January 1983

1/1/1983: Daddy took the boys out to wash the car today and then decided to take the out to McDonald’s for lunch. He really enjoys going out with his boys.
1/4/1983: The boys are destroying the image of boys. They got an empty shampoo bottle into the tub and the residue made bubbles. They started saying “I like soap.” Michael didn’t even want to get out of the tub and fought like a wildcat to get back in!
1/10/1983: 9:30 AM Dr. Miller
The boys are changing personalities again. It was Michael who put up the greatest fuss at the doctor today. Peter wasn’t really happy about it but he behaved much better than Michael.
1/13/1983: Aunt Cindy has come to visit for a few days. The boys were very excited to see her – especially when they say that she had a box of goodies for them.
1/15/1983: The boys have had the sniffles for the past few days but today it seems to have developed into a full fledged cold.
Aunt Cindy went home this afternoon.
1/16/1983: Mommy was fine when she went to bed last night but this morning she woke up with a terrible cold. Daddy had to stay home from church to watch the boys.
1/19/1983: Mommy was getting better but today she took a turn for the worse. Her throat got so sore and swollen that she lost her voice entirely.
1/21/1983: The assistant pastor and the music minister from Memorial Baptist came to visit today and answered our questions about the church.
1/22/1983: Grandpa and Cindy came to visit today. Daddy and Grandpa watched a football game!
1/23/1983: Daddy & the boys went to church today. Mommy is still sick.
1/24/1983: Daddy went to Bakersfield today for an Ag-One banquet tonight. He didn’t get home till 1:30. The boys missed him.
1/25/1983: Today was Stephen’s first day of classes for the semester. He has a really good student in on of his classes which has got him excited about the semester.
1/27/1983: Mom’s Birthday

December 1982

12/4/1982: Tonight was the holiday ball. Stephen & I got all dressed up and went to enjoy ourselves. My goal for next year is to be able to dance.
12/5/1982: Daddy & the boys were playing hide & seek tonight. Daddy would hide in their room and the boys would try to find him. It was really fun to watch because they would always go to the last place Daddy had hidden. Sometimes I had to help them. They were always so excited when they found him.
12/6/1982: Michael pedaled the hot wheels tonight for the first time. He knew it was a great accomplishment and called my attention to it.
12/7/1982: Lately the boys have been unhappy about having to come home from the sitter’s. What a switch. Today they were at Sean’s and they really threw a fit about leaving.
12/9/1982: Peter told me he had to go potty before he went today. What an accomplishment!
12/10/1982: 7:30 Nancy’s
12/11/1982: Grandpa came today and the boys were really excited about it.
12/13/1982: Peter did it again! He told me he needed to go before he actually went. Maybe we will be able to get them potty trained after all!
12/14/1982: 9:15 Nancy’s
12/17/1982: 9:15 Nancy’s
12/21/1982: Grandma & Grandpa Ott arrived today, a day earlier than anticipated. Daddy was sure surprised when he got home.
12/22/1982: We had a terrible storm today. There was flooding and power failures up and down the state. We were only without power for about 45 min. Good thing Grandma & Grandpa got in yesterday.
12/24/1982: We drove up to King’s Canyon today. We weren’t able to go into the park because we didn’t have chains but it was a beautiful drive up there. It’s all the snow we’ll have for Christmas.
12/25/1982: The boys had a great time this morning. As soon as they’d got one gift opened they asked for another. They remind me of their Aunt Cindy.
12/26/1982: Grandma & Grandpa left today after going to church and taking us to lunch. They have a friend in L.A. they want to see.

November 1982

11/8/1982: Peter learned to do buttons tonight. He used the big buttons on Mommy’s sweater and did it over and over again. He was certainly proud of his accomplishment!
11/17/1982: I about killed the boys today. They took off their diapers when they were supposed to be napping. They messed and then spread it all over everything. They even took clothes out of their drawers and got them messed up too. It took me all afternoon to get everything cleaned up.
11/19/1982: The boys did it again! They know exactly what they are doing and, except for the spanking, they think it is great fun. How can I convince them it is not fun?
11/20/1982: Grandpa Barr came to visit and took us to the zoo. The boys especially liked Saggy Baggy (the elephant) and the seals.
11/25/1982: Dad’s Birthday
11/28/1982: We are beginning to have some success with the potty chair. The boys always try to do something when they sit on it although they don’t yet tell us they need to go before they wet their diapers.

September - October 1982

9/25/1982: Grandpa came to visit and took us back to the house he is staying at. We picked up his car and brought it back with us.

10/4/1982: Michael has learned to say Peter’s name. He sounds very British when he says it Pet-uh.
10/5/1982: We took Peter to the doctor today. He had been complaining about his ear since Sunday. He has two infections in the same ear – both an inner and an outer ear infection.
10/7/1982: 10:45 Boehm
10/15/1982: Miller 9:10
10/17/1982: Michael and Peter went into Sunday School without fussing today! Of course the fact that there was a live hamster they could play with may have helped.
10/29/1982: Grandma and Grandpa Barr came tonight. The boys were very excited to see them.
10/31/1982: The boys went trick-or-treating tonite. The were upset when they had to come in.

August 1982

8/1/1982: Philip’s Birthday
8/1-8/14/1982: MOVED TO CALIFORNIA
We didn’t have enough room in the trailer. Had to repack and delay a day. The boys deadbolted us out of the motel room and rifted the suitcases. Michael shaved with Mommy’s razor. All kinds of trouble with the tarp. The brake line on the trailer broke. A tire on the truck separated. The heat was unbearable. The truck radiation sprang a leak. Going over a dip, the spare tire on the truck fell off – thought we’d never get it back on. More trouble with the radiator going through Utah. Had to put new shocks on the car. Finally some good news – it rained and was very comfortable across the desert.
8/29/1982: Our first Sunday at a new church and Michael falls and gashes his head! Fortunately it only required a butterfly but it gave us quite a scare. The nursery attendants called the paramedics and they brought a big fire truck.
8/31/1982: Today was Stephen’s first day of teaching.

July 1982

7/9/1982: Prayer Breakfast
7/10/1982: 8:00 Perm
7/17/1982: Sarah home
7/21/1982: 11:15 Freno

June 1982

6/2/1982: We went over to see Jane and Elliot today about our sink. She was very nice and got someone over within ½ hour. The actual work on it took only about 10 min!
6/5/1982: We have done our part to boost the sagging economy. Today Stephen and I went shopping and spent nearly 200. We bought training pants and bibs for the boys & then - surprise, surprise – we bought pants, shirts, and shoes for Stephen!
6/7/1982: 6:30
We started toilet training Michael today. He seems to like to sit on the pot but we didn’t have any successes today.
6/8/1982: Still no progress with Michael. He waits until I take him off the toile and get fresh training pants on him before he goes. Oh, what a mess it is in training pants!
6/9/1982: We are giving up on Michael. He doesn’t even like to sit on the toilet any more. We’ve just decided to wait until we move. Maybe by then we can work on Peter too.
6/10/1982: Cindy left today. How quiet it seems without the TV on!
6/12/1982: 5:30 Pool
6/14/1982: We went to Cindy’s graduation today. She was extremely nervous and grouchy before the ceremony but once it was over everything was fine. Grandpa and Grandma Barr were really excited to see the boys. Naturally they had toys.
6/20/1982: Today Stephen & I went to UBC for church. Everyone (at least everyone who knew us, which weren’t many any more) made quite a fuss over the boys. Afterwards we went to a family reunion at Clifford’s and Bea’s and had a good time.