President's Day Weekend 2009

Me and the kids took a little trip down South for the weekend to enjoy a little break from our crazy life and to enjoy opening day of my MOST FAVORITE sport, BASEBALL!!!!! I can't believe that it is only February and we were sitting at a ballpark soaking in the sights and sounds and even smells of baseball. To me, one of the best sounds ever is the sound of a baseball connecting with a bat......ahhhhh, music to my ears!! Add a hotdog and a diet pepsi and I'm in heaven!!

Carson getting ready to bat and oh my gosh.....a smile!!

Getting ready for that favorite sound of mine!!


Preparing to steal 3rd base

And he's SAFE!!

This weekends games were actually part of a tournament that is held each year in beautiful Southern Utah where it is warm most of the year. The weather wasn't the best but when the sun came out it warmed things up quite a bit - at least it wasn't raining like the weather had predicted.

Unfortunately for Carson and his team, they had a 2-2 record for the tournament and didn't get into the finals which were being played today. No big deal, we still had a fabulous weekend and played hard!

Kylie, Dax and Chloe

Taylir and Chloe posing while Colty and Doug intensely watch the game

Grammy and Chloe


Poor Little Jetters was so tired and fought off sleep.....but finally gave in at the end of the game

And poor little Taylir......wait a minute, she got plenty of sleep the night before...but she is a teenager and they claim to never get enough sleep right???

After the games were done we got in a little VALENTINES DAY celebration! This is the spread my sweet mommy had laid out for us. Gotta wuv her!!

And of course, the Good Gomer ALWAYS remembers his honey! He even manages to celebrate while we're apart....the UPS guy delievered these to Grammy and Papa's house while we were there. Although, we were able to celebrate early with a pre-Valentines Day the week before in Las Vegas before he headed back to Oregon. I Love that man!

One of the kids' favorite places to go to when in Southern Utah, is a place we call the narrows. It is actually a city park but couldn't tell you the name....it's The Narrows to us! There is a place in the rock that the walls are literally inches apart and you shimmy your way through as you climb to the top - not for a clostrophobic person! And on top of that, if you are afraid of heights, not a place for you either. So that leaves me out! I get extremely nervous and full of anxiety just being there and watching the kids run all around the rocks and cliffs. I alwasy tell myself that I've never heard of anyone falling to their death there and I keep telling myself that over and over and over again while there. We've been going there for years and the kids always come out unscathed.

They never want to take a serious picture! :)

I know....my kids are incredibly goofy!

I thought this picture was awesome of their shadows....they stayed on this cliff forever playing around with shadow formations.

Boys will be boys!

Sweet sisters!

I got brave and climbed a little bit!

We had a wonderful weekend and are anticipating returning to Southern Utah again next month for yet another tournament!!!!!! YEA!!!!!!!

Kylie and Carson's Hawaiian Adventure

Kylie and Carson just arrived home this morning from Hawaii. They had a blast! Let the pictures show you just how much fun they did have!

I know, I'm all about my dogs. I hear, "Do you love your dogs more than your kids?" Hmmmm. OF COURSE NOT! But they do come in a close 2nd place! They love me unconditionally and are constantly by my side and never talk back! I couldn't resist taking these couple of pictures. Gunner is getting up in years and has been having problems with his back, mostly from playing too hard with Tank. He got pretty bad this past week and I had to tranquilize him and give him muscle relaxers to settle him down so he could lay still and heal himself. I love how he gets droppy-eyed and notice his one ear standing straight up in the air! Poor dog!

This is a common site you would see in our backyard (minus the snow of course)on a warm summer evening, Tank laying in "his spot" enjoying the cool grass and a good stick. I guess he's getting tired of winter and decided, "What the heck!" He didn't last that long out there and probably decided this was a summer pastime. He's now back in the warmth of the house sprawled out beside me. We'll try again in a few months.

p.s. I think we may see the lawn soon - it's raining today and trying to melt all the snow we have.....yea!!! :)

Introducing Princess Chloe!

Meet the newest member of our extended family. I was at my friend/hairdressers house a few weeks ago when her puppy came running into the salon and I immediately fell in love with her! My friend had stated that they were possibly looking for her a new home and SAY NO MORE!......I knew exactly where that home would be!

My siblings and I have been trying to tell my parents for years that they should get a dog. They've considered it from time to time but the right dog just never came along. When I was growing up we had a Pomeranian named Rebel who was just like a member of the family and ultimately my Dad's best buddy. When he died it was HORRIBLE on our whole family and we never wanted to experience the death of a pet again! But we still looked at Pom puppies for sale from time to time and have always been infatuated with them! When I saw my friends puppy I immediately started taking pictures of her and sent them to my parents who fell in love with her also, even though it took a few weeks to convince themselves that they were ready to become parents AGAIN.

Isn't this just the cutest face you ever did see?

Princess Chloe is an 11-week old Pomeranian puppy who currently weighs 2 pounds and will probably reach about 4-6 pounds. She has the funnest disposition and loves to be held and loved. She couldn't be more loved and is already well on her way to becoming another spoiled member of the family.

Bond, James Bond

Having Daxton around is never a dull moment. Ever since I can remember, he has always pretended to be somebody. For the longest time he was Peter Parker during the whole Spiderman craze and wanted you to call him that. When Kristi was pregnant with Jett he wanted that to be the name of the baby in all seriousness. He's had the Superman phase, Ironman phase and Batman phase. His latest now is James Bond. Last week Doug called and told me that Dax wanted to come over and show me something. When he got to the house and I opened the door, here was this little dude decked out in a suit, shoes a tad bit too big for him, and best of all.....his hair all slicked back. He got his new suit for his Uncle's wedding in May and has been wearing it 24/7 and how sweet is it that he wanted to come over to Elwa's house to show me?!?! :) He even went grocery shopping in it and pulled out a toy gun and told the checker he was, "Bond, James Bond". Hopefully the suit will still be in fairly good shape come May. But then, next week there could be a whole new person he is ready to pretend to be!

