B&L Watty Family

Grandmpa G's retirement

2011-09-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

One last post for December! After 42 years (I think) my Dad is finally retiring from the State of Utah as a Mechanic. He has been a dedicated employee to the state for many years! He was always an example to us kids of being a dedicated, hard worker. We celebrated by spending an evening with him and the adults in the family at a fun dinner at Maddox (always a favorite). I look forward to him being able to spend some time doing what he loves and not having to get up for work every Monday morning.

Christmas Day

2011-09-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

I don't think the excitement of Christmas ever goes away, even as your kids grow up, there is still that excitement of what surprises will show up Christmas morning. Even the dog got a surprise this year :) After the morning festivities out our house we always get to enjoy a yummy breakfast with our awesome neighbors hosted by the Clarks. What a fun tradition this is! The kids love to see their friends and I must say the adults love to see each other too. Oh, and the food is always YUMMY! After breakfast we always get a fun visit from both Grandparents. The kids love to show what new stuff they have received.
After a little rest and relaxation we then get to spend the evening with the Watkins family for more Christmas fun. Our tradition for this get together is to have breakfast with crepes. YUM! This is definitely a favorite for all! We also do the fun gift exchange and "sock gift". As you can see the boys all got a entertaining gift from grandpa and grandma. These toys entertained them until they all starting breaking, but they were fun while they lasted. It's always a fun night together as a family. This year did not disappoint. We all got a little surprise this year when before the night ended, Grandma and Grandpa had a special gift for everyone. They had a card with poem for each of us that told us that they were turning their papers in to serve a couples mission for the Church. This is something Grandpa has always wanted to do and apparently finally talked Grandma into going. It was a fun but a little emotional surprise for the evening. It will be fun to see what the next few months bring as they await their call.

Christmas Eve

2011-09-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

We don't have any real set Christmas traditions for Christmas Eve except spending the time together as a family. This year we headed down to the Gallivan Center for some ice skating. It was a little crowded but minus a few sore behinds still a great time. After the ice skating we enjoyed dinner at Texas Road House. Always fun to have a yummy Christmas Dinner that you don't have to cook or clean up.

After dinner we headed home for some dessert fondue. At the last minute we invited our good friends the Hammonds to join us on their way back home. It turned out to be such a great time that might just become a new tradition. Funny how I ended up with just pictures of the Hammond family.

After the fondue it was time to settle down and get ready for that long winters nap. The kids opened their one gift (PJ's of course), we read the Christmas story together as a family and then it was off to sleep to see what the next day brings.

Temple Square

2011-09-10T19:10:00.001-07:00

We made the annual trip to Temple Square at Christmas time. We ended up going with 2 of Blake's brothers families. After our dinner stop at Crown Burger we bundled up and headed out to Temple Square. It is always so beautiful and fun to feel the spirit of Christmas. I'm sure we take it for granted to be so close to just a great Christmas tradition. The kids weren't too great cooperating with pictures but we did sneak a few in of the beautiful sights.

Godfrey Family Christmas Party

2011-09-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

So, the Godfrey Christmas Party was at our house this year. I must say it's always nice to be home and not have to make a snowy drive home. Well, this year I decided to go for it and do a formal dinner with real plates and tablecloths. Yes, definitely more work but certainly worth it. I should have taken more pictures before we made a mess of it all, but I did get one of the kids table. We enjoyed the evening together exchanging gifts and letting the kids do a little talent show for us. The highlight of the evening was Eliza and Avery getting there little doll cradle, made by Grandpa. He has made them for all the girls so far so it was fun for him to carry on the tradition. We feel so lucky to be close enough to enjoy the holidays together with our family.

November

2011-03-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well, as I look back at November it was really not too exciting of a month at our house. We did get to attend a baby blessing for my brothers cute little Jacob. He is such a sweetie. We tried to do some quick pictures as a family which didn't turn out as well as I would have expected, but some pretty dang cute kiddos.

Brookelyn with her new braces! Yeah! She is going to have beautiful teeth before we know it.

Camden had a fun sleepover with some cousins. These boys have so much fun together. They love the time they get to spend with each other. I really had to laugh that they were all intent on playing their DS games as they were settling in for bed. Pretty funny.
Camden played his first season of real Jr. Jazz this year. The season started out great with some great wins. Some changes to the dynamics of the team made the last few games a bit of a different story. But all in all, he loved playing with his buddies and is learning to enjoy the game of basketball.

Bike Ride

2011-03-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

Before we know it Winter will be hear so we thought we better head out for a family bike outing. We chose to ride the Snowbasin Gondola up to the top and work our way down on the bike trails. The girls were not to thrilled with this idea but did their best to stick it out (I guess that was the only down the mountain). I think the ride was a little more technically challenging than they were hoping for. Camden is a trooper and loves to be out doing pretty much anything. We did find some amazing views of the Ogden Valley. I really don't love the first photo of me, but the views are worth posting it. Hopefully we haven't scared the girls off from some more bike rides coming up this spring.

Halloween

2011-03-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

Oh yes! It's always fun when we get to carve the pumpkins. The kids always love it at first but soon get tired of cleaning the yuck out of the pumpkins, so I guess that is where Mom and Dad's come in. So here are some photos of the work in progress as well as the final masterpieces. I would not claim to be the most creative and artistic people.

So now that the pumpkins are carved we better figure out some costumes for these kids and it never fails that Blake and I end up needing a costume too. So this year Brynnley and her cousin Megan dressed up as 50s diner girls. They were pretty cute and had a good time taking the little ones out trick or treating. Brookelyn was Elvis Presley with her friend who was Michael Jackson. I guess the theme was dead rock and roll stars. Camden was the nerd of all nerds and a pretty dang cute one. The kids all braved the rain on Halloween which made for a cold wet night. They didn't last as long as they have in the past, but still got a pretty good haul on the treats. And yes we all survived another Halloween!

Family Photos & Braces off

2011-03-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

So the Watkins Family decided it was time to update the family photo. That's always fun to find a day that works for everyone and then get all the outfits coordinating. Ok, maybe I care about this kind of stuff too much. So we lined up the photographer, picked the day and the color scheme and then comes the rain! Ughh! Really you don't understand how hard it has been to pull this off. I think we all said a little prayer and hoped the weather would cooperate and what do you know just as the time came for our scheduled time with the photographer the rain stopped and the sun came out a bit. Besides the fact that we have a ton of little ones (boys especially) who really like to goof off, the pictures turned out quite well.

Just days before the family photo, Brynnley was able to get her braces off. That's always an exciting day for any young girl. She looks so much older and mature without the braces, and what a pretty smile! Here she is also hanging out with one of her favorite people, Megan! What good friends/cousins these girls are. I love how they love each other.

Steamboat Springs

2011-02-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

For UEA this year we headed somewhere we hadn't been yet. So it was off to Steamboat Springs. We made a visit to Fish Creek Falls. It's an easy hike with rewarding view of the falls. The kids had a great time hiking around the rocks with dad, while I tried to stay warm in the sunshine.

Next we took a nice bike ride along the Yampa River. What a great town! We learned that the town got its name because the bubbling hot pots used to make the sound of a steamboat coming down the river. There are miles of bike/walking paths right along the river which runs right through town. It was fun to see the stinky hot pots up close, but the kids favorite had to be the stop for gelato!

One of the highlights of the weekend was the visit to Strawberry Park Hot Springs. This is a great spot to enjoy the hot pots. I would highly recommend it if you are in the area! You can hang out in the cold river or go downstream where the hot pots are either warm or super HOT! The kids could have spent longer here.

We didn't feel like the trip would be complete without a visit to "Steamboat Lake". With it being the off season there really wasn't much going on, but it was fun to see and definitely beautiful. We enjoyed the drive and the view of the mountains. It was too bad we weren't just a couple weeks earlier and the leaves would have been out in full color.

It was a great weekend away with the family and certainly a place I would love to make another visit too.

September

2011-02-15T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well, September brought about some soccer, volleyball and of course more cheerleading. Brynnley played volleyball with the Junior High team. They have never been known to be that strong of a team, but this year actually made the playoffs and had one of the best season in the schools history. YEAH TEAM! Camden played on a Bantam soccer team this year. He has a great group of friends that really love sports! Camden is still trying to find that passion for soccer but he made some great improvements and had a great time playing with this buddies.

We took off and did a family hike to "Waterfall Canyon". I had tried to do the hike with the kids last summer but made a wrong turn and took the LONG way up, with the kids never making it to the waterfall. So we were going to be sure and make it this time. We had a great time with Grandma, cousins and Aunts and Uncles. It was a great day! Always nice to get out and enjoy the outdoors!

