There's no place like home

Skyler, Grandpa, Caleb & Kevin

15 grandkids
Andrew, Daniel, Doug, Julie, Me, Crystal,
Dad, Connie and Ryan

For those of you who do not know, I hale from Portland Oregon. I grew up in the middle of the city with all the craziness that comes with it. 8 of my siblings and my Dad still live there. Eventually they will see the error of their ways and move out here. Ha Ha. In the meantime, I am forced to drive or fly back to Oregon whenever there is an important family event, or if we feel like going to the Oregon coast. In the past 15 years, Mark and I have only gone back to Portland for the holidays once. Skyler was 18 months old. So, this year, weather permitting, we made the decision to drive back to Ptld for Thanksgiving. We left on Wed. the 25th and we were blessed with great weather! We stayed with my sister, Crystal and her husband Jason. They were great hosts and my boys got to know their cousins, Kayla and Brandon, better. Thursday we drove to the chapel that dad had reserved because we have a large enough crowd that meeting at a family members house is daunting. Everyone was there except Victor, Shelly, and Nick. We had a great time and great food. It is hard to see my family and get causght up with all they are doing in such a short amount of time. So, thank heavens for Facebook and email! After the dinner the kids took a whack at dad's pinata. What fun!

We went out to see Shelly and Victor on Friday and did a little shopping. (Nick lives in California) Then Saturday we drove the 12 1/2 hours home! It was a quick holiday visit, but worth it. Now if we can just get a few family members to move out here....

Happy Haunting

I love this time of day when the sunset creates pink mountains.
Logan canyon colors

Caleb

Where's Skyler?

To say life has been busy around here would be an understatement. Since school started I feel like we have been going non-stop. Waking at 6 am to take Skyler to swim practice every morning is the first exciting thing to do on our trip through the day. After swim practice he goes straight to school then back to the pool from 3:30 -5:30pm, where Mark will pick him up after work. I will say, I am impressed with Skyler's self determiation to get to the pool everyday. He had his first swim meet last Thursday and I think he did really well, being a freshman competing against upper classmen. Let's play "Where's Skyler?" Can you spot him in the picture with his team mates? (hint: he's wearing white goggles) So far he is keeping up with his studies and piano. He also works for a widow in our ward, pulling weeds etc... on the weekends. Kevin and Caleb are not as involved with sports right now ,but come spring, soccer will take over. They are home around 3:30 and have a slew of homework and piano practice to get done. I am still doing water aerobics Monday and Friday. I have asked a friend to take over the Wednesday class because we have YM/YW and I was tired of running from one place to the next without dinner and a shower! Scary! I have also been working a few hours at Honeyville every week. It's good to be reminded about our need to stock up on food storage, however, I practically spend my paycheck there. In September we went to a free concert in town and heard Jon Schmidt play the piano. He is a famous LDS composer and Skyler has been learning to play his waterfall piece. This past month we drove up Logan Canyon for a look at all the fall colors before winter hits. I think these pictures don't do justice to the colors we saw. Saturday is Halloween K&C are excited to dress up and go trick-or-treating. However, I feel like Skyler is too old and should just invite some friends over to watch a Halloween movie. To top off my week Saturday night, we had a neighbor come over to tell us that water was coming out of the asphalt in front of our driveway. Since it was around 6:30pm, we called the after hours utilities and they came over and promptly turned off our water and dug up an 8' hole to see what the problem was. Forunatly it was a small leak and was in the street, so the city covers the expenses. Unfortunatly they filled the hole back up but have not reasphalted yet, so when it rains or snows this week, like predicted, it will be a muddy mess. I will still count my blessings it wasn't worse!

Bradley Reunion

Caleb and Skyler

Skyler the brave

Waiting 35 minutes to see this geyser.

Family fun on the ballfield.

Grandma & Grandpa with all 29 grandkids!

Mesa Falls

For the Bradley reunion this year we headed up to Rexburg. Mark's brother Stephen did a great job hosting 50 people! 21 adults and 29 grandkids! We had fun at the Mesa Falls and then Yellowstone Nat'l Park. We a great time at the park playing softball and other games.

Thursday, the boys and I spent the day at the Lagoon amusement Park. It was amazing how many wild rides my boys are willing to go on now, as opposed to a couple yaers ago, when we went and rode bumper cars the whole time!

Yesterday I celebrated a birthday with a nice BBQ and a new wii game.

Kevin & Caleb turn 12!

It's days like these that I feel so old! For the twins birthday we had a family party. The boys each recieved a set of scriptures. Kevin also got the rip stick he's wanted for years, and caleb got a cool fountain. They picked out a cherry pie for their dessert.

Ride 'em cowboy!

