day 203-206

Tanner & Taylor's 16th Birthday Celebration! We had a party to celebrate the big day for the boys with all of their friends. Good Food, Good Fun and Great Kids!

day 143

On Sunday morning we enjoyed "Music and the Spoken Word" at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City as it was filmed for television.

day 128

we had an adventurous day of rafting down the American River. good friends and good times.

day 121

Tanner competed in his 2nd Triathalon today. He finished in 1:38:50 which is 17 minutes better than last time. He had a great swim, a good bike and finished strong on the run. He focused his training on the swim and it really paid off. Way to Go Tanner!

day 120

Youth Rafting Trip. Chris was the captain for our annual rafting trip with the youth from church. We had 60 leaders and youth with us this year. It was a successful trip, with no injuries (at least none that really counted), only a few out of the boats in the rapids (one of which was ours), and everyone had a GREAT time!

day 105

We visited the Hill Cumorah, another church history site, and had a nice lunch in Palmyra. A huge thunderstorm came up and poured rain on us during lunch. Most of these "California" kids had never seen a thunderstorm quite like it. We made our way to Rochester, New York where Upstage performed in a Elderly Care Facility. The residents enjoyed it so much. We spent some time mingling with them and enjoying their company. From there we made our way to Niagara Falls. What a sight! They were so incredible. We took the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride out to the base of the falls. The roar of the water and the immense size of the falls was amazing. After a dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, we watched some fireworks and enjoed the falls at night. They were beautiful.

day 103

We started our day in New York at the Museum of Natural History. We then headed to 5th Avenue to do some shopping. The Apple Store is very creative. The only thing you see from the street is this glass block. The store is underground and has anything Apple that you ever dreamed of. It started to rain so we bought umbrellas from a street vendor and strolled along in the rain. While we were in Tiffany's admiring the jewelry, I said to Taylor "If Dad ever asks, this is the one that I want". The salesman then asked if I wanted to try it on. He said that they don't normally do that but since it was a "potential" sale we could. He called over his boss and the security guard to stand by while I tried on this necklace. It was absolutely beautiful. The price tag? $50,000.00 (No...I didn't add any zeros by mistake). Needless to say, the necklace stayed in New York and all I have are pictures to show. After shopping and strolling through Times Square, we had dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner. It was wonderful. The waiters and waitresses sing and dance while they are serving. Taylor made his Broadway debut when they performed Bye Bye Bye for the crowd. (I have video to share). From there we headed to the theatre to see Wicked. It was even better than the first time we saw it. We were able to see some of the actors/actresses when they exited the stage door and had a chance to chat with "Boq" and get autographs and photos with "Elphaba". What a wonderful and crazy day!

The Apple Store in NYC

Strolling in the rain

Jewelry at Tiffany's

Times Square

Dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner

Getting ready for Wicked

Times Square with friends

Taylor and "Boq"

Pari, Taylor, Sammie, "Elphaba" and Carly

Day 82

School is out! We celebrated with our annual swim party! That's Zach sporting some crazy goggles and a bunch of high school friends hanging out. What a great time!

Day 44

Friday night out with the boys and friends. We enjoyed dinner at In-n-Out Burger and then bowled the night away. (Riley is missing, He is at a Scout Camporee).
4-25-09