Friday, February 13, 2009

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner







A friend brought Dan a live lobster from CA. I wish you could have been here as Dan introduced his dinner to the family. The screaming had no end. Just when we'd think the lobster was looking "fake" it would move and the screaming would start all over again. Dan cooked the lobster outside on the grill. Rebecca, Natalie, and I were very grateful. We didn't want to hear it "say it's final words," smell it cooking, or eat it. So it worked out well for us. The rest of the family was more adventurous and ate some. They all loved it. This was one definitely one for the journals!

The Skate Park 2008


The Birthday "Cakes"



Birthday caks at our house buck the norm. We've had: a plate of ginger snaps (Ethan), a strawberry cake (Chantelle), a purchased cake (Eli), cheese cake (Mary Ann) ice cream cake (Dan and Josh), brownies (Natalie) and Skittles (Isaac).




Joshua's 11




Our family has decided traditional birthday cakes are not for us. Josh chose an ice cream cake (Dan's favorite too). Shortly after turning 11, Josh went on his first scout campout---the Klondike. He packed well, but still woke up with numb hands because he fell asleep with them outside his sleeping bag. He had a GREAT time despite the balmy 3 degree low.

Dan's Elk October 2008




After 16 years of applying, Dan drew his premium bull elk tag on the West Desert Unit. He spent the summer shooting his new gun, getting ready for the hunt, and scouting the area with each of the boys. He then enjoyed 10 terrific days of hunting with Josh, his brother Gary, and several of his friends that culminated with a 1.3 mile run and stalk across the desert floor to take a handsome 6x6 bull. It will be hanging on our entry way wall in the next couple of weeks.

Chantelle 2008




Our Chantelle would rather hang at home than going somewhere else. She spends a lot of time on her bike when it's warm. She is afraid of most dogs, but loves having Bella sleep with her. She and Eli are great buddies. He'll even play Barbies and dress-up with her. Instead of going on a snowmobile ride in the winter, Chantelle rode the "Kitty Kat" in the backyard in the summer. Not a bad idea. Chantelle is our crafter and spends hours working with beads, paper, glue, scissors, markers, stickers, etc. Being a very generous girl, all of us are usually the lucky recipients of her beautiful work.

Rebecca and Ethan doin' the Teeth Thing

Silly Girls

Natalie and her friends love to get crazy in front of the camera. This night was no exception.

Our VERY sick Natalie. December 2008




At the beginning of Dec, Natalie went to the ER for a CAT scan thinking she had appendicitis. Before the night was over, she was in the PICU at Primary Childrens in repiratory distress. She had an allergic reaction to the Morphine and/or the CT Scan Contrasting dye and stopped breathing multiple times. The doctors came up with brilliant idea of using a CPAP machine to keep her breathing instead of intibating. She left the PICU after a day but stayed in the hospital for four more days trying to find the cause of the abdominal pain. The bad news is, a cause was never found. The good news is every test came back normal. She continues to struggle with her health, but is doing much better. (These cell phone pictures are the best.)

Christmas 2008


Christmas at Temple Square ** Christmas Morning ** Exchanging home-made gifts (Rebecca and Isaac)

Halloween 2008

Isaac (Football Player) Eli (Santa) Joshua (Football Player) Ethan (Jeff Gordon) Chantelle (Skeleton). This was the first year Natalie was not in the Halloween picture. It's so sad to have her grow up!

Snowmobiling in JUNE of 2008


Dan's Shop

Shingling Day on Day's shop. Summer 2008

Mother's Day 2008


River Run - Summer 2008


The family took an overnight trip to Vernal in Aug 2008. The kids thought the rooms at Motel 6 were luxury accommodations. The next morning Dan, Natalie and Josh floated down the river with some friends. They had a great time. As you can see, Natalie tried to free her prince while there. It was a terribly hot and mosquito infested day, so Mary Ann and the rest of the kids sat in the suburban with the air-conditioning on and tried to watch a movie with the other friends in camp. We ventured out of the burb at one point to take a short hike to see some amazing petroglyphs. Besides petrolyphs, we found a cute little lizard. Bella thought it was awesome to chase, while Chantelle was sure it was going to attack.

Mr Eli July 2008

He's in the Army now.

Eli on his 3rd birthday.

Happy Father's Day 2008!

In June 2008 , Dan's bike was stolen out of his shop. He was riding every morning so we decided a new bike would be the perfect Father's Day gift!

Canada Fishing Trip 7-07

In July of 2007, Dan, Josh, Dan's brother Gary, and bunch of friends spent a week on a lake in Canada fishing. They caught some great fish and flew to and from the location on a float plane.

Disneyland 7-08



Natalie Dancing with Wasatch Arts Arts in Disneyland.
Natalie, MICKEY, and Mary Ann

Dinosaur Park Fall 2008