"My Three Sons and Two Little Doggies"

Christmas @ Temple Square 2010

2010-12-23T08:11:00.004-07:00

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Well Done Elder Brady Garry Cowley!!

2010-12-18T15:32:00.004-07:00

My baby is finally home after two years serving a Mission in the Georgia Atlanta North Mission. He arrived home on December 9th at 2:50 p.m. Christmas is here!!!!!!

Picking my parents up from their Mission.

2010-12-18T15:06:00.006-07:00

My parents were called to serve a Service Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Nebraska on one of the Church's large cattle ranches. My sister and I got to fly in and pick them up to come over when their mission was over. We had a great time and maybe one day Steve and I will be able to go on a mission of our own.

This is the VERY LARGE plane we flew on.

Cute Sister Crump on her horse.

This is one of two "bucket babies" thats mother passed away giving birth to it. It's fed with a bucket and will come right up to you.

Wouldn't be a farm without a big John Deere

One of the houses on the Ranch they lived in.

View from the house.

Did they grow up in the horse and carriage days?

Cows were everywhere!

More cows....

Ready for the long road trip home in the Grand Marquee pulling a U-haul. Hahahahah...

Sad to say goodbye. Very well done Elder and Sister Crump!

T-Minus 29 Days!!!

2010-11-10T21:02:00.002-07:00

29 MORE DAYS UNTIL MY ELDER "BRADY BUNCH" COMES HOME!!!!

Witches Night Out

2010-10-24T19:33:00.003-06:00

My friend, Carolyn had a bunch of us friends over for a fun "Witches Night Out" a few nights ago. She had fixed us a great dinner with a fun night of games, prizes and we made a darling witch hat decoration. We had a blast!!! I have the best friends in the world and am so grateful for them!!

I LOVE Conference Weekend

2010-10-03T17:02:00.007-06:00

I just love conference weekend. Not because I get to sleep in, well that doesn't hurt, but I love being with my family, all together listening to our Prophet, the General Authorities and the good yummy food. It just recharges my batteries and fills my spirit with gladness and thankfulness for the many blessings that I have. Did I also mention the good food too?

"To express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven." President Monson

Yummy homemade Conference Popcorn

To top it all off, the brothers got along good and Jordan even trusted Bryson enough to cut his hair.
side note: I'm not too happy that he cut it into a mow hawk! ugh!!

Fire! Fire! Fire!

2010-09-26T14:36:00.001-06:00

Last Sunday night the 19th this is what we saw from our patio out back. This is the mountains behind us in Herriman. What had happened was Camp Williams was doing drills during the day Sunday on the machine gun range and there were high winds at the time. All it took was a spark from one of the guns and with the high winds it took off very quickly! A lot of Herriman City got evacuated because the fire was raging out of control and headed towards their homes. 3 homes were lost in the fire and many others have smoke damage. Schools in the city were closed the following day. It took firefighters a few days to get it under control and eventually out. It was a pretty scary sight that last Sunday night. Fire and Emergency crews did an outstanding job through the whole thing!! This is what we get living in a nice quiet rural area, but I wouldn't trade it for anywhere in the world. As my Grandma would say...."Bluffdale is a pretty little town"......

I Sure Do Miss This Boy!!

2010-09-16T15:15:00.001-06:00

Sinking The Boat

2010-09-12T22:34:00.003-06:00

The boys wanted to go fishing up at Strawberry on Labor Day so we hooked the boat up and headed to the lake. It was a perfect beautiful day and we even started catching some fish until I noticed that there was water pooling up in the back of the boat where I was fishing. I asked Steve if this was normal and with a concerned look on his face he opened up the engine part of the boat and water was seeping in through a hole in the boat. Where the hole came from we have no idea. Needless to say that as we were sitting in the middle of Strawberry Lake our boat was slowly sinking and sinking. I'm so glad that I am married to Mr. Gadget Man who can fix anything and he quickly sprang into action grabbing the pump and pumping out as much water as he could. It was good enough for us to make it back to the dock before we sank to the bottom of the lake.

Notice the stream of water being pumped out of the boat.

Good thing they are small enough to climb right into the engine.

At least we caught some fish before we would have been the fish if we had sunk.

