This is a video I made for and about my son Davis for his Eagle Court of Honor.

See Davis, I do update this blog every once in a while.

I love my kids!

Our beautiful Amanda a few years ago. Isn't she lovely?

I just got off the phone with Amanda. She is doing great! She has learned so much about being an adult this past school year. She returns home to us in Maine the beginning of May - by then she will have just one year of school left. This summer she plans on working days at House of Logan like last year and evenings as a waitress at one of the restaurants down near to pier in Boothbay Harbor. This will giver her enough money to be largely self-sufficient next year so we will have enough money to support she and Davis when he starts school at BYU-I in January. They will both come home in the spring, then he's off on a mission and she'll have her BA and can start saving for a mission herself. If everything works out, she will be able to leave about six months after Davis and they will return home about the same time.

I suppose that this sounds like I've planned it all out for them and that they have not had much of an input. I suppose that's right, but I think they are both thinking about the same thing (correct me if I'm wrong, kids, so I can get it right!). Manda could meet some RM, fall madly in love, and get married in the blink of an eye (Lynda was just over a year older than Amanda is right now when we were married...scary! I'm not old enough to have a married daughter, am I?).

Family Update

I haven't written for a while. Life has been very busy at our house! Lynda is the PTA President - I think I mentioned this earlier - and she just finished hosting Red Ribbon Week at the local elementary school. This is a week devoted to teaching kids that they need to decide not to take drugs, etc. before they are confronted with it. There were activities each day that required her attention, so she spent the entire school day up at school every day of the week. The Saturday after Red Ribbon Week was over she, as Young Womens President in our branch, hosted New Beginnings - also a big deal. More than half of the people who attended New Beginnings this time were not LDS, including both mothers and daughters.

During this same time period, it was a serious period of grant submission. I submitted three grants in nine days - one to the National Institutes of Health, one to National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and one to National Science Foundation - all with very different formats, requirements, and explanatory components. By the time it was over my head was spinning. To top it off, I had a manuscript due for publication right in the middle of this same time period. I met all the deadlines [insert the sound of heavy breathing here and picture my tongue hanging out], and I hope the quality of each is as high as I think they are. On an aside, I was made chairman of the Library Committee at our lab. I have a nice budget for next year to buy periodicals and books. We are shifting to electronic journals, so our small budget will purchase quite a bit. I am pleased. I have also been assigned to the Education Committe which is working to form an official relationship with a local college here in Maine. This will allow me to maintain the Teaching portion of my resume; a very good thing!

Now to catch-up with Davis... He has this new girlfriend (Morgan Howe) that he really likes, but is not LDS. He has been spending a lot of time with her, including time at Youth Conference and parties with other school friends. She also went to New Beginnings with Lynda, so has been sort of indoctrinated, etc. Davis also was just accepted to BYU-Idaho and is very excited to leave home and get on with his life. He just got a letter in the mail today (he hasn't read it yet - I opened it) saying he has been accepted for the Winter/Spring track starting January 2010. This way he can get one semester of college in before he leaves on his mission. This will also allow him an extra four months to earn money before he has to leave for school. I couldn't be more pleased!

Evan and Danny are doing great. We just completed February Break (they have another one in spring, too) on Friday. Sunday evening we had a tremendous snow storm that dropped nearly a foot of the wet, sloppy snow endiginous to Maine. Our power was out when we woke up, and when I ventured out to dig the car out, I found nearly a dozen trees bowed over with masses of wet snow blocking the driveway. School was cancelled and the lab where I work was closed for the day due to the power outage and bad roads. Davis and I had just cut down a half-dozen trees and knocking the snow off of others when the snow plow showed up. We were able to get the van out of the driveway, although hundreds of branches hung down so they hit us half-way up the windshield, so the plow guy could clear everything out of the way. We spent the morning cooking beans on the top of the wood stove and fetching water from the stream so we could flush the toilet. I love Maine! Where else in the US could we have such an experience without leaving civilization? To make a short story long, Evan and Danny enjoyed the extra day of break. They played games by the wood stove with their mother, played with the dog, practiced the piano (Lynda took advantage of the day off too - even Davis practiced!), and generally had a great time. They are now officially ready to go back to school.