August Events

2011-01-31T09:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I am becoming a little more motivated with this blogging thing since it really is my only type of journal or scrapbooking to keep all the memories of our family. So in August we had the last of our siblings get married. This went down as the wedding of the decade for the Watkins Family. It was a great event and we are so happy for the new couple! We feel so lucky to have Melissa and Ryker join the clan. Below are a few of the photos from the days events.

Yes, of course we had to go back to school this month. It is always a bit bitter sweet to have the kids back in school. It is nice to have more of a schedule and routines each day, but man it really puts a damper of the fun. Brynnley is starting 9th grade this year, Brookelyn is in 6th grade and Camden in 3rd. I'm a bit of a slacker when it comes to pictures of the kids going to junior high, but I did manage to get out of bed to get the kids heading off to elementary school. I know, pretty pathetic!

Lake Powell

2011-01-25T09:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, our summer would not be complete with some time spent on the boat at Lake Powell. This year we went the very end of July, then back again just before the kids went back to school. Unfortunately the last trip was cut a little short since Brynnley had tryouts for the Jr. High volleyball team. It's a good thing she made the team so coming back early was worth it. We enjoyed the time with friends cliff jumping, playing in the sand, good food, some late night fun and of course the time playing behind the boat. There are always oodles of crazy fun pictures from Powell, so here are a few from both trips to wet your appetite, since it is February now, it will certainly make you wish for some sunnier and warmer days!

Watkins Family Trip - Bryce Canyon

2010-11-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

In July we got to spend a few days with the Watkins family in Bryce Canyon. It's always a great time in the outdoors with the kids and family. The kids love the freedom of camping. They play in the fire, hang out in the hammocks, wander through the meadow and just entertain themselves with the sticks and the dirt. We did some hiking, swimming at the pool, playing in the creek and as usual ate some yummy camping food. There are quite a few fun pictures from this trip so check out the slide show.

After we left Bryce Canyon, our family headed out to the Escalante area to spend a couple days. Melissa and Jason joined us for this part of the adventure. We spent one day hiking Spooky Gulch and Peek A Boo slot canyons. They were awesome and the kids loved it. It's amazing how they can just cruise up and down the skinny spots of the canyon and the adults have a bit more of a struggle. After the hike we spent some time playing in calf creek up the road. We really had to pull the kids away to go get some food since they had pretty much just had granola bars all day. The next day we headed over to Capital Reef for some more exploring. What a beautiful National Park. We enjoyed seeing and doing some different things down there. From there it was back home again with some great memories from the week.

Once we got home from this weeks adventure we did a quick unpack and repack for Brookelyn who was able to head down to Lake Powell with her best friend a half hour later. What a lucky girl!

July 2010

2010-11-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

Here we go again, hopefully one day I will get all caught up on my posts (or maybe not). July brought more fun in the sun.
We started the month with our 4th of July Weber River Float. Right after we arrived at the river, Blake and a couple of the boys had to do a little life saving, since a young boy was floating down alone, without a life jacket, bobbing under the water. It was a bit scary and the funny thing is, his mother wasn't even upset. Once they threw him a life jacket and got him out of the river, we all felt better even though the nerves were a little tense. We had a great crew of rafters and they all had a great time.

Brynnley got to go on Trek this month. Our stake headed out to Martin's Cove for trek this year. After a long bus ride through the middle of nowhere, they arrived in Martins Cove Wyoming. Just like the pioneers these kids had to deal with mud, rain, wind and pulling their belongings behind them in handcarts. They were lucky enough to be a little more prepared for the weather than the pioneers were. The kids all had a great time and hopefully returned home with a greater appreciation for our pioneer heritage.

June 2010

2010-10-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, what happened in June. We made a quick weekend trip to Lake Powell, spent some time at the pool with the family, Lori ran the Wasatch Back Relay, Father's Day, Lori's Birthday and weekend with the Godfrey's. Here are a few photos from the months events.

Camden on the uke

2010-09-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of the 2nd graders playing the uke. Some pretty intense concentration. Fun stuff!

Wow! Has it really been that long!

2010-09-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a while since I posted, but I'm starting to wonder if anyone really even notices. If not, it's ok, cause it's a great journal technic for me.
Anyway, so what happened in May?

Camden finished off his soccer season, YEAH! His team got to go to a REAL Salt Lake Game and carry in the banner. This may have been the highlight of the season for him? The kids thought it was pretty cool!

Brynnley turned 14! WOWSERS! How can she be that old when I am still so young? HA! She was pretty excited about all the CASH she got this year, that was about all she got!

Next comes the end of school programs. Camden and the 2nd graders did some awesome numbers on the "uke". They have had so much fun learning to play the "uke" this year. Thanks to Ms. Berger for being an awesome teacher! They also performed some interpretive dance. The kids always love this! What a fun group of kids!

Brookelyn and the 5th graders also did an end of year program. There program was all about veterans. It is always so neat to see this program. It's a great reminder of how many people have and continue to sacrifice every day for our freedom. It also makes me very proud to know that my own dad was one who gave great sacrifice for our country. I'm so grateful for his service and am proud that he is my dad!

One last ski day

2010-05-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

One last post before finishing off the month of April. Camden and Blake headed up for one more ski day. It was a beautiful day with some fresh snow. Camden played a soccer game then just threw on the ski boots for some more fun on the slopes. Blake said one time down the hill Camden was in tears about half way down, but just kept skiing. Once he got to the bottom, he said his legs were freezing from the snow spraying up on them. So, they pulled up the soccer socks and up they went for some more fun. It's been fun to see how he has learned to love to ski! I'm sure he will be anxious for snow to fly again this winter!

A little more Volleyball

2010-05-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

One more tourney before volleyball is officially over for the season. The girls did great and even made it to the final game of the tourney. Unfortunately they lost that game. It has been fun to see the improvements over the season. Now we just hope for some height for Brynn over the summer, so she can really learn to work that net!

California BABY!

2010-05-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

WOW! It seems like months ago that we went to California, but it was only in April for Spring Break. I'm just way slow on the blog update. Little Miss Brookelyn had a Cheerleading competition in Anaheim, so we made a trip out of out. The plan was to travel with Brooke's friend Berklee and their family. We left the day before Easter and made it part way to Vegas. So yes, we spent another Easter in a hotel room and that amazing Easter Bunny found us there. Good thing we left him a note. Not too much excitement in Vegas, just a little fun in the pool then on the road again to California.

We made it safe and sound to California! We arrived the same day as a major earthquake in Northern Mexico, that we didn't even know about, but apparently shut things down at Disneyland and was felt in the Anaheim area. We rented a home in Anaheim and what a treat it was. We have no complaints there other than that we didn't get to spend enough time there since we were trying to do everything else California has to offer. The kids did have a blast playing in the pool and jumping off the roof into the pool (Brynnley & Tanner). Yes crazy kids, hope the neighbors didn't tell on us!

The first adventure was Universal Studios, it was a little rainy, but off we went. It turned out to be a great day since most the crowd was scared off by the rain.
Camden wasn't too sure about the dark tunnel during our backlot tour. That boy makes me laugh!

The next day was off to Disneyland! It's always a good day when you wake up at Disneyland, right! Disneyland was great, but WAY crowded. I would not choose to go there during spring break again! We still had a great time and did good getting all the fast passes and getting in some good rides. As you can tell the kids did a good job entertaining themselves while they waiting in the ever so long lines!

Next we were ready for some down time and took a day to go to the beach. Before making it to the beach we met up with our good friend Whitney who just got a new job in California working for Volcom. We had some great fun shopping at the Volcom store. WHITNEY, your awesome! Now off to the beach to sport some new board shorts, sandals etc. We meet up with the Beck's at the beach so the kids had lots of great friends to play with.

Yes, it's true, Blake does know how to relax!

We had a great day at the beach. The boys then headed out to an Angels game. The boys all head a great time and the girls had dinner and some girl time.

We had one more day at Disney, which was fun for everyone except me, who got sick. YUCK! Maybe it was dinner the night before, but it was not fun. Later in the day I was able to join the crew, but there wasn't much riding for me that day.

Friday we snuck in a little more fun on the beach, before Brooke & Berklee had to check in for some Cheer practice. This time we went to Huntington. We rented bikes and enjoyed the sites of the beach. It was a beautiful day and I think we found a favorite Mexican food spot "Wahoo's". Yumm!

