Eagle Court of Honor for Jordan

Last Sunday we had Jordan's Eagle Court of Honor. He along with two of his good friends from our ward shared the Court of Honor. We are so proud of Jordan and his hard work and desire to recieve this high honor. It was a great evening and we appreciate all who came to support him and all those leaders that helped him along the way. He had some FANTASTIC scout leaders that he looked up to and who worked so hard with the him and the other boys to enjoy their scouting experience. Someone asked us how we got all three of our boys to recieve their Eagle award and our answer is they had great dedicated scout leaders who really loved the boys and enjoyed scouting. Congratulations Jordan!!

Jordan, Brandon and Adam

Bishop Howell giving Jordan the Eagle Charge

Jordan giving his Dad the Mentor Pin. He picked his Dad as his mentor.

Jordan's Scout Leaders

Grammy and Papa

Rest in Peace Scooter

We had to put our cat Scooter down last week. He got sick and couldn't recover from it. It's one of the hardest things we have had to do. We got so attached to him he was such a lovable cat. His favorite person was Rusty our dog. His favorite place to lay down was right next to Rusty right under his nose. What kind of cat has a dog for a best friend? I think he thought that Rusty was his protector. Rusty was so patient with them and just let him rub his face and lay by him. We will miss Scooter so much. We rescued him a year ago from the mountains down at the cabin. Someone didn't want him anymore and just took him out in the mountains and dropped him off. He survived coyote attacks, wild cat attacks, cold weather and I'm sure much more before my soft tender heart couldn't leave him there with winter coming on and the chance of survival for him wasn't very good. He was Brady's cat because Brady brought him home from the cabin and he loved his Brady. We will miss you Scooter!!!! Thanks for being a part of our family :)

Halloween and Bryson's Birthday

Better late than never posting Halloween pictures and Brysons Birthday which happened to be the day before Halloween. We let the kids pick out a restaurant they want to go to for their birthday and Bryson picked Texas Roadhouse. It's a family favorite where for your birthday they bring out a horse saddle for the birthday person to sit in while they sing to you. The boys love it!! They're not afraid of getting a little embarrassed. My parents were up from St. George for it and came along and we had a great time! Halloween was especially fun this year with my parents here also. Of course I had to dress up Isabella in her costume. This year she was a witch. Doesn't she look scary? My parents dog, Chloe was here also and she dressed up as a Queen. The two little girls looked so dang cute in their costumes you could just eat them up!!!

*Happy Birthday Dolly Sunshine*

Happy 24th Birthday Brysy! Hope you have the best year of your life!! We love you and are very proud of you. Love ya lots, Mom & Dad

Karma's gonna bite, ya dirtbags!!!!!!

Our house got broken into and robbed this past week. Why are people so stupid that they have to resort to such stupidity? All I have to say to whoever did this is "One day justice will come find you...and I'll be right there in your memory to remind you!!!"

This lovely "cowpie" is what you are!!!!

It's been awhile

It's been awhile since I posted anything. I guess our family is pretty boring. Just getting the yard ready for winter and the boys getting ready for the hunts.

We did get some great pictures from Brady this past week. He is doing really well and had a baptism this past week. He loves the area he is in right now and loves the people. Here are a few of the pictures he sent us. Oh yeah, if you're wondering why are they baptizing in the lake it's because they don't have a church house in their area. Their branch meets in a strip mall because their membership is so small. On average they have 30 people to church every Sunday. Brady said it was an awesome experience to have the baptism at the lake!

Randy's Big Bull Hunt

Steve and the boys just got home from Moab hunting. Steve's friend Randy drew out a Bull Elk permit for down there. They went and helped him since it was the first special Elk hunt that Randy had been on before. This is a picture of the nice Elk that he got. We sent a picture to Brady and I got a kick out of the comment he made on it. He said that everyone looked normal except for the "total redneck in the old cowboy hat and old rain slicker", which was his dad! :)

Conratulations Jordan!

Congratulations Jordan on accomplishing your Eagle Scout Award! Last week Jordan was found by the Eagle Board of Scouts to succesfully complete the requirements for the rank of Eagle Scout. We are so proud of him and this huge accomplishment. He set a goal and worked hard so he could join his brothers, Bryson and Brady as Eagle Scouts. Brady was telling him that while on his mission he attended an Eagle Court of Honor and since he was an Eagle Scout he got to sit in the Eagle's Nest there. He said that the people there were very impressed that he had earned this and that helped him to gain the trust and friendship of those in his area to help him while on his mission. As a mom I am so proud that all my boys have earned this award. It does my old heart good. :)

Finally an e-mail and all is well!!

Ok so on my last post I explained how frustrated I was over not hearing from Brady for 2 weeks because of e-mail problems on his end. His p-day's are on Monday's and that's when we usually get his e-mails. With yesterday being a holiday and the library's closed I knew that we wouldn't hear from him, but hoping that we would today. Well, it was an exciting day because we got an e-mail from him and he still sounds good.

He has been transferred to the Hartwell area and wasn't too excited about that. He really loved it in Commerce and hadn't been there too long. He was pretty bummed because he had been teaching a family for a while and they had just set a date to be baptized this weekend. The same thing happened to him in his last area where he had been teaching 4 different people and they all got baptized a few days after his transfer and he wasn't able to go back to do the baptizing. He and the investigators were pretty bummed. He did say that this time he will be able to go back to Commerce which is only 25 miles away to baptize the Diaz family.

He really likes his new companion who is from Idaho because in Brady's words " he grew up on a farm so he likes to work hard." Brady has a hard time with companions that are lazy. This new companion of Brady's has only been out 6 weeks, so Brady is his trainer and that's new for Brady.

The Branch there is very small. On average they get 30 people to church on Sunday. It's so small that they don't have a church house and so they go to church in a strip mall next to a Domino's Pizza. I didn't know that in the U.S. the church doesn't have enough church houses for it's members.

Anyway, he sounds good. He says he's not even homesick and he knows he's out there for a purpose and he's not going to think about home until he's fulfilled that purpose. He says he is seeing so many blessings come to him and those in his area through his diligence and that's why he needs to work his butt off.

It was so good to finally hear from him. Only thing he forgot was to give us his address. lol!!

Burning the 6 Month Tie

We haven't heard from Brady for 2 weeks now. He had been having some e-mail problems and hopefully that's what is happening again. He did send us these pictures of him, but no letter to go with it. All I can say is he's a boy. My boy's don't find it necessary to talk about their day or how it was or any information. I always have to ask them guestions about things and then all I hear is "Mom, you ask too many questions!" What's a Mom to do? Friends of mine that have girls say that they can't get their girls to quit talking about their day, boys, dates etc. So, I guess getting no letter or e-mails from Brady is par for the course with him. No news is good news right? Hopefully tomorrow there will be an e-mail in my inbox.

Brady getting ready to burn his 6 month tie.

6 month tie going up in flames.

This is one of Brady's investigators named Tim who is from his first area and they became really good friends. Tim and his wife drove all the way to Brady's new area to take him and his companion to dinner. Pretty great!!

Brady is in Commerce, Georgia.


Elder Johnson, Elder Coleman, Elder Rugg(companion), Elder Cowley

San Diego

We spoiled ourselves for our anniversary and took a trip down to San Diego. We had been planning on going there for a couple of years because it was a big milestone anniversary 25 years! We had a great time and will always remember our "Silver Wedding Anniversary."

