Fish Lake

This year was our 4th year in a row of going up to Fish Lake. We have grown from 2 families to 8 families, and it just keeps getting better. Here is a shot of our lovely campsite.

Our family spent a total of 5 days there, and it still wasn't enough for some (hint hint: Trevor and JJ). My favorite part of camping is just sitting, relaxing, reading and enjoying a good round of hand and foot. My boys on the other hand enjoy air soft wars, fishing, swimming, and exploring. This was the first year that they actually swam and we drove over to Capitol Reef and enjoyed some waterfalls and a swimming hole. Here is some the crew enjoying the cool off. (Gotta love that red dirt!)

Justin jumping off...

John was a real trooper and took Trevor and JJ fishing a couple of times. There were so many shots of them I just condensed them into few.

Thanks to many creative minds (me NOT inlcluded), the kids had plenty of things to keep them busy. They could choose from making bracelets or fruit loop necklaces, painting rocks, playing bingo, face painting, hula hooping (BIG HIT), playing card games, or playing cars and trucks for the boys and playing dolls and finger/toe painting for the girls. One of the families brought their cute little dog, Dodger, and he provided JJ with ample entertainment, he especially liked to walk the Dodger on the leash. Here is JJ hula hooping (if that is a word?)

Our shade tent and picnic tables came in pretty handy and here we are eating our yummy hamburgers. (Aren't we just the cutest?)

We created many fun memories with GOOD people. Fish Lake has become one of our very FAVORITE places to camp. We always camp in the Frying Pan campground. Major plus is the flushie toilets. There is no way to show all the pictures that I took so here is a collection of different shots.

Finally, we like to end our trip by taking family pictures in front of the "FRYING PAN CAMPGROUND" sign. (Those of you who received our Christmas picture will recall last year's camping trip picture.) I have tried to get all the families that were there. First and of course the best:

The Welburn's

The Ahlberg's

The Cardon's

The Shaffer's

The Neilson's

The Holt's (minus mom and dad)

The Hamblin's (and cute little Dodger)

and last but not least, The Haws's



We can't for next year!!!!

Ute Stampede 5K Race in Nephi, UT

This past week my sister, Nicole, and her family arrived from Texas. We are sooooo excited to have them here. Well Nicole talked my dad and I into running the Ute Stampede 5K race. Well ever since the Moab Half Marathon that I ran three years ago, I have not been a very "enthused" runner--I tend to stick to fast walking and Jillian Micaels workouts. Anyhow, we promised not to leave each other and we all ran together. It was actually OK. We finished the race in a little over 36 minutes and felt quite "accomplished". Now all you avid runners don't laugh, we did it for fun and not for the "competition." I got some shots of all three of us before, during, and after the race. (I should really say that Nicole was the one that remembered her camera, so thank you Nicole for helping catch these wonderful memories!!)

Before the race...


During the race...


Crossing the finish line "TOGETHER"...


After the race...


You will notice that all three of us pretty much color coordinate. That was NOT on purpose. Just goes to show you that "Great minds REALLY do think alike." It was a lot of fun and we are actually thinking about doing another 5K on the 25th of this month. You just never know!!

4th of July Festivities

It is becoming a tradition for us to go down to Nephi and spend the day at the Park with John's brother, Jim and his family, and my parents. This year was no different. We drove down on Friday afternoon and the four boys (John, Justin, Jim, and Braden) all went golfing while Traci cooked dinner and I worked on my blog. We had dinner and spent the night with Jim's family. At the crack of dawn, the four boys again woke up and went golfing. It gave Traci and I a leisurely morning and then when the golfing was over, we all went down to the park. There are many booths that the younger kids can participate in and of course the older boys can find things to do also. Here are a few shots of the younger kids and their activities.

JJ after getting his face painted...


Katie, JJ, and Megan with their faces all painted...


JJ doing the ring toss...


Katie and JJ on the 4-wheeler train...


Cameron and Trev sporting their 4th of July shirts that they won in a race on the inflatable slides (thanks Cam for letting Trev win so he could get a shirt.)


JJ sporting and showing his prizes...


John and I "relaxing" under the big shade trees...


In the afternoon, the six boys entered a dodgeball competition. It was quite funny to see how nervous and anxious Jim and John were because there were a couple of "college men" teams and they were funny to watch and listen to with their stategizing. They never did end up playing those teams because they did it according to size and age. There was one really funny moment when the boys were playing another group of young boys and one boy said to his team, "Let's get the old man!" Well that "old man" they were referring to was John. (A funny moment for me but no so funny for John!) I got a couple of snapshots of them and a few video clips so here goes...

The guys lining up for a match...


The boys in action...


3 Buff Boys...



Justin and Braden "ATTACK" with Trevor joining in...


"Graceful" Justin...


They all had a good time but were NOT crowned the "Dodgeball Champions." They have something to "aim" for next year.