Now it's time for some Cheerleading! The girls cheered on Saturday then the boys and Brynnley all started their trek back home. Poor Brynnley stuck with a bunch of boys for many hours in the car! In case you are worried, she survived. Brooke and Berklee cheered again on Sunday, then they had awards. The girls ended up taking 2nd place in their division, which was great. We were all thrilled! They made a great showing for good old UTAH. After awards we started out trek back home.

The fun must always come to an end and now its back to reality! Overall a great trip, minus one sick day. Always great to travel with friends especially those that are "easy to travel with". Hey and maybe we can do it all again next year!

Spring Training 2010

2010-04-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

Camden and I got to go enjoy some sunshine and some spring training baseball. When my kids turn 8 they all get a trip with Mom, so Camden and I choose Phoenix. We left early friday morning and got to Phoenix in time to catch the first of 3 baseball games. We watched the Cubs play the A's. Unfortunately the A's won the game. We got some awesome seats right on the front row above the Cubs dugout. It was a beautiful day and a great day for baseball.

Day 2, opted for a little amusement park fun. We spent the whole day a Castles & Coasters. We mini golfed, rode rides, and hung with the amusement park crowd. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera with me, so no crazy face pictures today.

Day 3, Today we went to watch the Dodgers play the Reds. Today we opted for the lawn seating out by the bullpens. So fun to be able to play ball on the grass while watching the game. The only bad thing about this game was it was super hot and there is no shade out on the lawn. I know I usually don't complain about too much sun, but Camden was not enjoying the game. Eventually we walked around the stadium and found some shade for a while.

Day 4, before we headed home, we snuck in one more baseball game. Today was the Angels and the Royals. Today we opted for the shady seats, we got a little too much sun the day before. The seats were right behind the homeplate and were coveted seats by those who were sitting in the Sun. Today we got to the game early and Camden waited patiently for the players to come out of the locker room to get some signatures. He got his ball signed by one of the Angels pitchers and a catcher. He was pretty excited. We had to leave the game a little early to go catch our flight home. Overall a great trip! We loved the beautiful baseball fields, the pool at the hotel and some good old Arizona sunshine! I would totally do it all over again!

St. George

2010-04-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally starting to show off its little face so, off we go for some fun in the sun! We headed down to St. George to enjoy Blake's birthday with a little warmth. On our way down we stopped and did a little hiking/exploring. I think we found the next canyoneering spot just outside of Leeds. There was a little too much cold water to deal with this time of year to attempt that, but maybe next trip. The kids still had a great time hiking around the area. For Blake's birthday we went out to do some biking at Little Creek Mesa. This is a great trail for the kids and all. We didn't make it the whole loop but enjoyed the afternoon doing a little riding. Birthday dinner for Blake at Chili's that night(I know pretty boring, but it was a busy weekend in St. George). Then some yummy ice cream cake for desert. Yum!! Happy Birthday Blake!

YSL Ski Race

2010-04-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

One last post on skiing (at least until the snow flies again). The Youth Ski League Championships were held at Wolf Mountain this year and Camden got to participate with his team in this event. They had some fun races for the kids, including a combi race which is a slalom course that has a jump at the end. The kids had never done anything like this before. It was a little more entertaining than some of the races to see some of the wipeouts after the jump. Camden was very cautious and made it over the jump without a crash. We had a great weekend up in Huntsville for the race. Thanks Tatton's for giving up some beds for us so we didn't have to make the commute to the mountain both days. Camden had a great group of skiers in his group to ski with every Saturday and an awesome coach. Thanks for your work with the boys this year Coach Tiffany. We will miss you next year! What a fun season of skiing.

The little video is of Camden doing the combi race. The funniest part is Blake screaming in the background while he films. I just wonder if Camden can even hear him?

One more picture I better share since I said this would be the last skiing post for a while. Last Saturday Blake and Cam took one more trip to the mountain to enjoy some spring skiing. It was a beautiful day and some fairly fresh snow to ski on. I wish everyday were warm enough to wear shorts!

Happy Birthday Camden!

2010-04-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Camden! He is 8 years old today. What a fun little boy he is. I feel so lucky to have such a great kid. On Friday night we had a little birthday paty for him at Brighton ski Resort. We gave him a couple other options for what to do for his birthday and of course he choose his favorite thing, SKIING. So here goes nothing, we invited a few of his buddies and their dads to join us for some night skiing. We had pizza and cupcakes in the lodge part way through the night. The boys just wanted to tackle each other, but I guess boys will be boys. I felt a little bad for anyone else up in the lodge who was trying to enjoy a peaceful evening. They all had a great time. It's fun to see this boys grow up and have so much fun together.

Camden was actually able to get baptized right on his birthday too! We feel so lucky to have such great and supportive family to join us for these occasions. Here are a few pictures of him opening his gifts and his baptism day. After the baptism we came back for brunch including crepes, another of Camden's favorites.

Good Looking & Crazy Boys!

For birthdays at our house, the kids get to pick their favorite place for dinner. Well, Camden choose a family favorite, Arella Pizza. Yumm! They have the yummiest pizza and dessert and the people that work there are so great! I'm a little biased though since it is my good friends who opened it. We had such a fun night with both Grandparents joining us for dinner. Gotta love the birthdays!

February

2010-03-07T16:59:00.001-08:00

Well, February has now come and gone! February came in just a as expected, a little chaotic. The first weekend of the month Brookelyn had a Cheer Competition and Camden had a ski race. So we divide and conquer for this one. Blake took care of Camden, getting him to his race at Brighton, I took care of Brookelyn, getting her to Riverton for her competition. It actually worked out so after Camden raced, Blake hurried down the canyon and was able to see Brookelyn perform. Thank heavens for Camden's coach who let him hang with her the rest of the day, since we couldn't pull him away from the mountain yet. Camden skied great, even with the poor visibility that day. Brookelyn's team also did great, if I remember right they took 3rd that day.

On the 7th we got to spend the day with the Kotter's since they blessed their cute little Avery Jo. What a cutie she is. My girls certainly can't get enough of her. It was a great day and always nice to spend the time with family.

On President's Day, the 15th, we headed up for some skiing. We met up with some friends and family that day for some good times on the mountain. It is fun to be able to ski with Camden for the day, since he is usually skiing with his coach. He is not afraid to try any hill (unlike me!) I'm so glad my kids have been able to learn to ski at a young age, so they don't have to try and learn when they are older, like me.

February 17th was Brookelyn's birthday! She is 11 years old, WOW! Brookelyn got some fun new clothes along with a few other things for her birthday. We celebrated that night with dinner at our favorite place, Arella Pizzeria. She is growing up too fast. Such a cute girl and so fun to be with. We love having her as part of our family.

As soon as the birthday celebrations were done, Brookelyn and I headed off to Dallas for more cheerleading fun, with good friends Berklee and Keri. We left on the afternoon of the 19th, arriving in Dallas just in time for the run through with the team. We cut it way too close, since we had a little flight delay. The girls cheered Saturday and did great, they were in 6th place the end of day Saturday. They then cheered again Sunday and fixed some things, but dropped a couple stunts and ended up in 9th at the end of the competition. Overall the girls did great considering this was the biggest competition they have ever attended. Here are some pictures of the girls having some fun in Dallas!

While we were in Dallas, Camden had another ski race. This one was at Snowbasin. He had a lot of spectators come cheer him on this time. It is so fun to have such supportive family and friends. I think he enjoyed the extra attention and getting to ski with the cousins. Man he loves that speedsuit!

We finished off the month with spending the last weekend in Ogden Valley again. Camden had training at Snowbasin, so we all skied for the morning. Then after lunch the girls and I went to hang out with my family at the environmental center. We got to do some cross country skiing, which is way different than downhill. We had never done that before, but made it without falling too much. We also played a little ping pong and the kids had snow wars with Uncle Chad. What a good sport.
Phew!!! We made it through another crazy month.

Future Olympian?

2010-02-25T14:14:00.001-08:00

In the spirit of the Olympics, I thought I would post a video of one of Camden's ski races. He is loving all the skiing he has done this year. Who knows where this will go, but for now it has been a lot of fun. Way to go CAMDEN!

