Wait! It's been how long?

Ellen has decided that we as a family need to start writing in a journal.  Since keeping a blog is sort of a journal then that is where I'll write. It's been about six years since I last wrote. There is no way that I can write all that has happened so I'll start with yesterday and tell you what went on.

Kennan is a senior and is running track. The team went to the BYU track meet this past weekend. Friday, Kennan did the long jump. He didn't do so well. He couldn't find his mark. Kennan doing the long jump is an interesting story. This is his first year doing it. At the beginning of the season Kennan asked the coaches if he could try it. Coach Teichert told him sure as long as it didn't interfere with his long distance training. So a month went by and Kennan got his chance in practice. He went farther than any of the kids who have been jumping. He got his first competitive chance at the Skyview track meet. His first jump he went 18' 3". Second jump he went 18' 8". His last jump he went 18' 11". He almost qualified for state!! So now he gets to do long jump. But I digress. He didn't jump well at BYU. 

Saturday he ran the 1600. Coach Teichert had him on pace to try for the school record which is something like 4:35 set by Nathan Fiscus back in like 2004. He ran a 4:38, second fastest time in school history. He said that was the first time he felt like puking after a race. He was scheduled to run the 800 and try to break the school record but they pulled him out. He ran in the 4 X 400 with Cole Jackman, James Teichert, and Jace Petersen. They shattered the school record. They ran a 3:30, beating the time by two seconds. So it was a good day. Jace just missed the school record in the discus by 6 inches, Cole missed the 3200 by four seconds, James almost tied the pole vault record, but those four broke the record in the 4 X 4.

Ellen is doing good. She is in the Relief Society presidency. I was released as a bishop a year ago in April. My new calling is family history center director. I've been it for the past year and I love it. I finally got Ellen interested in family history. Now she is making us write in journals. There was a video that was made by the Church's FHC. It explained the difference between family history and genealogy. Go here for the link to watch it:

It's about the dash. It is amazing what the Church has done and is doing with family history. Ellen likes the histories, she is taping mom as she tells Ellen about her history. We hope to get it published soon.

Kennan has submitted his papers for his mission. We hope his call will come sometime this week. He will graduate later this month. Hard to believe our baby is all grown up and Ellen and I will be empty nesters. 

My goal is through out my writing I'll catch you up on things, but for now, I'm done.

Not Much Going On

Not a lot has been going on here in Cokeville. McKenzie had a part in the school musical. The kids did a great job. It was a fun play and they looked like they had fun participating in it. I hope some of you were able to watch it via the internet. Anything live at Cokeville, I'll try to get it on the internet at the same time so you who don't live around Cokeville can watch it. Granted, the quality isn't like your HD televisions, but sometimes, it is better than nothing. The next live activity that will be broadcast will be the band concert on the 16th and then the basketball games on the 18th and 19th.

Kennan is involved in Jr. High basketball. Their team is actually doing rather well. At least one of the teams has won each game. Kennan plays on the 7th A team and starts as point and he also plays on the 8th A. He also starts on the 8th B team if there is a B game. He loves the sport and is doing a really good job. Breanne came up and watched him play one game. His last home game will be on the 17th.

McKenzie has started basketball. Their first game was yesterday and they won big. I think they play two games today. It is the Carbon County tournament. The boys team also won yesterday. They beat Lingle-Ft. Laramie.

I know I said that I'd post some pictures, but all of the pictures of the kids doing something are at school. We use them for the yearbook. If I remember, I'll post some from there when I have time.

The family went down to Utah for Thanksgiving. It is our annual thing to do. It was fun to see family again. We also were able to watch my nephew play for the BYU basketball team. He is 6'9". He is adopted, that is why there is no family resemblance. He actually had a pretty good game against Weber St.

Brady is still at school. He likes it there. Sometimes he comes home and when he does, he goes back early. Must have a woman there, jk.

That's it for now. We'll see what happens in the future. I'll keep you posted.

What?!? October!!! Wow!

Wow, I can't believe that I posted last in October. Boy does time fly by. Let me see if I can remember what has happened.....in the last month!!!!!

Volleyball didn't turn out as good as I had hoped. We played for the state championship, but got beat in 5 games. The girls played as well as they could, but it just wasn't to be. McKenzie was named to the all-state team. She actually had a great state tournament. Against one team, she almost broke the school record for aces, she had 12. The record is 13. Brady went and watched the games.

