When the kids use the camera.

Kevin took the boys to measure a property on Saturday. He let each of them take three pictures and here are a few of the results.

From Ogden Utah

I told Weston I would post a picture of a coyote on the blog. Here it is!!!!!

Here we are in beautiful down town Ogden. Uncle Joe and Aunt Linda had a nice farewell and gave excellent talks. Afterwards a slew of people came over to the house for lunch and visiting. After they all left we rode over the Jared and Julie's (Langevelds old house) for a visit. They have made some nice changes to their house.

We will leave at about 9:00 in the morning and should be home about 6:00pm.

That's about it for now.

PS - any news from Erik and Jamie?????

Grandpa's House

Seth finished Grandpa's house this past week. I helped him do some of the touch up work and then the flower box. On Thursday he finished the rest of the flower box and called it complete. I am very excited to have him home in the afternoons now. We're gearing up for the fourth of July. Seth is in charge of the ward breakfast and they are doing a pinewood derby afterwards. Then, we're off to the cabin!

Dreaming of Camping

All of the kids have been begging to go camping... not in the plans for now.

Drawing is compliments of Trent.

Von4L House

Their house is finally finished after 4 months of construction. Monday, Dennis, Kev and I started the landscape. We got the majority of the beds built and the material placed. It was a long HOT day. Tuesday, Dennis and I set the sprinkler heads, connected the backflow and finished up a few details. On Wednesday morning, Dennis and I laid the sod. Once they get moved in after the Fourth of July, we will figure out what to do with the backyard.

Brant

Matt- your house is next!

a weekend update

Since I haven't posted in ages, I think it's time I put a nice long post up full of pictures of my recent adventures. First, and foremost, my Irish dance competition (called a Feis, pronounced "fesh." It's Gaelic). Friday night I attended my first Feis, hoping to win at least 1 medal so I could advance levels. I danced in 6 different dances, 3 of which were solo dances and 3 were group dances. Technically, photography of any sort was not allowed, but my roommate snuck some when no one was looking.

They lined us up and then, two at a time, we danced in front of a judge who scored us according to our form (pointed toes, crossed knees, turned-out ankles, height of leaps and jumps, etc).

Irish dancers almost always wear their hair in ringlets (or rather, they almost always wear wigs). It took about an hour and a pound of hair spray to put my hair in tiny rings. But it looks so nice when it bounces.

In the end, I walked off with 1 trophy, 1 first place, 1 second and 2 third places.



Yesterday I left to move to Memphis so I could, you know, be in the same city as T-rav. Today we went downtown and rode the trolley around. The one we rode on is 103 years old and our driver was convinced that Michael Jackson isn't really dead, but instead had more plastic surgery to completely change his identity.





The inside of the trolley...









And finally, the "mini" Mississippi. It was a scale model where 30 inches (or one step) = 1 mile. It was pretty awesome. I finally got to go to New Orleans...and I romped around in the Mississippi River Delta right on the edge of where the River meets the Gulf (be careful-there's a large drop-off there). It's kind of nice living in the same state as one's husband.

Z3 Update

Lisa had girls' camp this week, Tuesday thru Friday. Several ladies in the ward were kind enough to watch our kids while I worked. Our nights were busy with Kanyon's tball games on Tuesday and Wednesday and then Braxton's baseball game on Thursday. We got home around 8:30 or 9:00 each night. Not much time to get the house dirty, or clean it either. I was up late on Thursday trying to get it ready for Lisa's return.
Work is going well. Brant and I are going to help Von Forell's (Dennis and Janet) install their front yard tomorrow.
This week is Cub Scout Day camp. Braxton is able to go since he'll be in second grade next fall. Swim lessons start the week after. We're looking forward to mom and dad's visit in July.
Our garden is also growing. Last night we harvested a bean pod and two pea pods. Our tomatoes also are getting more yellow blossoms. Hopefully our corn will be "knee high by the Fourth of July." Right now its height is kind of a bummer on the first day of summer.

Disney's Influence

Braxton drew some of Raya's Disney Princess characters. Enjoy. . . guys.

Happy Fathers Day

Just thought I'd throw in a Fathers and Sons Outing picture. You probably don't recognize most of the people but on the far left is Dave Johnson, in the middle is Beve, and behind him is Kurt. This was our feast of Breakfast Burritos.

