Boy Scout National Jamboree

This summer I (David) will be going to the National Jamboree in West Virginia and taking a tour of many other states.  This is going to be a great experience.

At the 8-day Jamboree I will be white water rafting, hiking, shooting rifles, and doing many other scout activities.  I am excited to meet boys from around the U.S.

The rest of my trip, which is 2 more weeks, will include visiting Washington D.C., Mount Vernon, Philadelphia, NYC, Palmyra, Niagra Falls, and Ohio.  We will be visiting Cedar Point, an amusement park.  While in NYC, I will get to visit Time Square, the Financial District, the Statue of Liberty, and a Broadway show.

This trip is going to be an amazing experience and I cannot wait for it to begin.

Utah, week 2

Our second week in Utah was much quieter. Ez was teaching a class in San Diego, Alexis was in Grand Junction, CO for a few days, Lily was in Albuquerque, NM, and we took David to BYU Football Camp.

It was fun to have just Joe and Evelyn for a couple of days. One day we visited the little farm at Thanksgiving Point. The kids had a great time feeding and petting the animals. Joe even got his shorts chewed on by one of the calves! Their favorite part was the pony ride.

Joe feeding a very, very hungry friend

Evelyn wiping her hand after an animal licked her too much!

My favorite part of the week was a trip up to Ogden to visit my friend Emily and her wonderful kids. Emily was one of my earliest friends and it was fantastic to catch up with her after not seeing her in about 10 years. Unfortunately, a photo never happened. Boo!

Utah Trip

It was lots of fun to get together with the family in Utah. Here are just a few of my favorite pictures. There really were a lot.

Very creative hiding places...

Scott and Ez hoping the fire for dinner will start before the rain

Our family--last time we took a picture here, Joe was only 1 week old

The family toured the conference center, visited Temple Square, and the Beehive House

Evelyn liked making sure David's hair was always looking good

Uncle Burgess was magical with keeping Claire happy

Jake was the funny MC of the family talent show

Beautiful little Ellie

Lily loved having Aunt Meagan put some bling in her hair
Anders
Alexis and Sarah
Joe performing his Hug a Pug dance
Cute Emery

Vacation

It is summer break! School ended June 7th, Joe turned 6 on the 8th, and then we took off on vacation on the 10th. Already our summer is a busy one. We had a family reunion with Keri's parents, aunt and uncle, and siblings, spouses, and their kids out in Midway, Utah from the 10th-17th.

We all had a nice time visiting, playing, laughing. We spent a day in Salt Lake City where we visited the Conference Center, the Beehive House, and Temple Square. We also spent time in Kamas, at a really fun indoor swimming facility. All the cousins enjoyed an unbirthday party, where each cousin got a small little gift and we gobbled up yummy cupcakes. The adults were completely entertained by a fabulous talent show (which brought many. many laughs). We celebrated Alexis's birthday as well. It was a pretty fantastic week.

The fun didn't end there, either! Alexis went back to Colorado with Jolie and her kids so she and Sarah can play a few extra days. Lily drove home to Albuquerque with Grandma Val and Grandpa Brant for a whole week. Ez flew home to Vacaville, and I am still in Utah, but in the the city of Sandy.

I drove David out to BYU early this morning so he could attend Football Camp for the week. We are so excited for him to have this opportunity. He is staying on campus and will have some really neat opportunities and experiences. It is a bit odd to be hanging out with just Evelyn and Joe for a couple of days!

No Excuses

Well, it has been far too long since we have visited and updated our blog--not without regret, of course. Originally the excuse was something having to do with vacations, but then life just got busier and the excuses kept piling until trying to catch up on the blog just got ignored.

I really will not attempt to catch up on this much lost time. In short, we are all still here, just a little older. Alexis just turned 13 and finished the 7th grade, and has entered teenage life with braces as well. David is 11 1/2 and heading into 6th grade and continues to stay busy with sports. Lily turned 8 in March, got baptized in April, and is looking forward to 3rd grade. Joe just turned 6. We were glad he had a great kindergarten year and are pleased to see his reading skills take off. Evelyn is nearly 4 and had a fun year at preschool. She is pleased to let everyone around know that she now can ride her bike with ONLY two wheels! It is amazing to see how much our family has grown in a little over a year!

Keri spent the last school year as PTC President over at the elementary school. Not sure what possessed her, outside of the idea that she might have something to offer. In short, it was far busier and more frustrating than ever imagined, but good things did happen. Keri (and the rest of the family) is glad that she did not sign up for another year of helping.

Ez continues to stay busy at work and with his church calling. He has taken up running and has found it to be an activity he really enjoys.

I suppose that is the best quick job we can do! Hope to be back a little more often with updates!

Miss Independent

Evie thinks she can do everything her big sisters and brothers can. For a while, she absolutely loved to make toast. We have a toaster oven, so she learned how to use it (pretty much) herself! Funny little lady!

How she gets tall enough!

Enlisting Joe's help this time

Blue and Gold Dinner

David's Blue and Gold Dinner for Scouts was a bit ago. The boys had an opportunity to decorate a cake to share with the families that came. David had a fun time looking at cake ideas and finding just the right one for him--the foosball cake!

He was thrilled to win the certificate for Most Original. Good Job, David!