So many wonderful days together...Darlene's parents stayed for two weeks, they were fabulous & so in love with that baby...Nate got a new job, closer to home and lots more money (yippy!!)...Summer & Emerald were able to come for the baby's blessing & we stayed at Sarah's for so much great fun with the kids. We'd love to hear from more of you, let us know what's happening with your family too!

Ken said…..

Barbara and I are enjoying our London visit with John and Dana. Most of our time has been spent relaxing and spending time with Dana. John works all day from about 9 AM to 9 PM when the NY stock exchange closes. We only see him 2-3 hours in the evening. This weekend we are going to Switzerland to “meet the parents”.

We have been buying daily travel passes and taking advantage of the trains, buses and “the tubes” and taking in the sights. Today we are going to a musical, “Sinatra”. We will attend the matinee, shop in downtown London (Ken’s favorite thing to do) and visit John at his work.. When John finishes his workday, we are going to dinner at a nice restaurant.

Dana Said. . .
I'm catching everyone up at once, sorry! As my dad mentioned in his blog, John and I have done some traveling the past year. I moved out to London March 2005. I won't repeat everything my dad said. But, last October we went to Switzlerland to visit John's parents and we went out there again to go skiing this past January. Switzerland is beautiful. Here are some pics of the skiing and visit last October. We (John, Ken, Barb and Dana) are going again this weekend to visit with John's parents. For Valentine's Day we went to Paris for a long weekend. It's been great being out here with John, but the visa issue has been a nightmare. I will be attending Kingston University this fall to get a Masters in Marketing. I am very excited to go back to school. All are welcome to come out and visit!

Pictures from Thailand and Hong Kong

Dana Said

Sawadee! (Hello in Thai)
John and I got back from holiday to Thailand and Hong Kong about a week ago, we had the most amazing time. Bangkok is a very cool city, very hot and humid, but so much life and weird aromas! We visited a couple Wats (temples), they are a Buddihst country, drove around in Tuk Tuks, and went to a Muay Thai Boxing match. Then we were off to Koh Samui which is an island in the Gulf of Thailand, off the east coast, if that makes any sense. We were there during Thai New Year. Part of the tradition is to spray water on each other to create a fresh start for the new year. Lots of supersoakers, we were in a tuk tuk and these lil kids sprayed us! It was very relaxing to get out of the city life of London and Bangkok. Then we went to Phuket which is another island off the west coast in the Andaman Sea. Very beautiful beaches. The Tsunami hit here, but not as bad as some other places in SE Asia. Our hotel was fortunate enough to not suffer any damages or any casualties! We went on a snorkeling excursion and saw lots of colourful fish and some black finned sharks and lots of jelly fish. We also went sea cave canoeing through the limestone caves in Phang Nga Bay. Went through various caves and went to James Bond Island, from Man with the Golden Gun. Some of the caves are so tight with the tide, that you have to lie flat in the canoe and mind your arms, legs, and toes, dont want them to get cut up from the limestone walls. Lots of relaxing and much needed sunbathing! Then we were off to Hong Kong! Most of Hong Kong is very Westernized, under British rule until recently. We enjoyed the fast pace lifestyle, prepared us for life back in London. We went to Stanley Market on the Southeast part of Hong Kong Island and went up the Peak on the famous Tram. Went out at night in Lang Kwai Fong,near Soho on Hong Kong Island and took the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour to Kowloon and visited the Temple Street Night Market. John and I definitely plan on going back to Thailand and Hong Kong for another holiday sometime, but the 12.5 hour flight from Hong Kong and the 10.5 hour flight to Bangkok is definitely something we are not jumping back to do just yet.

Leroy and Beulah all grown up back for a visit to see Hannah and the new twins...soon to be new brother and sister. (see below)

Love the wildlife here at our house. On my early morning walk the other day I saw 5 raccoon, 1 opossum, 1 armadillo and 1 snake. Very cool.

I guess we should have not named this dove Hannah...but rather Fertile-Myrtle as she has prolifically laid another set of twins....this time in an adjacent pot on our patio...Heaven for bid that she should use the same pot Leroy and Beulah were hatched.

Neve Kelly is here!!! At 6:30am April 20th, 2006, weighing in at just about six and a half pounds and 19 inches long, Neve joined the Kelly Clan. She handled all of the flashbulbs and photographers like a runway supermodel. Enjoy the pictures!!!

