So this is cute and all but mostly Matt and Diedre will appreciate it more than anyone else.

November Happenings

We started the month off with a trip to San Diego. I took the kids and we left Tyler to go and visit his parents for a few days. It was great. I'll add pics after I get them from Terry.

Tyler went on his first hunting trip. He is pretty excited to tell about it. so I will leave it to him.So this is a photo of me on my way to Nebraska for my first ever hunting trip. Please notice a few things that I am proud of. First, the bent in side view "mirror" with no actual mirror. That mirror has been left in a snow bank on the side of I-25 a little past Cheyenne so if anyone is up that way and sees it I still haven't replaced it so give me a call and send it my way. I'm proud of that because I'm still alive after sliding off the road and the Montero came out of it with a few scratches, nothing more. Even when we get a minivan (which we're looking for currently) you better believe the Montero will remain a part of this family til she can't give no more. Anyone who's ever ridden in Monty knows what I'm talking about. Notice also the fantastic hunting breard I am sporting. Worked on that baby for a couple of weeks before leaving, it was the longest it's ever been and it kept me warm during the cold hunt. OK, that part's a lie but it was pretty sweet. Finally, I am proud of how my nose hooks down and my chin hooks up. It's awesome. I didn't really work on that but it is quite sweet. As far as the hunt goes, it was a success. If you are sensitive about hunting this would be the time to stop reading. My buddy and I bagged three deer altogether. He got a buck and a doe and I got a button buck that I thought was a doe. From the reactions I've gotten from folks that actually hunt I guess it's pretty good that we both scored on our first time out. I learned a ton on this first hunt and I will certainly go again. I have to to make the huge up front investment worth it cuz I'll tell you what, the meat I brought home was some of the most expensive we've ever had if you think about how much I spent on everything from rifle to scent blocker to long johns. So if anyone reads this and needs someone to go on their next hunt with or wants to plan a hunt with yours truly, I'm all ears, I gotta justify the initial cash outlay. All in all, it was a great time and I'm totally grateful to my hunting buddy and great friend Kamron for making it a reality. We got the bug the first time we heard an elk bugle in Rocky Mountain National Park and we followed it through to fruition. It all ended with two worn out almost thirty year olds cutting up meat in his garage but I think it got me hooked for a lifetime.

Amy and her boys came to visit us for a week. it was so fun to have them here. We did many fun things. We spent a day in Colorado Springs. We went to a place called Garden of the Gods for a pic-nick and some hiking.Morgan and Bubba looking cute.

We had a really large crew as we hiked around. Most of the boys were bored until they saw the area where we were able to do some bouldering.Caleb had fun climbing, but mostly he was obsessed with this stick.

Morgan and Caleb are old enough to do some bouldering of their own. They don't get very high, but I can have comfort knowing that they are capable of jumping off of whatever height they are able to climb too. That means that they probably won't die if they fall.The following week after Amy left, Grandpa Randy and Grandma Suzie came to visit. They stayed for Thanksgiving and then left before the big snow storm.

While the G-parents were here the kids were happy to show off all of their new tricks. In this video G-Pa Randy is turning her into a beautiful butterfly.

This is just one example of some of the fun activities we do with our kids for Family Home Evening.

What were we up to October?

Of course, October means playing in the leaves, visiting a pumpkin patch (or two) and dressing up for Halloween. I will say that a holiday like Halloween is much more fun when you can celebrate it with your own really cute kids!

We found this pumpkin patch and it was just a little disappointing. All of the pumpkins were in huge piles and it was super windy and dusty.

We stayed just long enough to take all of these fun pictures and get dirty boogers.

We quickly called some friends and joined them for a trip to a different pumpkin patch.
We were lucky enough to get it right the second time. This was a "you-pick-em" patch. There were pumpkin fields as far as you could see. It was like pumpkin heaven! We were given our own pumpkin picking sheers to get them straight off of the vine.

Before we knew it we had selected the perfect set of pumpkins to take home. We then had a fun night of pumpkin carving. This is Tyler's handy work. His really good one got destroyed before we could get any pictures.

Morgan dressed up as Snow White. She wanted us to spray her hair black. After trick-or-treating we were washing it all out (which took a while). She decided she didn't want to spray her hair again!

Caleb was dressed as a cute little doggy. This was fitting because two people dressed like Tyler and Boo must own a dog.

I hope this photo makes you laugh a little. We should also let some of you know that Boo's pregnant belly is not part of the costume (although it makes it a lot funnier). We are expecting our third child on April 14th! Feel free to spread the word.

What did we do in September?

Rocky Mountain National Forest

Rocky Mnt Nat Forest

We know that we will only be living in Denver for a year, so we have made a goal to go on at least one family trip each month to see something new. We hope to get the full Colorado experience while we are here.

We took a super fun day trip to Rocky Mountain National Forest and Estes Park. It was exciting so see the elk herds so close to the roads. The bulls were bugaling and sparring for the ladies. It was pretty sweet! The down sides...we unknowingly chose to go on "free park day" which meant that all of Colorado was there also. And, Tyler caught an unfortunate rash! It has already cost us $1000 in new hunting gear/permits and it has cost me speding my Firday nights watching his hunting shows. We hope he can find the cure he is looking for when he goes to Nebraska to see Mother Nature (and shoot it) in a few weeks.
This is our first camping trip in Colorado. We went to a ward campout at Pickle Gulch.

The Colorado Dream Begins...sooner or later

The Califonia life has ended! We have moved on to an actual life in Denver, Colorado. We live in a town called Parker located just South-east of Denver. We are renting a cute house with a garage (great for winter) and a fabulous bakc yard (great for soccer playing). So far, we are very happy with our new surroundings. Now all we need are some friends!