By the end of next week we should have a brief period of 40+ degree weather to help melt all our snow. That's the break I'm looking forward to. I'm ready for the green to come back and restore my paradise. We don't have very much longer to wait according to my estimation. The snows melt for good toward the end of March and by May it is shirt-sleave temperature. By the end of June it is full summer until mid-September. Fall lasts until nearly the end of November, then winter again. Four distinct seasons, and each beautiful in its own right. I hope we can stay here for a very long time.

Me and the boys at Pemaquid Point - the lighthouse on the back of the Maine quarter.

New grant proposal: My views on evolution

I recently submitted a new grant proposal to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study how to detect genetic phenomena associated with drug resistance, virulence, and epidemics. Back in 2003 I developed a software package in my laboratory called TreeSAAP (Selection on Amino Acid Properties using phylogenetic trees). Of course it involved nearly a dozen people, but the software was based on a mathematical model I created while a PhD student, used to detect the subtle influences of environmental influences on genes that encode proteins. This past summer I discovered how to apply the model to even more subtle influences, down to the level of a single nucleotide mutation. This may hold a great deal of potential for studying infectious diseases in humans. The proposal I wrote seeks to expand my preliminary research to comprehensively test the model to establish how accurate it is, not only compared to other competing models (actually it blows them out of the water), but how well it actually picks up known viral adaptations and filters out random noise.

I am writing another grant to the National Science Foundation (NSF) that's due a week from Tuesday that will seek to apply a similar approach to the study of population genetics. My hope is to reduce the evolutionary process down to mutational phenomena such that we can tell when organisms may be adapting to a change in the environment. My thesis is that biological organisms are much more adaptable than we give them credit for. This challenges the paradigm that man is causing a mass extinction because if most species are maliable with respect to the environment, then the only ones going extinct are those that are not, reducing the idea of extinction to natures way of making sure the overall gene pool is strong for all of life - just another law of nature. Just like the story of the Garden of Eden - death comes into the world so that life can exist and become more godlike. Evolution, therefore, is merely God's way of filling the earth with the best possible things and eliminating those things that don't fulfill the measure of their creation, much like the process He uses to populate the Celestial Kingdom.

Just thought you would like to know where I stand...

Obama Inauguration From Students' Perspective

The following was printed in the Boothbay Register, our local newspaper, last Thursday:

At Boothbay Region High School, participating students - seniors Morgan Mitchell, Davis McClellan, Josh Tirado and junior Wyatt Colby, Jr. shared insightful commentary and opinions.

A mock-election was held at the high school and Obama reigned victorious there as well.

Mitchell said, "We are in such a dark time right now that any progress will be phenomenal. I think he is coming in at the right time to really make a change.

"President Obama is eloquent, but he also has the smarts, the logic, and the organizational skills to make it work."

"Obama represents change, but it is going to take all of us as a country to bring the change to us," Tirado. "Everyone is going to have to cooperate with the changes that are going to take place.

"And there are probably going to be a lot of them in these first four years that are going to require a lot of sacrifice from the US in order to bring this country back and repay the debt we owe."

Colby noted that when former President Bush began his eight years, then outgoing President Bill Clinton had left the Capital with a surplus - none of the debt that he had inherited remained.

"I think it's good for us to [develop] a new perspective - not that I necessarily agree with any of his policies - but we need change to evolve," said McClellan. "My dad is an evolutionary biologist, [so] I tend to think a lot in those terms.

"Without mutation, without change in the genes of species there is no way to adapt to our [dynamic] environment. The same is true in government; if we don't have the constant struggle between the left and the right, we won't change."