That night while we were waiting for the fireworks, the 4 younger boys convinced their dads' to play basketball with them at the local church gym. Although, the deal was that John and Jim would be able to get a 45 minute nap. The timers and alarms were set and then we all went over to the church. Justin, Braden, and Cameron were a team and John, Jim, and Trevor were a team. Of course with Welburns playing there was a "little competition" involved...hmmmhmmmm(Justin), but they seemed to have a good time. There were some funny moments with John strutting his stuff (didn't catch it on video), and "belly bumping." However, Trevor was the "STAR"of the night, he made the winning basket and I actually did get that on video.

Trev the "STUD"...


While they were playing on half the court. Traci was shooting with the girls and JJ had to have his picture taken of him dribbling the ball.

JJ's demonstrates his dribbling skills...


When we walked out of the church building there was quite the firework show going on with the weather--lots of lightening and thunder. Thus, the firework show was cancelled and we didn't get to see the fireworks or even light our own because the rain was so bad. We decided to call it a night and drove home so we could sleep in our nice comfortable beds. We had a great time with Jim and Traci and we are very grateful to live in a country where we enjoy all kinds of freedoms. Thank you to all those who defend those freedoms!!!!!!

A Conference for John and a Vacation for Deb in Atlanta, Georgia

John had the opportunity to go to a conference held in Atlanta, GA and I was able to go because all I had to do was purchase my airline ticket because the hotel had already been paid. John really enjoyed the conference but it was not "ALL WORK AND NO PLAY". We arrived late Saturday night, and I was able to go to church with one of the wife's who had served a mission there over ten years ago. The ward was very friendly and I was thinking that maybe I had been transported to Hawaii because the counselor that was conducting started out by saying, "Good Morning Atlanta Ward," and the congregation responded with a loud, "Good Morning." Every speaker started out the same way and the response was also the same, it was actually quite COOL! We took it easy that day.
One of the first things that we did was to visit the Coca Cola Factory. I actually thought it would be a lot like the one in Las Vegas but it was more like a museum with the history and artifacts of Coca Cola's life. They had a cute movie at the beginning and then set us free to explore the factory/museum. We took a picture with the Polar Bear whom we both love.

Then here is a picture of me sitting in a replica of an old fashion fountain parlor.

John is standing in front of an old Coca Cola Delivery Truck and then of course if there is anything GOLF anywhere, he will find it. They had a wall of famous people who promoted Coca Cola and wouldn't you know he zeroed in on Bobby Jones, (who by the way is a good ol' Georgia Boy--more on that to come.)


They also had a 4D movie that you could watch. Honestly I couldn't tell the difference between 4D and 3D but here is John being his silly self.

Finally at the end of the tour, they had several soda's that you could sample that have all been made by Coca Cola. Of course they had all the ones that we are familiar with but they had many from several different countries. I have to say that I didn't really care for the Asian mixes, but I really liked the pinenut colada (or something like that,) it was really tropical tasting. However, when we went to see the 4D movie, the host really urged us to try the "BEVERLY." BIG MISTAKE!!!! It tasted like medicine. Needless to say we walked out feeling quite bloated and sick to our stomachs. Here is John trying one of the many samples.


That night we went to dinner at a very Southern restaurant called "Patty's Porch". The food was tasty and the ambiance wonderful. We went with four other couples that are from John's District and one of the couple is actually in our ward which made it convenient. We then walked over to Olympic Square and took some pictures there and let John and James (the one from our ward) play in the water fountains. The Olympic rings are painted on the cement and have spouts around the outlines of the circles that randomly spit water out to form the fountains. Here are some pictures and then a video of John dodging the fountains.




John went to conferences all morning the next day but in the afternoon we played. We went to the Atlanta Aquarium which is the biggest Aquarium in North America. We walked through many different displays and had fun playing on the "hands on" stuff. Here we are being goofy.

Then many of you know that John LOVES sea turtles and we found a tank with them. While we were standing there watching them, one swam right up to the glass and I was able to snap a picture with John and one of his "Ocean Buddies."

Then I love the colors of the ocean life so we snapped a picture of me standing in front of colorful tank.

The Aquarium had tank that had glass on it that was as big as a movie screen and had several different fish in there. There were sharks, sting rays, whales, and many other kinds of fish. The question was asked why the fish don't each other and the Aquarium said they keep the fish constantly fed. It was really amazing. Here is a collage of most of the fish and then a close up of John and another pal.


Next we went to the Atlanta Zoo. This was definately like any other zoo but we bought a city pass that included several different tickets to different attractions. My favorite animal was definately the Panda Bears. When we walked up to the display the mama and baby bear were lying in a hammock. They were so funny to watch. The baby bear climbed an obstacle course kind of thing and was doing summersaults to get over a dowel of wood. Here are some of the shots that I got of the panda bears.


Then here is a collage of some goofy pictures that we took behind animal boards and with statues. (doesn't John make an adorable lion?)


That night, after the zoo, we went to a Professional Baseball game and watched the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies play. I wasn't real excited to go but it was an awesome field and a great game with the Braves winning 5-4 in extra innings. Here a some different pictures of the field, pretty awesome if I do say so myself.

Dale Murphy is one of John's favorite all time baseball players so we got a shot of his number and plaque they have to honor Murphy.