This is the view from our hotel room right on the ocean!

We went to the beautiful San Diego Temple

Who could go to San Diego and not go to Sea World?

or the San Diego Zoo?

This is the Hotel Del Coronado. It was beautiful inside & VERY expensive!

Riding the train in the Wild Animal Park

We took in a Padres baseball game. They were playing the Chicago Cubs and the Padres won in the bottom of the 9th inning with a homerun! (Too bad we left early and didn't see it)

Love the beach! We went there a couple of days. Saw a couple of dolphins swim by and also a little shark swimming around our legs in the waist deep water. Scary! We had so much fun. I love San Diego! Can't wait to go back...

Silver Wedding Anniversary

Can you believe it? Steve and I just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this past week. Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday I had butterflies in my stomach driving to the temple to be married to my best friend/sweetheart. The past 25 years have been the best time of my life! Looking forward to the next 50!!

Happy 18th Birthday to my Baby!!

My baby turned 18 on Wednesday! Where has the time gone? Happy Birthday Jordy we love you!!!

Senior Picture

1st day of Kindergarten

Jordan and his cousin Kylie were born 6 hours apart in different parts of the country. We lovingly refer to them as "The Twins." Happy Birthday Kylie! This is their 18th birthday picture.

Always dressed like twins. Their 1 year old picture.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Volunteers

We had the opportunity the months of May/June/July & August to help out with the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. We are in this new Temple's district so it will be the one that we go to. Steve and I along with Bryson and Jordan each had the opportunity to go several times and it was such a wonderful experience. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we were so grateful for the opportunity of participating. We volunteered in different cappacities, my favorite was as an usher inside the Temple on the 2nd floor at the top of the "Grand Staircase." It was awesome to see the faces of those going through and hearing their comments about what a beautiful and sacred building it is. Jordan was also an usher inside and Steve and Bryson were mainly outside with parking or in the tents with the movie. We all enjoyed each part we did. Can't wait for the dedication and to go inside again!

Bryson ushering at the tents for the introductory movie.




Angel Moroni got hit by lightning. Notice the black on the trumpet.

Last night of the Open House and the line goes all the way around the Temple.

Jury Duty

Steve got a great letter in the mail at the beginning of summer telling him he was one of the very lucky to get invited for Jury Duty. He was so overjoyed by this that he called and told them he couldn't attend because of a prior vacation that was planned. They told him not to worry that they would accommodate him on a different date as soon as we came back. The big day arrived and he went thinking that they would never pick him because who really gets picked for the trials anyway? Well, anyone who knows him knows that he has the most trustworthy face. The lawyers on both sides saw that and decided that he was to be one of four jurors to hear this trial. Not only was he a juror, but with that kind of face they made him the FOREMAN. He got to spend 12 hours in court listening to some drunk driver that ran into and destroyed someones yard and fence explain why he was innocent. After 12 or so witnesses for both sides and judges instructions, Steve and the three others decided that his man was guilty. All in all Steve really had a good time watching the legal process in action and especially his big compensation of a sandwich for dinner while they were deliberating and the big payday of $18.50. wahoo!!

FAMILY VACATION TO REDFISH LAKE

We just took a week long vacation up to RedFish Lake in Idaho. It was so much fun and the boys had a ball!! If you've never been there I highly suggest you try it out sometime. It's beautiful and has so many things to do. It reminds me of the lodge in the movie "Dirty Dancing", but without Patrick Swayze. Dang!:(

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy "BUMP" Day Elder Cowley!!

Brady has been out on his mission 6 months! Some days it seems like he's been out forever and other's it's like he just left. Way to go Elder Cowley, we love and miss ya!

Bump Day

Bump Day means six months have gone,
Some have been short and some very long,
The road has been Bumpy, but you have trudged on.
You've worked very hard not to go wrong,
The Spirit whispers, "You're where you belong".

Fun 4th of July!!

We had a really fun 4th of July up at East Canyon. They have a really nice reservoir up there that we took the boat out for a little fun on the tube and skis. Unfortunately the rope broke as Bryson was trying to get up on a slalom ski and so we just used the tube. The boys even got their Dad out to try it which is a miracle in itself because Steve is such a wimp when it comes to cold water. You won't see Jordan in the water in any of the pictures because he didn't want to get wet. He just concentrated on getting a really good tan. It was a really great day and we had so much fun! The only thing missing that would have made it more fun was Brady being there but, he is doing great on his mission and we are so proud of him for being there. Got home in time for the fireworks that we sit on our front porch and can see fireworks going off all over the valley. Crazy, and we loved it!

Bryson diving off the boat into very cold water.

Jordan working on his tan.

Couldn't believe we got Steve on.

Getting on isn't as easy as it looks.

We took Bryson over big waves going really fast and he tipped over.

Jordan was the safety guy.

Looks like fun!

New Pictures From Brady

Brady and his neighbor Don.

Brady, Elder Cook and Elder Hickman in front of the Smith's home.

Brady and Elder Fletcher.

He fell in the river and scraped his arm.

Brady's last district: Elder Cook, Brady, Elder McDonald, Elder Delgado, Sister Warner and Sister Parker.

Brady and Elder Cook.

Brady with Tim, Cora and Courtney. They are a family he was teaching.

Brady and Courtney.

Brady and Elder McDonald.

Brady and Elder Garfied.

Summer has officially started!

YEAH!! Summer has officially started for me. Today was the last day of school for the summer. Terra Linda, the school I work at has been a "year round school" up until now. Starting this next new school year we are going back to a "traditional schedule because our enrollment is back to normal numbers. We aren't busting at the seams like we have in the past. Usually I have only had a 3 week summer vacation every year and this year we don't go back until the end of August. It is going to be great! I can't wait to soak in the summer sun and enjoy the summer activities that I have missed in the past. :) :) :)

Brady's been transfered

Brady has been trasferred to Commerce Georgia. He didn't think that he would be transferred because President King had told him he would be staying. I guess they did trasfer two missionaries together that neither one of them had driving priviledges and had car so, they needed to do an emergency transfer and Brady was a part of that. He got a call on Thursday morning from President King and was told to have his stuff ready and packed by 3:00 that afternoon because he has heading to Commerce. He wasn't very happy because he never got to tell anyone goodbye and he had some great investigators that he was working with and one of them was set to be baptized here in the next couple weeks. Also, he LOVED the ward members and would've like to have said good bye to them. He said that he will just have to go back after his mission to visit.

He is really LOVING his mission and even now in Commerce he has said he is liking it a lot! He gets to drive a car now instead of his bike and that makes him really happy. Especially now with it today at 105 degrees. He said the first day he drove the car he clipped a deer with the front fender, but it didn't do any damage to either the car or deer. He says the deer there are pretty small and that the people there don't know what REAL deer look like and for us to send him some of his pictures of his deer so he can show the people what they really look like. I think he is fitting in rather nicely there.

He mentioned that the people in Commerce are "real" rednecks. He went to one of the members for dinner and he said that the Dad talked just like Boomhauer in "King of the Hill". You couldn't understand a word he was saying. Also, the Dad said that he likes to pick up "road kill" off the side of the road and use it in their dinners especially his stews and soups where he has been known to use 3 or 4 different animals. He says that a lot of people there look like "Larry the Cable Guy." I can see Brady fitting right in when he wears his "wranglers" on P-days or service days.

