven't gone through the online Suze Orman Will and Trust process yet, one thing you'll need is to have two alternate names of a person you list to determine if you are mentally competent (so be careful who you choose).  Your spouse is the first one to help determine that. You'll need the names of the people you choose, as printed on their Driver's License or other government-issued ID (usually their full name, but not always). We kind of had to stop while I checked that out - so I just wanted to let you know to have that beforehand. Also, if you've been in your house for a while, you can go to Zillow.com and get a rough estimate of how much your house is currently worth. They had some details of our house wrong, but their estimate is probably close enough. Anyway, for estimation purposes.

Mom: Our bank will notarize all of our documents free, except the will. It appears that most banks decline to notarize last wills. So we will probably have to go to another notary and pay maybe $10 to have our wills notarized. A question I haven't found an answer to yet is if the notary can and will provide the two adult witnesses. It would be a bother to bring your own witnesses. Witnesses can't be beneficiaries. For you kids, it seems maybe the main (and perhaps only) thing in your wills (one for each of you) is who you would want to raise your minor children (see link below for information). Talk to that person/couple and get their permission to put them. It appears that those of you who have children 18 or older, can put them, if they are willing. I imagine other arrangements could be made later if deemed best. Years ago, Merrill and Lorrie had asked if we would raise their 6 children, and we asked them. We all hoped nothing would happen--12 kids, yowee! Kind of fun for us all to work on it together and learn from each other---it is kind of overwhelming to tackle alone! Scott has already set up their wills and trust last week, except for getting them notarized and the trust funded by switching their house to the trust.

Grayson: We haven't been very involved in this discussion. It's not out of lack of interest in getting it done. We'll be sure to make progress on this in the coming weeks.  Both your insistence, encouragement to get this done, to say nothing of being willing to fund it, is very appreciated. To go through these matters together (even as I've glanced from the sidelines) has been very helpful.

Mom: When you print off your Trust (about 8 pages), also print off the "Certification of Trust" (2 pages) and have them notarized at the same time. The Certification of Trust is like a much shortened version of the Trust that you can use when opening bank accounts, etc. to prove that you have a Trust and which gives the date (some people like to keep their Trust private). So I guess it is good to take that along when doing business which involves your Trust. I read on a website this morning that it is good to let your Insurance Company know of your Trust. So we called Liberty Mutual and told them that we were putting our home and property into a Trust, but not our car. We have an Umbrella policy with them. The lady said people just usually send them the Certification of Trust (she didn't use those exact words, but that is what she meant). She said we could do it in person (they are close by, or by mail, or by email. So we are going to scan in the 2 pages and email them to Liberty Mutual as an attachment.

Chris (April 2015): For you who are working on the will and trust with the Suze Orman site Mom shared... I just wanted to share some of the things we learned in doing our trust and wills and such. Hope some of it helps you. The tips are not in any particular order.

• You'll need to create two different usernames and passwords to complete the whole process. Start at the link below: With one login you can complete the trust (combined - for both of you) and the will and health care directive for one of you. Then start again from scratch and create another login for the other person (for will and health care directive for that person). You can use the SAME activation code they sent you for the first person (the first time you used this link  giftcode PBS) Hint - use a different browser for your spouse's login - that way you don't have to switch back and forth and logoff, etc. I used Firefox for the trust and for my will and health care directive, and Chrome for Kim's will and health care directive. That made it simpler.
• The advanced health directive is easy! Do that first just to get momentum - it will help you psychologically. 
• The Trust Identification Number is also sometimes the Entity Number. You just pick the social security number for either spouse and that is the trust identification number.
• Listen to the audio follow along with each step of the Suze Orman site - very helpful.
• We went to the Title Company to have the title put in our name as Trustees of the Trust. They said on the phone it would be $50 but they only charged us $20 for the paperwork and for recording the title with the county. They said it wasn't really necessary to let a mortgage holder (Zions bank in our case) know of the change. Zions said that they probably would be notified of the "reconveyance". So we never did the Quit Claim deed as the title company changed it on the title.
• Insurance - we did let our insurance company know about the creation of the trust. We just gave them the name and the entity number - that's all they requested.  Mom sent something about making sure the title insurance has specific language for including Trustees. If not, you may have to add an endorsement to cover this (or add that language). We tried to track this down but the title company we worked with was not the original title company so we still aren't sure about this.
• Set a bookmark to https://www.suzeormanwillandtrust.com/account/login as you will go back to this site many times. Don't wait until you have "Lots of time" You can do five minutes and the site will save any info you have entered. When you go back, you do have to click through the screens you have previously done, but the info is all there. You don't have to enter it again. And, you can change anything at any time - so don't get stuck on one item of info because you aren't sure about it. It may become more clear later on, and you can change it if you need to.
• Do the Certification of Trust as well as the trust - this will give you a shorter doc to provide to any entity that needs proof of your trust. 

Call me if you have any questions I can help with. I'm so definitely not an expert, but I know more than I did a couple months ago. So grateful for the user-friendly Suze Orman site!

