Our new puppy!...and other pictures

Here is our new Shih-poo; Shitzu Poodle mix. We drove to Cedar City in the middle of a snow storm and nearly got stuck but it was all worth this little fella! He is 10 weeks old and an early present from Santa!! It's hard to see his big, brown eyes but he is a heartbreaker! Wonderful puppy; rarely barks, doesn't really chew and is full of happiness and love! Just what we wanted!

Can you see him hiding in Eli's coat?!! If you're not careful you might step on him!

Look at our snow! One foot and still falling! It's been an amazing snowstorm. Our first official snowday since we've lived here...the kids are loving it! We're still deciding on the puppy's name: maybe Marley Meatball?! We'll live with it for a few days and then make it official.

Ella all dressed up for the 6th Annual Holiday Sale. It was a beautiful day...warm and sunny!

Brynn and Ella at the Festival of Trees. It was so much fun to see all of the creative decorating.

Brynn's new High School Musical shirt...she's very proud of it and wears it constantly!

Papa kissing Brynn goodbye before school in late October. Notice his huge bowl of oatmeal completely gone!!! We loved having him here for Halloween. The holiday wouldn't be the same without a special visit from our Papa!

First Day of School for Lori and Toothless Wonder

Mom, this one's for you! You said to have my picture taken on the first day of school...so here it is! Do I look like the charming schoolgirl I once was???!!

Here's Brynn up in the tree showing Gramy and Papa her missing tooth! She has been nagging me to send you this picture. We love our toothless wonder, Brynn!

Grand Targhee Folk Festival Trip July 2008

We stopped in Idaho as we were driving and had breakfast at a local restaurant. The portions were huge and the kids loved the bacon!

Look at those plates of pancakes!! Eli and Brynn were in heaven!

Ella posing in front of Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone Nat'l Park!

Brynn posing in front of Old Faithful with her crazy cowboy hat she got from the music fest.

Don't forget about Eli, too!

Sitting in the hot sun...waiting for Old Faithful to blow!

Russell and the kids sat down and waited for Old Faithful to do her thing!

Two, cute sisters in Yellowstone amongst the wildflowers.

We visited Danny Crump in Red Lodge, Montana and went to an animal sanctuary there. Brynn thought the bear was funny to stick her fingers in his nose so I took a picture of her so she could always remember him.

We took the kids to a park in Red Lodge and the boys played a round of hoops! Danny is in the purple shirt trying to impress us with his b-ball skills!

Coming across the Bear Tooth Pass into Montana at 12,000 feet we stopped and found snow to play in!

Russell, Ella and Eli in front of falls in Yellowstone.

Here's our posing beauty in front of the falls-always ready for a camera pose...look at her toes!

Our camping spot with our tent and table of food. We all fit in the tent together and we stayed nice and warm and the big pine trees kept us out of the sun and shaded which was a nice retreat from the sun at the concert hill.

Ella had so much fun with new friends. This is her friend Etta who Russell knew her mom from Byu many years ago. They were the ones who told us about this fabulous folk fest!

Our hang-out on the side of the ski slope where we listened to music from 12 to 10 every day! We had a great time talking to new friends and the kids roamed around together and played!

Brynn showing off her new blue cowboy hat with fur on the rim! She begged and begged for it for 2 days and finally on the 3rd day she convinced a group of young ladies to buy it for her! She thought it was beautiful!

Up close and personal with Lyle Lovett. We could get right to the stage front and watch the musician's every move. It was fun to see them so close, but oh so loud!!

Here's Eli and his daddy waiting for a musician to begin playing right up near the stage. Eli especially loved watching the players up close and would go up alone to see their instruments and how they danced!

The kids played in the woods nearby all day, everyday. Here's Ella coming down to check in...what a cute girl!

The first afternoon we got there the kids spied the horse corral and begged to go horseback riding. Russell and I relented at $24 a pop and let them go. Eli and Brynn went on a guided one hour trip through the mountains and Ella stayed in the corral for a half of an hour. All three loved it and said it was a highlight of their vacation!

Here's Ms. Brynn...

Ella loved her big horse and talked the guide's ear off! When she was done the man could tell me everything about our trip and our family thanks to Ella and her incessant talking!

Another shot of Brynn up on her horse for the first few minutes...timid but ready to roll!

Eli paid $7 of his own money to climb the climbing wall at the resort but as soon as he came off the wall they made him take his harness off. He was so disappointed that his money only lasted him about 2 minutes...we were too.

So, that's it! We had a blast and hope to do it again next year!!

Our Summer Vacations!

First, we drove up to Salt Lake to see our great Gramy Ruth at Sandy and Chunk's and we were there to meet our Klamath Falls cousins for the first time!

Ruby is trying to take a picture of Ella who is sitting in the shade watching chipmunks run by.

Brynn and Ruby-what cute cousins!!

Brynn was so sweet to baby Finn. She took care of him and played with him and he loved her!

Brian couldn't get enough of Ella. He kept saying she was so squeezable! We finally got a picture of the two of them together!

Sandy's neighbor offered to let the kids all take turns riding on their new pony. What a delight in the middle of suburbia!

Brian took Eli fishing with Power Bait up at Tibblefork Reservoir in American Fork Canyon. The boys caught nothing but we had fun anyway!

A picture of the cousins...nearly impossible to get everyone to look and smile!

Here I am with Gretchen in front of Tibblefork Reservoir up American Fork Canyon. We had fun visiting and catching up!

Summer Vacation Fun with Gramy and Papa!

We took Gramy and Papa and the gang up to Kolob Reservoir- a mere 8,000 feet- to get away from the heat and to barbecue and FISH! Just being up there and sitting around and talking in the cool weather was fun for me!

Look at those dirty faces...and the beautiful smiles underneath!

Brynn and Papa relaxing in the shade and getting ready to cook hotdogs for dinner.

We love our Gramy!!!

Eli got tired of fishing and caught a big crawdad instead!

Crazy Papa, he bowled like an alien...backwards and upside down! He still managed to win the game with the highest score!

Brynn is always striking a pose...even when she's roasting marshmallows!

Fishing with Russell

In the Kolob Reservoir...Brynn and Ella

Here's Ms. Brynn with her trusty violin. She has to be coerced to practice but seems to love it and do well when she's playing it. We hope our kids get a good foundation in music after all the lessons and time spent.