The Watts

CHRISTMAS PICS

2010-01-18T20:20:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the fun things we did over Christmas break, but of course for some of the funnest times the camera was in the glove box, Jami's purse or sitting on the bar at home. We were too busy playing to stop and stage a photo shoot!

We got to go to a Christmas Sing at the kids school. It was a blast, but the recession has fully kicked in, rather than having Santa come, they had to make due with Mrs. Claus? Really? It was very fun and a great start to the kids break, the whole school crammed into the lunchroom and each grade had allot of fun singing to each other and their parents.

Here is Ysabel's Kindergarten class, dressed in their PJ's for a trip on the Polar Express singing "Up on the rooftop"

It was VERY cute and she did great, they even had choreography!

Tagg's 2nd grade class put on quite the show, for the school wide sing his class sang "Must be Santa" they even had props. Tagg's was a "beard that's white" we missed getting a picture, Tagg sang like only Tagg can sing, next time you see him, have him sing it for you!

Then, we got to go back to his class room and his class put on a private concert for their parents. They have been learning some German words and sang "Silent Night" to us in German. That is a tongue twister for a 7 & 8 yr old, they did great! Next they broke out their recorders and played a rousing song of "Jingle Bells" AWESOME!

Tagg told us the night before that he had to wear some fancy clothes to his performance and wanted to wear a shirt and tie. We have gone this route before with him so we kinda had our doubts. Jami finally talked him into a SNAZZY new Christmas sweater and he was in heaven! (Mom's late night run to Old Navy made for a happy boy in the morning!)

This picture is extra special, this is Tagg's teacher Miss Brock, he has a wee bit of a crush on her, once I had taken the picture, Tagg turned bright red, but when he got home he wanted me to download it so he could see it and then show it to CJ and Yzzy! He's hot for teacher!
Cole's class was at the opposite end of the lunchroom from where the parents were sequestered, so the picture we got was a blurry mass of Christmas sweaters and Santa hats. His class sang Felice Navidad, and if you have never heard a Watts sing Felice Navidad, Jose and Maria got nothin on us!

Christmas Eve we started a new tradition and went to visit Grandma and my sister Lisa, the kids made her their own Luminary's. It was an amazing experience. We love you Mom!

This is what it looked like with the candles lit. This is an old Scandinavian tradition that we read about and have decided to make a part of our Christmas celebration, it was amazing to see how many other people had done the same, it was a very peaceful and beautiful way to spend Christmas Eve.

Another Christmas Eve tradition of new PJ's!

(I have one SEXY wife!)

Here are the kids Christmas morning, with sleep swollen faces and big smiles excited to open all the presents Santa brought to them!

Some of the other fun things we did but missed taking pictures of; spending time with Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts and Cousins on both the Phillips and Watts sides of the families, swimming, movies, playing with toys, a family nativity, New Years in Saint George, 1st night with the Jetts, CJ dancing on the stage in front of thousands of people, then getting escorted off by the Mayor and Sheriff, playing Wii with Grandpa Jack, lots of eating, saying good bye to a special dog,

It was time well spent with lots of family, love and blessings. It's been one heck of and a very interesting year. We are so glad 2010 is here. We were REALLY glad to say:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

LET 'ER RIP!

Lindon Vikings 09

2009-11-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

This was C.J.'s first year of football and he made the most of it. Needless to say the coaches were thrilled when he joined the team! Cole started both ways, offensive tackle and as a defensive tackle with a brief stint at linebacker.

He is #52 on the field and #1 in your hearts, gotta love the kid!

Which one of these is not like the other?

(anybody notice a size difference?)

Here is one of Coley plowing the field with an AF's running backs face mask the kid came up with sod in his teeth!

Who wouln't want this kid lead blocking for them?
(this is one of my favorite pics, look at his eye's!!)

Another big stop by #52 C.J. Watts!

Overall he had a great season, not quite as many wins as he would have liked but he learned alot, got in great shape, was picked as team captain 7 out of 8 games (the one game he was asked but told the coach he wanted to let one his friends take a turn), he made some new buddies, got some bruises, wore out a pair of cleats and can't wait till next year, sounds like a succesfull season!

Now (to Jami's delight) he has started basketball (we did take the weekend off), he will be playing on 3 different teams!

Tagg will be starting Jr. Flash basketball in Jan.

Gotta love having boys!

Flying Kites (part 1)

2009-03-19T07:36:00.002-07:00

We got to go kite flying as a family with Uncle Dale and Aunty Angry this weekend. We had a blast even though the wind was not always cooperative. This was Yzzy's 1st time flying kites and after she was worn out she finally figured out which way to run when the wind blows, circles only work 1/2 the time?