Caleb and Grandpa


Kevin

Skyler

Pioneer day we had the chance to visit Mark's parents on the farm. We were excited to visit and meet the new little horses. Unfortunatly, they weren't as thrilled about meeting us. At least not Skyler. Here are a couple videos and pictures of our experience. I'm sure this was a lot funnier for us, but I thought you'd get a kick out of it. The little horse that keeps chasing after Skyler is only a couple months old and likes to bite, so Skyler had every reason to be running!

This is Skyler's version of the Sanpete Co. Rodeo!

A visit from my side?

nothing beats a good water fight

Luke loved the water slide


Cousins

Just this past week we were privedged with a visit from my brother Andrew, his wife Toshia, and their boys Adrian, Luke and Johnathan. It was such fun as my boys don't get to associate with their Stott cousins much. We were able to show them around SLC Temple Square, watch the Joseph Smith movie, tour the conference center, visit the history museum, go swimming at the Brigham City pool, go to Hill Air Force Base Museum, have a picnic at the park, indulge in a water balloon fight and even shop at Costco! We had a lot of fun and wish we could of had a little more time! Thanks for coming, and Happy Birthday,Andrew!

Bear Lake

Nice to cool off!
Minnitonka cave

Caleb building sandcastles


Taking a ride on a skidoo!

For our family vacation this year, we went to Bear Lake! It was the last week in June. With all the rain we had prior to our vacation, we were worried we would be stuck inside our condo for a week. But Mother Nature was nice and we had a great, rain-free time! Renting a condo was great as we didn't worry about bugs and wildlife so much. Plus we were able to save some $ by using the refridgerator and making our own meals. We rented a skidoo and hiked Minnetonka cave and watched a melodrama at the local playhouse. We are looking forward to going again since it was only a 2 hour drive. Anyone interested?

City Of Rocks

Kevin & Caleb camping in backyard

Mark and Caleb making puff balls

hiking is fun

Rabbit Rock (or so we say)

Skyler found a great view

Kevin is a great hiker

It seems like we are attracted to rocks. In St. George they had a place like this where you could run around and climb on rocks. Now we have found a new place about 2 hours from here that we enjoyed going to yesterday. It is called the City Of Rocks. It was raining the whole way there so we were worried we wouldn't have a chance to do anything, but it stopped and we climbed for about an hour. It's a neat place to camp too. Speaking of camping, the twins have been trying to sleep outside in the tent ever since school got out. They were able to enjoy a couple of clear nights, but Last Thursday night as they settled in under the stars, we heard this crash followed by a flash, and sure enough it was raining like crazy,( I shouldn't be surprised) so we told them they should come in. This all happened at 1 am, so I was pretty tired the next day. My sympathy goes out to new moms who are getting up at 1am every night!

For FAther's Day we gave Mark 3 new ties which he actually needed, a church video and a new alarm clock. He wanted to make these marshmellow puff balls for desert so Caleb helped.

Kevin at the soccer game

David Archileta in concert

A week ago we had the oppurtunity to go to SLC and watch a professional soccer game. Since the boys had just finished a great soccer season here in town (and we got discount tickets) we thought it would be good to see the Real Salt Lake team play. The boys had a great time watching and we enjoyed the added bonus as David Archileta sang the national anthem and gave a mini concert after the game. We were blessed with great weather during the game, but as we headed home that night, we drove through one of the worst thunder storms I've seen. Rain so hard you could barely see the road. Lightning like crazy.

So I wonder, when is this summer suppose to start, anyway? We have had rain almost everyday last week, and the temps have only been in the mid 70's! I should be grateful because I know we need the rain, but really, when the 6:00 news top stories are problems with flooding and mushroom infestations in yards, you can't help but think Noah is somewhere building his ark! (BTW; can anyone help me get rid of snails and slugs in the garden?)

Skyler has just joined the Box Elder Swim Team (B.E.S.T) He gets up at 6am and goes to practice every morning from 6:30- 8am! I don't mind taking him as he has a lot of motivation and is a great swimmer! Kevin and Caleb aren't ready for the swim team, but they are also great swimmers. They are content with tennis lessons everyday for 2 weeks.

Birthday fun

Santaquin backyard
Brigham City backyard

Skyler's new friends

blueberry pie anyone?

Today was the first official day of summer for our family. The boys slept in and took their time watching tv and playing the wii until 9am. Then reality hit as the tv was turned off and chores began. Chores this summer constist of piano practice, a grade level worksheet, (Do any of you supliment your kids school work with worksheets during the summer?), working on merit badges and yard work like pulling weeds. Of course, pulling weeds in this backyard is nothing compared to our backyard in Santaquin! After pulling weeds the twins packed for their overnite scout camp this weekend and Skyler started his summer job for a lady in our ward. Skyler officially turned 14 on the 18th. He enjoyed a party with his friends complete with pizza, cake ice cream, soccer scrimage in the backyard and other games. He got the bookshelf he wanted along with a few new books to fill it with.

