Los Angeles get-away

I just got home yesterday from the funnest 5 1/2 day vacation to Los Angeles with Freda, Teresa and Michelle. The whole point of the trip was going to the Ellen Degeneres show for Fredas birthday since she loves Ellen and Teresa got her tickets to the show for her birthday. We lucked out the day we went that she was taping her 800th show, so each member of the audience was given a video ipod and an ihome stereo! Score! We were all very excited. It was a lot of fun to be in the audience for the taping and see the workings of the show. We went to the beach, shopped, drove around, had a psychic reading (well, Teresa and Michelle- Freda and I just observed) and went to a movie. We had fun being together.

While in LA, we also went to the best musical called WICKED. Teresa and Michelle had seen it in NY when we went three years ago, and were anxious to go again. We all loved it, and can't wait to go again. It's coming to SLC in '09.

The last day we drove to Las Vegas to see two shows- Phantom and Jersey boys. We really enjoyed Phantom- loved the set and the theatre. I loved the music from Jersey boys (Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) but didn't love the language. . .

It was a really great trip, and a nice little get-away. Mike and the kids got along great without me- with Jessica doing an awesome job of taking my place cooking and cleaning. I was happy to be home and now it's like I never left!

indoor surfing?

When the state quarters first came out, Mike thought we needed to save them and not spend any. Several years later he decided we didn't need to keep saving them, so we rolled them up, and cashed them in. We had over $300! We decided to splurge and do something really fun as a family. The Skeens and Bundys had told us about a new fun place in Ogden called the Saloman Center. Among other really fun things there, it had an indoor surfing pool. We decided to rent that out for an hour ($150) and see what it was like. We invited the Bundys to join us, and we had so much fun! It was awesome. Sadly Mike couldn't participate because he had thrown his back out several weeks previously, and was just starting to be able to walk w/o being hunched over like an old man. We surfed for half the time, and did boogie boards for the other half. Some (Brody) were WAY better than others (ME). I took such a fall on my head while trying to surf, that Jamie was still laughing days after watching the video.
This is Cam making lots of waves.


Jessica always was good at doing the splits!




Jake got the hang of it pretty fast.



Kylee did great after getting some pointers from Brody.

Brody was a pro from the first try.
I felt more comfortable on the boogie board than the surf board. . .
Gotta love Ryan's farmer tan. Lindsey needed pointers from her husband too, but then she did great. It was an awesome family activity- and hopefully some unexpected money will come our way someday so we can go again!

cam's broken arm

On March 3, Cam went to Beaver mountain to snowboard for the day with his friend Jake Major and Jake's family. About 3:00 that afternoon, I get a call from Jeff, Jake's dad saying he thinks Cam broke his wrist and that Stephanie (Jake's mom) was going to drive him down so I could take him to the doctor. Sure enough, after a doctor visit and X-rays, the doctor said he had broken his wrist, and he put on a snazzy red cast to be worn for 5 weeks. Cam had been doing a cool jump when he hit a icy spot and went down hard on his hand. He missed a SkyView basketball league and a baseball tournament in St. George while the cast was on. He had always thought it would be cool to have a cast, but doesn't think so anymore- although to have a broken leg and crutches is still on his wish list.



His friend Parker went with us when he had the cast removed because he thought it would be cool to watch. And it was! From a saw to scissors, it was off in just minutes. Cam was left with a smelly, white, skinny, peeling left arm. His wrist is still not 100%, but he's got double header baseball games on saturday, so it had better be feeling good enough for him to play!

Happy Anniversary Kylee and Brody!

Today is Kylee and Brody's first anniversary! Wow, I can't believe a whole year has gone by. Seems like only yesterday I was consumed with wedding plans. As a tribute to them, I thought I would give a brief history of their courtship, show a bunch of wedding pictures and tell what they're doing now. They met in February '06 at a USU basketball game. Kylee was there with some girlfriends talking to some guy friends when this new guy came up to talk to his friends and they were introduced. They started talking- although Brody wasn't as smooth as he had been in the past- only having been off his mission a few months, cause all he could think of to say to her was "do you ski?" Several days later, they went skiing/snowboarding together, and were soon spending most days together. Kylee left a few months later to spend 5 months in Juneau, Alaska working. Since she was going to be gone from Logan, Brody decided he may as well be too, so he went to Chicago with some friends for the summer to sell pest control. They kept in contact by phone and texting, and in August on his "way home" from Chicago, Brody flew to Juneau to spend 5 days with Kylee. That is where they declared their love to each other, and the rest is history! They got engaged on December 31st and were married in the Logan temple on April 14, 2007. We love Brody and are so happy he is a part of our family. They have had a fun, but busy first year together. They lived in the basement of a house until December when they bought a cute little house on "the island." They spent several weeks fixing it up (with lots of help from family) and getting settled in. They love living there, going to a family ward, and having their own space with more room and more quiet. They bought a golden retriever puppy for Christmas- Saloman, and have loved being dog owners. They are both attending USU and hoping to graduate in December '08. Kylee works for Mike and also for a company that cleans new homes before the owners move in. Brody works at a ski shop which suits his passion for skiing very well. We don't see them a lot during the week, but they'll come over anytime they're invited, especially if food is involved. We love having them close by and wish it would stay that way forever!

Stacie took these awesome pictures a few days before the wedding. We appreciate her help with Kylee's hair and make-up (three times- once to try it out, then on this day, then on the wedding day) and for spending the time taking all these pictures. Why pay a "professional" when you have a professional relative who is a lot more fun and cheap to work with?

Lindsey was the photographer for the wedding day, and she did a fabulous job. She knew just what to do, where to take them, and didn't waste any time. We all loved that. She too should go into a side job of photography. Everyone was so impressed with her abilities and talents.

My favorite part of the day may have been when Brody did this cute dip and kiss to Kylee right when they came out of the temple.

The brothers were less than thrilled to pose for this one- but how cute it is!

I love this picture of the sisters. It makes me emotional everytime I see it!

I love this picture! Those eyes! There was a reason she was voted "best eyes" in her senior class. (coincidentally, Brody was too!)

I love this cake created by a former YW in my ward. I thought she did a marvelous job!


This last one is of them leaving after the reception was over to everyone blowing bubbles at them.

That's a lot of pictures, I know- but they were all so good, it was hard to leave any out. They went to Bear Lake for a few days, but since they were in the middle of the semester, had to get back to school and work. They took a vacation to Mexico a few months later that really counted as their honeymoon. Best wishes and lots of love to sweet Kylee and Brody!