Thanks Angie for the great pics and thanks to Uncle Dale for helping with all the knots!

(See below for the slide show!)

Flying kites

2009-03-19T07:36:00.001-07:00

Kindergarten Shots!

2009-03-03T17:09:00.000-08:00

Ysabel is turning 5 this April and is going to start Kindergarten this fall. Starting school means one thing SHOTS!
Both boys have been trying to scare the heck out of her by talking about needles and how bad it hurts, big jerks!
She was a champ, she didn't have any hesitation and said "you gotta do, what ya gotta do" she is very excited to start school and is ready to lay down in front of the school bus in order to get to go to big school with her big brothers. She was so strong and didn't cry till after the nurse left the room, and then it was just a couple small tears. She was very brave.
She is out back playing catch with Taggert and has told him she "cant run fast, only medium, cause my legs are hurty"

Here she is getting a big wet feel better kiss from her best friend!

COLEYBOY'S 10!

2009-03-02T15:07:00.001-08:00

March 1st Coleyboy had his 10th birthday party, it landed on a Sunday so we had to do part of it on Saturday and finish with a family party on Sunday. The celebrations started on Thursday, Cole, Yzzy and I went to the Cougar's home opener baseball game, BYU won 8-3 over the Portland Pilots. It was a record game for the Watts family, we got 3 foul balls. Needless to say the kids were excited for the next game! Friday Cole and I along with his friend Casey went to a BYU baseball game, because of school we were only able to make it to the last 4 innings but we had allot of fun spitting sunflower seeds and watching baseball.
Saturday morning, Cole's basketball team played their last Jr. Jazz game of the year, he played his friend Casey's team and had a pretty good game, he had a huge cheering section, thanks to Grandma Starla and Grandpa Jim for coming out, they help to make it allot more fun and with Jami there as well allot more LOUD!
After the game we went as a family to another BYU baseball game (Cole's 3rd in a row, ya think this kid likes baseball?) the weather was perfect, sunshine and the Cougars won 10-3, even Yzzy was into it for a little while. After the game Cole went to the BYU vs Utah basketball game with Casey's family, he used his B-day money from Aunt Ashlee and Uncle Jake and their boys for his ticket (thanks Merbacks, figured you would approve of how the money was spent!) and loved it! BYU played one of their best games yet and Cole was in heaven!

Sunday Coley got his breakfast of choice, played some video games and opened his presents from us.
That night Aunt Chelsea, Jack and AJ, Grandpa Jim, Grandma Starla and Uncle Tanner all came over to have cake and rootbeer floats. Coleyboy got a BYU basketball jersey and to use Grandpa Jims BYU seats for the upcoming Air Force game, he is pumped, thanks Grandma and Grandpa! Aunt Chelsea and her kids gave him money for new batting gloves, pic's will be coming and he promises to hit at least one homerun for the Longhorns! Grandpa Jack sent money as well and Coley cant wait to go shopping, sporting goods store here we come, thanks Dad!

Here Coley is showing off his baseball cakes!

After the cake and floats what could be better than helping it settle with an all cousin trampoline jumping session!

AJ breaking the law of gravity!

Your supposed to do this after the dismount

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLE WE LOVE YOU!

39 days

2009-02-24T15:03:00.000-08:00

After 39 days Jami finally came home!
We are so greatfull to all who have been praying, fasting, watching kids, bringing treats, sending cards, flowers and gifts, visiting, making the trek to SLC and for all of your thoughts and prayers.
She is resting at home, doing some physical therapy, and just enjoying being Mom to our 3 wonderfull kids!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Finally!

2009-02-18T23:20:00.000-08:00

Jami has been checked into the Neuro Acute Care Unit. They have wasted no time in running a whole new battery of tests. Hopefully we will get some answers and Jami can get the help she needs!
After 35 days in the hospital, and still not knowing what, when or how, hopefully we are at the right WHERE and can get some answers!

Our folks

2009-02-11T17:47:00.000-08:00

"Your folks are like God because you want to know they're out there and you want them to approve of your life, still you only call them when your in a crisis and need something."
Chuck Palahniuk

What a true quote, not that the only time we call is when we are in crisis, but what a relief that they are there, and without hesitation, come running when we are in need.

Jim and Starla have been such a blessing to us and to the kids this last month, our kids are happy and adjusted, far better than could be hoped for. They have set aside their busy life, literally put their lives on hold, opened their home to the whirlwind and have not only held on but embraced it! We are so grateful to not have to "worry" about our kids, of course we do, but not in the sense of how, what, when etc. They are not only well cared for, but loved, we really couldn't ask for more in this tough situation. What a great blessing that not all grand kid's get than to be spoiled non stop by their Grandma and Grandpa!