The other day I got a telephone call from a Mom of a missionary that just came home from Brady's mission. He was one of the spanish speaking Elders that Brady became quite friendly with and her family went to Georgia to pick him up. They got to go to Brady's apartment and meet him and his companion and she just wanted to let us know that Brady is a great missionary and is doing great. She said that her son speaks very highly of Brady and appreciated him while out on his mission. I thought that was awfully nice of her to take time out and call me and tell me good things like that. As a Mom that is the best gift you can receive when someone takes time out to let you know how much your child is appreciated escpecially while serving the lord. Brady is truly blessed and so are we as his family. What a great work he is doing and we are so proud of him.

He loves letters, so if anyone wants to write him his address is: Elder Brady Cowley 315 Pine Cone Trail, Commerce Georgia, 30529

Summer Fun & Father's Day

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Smith girls from Georgia

Darlene, Ally & Mckenzie

We were so excited the other day when a cute family from Brady's mission came to visit us. The Smith family came all the way to Utah from Georgia and stopped by to see us because they in their words "Love Elder Cowley!!" They are one of those great member families from Brady's ward in Peach Tree Corners that took such great care of him and his companion by feeding them, running them to appointments, making sure they have what they need such as fishing poles for fishing etc. Only the girls came this time while the boys stayed back in Georgia. Brady has spoken very highly of them in his letters and we can see why. They were so positive and spoke so highly of Brady and told us funny stories about him and also very spiritual stories of him. We have been so blessed by such great families as them that have looked after Brady and taken such great care of all the missionaries in their ward. We look forward to their friendship for a very long time. The girls can't wait for Brady to get home so he can take them shooting. haha

Jordan's Graduation

Make a Smilebox slideshow

::Seminary Graduation::

Jordan graduated from seminary this past weekend. Woo hoo!! We are so proud of him. He has had a busy past week with all the senior activities and graduations. We are proud of him that he felt that seminary was important in his life and completed all 4 years. He did have the attitude towards the end when he had to make up a couple of days that he had missed of "what do I need a graduation certificate from seminary for anyways?" This question he answered himself when he was asked to speak in church on "why take seminary and what it has done for you." We thought it was pretty funny that he had to do this. He did a good job on his talk and now he knows what a graduation certificate from seminary does for him.

Bryson, Jordan, Steve

Jordan and Bishop Howell

All the graduates from our ward along with his seminary teacher and Bishop Peterson

::Temple Celebration::

Our family is very lucky that we live in the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple district. We are so excited for this Temple! Steve and I have the privilege to volunteer at the Open House. We have been a couple times already for special nights specifically for General Authorities and special guests. It has been amazing and the Temple itself is so beautiful!! Since we are in the Temple District, the prophet wanted all the youth of both the Oquirrh Mountain and Draper Temple Districts to have a "Temple Celebration" through song and dance. The church has been working on this for over a year and the youth have been practicing their songs and dances for weeks. They finally got to perform the other night in front of thousands of people, the Prophet and General Authorities up at the Conference Center. It was soooo amazing! What a wonderful night. The spirit was so strong and I'm sure had a great impact on the youth and all who attended. The dances were period dances from the time the pioneers settled this valley until now. Our Stake's dance was called "The Train." It depicted the time when the railroad came to Utah. The kids were either passengers, train conductors or towns people. President Monson talked to the youth during it and told the youth to always "stand for truth and righteousness" especially when with their friends. He says sometimes it may not be easy, but always "stand for the truth even if you have to stand alone." What a powerful statement. I love it. I hope all the youth will remember that especially in these times when satan's power is so strong and is working on them extra hard. It was such an amazing night and I am so grateful that I was a part. I was asked to be a dance captain and have been to all the practices and such for months with these youth. It has been an experience I will remember the rest of my life. I'm grateful that Jordan got to participate and that Steve, Bryson and my Mom and Dad got to see the performance. The kids did an amazing job!

Woohoo!! Good News!!!!

Ok let me just say that right now I am doing the "HAPPY DANCE!!" Issy's surgery went really well today. The Doctor only found one tumor instead of the two that he had initially thought. The tumor turned out to be benign and looked really good. He took out all her female parts and her tumor and she will be rip roaring and good as new in a few days. I have been a nervous wreck all day. What would I be like if it was something with one of my kids? They would have to put me on some pretty strong tranquilizers! She is staying overnight at the vet's office to be monitored and watched and can't come home until morning. I have my sleeping bag and pillow and am ready to go over there to stay with her. (just kidding, I'm not that weird.)

Bad News

My sweet little Isabella has two little tumors on her belly. They are mammary tumors. I discovered one of them a couple weeks ago and took her to the vet the other day and he discovered another one and told me she has breast cancer. She is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. They are going to take out the tumors and spay her. Hopefully the tumors haven't attached to other places and spread. He thinks they haven't. We are praying and hoping that we caught them in the early stage and that the surgery will get it all. The vet said that since she hasn't been spayed that her chances of getting this were greater. How come I didn't know that dogs could get this? What I don't do for my dogs and cat.....they are you know, my babies.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day this year was a little like Christmas for me. I was counting down the days until the day arrived because I was getting a phone call from Brady. I haven't talked to him or heard his voice for 4 months because of him being in Georgia on his mission. I had my list of questions I wanted to ask him because he never seems to tell my a lot of details in his letters. I don't know if it's because he doesn't want to worry me or because he's a boy and they don't give details. In fact my boys don't like to talk about things. I always have to ask questions and they get mad when I ask too many. Doesn't a Mom have a right to know things and ask questions? I know a lot of Moms with girls who just love to talk about their day and dates and with boys they don't say anything. It's like pulling teeth!... So, I had my questions in hand and was ready to ask them. Well, when the phone call came I was so excited that I didn't care if any of the questions were answered, I was just so glad to hear his voice and for him to say that he was alright and doing VERY well. He is LOVING every minute of his mission. He loves the area, people, companions, Mission President/wife, gospel, everything about it. The only thing he doesn't like is the heat and humidity. He's not used to it. They say it takes 3 years to become acclimated to it. By then he'll be gone so he just has to get used to it. The whole family got to talk to him along with my Mom and Dad. It was great for his brothers to get to talk to him. They both look up to him and his example. We are lucky because the brothers all get along and love being together and are very close, especially Bryson and Brady. We look forward to his letters and can't wait till December for the Christmas phone call! Thanks to the Smith family in Georgia that were willing to let Brady call from their home and for feeding him such a great Mother's Day dinner.

We also had a great barbecue dinner here for my Mom and Dad and siblings and their families. We had a nice time. We then went over to Steve's brothers to visit with his Mom and Dad and family. We have such great families and enjoy getting together. It was a nice Mother's Day!

Cowley life in May....

Jordan and his friends went a little crazy with the Swine Flu outbreak. They got a little clever one night and decided to all make the same outfits to wear to school. They crack me up!!