Adam in concert! He does a few "gigs" each month and the name of his band is KILLBOTS and he plays the lead/rhythm guitar. This is the love of his life and he does well at it. The others in the band are also his roommates.

Adam's concert last month attended by Whitney, JoAnn (Maria's mom) and Laura (Maria's Sister) Sorry picture is small...got it emailed to me and don't know how to make it bigger...UGH

Maria gets a new job at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando. With the uncertainty of Dean's job and insurance benefits, Maria decided to pursue a new career opportunity that offered good benefits...just in case. The Gaylord Palms http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylordpalms is a luxury resort that it top-notch and extremely nice. She will start off on the front desk, but will have lots of opportunity for advancement and growth. She will start around the first of the month. She is excited to get a "real" job. This photo is of the front entrance.

This little pond with alligators and turtles is just inside the lobby of the Gaylord Palms resort which is like a botanical garden...so very cool. What a great place to work. Maria is very excited.

Leroy and Beulah 11 days old

(almost as big as momma and pappa)

Meet the New Babies!

Leroy (hatched 04Apr)
Beulah (hatched 05Apr)

Mom and Dad are doing well too and being very good parents. Hannah sits on the chicks all night starting around 5pm. Then Henry arrives exactly at 10am and sits on them all day long. It is amazing how they know how to tell time because they come and go pretty much on time every day. Got this photo today while I was mowing the lawn...Henry got a little nervous with the loud noise and closeness of the mower....so he flew away and I got the camera out...this was really my first and only chance for a photo when a both parents had "flown the coop" so to speak.

The “Ken’s” don’t blog much; not a lot of interesting news. Diane flies all around the west coast and lots of Mexico (Cancun, Cabo, etc) flights. She is doing very well and has received numerous written or phone-in words of praise from passengers. As a result, she has received a number of letter of commendation and a fancy gold customer service pen. She is such a “suck up” and the passengers eat it up, particularly first class. With the exception of her work flights, Di hasn’t really gone anywhere or done much.

Dana, on the other hand, lives the life of a jet set rock star; traveling all over the world. Last year, she and John went to an island resort in Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean (photo). They also went to Monaco to vacation on the Mediterranean. She then went skiing in Switzerland, took a trip to Paris and leaves tomorrow for Thailand and Hong Kong. She will be gone for 12 days and will staying in Bangkok, Ko Samui, Phuket, and then to Hong Kong. We are lucky to get out and go to Burger King.

Barbara continues to be busy with all her USC social and volunteer groups. We are both looking forward to the upcoming football season and the mini trips involved by attending the away games. We are so excited that mom and dad are moving to St. George. It will be so nice to visit with some regularity.

Ken tries to keep the real estate and loan business afloat while dealing with the landlord and property management issues.

After Dana returns from her Thailand trip, Ken and Barb are going to cross the pond for a visit. We will only stay about a week or so. Dana will be coming home around July/August. She will be attending some University in the London area in the fall to receive her Masters Degree in Marketing. She has to come home because of immigration issues and to apply for a student visa, etc.

As you can see, Dana has a full, exciting life. We here, on the home front, have the same old, day to day existence. All things considered, things are pretty good, no complaints. We have Diane and the two dogs to give us all the joy and fun that we need.

Dean "offically" called back into the fold of Delta beginning 01MAY, 2006...furlough has been called off and he will put on the new new Delta uniform and retire the old Song uniform. It pays to pay tithing.

Hello everyone,love the new blogs and we second the motion Dean,lets get and stay involved. We are off the the airport to
send Deb to be "the mom and grandma" we will keep you posted but "things are Happenen" Love you all--brians Oh,and
by the way, you don't have to post a photo to "blog" just keep in touch.

Why is DEAN the only person blogging? Come on guys...What's up? Don't let this go the way of the old family newsletter of the 1980's we used to send our regularly. The following blogs from Dean will be his last if he doesn't see more participation from others....just so you know.

Me and Maria went out to Utah to visit the doctor and dentist...While there, we got together with the kids for dinner. Had a great time and it was fun to be together as a family again. Whitney is doing great in school and is making a 4.0 and plans to attend Weber State University in the fall to study journalism...wants to anchor the "today" show someday. Adam is doing well too...has a telemarketing job and his band is doing well. Did a "gig" last week and made $200...next "gig" is 15April...if you are in the neighborhood...pop in and see him...he would like that.