Kennan's football team lost their last game against Lyman. It was their only lost of the year. Kennan had been injured for most of the season, so he didn't play a lot. He played end on offense. During one "B" game, he played quarterback. He had fun and is looking forward to next year. He is now in basketball. They have had two games. He plays part of the 7th grade and part of the 8th grade. He had his first home game last Thursday. They won. He had one play that was quite interesting. He drove to the basket, faked to his right, dribbled behind his back and then went in for a lay-up. He plays point guard and is having a lot of fun.

McKenzie finished off strong in volleyball as I mentioned. All of our pictures are at school, so I don't have anything new to post. She is now in the school play. It will be this coming week-end. For you out of towners, if you go to www.cokeville.com, click on CHS Broadcast, then launch the broadcast, you will get to see Channel 39 on the web. We will bring the play on Saturday night at 7:00 so you can watch. It might be difficult to distinguish who is who because of the low streaming, but it is better than nothing. Also tomorrow, McKenzie will be starting basketball. The year is going by quickly.

Brady is still going to school at Western Wyoming. He has made a lot of "friends" if you know what I mean. His flag football team got beat by one point for the championship in the last 4 seconds. He comes home every once in a while. He is serving in the Elder's quorum presidency as second counselor.

Ellen is a sub for the kitchen every once in a while. She says it is better than staying home by herself. She has been called to the stake Young Women's as first counselor, so that will keep her busy. She is glad to be out of the Primary, because she really loves being with the Young Women.

As for me, I'm still hanging around doing a lot of nothing now that volleyball is over. I still have to organize the Wyoming All-Stars and things like that as part of my being on the Wyoming Coaches Board. School is going by fast and I'm still trying to catch up on things. I am looking forward to the holidays. I love the Christmas season and the break that goes with it.

More Catching Up

Well now I've really done it and postponed a little more, but I have a little time so I'll try to catch you up with what has happened here at the house hold.

After our trip to Nauvoo, the big wedding week. Kandyce and Clay Bolton were married on August 7, 2009. Do you know any one else who was married on this day? Yep, Ellen and I were married 29 years ago. To me, life has been so sweet with Ellen that time doesn't really matter. Here are some pictures of the whole deal. This first picture is of all of the girls in the family. Aren't they good looking? Just so you know, it goes Breanne, Shari, Kandyce, and McKenzie.

It was great to have Ben and Shari and their family come up for the wedding. The twins are so cute and Lilli is adorable. The reception was held on August 6. We have discovered that if you have the reception before the wedding, you can really enjoy the wedding without any worries.

Here is the anticipated family picture. Ellen and I with our sons and daughters together for the first time since many years ago.

Here is a shot of the happy couple coming out of the temple. There were like 62 weddings that day. The temple had been closed for a month and it had just reopened the week of the wedding. Couples were just waiting in line to get their picture taken. Don't they look gorgeous?

Here is the whole family, grandsons and granddaughter included. We were just missing Greg. There was a line of other families that were waiting for us while we took pictures. Our family is slowly getting bigger.

I like this picture of two of Kandyce's friends that came to the wedding, Megan Larson and Katie Cammack. I just like their looks as Clay kisses Kandyce. We actually have some really good pictures of them bantering (fancy word) with each other.

Kandyce and Lilli doing their impersonation of Marilyn Monroe. I don't even know who discovered the air vent. It was probably Lilli.

Of course I can't show a picture without the happy couple with Ellen and I. Thanks goes to Megan and Katie for taking these candid pictures. They were fun to look at. Yes my hair is getting grayer. It all comes from teenage daughters, coaching, and being a bishop. It actually blends into the temple wall!

I couldn't pass up posting another picture of the girls. They just look pretty. You can see how they all look like each other. You'll have to tell who each one is. Hint: Kandyce is in the wedding dress.

And I couldn't pass up this picture of Ben and Shari and their children. What a happy family. The boys weren't too happy about things going on just then.

And of course, a picture of Breanne spoiling her nephews. She is pretty good at making her nephews think she is the greatest aunt in the world. Aidan on the left and Alex on the right.

It was a great week for the wedding and everything was just great. Lots of family and friends gathered together.

So while Ben and Shari were here, we decided to go up Pine Creek and have a little cook out. We just did smores and hot dogs. We also took the 4-wheelers up and went for little trips. Ben's parents came down from Washington and spent a couple of days with us. They figured with Ben being so close, they would drive down and visit. It was great to see them again. Nice picture of Lilli getting all dirty and climbing around. She couldn't stay out of the dirt.

