Members of LaTour a la Maison

An introduction to the members of LaTour á la Maison:


This is DAVE. He like reggae music, chemical experimentation making various wines and beers, growing pumpkins so big that it takes six large men to roll one into a truck, and playing WoW and other computer games with his kids. He loves traveling, history, philosophy, intellectual discussions with intellectual people, the art of fine cuisine, animals, film, literature, economics, weight training, cycling, and the pursuit of knowledge. He loves long discussions with his kids. He loves it when they question things and think for themselves. Dave is involved in environmental issues, civil rights issues and really cares for the Earth and all creatures that share this planet. Dave works as a Vice President of a stock analysis software division of JP Morgan and wants to grow up to be a beach bum in Fiji.


This is MIRIAM. She is working on her Ph.D. in Psychoneuroimmunology. She can even pronounce it. She loves literature, film, yoga, hiking, biking on her blue daisy bike, weight training, psychology, fine cuisine, meditation, Shiraz, animals, baking breads and pastries, sauvekavely, theater, ancient history, anthropology, theological studies and behavioral science. Miriam ran the Portland marathon last year and did not win. She works as a volunteer in psych research on genetic cancer patients for the University of Utah. She ran her own portrait photography studio for many years, but is recently retired. Miriam loves traveling all over the world with Dave and her three children, and playing poker with the family. She loves Sunday movie/restaurant day with the family each week and being outdoors in all weather. She wants to grow up to finally finish her Ph.D. and open her own practice... so she can support her beach bum husband.


This is ADARA. When she was in fourth grade, her school freaked out because she couldn't read. By fifth grade, Adara was reading on a 12th grade level. And now she has written a dozen novels and at least five plays. She is seldom seen without a book and reads everything from classics to manga to books on quantum theory. Adara was the Editor in Chief of her school newspaper for two years in high school. She worked as a stage manager and sound technician and competed in theater arts. Adara is the type of person who is always getting honors and awards of achievement. She is well known and has a dynamic personality and strong, independent way of thinking. She tested out of her first year of college and is currently studying Anthropology at the U of U. She plans to get her Ph.D. in archeology. This Summer Adara will be working in Thailand with children rescued from the sex slave trade. She loves animals (who always flock to her), children, theater, film, Egyptian studies, computer gaming and intellectual discussions. When she grows up, she wants to work at the Metropolitan Museum or British Museum or some place far away from Utah.

This is ISAAC. Isaac is the one with all the charisma in the family. He knows how to talk to anyone any age, remembers every one's names and no matter where we go it seems like everyone knows him. Isaac has a spacial photographic memory. He can look at a map and remember everything on it. He can walk in a room and knows if something has changed. If you can't find something, Isaac can tell you where it is. He has a hard time sitting still and is the class clown, so even though he is extremely intelligent he gets bored with conventional education. Isaac loves Earth sciences and engineering. He likes creating and building gadgets and can make almost anything out of materials around the house. He is addicted to WoW. He loves the outdoors, sports, fishing, golfing, cooking and just discovered a great talent for gymnastics. he can do back handsprings, flips, and all kinds of tumbling. He loves parkour, a sport that his mom wishes she hadn't introduced him to. He also loves paint ball and spends every Wednesday as the youngest of a paintball field group running around and shooting each other for hours. Isaac wants to go into detective or police work or mechanical engineering when he grows up.

This is ELIJAH. Eli was born with the more creativity and imagination than seems possible for one skinny kid. There seems to be an entire universe inside his mind. The fascinating thing about Eli is that his imagination stays within the confines of logic, because he is foremost a philosopher. In third grade his teacher was astonished that he came up with an unknown math strategy that worked. Eli likes to ponder and talk about possible explanations for the world around him and project those theories into a sort of Terry Pratchett type humor of a logic-defying fantasy. He has a very keen and sophisticated sense of humor. Eli loves all kinds of gaming. One of the first phrases he learned as a baby was "watch Adara", which meant he wanted to watch Adara play computer games. By the time he could wield a controller, he started playing. He loves strategy games best. He loves to play chess, and he and his friend take it quite seriously. Eli can do all kinds of voice impersonations. He also has an affinity with music and can sing and dance around the house with a great (but hidden) talent. Eli loves storytelling, animals (especially cats), film, physics, chemistry, and doing experiments with ice. When he grows up he says he wants to go into science and engineering and divide himself to become part human, part robot, part ghost and maybe a little demon.