Peru

We had a wonderful trip and enjoyed every minute of our time with Mom and Dad. They are doing great and it was amazing to be able to spend time at the CCM and feel of the spirit that exists there. The missionaries are wonderful young men and women!


After spending Sunday at the CCM, we drove to Cerro Azul and spent Monday on the beach. We had a blast and all got burned. Kimberly attempted surfing, Matthew and Courtney chased a lot of birds, Carie, Katie, and Courtney thrilled the little Peruvian children with their tumbling routines on the beach, and the boys helped the fishermen pull in their afternoon catch.



On Tuesday the girls were able to do baptisms for the dead at the Lima temple. We were joined by missionaries from the CCM. It was a beautiful experience to watch as one sweet elder was baptized for his grandfather by his companion.


That afternoon we drove in to the centro and visited the cathedrals, the catacombs, and the Plaza Central.


On Wednesay we got up early and flew to Cuzco. We spent an amazing 3 days here. The children loved feeding the llamas, alpacas, etc, and visiting the many ruins. Machu Pichu was amazing and we all made it to the top of Huaynapichu -- the big mountain in the back! Courtney and Matthew were by far the youngest hikers and inspired the rest of the tourists who were making the steep ascent! We were literally in the clouds!












These are only a few of the 100s of pictures -- it was an amazing trip!

SHADOW

Shadow passed peacefully away yesterday in Idaho Falls, Sunday, March 8, 2009. We will miss him! While we never had our own dog, Shadow was part of our family. He hiked with us in the summer, pulled us on sleds in the winter, and played with us in Grandma and Grandpa's big back yard. We took him for walks, fed him, and loved him. He was 15 years old -- over 100 in dog years!
These are a few of our favorite pictures!


Table Rock -- Shadow was a great hiker!

Crossing the River -- He didn't love the water!

Katie, Carie & Shadow after sledding when they were all a lot younger.

Matthew, Joey & Shadow last summer at the cabin. Shadow had a summer buzz. This was the last time we saw Shadow.

Matthew & Shadow playing in the Snow.

Kimberly & Shadow

The girls and Shadow after a fun winter walk.

Grandpa, Shadow & Matthew walking at Big Springs.

Carie & Shadow (the summer of Carie's bike accident)

Emily, Matthew, and Shadow at the cabin -- Fun Friends!
We will miss our Shadow.

Happy Birthday Carie!

Carie turned 13 yesterday!
Carie is always kind, considerate of others, works hard, has a flare for fashion, loves to cook, keeps things clean, stays organized and on task, is athletic, loyal,fun, and is all around a great girl.
We are excited to have another teenager in the family!

The Lost Dutchman Trail

We took a fun hike for Presidents Day at the base of the Superstition Mountains.


Afterwards, we stopped at the ghost town which was actually quite crowded!

Happy Birthday!

As the nation celebrated Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday yesterday, our family celbrated Matthew's 10th birthday! We think the following adjectives describe both of these great men!
HONEST
HARD WORKING
INTELLIGENT
KIND
DEDICATED
Happy Birthday, Matthew and Happy Birthday, Lincoln!

(This picture was taken 5 years ago!)

Way to Go!

Kimberly was very excited to get this email tonight.

The Admissions Committee is delighted to inform you that you have been admitted to Brigham Young University to begin Fall 2009. Through your preparation and personal achievements you have distinguished yourself from a very strong group of applicants. We believe you will make a positive contribution to our BYU community. It is a great pleasure to welcome you to our campus to pursue your educational goals.

We thought we'd pass along the good news.

Sedona Marathon - I Did It!

About 4 months ago I got this crazy idea in my head that I should run a marathon before I turned 40! It turned out that there was a Saturday marathon in Sedona (only 2 hours away and beautiful scenery) on February 7, 2009. I told Diane (my faithful running partner) about it and we decided to go for it. We started training in October and got up to 11 miles before I injured my knees in November. I tried to run through the pain, but as it didn't get better, we decided to take the month of December off. In January, Diane went up to be with her daughter who was having a baby for 3 weeks, so we took that month off too. We ran twice after she returned (7 miles and then 11 miles). My knees felt great -- those 2 months of rest really helped -- and so to get the nagging feeling of "I have to do a marathon before I turn 40" out of my mind, we signed up for the marathon and took another week of rest!

ET was so supportive and drove us up to Sedona Friday night. We picked up our packets that night, had dinner, and checked into our hotel. The next morning was beautiful! ET drove us to the race site and saw us off, before going to play a round of golf at a nearby course. The scenery was beautiful, we felt great, and there were plenty of aid stations. The terrain was all hills (or should I say mountains!) and we were pretty tired by mile 21. In fact we were more hiking up the last hills then running. But we did it!


The Start of the Race!

Enjoying the scenery before the race.

ET and me (with ET as the photographer)


Getting ready to start -- notice my bulging pockets full of Jolly Ranchers (Thanks, Maria!)


We did it!

The cute pink jeeps that were at all the aid stations -- it was tempting the last few miles!

The beautiful Sedona landscape.


The cute poster I found waiting for me at home! My children were amazing! They cheered me on the whole way and welcomed me home with this poster and an immaculate house! Thank you!