Second Chance Walk

On Saturday April 19th our family participated in the Second Chance Walk that is put on here in Logan. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a charity walk that benefits families who have members that are waiting for or receiving organ transplants. They have held it for five years now and at least a couple members of our family have participated every year. The first year it was Mom, Dad, and Brian. The second year, just Mom and Dad. The third year, Mom, Dad, Me and Steven(though he was still in my tummy) walked. The fourth year it was the same as the third year. Then this year, the fifth year, Was our families biggest turnout yet. mom, Dad, Brian, Matt, Melissa and Steven. Steven doesn't actually walk, although this year, he did push his stroller around the parking lot while we were waiting for the walk to start. We really enjoy participating in this walk as a family. Dad always runs and usually finishes near the front of the pack. He's a little more fit and ambitious than the rest of us. This year Matt ran for a good part of it too. He has started running so is in pretty good shape. Brian started walking with Melissa and Mom, but his missionary walking style kicked in and by the end he was pretty far ahead with the stroller. Melissa and mom usually finish nearer to the end because we just walk.
Our family really likes to be able to support the cause of organ donation. We feel that it is an important issue and we are all organ donors. It is also a good excuse for us to get out and enjoy the sunshine! Assuming of course that it isn't raining. I've included some fun pictures from the walk. In the one of everyone taking off, you can just see the top of Dad's head in front of Matt, who is in the middle.

Brian Is Finally Home!!!!!!

So this post is a little late, but Nevertheless here it is. Brian is finally home from his mission. We all went to the airport to pick him up. All being Mom, Dad, Matt, Melissa and Steven. Steven had a lot of fun discovering the escalators and moving sidewalk. We were waiting by the security check when he came out. We were so excited to see him and He was excited to meet Steven. Surprisingly, Steven went right to him! Once Brian had his suitcase we were off for home. He doesn't look that different from when he left. Probably because he was older when he left. He is a lot more talkative now. The best new is that he is still just as crazy and random as ever! And like any good return missionary he has a lot of stories to tell. When we got to Brigham City, on the way home, Mom's best friend Debbie and her daughters were waiting on the side of the road with a sign and balloons for Brian. We knew she would be there and Melissa texted her to tell her when we were almost there. As we were driving up to them we drew Brian's attention to them by saying " what are those strange people doing?" To which Brian replied "What does that say?" and then as he realized what it said, "oh, man..." and started shaking his head. We stopped to talk to them and had some fun catching up. Brian spent his first week home getting a new phone, hanging out with family, and catching up on some movies. He spoke the first Sunday that he was home and then we had a fun dinner catching up with friends and family. It is great to have Brian home!

Outhouses and Aniticipation

For those of you out there who don't know, Mom has wanted to get an outhouse for the backyard for some time now (not a functioning one). Well back in December, she finally got one! Mom and Dad went to pick it up in Rocks Springs Wyoming. When they got back, it took 5 or 6 guys to get it out of the 4-wheeler trailer and into the backyard. This last weekend Dad and Matt put some cement pavers down for the outhouse to sit on. Then they moved it onto the Pavers with the help of Mom, Marty ( Michael's friend) and their genius little pipe system. They put some pipes under it and rolled it into place on the pavers. This way it took a lot less people to move it. So mom finally has her outhouse. It actually looks pretty nice with the washtubs sitting next to it. It will look really great once she gets her pansies planted in the washtubs.
On a completely different note: ONE WEEK LEFT!!! We pick Brian from the airport in exactly one week! We are super excited and can hardly wait!

ONE MONTH!!!!!

O.K. so we are getting really excited here at our house. Brian comes home in a month! ( officially we don't know the exact day, but that's when transfers are and he thinks it will be then) The time has flown by for us. But now that it's so close, we are starting to get really impatient and just want him to be home now. Michael has started working at the hospital in their cafeteria. He loves it and he gets some really great benefits. They pay him pretty well too. Melissa got a job with Herff Jones (they print yearbooks). She will be working in the evenings while Matt watches Steven. It's only temporary but the money will really help them out. Lori and Merlin are loving being Grandparents and Merlin is getting really antsy to go Camping. He keeps telling Lori "We are going camping this weekend..." She's holding her ground though (it helps that there isn't anyplace to go because of snow). Thank goodness Spring is coming! And Brian!!!

Eagles?!?