The twins were all belted up so they couldn't get dirty. I'm sure they would have loved to roll around in the dirt.

We also went to Salt Lake to Hogle Zoo. Just a couple of shots of Lilli and McKenzie being pals.

After the zoo, we went to Ben's favorite restaurant, Rodizios(?). It was great having them here. I already miss them and it has only been two months. You can go to Shari's blog page to see more pictures of their trip home.

So that has been our summer. It was very busy for awhile, but it was all worth it. Especially spending time with family and friends.

I'll try to post some pictures of the kids in school and what not later. I'll also let you know how volleyball has been going.

Our Nauvoo Trip

So I was perusing the blogs of my children and I realized that it has been almost 2 (TWO) months since I last posted. That has been awhile. I guess one of the reasons why I've procrastinated the day of my repentance is our internet connection is so slow. It takes forever to upload pictures. But here goes the latest.

Back in July, I had to go to Casper to help with the Wyoming Coaches clinic. I also had to stay at home to host the 24th of July celebration in Cokeville at the same time. I really didn't know what to do. Briant Teichert suggested that I host the Celebration. So I did the coaches clinic and left Casper after the Honors banquet (I was selected assistant coach of the year in volleyball) at around 10:00 pm. Ellen and I got into Cokeville at 3:30 am, got up at 6:30 am to get a breakfast ready for the visiting general authorities at 8:00 am. Elder L. Tom Perry and Elder Quinton Cook and their wives, along with the two bishoprics and their wives and the stake presidency and their wives were invited to my mom's house for the breakfast. It was great. The first picture is with Elder Perry.

The second picture is with Elder Cook. If it wasn't for the help of my counselors and their wives and my mom, I don't think it would have been a very big success.

After the breakfast, I had to ride a horse carrying the U. S. flag for the parade. For you who don't know, I do know how to ride a horse, I did grow up on a ranch. I just never rode a horse a lot. As a bishop, I had to lead the parade with the other bishop Todd Dayton. After the parade, I was conducting the program at the Church where Elder Cook spoke to the congregation. I was a rather nervous person. There were a ton of people. It was great to be in the presence of such great people. They are just like any other normal person. After the program, Elder Perry asked me if I was going to stay and eat or go home and sleep. I went home and crashed on the floor for a couple of hours. I was exhausted.

Now that that week was over, the next Monday, I took my family along with Briant Teichert and his family to Nauvoo. If you have never been, you really should go. We drove the whole way there and back, but it was worth it. I will only post a few pictures because between Brady, McKenzie and Ellen, we have a lot of pictures.

We went as far as Lincoln Nebraska the first day. We had stopped at Veedavo (sp?) for a picnic. That is when we discovered that Kandyce lost her wedding ring. Somehow, we don't know how or when, she had taken her ring off to lotion her hands and it just disappeared. We thought maybe it fell out of the truck when we took a potty break back three hours before. We called the rest area and they said they would look for it.

We left Lincoln and visited the tabernacle that was built in Omaha then hurried on in to Nauvoo. That night we went to the pageant. The next day we went to a session at the Nauvoo temple while the kids did baptisms for the dead. After that we went to Carthage Jail. Here are pictures of our two families.

You notice Violet in the background, she met up with us in Nauvoo. She and her hubby were living in Indiana and she met up with her family. She had lived in Nauvoo for a semester and she was our tour guide. Sorry that you couldn't see Tessa, forgot to make sure all were in the picture.

This next picture is just one taken of the family somewhere in Nauvoo. Not a bad looking family. It was great to have Kandyce come before she got married and also to have Brady home with us. We just wished Shari and her family and Greg and Breanne could have come with us.

Here we are at one of the sites in Nauvoo watching how they made rope. It was quite interesting.

The whole trip was just a great experience. Kennan got to see fireflies and catch them. What was also fun is that Stewart Petersen and his family were there (they flew) and also Loring and Laura Cammack were also there. We actually went through the temple with Stewart's family and we ran into the Cammack's at the Mansion House. This next picture is of us by the mighty Mississippi River. It was at the end of the Trail of Hope tour. It was held early in the morning, but it was worth getting up early.

