Oquirrh Mountain Temple

This temple open house was a special one because we got to go with Dave's brother and family from Pennsylvania. We have not seen them for 2 years so it was great to have them visit. As we got out of our cars and met in the middle of the parking lot, I was baffled by the male humans that surround me. They speak such a different language. At the initial greeting in the parking lot, Hunter and A did not make eye contact, but both said "hey" and then walked off together as if they had only been apart for 10 minutes. C approached Hayden much the same way and they were instant friends, laughing and walking through the parking lot. It was fun to see them pair up, these boys in their suits and ties, walking to the temple.

The other reason it was a special open house was because we saw 2 of our old neighbors volunteering at the open house. The Short's, who were the BEST primary teachers a parent could ask for, were at the front doors. Che grabbed Harley and Hunter and gave them a hug, then we surprised Zach as we rounded the corner and saw him before he saw us! The Sylvester's were in the one of the Sealing Rooms and we got to hear them bear testimony of Temples and The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was an awesome moment.

We really enjoyed being with our extended family as we walked through the temple. It was a great reminder of how blessed we are. Families are forever!

Wheeler Farm 2009

Kristi, Matt, and I braved the summer "heat" (ha ha ha) and took the kids to Wheeler Farm. We started off with B's favorite: the horses. She named them Yellowy and Browny. The kids are really fun now that they are older and more confident. They all fed the horses some grass, well, Hunter was so worried that the little ones were going to feed the horse a finger he could not participate and had to "look away". Harley, however, wanted to feed the horse our lunch so we quickly moved on before she could plant the idea in the younger kids heads!
The geese and ducks were out in full force, demanding to be heard and fed. Hunter of course wanted to take a duck home, "I will name him Oregon and take care of him, Please Mom!" One look from me told him there was no way he was keeping a duck at our house! Hamster ok, fish ok, dog ok, duck NO WAY! So we sadly walked away from 'Oregon the Duck' and saw the milking of the cow, which no one asked to take home!! A was so cute we had to stop and take a few pics. I was really wishing Kristi could have a baby that was not so smiley...then I remembered L and smiled! Of course, B wanted in on some of the action. And what is better than a picture with your older cousin? That is the best part about being the oldest cousin...everyone adores you!! (Of course I am speaking from personal experience ;))

Then we fed the ducks, geese, swans, seagulls, and L...she decided that the bread was too good to waste and took a few bites! Once the bread was gone, it was our turn to eat. Lunch was good, but climbing trees and chasing each other is much more fun!

Dog Park

In all my life I have never been to a dog park. I have never wanted to go to a dog park. I have completely blocked out of my memory that there are dog parks. I am sure this has something to do with my childhood and fear of dogs. Well thanks to Charlie my fear of dogs has been cured, but I still never saw myself at a dog park. Until Sunday that is. I wanted to take my new camera to a park and practice taking pictures. The kids and Dave were all game, so we loaded up up in the car and drove to a park. To my surprise Dave took us to a dog park. I was a bit skeptical but decided to give it a go. We got Charlie out of the car and headed into the unknown.

I was pleasantly surprised at the feelings that my heart felt. It only took one look at Hayden's beaming face to know we would be coming back to this park often. There were dogs everywhere. Running, chasing, jumping, sniffing, barking, and swimming. We let Charlie of his leash and watched him shake with excitement as he ran every inch of the dog area.

There were some beautiful dogs at the park and could not miss the opportunity to take a picture of them. The people were all smiles and having just as much fun as the dogs. One lovely dog owner saved Charlie from drowning in the pond...note to Dave, Charlie is NOT a water dog!
All the kids laughed and had a great time, but the look of pure joy and love on Hayden's face is what makes me look forward to going back and seeing some of the same dogs, meeting more dogs, and watching my kids and Charlie having fun.

Synch. Swimming Team

Here it is fans, the Kimball Mill Synchronized Swimming Team performing their Olympic Swim Routine.