Brooke Cheer @ Cottonwood

2010-02-19T07:12:00.000-08:00

Here is video from Brooke's first Cheer Competition at Cottonwood High

January Fun

2010-02-13T19:04:00.000-08:00

Well, January has come and gone and I am a little slow in posting our months events. We have stayed busy with Volleyball, Cheerleading and Skiing. We will stay busy with these activities for the next couple months. Our busy schedule will certainly make the long winter go by faster.
Brynnley had her first volleyball tournament the 22nd and 23rd. They ended up playing all their games at the Factory in Lehi. They took 4th in their pool Friday and then 1st in their pool Saturday morning. Then the tournament started, the played 2 different teams before they were done. They played well for the first time playing together. I'm sure there will be some big improvements next time we see them play. Way to go girls!

Brookelyn had a cheer competition at Cottonwood on the 16th and at South Town Expo Center the 23rd. They took 2nd at Cottonwood and then 1st at South Town (beating the team that took 1st at Cottonwood). Way to go girls! Next month will bring Riverton and Dallas.

Camden had his first ski race at Park City on the 16th. The Tattons joined Camden, Blake and Brynn for some skiing at Park City the day of his race. Once Brookelyn was done cheering that day I ran her up to make a ski run with Morgan at Park City. She was pretty tired so one run was all she needed. Camden had to get a new helmet to race and was pretty pumped about his new helmet. He is really loving skiing. February will be races at Brighton and Snowbasin!

Any free time we have from volleyball tournaments and cheer competitions we have spent skiing with the whole family. It has been fun to see the kids and myself get better on skis. We are going to have some fun for lots of years on the mountain.

New Years 2009

2010-01-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

Well for New Years Eve we packed the day with some great fun. For the afternoon we went for a snowshoe walk with the family and Jeff and Becca up in the foothills of Ogden. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a great time playing in the snow!

After our little snowshoe adventure we went to enjoy a little basketball at Weber State. Go Wildcats! A bunch of the Watkins family was there to enjoy the game as well.

After the game we headed with Ryan, Melissa and Ryker for some yummy pizza at our favorite pizza place, Arella! Yummy food! Once the bellies were full, we came back to our place to rock out to some band hero and play games. Ryker can rock with the best of them!

At around 10, we packed on all the snow gear again and headed to the golf course for some good old moonlight sledding. The kids, the dog and the adults had a great time!

Once we got back from sledding we had some chocolate fondue and treats with the kids.

At midnight we enjoyed a toast, fireworks and lots of noise and crazy kids running through the streets. It was a great time and we look forward to what 2010 will bring. If it is as good as 2009 it will be a great year!

Can you say INVERSION!

2010-01-04T09:53:00.000-08:00

In the month of December, the Wasatch front had quite the inversion (smog) covering the valley. Some days it was hard to want to leave the house, to go down into the yuck. This picture was in the Standard Examiner showing this great little neighborhood in South Davis County that wasn't in all the yuck! Yep, that's our house!

December 2009

2010-01-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

Wow! December is gone and now it is 2010! So I guess I better post all the events from the month of December. This could be a long one!

A new family member arrived! My sister had a little girl! Avery Jo Kotter was welcomed to the family on Dec. 10th. It's so fun to have a new baby around to remind me that yes, I'm done with this stage of my life.

We have done a lot of skiing this month. Camden joined the Snowbasin Ski Team this year, which will mean a lot more skiing for everyone and a few ski races for him. It should be a fun adventure for all of us.
Of course we made an annual visit to downtown. We visited temple square and even got in some ice skating at Gallavin Center.

Christmas Day is always fun. We spend the morning as a family opening gifts and then head to our awesome friends, the Clarks, for a yummy Christmas morning breakfast. It is always so fun for the kids to see their friends and share their stories and new gadgets. Around lunch time our parents make a visit to see the kids and all their loot! The kids love to just hang out at home and play with the new toys. Later that day we head to Ogden for the Watkins Christmas party, which is actually more breakfast. So fun to see all the kids and do the gift exchange there. I enjoy what our Christmas days have become.

More Christmas parties! We had the Godfrey party at our house this year. We had a great time playing wii, eating yummy food and of course opening gifts.

Over the Christmas Break we got in some skiing with some of the Watkins family. It so fun to see the kids get more independent and the slopes. The boys had a great time cruising around. It was a great day!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

Wow! It's already Thanksgiving! We got to spend this Thanksgiving at the Watkins with the whole gang! It was so fun to see and be with everyone and enjoy a great meal of course. Before the annual feast, since the skiing wasn't too great, I talked my family into a Turkey Trot. Some were more excited than others, but off we went to the Farmington Turkey Trot. We met the Mattson family there, who all ran the 5k with me. I ran the 5k (my first one every, scary huh), and the kids and Blake ran the 1k. They all did great, some enjoyed it more than others (ok maybe just me). Needless to say it was a great way to work off a few extra calories before we consumed many more than our share.

Here are a few photos from the race.

After dinner we all played the bi-annual family kickball game. The kids love it and are getting much better than in previous years. Soon we may have to move to the park so the kids have more room to really give the ball a boot! Overall, a great day! We have much to be thankful for and always appreciate a day to help us remember how blessed we are.

Fun Times Back East

2009-12-04T07:48:00.000-08:00

Blake and I made a quick trip back east this month. Blake had some business to do in Maryland and Virginia so off we went. We arrived in Baltimore late on Wednesday night but then decided we would venture down to DC and see what sights we could see. We were able to see the Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorial. Once it was about 1 am we thought we better head out to find our hotel room. It was so quite and nice to be able to visit the places without the crowds and crazy people. We will be making a trip back there with the kids next time!

The next morning Blake had a client meeting in Reston, VA so I tagged along for that. After wards we headed out to towards the Delmarva Peninsula. On our way we just happened upon the Washington DC Temple, so we made a quick detour. What a huge temple!

Next stop was Annapolis for lunch. We wandered around the Naval Academy a little bit and enjoyed some lunch at the bay.

After Annapolis we headed out to Salisbury area to visit some friends we meet while living in Washington State and another client meeting for Blake. We had a great time visiting with Bobby and Molly. They treated us to the best food in town and showed us a great time. We got to go visit their "farm" and ride the new 4 wheeler, shoot the cross bow and play in the corn crib (well actually only their son Mason played in the corn crib). They took us out to Ocean City for dinner one night which was the yummiest filet mignon ever!!

From there we headed down to NYC to visit some great girls, Whitney & Carly Mattson! Carly is back there working for Goldmann Sachs and loving it. Whitney is finishing up her schooling at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology). They were such great hosts! The night we arrived (which was very much delayed, due to some delayed luggage), we headed out across the Brooklyn Bridge for pizza! We visited the world famous Grimaldi's Pizza and had promised our Brookelyn that we would get pictures of "her" bridge!

The next day after our luggage showed up (thank heavens), we headed out to see the sites! We had a delicious breakfast at Clinton Street Bakery! We got to ride bikes through Central Park, which is the best way to see the park! We had yummy custard from the shake shack (yum, I can't stop thinking about how yummy that was)!

We visited Grand Central Station, and Blake and I talked to each other in the corners. This is really a cook phenomenon if you have never done it, give it a try. We saw Whitney's school, the new NYC Temple, made a stop at the candy store, rode the subway (lots), saw Walls street and ground zero (best view is from Carly's place) and of course saw the sights of Times Square.

We also had to get in a NYC show, so we played the lottery and got tickets for "Rock of Ages" which is a show about all the 80's rock music. It was certainly music we were familiar. The show itself was a little sketchy but pretty dang funny. Thanks for enjoying the show with us Whit!

The last day of our trip we went and visited the trading floor of Goldmann and got to see where Carly spends her time. The trading floor was pretty quite while we were there? Then Whitney took us out shopping for some souvenirs in Chinatown! We found some great stuff for the kids and I love the bags I found in those backroom shops! No I didn't end up getting these awesome glasses! I think I might regret it?

We had such awesome hosts the whole time who made sure we were very well fed! Thanks guys!

Haiti

2009-11-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Well, yes I went to Haiti. A friend of mine is working on adopting a little girl from Haiti and needed to make a trip down to sign some papers. She knew I am always up for an adventure and invited me along to travel with her. I was a little nervous, as I haven't heard that Haiti is the safest place to travel. She assured me we would be fine and the people she knew over there would take good care of us. So off we went! When we arrived in Haiti we were sent through the diplomatic lounge, so we didn't have to deal with the craziness in customs etc. Once we were cleared through immigration our driver was there ready to pick us up. We headed out to the creche (orphanage) where we spent the next couple days. We enjoyed our time there with the kids, the other parents and the staff. Believe it or not we were well feed and taken very good care of. Most the kids at the creche have already been assigned to families and are just waiting for the paperwork process, which is a long one.