Then on our last day in Atlanta we toured the Atlanta Museum, The Swan House, and Smith Farm. They are all located at the same site, and offered a lot of history about Atlanta and the state of Georgia. They had a whole room dedicated to Bobby Jones and golf and John spent a lot of time in there, and I have to admit I also found it pretty interesting. Here is a picture of John in front of a Bobby Jones display case.

The museum had different rooms to tour that showed "stuff" from the Civil War, the Olympics and the transportation evolution of Atlanta. Then the Swan House is a mansion that was built in the 1920's and is very beautiful and majestic. I kept thinking that it would be a perfect place for a wedding reception with the grand outside staircase and huge front lawn. The Smith Farm was next door and basically a replica of a farm that would have existed in the early 1900's. I decided that there was reason I wasn't born in that era--the main reason NO AIR CONDITIONING. Here are some shots of both houses.


That pretty much sums up our trip. We enjoyed great food and company and even though it doesn't look or sound like it, John learned a lot from the conference and enjoyed several key speakers. Next year, this conference is being held in Orlando, Florida--so I am keeping my fingers crossed that I get to accompany John on that trip.

Trevor's "LONG AWAITED" Day!

Trevor has had his braces on and off since the 4th grade (he is now entering the 8th grade). So today was a very happy day for him, me and John. They look great and he can't wait to sink his teeth into that first piece of corn on the cob. Here he is with NO BRACES!!



He has a permanent retainer on the bottom and for the top he only has to wear the retainer at night. He got to pick out the design for the top retainer, and no suprise there--GO COUGARS!!!!

Welburn, Rogers, and Guertler Yuba Lake Family Reunion

This year it was our turn to host the "Welburn, Rogers, and Guertler" family reunion. We had a great time. This was our first time using the campsites and it was wonderful. They have recently renovated the bathrooms and showers and the campsites are nice and clean. Each family had a lunch or dinner to be in charge of, and we were on our own for breakfasts and snacks. Grandpa/Grandma Guertler and Jim and Traci rented a jet ski and it brought many smiles to those who couldn't be on the boat. We also bought a new three man tube that you can stand up on, and it turned out to be a huge success. I tooks hundreds of pictures but here a few of the hightlights.

Different moments througout the reunion.



Grandpa Guertler having fun.


The Rogers Family.


The "Jim" Family.


The "John" Family.


And Finally The "Stud Muffin" (and a few pictures with his twin.)


We couldn't have asked for better weather, the company was great, and the food delightful. All in all it was a great reunion. Yuba Lake is becoming one of our favorite places. Thank you to the whole family for helping us make wonderful memories.

EFY, Learning to Ride A Bike, and PGA Father/Son Golf Tournament

Wow, what a busy week and it's the only the first week of summer!!! Justin and his cousin Landon attended the area EFY in Sandy. They went last year and had so much fun that they wanted to go again. They have several devotionals and classes but also get to play games and dance all the while they are focused on a spiritual theme. Either of them are not much into pictures, so I only got to take a few of them the morning they left for the service project and dance. Aren't they handsome?




The whole week the boys were at EFY Aunt Norine and Taryn stayed with us. We were able to go to the Oquirrh Hills Temple Open House (my second time) and do lots of shopping, not as much buying as we would have preferred but we still had fun looking. JJ also had a big week with learning how to ride his bike. He begged his dad over a week ago to take the training wheels off and when John finally did it, JJ wanted nothing to do with the bike. I tried every bribe I could think of and nothing was working. While we were out and about, JJ would find something he could absolutely not live without at every store. I started sounding like a broken record because I kept telling him if he would learn to ride his bike I would think about getting him something. He finally got sick of that and told me that he would ride his bike when I put the training wheels back on. Well I AM pretty stubborn too, and after many bumps, scrapes, bruises, weeping, and whailing JJ has acquired the skill of riding a bike. He can now start and stop by himself and spent most of yesterday on the neighborhood street. John was so impressed that he took alot of movies with me running behind him. I look so great running in my flip flops but here is a quick clip of him riding.



You'll notice that JJ's way of stopping is to put his feet down and drag them!!! He knows how to use the brake but prefers his feet. Go figure!! Then here is some shots of the big bike rider. Dad made some homemade knee pads out of some old long socks and JJ thought those were the cat's meow.



On Saturday John, Justin, Jim, and Brayden participated in a Father Son Golf tournament up in Roy. John has been getting a kick out of these tournaments (this was their 3rd one and they have one more next week) and they all seem to have a good time. John and Justin took third in Justin's age division and Jim and Brayden took first in Brayden's age division. I don't know how I feel about this whole golfing thing because all the boys are taking an interest in it and it's not exactly a cheap sport. As we speak, Justin is off to a BYU Golf Camp for the whole week. Brayden will be joining him and hopefully they will have fun and learn a lot to help make them better golfers. It seems like just yesterday I was going to the BYU volleyball camps with my best friend Jennifer. Time is a mean thing. It never goes fast enough when you are young but will not slow down when you are older. Here are a few shots of both of the father son teams.