McClellan was enthusiastic about the President's cabinet choices, citing his selection of scientists as scientific advisors in particular. "He is surrounding himself with experience."

"His web site has a blog where you can sign up for email updates on the Obama administration's progress - it keeps us in touch and involved.

"He is taking the technology we all use to inform and talk to each other and is utilizing it to create a line of communication - he is not sticking to the old ways. I think that is amazing. I am not the biggest Obama supporter in the world, but what he has done, for me, is to give me the faith and the hope that what he does he will do well and the United States will come out on top," McClellan said.

"What he is doing is actually changing the world. Racism isn't gone, but our kids and their kids will grow up knowing that there was a problem between blacks and whites in the past, but they will never know the struggle that our grandparents, parents and we have seen in our time," said McClellan.

"Now people of all races can wake up and say, someday I could be the President of the United States."

"When I think of that inauguration, I think of all those people and how he delivered his speech. I see it as the launching pad of a great moment," said Mitchell.

Tirado likened Obama, the president, to past presidents remembered as having effected change - Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.

"They weren't just presidents, but presidents really for the people that represented hope and new development, and were people that we trusted."

"Obama feels like an everyday person like us," said Tirado.

"He has good plans for the economy," said Colby. "He is the man with the plan and I think he will do a good job."

"I feel so lucky to be alive right now," said Mitchell. "To be in a time when I am mature enough and engaged enough to follow Obama's journey and political path and to participate in it. I think it is so amazing that there is this whole new spirit of engagement, not just in our country, but the world."

Mitchell describes our new president as "a man of integrity and class who is articulate, but is also so appealing, so cool. I just want to meet him.

"People are starting to feel hopeful, be excited; regardless of how you might feel about him, we've come a long way."

The Love of My Life: Lovely Lynda!

This cutie-pie is my eternal companion, Lynda. I have often said that she is the most intelligent and talented person I have known (then Lynda always says, And beautiful and skinny!). Lynda had had a very full life by the time I met her. She grew up on a potato farm in eastern Idaho. When she was in high school, her father was called as a mission president to serve in Cali, Colombia. The whole family, two parents and five of the kids (Lynda was the oldest of them), picked up and moved to South America.

Lynda finished high school early (in Colombia) and enrolled at BYU a semester early. She was called on a mission at the age of 18 to serve in her father's mission, so off she went, back to South America for a year and a half.

When I met Lynda, I had been home from my mission in Washington, DC for about two months, and she hadn't been home much longer. We were both Resident Assistants in the Helaman Halls dormitories at BYU and had a great deal of contact. We became racquetball buddies, playing several hours each day - she would beat me soundly nearly every game back then.

One memorable time with Lynda near the beginning of our relationship came when I went to Idaho Falls with her for the first time to meet her parents. Lynda had just come off of an engagement that ended negatively, so I think she thought that her parents would not approve of a new boyfriend so quickly - as a result, she neglected to tell them I was coming. When we arrived at her home on East River Road I walked with her to the front door. Her mother met us there and proceeded to thank me for giving Lynda a ride home and nearly shut the door in my face. Needless to say, I was quite confused at these mixed signals. It was then that I learned that it was the man's responsibility to figure out what the woman was thinking. Despite this rocky start, the visit went as well as can be expected and we left to return to Utah with the idea that Lynda and I were officially an item firmly planted in their minds.

Lynda and I at Helaman Halls dormitories at Brigham Young University

We have gone through good times and bad, fat and lean. Over the years we have learned to rely more and more on each other. And, yes, I do believe that I have learned to read her mind every once in a while. She has followed me all over the world and has been a really good sport, participating in my grand adventure.

