Rock project completed!

REMEMBER THIS?

Well, the project is completed! Yipee! And there won't be a problem finding our house when we tell people to just look for the "smiley face" house!

Allen's recent musical adventures...

I am starting this blog post with the pics but will have Allen share details about these experiences.

Allen had the opportunity to help direct the UVU Institute Choir for May 2010 General Conference.

This past weekend, Allen got to sing back up vocals for Ben Folds with the Utah Symphony. It was in Park City....great venue and great music.

Allen will hopefully edit this post soon....

So proud of you hubby!

CA trip 2010

Did we have fun in California? Oh yes, we did!

We had a fantastic week in Southern Ca! We braved the "all night driving" trip this year. Porter didn't want to let go of his backpack and was throwing up, but besides that, and being so tired when we got there, it was worth it!

On the 4th of July, we went to the Del Mar fairgrounds to see my cousin, Paige, dance in a show. The boys enjoyed the Scooby Doo van and Porter loved the monster truck he saw!

We got a quick trip in to visit some of our favorite friends, the Johnsons! We love you guys!

Here is Quincy and Paige

The boys rode up and down my grandparents street in "the parade" for the 4th! There was a blow up fun house to play in too.

The beach was FREEZING this year. June gloom should've been over but NO. But the water felt warm, I guess that is a plus. The is the first year that Quincy just loved the ocean. So fun to see his face light up with being in the water and playing in the waves. We also saw the best dolphin "show" i've ever seen. The surf was super high when we were there and the wild dolphins were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Here is "the clan" at Grandpa Bradfords house.

The boys absolutely LOVE their Uncle Hugh (they call him Q)

Thanks for wrestling with our boys Hugh. They loved it!

Thanks to everyone who housed us! We had a fantastic time and can't wait to see you all again! We love you tons!

Miles turns 7!

Well, actually his birthday was on June 27...but I am a bit behind.

Miles had a great birthday. He chose a Utah Jazz birthday cake, but added the color green to the cake because it is his favorite color.

He requested only money this year for his birthday because he has been saving for a year or so. So he mainly opened cards, but also got a new bike from mom and dad and a globe from Grandpa Paul and Grandma Billie.

And WHY did he want just money?.....He FINALLY got enough to buy his very own DS. Lucky boy!

He wanted to go to Pirate Island for dinner. The boys always have a blast there.

And then to top it off, The Orem Owlz had their first home game, so we got to go to a baseball game with fireworks afterwards! Miles was in heaven. It was a perfect day for him.

We sure love you Miles. You are a very special boy! We love how much you care for others. He takes gifts to neighbors and would do anything for his friends. (I wish he would feel that way about his brothers....hopefully someday!)

We love you buddy boy!

Want some rocks?

We have some ROCK issues at our house. We have prepped the one side of the yard for bark chips, which made me never want to touch another rock. Alas, we still have this side to do so I am throwing rocks into piles again. We are taking off all of the rocks, putting down new weed barrier, and making a border of the BIG rocks. Then, we'll put down bark chips in the middle. There is a huge pile of small rocks in the gutter by the house. Feel free to take them! PLEASE!

I will post pics of the finished product....when it's done. UGGGG!

I love rocks....I love rocks.....I love rocks....positive thinking right?

Swimming lessons 2010

Swimming Lessons are now over for the summer. We have done Seven Peaks waterpark swim lessons in the past but tried something new this year. A lady who lives within a few blocks of us has her own indoor pool and does swimming lessons year round. I think we will do a winter session too...it's so hard to progress when we only do lessons once a year. The boys got used to the pool and enjoyed their time in the water!

Snowflake AZ EFY

Especially for Youth, EFY, is a youth religious camp for high school age kids. Allen has been teaching at EFY for a few years, but this is our first year to session direct. It is kind of like being the mom and dad of the session. It was AWESOME!

We got assigned to Snowflake AZ, which is truly in the middle of nowhere, but that made it great too. We truly lived at the camp and got to know quite a few of the 700 youth there! We taught, bore testimony, and had tons of fun with the youth, youth that truly amazed me. They are so strong and it was awesome to see EFY change some of their lives.

What a cute dad!!

Gorgeous Snowflake AZ temple

Here is our wonderful staff for the week. They were so fun to work with and each had strengths that truly made the team work so well together.

38 Fantastic Counselors...

they truly worked the hardest of anyone there!

We listened to lessons...

played games....

We even found wives for our boys....one slipped away before I could get her picture. For future EFY people...be careful who you sit with at lunch...you might be called up in front of 700 youth to share your testimony! The girls only have to wait about 15 years...LOL I told them to get a lot of education :)

This is me with my fellow NM buddies! I could actually tell the identical twins apart by the end of the week!

I am sure glad Allen got these last 2 shots.

We met Steven when he first arrived at the camp. He had earphones in with nothing playing...he just wanted everyone to leave him alone.

Here he is the last night of EFY. EFY truly changed him for the better.

We feel truly blessed to have had this wonderful experience. The youth are learning to have courage to stand strong in this sometimes crazy world we live in. I am so proud of them. They are strong and AMAZING! We are looking forward to next year....already!

A SPECIAL THANKS TO GRANDPAS AND GRANDMAS WHO SPENT A WEEK WITH OUR ACTIVE BOYS! :) WE DID NOT WORRY ABOUT THEM ONE BIT! THEY TRULY DIDN'T WANT US TO COME HOME!!