My Dad sent this to Jami today, he will never know how timely this was or how much it meant to her.

Dad is not one who ever did things for thanks, he just did them cause "that's just what we do for family, or for our friends."
Living in the same town for 34 years we can't go anywhere that I don't run into someone that I know, most of them are from Provo and "the hill" and it never fails, they always ask
"how's Jack?" or "how's your Dad?"
He was never hung up on titles, just wanted whoever he came in contact with to be his friend. My answer is always the same, Dad is Dad! Enough said.
I can only hope to be like him!
We love you Dad, thank you!

Thank you to our family and friends for the continued support and prayers.

A day late

2009-02-08T02:27:00.001-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE COOLEST KID EVER!JACKIE WE LOVE YA KID, YOUR THE BEST BB GUN SHOOTIN, BIKE RIDIN, TATTOO SPORTIN, KARATE BAG KICKIN, SISTERS HAIR PULLIN, JACKIE WHUPPIN GIVIN, LONGHORN SHIRT WEARIN, CHURCH CLOTHES HATIN, MARIO CART PLAYIN, NEPHEW AND COUSIN WE KNOW!
HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY!
WE LOVE YOU!

February 4th

2009-02-04T19:11:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe this all started 3 weeks ago, in some ways it feels like yesterday and in others like a year ago. We really don't know much more than we did when we went to our family Doctor on the 15th. Thus when they say they "practice" medicine, they really mean they are practicing on you!
What we do know; Jami is sick, she has had one heck of a viral infection in her brain and brain stem that seems to have began to turn, but, just when we feel things might be really moving along, the virus likes to show it's sense of humor and revert back to one of its many tricks just to remind us it is still here. There has been significant nerve damage, the whole extent we do not know, but, we are optimistic for a full recovery.
Jami has been a trooper and really re-written the definition of endurance. One of the nurses who has had limited interaction with Jami, but has seen her on this floor since she came in and has helped a number of times during her seizures and contractions, today was here to help during one of her massive contraction attacks. He knelt down and talked to her, he has been nursing on this floor, and in the renal unit (this floor is one step down from ICU and CCU) for years. He told Jami that she was by far the toughest person he had ever met, to go through such pain, frustrations, length of stay, therapy, regression, tests, tests and more tests and always with a smile, always happy and grateful. It was encouraging for her, this guy has seen it all. He was very serious and is not the type to fluff somebody up, he knelt down and was talking to her, wiping tears (his and hers) calming fears and offering encouragement as well as admiration for her endurance. The other nurses were shocked to see this side of him. She is the epitome of strength through all of this and has been a true example to me and others.
Her time here at the hospital is coming to an end, we are now trying to find a rehabilitation facility in Utah county that fits her needs, so if anyone has advice we are all ears!
Please continue to keep Jami in your thoughts and prayers, she is still very sick and the Doctors are still trying to get the right cocktail of medication to keep her from having seizures, suppress the viral infection and stop her headache so she can be stable enough to start real therapy and look to coming home.
Thank you for all of your love and support, Jami has found true peace by connecting with friends old and new, family and strangers through all of this.

Doing better

2009-01-31T18:14:00.000-08:00

Things here in room 382 are looking up, Jami is doing better in allot of ways and we are so grateful for the smallest improvements and she has made some pretty big steps. Knock on wood, it seems as though the seizure medications have finally been dialed in, they have really been spread out and we are so relieved. We are hopefully optimistic that the virus has peaked, it really seems she is on the fast track to recovery. Everyday people cant believe how much better she looks. She has been working really hard with her therapists. The physical therapists come by 2x per day. She has a speech therapist that drops in once a day and is always followed by the occupational therapist. Needless to say she is getting lots of attention. They are very hopeful that they will be able to mend the nerve damage and optimistic that it will not be permanent. She still has major headache pain and lives in her sunglasses, she is definitely the coolest patient on the 3rd floor. Next week we are hoping she will be moved into the transitional therapy unit and begin the next stages of recovery.
Once again we are so grateful for all of your kind thoughts and prayers. Starla is always telling us of all the people who have called, dropped off cards, helped with the kids and are praying for us. The kids are doing great, Grandma Starla and Grandpa Jim have been such a blessing and it sounds like it has been one big adventure with a little school mixed in to fill the slow times of the day. They are very happy and have loved the cards, gifts and phone calls that have come into "just them" THANK YOU FOR LOVING OUR KIDS!
We are so thankful for friends and family who share their love in so many ways. Please continue to keep Jami in your prayers, we are not out of the woods yet but the timber is getting thinner!