Lynda harvesting rice near our township, Umegaoka, Kanagawa Prefecture

Today we both have gained a few pounds, me more than she, and gray hairs are found in plenty (again me more than she). Our love grows stronger and stronger. No one ever mistakes me for her son anymore, and she struggles at times to retained her beautiful singing voice. Her diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis make things interesting at times (like this morning), but she remains active; probably more active than when I met her. She is still the most intelligent and talented person I have ever met, and I love her more than life itself. I thank my Heavenly Father every day that he allowed me to find her and make her my bride.

Child Highlight: Daniel Kent

<-- This is Daniel Kent, my fourth child. He was born in Provo, Utah, in the same hospital as his sister. He turns seven years old tomorrow!!! He is named for one of our ancestors, the other brother-in-law of Brigham Young we are descended from. The original Daniel Kent was married to Brigham's sister Rhoda, I think. A few years back, a few of Daniel Kent's descendants met at an old graveyard near Kirtland, Ohio, and rededicated Daniel Kent's grave site. This was fresh on my mind when our Daniel Kent was born. Dan has always been a serious, yet intensely emotional, child. He rarely smiled until he was about five years old. This has also made him intensely sensitive, a trait I believe will serve him well over the coming years. Daniel enjoys the outdoors, more so than my our other children. He also loves to imagine himself the center of stories he makes up, and he spends hours in the summertime outside acting them out. At one point, Lynda asked if she could join him and he responded that he didn't think she knew how. He was right...

Daniel's first onstage performance as Tevia's grandson in Fiddler on the Roof.

Daniel's serious nature, as can be seen in the photo above, landed him several parts in on-stage performances, including Fiddler on the Roof and Annie. I remember when he was little, about 3-4, Dan learned to help me with the morning chores by straightening the family room by himself. All I had to say was, You can do it! and he did. We grew close through those years when I would watch him in the mornings.

Dan started kindergarten in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. When he did, he found his true passion - school. He loves it! He gets along well with the other children, his teachers love him, and he does well at nearly everything he is asked to do. He really missed school when he has to miss, although he dearly loves snow days.

Recent image of Daniel at his uncle Paul's wedding reception in Utah.

Child Highlight: Evan Loel

Evan Loel is named for my father (obviously) and our ancestor who was the nephew of Brigham Young, Evan Greene, the son of John P. Greene, the first convert resulting from the first mission, served by Joseph Smith's brother Samuel. Evan Greene married his first cousin, Susan Kent, daughter of Daniel Kent for whom Evan Loel's younger brother was named. Interestingly, Evan Greene was an early pioneer who crossed the plains with Brigham Young and was the mayor of Provo at one point.

Our Evan, Evan Loel, was born in Yokohama, Japan; our only child not to be born in Utah. He was the biggest baby of record to be born in his hospital. He came at the end of a long baby-drought for us, so he received lots of loving, and kind of had two sets of parents: Lynda & I, and Amanda & Davis.

When Evan was a baby he loved Star Wars, Episode I. When he learned to crawl, he would go to the television and plug the video in the slot in the middle of the night. He would sit and watch the whole thing while the rest of us slept. When it was over, he would crawl back over and plug it in again. There were nights where he would watch that movie up to five times. Needless to say, episode I is now my least favorite of the Star Wars movies.

Evan Loel in Motomachi, Yokohama, Japan.

Evan started school in Orem at Cascade Elementary. He was always our little singer. I can't remember a time when he did not sing with a perfect pitch and vibrato. He will be the best singer of all of us, I am sure. He also shows something of an aptitude for piano and arithmetic. He is now nine years old.

Amanda, Davis, & Evan Loel in our apartment in Yokohama.

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

Yesterday and today I created a Facebook group for where I work - Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. I have nine members already. I think the place where I work is really cool, and that everyone else will think the same thing. So far most of the people who have joined are Bigelow employees, but I hope my family and many others who happen upon in will also join.