Our Thumbs Aren't The Greenest

2010-09-12T22:20:00.004-06:00

We thought we would try planting a garden this year. We have planted a few garden's year's past, but haven't for a few years. We decided that this year would be a good year to try it again. We really aren't the best gardeners, but we do our best and believe it or not we have been getting a few vegetables from the garden that have been "edible". I don't think that Macy's will be calling us anytime soon to sell them vegetables. I do have to say though, I am pleasantly surprised that they have tasted good and the kids have even eaten some.

Jordan's 19th Birthday

2010-08-22T21:20:00.001-06:00

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Fun Day With The Cash Family From Georgia

2010-08-08T15:50:00.002-06:00

We got an e-mail from Brady a couple weeks ago letting us know that his very good friends from his Mission would be coming to Utah for a visit and that they wanted to meet us and go fishing.

We were so excited when they called and told us they were in town and wanted to get together. Bright and early Friday morning, Steve and Jordan took Brady's friend Mark and his Uncle and Cousin up to Strawberry for a fun morning of fishing. Although they got skunked by the fish they still had a really good time.

Afterwards, we all met up for lunch and got to meet the whole family. Mark, his wife, daughter and mother in law. It was a lot of fun listening to them talk about Brady because he is serving in their ward right now. They had some great stories to tell about him and we thoroughly enjoyed it!! Thanks for coming Cash family we really appreciate all you do for Elder Cowley!!

Sa-weet New Suit!

2010-08-01T20:55:00.003-06:00

Brady sent us some new pictures and was excited to show us a brand new suit that he picked up for a steal...

No wonder it was a steal. The store probably PAID HIM to take it!

He sent it home because he was excited to share it with his brothers. They LOVE it and can't wait to wear it to church, oh my.

You Know You're Working Hard When......

2010-08-01T18:05:00.002-06:00

You have sweat pouring from every pore on your face.

Sweat pouring down your back.

Both pair of your shoes look like this.

Good job Elder Cowley, you're an amazing missionary!!!

Hilarious!!

2010-07-20T09:21:00.001-06:00

This is hilarious...It has me giggling every time I watch it. It's a take off from that "Old Spice commercial that some students from BYU have made. Enjoy....

Happy Birthday Steve!!

2010-07-11T17:01:00.003-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE!

Woo, look at all the smoke from the many candles....Not too shabby for a 49 year old!!

Summer Time Fun - Boating at Utah Lake

2010-07-11T16:25:00.005-06:00

I LOVE summertime and all that it brings. One of our families favorite things to do during the summer is to go boating. We decided a couple years ago that the boys were getting older and hanging out with their friends more and we still wanted to make sure that we still had quality family time and that the boys would want to still do things with their boring parents so we bought a boat. It has definately been worth the expense because we go out as a family skiing, tubing and fishing with it. The funny thing now is that the friends want to come with us. Go figure!:)

I'm a "Twihard"

2010-07-04T15:01:00.001-06:00

Yes, I admit it I'm a "Twihard". I was one of those middle aged women that was at the midnight premiere of ECLIPSE. Call me crazy, but it was a lot of fun. A bunch of friends of mine had a pre-show party and then went to the movie. I actually stayed up for it and didn't fall asleep. Pretty good for an old lady like me.....

Girl's Weekend in St. George

2010-07-04T14:22:00.005-06:00

Me and a few friends got away last weekend for a much needed "Girls Weekend" down in St. George. We had a great time visiting, eating out, shopping, eating out, laughing, eating out, swimming/laying out and saw "Cats" at Tuachaun. It was such a good time. Thanks to my friends for going with me. I am so blessed to have such great friends.

Pizza Factory a MUST when visiting St. George

Staying up till wee hours of the morning laughing in our jammies and no makeup.

Breakfast at St. Helen's Diner

Getting serenaded at breakfast.

Afternoon swim and tan.

Pose at the roundabout.

"Cats"!!!

"Cat's" was awesome!