The Golden Glove fights were here in Salt Lake last week for the whole country. My friend Claudia has a lot to do with the Golden Gloves and needed to take 50 plus fighters/parents/officials etc. on a tour up to Park City of the Olympic Venues. It would be too costly to rent a bus so she asked some friends to help her out to be chaufferes and have a fun Friday afternoon. Of course I said yes, she is after all my friend and would do the same for me. Jana my other friend was recruited as well. We had so much fun! I had never been up there to see the Olympic displays and the venues. It was a great experience.

::Visit to the Atlanta Temple::

We LOVE getting pictures from Brady on his mission. He sent us these the other day along with a letter. They had the opportunity of going to the Atlanta Temple and he said it was amazing! He loves this Temple. He and the other missionaries had an amazing time. They went on a Monday which is his p-day and the day he gets to e-mail us. Well, since they went to the Temple they couldn't e-mail. I was worried when I didn't hear from him for a few days. I guess I will forgive him for not e-mailing that day because going to the Temple is a far better!

Easter 2009

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Isabella's 3rd Birthday!

A couple of weeks ago was Issy's birthday. She turned 3 years old. As a tradition we take her to Arctic Circle for her birthday to get a hamburger kids meal. Her favorite toys to play with are stuffed animals that she calls her "dolly's." Since her birthday is around Easter, Arctic Circle's kids meals come with a stuffed bunny or chick in them. That is why we take her there for her birthday. She LOVES her hamburger and dolly!

It does a Mom's heart good!

We received an e-mail from Brady's Mission President's wife of their Mission's newsletter for the month of March. Each newsletter has a message from the Mission President along with baptisms, new/leaving missionaries, some mission experiences and also they have awards for the cleanest apartments,cars. As I was reading this, I came to the part where they named the cleanest apartments and there was Elder Cowley & Evans names. They had won the cleanest apartment award for their zone for the month of March. It just made me laugh and realize that he learned from my teaching him how to clean. Sometimes you think that your children won't learn from your teaching's, but they do. It just does a good ole Moms heart good to see that they listen and learn.

Brady's adventures in Georgia.

His first area is in the city of Norcross.

It's snowing in Georgia?

Baptism of Johnny Orr.

Taking a shortcut through the woods. Had to get over the creek somehow to the other side. I think he thinks he's Tarzan!
If you want to see more pictures you will have to visit his blog at eldercowley.blogspot.com or click on the link on the side of this blog.
Keep up the good work Elder Cowley! We love you!!!!

Brady's St. Patrick's Day in the Mission Field

For St. Patrick's Day Brady and his companion and a couple other missionaries got invited to a members house for dinner. The members are the Smith's and Brady has gotten to know them pretty good. He calls their house his home away from home. They had a really fun dinner/St. Patrick's Day party for the boys. Brady says they had a really fun time. You can tell by the pictures. I am so grateful for good members who take care of missionaries. Especially my son. Thanks Smith Family!!!!!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Yahoo!! Only one more quarter to go!!

YAHOO!!! Only one more quarter of High School to go for Jordan. I can't believe that we are almost at the finish line with our kids with their public education. It has been a long ride. Quite honestly we didn't think at times that one or two of them would make it. Their social lives sometimes got in the way of their scholastic lives. Jordan has worked really hard and has enjoyed his senior year. He is playing Lacrosse and LOVING every minute of it. He sprained his ankle a couple of months ago and hasn't been able to play to his full potential yet and hasn't played in any games yet. He is strenthening it up and hopes to fully participate in the next week or two. Now, we just have to get him to focus on these last few weeks of school to get him in his cap and gown to recieve his diploma. I can't wait!! Hopefully in the next month or so I can blog about my big sigh of relief....

Chloe and her cousins

I guess it's been awhile since I posted any pictures of the dogs. Over the weekend my mom and dad came and stayed and brought their new puppy Chloe. Isabella and Rusty didn't quite know what to think. Rusty was OK with the whole thing and Izzy took exception with her new cousin. Issy is used to being the queen of the house and she didn't like to share her "kingdom" with the new princess. She had to put her in her place a couple of times. I'm sure she'll get used to her and they will be the best of cousins. Aren't they soooo cute?

Tag you're it! Random Picture

Well, Melissa you asked for it. Melissa tagged me and I must comply. Unbelievable as it is, this is the 4th picture in my 4th folder that I am supposed to post. I don't know who took this stupid picture of our unbelievably old computer. I am thinking Jordan did because he is the one who takes all sorts of pictures of random objects that take up space on my card. So there are two people to blame for this post and they are Jordan and Melissa. I will get you both back somehow, somewhere, someplace, sometime.
Good luck to the following 4 people that I tag:
Suzie Anderson
Heather Oxborrow
Lezlie Garrison
Amy Cowley

PROM

Well, it was a sad sad day. The Cowley family is now officially done with proms. Jordan had his final school prom last night. Him being the baby of the family there will be no more. He looked so handsome. He was excited and had a great time. He took a really cute girl named Courtney. They went and had an Italian dinner then off to the State Capitol for the dance. Afterwards they went to a friends for a movie. It was a fun night for him. Am I sad? Yes, my baby is getting older. Do they have proms for dogs?

What a goof!

Jordan and his friend Hayden. They both are goofs!

Picking up Courtney at her house.

Cute...

Zone Conference

We recieved an e-mail from Sister King today. She sent us pictures of Brady's recent Zone Conference and the Georgia Atlanta North Mission Newsletter. Wow! Things have come along way in the past years. I am so impressed with President King and his wife. They continually keep us updated on the goings on in the mission. She says that they had a classes on becoming 100% Preach My Gospel compliant, finding ideas and techniques and using your time wisely. She said they also had a testimony meeting and lunch and it was a great conference. She also gave a report on baptisms for the mission and February baptisms more than doubled Januarys. She asked us to keep praying that the baptisms will double. The following is also a picture she sent of the snow last week in Georgia. She said that the schools closed for a day because they have no snow removal equipment in the state. She also said the temperatures this week are to get up to a nice balmy 70 degrees. Love it!! I am so proud of Brady. He looks so good in his pictures. What an awesome experience for us all!! Love ya Brady!!!

Great Moment

This is Brady at his first Baptism. He got to baptize a gentleman by the name of Fenebo Youngman. He is from Nigeria. His companion Elder Evans got to confirm him.

This picture is what I have dreamed of for Brady since he was a little boy in primary singing the song "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission." I was sooo excited for him. There are other pictures he sent along with this one. I posted them on his blog. eldercowley.blogspot.com.

I can't believe I did this!

I can't believe I actually am touching this stingray. While we were in Grand Cayman we went swimming with the stingrays. I think I actually screamed the whole time I was there. I stopped screaming long enough for Steve to make me take this picture with him. As you can see I am smiling, but believe me it is a smile of FEAR. Didn't Steve Irwin (The Crocodile Hunter) get killed by one of these? What am I thinking?

We just got back from a cruise to Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We had a great time!! We went with Steve's two brothers and their wives and his sister and her husband. We went on Royal Carribean's Liberty of the Seas. I loved it!!!! Now, back to winter weather. Woke up this morning and it was snowing. Can't wait for spring to come. Enjoy the pictures....

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We're back!

This is where we've been.

Letter from Brady's Mission President

Brady arrived in Georgia safely. He called yesterday morning from the airport and he sounded really good. He was really excited to be heading to Georgia and couldn't wait to share the gospel with others. We all were really excited to talk to him. We recieved the following e-mail from his Mission President telling us all about it. Yes, if you look closely that is Michelle King from Channel 2 News. Her husband is Brady's Mission President. The picture is taken on the Mission Home steps.