Here it is Fathers Day and I just woke up from my traditional Fathers Day nap. We had a nice Sunday, the four married wards are still combined so the three bishops who are not conducting enjoy sitting in the congregation with their family. Today, Mom taught Relief Society. I attended so she wouldn't embarrass the family. She did an excellent job. She also got up early and made doughnuts for our Elders Quorum (Fathers Day treat). It is starting to become a bit of a tradition. There were two large cookie trays of doughnuts and a gallon of milk and about 12 elders. By the end of church it was all gone. You do the math. I got a GPS unit a week or so ago for Fathers Day so today I got the traditional Hallmark Card and a headband reading light so I can lay in the tent and read my Louis L'Amour book without having to use one hand to hold my Makita flashlight. Thanks, Martha.

It rained all morning. For the first day of summer it is quite cool and wet. The crops are loving it and I like it too.

Yesterday we took Tami back to the airport. She was here for 6 days and grandpa really enjoys it when someone comes to visit him. His house is almost painted. I'm sure Seth and Lacey will be glad when they are through. It looks really nice. When we went over Friday night to pick up Grandpa and Tami for dinner there was an awful smell in the house. Tami said she had looked everywhere but could not find it. Mom started through the house and when she got to the garage she found that the freezer had quit and all the food inside was spoiled. We put it all in trash bags and sealed them. Yesterday Mom and I took it all out to the dump and got rid of it. Now grandpa is undecided if he wants a new freezer or not.

Wednesday Mom rode with me to Pendleton and Pilot Rock. I had a little work to do and just needed to visit the buildings. Thursday they opened the bids to remove and replace the roof over the cultural hall and classrooms at Pendleton. The architect estimate was $430,000. The low bid was $291,000. It seems the contractors are hungry out there. They will start on it in mid-July.

It looks like we will drive to Ogden this weekend for Aunt Linda and Uncle Joe's missionary farewell and to see their family. Then when the baby comes, we will drive to Denver for a week or so to help Jamie and Erik and see all our Colorado family.

We hope everyone is well and happy. Kelly, we assume you will be headed to Memphis soon. Hope you enjoy the rest of the summer.

We love you all. Dad and Mom

Holka Polka

Yesterday was our big backyard play. Les has been hosting a Drama Club for several months now. They met every other week and rehearsed or went on field trips. Les worked on the play, another mom helped the kids with the back drop, another mom helped with the music, etc... As part of the club, the kids got to tour back stage at Chatfield High School and met with the actors. They also were able to visit the costume shop.

Anyway, after several months of rehersals, yesterday was the big day. The kids did really well on their parts. It was a play about witches and wizards who met fairy tale characters along the way. Ty was Pinocchio, Aimee was an ugly step sister and Katie was a guard. I thought it was a short little play, but it actually lasted about 25 minutes. I was afraid it would rain, but the weather held off for us. Thanks to Kevin and Lisa for coming over. It was fun to visit and let the kids play together.

Brant

PS- Last night we went to the Rockies game with Dennis and Janet.
Recap- Rain delay, we are tied, they get ahead with a 3 run home run, it is tied again at the top of the ninth, Rockies hit a sweet home run in the bottom of the ninth to win!!!

Mother Nature

" I love my columbines!"

This has been a very nice spring. Every afternoon, we get a storm rollling through. It drops some nice rain and then clears out and leaves us with a nice cool evening. My flowers are loving life. They are all big and the blossoms are huge!

Today was interesting. As I was on the way to make the deposit at the bank, we noticed the daily storm cells in the sky. The guy I was riding with noticed that they looked a lot like toronado producing clouds. Sure enough, we saw a small wispy funnel start to form. Then we heard the tornado sirens activate. Luckily, the storm was north of us so we were in no immediate danger. When I got home, I kicked on my radio and listen to the various amateur radio storm reporters check in as the storm passed over Denver and then the airport.

Gotta love Mother Nature!

Brant

Happy Anniversary to Us

Yesterday was our 36th wedding anniversary. We struggled trying to decide what, of all the many choices, to do. We finally ended up going to Tri-State shopping, then to Applebees, and finally to Costco in Lewiston to buy a GPS. My boss has one like this and I liked it. It was on sale so we bought one. Right now it talks like "Karen" from Australia. I have loaded most of your addresses in (we could probably find you without it), although there are a couple of you that it says do not exist. You may want to check to see if you really live there.

Oh yeah, we went to a stake ice cream social and wedding reception yesterday also.

This week Mom is going to ride to Pendleton with me to look at buildings and fix a couple of things.