The kids were so cute! They loved it when anyone would play with them or hold them. Here are a few pictures of some of the kids at the creche.

Here are a few pictures of the country. Very poor as you would expect!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

Yeah! I made it through one more Halloween (not my favorite holiday)! We carved the pumpkins and even decorated Haunted Brownie Houses.

The kids got to trick or treat a Grandma's office and trick or treat the neighbor with their cousins. Blake and I even got dressed up for a neighborhood Halloween party. The party is always a fun one to go to but I always dread getting the costumes figured out. I was grateful for a lot of help with the costumes this year!!

PRETTY SCARY HUH!

Soccer Season!

2009-11-01T12:10:00.001-08:00

Yea, Soccer season has come and gone. Obviously not a my favorite. Camden was the only one playing soccer this year at our house. He has to be the cutest soccer player on the field! He does still need some coaching before he will be the best player on the field, but there is definitely potential. He loves the running up and down the field but doesn't quite get the game completely yet. We will keep working on this. It was a cold soccer season this fall, but I certainly think there was some improvement throughout this season. We will have to see what happens for next year.

the last day at the lake this year!

2009-10-31T14:10:00.000-07:00

Yes of course we had to get one more day in at the lake this year. Back in September we took one last trip out to Willard Bay. The bugs weren't too bad and the water was actually quite nice. The girls each brought a buddy and took one more turn behind the boat before we officially move on to the next season (SKIING!) The kids had a good time. Here are a couple pictures. Most of them didn't turn out great because it got too dark on us.

Volleyball!

2009-10-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

Well Volleyball tryouts at the Junior High were the first day of school and Brynn made the team! Wahoo! We were so excited for her! She has had a good time getting to know some fun girls and improving her volleyball skills. She has played with the JV Varsity team and has done a great job helping make sure all the girls know where they are supposed to play. It has been a great experience for her and fun to see her shine! We look forward to many more volleyball games! Go MJH!!

Schools in!

2009-10-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been over a month since the kids went back to school, so I figured it was about time I post the first day of school pictures. One day I will get this blog caught up so everything isn't over a month later. As you can see, I didn't get a picture of Brynnley heading out to school. I know I am a slacker, I guess that extra hour early that she leaves got to me that day. Brynnley is in 8th grade this year, Brookelyn in 5th and Camden in 2nd. I'm not sure they were all ready to go back to school this year. We had just got back from Lake Powell on Sunday and they started school on Monday. I think they could have used a couple days to get excited. Tough life for them, though! They all enjoyed there day and are all happy with their teachers and classes.

The Rest of the Summer

2009-09-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

Week 6 - Brynnley got the chance to go up to Montana with her cousin Megan and stay with Blake's sister Melissa. The left on the 14th of July and were gone until the 22nd. They were spoiled little girls while they were gone. They got to spend time at Glacier National Park, tube the Blackfoot River, visit Missoula Girls Camp, swim at the pool, pick huckleberries and spend some time with their cousins and Aunt and Uncle. I think it will be a summer they will remember! They loved spending time with the boys, Jack, Sam, Luke & Blaise and Melissa has to be the coolest Aunt ever!

Cliff jumping into the river! No Fear!!

Tubing the Blackfoot River

Fun hikes to Falls in Glacier!
While Brynnley was gone we had the Godfrey Reunion in Riverdale. It is always fun to see cousins we haven't seen for a while. We had a good time playing games and eating lunch.

Camden is always up for a foot race!

The Outlaws vs the Inlaws!

After the reunion we tried something new, floating the Weber River. I was a little nervous at first but it ended up being so fun, we even brought some friends back for a date that night. Good times!

Seriously, one of the funnest date nights! The camera had some issues focusing, but it was still a great time with great friends!!

Week 7 For the 24th of July we went to Colter Bay in Teton Village. This is where we meet up with Brynnley and got to hear all about her fun time in Montana. As they were just leaving Yellowstone coming to Jackson they saw a grizzly right off the road. Pretty cool!
We spent 3 days camping with the Watkins family. We visited Yellowstone (with about a million other people), played in Jackson Lake, floated the Snake, saw buffalo, and of course roasted marshmellows (lots of them). Great family trips! The kids love to hang with their cousins and will have many great memories from this vacation.

Week 8 - This week is girls camp and scout camp! Brynnley and I got to go up to Camp Piuta for Camp ER (Examples or Righteousness). We had a great time, even though it was much cooler than we had planned on. The same weekend ended up being 11 year old scout camp for Blake. Brooke and Camden got to hang out with friends and at Grandma's house. Camden even got to go up to scout camp for a day. I think both camps were a success and the kids at home had a good time too!
Week 9 - We have some great neighbors who planned an outing at their family estate in Providence, Utah. Along with this outing we planned to do some boating on Cutler Reservior and go to the Martin Harris Pagaent. The boating didn't turn out to great, since we got a little adventurous and tried to make it to the road at Cache Junction. Not a great idea in a very shallow lake. We got totally stuck and had to call for reinforcements. Thanks to good friends and a lot of pushing and pulling we got out of the mud!
Once we were free from the mud the kids decided to do some bridge jumping.
Love it!!
Then we went over to visit my dad in Clarkston where he was doing some farming. The kids road and drove the tractor with my dad as they stacked hay, which my dad loved! From there we went and enjoyed the Pageant dinner before seeing the infamous Martin Harris Pagaent. The pageant always brings back great childhood memories. Some of our freinds even came and joined us for the pageant and hopefully enjoyed their evening.

After the pageant we headed back over to Providence to spend the evening and next day. We all stayed up way to late, but of course the kids were raring to go first thing in the morning. The kids loved the pool, the fish pond, the paddle boats and the big swing in the barn. What a great time with many great friends and neighbors!

Week 10 Well summer is about to end, so we better pack in some more fun!! We snuck a quick weekend in at Bear Lake with the Godfrey's at the Kotter's cabin. The weather was unseasonably cool, so we didn't spend a ton of time at the lake. But the kids loved the four wheeler rides, and just hanging out at the cabin and the beach. I feel so lucky to have such great family that we are able to have such fun times with. From Bear Lake we headed home to get ready to leave for Lake Powell the next day! The long awaited Lake Powell trip with the Mattson's! Totally loved it! The trips just keep getting better. This year the Mattson girls brought a couple friends, Amber and Christina. What cute girls!

Some cliff jumping fun!

Brooke up on the wakeboard for the first time! WAHOO!

Brooke totally ruled the kneeboard!

I think we took over this little mountain goats home when we parked the houseboat, oops!

Brynnley totally ruling that wakeboard!

CRAZY BLAKE!

I am going to figure out this surfing thing, one day!
Blake not really loving the air chair!
Once we got back from Powell the kids headed right back to school, so our summer has officially ended. As you can tell we had an eventful summer! Whew, now I can finally take a breath and get some laundry done!

The Ten Weeks of Summer

2009-09-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

Well, now that life has a little more of a schedule, I thought I should feel you in on what we did all summer. So here is a brief summer of our ten weeks of Summer (this could be a long post)!

Week 1. It was due time at our house to do some house cleaning. What a way to start the summer. Kids rooms and closets were cleaned out, that always feels so good! Saturday we made a trip to the lake for some fun with the Tattons. All the kids had fun playing behind the boat and trying new things. Michelle got up on the slalom ski (it had been a few years), Kelsi and Morgan wakeboarded and Rylee loved the tube rides.

Week 2. We tackled a paint job of the family room this week. Thanks to my good friend Jessica, it turned out great. This week Brynnley also attended the volleyball camp at Weber State. Great camp, (yes I am biased). She is learning lots and improving her skills.
The updated family room still needs a few things, but getting there!
This weekend was also youth conference. I got to attend a few of the activities, which turned out great. Our youth conference was held locally this year, which gave the leaders and the kids a lot of flexibility on what activities they attended. The meeting with Elder Bednar was definitely a highlight of the weekend.
Week 3. We snuck away for a quick trip to Lake Powell this weekend. We meet up with our fun neighbors the Hills, who have the coolest boat (yacht) on the lake! It was my birthday this weekend and I even got nice warm brownies (thanks Julie)! We camped this trip, which we had never done before. I think I still prefer the houseboat trips, although I can't complain too much since we did have access to a full kitchen and a bathroom!

Kids & the dog had some fun on the tube!

Rainbow Bridge

Our boat, next to the Cruiser, Yacht!

Playing some guitar hero on the yacht!