People at Bigelow are doing all sorts of interesting things. For example, there are several scientists who travel to the southern Atlantic each year to study phytoplankton, bacteria, and the effect cycling of ion concentrations may have on marine life. Phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that phtosynthesize and produce the majority of all the oxygen in the atmosphere. As far as ions go, the oceans are becoming measurably more acidic. This makes the water somewhat toxic to marine life - not good. I research the genetics of molecular adaptation in a variety of organisms. Right now I am writing proposals to study oysters, lobsters and bacteria, and another to study the mathematics of adaptation. I hope at least one of these proposals are successfully funded.

The Bigelow website may be found at:
http://www.bigelow.org/index.php.

Thoughts on the presidential election

The Obamas at the Commander-in-Chief ball.

I can't say that I was thrilled with the presidential election. I had disappointments from start to finish. I didn't like the Republican nominee, nor did I care for the Democrat nominee. I liked Sarah Palin, but would have liked it more if she had been my kid's fourth grade teacher and not a candidate for VP. I liked John McCain, but think he would make a better college administrator than President. I've got too much baggage than necessary to support Hillary Clinton, and I had never even heard of Barak Obama before he ran for President. Of all the candidates, I thought Hillary would probably be the most presidential, but I don't think I could have supported her "progressive" agenda. It all would have been a lot easier if I had been more at ease with George Bush, but he just kept disappointing me in the way he failed to adequately communicate with his constituents (largely because of circumstances), and because he consistently gave in to or sponsored liberal legislation while claiming to be a conservative. In all, I think the country is in a really odd place politically, with no clear consensus from the public or our elected officials, Republican or Democrat.

I voted my conscience, but my heart was not in it. The whole thing was compounded by the lousy economy, which made for a great big "Do I have another choice?" moment at the voting booth. I can't say I was pleased with the ultimate outcome - I never quite understood the "messiah" status of Barak Obama; from my viewpoint he hadn't really ever done anything to deserve it. But now he's our President, and for four years we have to live with our collective decision.

The natural tendency for someone who is not pleased with an election like this one is to hope for the elected official to make some kind of colossal mistake, but our country is in kind of delicate place and I don't think it could take many more mistakes. For this reason, I have decided to throw my complete support behind our new President and try to be optimistic about what he is trying to do and where he is trying to take our country. Will I complain about decisions he makes that I don't agree with - sure. Will I be disappointed if he pushes legislation that makes our country more socialist and places further limits on our freedoms - you bet! But until he earns my disfavor I will support what he is trying to do. Let's face it, he has brought a lot of hope to a lot of people. He now has a constituency that he is beholden to - this will greatly limit his actions. If he taxes the rich, he stands to lose a lot of donations for his re-election bit in 2012, and if he messes up the economy any more than it already is, he will be blamed for much of its fallout. If he pulls completely out of Iraq and the country folds to the bad guys in Iran, history will not smile on him. I don't expect any really big reforms right away, and I don't think he is dumb enough to tax the middle class into a worse recession.

President Obama preaches hope. Well I hope that our economy improves. I hope that our standing among the nations improves. I hope unemployment improves. I hope the banking system improves. I hope that peace in the Middle East improves. I hope the flow of illegal immigration improves. I hope a lot of things improve. For this to happen, President Obama needs to be successful in his new position. Therefore, I hope Mr. Obama becomes the most successful president of our age. I hope his success eclipses the success of President Reagan. I hope his influence causes a new age in the United States just like he promises. If these things happen, I will be happy to vote to re-elect him. However, if he lets dogma rule practicality, I will vote for whoever he is running against - hopefully it will be someone more suited for the position than the choice we had this time.

And the pendulum swings...