Hello...parents of these wonderful new missionaries! Don't they look fantastic? Thought you'd like to see for yourselves!

Just wanted you to know they arrived safely this afternoon at the Atlanta Airport. They began proselyting immediately and had a great experience on the MARTA trains talking to everyone they saw and handing out copies of the Book of Mormon, pass-along cards and Church pamphlets. We enjoyed dinner (they were starving!), a testimony meeting and introductions to the mission and each other. Each one had an interview with President King...plus they wrote their testimonies, opened your wonderful letters (thank you!) and found out where they'll be serving and who their trainers/companions will be. It was a wonderful evening. You'll be receiving two letters shortly--one from your missionary and another from us with a printed picture for their scrapbook.

Thank you for training up such wonderful young people. They come to us well-prepared, happy and optimistic...with deep testimonies. Please be sure to write them encouraging letters every week...and they will also write you. There will be many marvelous experiences to share.

Any questions or concerns...please let us know!

President and Sister King
Georgia Atlanta North Mission

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER COWLEY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRADY!! Today is his 20th birthday. Hopefully he is having a good day today in the MTC. It is his last day there before he leaves in the morning for Georgia. What a great present that is to be finally headed to Georgia! Only one more birthday to go before he comes home! haha

Surfing 50 States

We had the opportunity to have these "crazy" Australian boys stay with us for the last week. Back in October '06 while we were on vacation in Oregon, we met these two young guys at the "worlds largest tree." We were kind of leary of them because they had long hair and looked a little unkept and they had this cool "ice-cream truck" they were driving around in and it's music was blaring out. We started up a conversation with them and wanted to know what they were doing. They told us they were doing this crazy adventure of surfing all 50 states. They were going to document it on video with the notion they were going to make it into a movie. Their reasoning behind this is because Australians don't have a very good impression of Americans. They wanted to find out what true Americans are like. What cute boys they are. They blew us away with their charm and charisma! We fell in love with them and were excited for their big adventure. They hadn't been to Utah yet, so we told them to look us up when they got here. Long story short, they called us a few weeks later and asked if they could crash at our house for a couple days. Needless to say we said yes! They came and we looked for great ways to surf in Utah. They ended up surfing in our back yard in the canal. I know what everyones thinking. Why the canal? Well, we tried to get the Olympic ski jump but, they had just closed down for the summer. We talked about the Oval but, they were already doing something on ice like that. We also wanted to pull them behind the boat at the lake but they were already doing that. So, that's why the canal. They loved that idea. We had Jordan pull them on the 4-wheeler down the canal road and needless to say it turned out great! Keith McCord from channel 5 news came to our house and did a story on them and it was on the news. It was really exciting!

Fast forward two years and their movie is finished. It's called "Surfing 50 States." Here is a little bit of it from youtube. Enjoy.....




The movie is a riot! When they called us a few weeks ago to see if they could stay with us the boys were really excited. They have been traveling the country wherever their movie has played. They came here for the Film Festival. They submitted their movie into the Extreme Sports Film Festival and it was accepted. The festival for the extreme sports was called the X-Dance Festival. It went along with the Sundance Film Festival. They were so excited to be included since this was their first time in any kind of movie making. Their opening was last week and we had the opportunity to go up to the Off Broadway theatre for it's Grand Showing. It was great! The boys were sooo excited because they got to meet some of their favorite extreme sports athletes such as Travis Wright a professional snowboarder who had just won the Extreme Sports Snowboarding competition worldwide. We had a good time while they were here. We love them just like they were part of our family. So polite and such good manners. Their names are Stephen Hunt and Jonno Durrant. We also had Stephen's sister, Courtney here from Australia along with Jonno's girlfriend, Sam who is from Minnesota who he met while surfing the 50 states. We thoroughly enjoyed them and it took our minds off of Brady since they came the very day after we took him to the MTC. Here are some pictures from the week. I'll post some of the older pictures from two years ago when I can find them.





This was at the X-Dance Festival at the premiere of their movie. They had a question and answer time at the end.

2nd Letter

Hey guys this is my new email account so I'll be e-mailing you every week!(bgcowley@myldsmail.net) I sent you guys a letter today so it should get there tomorrow! I forgot to put in that if you could can you send me a sports page? I know it's dumb but it's driving me nuts not knowing what's going on in sports. haha Who's going to the Super Bowl anyway? Well, today has been a really good day. It's my first P-day and I did all my laundry and such and kinda just relaxed for a while. I have a devotional tonight which usually has one of the apostles come and talk to us. It should be good! Other than that, it's going great. I love it here, the people are nice and the spirit is so strong it's awesome! Like I said in my letter, I really struggled the first couple days because I was just putting to much pressure on myself. The lessons are pretty hard to learn, not going to lie, but I remembered what Dad and Bryson said and I slowed down and took everything in at a steady pace. I'm a little slower than the other guys but ya know I don't care. I'll get em down when I do haha! Well, what's new in the family? I wish I could look up the blog here but I can't. Oh well, what can ya do right? Well, I better get goin. I love all you guys, you're the best family anyone can ask for. I'll talk to ya later! Oh yeah, tell Rusty, Issy and Scooter I said hi!

Love, Elder Brady Cowley

Brady at the MTC

It has taken me a minute to sit down and be able to share the pictures of Brady at the MTC. It was a really exciting, great, great, but hard day. As a mother you have been preparing for this day since they were born, but I don't think you are really ever prepared fully to send them away for two years. I am sooo excited for him, but I miss him alot. He is going to be an excellent Missionary. The Georgia Atlanta North Mission is lucky to have him. I know he will be blessed as well as our family. Good luck Elder Cowley!!! Here is his address at the MTC. He will be there until Feb. 3rd. By the way, Feb. 2nd is his birthday.
Elder Brady Cowley
MTC Mailbox #245
GA-ATLN 0203
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, Utah 84604-1793

Hardware Ranch

We took the boys up to Hardware Ranch in Hyrum last week and had a ball! We have been trying to do more "family activities" before Brady goes on his mission next week. The last time we took the boys up there was when they were little. They still loved it. It was fun riding in the sleigh and seeing the elk that have come down to winter. The guide said they had around 400 elk there on the Ranch. The elk are wild and they come there to winter because they get fed. The Ranch is under the direction of the Fish and Wildlife Resources.

As you can see in the pictures of the boys, they weren't too excited that their Mom was taking pictures. All I kept hearing was how they were the oldest kids there and their Mom was the only one taking pictures. HOW EMBARRASSING!!! I didn't care I took them anyway. I will just appreciate the scowls on their faces.

What a cat!

The other day I was looking out my window and this is what I saw...

This is our cat that we rescued from the mountains after being abandoned by someone. I have found him in a few of our trees and also on the roof of the house. He loves to climb. I think he must have had to climb a few trees in the mountains to get away from being a coyote or cougars dinner.

Happy New Year!!