Swimmers from left to right: "capt.jac.", "the R factor", and "T money".
Donations to help this amazing team make it to the 2012 Summer Olympics can be made to: "The Black Pearl" P.O. Box 666 Tortuga, Isle DeMuerta

Family Baseball Game

Last weekend Angie and Skee invited everyone to the park for a baseball game. Right from the get go it was a momentous night. Everyone got in on the action...and I mean everyone, even Kristi and Leighton in their "baseball skirts". We had a blast!Skee was so great at making sure everyone got to play and have fun. He made sure all the little kids got to hit, all the big kids got to hit, all the girls got to hit, and all the dads got to hit. Kristi, Leighton, Bostyn, and Matt the were the funnest to watch because they are usually the spectators but they all stepped up, put their fears on the plate, hit the ball, and ran the bases!


Grandma and Grandpa B were the cutest, Grandpa pitching to Grandma, giving her moral support, what a great example of a true gentleman. I think Grandma felt years younger running those bases like the "old days", she is quite the athlete.

Of course the boys had fun, they hit the ball, ran the bases, caught the ball, made key plays and such. Harley stepped up to the plate and crushed the ball, line drive after line drive, into the outfield. The "big boys" were a little bit jaw dropped at her mad skills. But the big event happened when Skee stepped up to bat, cracked a pop fly to left field. Todd picked up the ball as Skee was running to 3rd, Todd throws the ball to Harley at 3rd, Skee runs for home, Harley launches the ball to Bryan at home and gets Skee out. All grown men (except Skee) were VERY impressed at Harley's arm and ability to beat Skee home.

They played until it was too dark to see the ball...and promised to continue the game at a later date. Thanks Angie and Skee for setting up the game, and Happy Birthday Angie!!

Rainman

For Spectrum Academy's 8th grade graduation Kim Peek's came to speak to us. For those of you that do not know who Kim Peek is I would love to tell you a little bit about him. Kim Peek is considered an Autistic Savant. He was born with a photographic memory. And the best part is Kim is the man Dustin Hoffman studied for the character in the movie Rainman. Dustin spent 3 months watching, asking, and learning about Kim in order to play the part better.

Kim's dad did most of the explaining and then he opened up for questions. He told us to raise our hands and ask Kim any question we could think of...Kim would have an answer for us, and he did!

Kim can tell you the page, paragraph, and line an exact quote is on in any book he has read...and there are not many he has not read.

If you tell him your birth date he can tell you the day (M-Su), the weather of that day, and the day (M-Su) on which you will retire (age 65).

He is a huge sports fan and can tell you any stat you wish about any sport in the United States, some in Europe, and about any athlete you want to know about. He is a walking encyclopedia. It was amazing to listen to him.

If you give him a city he will tell you the streets that run through it, the names of any parks, and the area code. He is truly amazing.

He had little patients for the microphone we had for him. He wanted to touch the people he was talking to so he kept walking into the audience. His dad would say into the mic, "Kim, you need to talk into the microphone so all of the people can hear you." After his dad said this about 5 times, Kim walked back to the mic pulled it off the cord and yelled, "Now I am holding the mic and the only ones that need to hear can hear." His dad chuckled as he stood there holding the mic cord and Kim walked around holding the mic.

Hayden's question was when was the first super bowl played, Kim didn't skip a beat! He gave us the teams, the location, and the score.

Hayden and I got to shake Kim's hand and we got to hold the Oscar that Dustin Hoffman gave Kim for his help with the movie (yep it is heavy). It was a mind blowing night and I hope it is one that Hayden will not forget.

Here is a clip of Kim answering Hayden's question. He doesn't talk in the mic so it is hard to hear him sometimes, but he is so facinating to watch. Dustin did a good job imitating his voice and his mannerisms.

Here is a video of a car question.

High School Musical

Harley has been enrolled in Creative Arts this year (it was her birthday present!!) and the Musical Class did High School Musical this past weekend. Harley was a cheerleader (like mother-like daughter) and she was "Ripper" the skater chick turned cello-ist (which was a drastic costume and attitude change...)

She did an amazing job and was as cute as could be. Her love for the stage makes all the money, sacrifice, and practicing worth every minute. Harley is so happy performing and we LOVE watching her!

I want to give a big thanks to all of you that came to support Harley! THANK YOU!!!