Called to Serve Elder & Sister Crump

2010-06-23T17:40:00.003-06:00

My parents recently got called to serve the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as service missionary's in Nebraska at the church's largest cattle ranch. They will serve for a period of 4 months and do various things on the ranch. My dad, will be doing "handyman" services while my mom can either help him or do humanitarian aide or teaching english to the children of the spanish cowboys that are working the ranch. There are a lot of various service's that need to be done and they are very excited for this great opportunity. We will miss them, but know that this is a great opportunity for them. Can you say "City Slickers?"

They will be seeing a lot of these....

and a lot of these.....

Farewell barbeque for the "city slickers."

"Bluffdale is a Pretty Little Town"

2010-06-19T13:37:00.005-06:00

"Bluffdale is a pretty little town." I just LOVE living in Bluffdale! My Grandma who lived in Bluffdale her whole life used to say to us that the sound the Meadow Larks make is they are singing "Bluffdale is a pretty little town." If you listen close when your out here in Bluffdale you can hear them singing that. Every morning when I wake up I can hear them singing that little tune. It makes me very grateful that we moved here onto my Grandpa's farm that he used to farm alfalfa on. I truly feel that I live on blessed land. What's even nicer is most of Bluffdale are relatives. It's nice and peaceful with an awesome view of the valley. I can stand on my front porch and see the Draper, Oquirrh and Jordan River Temples along with beautiful views of the mountains.

Today was Bluffdale Town Days and along with the fun and games at the park is the annual parade. Where can you live where the parade goes down the street right in front of your house? LOVE IT!! Enjoy the pictures....

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Youth Conference 2010

2010-06-13T20:24:00.008-06:00

Steve and I were priviledged to go to our Stake's Youth Conference. It was the Book Of Mormon Youth Conference where the kids learn about the hero's in the Book of Mormon. We were called as "Goodly Parents" to a group of 9 kids in our own ward to watch over and be a parent to. It was the most awesome experience!!! It was a lot of work, but so worth it. Even though it rained and was freezing and we had to leave a day early for safety reasons due to flooding and the cold we had the time of our life. The kids were so great. We never heard one word of complaining out of them. Our family was the best. The name of our family was the "Cow Bee Tribe." We were searching for the land of "Milk and Honey" and we found it! I do have to say though that I can do without rain for a little while. Huddling in Steve's nice wall tents around the wood burning stoves to keep warm and dry out was all nice, but it isn't something I would love to do all the time, but all in all the kids had a great experience and we were grateful to be a part of it. Thanks to our great family of Jordan, Tyler, Chaz, Tallin, Danielle, Hannah, Jacinda, Stephanie and Jenny!
Our Family

Jordan, Tyler and Chaz with the "Fort" they built and they actually slept in it.

All the "Goodly Mother's"

Building the Fort.

Nerf Noodle War

Tyler on Jordan's shoulders during the noodle war.

Our family during one of the games trying to work together to walk on sticks.

The Goodly Parents had to do it all by themselves without their family.

Jordan and Danielle dressing up for the skit.

Jordan as a horse and Chaz is the cowboy for the skit.

Sitting in the downpour of rain during the skits.

My Wonderful Mother's Day.

2010-05-16T16:28:00.001-06:00

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My Missionary In Canton Georgia

2010-05-06T13:05:00.006-06:00

He really loves his $6.00 suit from the Good Will Thrift Store. (No, this is NOT one of his missionary suits that we purchased for him before he left. He still has those and they are still in perfectly good condition. Silly kid of mine.)

6 pound bass he caught while fishing with some members on his p-day. He was pretty proud of himself. They actually took it home and put it in one of the members fish tanks and it survived!

Tracting through Canton, Georgia

These next pictures are of his great Missionary Companions.

The following pictures are of the good people of Canton, Georgia.

Early Christmas Present

2010-04-25T14:29:00.003-06:00

In Brady's e-mail last week he told us that he had an interview with his Mission President President King, and he told him to tell his family that he was sending us an early Christmas Present. He gave Brady his release date. It's a couple weeks earlier than expected so that Brady could start spring semester at UVU on time. His release date is.........DECEMBER 23, 2010!!!!!!! It's going to be the best Christmas ever!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T22:06:00.005-06:00

Don't let the frowns fool ya, they love it and they know it just too macho to show it!!

Issy and Chloe want Bryson to share the beef jerky.