Mom (July 2015) Well, D & D officially earned their $2,000 this afternoon by getting their house put into their trust. I'm writing so you can benefit from their experience and Chris's experience. Chris got paid his $2,000 awhile ago. Both of them went to their title company, who handled it all for $20. We probably would have been better to have taken that route, in terms of time and money and how we did it. The house was probably the hardest of anything you had to do, and now I think that part will be easy for those who have yet to do it, by benefiting from our, Chris's and Derek's experience.

The 6 (really 6 1/2) month offer will be up the end of Sept. We offered the $2,000 with a deadline to make it happen.  It should be really easy for Scott and Shane to finish up now and Jen to get started :-) ,--- now that you have several experienced siblings to guide you through the process. D & D. had previously had their 2 wills, their trust, and their "authorization of trust" (mini-trust to take to banks, etc. to show you really do have a trust and the name and date of the trust. A notary came to their house and did those documents for just $10. And it would be easier to have "self-proving" wills that way, as you could just have a couple neighbors come over to witness the wills.

Mom (July 2015): I didn't know that I had a separate FICO score from Dad's since I don't work and we share our financial accounts. We had Dad's from our online Discover statement. We just found out mine when we opened an account at Granite Credit Union in May and the lady had to check mine also and told me what it was. Dad's was 821 and mine was 798 or something like that. Do you all know yours? I don't know how you can easily find out the wife's score, do you? I think Family Home Evening is a great time to also present "Life Lessons" to your children (to prepare them for adulthood and being on their own), such as FICO scores and how people actually get different interest rates when buying a car or something, depending on their credit score. Suze Orman says rates could vary from 4% up to 9% interest on loans, depending on your score.

Derek: Thanks Mom! Yes - please do send stuff over as you find it. I've joked with my work friends that even with my MBA and my interest in personal finance, my mother (who I never saw do anything with money my whole life) has turned into somewhat of a finance expert and has been coaching me on financial matters. :) I really do appreciate all the information you send over, and so appreciate the financial example that you and Dad have been throughout our lives. I remember Dad teaching me about needs vs. wants when I was in the 8th grade and that sticking with me. Makes me think of this funny sketch from Saturday Night Live.  It's good to keep up on your credit score and your FICO score. You can check it here.  I haven't checked in a couple years, but I have heard horror stories of people who check their score only to find that it's dropped like crazy due to identity theft that they wouldn't have discovered without checking.  We are big Dave Ramsey fans and thus try to live completely debt free (except the house). However, we have been thinking that we ought to get a credit card for emergency preparedness purposes (since unsecured debt is safer in those situations than secured debt). And there are benefits to using credit cards for your everyday purchases (points, credit history, etc.). Does anyone have a card that they really prefer? We were thinking of American Express through Costco, but I heard that it's not accepted everywhere and that Costco is switching to VISA.  Anyway - recommendations appreciated. 

Scott: I think the Marriott black card offers the greatest value in terms of points and cost. It is issued by Chase. Everyone should get set up on Venmo to get the app.

Shane: Derek, our Stake Presidency showed that video in a fireside...I think that's the only time I'll see a Saturday Night Live video shown in a sacrament meeting room. As for credit cards, it really depends on what perks you care about. Because I travel a lot (typing this from San Fransisco), I use American Express for Delta Miles and Barclay's MasterCard with chip-and-pin to make European payments easier. But we also have Discover and the Marriott that Scott mentioned.  There are a ton of credit card review sites that provide good analysis of which cards are best.

Check out Mom's website for more information ...

• Financial Well Being (lots of topics)
• FICO Scores
• ROTH IRA ... Is It Right For You?
  
  

Easter 2015

Easter 2015 ... EARS to you! Jen brought the eggs, and the ears (and who knows what silly sunglasses and mustaches have to do with Easter Bunny poses, but they make for fun photoshoots). There are a few April birthdays too, and Jen was craving cake ... so throw in a little birthday celebration along with Easter! 

Easter was April 4th this year. The Westra celebration was Saturday, April 3rd. Wendy's family had come up earlier after a lot of excitement (Janika's mission call) ... the cousins had some extra time with Shane and Alicia's family, and extra Easter activities with Grandma and Grandpa. Dying eggs, and a New Haven Neighborhood Hunt, with REAL bunnies (both big costumed, and little live ones).

 ... then it was the group gathering in the Westra backyard for the annual Easter activities.

 Lots of little toys, trinkets and candy in the eggs. 

Big kids hide them, little ones find them.

Gather all the grandkids on the stairs for a group photo ...

And a picture of all the adults snapping away too!

... another picture tidbit from the time. 

Recreating a Derek/UpsideDownBaby photo

Back in 2011 D&D had the cute picture taken with Ani.

Now to create a similar scene with baby Layla.

Random Memories//Did You Know?

Grayson jogged over halfway to get to the party. He left before the Blackham Bunch, sporting a new Fitbit Surge (he ended up not loving it, returned it). He made it about six of the 10 miles before Jen caught up in the car, and accepted a ride for the rest of the way. He'd planned ahead and brought a change of clothes, and took a quick shower.