Hi everyone...this is Heather with husband and baby in front of our new store. Dean and Maria came to visit and took the picture. Everyone come visit and buy some jewels...we will give you a "family" discount. Love Heather (as written by Dean)

This is Henry watching over the twins...Hannah flew away to grab a bite to eat. Stay tuned for the hatching photos.

Hannah & Henry's Twins

Dean (unofficially) furloughed from his job at Delta Air Lines, Inc. on May 1, 2006 after seven years of dedicated services. This after the airline in their divine wisdom decides to "flush-down-the-toilet" their best product ever...SONG which will also be non-existent 01May as well. Dean and Maria currently scrambling to determine..."What's next?" UGH

Hello from Dean & Maria and our new roommates "Hannah & Henry" a cute little dove couple who have built a little nest in our trellis flowering pot on our back patio.

They arrived on Saturday and they were dancing the mating dance and finally selected the pot pictured here. We will keep you updated on the eggs and their hatchings.

Fox cooling off, says hey.

The Stamps got to come to Denver for a week and we all had a great time. The boys got to play in the snow and loved it, they are so tuff.

Hello there,brians here, we just returned home from Utah and brought Sarah and the kids with us (fun). We had a great time in Utah and got to see lots of family and friends,it was great. I got to overhaul our photo library and I found this great shot of Dad with Honolulu in the background,thought you all might like to see it. cya brian

We went to the park and grandpa shot this of a "foxbat"

Hello all, we are here at Stamps house in Utah having dinner and watching the Oscars and in the slumber party mode. Nates are here too and we are missing the Kehrs to make it a set,but maybe next time. We plan to drive to Denver in morning and move the party east. Love you all, blog you later, spread the word and lets here from more family soon. We saw Claudia of Sat. 3-04 and look forward their blog news. cya brians

Talk about "Elwood's Clan Blogs" WOW

Is the photo below taken at Scott's wedding?

Isn't that Sheila's Maid-of-Honor?

I converted one of my bedrooms into an office and then started doing a little "designing"...when I saw this photo in Architectural Digest of the modern looking trees painted on the wall, I thought that would be cool for my office...so I did it. How do you like it?

The orange wall is the photo I ripped out of the magazine, the brown wall is my actual office wall. The photo does not do it justice...you really need to come visit and see it in person. Dean

This is the greatest, that Steve is the tecno-wiz of em all, now we are looking forward to being better informed and closer to our family with this open forum style of communication,this easy, no presure way of sharing is more fun. I am going to phone mom and dad tonight and tell them all about it because mom said they went off line some time ago. We may have to wait until they go to St.George to get them into blogging, we will see. Love you all ; brians

This is my test to see if I can do this thing right.......Ken

Had a nice long layover last week in San Juan, Puerto Rico so Maria went along and we had a great time. Here we are lying by the pool/beach of my layover resort the Hilton Caribe...very nice...same hotel Jennifer Lopez stays when on the island (as if we cared...right!)

I changed my default page on my internet to http://elwoodsclan.blogspot.com so that whenever I turned on my internet, our family blog will be the first thing I see....let's keep in touch. Love Dean

What a great blog of a idea to keep the family informed. Here is a picture of the partial-kelly family Hawaiian cruise. Too bad you weren't there...it was fantastic.

Sarah married a techno-nerd... do you think he would let anyone else post to a family blog before him? I didn't think so... This picture is our most recent Family portrait. From left to right, you see Cooper (1), Sarah, Mason (3), Steve, and Fox (5) We are living in Spanish Fork, Utah [at the moment] and love it. Stop in if you are in the neighborhood!

Welcome to to the James Kelly Family Blog. We thought it would be fun to have a common place where anyone in the family can post news, photos and stories. We welcome any and all contributions from everyone. This can serve as our family's online bulletin board. We hope it will provide an easy way to keep up with each other's busy lives.

Disclaimer and Advisory:
This is public to the world. Anyone can view this site from anywhere in the world at any time. THAT is why it is so GREAT. That is also a great reason for us to all use caution and great care when making posts. Obviously any type of personal information like Social Security numbers or credit card numbers have no place on this forum (or in email - but that's another topic entirely). Imagine this blog as a huge bulletin board that everyone in the world walks by every day. Anyone can look. Anyone can comment about it. Don't put anything up on the "bulletin board" that you don't want to be seen by [potentially] the whole world. That being said, lets share pictures, stories, recipes, news, plans, trip reports and all of the fun things happening in our lives. Lets Have some fun with this. Share what you can when you can. Let's use this tool to keep our family close!