Aunt Tami arrives tomorrow and then we take her back to the airport in Spokane on Saturday. Seth and Lacey are almost finished painting Grandpa's house. It looks really nice.

Enjoy the summer.

Baseball season

Trent has had a great time playing baseball so far. We have played three games, and Trent has scored the first run in all three of them. It helps when you lead off. He has played catcher, and short stop, pitcher and first base.

An Asian Adventure

I think you've all noticed that Trav has been in Tennessee the past several weeks...and that I haven't been with him. I've been here teaching a special ESL class that focuses on Utah issues (history, geology, Native American stuff, etc), culminating in a camping trip to Southern Utah. I got back last night from our trip, so here are a few of the highlights.

Students making breakfast.

Listening to Lorenz, our Navajo guide, describe how people used to get water in the desert.

Hiking through Lorenz's land on the reservation in Monument Valley.
This is the whole group at Hovenweep. They studied about both the Anasazi and Navajo histories, so it was cool to be able to see where they once lived.

It was lots of fun!

Josh Boydston

This picture was taken just outside the stake center in Moscow. Brian Loomis and his Dad are driving their horse drawn hearse to carry Josh's casket to the Moscow Cemetery. The funeral was sad but also one of the best I've been to. They left no doubt what we believe when it comes to death and resurrection. The chapel was full, the overflow was full, and they were seated almost back to the center court line in the cultural hall. People from all walks of life. Josh's friends, family, school teachers and administrators, medical people, sports people, church people, etc.

If you look real close just over the horse's ear (the one furtherest ahead), you can see Mom and I. Grandpa was there too but you can't see him. It was very impressive as the horses moved out and down the road to the cemetery. Kind of a nice final touch.

Aunt Brenda gave the invocation, Uncle Chuck gave the life sketch, Dan Shoenberg spoke, Bishop Monson (he is in the Mosman Law firm), and then President Pennington spoke. There were several musical numbers. All the young men leaders and present and past young men from the 3rd ward sang "Called to Serve". There wasn't a dry eye in the place.

I guess time will heal but it is hard at this time for his friends and family.

The Life of a Crown Vic

Kimbre and I enjoyed a nice outing to Laird Park with Mom and Dad, due to work, we couldn't make an over nighter out of the trip. I'm sure Dad will post pics of the days activities.

While there, I was telling dad about some damage to my patrol car and it got me thinking about doing a new post. Sorry we don't post more often, our lives consist of: work, days off (sometimes together), recovering from graveyard shifts, the occasional BB-Q, church league softball, new house stuff, and work.

Two weeks ago, I got my car back from the auto body shop. I hit a large rock along the road that follows CDA Lake. To be more accurate, the rock hit me. Around 3 a.m. in the middle of a heavy rain storm, a large rock rolled down off the hill side and hit my moving car. I wouldn't believe it either, but that's what really happened. End result was a caved in push bar and a cracked up bumper (my second bumper).

On the second day of having my freshly repaired car back, I was on a call when I looked back at my car and it was pouring steam out the top end and anti-freeze out the bottom end. Someone forgot to tighten, repair, fix, and/or replace a cooling line and it gave up the ghost. Nothing worse than being stuck at a gas station with a dead car while kids drive by and laugh at you. Actually the sight of your car on the flat bed tow truck with the clerk taking cell phone photos of if is just a tad bit more embarrassing.

Other incidents include one deer on Hwy 95 (he lived and ran away), a run in with a gun locker at the jail garage (end of the line for bumper #1), and a random rock that put a crease in the lower rocker panel. After two years and 60k+ miles, my patrol car has actually held up pretty well for what it goes through. No the above pic is not my car, just the best I could do from a google search. It's Ford's promo pic for the Interceptor.

Youth Conference

This weekend was our ward youth conference. We took the youth to CSU's mountain campus called Pingree Park. Part of the adventure was a challenge course on Saturday morning. It was great being a leader on the ground. I got to tell the kids to climb up this forty foot tower and then swing out on this giant swing. It was different when the Bishop and I did it at the end. I scrambled up the wall quickly and never looked down. When it was time to swing out, the guy wanted me to step out on this small platform. I told him no way, just tell me when to jump and I'll run over there and jump. I did it and after the intial fall it was a lot of fun. To see what I did, watch this video. The guy talking worked with our group.


Brant

Since we're on the summer theme...