For Easter this year Grammy and Papa came and stayed with us and after Conference we went to Uncle Shane and Aunt Rhonda's for dinner and for the annual Grammy and Papa Crump Easter Egg Hunt. The kids LOVE this especially if they find the "gold" and "silver" eggs that hold the big prize in them $$$$!!!

All the cute cousins...

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T20:40:00.002-06:00

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!! May the Luck of the Irish be with everyone!

Oryx Hunt

2010-02-28T18:46:00.003-07:00

Steve and Jordan have been down in New Mexico the last few days with Steve's good friend Cory hunting Oryx. It's been a once in a lifetime opportunity for them and they have been having a ball! This is the nice Oryx that Cory got yesterday morning. He was pretty proud!!

Valentine Getaway

2010-02-21T15:43:00.002-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day to my Sweetheart of a husband Steve. He decided that we needed a much deserved getaway into some nice warm sunshine. We went down to Mesquite for a few days over Valentine's. It was WONDERFUL to sit around the pool listening to the waterfall and soaking in some warm sun rays. It was very relaxing and a great time. Thanks to my valentine Steve! Love ya honey!!

What the World Needs Now, is Love Sweet Love

2010-02-12T09:59:00.003-07:00

This is very appropriate for Valentine's Day. If the world just showed a little more love. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!!!

What does the Groundhog and Brady have in common?

2010-02-03T14:29:00.005-07:00

The Groundhog isn't the only one to come out and see if he sees his shadow. 21 years ago Brady decided to come out into the world. He was born on February 2nd 1989 on Groundhog's Day. Happy 21st birthday Brady. We wish we could spend it with you and celebrate, but we know you'll be celebrating with the people of Georgia and your missionary companions. Have a great birthday!! We love and miss you and are so proud of you. We can't wait to celebrate your birthday together next year!!!

Basketball on P-Day

Baptism Day

Still giving the house a face lift.

2010-01-31T22:08:00.003-07:00

We are still in the process of giving our house a face lift. We have now done 3 rooms. I think we're done for a bit until I decide what color to do the rest of the house. Except for the basement because Brady wants it still the same for when he comes home from his misson. Here are pictures of the Living Room and Office that we have finished.
***Living Room***

***The Office***

New Face Lift

2010-01-23T20:17:00.008-07:00

January is really a "blah" month. I needed something to spice up my life a little and thought about a new facelift. Well after much research, decisions and changing my mind a few times this is what I decided to do.

PAINT THE HOUSE! No, I wasn't thinking about a face lift for me. I figured the house needed a little color to it to spice things up. There's nothing better than a fresh coat of paint on the walls. It was either get new furniture or paint. New furniture definitely won't be happening anytime soon so the next best thing is paint. Steve is such the "man" to take on this job and not really complain about it. Well maybe a little complaining, but after living in the house for 10 years it's about time for a little paint. He did a great job and he's still not finished. After all is said and done we will have painted most of the upstairs in the house. Why not when you have all the stuff you need out you might as well do it all. Loving the face lift on my house! Here are some before and after pictures.

Adventure's in the life of Elder Cowley

2010-01-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

1 YEAR OUT!!!!

2010-01-13T21:51:00.004-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS ELDER COWLEY ON YOUR "HUMP DAY"!!!!!