Jeff, Becca & Blake tried out their surfing behind the yacht! Best surfing they will do on any lake, that is for sure!

Week 4. This week all 3 kids had golf lessons for a couple hours each day. I am hoping they learned something, we haven't been able to get out and do much golfing since the lessons, so who knows. This weekend is the 4th of July, which is always fun. Our neighbors, the Browns, have a great neighborhood party on the 3rd. We swim, eat good food, socialize and watch the fireworks for North Salt Lake. We have a great view of the fireworks and don't have to deal with the crowds. Everyone always has a great time. On the 4th we headed up to the valley and watched the kids parade through the Huntsville parade, then over to Liberty to enjoy the festivities with my sisters family. It's always fun to enjoy the small town festivities on the 4th. The kids caught fish in the fish catch, which was a highlight of the day. Later in the afternoon we headed up to the North Fork area for a fun hike. I think it is called the Cutler Flats trail, but it is always a fun one, especially on a hot day when their is water to play in!

Week 5. On Sunday the 5th of July, we headed up to Pineview and Anderson Cove to spend a few days camping and boating with some friends and neighbors. Way too many pictures of kids and adults playing behind the boat. We taught lots of kids to jimmie jam and adults to surf or wakeboard. Overall I think the kids enjoyed the tube rides the most. It is always a good laugh! We had lots of families come join us, whether it was for a day, an evening or the whole time. We feel so lucky to have so many great people as friends and neighbors!

Weeks 6-10 will be coming soon!

Family Photos

2009-08-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I think my life is starting to calm down a little now that kids are back in school. I will get to work on my "What we did this summer" posting soon. In the meantime, we did some family photos the first part of the summer, so I thought I would share some of my favorites.

Schools out!

2009-06-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

Finally, school is out! Let the fun begin.

Brooke finished her season of softball. There team tied for 1st place, which was pretty exciting. They got better and better the more the season went on. Now I just hope Brooke will want to play again next year.

Let the boating begin! We have taken the boat up to Willard Bay a couple times so far. The air and water has still been a bit cool so Willard is one of the warmer boating options around. Here are a few pictures from the first boat outings of the season. Hopefully as the season goes on we will get the kids to try out something new so all the pictures don't keep looking the same.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-06-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

This year for Memorial Day, we actually stayed around here. The weather was not great for boating, not even down south. It was kind of nice to stay home and do things around here. We made a stop by the Ogden Cemetery to remember Grandma and Grandpa Watkins.

We had a awesome Memorial Day Neighborhood Breakfast. We had yummy pancakes and lots of great entertainment for the kids, tug-o-war, frisbee golf, bounce house and more fun. After the breakfast we decided we would join Blake's brother Ryan for some rock climbing. The kids have done a little of this before, but I hadn't. We went up Ogden Canyon to a place called "Nuts and Bolts" and did one of the routes. The kids did great, Brooke even made it all the way up the 60 foot wall. Camden tried hard to be brave but has a bit of a fear of heights though. We had a great time and look forward to trying it again.
After the rock climbing we heading back home to a BBQ at our friends. More good times with great people. It all just makes me even more excited for more summer fun! Overall a great Memorial Day Holiday.

Happy Birthday Brynnley

2009-06-03T15:39:00.001-07:00

WOW! Can you believe it. BRYNNLEY IS 13! Crazy! The really crazy part is that I am old enough to have a 13 year old. It is official Brynnley is a teenager and loving every minute of it. She is a great kid and so far quite a pleasant teenager. She is a great helper at home and is kind to her brother and sister. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRYNN! WE LOVE YOU!

Moab Weekend

2009-05-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a while since we have made the fun trip to Moab and we finally made it down there. This was a different kind of trip for us. We went with some great neighborhood friends and did the 4 wheeling thing. We camped with I think every other 4 wheeler in town. Wow, what a different crowd!
Day 1: We took the LandRover and did the Hell's Revenge trail. A little intense for me, but we made it out with only a few scrapes on the bumper. The kids did great and enjoyed the ride. We road out to where you could look over the Colorado River. That was where we had lunch that day. I was certainly glad to be back on paved roads. The guys went out later that night and did the Moab Rim trail, which is even more intense. It was good that I hung back at camp with the kids.

A pic of the whole crew.

Brad heading in to do Hell's Gate

Andy coming out of Hell's gate!

Day 2: Our family decided to go to a little hiking. We hiked to Corona & Bowtie Arch. We hadn't done this hike before but had heard great reviews. It was a mellow hike, which is what I needed with my sore foot and the payoff of the big arch was definitely worth it.

Definitely was a great way to spend a weekend with great friends! We can't seem to get enough of weekends away! Hopefully there will be many more to come this summer!

Spring Sports!

2009-05-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

Well Spring is officially here and that means soccer, baseball, softball, volleyball and a little more softball. Yes it is truely CRAZY! Brynnley is finishing up her club volleyball season. They finished the last tournament tied for third place, which they felt really good about. They made some huge improvements over the year and had a lot of fun doing it. We are hoping for a growth spurt from Brynnley over the next few months, so she can learn to play the front row.
Brookelyn is playing some softball with the "Tigers". They are doing awesome and she is getting better every game. She has had some great hits and good plays in the field. I hope she learns to love the game like I do!

Camden just finished up his soccer season last week and is full swing into baseball! I have been impressed with the improvements he has made in both soccer and baseball since last fall. I didn't get any good soccer shots this season, I was counting on this weeks games, which got canceled. Oh well, there is always next season.

Oh ya, and a little more softball. Blake and I are playing on a couple coed teams this year, which is always fun. I guess it is our pay off from running all the kids everywhere. They have to come watch us play too! I am just hoping the stress fracture in my foot will heal up so I can actually run the bases without looking like a gimp!
Whew, live is a bit crazy! But I wouldn't want it any other way, so lets play ball!

Spring Break!

2009-04-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

I have to say I love that Davis County gives the kids a whole week off from school in the Spring. We always seem to be ready for some big outings about that time of year. This year we went down to St. George for the week. We decided to stay a little close to home this year since we had just taken the kids to Panama a couple months ago. We had a condo booked just near South Gate Golf Course for the week. Our goal on this trip was to relax a little and do some things down there that we hadn't done before. Of course the kids requested all the usual places too (ie, Snow Canyon, Pioneer Park etc.) The relaxing part is often hard for us, but I think we did pretty good not over scheduling our days.

The first part of the week our great neighbors the Richards were down there, so we hooked up with them for some fun. The first leg of the day was a hike to some Indian writings. The kids loved climbing all over the rocks and liked to create the stories of what the Indians could have been trying to say. The next leg of the day was a bike ride on part of the Green Valley Loop. Maybe it wasn't the best plan with a 5 year old and two 7 year old to ride a 7 mile bike ride in the middle of the day. Needless to say, we all made it back and I think most of the gang would do it again, maybe being a little more prepared next time. After that little adventure we decided all we needed was a good swim to complete the triathlon for the day. Well, we parted ways and did some swimming on our own. It was a great day and so fun to hang with great friends.

We tried out some other hikes and bike rides throughout the week too, some we will do again others maybe not.

Towards the end of the week, my family came down to join us. They rented a home just off snow canyon parkway. With all the cousins and people this made a fun place to have as a home base. Some of us got to golf, we swam at the pool, played at snow canyon and overall just let the kids have some fun with the cousins. Brynnley loved to hang with little Eliza Rose, she even wanted to hike with her. What a good baby who didn't mind being passed around all day long! On Saturday we boiled like 9 dozen eggs and let the kiddos color them. It has been a few years since my kids have done this since we are not usually home for Easter, so I think they enjoyed that. Saturday we also got to go stay with my brother Jeff in his new tent trailer. We had to be out of our condo on Saturday, so we were homeless for one night and decided to try out the tent trailer. We stayed out at Quail Creek with they, it worked out great and are excited for many more adventures in the trailer. Then on Sunday after a quick visit to church with my cousin who lives down there we have a fun Easter Egg hunt before everyone headed back to reality.

Spring is here!

2009-04-23T15:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official, spring is finally here and there will be no more skiing until snow flies again in November. I thought I should post some fun pictures from our ski season. Since we bought season passes at Snowbasin this year, we did a lot of skiing this year. I think most of us got like 12 days in. I think we are all much better skiers after this season (Mom especially). Who knows if we will be able to get passes again next year, but it was fun to try it out for a year. We skied with friends, cousins and and had a great time every time we went. I even think they will be anxious for snow to come again next winter and start the ski season all over again, but for now bring on the sun!