Update Saturday night

2009-01-24T22:58:00.000-08:00

It has been amazing all the support we have felt as a family, what more can we say than, Thank You to you all.
Today we met with another one of Jami's doctor's and kind of vented some frustrations. He handled it well and expressed allot of the same concerns and frustrations at their inability to put a real name or terms or to be able to provide some expectations that might be able to help along the way. They can give diagnosis, that are broad sweeping but contain no real or applicable information, more as something to call "it" or to calm some of the nerves and questions we have than actual facts and steps to take so we can move forward.
The medical teams are working diligently, calling each other at all hours brainstorming with ideas, or, "have we considered this", studying medical journals from all over the world, and just talking it through with colleagues locally and all over the country. Thank you for all of your suggestions, and questions to ask, we bring them up continually and apologize to the Doctor's for second guessing or questioning, they are always professional and open to questions and not afraid to run one more test to make sure.
We are so appreciative to all who are going through this with us, Jami continually says "I can feel their prayers". Thank you to all, there is no greater appreciator of people and their time and talents than Jami, and even in all of this, she is continually thanking everyone, or apologizing to the Doctors and nurses for taking time away from their day's, at first they did not know how to take her, but her sincerity and love shine through even in the darkest times and they have all shed tears with her, tell her they love her and continue to ignore the poor people on this floor of the hospital.
Thank you for your inspiration, calls, blog comments and text's, we have read them all many, many times and feel your love, they have been a true "re-charge" for her through some very hard times. I have always thought I had an amazing and very strong wife, it has been made more than apparent through this time that she can take more than her share and smile through it, apologize for putting you out and make you feel more comfortable by laughing through some very hard times, I am so blessed to have her as the mother of my children and so proud to call her my wife!
Thank you again for your prayers, and continued prayers in our behalf, we feel your faith and it helps us to continue on.

Greg & Jami

Thanks and update

2009-01-21T15:40:00.000-08:00

First off, thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers, tears and worry. It has been a blessing to read all of your texts, voice mails, emails, tweets, blogs, comments and cards to Jami. It has been such a great distraction in tough times to be able to read and re-read them to her, she always smiles and cries, (so yes, she is still the same Jami) and says how much she loves whomever had sent the note.

Her personality and love has all the nurses neglecting their other duties to stay and chat, laugh, cry and spend a little more time with her. She has 2 awesome nurses that work at night that are literally angels sent from God to look after her. Both of them on their time off today (when they should have been home sleeping and being with their families) have come into check on her, and give her hugs and encouragement. It is truly amazing to see people who are devoted to healing others and see Gods hands at work through them.

Her doctors are hopeful and have spent many, many hours trying to figure out what is causing this to happen. They are fully invested in her recovery, and continue to come up with new ideas, and tests to try to pin this down and make it right. If anyone has Dr. Houses #, Jami would gladly make you the pie of your choice, I would even promise a whole summers worth of lawn cutting for his mobile number!

Jami is on a roller coaster right now and wants off, the highs and lows are frustrating to say the least. The good news, the paralysis in her face appears to letting up, the bad news is the migraine that has yet to stop, her constant joint, skin and deep bone pain and that her body is continually racked with whole body contractions almost like a seizure so she has been unable to get any real rest. Pray for her to be strong, for her body to accept the medication and to stop fighting itself, so that she can get the rest she needs to begin to heal and for her Doctors and nurses to be continually inspired to provide the care our Jami needs and has given to others.

The kids are staying at Grandma Starla and Grandpa Jim's, the boys are going to a BYU basketball game tonight, they are well cared for and loved. Homesick but happy.
Thank you to you all for your continued love, prayers and support

Greg & Jami

BRING ON THE CARDS!!!!!

2009-01-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

Tonsils and Traditons

2008-12-24T20:18:00.000-08:00

After years of sore throats and missing over 4 weeks of school, the stars aligned and yesterday Coleyboy finally got his pork chop sized tonsils removed. We know, what a bummer, missing days of Christmas break recovering, but it was that or re-do 4th grade!
He is recovering well and the anticipation of Christmas is helping to ease the pain.

One of our family traditions going all the way back to Coley's 2nd Christmas is to brave the crowds at the mall and let the kids sit on Santa's lap to tell him a few of the things they want and get their picture taken. Below is the picture I took of the kids talking with Santa, Cole was giving his list which includes a Butterfly knife, as you can see, Santa was quite concerned!
Here is a picture of the picture of the kids all smiling with SantaChristmas Eve brings another tradition of opening one gift, to our kids frusteration the present is always the one containing pajamas, here they are infront of the tree!This year the kids all got robes along with their P.J.'s, here Ysabel is showing off the Tinkerbell robe and pajama's she got

Taggert got Iron Man pajama's and robe, not sure why, but robes= karate when your 6 year old?

Coleyboy doing his best to smile through the pain, Hef would be proud son!