The Teichert family posed for this one. As you can see, they are missing two. They couldn't get up early in the morning. We caught up with them later in the morning.

Of course, one of the reasons why we went to Nauvoo was to see the temple and to learn a little more about Church History. This is a shot of the temple looking back from the Mississippi. I couldn't get over how green everything was. The weather was very cooperative. It wasn't too hot and it definitely wasn't muggy. It was like the week was made for us.

Here are some of the crew just sitting in the shade of the temple at Winter Quarters. We were starting to look a little tired.

The last stop on the way home was at Chimney Rock Nebraska. I had never been there before and I have a little family history about the place. The Teicherts have never been there either and they wanted to see what it was all about. So this is what Chimney Rock looks like. It is different. It was a landmark for the Saints as they crossed the plains on their way to the Salt Lake valley.

My great great great grandmother died near Chimney Rock. Her name was Mary Murray Murdoch, also known as Wee Granny. She was in the Martin Handcart company. Just before she died she told her family "Tell John I died with my face towards Zion." The Murdoch family had a memorial created for her and here we are at that memorial.

The trip was so much fun. Going with the Teichert family brought back fond memories of camping trips when the kids were little. I am glad we went. We saw beautiful country, learned a little Church history, and most importantly created lasting memories. This is only a hundredth of the pictures that were taken. Hope you enjoyed some of them. I'll post some more pictures of what happened later after the Nauvoo trip.

Girl's Camp and Other Neat Things (Brady is Home!!)

With all of the excitement lately, I have kind of postponed things a little bit. So I will try to catch up on things. The first pictures were taken up at Kennan's Scout camp.

He got his horsemanship merit badge. Ellen also went up and got to ride a horse.

The horses belonged to the Bill Briggs family. Yes, Ellen has ridden many horses in her life. It was a fun time.

After Scout camp it was girl's camp. Being a bishop, I got the opportunity to go and spend a night at girl's camp. When Ellen used to be in the YW, I always went as the priesthood holder, so this wasn't anything new to me. I enjoyed it a lot. These are just a few of the many pictures Ellen took. (As bishop, I got to take my wife also). This is McKenzie with a bunch of her friends. I really don't know what they are doing with the chopsticks. I'm sure it isn't healthy.

The girl's are back row, left to right: Mariah Boyer, McKenzie, Hannah Dayton. Front row, left to right: Lauren Fiscus, Bethany Briggs, Torie Larson. McKenzie also had to do some of the cooking and cleaning as you can see.

As you can tell, McKenzie really liked cleaning up.

Sometime after the 4th, Kandyce, McKenzie, and Ellen went to Logan so Breanne could take Kandyce's bridal pictures. I just picked a couple that I thought really showed what went on. The first picture is the girl's eating at some restaurant. Do they look anything alike?

Kandyce was just doing a fun little pose for the camera. I thought it was cool. Flirt with the camera!!

When they were taking pictures by the Logan Tabernacle, a couple of little girls were watching and they thought that Kandyce was a princess. They just had to meet her.

As with any model that you work with, sometimes they just pack up and leave you.

Of course the big news so far this month was the return of Brady from his mission to the Baltic States, Latvian speaking. For those of you who don't know where that mission is, it is by the Baltic Sea next to Russia. It was an exciting time for the family. Breanne and Kandyce came down. Breanne said that she was going to be the first to give Brady a hug, she was. For the fun things about the airport, go to Breanne's blog. It was truly funny. Here are some of us waiting patiently for Brady's return.

When Brady finally arrived, with all of the excitement, there were a lot of blurry pictures. So we don't have pictures of him hugging people. Brady is here talking with Shari on the phone. Shari made Kandyce call her and talk to her the whole time as we were waiting for Brady. Kandyce was doing a play-by-play.

Isn't this a great family? We are just missing Shari, but next month, Shari and her family are coming for two weeks. I am so excited. We are definitely going to take family pictures and then you can see the whole family.

Here we are again getting some extra hugs from Brady.

Of course with Brady being home, things are a lot more fun and exciting. He was cleaning his room and he found his Nerf guns. He and Kennan were shooting each other. I think Kennan got the better shots. It was fun.

Brady spoke with Trevor Teichert on Sunday the 12th. He then reported to the High Council with Trevor. He'll be helping around the house for the summer as he prepares to go back to Western Wyoming to get his associate degree. He has also been asked to be on the Institute board for the school year. He is excited about that. For the upcoming events, I have the Wyoming Coaches Clinic this next week, then the family will be going to Nauvoo with the Briant Teichert family, then it is the big wedding of Kandyce. We will be very busy these next few weeks.