Las Vegas - Cheerz 2008

2009-04-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

We had our last Cheerleading competition for the year in Las Vegas the last weekend in March. Yea, some sunshine! The girls did great and had a great time enjoying some sunshine! We had a fun team dinner at Hard Rock one night. What a rocking place! Definitely on of the best times at Hard Rock!

Field Trip - Antelope Island

2009-03-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

The 4th grade got to go on a field trip to Antelope Island and I was a lucky Mom that got to join the fun. We spent some time at the visitor center learning about the area, then went down to the beach for lunch. The seagulls joined us there to help us finish off all the crumbs. Then we went for a little hike up to Buffalo Point. The kids did great on the hike and loved climbing around all the rocks. I think the kids had a great time and the weather was actually nice. Here are a few of the pictures of the cute friends of Brookelyn's (Abbie, Taylor, Kelsi, Emily, & Maddie).

Camden's Birthday

2009-03-30T19:56:00.002-07:00

Yep, its birthday time at our house. The 6th of March was Camden's birthday. He wanted to take a couple buddies and go skiing. Blake being the awesome Dad he is did it all on his own. I was at a volleyball tournament all day with Brynnley, so Blake headed to Snowbasin with 4 six and seven year old boys (Camden, Dallin, Cort and Jonah). They enjoyed the little cat lift, but also ventured to the top of the Needles lodge. They all made it down with only a few tears. They had cupcakes, lunch and hot cocoa in the lodge, then back out for more skiing. They opened presents at the gas station at the bottom of trappers. Nice huh! What awesome boys! These guys have such a fun time together I hope they can stay close and have lots more fun memories of birthdays and other days on the ski slopes.

Camden also got some fun stuff from the family. He got a new mountain bike, and boy is he ready for the snow to be gone so he can have some real fun on it. Once he learned to ride a bike he has always loved it. Now he is ready for some real mountain biking with Dad!

2009-03-30T19:56:00.001-07:00

Brookelyn's Birthday

2009-03-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

Since we were in Panama for Brooke's birthday, we had to do some celebrating when we got home. She turned 10 this year. We got to go to Tepanyaki for dinner as a family. We always enjoy the show there! Brookelyn also got to have a couple friends over for some late night fun. They made cookies, watched a movie and just had girl fun. She has some great friends and they had a great time! I think even though her birthday celebrations were a little late, she still had a great 10th birthday!

Panama - Part 5

2009-03-12T12:15:00.001-07:00

For the last part of our adventure we left from Bouquette and took a 3 hour van ride to Bocas del Toro. Bocas is a very popular surf town with great surf waves. I have to say I kind of like the cross country drives to see how people really live. There had been a storm last November that had washed out some of the roads and hillsides which made the ride even more exciting. We made it to Bocas early evening. Part of getting to Bocas required a water taxi which was another experiences in itself. The people obviously knew we were tourist and were trying to take us for all we had, we were happy to get on the boat and get out of that area. Once on the boat I got to sit next to a little Panamanian man who was very tired and chose to use me for his pillow. I could not stop laughing, which kept waking him up, but he would quickly fall back to sleep with his head on my shoulder. Funny!

Once we made it to our resort, we felt a little more comfortable as people could actually speak some English. Yea! Apparently the storm washed out their dock too and we weren't supposed to arrive via water taxi, (hence the caution tape in the photo), but oh well. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the pool, playing a little volleyball and enjoying dinner for Brooke's birthday. The next day we scheduled a tour to see dolphins, go snorkeling and visit red frog beach. It was a great day we enjoyed some relaxation and play in the sunshine! It is such a beautiful area, with little islands everywhere! I would love to come back some day and try my hand at surfing! The 19th we had to take another little plane back to Panama City to catch our flight home the next day. We had a great trip and certainly saw a lot of the country. Everything went as plan and I think all the first time world travelers had a good experiences (my kids included). My best memories were spending the day on the island in San Blas. What an eye opening experience as to the role these missionaries have in keeping the church running throughout the world. WOW! And,how grateful I am that I don't have to spend my day finding food and water for my families next meal. What a life these people live (although some days is sounds nice to simplify our crazy lifes a bit).

Panama - Part 4

2009-03-11T08:34:00.001-07:00

Next we headed off on another little airplane to a town called David. This is the second largest city in Panama and the hottest. We didn't spend too much time here. We did meet one of my brothers mission friends and enjoyed an icee in the town square. This seemed like a pretty cool city, we would have loved to spend more time here.

From here we took a taxi van up to a mountain town called Bouquette. This is where we were spending the next couple of days. We visited an botanical garden which had some gorgeous flowers. Brooke had her 10th birthday celebrated in Bouquette and got to do a zip line through the jungle. It was a little colder than we expected up there, but it eventually warmed up as the sun came out. The kids all did it with us and loved it. I was impressed with how brave Camden was. He is usually afraid of things like this, but he sucked it up and loved it! The jungle, volcano and coffee farms were beautiful to see and made this area of Panama definitely different the the other Panama we had seen so far.

Panama - Part 3

2009-03-06T10:52:00.000-08:00

After leaving the San Blas islands we headed back to Panama City and spent the day relaxing in the city. We didn't see too much of the city as we were just happy to be somewhere with power and water. We swam at the hotel pool (until it decided to rain) and tried to do a little laundry. Unfortunately it was Sunday and most laundromats were closed so the one that was open was super busy. So we decided to do laundry in our hotel room which is all fine except when trying to get everything to dry in 24 hours. Needless to say, Blake rigged up a clothes line in our hotel room. Most the clothes got dried with a little help from a little ironing. We did have clean clothes to start the next half of our adventure.

Panama - Part 2

2009-03-03T10:24:00.001-08:00

On the 14th we got up early to take our flight to San Blas and the Ticantiki island. Here is the plane that take us to the strip of asphalt next to the jungle where we could board the boat to take us to the island.

Here is the boat that all 9 of us climbed in to take us over to the island. We were lucky to get the large boat with a motor on the back.

These is part of our welcoming committee on the island. We were very well taken care of and loved bay all the little ones.

We starting the day by setting up our hammocks in the hut behind the church, that is usually used for primary. We had little Kuna Indian kids following us everywhere we went. They were so friendly and happy to see some new faces. We walked out to the beach where they do baptisms. This is their clean beach and was beautiful. The kids had some fun and played in the water, even without their swimsuits.

Here is a shot of one of the pottys on the island. Yes, they are just a whole right into the ocean. Crazy!

My Dad handed out tootsie rolls to the kids, who were in heaven for a little sugary treat. We did a little service on the island moving dirt from the middle of the island to the area where they get their water that gets a little soggy. We were treated to some flute dancing by the locals. Camden brought a roll of string and the kids taught the Kuna kids how to play cats cradle, which was cool to watch since we couldn't communicate with one another.

We got to try some Pipa (Coconut milk), while getting eating by bugs! The coconut milk was not great and I think the bugs left a better impression. This last photo shows the traditional dress of the Kuna Indian women. These ladies were at the airport with us trying to get on our flight to the city. There are many more great photos from the trip, but just too many to post. This was a great day that left great impressions on each of us. What a simple life these people live.

Panama - Part 1

2009-03-03T10:00:00.001-08:00

On the 12th we headed off to Panama for a week of fun. My brother served his mission over there and we got to go see some of the people and things from that 2 years of his life. We started out arriving late the night of the 12th in Panama City and headed to our lodging for that night. For the first two nights we stayed at the temple housing right on site at the new Panama Temple. Jeff had some great friends who hooked us up with great taxi drivers and great lodging. The next day we got to attend the temple, including Brynn doing some baptisms in Spanish. We also got to see the amazing Panama Canal. The kids enjoy bugs in the museum more than the canal itself, but it is truly amazing what men built so many years ago. I think it was a good day and a good start to the adventure.

Panama

2009-02-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

Wow, we made it back from our awesome Panama adventure. What a great trip it was. It is taking me some time to sort through the hundreds of photos. I will post a bunch of photos, but I want to make sure and find the best ones. Keep watching!

January

2009-01-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos showing what we have been up to this month. We are definitely keeping busy and the month is flying by. Brynnley has started playing on a club volleyball team and had their first tournament. They did great considering this was new to most of them. I think they had a good time and learned a lot. Brookelyn had a couple more Cheerleading competitions. More fun! She loves it and always does great even if the team doesn't win the big trophies. Camden has started playing basketball and is loving it. He really seems to want to learn to play. We have also tried to get a few ski days in. The snow has been a little lacking, but I think that may change! Before we now it February will be here and we will be off for some fun in the sun in Panama. What an adventure that will be.