THE CAMEL IS THE SYMBOL OF A SEASONED MISSIONARY
By Cheryl K. Carpenter
As you come to the one-year mark of your mission, I am sending you this camel to remind you how far you have come, and where you are going.There are many similar characteristics of a great missionary and a camel.
The first is the "hump". Yes, you have crossed the mark and now are over the hump of the first year. But remember the hump of a camel is used to store food for the long journey. Camels can go for long periods of time without food, but he must store his food in his hump. A Missionary has learned from so many experiences, but a wise Missionary will store the knowledge he has gained, and put it to greater use the second half of his mission.
Another important symbol, is what the camel does to be prepared to carry his load for his Master. A camel sometimes protests his heavy load, but he drops to knees for his Master, and once started, he patiently carries his load. Asa missionary sometimes the load seems heavy and difficult to carry. But when you drop to your knees and succumb to the Master's will, he will carefully lead you and you can bear the load patiently, and do your Father in Heaven's work as he would have you do. This is why the camel's knees are heavily padded, as a Missionary, your knees are calloused from the many hours of kneeling in prayer.
The camel has high set eyes, that enable him to see long distances. A Missionary has his eyes set on higher things, he follows the Spirit that enables him to see the Children of God, those who are seeking answers, and he teaches them the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The camel has broad, two-toed feet, that keep it from sinking in desert sand. A missionary has a broad knowledge and a firm testimony of the Gospel. This enables him to teach with boldness and stand firm in his testimony. The people you teach do not yet have the blessing of such a sure-foot, but as you teach with love and the Spirit, you will help them gain their own testimony that will help them walk on firmer ground. One that will lead them back to their Father in Heaven.
So you see, a Missionary has a lot in common with a camel. Put this camel where you can see it often. Dedicate yourself to do as the camel does. Serve your Master well and patiently over the long journey. You have come a long way, there is still much ground to cover. Continue to move forward, serving with love, until your mission is complete and your Father in Heaven will say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

A great man!

2010-01-13T20:57:00.003-07:00

Happy Birthday to one of the greatest men I know. Happy Birthday Dad love ya lots!!!

2 Days :)

2010-01-12T16:47:00.003-07:00

Two days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHRISTMAS 2009 SCRAPBOOK

2009-12-30T19:04:00.002-07:00

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We had a wonderful Christmas at the Cowley household this year. Our family loves traditions and ever since I was a little girl the traditions my parents instilled in me I have carried over to my little family and with those and some new ones we have started make the season full of wonderful memories. My parents have spent Christmas morning every year with us since Bryson was born and he makes sure that every year they stay with us so they can be here when the kids line up to walk out and see what Santa has brought.

Christmas Eve was spent at my little brother Shane's home where each family participates on the program whether it be talent or something to add to the program. Some of the talents this year included numbers on the piano, violin, trumpet, oboe and ringing of bells while singing Jingle Bells. Grammy and Papa told of Christ's birth and gave each one of us a pair of gloves for our hands to use our hands just as Christ did by serving others. What a wonderful night of remembering our Saviors birth and all that he has done for us. Dessert and fun family games topped it all off. The kids were so excited I don't think any of them slept that night.

Christmas Day was spent here at our house with my family coming over for Christmas Dinner. We love our traditional dinner consisting of ham, potato salad, baked beans, Christmas jello, chips and shrimp dip and TONS of homemade goodies. Eating, visiting, opening presents and just being with each other made for a great afternoon.

This year was a little different with Brady not being here while he is on his mission in Georgia. He gets to call home twice a year on Mother's Day and Christmas. We were so excited to get that phone call from him. A lot of nervous anticipation through the day until finally at 2:00 the phone rang and we each spent some time talking to him. He sounds great!! He was having dinner with a new member family in his area and they were taking very good care of him. What a great Christmas present it was to be able to hear his voice and to know that he is very happy doing the Lords work.

We capped the night off by going over to Steve's parents house and celebrating with them. Most of his brothers and sisters were there and lots of nieces and nephews. It was fun visiting with them and playing barbies with the little nieces.

We are so grateful for our good families and for the love we have one for another and for the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. What a wonderful time of year!!

This year I'm giving Christ my son.

2009-12-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

I skipped the sales after Thanksgiving. The thrill just wasn't there.
No pictures taken with Santa Clause, my decorating has no flair.
His presents are shoes, shirts, and ties, two suits and socks...no fun.
I've bought him all white clothes because...
This year I'm giving Christ my son.

I've spent more time in the temple, my testimony stirred.
I've reread November's Ensign, Felt strength come from His words.
Our family prays more frequently, My tears are quick to run.
Abraham seems closer because, This year I'm giving Christ my son.

I wonder how those Lamanite mothers gave their sons to war?
Or how the pioneers chose Zion, their sacrifice was so much more.
My loss will be his presence, I'll miss his smile a ton
For two years we will pray for him,
I'm giving Christ my son.