This year due to snowy weather and schedules we got to spend Christmas Eve with just our family. In keeping with the spirit of "A Christmas Story" we went out for Chineese food, to our disapointment, we weren't able to get the waiters to sing Deck the Halls for us no matter how hard the kids begged, or sang Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra, Ra, Ra loudly! The duck however was amazing!
After we came home we decorated a ginger bread house as a family, (a first for all of us if you can believe it!) by the way, you have to glue the house together prior to decorating? Who would have thought? After rebuilding the roof, it looks pretty good we thought, just watch out for the toothpicks!

The kids are now tucked in bed, next to the warm glow of the TV showing Polar Express!
Santa is on his way, get to bed and stop playing with your lap...
top

CHECK OUT THEM PEEPERS!

2008-12-17T14:19:00.000-08:00

Taggert got new glasses, check em out, he really diggs em!

1st grade friendship play

2008-11-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

Taggert had his 1st Grade Friendship play. He has been practicing his songs and choreography since school started and he did great! The 1st grade put on a program focusing on being friends, finding new friends, being ok with yourself and stopping bullies, it was a fun night and Taggert did great!

Tagg informed us the morning of that he had to wear "a tie". He was one of the few that did, but man did he look good!

So nice we had to see it twice!

(Somebody happy to be wearing a tie? Not a common sight at the Watts house!)
Taggert on stage with his classmates
6 shooters!

Walk like and egyptian?

Grandma Starla even came, thanks for coming it made it an even more special night!

GOOD JOB TAGGERT WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!

Costume Parade

2008-11-16T18:53:00.001-08:00

Halloween was alot of fun for us, we had plenty to do, with trips to the pumpkin patch, parties and school parades, the weather was perfect this year, we really had fun in our new neighborhood, school and pre-school!

Yzzy got to go to the boys parade and then one at her school, she was a ballerina and was very cute!
Mrs. Jill and Ysabel's pre-school class getting ready for their costume parade, they went trick or treating to one "funny house" and one "scary house". Thanks Mrs. Jill she had a blast!

Yzzy the ballerina with a very sticky blue ring pop!

Pre-school costume parade

Cole wore his blow up suit and was an "obese ballerina"
Always a favorite!

Taggert was a fireman, that is his best friend Mason on the left

Trick or Treating was fun, the kids only lasted 3 streets and their buckets were full and they were done with it, they wanted to go home, such a long day? What happened to the days of trick or treating all night and filling pillow cases?

They've got it way to good!

Pumpkin patch and Gutting gourds

2008-11-16T18:32:00.000-08:00

Better late than never, here are some pictures of the kids trip to the pumpkin patch with Grandma Starla, the Hoopes and the Merbacks! They had a blast, picked some great pumpkins and nobody froze!

Perfect trip!

What a family picture!
Taggert picking a winner!

Cole as always following the Watts family credo, size does matter!

Princess Ysabel says carrying pumpkins is for fools, she directed traffic from her royal coach!

Here they are with some of their favorite cousins

Coley boy's

"Pukin' pumkin"

(Cole won Rocky Mtn Elementary's pumkin carving contest!)

Taggerts beat up pumpkin

(it has a black eye)

Bella colored hers with markers, it turned out wonderful!

They had alot of fun, thanks Grandma!

Every things better when the necks are redder!

2008-10-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

It's the 3rd weekend of October in Utah, that means only one thing, schools out, (who has ever heard of "fall break"?) , BYU football is re-scheduled for Thursday night, Church attendence is optional, temperatures have dropped, trucks are lifted, facial hair is respected and every lotion hating, non-purse holding, Toby Keith lovin, sunflower seed spittin, flanel shirt wearin, male heads to the hills for opening weekend of the Deer Hunt, and the question of the day is.....

"Did ya get yer deer?"

Of course, we were so there!

We found this cool water fall just below Dutch Flats in American Fork Canyon, it was so cool, the water literally comes out of the rock!

Coley boy still has a sore throat, he is the best big brother and a perfect hunting buddy! The kind who will go with you no matter what, even if he's sick and cant legaly shoot a deer, he is still there helping and making it fun.
Bella by the falls
This was the view on the way up to Silver lake, that is the back side of Mt. Timpanogos in the background, what a great state! Way better than Texas!

Pistol Packin Mama! You have been warned!
The fastest trigger in the family, seriously scary! Throws, bats and kicks left handed, shoots right? Explain this to me please?

He is one heck of a shot, soda cans and milk jugs beware!

Did you really ask me to press 1 for English?

If you ask them they will tell you,

"We are NOT friends!"

The answer is, no, not yet, but....

THERE WILL BE BLOOD!

Thats my boy!