Blake & Brynnley - Jackson Hole

2009-01-09T20:30:00.001-08:00

Blake and Brynnley headed off for Jackson Hole for a little daddy daughter fun. They made it up there just after all the avalanches and were able to ski at Grand Targhee. They celebrated the New Year's with some crazy folks at Snow King Lodge. They saw lots of wild life including moose, wolves and elk. They went snowmobiling out to some hot pots. It's a good thing Brynnley went with him because there is no way I would have got wet in those cold temperatures. She is a brave soul! They had great talks, watched lots of movies and enjoyed the time away.

In Memory of Grandma Kent

2009-01-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

Grandma Thelma Kent passed away on Dec 28th after having a stroke on Christmas Eve which she never recovered from. She was 88 years old and was ready to move on to the next phase. We were able to attend her funeral and remember her and the life she lived. She was a strong women, who kept a tidy home, but was not remembered as the greatest cook. She was remembered to be a talented seamstress which she passed on to her daughter. Our family was lucky to get to spend a little extra time with Grandma toward the end of her life. She lived with Blake's parents for the last 9 months and was very much a part of the family activities. Grandma Kent was the last of the Great Grandparents for our kids. We will always remember her spirit and the joy she brought to our lives.

snowshoeing

2008-12-29T13:08:00.000-08:00

On the 26th, we gave our Christmas presents a try and went out for a little snowshoe walk. Once we all got comfortable, everyone had a great time. It is always so nice to be in the outdoors at winter. We saw ducks swimming in the river and geese flying around. We played on the frozen ice and tried to ski down the hills, which doesn't work well in snowshoes. All in all a good time and we look forward to more fun in the snow.
Jeff & Becca thanks for joining us!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T16:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, Can you believe another Christmas has come and gone. Here are a few shots from Christmas at our house. My camera was dead for some of the festivities, so I don't have many great photos, but you get the picture right.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Cheerz Allstars!

2008-12-15T19:27:00.001-08:00

Look at these cute girls! Probably a little cuter without the makeup though. Yes we have spent the last couple days at Cheerleading competitions! What a new experience for Mom, but always fun to see Brooke having so much fun out there. Today was great they took a first place and qualified for Nationals in Vegas. So exciting! Go Cheerz Allstars!

Brynn at Temple Square

2008-12-14T18:08:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday Brynn went off to Temple Square with the Young Women's to see the Christmas Night. It was cold but of course the girls had a great time, and of course there was hot cocoa afterwards. What great leaders to brave the cold for the sake of these cute girls.

Weekend Adventure

2008-11-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

Would you have guessed, the Watkins went on a little adventure this weekend. Well at least some of them did. Blake, Brynn and Camden went down near Lake Powell and adventured in a slot canyon called Leprechaun Canyon. Lori and Brooke stayed home and went to Cheerz and did hard work. I know your jealous. Blake and the kids had a great time and are ready to go back again. Camden even survived the repelling part of the adventure. He was a brave soul! He said "That was the best hike ever" and that "his dad is the best dad ever" I have to agree! What a great dad who loves to take the kids to do the things he enjoys!

UEA Weekend - St. George

2008-11-04T20:13:00.000-08:00

We went down south for one last hoorah before winter hits. We took the boat and had some fun in the water at Sand Hollow Reservoir. We all needed to make sure we didn't forget how to wakeboard over the winter. Sorry no photos of Blake and Lori on that one, just Brynnley. We enjoyed the day at the lake with the Taylors and the Brockbanks. The dog even got in on some of the fun!

We also took a trip to Zions & Snow Canyon and enjoyed some hikes and fun with they Sybrowski's.

Always fun times in St. George!

Pumpkin Carving!

2008-10-30T11:40:00.001-07:00

Brynnley with her howling at the moon wolf!

Brookelyn with her witch profile and pumpkin!

Blake and Camden with their pumpkin masterpiece!

2008-10-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

Yes we did it, we got a puppy! What an eye opener for Mom! Guess who is home all day with the dog or at least who has to come back home every couple hours to let the dog out to potty. MOM! What fun! I'm thinking a baby might have been easier?! Well, his name is Bo and he is a Labrodor/Border Collie Mix. He is pretty cute when he isn't biting and attacking the kids pant legs. What an experience to learn to train a puppy!

Brookelyn

2008-10-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

Brookelyn got tagged in a game of "Kiddo Tag". What a fun thing! Once you're tagged, you're are supposed to tell 5 things about that person that others may not have known.

Here we go my first attempt of this game of tag!

5 things you may not know about Brookelyn:

Brookelyn is a peacebuilder!One of the goals at our elementary school is for the kids to be peacebuilders. Brookelyn is definately the peacebuilder at our house! She always tries to make sure everyone is happy and seems to know how to do it. She makes our home a happier place!

Brookelyn gets it! Most kids don't quit get it that if they will do their homework or their practicing when it is time then it is done and they don't have to worry about it any more. Brookelyn is good at this. She comes home from school most Mondays and gets her homework done for the week. I obviously love it! We then don't have to worry about homework the rest of the week. What a great attribute!

Brookelyn is a good friend! She is very social and loves her friends. She is always able to make new friends and be a good friend. I never have to worry about her finding friends each year when her classes change. She also has the ability to choose good friends who bring out the best in her!

Brookelyn loves animals! I think she has every stuffed animal there is too have and would have the real life once if it where an option. One day she loves koala bears, then frogs, then pumas? Lately she is loving the new puppy that is part of our family. She has been a great help with the puppy and loves to play with him.

Brookelyn will try anything! Brookelyn is willing to try anything new. Sometimes she can be a little scared, but is usually willing. She has tried her hand at dance, softball, violin, waterskiing and now cheerleading. She went to a college volleyball game the other night and is ready to try her hand at that. She is always willing to learn something new!

Sorry I am new at this blogging thing, so not too many to tag, but here goes.

I tag!
Macey R.
Isaac G.

Muir Elementary Talent Show

2008-10-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

Ok I give! My plan was to catch up on the events of the summer, but that is obviously not happening. So now I will just try to keep up from here. So last week the kids had a school talent show. Here is Camden with his debut on the piano. He was pretty excited since he has only been taking lessons for 2 months. He did a great job!

Now here is Brookelyn's! Sorry it is turned side ways, I guess I shouldn't video that way any more. She also did a great job. I thought she had the best performance, yes I am a little biased. It was fun to see the kids in each class perform.

Blake & Lori Normandy - June 2008

2008-06-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

This is the 2nd phase of our European Vacation. It was great to see the sights of Normandy and the countryside of Europe. This was a very eye opening experience for me. Enjoy the photos!

Blake & Lori Paris - June 2008

2008-06-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

In June of this year, Blake and I went to Europe with most of the Watkins. We enjoying seeing some of the sites Dick saw while serving his mission there. I think we got to see everything on the list and enjoyed some relaxing time at cafes and

Brynnley Graduates from Elementary

2008-05-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

Brynnley and her great teacher Mrs. Talbot

Tatum, Jackie and Brynnley

Memorial Day at Lake Powell

2008-05-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Lake Powell for Memorial Day. It was still a little cool, but nice to be out on the boat and a great start to a summer full of adventures!

Brookelyn the softball all-star

2008-05-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Brookelyn played some spring softball and had a great time!

Blake & Jeffs Spring River Run

2008-05-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

Blake and Jeff decided to attempt a run down the river. The river was running pretty high with spring run off. Round 1 was successful, so they thought they would give it another try.

Headed up for Round 2! The second time around they got dunked! Boy was that water cold. They were pretty quick to get to the shore and get out!

Brynnley turns 12!

2008-05-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

It's Brynnley's Birthday and we get to go to Tepanyaki for Dinner. It is always a fun night to celebrate birthdays together with our family.

Blake & Lori Europe - April 2008

2008-04-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

Blake and I got to spend a week in Interlaken Switzerland this April with Humana Health. Blake earned the trip through selling policies for Humana. What a great time. We were totally taken care of the whole time, food, lodging, entertainment was all top notch. We we able to do and see many amazing things, for example, fondue at the base of the matterhorn, carriage ride through Interlaken, tour of Luzern and tram ride to have dinner at the Schilthorn (where one of the James Bond movies was filmed). The weather could have been a lot warmer and sunnier but at least we get to come back in June and see things in the sunlight.