I stare at his face in pictures, I memorize his eyes, their shine.
He's always hungered for the part of him, that makes his soul divine.
The stories and lessons he always heard, His choice and mine are one.
I'll put my faith in God's hand,
This year, I'm giving Him my son.

Past gifts have lost their glitter, I think I finally understand
Christ's birth should be celebrated by giving Him a hand.
It's because I know Christ lives and reign,, that all his packages done.
My gift has taken years to make,
This year... I'm giving Christ my son.

I know there's One who understands, the sacrifice I'm making.
Who knows the gift I willingly give, The toll it will be taking.
For He has done it all before, Greater love - there could be none.
For years ago God gave to me,
His only begotten son.

Christmas in Georgia

2009-12-11T10:46:00.000-07:00

I have had people ask me what Brady's address is on his mission. Transfers came out a couple weeks ago and he stayed put. He is still in Hartwell and LOVING every minute of it. He is excited for the growth that is happening in the Branch there. He has a new "greenie" companion that he is training and just hopes he does a good job which I'm sure he will. I'm sure he will appreciate any cards or letters as missionaries always love! His address is: Elder Brady Cowley
761 Airline Store Road
Bowersville, GA 30516

It's that time of year again

2009-12-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
How often has the Christmas tree
Afforded me the greatest glee!
Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me.

It's that time of year again that the Cowley Christmas Tree Lot is officially open!
Steve and Jordan just got back from their annual tree trip up to Oregon to get Christmas Trees for some of their wholesale accounts and a few for us to put in the yard and sell. For some reason the few in our yard keep getting bigger and bigger each year. I joke with people that we have a red-neck Christmas Tree Lot in our yard. I can wash dishes and watch customers picking out their family Christmas Tree at the same time. You gotta love it though!! Steve has been doing this his whole life of 48 years and just can't get it out of his system and quit doing it year after year.

So, if your looking for a beautiful, fresh, great smelling Christmas Tree at a fantastic price give us a call or better yet, just come on by!!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving 2009 has come and gone. I love this time of year, it makes you think of the things your grateful for. There are so many things that I am grateful for that are too numerous to list. I am so grateful for everything that I have and so blessed with so many blessings. We had Thanksgiving this year with Steve's family and it was a wonderful day. With so many brothers and sisters the family has gotten quite big. I love it, the bigger the better! We filled three rooms with tables and chairs so that everyone could sit down and eat. Yummy food, great family, great memories forever. Thanks Tom and Sharon for a great Thanksgiving Day!!

I LOVE MY COUGARS!!

2009-11-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the big BYU/UTAH football game. I look forward to this every year. I LOVE BYU football and watch every game. Sometimes I think I know more about the game than Steve or my boys. I inherited my love of BYU football from my Grandma Turner who absolutely loved her BYU sports. I remember as a young girl sitting with Grandma and Grandpa and watching many a BYU game whether it was football or basketball and literally leaping off the couch or many times in the bleachers in joy and cheering when they made a touchdown or a great basket. Still to this day you can find me jumping off my couch or bleachers in celebration watching Max Hall throw to Andrew George the winning touchdown pass in overtime to the much disliked University of Utah. Doesn't matter if they have a better or worse record than Utah, the only thing that matters to me is they beat em!!! Way to go Cougars!! BYU 26 Utah 23 :):):)

Eagle Court of Honor for Jordan

2009-11-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-11-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-11-09T21:24:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-30T10:44:00.000-06:00

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!!!!!!

2009-10-24T19:41:00.000-06:00

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

2009-10-18T20:34:00.000-06:00

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

2009-09-23T11:59:00.000-06:00

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!

2009-09-13T11:04:00.000-06:00

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!!

2009-09-08T21:51:00.001-06:00

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

2009-09-07T11:30:00.000-06:00

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

2009-08-30T17:59:00.001-06:00

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

2009-08-22T09:02:00.000-06:00

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!!

2009-08-21T21:10:00.001-06:00

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

2009-08-12T22:43:00.000-06:00

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

2009-08-04T09:18:00.000-06:00

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

2009-07-22T15:27:00.000-06:00

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!!

2009-07-18T11:39:00.000-06:00

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!!

2009-07-05T15:22:00.000-06:00

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

2009-07-04T21:30:00.000-06:00

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!