We had a great Christmas this year. With Brady getting ready for his mission he went to the Temple the day after Christmas and we had his Farewell on the 28th. It was a great time and I think it was one of my best Christmas's ever. I put together pictures of the Temple and Farewell on Smilebox below. Hope you all had a great Christmas and have the best year in 2009!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Brady's Mission Farewell

It's been a bit since I wrote anything on the blog. It's been a busy month. We have been shopping for Mission Clothes, Christmas, going to Christmas Parties, Bryson having Hernia Surgery and getting ready for Brady's Farewell this Sunday. We are really excited for Christmas and seeing people/family at his farewell. Everyone's invited to come and hear him speak in Sacrament Meeting and come over to the house after to wish him well. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

 

"Tom's Tree" at the Festival of Trees

This is a very special tree! It is found at the Festival of Trees.

As a neighborhood we got together and decided that instead of giving neighbor gifts this year we would donate that money to a charity in our neighborhoods name. We had a very special man in our neighborhood pass away suddenly in an accident this past summer and we decided that as neighbors we would donate/decorate a tree in his honor for the festival. His name was Tom Cracroft. He was a great man! He loved soccer and loved coaching it. So, the tree has a cute soccer theme. He was very selfless and very giving even after he passed away and donated all of his organs to others that needed them. He would appreciate the sale of this tree and it's earnings to the children at Primary Childrens Hospital.

As neighbors, we got together and made necklaces that we learned to make at Enrichment to donate to the gift shop at the festival also. They turned out very cute. There are even some really cute BYU ones.

Our cute little tree ended up selling for $400.00 and the necklaces I'm sure sold very fast. You can see them this weekend at the festival and the tree is on Isle "A" in the small tree section.

A BIG thank-you to two of our neighbors who headed up this project. Jenny Robison and Raelyn Olson. They worked very hard for this to all come together and turn out as great as it did. We had a great time doing it and we are going to continue this special project every year wether it be for the Festival of Trees or some other deserving charity. What a wonderful experience! I am so grateful that my family and I could be a part of it. It is truly what Christmas is all about. Christ was a great example of this and by his example we can follow him.

These are the cute necklaces we made.

Loving tribute to Tom

Setting the tree up

Raelyn making sure the top looks great!

Jenny, Raelyn, and I after it's all set up.

Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is....

It must be Christmas because my backyard is a Christmas Tree Lot!

It must be Christmas because all the Christmas Trees that Steve and Brady went up to Oregon to get are here in our backyard. Every year since we stopped doing our Christmas Tree Lots we have still gotten some for family and friends. This year Steve brought home quite a few extras as in a "few hundred". What are we going to do with them? They are in my backyard and he has set up a little Christmas Tree Lot for anyone who would like one. They are BEAUTIFUL!! He always brings home the most gorgeous trees. We have growers up in Oregon that really know how to grow them in the most perfect shapes. We are selling them to anyone that would like them. They start at $30.00 for a 6-7 foot Grand Fir. They smell so good. I open my back door and it smells just like Christmas. It has made me really excited for the holidays even though it will be really busy as Brady will be leaving for Georgia on his mission a couple weeks after Christmas and his farewell on the 28th of December. We will make it through it and it is going to be the best Christmas ever!! If you or anyone that you know would love one of these gorgeous trees just give Steve a call at 801-244-1938.

Steve, Brady and my Dad processing the trees by drilling a hole in the bottom of the trunk for the stand.

Brady looks so excited..

We even put Dad to work. He thought he was up here from St. George on vacation. Boy, was he wrong. He was a good sport though and enjoyed drilling the trees.

Even Issy is having fun in the trees!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What are you thankful for?

BYU - UTAH GAME

I only have two words for BYU and UTAH football. BYU:INSPIRING... UTAH:CLASSLESS...

Twilight at Midnight

Twilight the movie is here! Last night I went with a bunch of friends to the midnight showing of "Twilight." It was soooo much fun. As I was leaving and the boys were going to bed for the night, Bryson asked me if I felt like a teenager again going out for the night after 10 o'clock. I was laughing to myself as he was acting as the parent asking what time I would be home and to be careful while he went to bed. The answer was yes, I was feeling like a teenager again.

The theatre was packed with women and girls who were so excited to see on screen what they had visualized in their minds while reading the book. It didn't disappoint me. I really liked it. It was a bit cheesy in parts but in all they did a good job.
The music was amazing. I am going to have to add the soundtrack to my "Santa list."

The theatre that we watched the movie in gave us a bunch of prizes. We each got a Twilight t-shirt that says: Twilight only a vampire can love forever, vampire fangs, picture of Edward and birthday cake because it was some girls birthday.

Thanks to my friend Karen for getting the tickets and especially to my friend Carrie for taking me.

I've been tagged!!

My sister Lezlie tagged me and I'm not sure what I am supposed to do. I was to find the fourth folder and publish the fourth picture. This is what I found. Brady and his friends Josh, Craig and Daniel the day they graduated from High School back in June of '07. You can see how happy and excited they were to have finally made it to graduation. Now I tag Courtney, Heather, and Amy.

Anyone need a fresh Christmas Tree from Oregon?

Does anyone need a really nice, fresh, beautiful, real Christmas Tree this year for a really reasonable price? Steve is making his annual trek up to Oregon next week to get a semi-truck load of trees. He gets them from his growers up in the Oregon area that he has had for years for our Christmas Tree lots. As most of you know we don't do the "tree lot" thing anymore, but we do still get quite a few for family and friends. They are beautiful trees that I look forward to every year. As you can see I get a big one for the family room and several smaller ones for other places in the house. If you would like Steve to get one or two for you just e-mail us at wapiti44@aol.com. The prices are as follows: 6-7ft. $45.00, 7-8ft. $55.00, 8-9ft. $65.00, 9-10ft. $75.00 and if you want bigger than that it's $10.00 a ft. If there is a particular species of tree that you like such as Grand Fir, Noble Fir, etc. just let us know. Steve will hand cut them himself a couple days before Thanksgiving and they will be here a couple days after that. You can't go wrong on these trees. They brighten your holidays and make your house smell like Christmas!!

I Hope They Call Me On A Mission

Brady Garry Cowley has been called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the "GEORGIA ATLANTA NORTH MISSION"!!! We are sooooo proud of Brady and his decision to serve the Lord. He will be a great missionary! He leaves January 14, 2009. Here's a slide show of pictures of him opening his call. What an exciting night. Thanks everyone for your support and love. We love and appreciate you all!!

Halloween

Halloween is different at our house now that the boys are grown. No more Trick or Treating. It is now Halloween parties. They have a lot of fun. This year the party was at our house. We love having everyone over it brings "happy noise" into our home.

This is Brady and his friends. Brady dressed up as Billy Ray Cyrus back in his "mullet" days.
Bryson dressed up as a "Gansta!"

Bryson and his friends. More came later in the evening but I went to bed (it was passed 10:00 p.m. my bedtime) so I didn't get a picture of all of them.
They capped the night off with the ever popular tradition that they started years ago called: The Gallon Challenge. This is where they have a certain amount of time to drink a whole gallon of milk without throwing it up. It is impossible to do because your stomach can't hold that much liquid. They see who can drink the most before they throw it up. Sounds lovely doesn't it. It must be a boy thing! Proudly I must admit that Bryson was the winner with only an inch or two left in the bottom of the jug. What a proud mother I am. Oh brother......

Halloween continued....

Can't forget Isabella in her costume. You can see her hiding in the pillows on my bed because I told her she needed to put her "dress" on. Whenever I say that she hides. Hmm, maybe she doesn't like it. She was a good sport and humored me by being a good girl and posing for pictures. I know that secretly down deep she really likes it!