Bucket List

So my niece Kristi had this list on her blog with the things she has accomplished in bold and I thought I would like to do the same thing on our blog for Lynda & I with L/D after each:

1. Started your own blog (L/D)
2. Slept under the stars (L/D)
3. Played in a band (L/D)
4. Visited Hawaii (dang! we want to do this!)
5. Watched a meteor shower (L/D)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (L/D)
7. Been to Disneyland (L/D)
8. Climbed a mountain (L/D)
9. Held a praying mantis (L/D)
10. Sang a solo (L/D)
11. Bungee Jumped (Lynda wants to - David's afraid of heights)
12. Visited Paris (D)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (L/D)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (L/D)
15. Adopted a child (does our dog count?)
16. Had food poisoning (L/D)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (can you still do this?)
18. Grown your own vegetables (L/D)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (Lourve here we come!)
20. Slept on an overnight train (maybe someday)
21. Had a pillow fight (L/D)
22. Hitch hiked (L)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (D)
24. Built a snow fort (L/D)
25. Held a lamb (D)
26. Gone skinny dipping (never!)
27. Run a Marathon (Lynda's wanted to - David: never in a million years!)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (not yet)
29. Seen a total eclipse (L/D)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (L/D)
31. Hit a home run (L)
32. Been on a cruise (D)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (drove right past it without looking)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (L/D)
35. Seen an Amish community (L/D)
36. Taught yourself a new language (L) - Spanish
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (is that possible?)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person (not yet)
39. Gone rock climbing (L/D)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (not the original)
41. Sung karaoke (L/D) - in Japan
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (L)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (D) - Washington, DC
44. Visited Africa (we want to with all our hearts)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (L/D) - with each other even
46. Been transported in an ambulance (L/D)
47. Had your portrait painted (no desire)
48. Gone deep sea fishing (D)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (wouldn't that be cool?)
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (would love to)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (L/D) - snorkling in the Caribbean, not scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain (L/D) - each other!
53. Played in the mud (L/D)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (L/D) - once again, with each other
55. Been in a movie (no)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China (we want to go...)
57. Started a business (L/D)
58. Taken a martial arts class (want to)
59. Visited Russia (David flew over Russia in a commercial airliner - does that count?)
60. Served at a soup kitchen (no)
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (we both have bought them)
62. Gone whale watching (we live in the right place for this one)
63. Got flowers for no reason (L) - from David, of course
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (L/D)
65. Gone sky diving (there's no way you could ever get David to do this one!)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (no)
67. Bounced a check (L/D) - too many times
68. Flown in a helicopter (L)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (I think it's now too late)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (L/D) - together; one of David's favorite places
71. Eaten Caviar (not yet)
72. Pieced a quilt (L/D)
73. Stood in Times Square (L/D) - this time not together
74. Toured the Everglades (David drove through them)
75. Been fired from a job (not technically)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (closest is the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier)
77. Broken a bone (we're trying to avoid this one)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (ambiguous)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (not yet)
80. Published a book (L/D)
81. Visited the Vatican (no)
82. Bought a brand new car (L/D) - we did it together
83. Walked in Jerusalem (would love to)
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (L/D) - everyone in Boothbay Harbor, ME has this happen periodically
85. Read the entire Bible (L/D)
86. Visited the White House (L/D)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (L/D)
88. Had chickenpox (L/D)
89. Saved someone’s life (D) - Lynda's
90. Sat on a jury (knock on wood)
91. Met someone famous (L/D) - Donny & Marie Osmond; they're famous, right?
92. Joined a book club (L)
93. Lost a loved one (L/D)
94. Had a baby (L) - biology is not on David's side for this one
95. Seen the Alamo in person (L/D) - together
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (we only lived in Utah 12 years, you think we could have done this one)
97. Been involved in a law suit (L) - Vioxx class action; she never got anything
98. Owned a cell phone (L/D) - too many
99. Been stung by a bee (L/D) - Lynda was stung on her tongue

Score: Lynda - 54; David - 52

Child Highlight: Davis

Davis - short for David's son - is the best son a parent could ask for. He was born the year after the Berlin Wall fell and the cold war was over. However, he has grown up with the conflict in Iraq as a constant, his father and mother constantly in school, and never knowing what it is like not to have a computer in his home - a very different world than I grew up with.