2009-07-02T15:15:00.000-06:00

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

2009-06-24T18:37:00.000-06:00

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

2009-06-24T17:33:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Smith girls from Georgia

2009-06-24T17:08:00.000-06:00

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

2009-06-24T17:04:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

::Seminary Graduation::

2009-06-06T12:51:00.000-06:00

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::

2009-06-06T08:16:00.000-06:00

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!!!!

2009-05-27T17:22:00.001-06:00

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

2009-05-23T16:42:00.000-06:00

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

2009-05-15T10:35:00.000-06:00

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....

2009-05-13T14:53:00.000-06:00

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::

2009-05-02T08:59:00.000-06:00

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

2009-04-17T22:29:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Isabella's 3rd Birthday!

2009-04-17T21:03:00.000-06:00

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!

2009-04-05T11:55:00.000-06:00

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.

2009-03-27T12:01:00.000-06:00

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

2009-03-27T11:04:00.000-06:00

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!!

2009-03-26T10:45:00.000-06:00

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

2009-03-20T09:42:00.000-06:00

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

2009-03-18T15:04:00.000-06:00

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

2009-03-08T22:09:00.000-06:00

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

2009-03-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

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

2009-02-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-02-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-02-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-02-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

This is where we've been.

Letter from Brady's Mission President

2009-02-04T17:27:00.001-07:00

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

2009-02-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-01-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

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

2009-01-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-01-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-01-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-01-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

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!!

2009-01-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

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!!

2009-01-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Brady's Mission Farewell

2008-12-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

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

2008-12-05T08:42:00.001-07:00

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....

2008-12-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

"My Three Sons and Two Little Doggies"

Christmas @ Temple Square 2010

Well Done Elder Brady Garry Cowley!!

Picking my parents up from their Mission.

T-Minus 29 Days!!!

**Witches Night Out**

I LOVE Conference Weekend

Fire! Fire! Fire!

I Sure Do Miss This Boy!!

Sinking The Boat

Our Thumbs Aren't The Greenest

Jordan's 19th Birthday

Fun Day With The Cash Family From Georgia

Sa-weet New Suit!

You Know You're Working Hard When......

Hilarious!!

Happy Birthday Steve!!

Summer Time Fun - Boating at Utah Lake

I'm a "Twihard"

Girl's Weekend in St. George

Called to Serve Elder & Sister Crump

"Bluffdale is a Pretty Little Town"

Youth Conference 2010

My Wonderful Mother's Day.

My Missionary In Canton Georgia

Early Christmas Present

**Easter 2010**

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Oryx Hunt

Valentine Getaway

What the World Needs Now, is Love Sweet Love

What does the Groundhog and Brady have in common?

Still giving the house a face lift.

New Face Lift

Adventure's in the life of Elder Cowley

1 YEAR OUT!!!!

A great man!

2 Days :)

CHRISTMAS 2009 SCRAPBOOK

This year I'm giving Christ my son.

Christmas in Georgia

It's that time of year again

Thanksgiving 2009

I LOVE MY COUGARS!!

Eagle Court of Honor for Jordan

Rest in Peace Scooter

Halloween and Bryson's Birthday

*Happy Birthday Dolly Sunshine*

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

It's been awhile

Randy's Big Bull Hunt

Conratulations Jordan!

Finally an e-mail and all is well!!

Burning the 6 Month Tie

San Diego

Silver Wedding Anniversary

Happy 18th Birthday to my Baby!!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Volunteers

Jury Duty

FAMILY VACATION TO REDFISH LAKE

Happy "BUMP" Day Elder Cowley!!

Fun 4th of July!!

New Pictures From Brady

Summer has officially started!

Brady's been transfered

Summer Fun & Father's Day

Smith girls from Georgia

Jordan's Graduation

::Seminary Graduation::

::Temple Celebration::

Woohoo!! Good News!!!!

Bad News

Mother's Day

Cowley life in May....

::Visit to the Atlanta Temple::

Easter 2009

Isabella's 3rd Birthday!

It does a Mom's heart good!

Brady's adventures in Georgia.

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

Witches Night Out

Easter 2010

Happy Birthday Dolly Sunshine