Refined Boys?

I just want to say how proud I am of my 3 boys. Though they fight and quarrel with each other daily, they can show a bit of refinement when needed. Here they are at their piano recital on April 25th. They all did a wonderful job. Their last soccer games are this weekend, just in time for a birthday party for Skyler. As you all know he will be turning 14. What, you may ask would a 14 year old want for his birthday? A telescope perhaps? A pellet gun? The latest Wii game? No, my son the "outgoing and busy-all-the-time" boy, wants a bookshelf! Is that weird? He even wrote it on a large piece of paper: "Skyler wants a bookshelf for his birthday" Is this one of those times when a mother asks, "Wow, when did the aliens kidnap my child?" He is very serious. He told us he wants a shelf to put all his book series on. He has been reading Fablehaven, The 13th reality and The Serpent Tide, to name a few. He is one of those kids who will fall asleep with a book in his hands. Heck, when a kid asks for a bookshelf for his birthday, I'd say, why not.

Caleb & Kevin

Skyler

Kevin

You would of never guessed that we had 4" of snow on the ground about 5 days ago. Soccer games are in full force and despite the cancelled practices, the boys all played great today.

Thank you Easter Bunny!

Kevin
Caleb

Happy Easter!

These poor boys! Torchered by a mother who insists that they have a picture taken with the Easter Bunny! I can just see it now in ten years when they are married and I pulled out this picture to show their families! "Oh, look boys, remember this? Weren't you 13 and 11 when we had this taken?"

These past few days have been Spring Break. So, on Friday I drove up to Wellsville Utah (a 20 minute drive) to go to the American West Heritage Center where they have a huge farm open to the public to come see the baby animals and learn about the past. There were teepees, barns with oxen, corrals with baby chicks, bunnies, goats, lambs & calfs. They even had baby turtles. There was a Blacksmith & Mountain Men teaching about their trades. Wagon rides and pony rides. The boys had a great time until I made them sit on the Easter Bunny's lap and have their picture taken. The whole time saying they didn't want too because they were too old. We then went to Aunt Candy's house and had a great time visiting with her and Uncle Loyal. Saturday we hid Easter eggs around the house and today after church I told the boys the Easter Bunny was not coming because they were too old for Easter baskets. After moaping around the house for a few hours, Kevin goes upstairs and starts to scream, "I knew it, I knew it, Thanks mom!" "Oh," I said, acting so coy, "did the Easter Bunny come after all?"

Straight A's

Skyler was very excited to tell us about his report card! This is the first time he has gotten straight A's! We are proud of him. He works hard on his homework and is self motivated, which is great!

Nice hat, dude!

Kevin has really enjoyed being in Mrs. Bingham's class this year. I don't think it's because she is a fabulous teacher, but because she allows the kids to crochet when their work is done. The twins have been crocheting since they were 8, so this was a welcome surprise for Kevin. He loves to show the kids in his class what he is working on. Some of the kids will ask him to help them with their projects. These hats are one of the many things Kevin has crocheted in class this year!

St. George

There's nothing like a good weekend stay in St. George (73 degrees) to really get spring fever in your blood! Mark had a planning conference in St. george last weekend and with gas and hotel paid for, we left Wednesday and made it a family trip. The boys and I had a great time visiting old friends (Brigham Young had some good advice to share) and fun parks. We even stayed in Zion's one night and hiked the Upper Emerald Pools ( a 1 1/2 hour hike). Mark's brother David and his family joined us and we hiked the Riverwalk trail with their 2 little girls. When we got home to Brigham City all the snow we had on the ground the previous week had melted! It made coming home easier. Of course, I always tell Mark, "Home is where the heart is!"

Christmas

O.k. this is going to sound crazy, but I'm just going to throw it out there! I am already looking into gathering Christmas gifts for 2009. But I can't figure out who we have for Christmas on the Bradley side. If anyone reading this, knows who we might have, please let me know. I also want to say we have Julie this year on my side, is that right? I'll figure it out eventually.

I would also like to start a movie reccomendation list that we can follow. Our family is a big movie watching family. We like to see good wholesome movies. If anyone has seen a movie they like or heard of one please add it to our list. Last night we watched the movie Kit Kittridge. It was a very good and powerful family movie, especially for this day & age. Another movie that is coming out this month that Mark and I saw in the theatre was Forever Strong. We can't wait to buy it. Very good message.