Well, it's been a while since we updated this blog. Things have been a little exciting, but not too bad. on the 8th of february, we had Eagles in our backyard for the first time we can remember. For those of you who don't know our backyard is very scenic. We have several ponds bordering our yard, and beyond. As a result of this we have always had ducks and other small birds eating in our yard. Occasionally we have a hawk pluck a little bird from our bird feeder or hunt in the vicinity but we've never seen Eagles other than at the nearby golf course. Well on this particular Friday, Dad and Michael were both home, and Mom was still at work. Dad got looking out in the backyard and noticed a large bird next to one of the farther ponds eating something. (Warning: this gets a little morbid...) He grabbed his binoculars and saw that it was a golden eagle. It had plucked a duck off of the bank of the pond and was having a feast. He called Michael to come and see it. Michael grabbed his video camera, and came running. That is where we get these great pictures (thank you Michael). As they were watching the Eagle eat, Mom came home from work and was immediately updated on the situation. So now they are all watching as this eagle snacks away. Then they notice another large bird flying in to check out the scene. First they think it's a hawk, but it's too big. Then they think it's another golden eagle until they notice the white tail and head. So this Bald Eagle floats along the breeze over the other eagle, surveys the yard, and then floats right past the window where they are all standing, watching it all. And Michael had his camera rolling the entire time. As the Eagle ate there were several magpies and hawks hovering in the surrounding trees. But he ate for so long they got tired of waiting and flew off (except for the hawk that The eagle chased off). He came back a couple days later to check on his leftovers, and they haven't seen any eagles in the yard since. It was a really cool adventure though.
As for the rest of us, things are going well. Dad is still working for Westates Construction. they are still sending him between Rexburg and Saratoga Springs. Not so fun, but it's work. Mom is Still at Thermofisher (formerly Hyclone). Michael is thinking of going back to school next semester. Brian is in a city called El Centro, right near the border of California and Mexico. He loves being out in the Desert and is expecting ot be there until he comes home. He comes home in just under TWO MONTHS!!! But we're not excited or anything. He has really enjoyed his mission and has done a lot of good work. We are really proud of him. Melissa is still living in Logan (until mid July) and Steven is starting to talk. We have a lot of fun with him. We are excited for him to meet Uncle Brian.

The Big 2-9!!!!

Twenty nine years ago two friends fell in love and got married. There have been hard times and lots of good times but they are still in love and as happy as ever. As they look back they have lots of fond memories of raising three children and all that comes with that. As they look to the future, they can look forward to a new chapter in their lives, GRANDPARENTS! This new chapter should bring a lot more memories and good times to come! Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad.

Holiday Fun- In Retrospect...

Well the Holiday season is over and we all survived. It was a lot of fun, as always. We had our regular Christmas Eve Dinner. Grandma and Grandpa came to eat with us. This year we also had Michael's friend Marty come and hang out. We had the traditional French Dip, macaroni salad, Jello, little smokies, and , most important of all, SHRIMP! After dinner we played Scotland yard, a game of Michael's. It's a lot like Clue, but harder. We had a lot of fun. Then Matt and Melissa decided to stay the night because it had snowed and they didn't want to take Steven out in the snow. On Christmas morning Michael actually got up at 7:30 am!!! I know, we were all shocked too. It was okay though because we were calling Brian at 9 am so we got to open some presents before we called him. We didn't talk to him for as long this year, only about two hours. He is coming home in April so we will be able to talk to him then. He talked to my mom the longest. I think the two of them have the most to say to each other. It's great that they are so close. His Christmas cards were a lot of fun this year. He sent the kind with a picture on them. He is doing well and really loves his new area. He is almost on the border to Mexico, in the desert. After all the excitement at our house, we went out to Grandma's for the second phase of our Christmas bash. There is always a ton of food out there. We always have Ham and funeral potatoes for dinner, and of course there are always a ton of munchies. (what can I say, we are a munching family) At least Grandma has finally given up on trying to keep us away from the relish trays and dips before dinner. It was always a losing battle. Melissa gave a great collage of pictures to our friends Nancy and Nathan. It was a lot of fun to look at it and share memories from past holidays and camping trips. Man, we have some good times. It is always great to get together with Family and friends and share the holiday spirit. But it is also good to get back to a normal everyday pace. The not so good part is having to go back to work...