With Brady and Kandyce serving missions, our family has been blessed for the last 4 years. We acknowledge our love of our Heavenly Father for their service that they have given. We have truly been a blessed family.

Special Event

So there is a special event that is coming up real soon. Many people celebrate it and I'd like to also show why this special event is so special to me and my family. This was Ellen's idea, so I thought it was a great idea, so here goes. Do you recognize this person?

             

            

            

            

    

So you have probably guessed that we are celebrating Breanne's birthday. She will turn a certain age (not suppose to tell a woman's age) tomorrow, July 2. Breanne was born in Star Valley on a hot afternoon. Ellen was in intense labor so much that she actually passed out. Scared me to death. Ellen was the only person in the hospital, so they asked her what she wanted to eat for supper. They only stayed overnight and then came home. The unique thing about Bre was that she had the cutest little dimple on her right cheek. Breanne was quickly spoiled by her two older sisters.

We asked people to tell us some of the fun things they remember about Breanne. Grandma said she remembers riding with Bre going somewhere and Bre was driving and putting her makeup on at the same time. She was using her hands to put the makeup on and she was driving with her knees. Grandma said it scared her pretty bad.

Kennan says this about his sister, "I love Breanne because she is a fun loving sister who makes everything fun. I remember in the 3rd grade, Breanne was leaving to go back to Logan and I was at school. I came to my desk and I saw an Almond Joy (my favorite candy bar) and a note from Bre."

This next picture of Breanne was taken when Ellen was taking her senior pictures. Brady and Trevor came along and they thought it would be neat to make it look like the leaves were falling. So they grabbed a bunch of leaves and started to toss them in the air above Breanne. Of course with Brady's sense of humor, he had us all laughing.

Another funny story about Bre was when we were camping with the Briant Teichert family. Breanne was sitting on the bench with her knees tucked up inside her big sweat shirt. She wasn't very old. As we were all talking, we heard a big thud and looked and there was Bre on the ground having fallen off the bench on her side with her knees still tucked up in her sweat shirt.

Breanne really loved sports. She was very competitive and hated to lose. Her senior year the basketball team was very small. At one of the ball games, she got a big thigh bruise and it hurt her like crazy. The coaches wanted her to sit out, but she was begging the coach to let her back into the game. She was one tough kid. This next picture was at Lander after they had gotten beat out at Regionals. It was her last basketball game, hence the tears.

She also had the opportunity to play college volleyball. She played libero and helped her Western Wyoming team win Region IX and place 9th at Nationals. She is one of very few from Cokeville who got to play in a national tournament. Here she is playing and celebrating.

 

While at Rock Springs going to school at Western Wyoming, Bre met her love of her life, Greg Aullman. They had so many things in common, late nights not being able to sleep, computers, etc. They were married in May of 2005. The first picture is when Greg came to the house and we did our family tradition of making gingerbread houses. The middle picture is one of their announcement pictures and the last is when they bought their house in Logan. Cute couple.

Another neat thing about Breanne is her relationship with her younger brother Brady and her cousin Trevor. I think she is more excited for Brady to come home from his mission than anybody else. She said that she is going to be the first one to give him a hug. But it wasn't always like that when they were little. I was one of those parents who always said, "If you two don't stop your arguing, I'm going to stop this van and make you walk." Here is a picture of the three. We have lots of prom pictures that Breanne took with Brady and Trevor. She is a great sister.

Breanne has always taken an interest in photography and video editing. She was the yearbook editor and created a number of videos. But most of you know that already. Just look at her blogs that she has. She is a very talented person. When she was 12 years old, she was the Beehive president. Marti Warner was the YW advisor and she said that she could not have done her job without Bre. Bre was organized and planned most of the activities. We also have a lot of videos of people then Breanne's head would pop in front of the camera. Breanne made the 1997-1998 yearbook on cd all by herself. This book was not sent to the publisher, but the pages got lost and were later found. She scanned all of the pictures and made a great memory for those classes.

Of course, Breanne is also a great aunt. Just ask all of her nieces and nephews.

Most of all Breanne is one of the girls that is special in our family. We have many but this week we are honoring one of the best. Happy Birthday Breanne! Mom and Dad love you.