Davis' middle name is Lynn, just like his grandfather on his mother's side. Interestingly, Lynda, Davis' mother, is also named after grampa Mickelsen.

The picture to above was taken in Yokohama, Japan just before Davis was baptized. This started a period of time which saw Davis grow a great deal that has come to be defined by the time Davis became lost coming home from school. He wandered for hours throughout Yokohama until one of the teachers at his school found him covered with dirt and tears.

Davis also developed his great love for reading. His teacher only spoke Japanese, but Davis could only understand English - need I say more? He read veraciously - every book we had in our possession - many several years beyond his ability to really understand. As a result, his ability in the language arts did not suffer from our two years in Japan.

Davis and his third grade teacher, Ishiguro Sensei (1999)

Davis also loves to perform in plays. He has been in several productions: Annie; To Kill A Mockingbird; Music Man; The Best Christmas Pageant Ever; Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat; Fiddler On the Roof; and, most recently, as the lead in Godspell. This last performance, in the roll of Jesus, really messed up his ability to memorize his scripture mastery scriptures in the New Testament in seminary because the wording is only slightly different.

Davis as Jesus in Godspell (2009)

Davis is now applying to colleges. His first choices are BYU-I and BYU. His grades have gone way up since we moved to Maine and he did well on the SAT. We are optimistic. He wants to major in something having to do with computers/IT.

Child Highlight: Amanda

Amanda was born several years ago in a land far from where we are now. She was extremely bright and found great delight in regaling us with clever anecdotes, humorous quips, and melodic poetry. She was a very articulate little girl - a natural leader among her peers, yet comfortable discussing current events with adults. I, of course, am a bit biased in my assessment of her prowess. She shares 50% of my genetic material after all.

Amanda and her friend (Summer 1992).

Well, after a while Amanda started to grow. She grew and she grew and she grew! She became Senior Class President in 2006, and she earned her Associates Degree at UVU and graduated from Utah County Academy of Science the same year, in 2007.

Amanda speaking at her high school graduation (Spring 2007)

Amanda is now a Senior at UVU on scholarship. She is majoring in Vocal Performance, and she sings like an angel! She is making plans to do a semester at USU with a friend of ours from when we lived in Louisiana who runs the opera program. She also is a candidate for an internship in Hollywood to observe the scoring of a movie. We are very proud of what she is accomplishing! Our goal for Amanda this year involves increased self-sufficiency.

Inagural McClellan Family Blog

Family picture (counterclockwise from the left):
Amanda, Evan, Daniel, Davis, Lynda, & David (Summer 2008)

This is the first entry of the David McClellan Family Blog! First let us introduce ourselves.

David McClellan married Lynda Mickelsen on October 28, 1988, and the David McClellan family had its beginnings. Shortly thereafter (about nine months and a week) Amanda McClellan joined our family. She is now a charming, gracious, intelligent young woman attending Utah Valley University as a senior in vocal music performance. Davis was next to join our family, and he is now a Senior at Boothbay Region High School. He participates in drama, is the founder of the High School Debate Team, Editor of the Webzine for the Student Health Advisory, Editor of the Yearbook, and just finished performing as the lead at the High School musical "Godspell." Evan joined our family 8 years later, while we were living in Japan, and is now a fourth grader at Boothbay Region Elementary School. He loves music--is quite talented at the piano and at singing. Daniel was born a few years later while we were living in Orem and is now an almost 7 year old in 2nd grade at Boothbay Region Elementary School.

Dave works as a Senior Research Scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences here in Boothbay Harbor and Lynda is the PTA President at the Elementary School. We love serving in the Church: Dave as Branch Mission Leader, Lynda as Branch Young Women President, and Davis as first assistant to the Branch President in his Priest Quorum.

That serves as an introduction to who we are at this point in our lives. Watch for more posts in the future!

The McClellans