Bryson's Birthday

Here's more picture's from Bryson's birthday.

Bryson's Birthday

Getting sung the "Happy Birthday" song at TGIFriday's.

Happy 23rd Birthday Bryson!!

Happy Birthday Bryson!! 23 years ago today at 4:30 p.m. at L.D.S. hospital you were born to two very excited parents. The first grandchild on the your Mom's side of the family and the 9th grandchild on your Dad's side of the family. We were very excited. Aunt Lezlie wanted to send you back though, because you weren't a girl. She was very disapointed but eventually she loved you just as much as a girl. You had blond curly hair that everyone loved and you were a very energetic baby and quite the handful. I guess nothing has changed in 23 years.

Here you are now. Dad and I are VERY proud of the young man you have become. We love you very much!!!

Which Twilight Girl are You?

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results! I took this quiz and found out that I am like Esme. Who are you?

Yeah, they're almost home!

It has been 8 full days since my family left for the "deer hunt." They are coming home today. YEAH!!!! It has just been me and Isabella here all alone since that time. I LOVED it for the first 3 or 4 days, but after that I was missing them ALOT! You would think that after 24 years of this tradition I would be used to it, but I guess I just love my family soooo much that I can't be away from them too long. Next time I get mad at the boys for leaving their dirty clothes on the floor or leaving dishes and food out on the counter, I am still going to let them know that I am not happy about it. But, I will silently be thanking my Heavenly Father for my wonderful husband and boys. I am glad that Steve takes them hunting every year. They have such a great relationship and I am very grateful for that. They have a great time and they plan it all year long. If any of you know my family you know that's all they talk about. Brady got a really nice 4x3 buck. With this being his last hunt for a couple of years while he's on his mission it was extra sweet! He and my Dad went out one morning and bagged him. Both of them were really excited with this being my Dad's very first hunt. I think he had a good time with them. What a great "Papa" to do that with his grandsons. Another hunt down many more to come. (oh brother)

A very proud Brady and his buck.

What a guy!

I couldn't help myself. I just had to take this picture and post it. How many husbands do you know that can sew? Steve has soooo many talents and sewing is one of them. It's probably a good thing, because the only sewing I know how to do is sewing a button on. The zipper on his "wall tent" needed fixing because it wouldn't zip up, so he uses his BIG commercial size sewing machine to fix it for the upcoming deer hunt. He makes nylon bags to put steel griddles in among a list of other things. He's quite the handy man to have around. I guess he's a KEEPER!!!!

Halloween's past

With the weather getting colder and the pumkins on everyone's porches, I was remembering back a few years ago when the boys were little and excited about Halloween. They loved picking out their costumes and couldn't wait to get buckets full of candy. This picture is Bryson, Brady, Jordan and Kylie just as they were about to go outside trick-or-treating back in the old West Jordan neighborhood. Good times!!! Aren't they cute!!

What to do on a lazy afternoon? Go fishin......

Steve, Bryson, Brady and I went fishing to Strawberry Friday afternoon and had a great time! First time we had taken the boat out all year. We wanted to get Brady out before he went on his mission. The weather wasn't too bad, just a little bit rainy at times but the scenery was beautiful!!

Just like a two year old!

The other day I had gone out shopping and came home and to my surprise I found this...Garbage strewn all over my kitchen and family room. The only ones home were Rusty and Isabella. I knew one of them had done it. By looking at both of their expressions I could tell that the culprit was none other than my princess Isabella. She had the funniest look on her face knowing full well that she had done something
wrong. It took me back a few years ago when Bryson, Brady and Jordan were little and they had that same look on their faces when they had done something wrong. It was sooo funny that I tried to get mad at her and send her to her house(bed) but, all I could do was grab my camera and have a good laugh. It was nice to laugh after a stressful day. She has been such a joy to have in our home. Even the boys love her and love to see her when they get home from school, work.

How could I get mad at this face. (look at the lovely orange color of sauce around her face)

This is what she was after.....

It's Official!

O.K. I know alot of you have been waiting anxiously to find out what our new kitty's name is. So here it is. Drum roll please........Mr. Jax!!! Why this name? I have no idea. It came down to Scooter, Kitty, Max, Lucky, Willard or Bronco. None of those names seem to fit him and he seems to like the name Jax. So unless the boys change it I guess that's what he will be called. I hope he likes it.

What a softie!!

Am I a softie or what? This cat has now found a new home at our house. I think I must be crazy. Ever since Cricket our other cat died a few years ago I swore I would never get another one. Well, never say never. It all started a month or so ago when Steve went to the family cabin in Indianola. There was this cat. I guess someone coldheartedly dropped this cat/cats off in the middle of nowhere instead of taking them to the Animal Shelter like any humane person should and left them to starve/freeze/get eaten by cougars, coyotes,etc. This particular cat was VERY friendly and hung out at the cabin and attached itself to whoever was there. It had been catching mice and grasshoppers for it's meals. Steve came home and left it behind never thinking a thing about it. He mentioned to me about this friendly cat and I just let it go in one ear and out the other. Well, last weekend Brady went to the cabin and this cat was still there being all cute and friendly again. When I talked to Brady he had mentioned that it was still there. I went to sleep Saturday night and couldn't get this cat off of my mind. I guess with the weather getting colder and how it didn't have anyone to take care of it really got to me and my soft heart got the better of me and next thing I know I am telling Steve that we need to bring that cat here to our house under the stipulation that it be an "outdoor" cat.(I'm not that big a softy.) What would Isabella think or Rusty? So as you can see from this picture that cat has now found a home at our house and yes, you can see it is in the house. We only bring it in for a few minutes at a time so it will get used to it and not run away. We have made it a very nice bed in the garage. Now the problem is what to name him. Any suggestions? I am leaning toward a really good BYU name like "Cosmo" or "Max" or even "Bronco" for our favorite coach and NFL team. Leave me a comment with any name suggestions that you have. Am I nuts or in brother in law Mark's words "what do you think?"

Baseball then, and now

Back when the boys were little they played baseball every summer in the Babe Ruth league. Sometimes Bryson and Brady were on the same team. We LOVED going to their games and watching and having a good time. We miss those good ole days. Well, now the boys are in a softball league and we get to go and watch them just like the good ole days. Bryson doesn't like us to come though because he is too embarrassed saying that a 23 year old parents don't come to watch them play. I say that's hogwash and I am going. That's my enjoyment. He has since come to accept it and was even glad that we got to witness his "over the fence" homerun. Here is a picture of Bryson and Brady back then.

This is now more than 10 years later along with Jordan and cousin Cody.

Card Club

I am part of a "Card Club" that we have in the neighborhood where we get together once a month and make cards/scrapbook. I love making cards and getting ideas from people. Here are a few of the cards I have made and some ideas for any of you that make cards. Thanks to Carolyn in my neighborhood for having card club and for all the great ideas!! We have alot of fun!

BYU 59 UCLA 0

Another great game by BYU! The score says it all. BYU 59 UCLA nothing, zip, nada, a big fat zero!!! That is now 2-0 against the BIG PAC 10. 3-0 overall. The media darlings of college football. I bet BYU has the national sports executives and media people very nervous. BYU just showed everyone that the results of last weeks game against washington was NOT decided on that last call. This was the worst loss for UCLA since 1929 and BYU handed it to them. GO COUGARS!!!