2008-10-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

Taggert was sitting at the table tonight, he lifted up his shirt and told me he didn't have any fat, I said your right, you are one of the leanest guys I know, (he loves to show off his 6 pack). THEN..... after he thought about it, he said with a spark in his eye and in his gravely voice... "well, maybe I do have just a little fat, weiner fat, yeah, I have a fat weiner!"

BRILLIANT!

In our world......

2008-10-07T17:31:00.000-07:00

What color is the sky in your world? Cause in our world its perfectly normal to ride scooters on a wood deck 10 feet off the gound, in our underwear, at 6:30 on a Tuesday night when its only about 50 degrees outside. By the way, when is dinner?

Weekend pics

2008-09-30T01:01:00.001-07:00

Horse Wrangler

2008-09-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

If you know Yzzy, you know she LOVES animals, in her 4 year old eyes, Doggies are king, Horses would be #2 and her family would come in a close 3rd! She has adopted a horse by the boys school, she has named it CupCake, it shares the fence with the school playground. When Jami picks up the boys if she has time she lets Yzz take a few carrotts or apples with them and they will go and feed this horse. Sometimes Bella will just get out of the suburban and runs on her own picking grass as she goes to feed to "her horsey, CupCake!" She loves horses but for various reasons she has never gotten to go with the boys when we have gone to see and ride Uncle Todd's horses. Friday Todd needed help moving some of his horses from a pasture in Lehi up to Heber, so Yzzy and I went to help him move 4 of them, Bella was actually very helpfull getting them into his horse trailer, Cole had gotten out of school while we were doing this, so we picked him up and headed up the canyon. Here are some pics of the adventure!

Bella riding Uncle Todd's reigning horse Bill, she was nervous at first but then in heaven!

A real smile starting to show through, she had the time of her life!

After turning Bill out in the pasture, she decided she should be the horse, Uncle Todd put the halter on her and Coley decided he should be the one to lead her around!
As you can tell she is having a blast!

She started off pretty tame but when Uncle Todd took the lead she turned into a BUCKIN' BRONC! At the end I think she was even trying to bite?

Uncle Todd finally got the wild horse settled down and loaded into the trailer, this may look odd but she has not stopped talking about this trip yet!

Coley boy being cool on some sprinklersAt some point I think she turned into a goat?

Thanks again Uncle Todd for the fun afternoon, whenever you need help Yzzy the horse wrangler is only a phone call away!

Canyon bike ride

2008-09-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

Monday night was perfect weather, we wanted to do something fun as a family outside so Jami told the kids to grab their helmets we were going for a bike ride! We went up Provo Canyon to ride the Bridal Veil Falls trail. It was awesome, I thought it would be crowded with as perfect as the weather was but there were suprisingly few zoobies up the canyon which made it all the more fun!

Jami and the kids at the base of the falls (just after Yzzy taking a header off the rock, her pink princess helmet is floating just out of the picture)

As close to a full shot of the falls as I could get, with Jami and the kids at the base
Stopping for a drink and to pose for pics
The leaves were starting to change, I thought we had better pics of the colors, we will have to go back again for better fall color pictures
Bella found out why we call this crash corner! This same corner was whereTagg crashed his bike last year, when we came up to it this year, he jumped off of his bike, threw it on the ground and started yelling, "I'm not riding down that hill!!!!" He was right in front of Yzzy and Jami, this caused Bella to skid, slide, wobble, barely miss a pole and then fall off of her bike and onto her hands and side. Luckily for her she has a Mom that has raised boys and never goes anywhere without bandaids and wipes! Jami had her all cleaned up and the tears dried, I had to tell her to make a sad face for this picture.
Amazing how good an $8 bag of grocery store chicken, a piece of string cheese and a can of root beer tastes when your having fun with the ones you love the most!

Great weekend

2008-09-22T19:09:00.001-07:00

Another great weekend fishing with Uncle Dale and Aunt Angie, this time Taggert and I went along, we went Saturday morning up on the upper Provo river in the flats between Deer Creek and Jordanell reservoirs. It was great, the leaves are changing, slight breeze, then it rained, there was hard rain, soft rain, rain that fell sideways, stinging rain and then it just stopped and we had sun, it was a great day.

Taggert & Uncle Dale

ROckin on the river
Taggert had one heck of a day, he caught 2 shoes, one size 9 (shown below) and one size 13!

Become the grasshopper, grasshopper!

I'm just happy to be here!

Can you find in this picture, one Dad, a Pancho, one Lefty and one dog?

Nice rug!

The "Afgan man"

I swear, any excuse to go all WT and loose the shirt! To much Kid Rock and Red Bull!

