Carlie's farewell!

Yesterday was my cousin Carlie's mission farewell. She is going to Fukuoka Japan and she is very excited. She did an awesome job speaking yesterday and kept us all entertained. She is such a character and she is so good to our kids. They love Carlie and are going to miss seeing her at Grandma's house every Sunday. They will also miss her sleepovers, golf outings and camping trips. The next 18 months will fly by though, and she will be back before we know it. We are so proud of her and her decision to serve a mission. She is a good example to our kids. We look forward to hearing all about her experiences in Japan. I'm sure it will be tough but it will be amazing! We love you Carlie and we are proud of you!!!

BIG GREEN Popsicles!

Our kids love popsicles! especially the last couple of weeks during the heat wave we have been having. They can go through a box of otter-pops in a hurry. It is a very common sight to see our kids and all their friends eating them wherever they go. We don't mind buying them as long as the wrappers go in the garbage. Well, lately they have a new favorite popsicle. They are giant green lemon-lime popsicles. I thought Cambree, Calee, Avery, and Cooper all looked cute eating them the other night and I snapped this picture with my Iphone.

Dressed like Cows!

one of our kids' favorite places to eat is chick-fil-a and friday night was dress up like a cow night. If you dress up like a cow your meal is free. We decided to go to the one in the Newgate mall hoping it wasn't too crowded. There were several families there all dressed up like cows. Our friends, the Browns, from our ward were there eating together, all dressed up like cows.  A co-worker of mine Scott Klema and his girlfriend were also there dressed up like cows. It was a very fun and very cheap friday night dinner out.

We're going to Disneyland!

WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!!! I love saying those words!!! We booked our trip to Disneyland and with help from our neighbors, the Petersens, (who are annual passholders), we got a killer deal on our tickets to our Halloween night in the park where our kids get to trick-or-treat and attend fun Halloween parties all night. It is going to be amazing and we are so excited!!! We talked the Hardees into going, and we currently have a few more couples thinking of coming. It's going to be quite the party!!! Cambree decided she wants to be Merida from the new disney movie Brave, Calee is going to be Rapunzel (of course) and Carter is going to be either Indiana Jones or a Star Wars character.

Fire Watch!!!

The fire station has extra money for two people to drive around in a brush truck each night and patrol the restricted areas and foothills of North Ogden and Pleasant View, for the months of July and August. Last night I took a shift with Aaron Nielson and the night started off good. We spent the first half of the night patrolling the North Ogden side and talking to citizens. We decided to come down to Taco Time and get a bite to eat and then head back up to patrol the Pleasant View side. As we pulled back on to Washington Boulevard we immediately noticed a big ball of fire up on the mountain. We hurried and went lights and sirens, called dispatch, and booked it up there as fast as we could. We were first on scene and there was a car fully engulfed in flames. We immediately sprayed water on the car and looked inside to see if there was anyone inside. Luckily, there wasn't anyone inside. The wind was blowing about 30 mph and taking the fire to the west and spreading very quickly. We started putting the fire out, but it got away from us really quick and we kept running out of booster line. luckily, we had brush trucks and engines from all over the county respond and help contain it before it could get to any houses. It was quite an exciting night. One I will never forget!

This was a picture I took in the evening before the sun went down

This is a picture of us fighting the fire

Jarrod Dearden Family Dream Team Scramble

Friday was the 2nd annunal Jarrod Dearden Family Dream Team Scramble. Jarrod Dearden was one of my best buddies as a kid and a good friend over the years. A few years ago after he died suddenly and tragically in a plane accident, his family started this Golf Tournament at the Barn golf course in Pleasant View. I was happy to be able to golf in it last year and this year with my Dad and brothers. I think of Jared and his wife and kids often, but on Friday I thought of him a lot that day. I miss him and am so thankful that we are able to get together now every year with his family and friends and remember Jared with a fun day of golf. Jareds Dad, Craig, talked last year about how he and his wife Cheryl had golfed with Jared at the Barn just days before he died and he wished that he would have had a picture of them at the golf course together. So he decided that at each tournament he would have a spot set up where our group could each get their picture taken together.

A highlight of the day was winning this cool new OGIO golf bag in the raffle contest. I was pretty excited and Carter was really excited to get my blue OGIO bag.

4th of July - 2012

This year the 4th of July started out early with the Cherry Days parade. Our friends Bryce and Amanda saved us a good spot in the shade along the parade route. Me, Christy and Calee sat with them and watched the parade while Carter and Cambree got to ride in the parade on the Weber County Fair float with my family. After the parade, we spent the day swimming and hanging out. Later in the evening, we had a bunch of friends over for a barbecue, and then later that night we had we had a huge group of friends and neighbors over for a fireworks show. Bryce and I didn't spend as much as we did last year, but we still had quite the show. It was a very fun day.

 Calee was excited to see her grandpa driving the fire truck

 Calee and uncle Darrin

 Carter, throwing candy

Carter, Emily, and Shandi

Grandpa Call's 80th birthday party

Grandpa Call turned 80 and we had a big family party for him Sunday up at Grandma's house. We love him so much and are so grateful for him and Grandma and all they do for our family. We are so lucky to be able to spend so much time with them camping, golfing, and eating Sunday dinners every sunday up at their house. Our kids just love Grandpa so much. Happy Birthday Grandpa! We love you!

Calls Family Drive-in

One of our favorite places to go and eat in the summer time is a little drive-in called Calls Family drive-in and it is up in Perry. They are only open in the summer and they have the best food, root-beer floats, and shakes. We surprised the kids and took them there friday night.

Brandon and Makell's wedding

We were lucky enough to be invited to Brandon and Makell's sealing at the Bountiful Temple on thursday. We took our kids and they sat outside with Josh and all the other kids during the sealing. The temple president of the Bountiful temple performed the ceremony and he did an amazing job. We are so happy for Brandon and Makell. Our kids were excited to be there and to see them afterward, outside the temple. While they were getting pictures, we left and went down to Dicks Market in bountiful and bought a dozen of their famous sugar cookies and drinks. We also went to Brats kids in bountiful and bought Cambree a really pretty baptism dress. It was a very fun day!

Calee and Chad

Carter and Josh

our kids with Brandon and Makell

Makell at her wedding reception at the Union Station

Bountiful Temple with Makell

Saturday, Christy and I were invited to go to the Bountiful temple and go through with Makell for her first time and be with her while she took out her endowment. We were so happy to be able to be there and spend the day with Chad, Jen, Makell, Brandon, and their families. We are so proud of Makell and love her so much! After the temple, we were also invited to a big lunch with everyone down at El Matador. It was a very fun day! Looking forward to seing Brandon and Makell get sealed on Thursday!