It's another BYU win!!!!!

Yeah!! It's another BYU win!! 2-0 baby.... By the way, if you saw the game you'll know what a good game it was. Alot of talk about the "bad call" but let's not forget the GREAT block by BYU to win it!! That somehow has been lost in the controversy and it should be celebrated not forgotten.

What was she thinking?

Have you ever seen a "toy dog" act like a hunting dog and go after a fish? We took Isabella to Strawberry with us camping and fishing. She decided that she was a hunting dog. When we would reel the fish in, she thought it would be fun to POUNCE on it and grab it in her mouth. I didn't think her breed of dogs would like the water let alone get in it. Our lab Rusty does but, he's a hunting dog. I don't know where she comes from? She is supposed to be my "prissy" little girl. I was totally dumbfounded all the while Steve was laughing hysterically because he knows how much I want her to be a prissy princess. I guess she is not going fishing anymore until she learns to be a little more lady like.

You gotta luv it!!

You just have to love it when the air starts to get that crispness to it and the leaves start to get the brown around the edges because that means it's FOOTBALL season!! I absolutely LOVE football, especially those amazing BYU Cougars!! I think that I inherited this from my Grandma Turner who was a big cheerleader of (in her words) "the BYU". I don't think she and Grandpa ever missed a game. She was also a big fan of the Utah Jazz. BYU is off to a great start 1-0. Let's hope they have a good game this Saturday against Washington. (of course they will) rah rah rahrahrah rah rah rahrahrah gooooooooo COUGARS!!!!!!!!

Elder Phillips

Brady's good friend and our "adopted" son Josh just left today on his mission to the Mexico Torreon Mission. We are very excited for him yet, we will miss him. We have appreciated the friendship he has with Brady. He is a great young man! We have enjoyed having him and their group of friends in our home. What a blessing it is when your kids have good friends. Good luck Josh!!!!

What's for dinner? (augh!)

Do you ever have days when you are tired of making the same old thing for dinner? You ask the family want they want and no-one will give you an answer let alone an idea. I found this blog on a friends blog and the recipes make me want to make them all for dinner. Plus, your family will think you slaved in the kitchen all day and they are easy recipes. There's even one for Cafe Rio Salad!! Love it and Enjoy!!!
fashionablyfoodie.blogspot.com

Olympics

The Olympics are now coming to a close. I look forward to them every two years. I do have to say that the Summer Olympics are my favorite. I especially love the gymnastics. I am in awe of the elements that they do. Back when I was in high school and doing gymnastics Coach Price would try and teach me elements of the apparatuses. I could only do one single turn on the bar and that was only on the lowest one because I was waaay too scared of going onto the high one. On the vault I barely could get my body over it. Now the beam was way out of the question and I prided myself on the floor with my great somersaults! Gee, maybe if I tried a little harder maybe I could have been the Nastia Lukin of 1981! Maybe not... but I do have to say that I appreciated the way that our young women on the team have exemplified themselves. They have been great examples to the young women of the world by their examples of true sportsmanship. You know it had to bother them that one of their teammates fell off the beam and most likely cost them the gold medal, but immediately afterward they came to her and put their arms around her. They were interviewed about it later and none of them said anything negative about their teammate. They showed class and values. I am very proud of them and their accomplishments not only for them but for the U.S.A. Go U.S.A.!!!!

Birthday, Vacation & Anniversay all in one week!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDY!! You are such a stud. I can't believe you are now 17 years old. We are very proud of the fine young man that you are. Always believe in yourself and you will accomplish much good in your life. We love you lots!!!!

We went to Yellowstone for a Family Reunion/Vacation last week. We had alot of fun. Steve, Jordan and I were the only ones that went. Bryson had a Golf Tournament that he was in and Brady and his buddies went to Las Vegas for a little vacation before they all left on their missions. We missed them but still had a good time. We especially had fun with Steve's family since it was the Cowley Reunion. Here are a bunch of pictures that we took. Thanks to Jordan for being such a good sport by being in most of the pictures!

and more pictures....

and some more pictures we took.....

It was also Steve and I's Anniversary on the 15th of August. We have been married for 24 years! It just so happened that while we were in Yellowstone it was our anniversary and that is the same place we went on our honeymoon. It brought back alot of fun memories. The place hasn't changed and neither have we. (haha in our dreams)

Who are you?

Try this and see which princess you are....
You Are Snow White!

Pure and trusting. You are a gentle soul who can get along with just about anyone. Everyone you meet instantly falls in love with you. How can they resist? You have a pure, lovable nature that's irresistable. Just don't trust everyone who comes across your path.

Which Disney Princess Are You?
Thought this would be fun to try. I guess that I am Snow White, but where are my seven dwarfs? I could use them to clean, shop, errand run, yard work etc. I guess that's only in fairy tales.

EVACUATE!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a night we had!! As many of you know I am the Ward Activities Chairman and we had our Ward Camp Out Friday and supposedly Saturday up Payson Canyon at the Black Hawk Campground.I have been planning this since January when I had to reserve the site and plan my year out.

Saturday morning around 12:15 we got a knock on the trailer door from the camp host telling us we needed to get everyone and evacuate because of the Payson Canyon Fire.

We had just finished the evenings festivities of karaoke and an outdoor movie and some of us had just finished taking off our makeup and putting on our p.j.'s when we got the knock on our door. Steve and Jordan went around knocking on people's r.v.'s, tents, etc. waking them up with the bad news while I hurriedly got the trailer ready to go. I don't think I have ever done it that fast.

Jordan and his friends went around helping those in tents get them taken down and put away. What troopers they were. They are really good boys!

I felt bad for the little kids who were wakened from their dreamy sleep only to be told they needed to leave because of the big, bad fire that was coming. There were some that were crying because they were scared.

Everyone from our ward was going around making sure everyone was taken care of and in need of help packing up. What good ward members I have. No one left until everyone was packed up and driving in a caravan down the mountain. Not really down since we had to go the looong way (Nephi way) which is up the mountain further and then down.

From the time the camp host told us to leave till the time we all left didn't take much time at all. We arrived home at 3:45 this morning. Someone even had the courage to ask if we were all meeting at the church this morning after only 3 hours of sleep for breakfast and the games. NOT!!

I have given the Bishop the perishables and the rest I will save and I think we will have a big breakfast activity in September and that way the whole ward will come.

I just want to say a big THANK YOU to those that came and supported the camp out. It will be one that we will always remember. I will never forget they way we all came together to help everyone out and take care of each other. I know that in case of any emergency my neighbors and ward members will always be there for me. Just the way Jesus taught us through his example. Way to go Bluffdale 9th Ward!!!!!

Summer's Over

Well, summer is officially over for me. School started today so I had to go back to work. It just doesn't seem right to see the school buses filled with children going to school in July. What is wrong with this picture? Don't get me wrong. I really like my job as the school librarian. I just wanted(needed) a longer break than 3 weeks. Jordan got a good laugh last night when I told him school was starting. He thinks it's funny because his school starts the end of August like they are supposed to. I guess I need to count my blessings and be thankful I have this job that I like and I don't have to work everyday 12 months a year.