We went through allot of thick, heavy deep brush, did I say thick! We were toole hacking all day long, Dale carrying Super dog, me with Lefty, Coley boy and Aunt Angie carrying the fishing poles, camera, sweatshirts and picking up whatever fell out on the way!

This was an old shot from Nam, yes I did carry grenades in my back pockets... Why do you ask?
Yup, it was that muddy!

End of the day, dirty, worn out and still having fun! Thanks Uncle Dale and Aunt Angie for a very fun day!

Way better than T.V.

2008-09-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

While we were unpacking we found our bug zapper, aka old sparky. This thing is huge, pictures don't do it justice, I know, for one to brag about the SIZE of something usually admits a "short" coming or inadequacy, but... not so in this case! It is supposed to be effective for like 2 acres, the box that it came in touted it as "The Executioner"! I plugged it in while I was out on the deck grilling it was awesome! The kids were inside the house watching T.V. and came out running, I don't know if it was from the lights dimming as we drained the power grid or if it was the sound of an electronic chainsaw frying the exoskeleton from unsuspecting bugs, needless to say, we spent the next hour or so cheering as bugs from all over Lindon made the commute to the house for our entertainment. At one point we were afraid that we might burn the house down from all the sparks and smoke this thing was spitting out! Like I said, way better than T.V.

These huge slabs of meat are Salmon, they look like and were the size of roasts, they were awe inspiring to say the least (once again bragging about the size of my meat?). Dale caught them in Alaska, they even brought us some Halibut, also amazing, but for some reason, Jami didn't feel the need to share? I felt like Fred Flinstone flipping these huge Salmon steaks, they were so good, thanks Dale and Angie!

We were so lucky to have Aunt Shauna & Uncle Todd at the house to enjoy the fireworks and slabs of meat! Ysabel once again has a new best friend, Shauna was able to come and stay with us for a few days and Yzzy was in heaven, they played all day long, painted toe nails, took pictures, played air hockey, chatted, chatted and chatted more!
Shauna, you are very, very patient and you have a big fan, and it took all the talking we could and lots of promises to get her to stop packing her bags to head to St. George to move in!

but who's counting anyways? or Viva la mower!

2008-09-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

6 Lawn and leaf bags, to cut our new lawn!

I average between 4 and 5 lawn mower catcher bags per "big black bag". So in my simple Rainman mind that means 24-30 times I end up emptying the bag of my mower, it takes 3 hours to mow, cleaning up toys, fallen fruit, sticks and dog poo are another 20- 30 min. Then I start edging, run the blower and sweep / spray off whatever else needs done. I'm not complaining, just stating facts. I have cut allot of grass in my day, but have yet to run a mower out of gas on one lawn, this lawn takes 2 tanks of gas.

I have a call into T. Boone Pickens to see how we can utilize this never ending resource to help end our dependence and stop the stanglehold foreign oil has placed upon us!

I have been also been offered a roll in the upcoming sequel to The Lawn Mowerman II.

"God made him simple, his mower made him a God!"
I also have a whole new group of friends to hang with. Jami can't figure out why the smell of fresh cut grass and lawnmower exhaust arouses an unquenchable desire in me for a Beto's artery clogging, beef sweat dripping burrito!

LAKE POWELL 08

2008-09-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

We had the best trip ever to Lake Powell, September is the perfect time of year to be in one of the funnest places in the state! The weather was perfect, there were no crowds, no storms, no wind, just a great time!

We got to go on Jim and Starla's new houseboat, it was pretty awesome, we had alot of fun with the Merbacks, the Hoopes, Uncle Tanner, cousin Cody Swenson and Tony Arnell.

You name it we did it, the pics below are just family and fishing, due to the strict nature of sponsorships and contracts we were unable to post any of our wake boarding or wake surfing pics, but keep your eyes open on the usual magazine covers, web sites and catalogues to see our mad skills!

Looking cool at Lake Powell

Tagg showing off his catch o' the day!

(give us a kissy fishy)

Cutey Booty!

Taggert taking the Nestea plunge!

We would never tangle our lines Dad?

Bella, Lefty, Pancho and Little Tanner showing off a whopper!

Coley boy going off the slide on the back of the houseboat!

We were visited nightly by weird animals, this is a ring tailed cat that climbed onto the boat and started eating out of our garbage, we also caught a bullfrog, had a few ravens land on the boat, saw lots of bats, bugs and fish, heard chinese ducks, and had alot of fun!
Grandpa Jim fishing with the boys!
Dont you wish your girls were hot like mine!

We really had a great time, thanks again Grandpa Jim and Grandma Starla, cant wait till next year for more fun at the lake, digging in the sand, navy seal diving, riding tubes, wake boards, surf boards, ski's, swimming, cliff jumping, bbq-ing, black ops night missions, lauging and having fun!