So, we have been less than easy to track over the last few months. After our trip to San Fransico, we played in San Diego for a few more weeks. We enjoyed a great 4th of July with Tyler's family. It was the first time in a long time that his whole family was together. We took family photos by the beach. Cute!

On our way to Colorado we stopped in Salt Lake for a week. We had to pick up all of our juck from my parent's basement. I also had to do one more Triathlon (Xango Echo Tri July 12th) before I got unfit again. It was sad to say goodbye to so much family before we moved far away.
We arrived here on July 17th. After a week and a half, Tyler had to leave for three weeks of training in New York. Three Weeks! What was I going to do here with the kids, with no friends for three weeks with out Tyler? Probably go crazy! So, I packed the kids in the car and we drove back to Salt Lake. This was a fantastic way to pass the time. It was also the first time in a long time that my whole family was all together. We took more family photos! Joy!

We are finally settled here for good this time. Now the adventure can begin!

A week in San Fransico and on the 101

Last week we took a long road trip up to San Fransico. Amy and Alex Johnson were kind enough to host our family for the week. We had a quick stop in Pasadena on Monday to see some old friends and to have a slice of sausage and peperoni pizza from Sierra Madre Pizza Co.

Tuesday we made the long trip up the 5 to San Fran. I am sure that the trip seemed even longer to Alex who was riding his new sweet, but not-so-broken-in, street bike that he got himself for graduation.

Wednesday we spent the day on the BART and the trolley and the cable car and our tired legs exploring the sites of downtown. Most of our time was dedicated to the Embarcadero area. We ate lunch at Delancy Street (anyone who has ever read "Influencer" will appreciate that), unloaded our wallets at Fisherman's warf, and watched the kids enjoy seeing the seals in the harbor.

Thursday we made sure to cross as many toll bridges as possible to get to our destination, Muir Wood State Park. After crossing the Golden Gate you travel North West another 15 minutes or so and you will find a small patch of humongus Redwood Trees over-run with boarded walkways, "stay on trail" signs, and smelly Europeans. The trees were sure nice, though! That night we drove to a little place called Pismo Beach and stayed in a fancy Motel 6.

Friday was spent liesurely driving down the Coast Freeway. We stopped in a few little towns and enjoyed the landscape. How fantastic is Malibu? Holy Moley!!!

I will say that I think we are using our limbo time very wisely. No way we will ever have another time in life when we have no obligations other than making sure our family eats, drinks, and sleeps! Let the good times roll, baby!

Mud Caves

We took a day trip to the Mud Caves. This is an experience everyone needs to have. Ideally you would do a trip like this without kids and camp over night. That way you can hike through the caves at night when it is spookier and cooler (temp-wise). Alas, we toted the kiddos along with us. What kid doesn't love a hot, dirt-filled wasteland, with long dark tunnels? Our kids had a blast with the dirt, but they could have done without the heat and pitch black caves. The drive to the dessert was long, but it is always fun to drive through a place you have never been before. This trip ranks well above our trip to the Salton sea!!!

Our Trip to the Salton Sea

So as part of our California adventure we decided to see some of the things we'd never got around to while we lived here. One of those things was the Salton Sea. Now you might be thinking, "Ooh, that sounds pretty cool" and if so you were just like us. But you (and we) couldn't have been more wrong. I guess we should have thought better of it when Papa Tinling (one of the more positive people we know), upon hearing of our plans to go said, "Ugh. Why would you want to go there."

Unswayed by the many reports of how crappy it was we decided to go anyway. One thing's for sure, we can at least say that we've been there. Don't get us wrong, if you're looking for a day vacation to a land-locked, salty lake in the middle of the desert with nothing to see but the "Salton City Beach" and hundreds of dead fish on the shore, this is the place for you! Since this was not what we were looking for, the highlights turned out to be the short stop in Julian for a hot apple turnover and the Salton Sea Marina Market where we got popsicles and endured the many stares of the "patrons" (one lady playing a computer slot and another lady watching and cheering her on her) and the owner (who was as surprised to see someone in her establishment as we were to find the salton sea to be as much of a dive as everyone told us). We laughed it off though and quickly made our way to the nearest service station to find a map of California and our way out of the purgatory that is the Salton Sea.

Palm Springs was the nearest place that resembled civilization so we were off. We enjoyed the eveneing there before departing and getting stuck in rush hour traffic made even more pleasant by the rain and hail that made visibility about 50 feet and blanketed the sides of the freeway like snow. All and all, it was a "special" trip and we had a good time.

Finally, Denver it is!!!

We have the official word. We are moving to Denver in July! Tyler just needs to sign a few papers and it is a done deal. We will fly out to meet some people and find housing (or apartment...ing) in late June. We will workout all the details at that time concerning moving dates and start dates, etc. We are just excited to have a plan, or at least the start of a plan.

In the meantime, we are enjoying our jobless selves in sunny San Diego. We are giving Tyler's parents some quality (maybe I should say quantity) time with their gandkids before we go off on our new adventure with Citi Group.

First family update

Our time at BYU was fantastic and fast. Tyler finished his MBA in no time and we totally had a blast. He is spending the summer getting fit and reading every current best-selling book about how to be a better businessman.

Boo recently experienced the joy of the Triathlon. She bought a sweet road bike and gear and loves riding, enjoys swimming, and despises running, but does it anyway! She looks fantastic!

Morgan just turned 3 in April. She can sing, dance, and skip. She also loves to show you her trick where she gets in a push up position with her bum in the air and then raises one leg. It is pretty sweet!

Caleb (1 end of June) walks everywhere, which really just means he hits his head/face on everything. He has some awesome bruises. He says "Dad-dy" and "Hi" and makes really funny faces. Basically he is just cute!