Jett's First Birthday Party!

Today we celebrated Jett's first birthday at Doug and Kristi's house. (His actual b-day was on the 16th) He was excited to have everybody over and was running around showing off all his new things he has learned. He is at such a fun age and has been learning all kinds of new things and loves to share them with you. It's hard to believe it has been a whole year since he was born....where did that little baby go? He is just like his brothers, full of energy and ready to conquer the world - he never crawled and was walking at 7 months! He'll be snowboarding by the end of the winter for sure! (wink wink :))Taylir had to keep him from ripping all the paper off his presents before everybody could come and watch and he wasn't happy having to stop!

He saw that it was a riding toy and didn't care if it was all the way unwrapped or not, he was getting on and going for a ride!

He thought the cake that Dad and Daxton made was delish!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Today is the birthday of one of the greatest men in the world.......my DAD! I have never known a more kind, unselfish, giving and loving man than him. He has always put others before himself and his family if probably the most important thing to him.

My sister Kris, brother Shane and I with our parents in front of our childhood home right after they sold it and moved South :(

My Dad's greatest accomplishment and what he is the most proud of, his family

When I was growing up he worked for Kennecott Copper and worked graveyard shift. He would always leave for work after we were in bed and as we were eating breakfast he would come home and go to bed while we were at school. He was always home when we got home and working on some kind of project. He did many remodels on our home and did most of the work himself. He took pride in his home and especially his yard, and they both always looked fantastic. There were times I would leave for school with my bedroom walls one color and come home to find them another color. When I got in high school and learned how to drive, it was him who took me out practicing and was so patient (most of the time :)) with me. He also would have my car warmed up and snow/ice scraped from the windows before I went to school in the morning.

My Daddy and me learning how to ride a motorcycle


He is the best "Papa" any grandchild could ever want. He loves to be with his grandkids and makes visits with him so much fun. Kylie reminded me this morning that one of her favorite things she looked forward to while visiting them was eating "Papa Soulie" for breakfast. (Soulie is what we have always called cereal in our family) To this day we still call Frosted Mini Wheats, "Papa Soulie".

Papa with Kylie on the left and Carson on the right

Papa, Bryson, Jordan, Kylie and Brady

Papa had a marshmellow roast for the grandkids in his backyard the last time we were all down South

I don't have pictures to show of some of my finest memories with him but I am going to list a few in writing:

1. The look on my Dad's face when we finally reached the car in the parking lot of Pearl Harbor in an absolute typhoon. Water was literally dripping from his nose, chin, ears and eyelashes. We were laughing hysterically and as wet as if we had jumped in the ocean with our clothes on.

2. When I was a Senior in high school and had come home for lunch break while he was sleeping from working graveyard and me walking up the stairs from the basement after finishing my lunch, only to find my Dad in his garment top and jeans at the front door with police at the door and surrounding the house with guns drawn. Apparently my Dad mistook me for a burglar and called the police. (Our house had been burglarized several times leading up to this and he thought the thieves had come back for more)

3. While working at Kennecott when the company would go on strikes, he would do a side job cleaning the Visitors Center on Temple Square. I thought it was so awesome when he let me go with him and clean during the night, this too was graveyard.

4. While eating dinner at a really fancy restaurant in Hawaii to celebrate me and Mark's temple sealing, his front tooth falling out and him having fun with that and embarrasing us and himself by acting like we really shouldn't be eating at a place like that looking poor and toothless.


I am so glad I have a Dad who is perfect in my eyes. He honors his Priesthood and works in the temple two days a week. He still goes out of his way to make sure his family is taken care of and happy. What a wonderful Daddy I have!!

I have always been so proud of the fact that my Dad has always taken such good care of himself. He and my Mom have been nicknamed "Barbie and Ken" by their friends. At high school reunions they always win the awards for the most unchanged or youngest looking. Way to go Mom and Dad!! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD/PAPA!!

Elder Brady Cowley

Tonight my nephew Brady was set apart as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He will enter the Missionary Training Center tomorrow morning and train there for a few weeks before going to serve in the Georgia Atlanta North Mission. We are so proud of him and are very excited for what he will experience over the next two years as he serves his mission.

I wish the whole family could of been with us, but we left a sick Carson home and Colton there to help him out. Mark of course is in Oregon, so it was just me, Kylie and Taylir. It was so touching to watch as the Stake President laid his hands on his head and hear his words as he set him apart as a full time missionary of The Lord. Afterward, Brady gave his parents a hug and I got emotional as I watched them get emotional. I have never seen my nephew get teary eyed so of course the waterworks were on for me. It's hard to believe this is the little Brady Boy who I use to love watch play t-ball and now he's all grown up and ready to go out and serve the Lord. I love what a mission does for a young man and am excited for the growth he is about to receive.

We will miss Brady a whole bunch while he is gone, and family get-togethers will not be the same without him, but he is doing what he needs to be doing and I am so proud of him for the choice he has made.

See you in 2 years Elder Cowley! We love you and will miss you!

(The pictures turned out way fuzzy because they were on my cell phone due to the fact that I couldn't find the camera before we left home - I think it added an extra 20-pound look to each body too! :))