Ysabels 1st day of Pre-school!

2008-08-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

Ysabel had her first day of Pre-school yesterday morning. She has been so excited to start with her new teacher Mrs. Murphy. She will be attending Monday Wednesdays & Fridays for a couple of hours, on Fridays they get to bring a lunch from home and have a picnic day. Her little class is so cute, just 8 kids, 4 boys and 4 girls, just right to learn to share but still get plenty of attention and love!

She was so excited she wouldn't eat her breakfast? All dressed up and ready for school
Here's one without the huge blue gumball her cheek

She had to give her Mommy hugs the whole way to school cause Jami was so sad about her last baby growing up and leaving her to go to school!

Here she is as her class is letting out, she was so excited to tell us about all her new friends, she couldnt remember their names, but that one girl was real fun, and the other girl was real nice, the playground was way fun, the songs and stories and coloring and cutting with scissors was way fun! Oh yeah, by the way, Hi Dad.

We are very proud of our big girl!

She would love to tell you all about it if you want to give her a call!

More pics from the weekend

2008-08-25T07:55:00.001-07:00

We had and awesome weekend, so fun it took up 2 blog posts! It was so great to spend time with Dale and Angie and the Super Dog. I am sure by the time they get home they are ready for a vacation to recover from their weekend!

No one will EVER believe the story that goes with this pic, but I caught this fish with my bare hands, really I did! Dale looked out the side of the boat and said, look there is a fish swimming right there, it swam closer by the boat, I channeled the spirit of the GRIZZLY and swiped down in the water and grabbed it "bear" handed! This is no fish story, reality in all detail!

"POLE, I DON'T NEED NO STINKING POLE!"

What do you use your tower for?

(I'm sure this is illegal in most states and voids all sorts of maufacture's warranty's)

This kid can do it all (except catch a fish bare handed!)Thanks for the fun weekend Dale and Angie!
We had a great Mexican BBQ, awesome "wedding taco's" awesome time. We were really glad Uncle Todd, Blaine, Mellisa & Brooklynn were able to come. It was a great time!
Perfect weekend!

Fishing with Uncle Dale & Aunt Angie

2008-08-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

Uncle Dale & Aunt Angie came into town for the weekend, we are always so excited when they come to stay with us and especially glad that Dale is hopefully, finally, really back from Iraq to stay. Quick everybody knock on wood!

Of course when they are in town and have a free morning I can count on Cole to sneak into our room at the crack of dawn "Dad, Dad...... Dad" (in a very loud whisper) "Dad, can I go fishing with Uncle Dale?"

How do I say no to that?

Below are some pic's that Angie took:

Uncle Dale in his natural environment

Look what Coley boy caught?Wind knotsCole has mastered his overhand, back hand and forward casts, what a stud!

Coley boy by the Heber Creeper

They saw all sorts of wildlife on the trip, a bull moose, a badger hawks and an osprey. He had a great time, thanks Dale and Angie!

SO LONG TO SUMMER?!?!

2008-08-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

8/18/08

DEAD MEN WALKING!

This day has been dreaded since early June and has rarely been spoken of since.

The 1st day of school has come all to soon and has passed without the agony that has been so anticipated.

New shoes, socks, boxers, backpacks, pencil boxes, glue sticks, rulers, t-shirts, shorts, they are all just pain killers to dull the painful fact that summer is now officially over!

The boys started school this morning at Rocky Mountain Elementary School in Lindon, they are now Cougars and proud of it!

Coley boy started the 4th grade this morning in Mrs. Staley's class, he LOVED it. He liked it so much he is excited to go back tomorrow? He came home with homework, a SUDOKU puzzle (this should be fun)? He made some friends, got to eat in the big kids lunch room and had all good things to say about school today!

Taggert had a rough night, he was pretty stressed about the whole new school, new grade, new everything and so he didn't get the greatest night sleep, he woke up, put on his new boxers (exciting new phase in a young mans life, grosses Mom out, but that's part of having boys) ate his breakfast and was ready to start 1st grade. After having Dad hang out at his class for 20 min he was finally ready to be his own man and fly solo! Below is a pic of him coming out, looks like he had a great day in Mrs. Aase's (pronounced Osa like ponderosa) class after all! Tagg made some friends, had a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, liked the playground and will go back tomorrow. (Its Tagg, your not gonna get allot out of him)

The boys are also "Early Birds" this year which means they are on the early track, school starts at 8:00 am, this should be fun for all, a major adjustment for the whole family, no more rockstar late nights and sleeping in, well, not as many anyways!

Next Monday Yzzy starts pre-school! She cant wait, she's been carrying around her lunch box and backpack all weekend!