"Michael "Squints" Palledorous walked a little taller that day. And we had to tip our hats to him. He was lucky she hadn't beat the CRAP out of him. We wouldn't have blamed her. What he'd done was sneaky, rotten, and low... and cool. Not another one among us would have ever in a million years even for a million dollars have the guts to put the move on the lifeguard. He did. He had kissed a woman. And he had kissed her long and good. We got banned from the pool forever that day. But every time we walked by after that, the lifeguard looked down from her tower, right over at Squints, and smiled."

same old, same old

Not too much new going on here. Seth starts working with athletes tomorrow, he gets to start bright and early at 6:15am. Up until now, he has just been learning about different work-outs and procedures. He'll be working with the football team and some other athletes. I did Farmer's Market on Saturday, thus the reason for Mom and Dad getting to do all the fun things with our kids. This next week I'll be busy with custom orders and getting the website updated. Does anyone know how to direct a website address to a blog? So that the blog address is a .com rather than blogspot.com?

I spy. . .

An Under Armor logo.

Summer Stuff

We don't send too many pictures of Adria smiling, so here's one. The first inning of play Braxton was assigned to be catcher? What does a catcher do? Why does he wear a helmet, mask and pad? Luckily I was able to be on the field to help him.

Baseball Braxton!

Bass Pro Shop

Yesterday Les took the kids up to free day at Bass Pro Shop. The kids got to shoot Laser Guns, Bow and Arrows and lots of other fun stuff. Aimee climbed all the way up the forty foot high climbing wall and rang the bell at the top. She scurried right up like a little monkey- she must have some of Uncle Travis in her. I was unable to attend as I was at our ward's youth conference. I'll post about my adventures later tonight when I get back home.

Brant

Beale Street - Memphis

Saturday is the one night of the week (expect Sunday) when we get off a little early, so we usually try to go see something in town or go out to eat just to relax from the week. Last Saturday night we went down town to Beale Street. It's know as "The Home of the Blues" and musicians like B B King and others once played there.

On the weekends (and maybe other nights) they block off Beale Street for several blocks and it becomes the place to see and be seen in Memphis. There are a lot of bars and clubs so they ID everyone going in at check points and we got some strange looks when not everyone in our group was 21 and we seemed to be surprised about having to show our ID's .

There are lots of live music venues, street performers, tourists, drunken college students and locals out on the prowl. All of this includes a heavy police presence. We ate a a local BBQ joint and tried to talk over the blaring live music and then took a stroll down the street. It kind of reminded me of the Vegas Strip. Somewhere you go to see the sights and have the experience, but not somewhere I would make a habit of going regularly.

In case you're wondering, a white guy in Old Navy jeans and a t-shirt does look a little out of place on Beale street, not too bad, but yes a little out of place.

Life on the Palouse

What is it? A couple of days ago we found this turtle in the street right at our driveway. He must have wandered up from the pond. Mom, Seth and Weston took him back to the pond and saw a couple of ducks with 10 ducklings each. Hordeman pond continues to be a wildlife mecca.

Yesterday was the safety fair at the rec-center by the pool. Mom and I took Weston and Koper. They had all kinds of organizations with booths about safety. They even gave away free bike helmets. There were fire engines, police cars, motorcycles, rescue vehicles, etc.
Here is Smokey Bear. He must have stood 7' tall. I kept tying to figure out if the guy inside was really that tall. Most of the kids were so intimidated they wouldn't go near him.

The weather has really cooled off. Yesterday it only got to the 60's. Today is a little warmer. It was my turn to conduct the combined 4 wards at church. We have been going back and forth about combining or un-combining. Finally today we decided to stay combined for the summer. There were about 230 people there.

Mom is officially through teaching. She does have to go back tomorrow to box up and move some stuff because they are going to be re-carpeting her room in a week or so.

We are going camping with Matt and Kimbre, Wednesday and Thursday. We will get a late start because Josh Boydston's funeral is Wednesday morning.

Grandpa's house is coming along nicely. I think everyone has finally decided the color isn't too bad. Grandpa is very pleased with it.

That's about it for now. Enjoy your summer. We'll see you in Denver is a few weeks.

hot off the press

This past week I received all my supplies to do t-shirts. My main focus will actually be baby onesies, but I thought I would start with these two t-shirts today. I am very excited to see where this all goes. I've planned an online giveaway through ourbestbites.com. It's a cooking blog that my sis-in-law Kate does with Sara Smith (Travis you know her from BYU, Seth grew up with her.) That will be my big online debut. Their last giveaways have gotten 150-200 entries and they have over 600 followers. But before that happens I have to revamp my website!!! If you have any ideas feel free to share them.