20th Anniversary

Curt surprised me with an anniversary get-away. He gave me 5 minutes to pack a miscellaneous assortment of items. (It's a good thing I'd done the laundry.) On the list was thermal underwear, swim suit, hiking shoes, dress clothes, band aids, and other random items to throw me off track. We then ended up in the car with driving instructions that led us to the nicest restaurant in the valley, La Caille. La Caille is a French word that means "one really great meal at a price that would feed your family for a week." As we were leaving home, I asked if we would need a camera. Curt, being a man, replied "No." So I have no pictures of us on the grounds of a restaurant where people pay lots of money to have their portraits taken. Maybe when we go back in 20 years, we can take pictures then. Here's a picture from their website:


Curt then tried to fool me into thinking we were going camping, He even pulled into a camp ground and showed me the tent and sleeping bags he had put into the trunk. We really went to a hotel up the canyon at Snowbird. It's great to have a child old enough to tend overnight, so we can get away a little. (That child doesn't think it's so great, but she'll understand in 25 years or so.) Thanks honey for a fun anniversary!

4th of July

Our neighborhood is awesome! Every year we have a 4th of July kid's parade. (Led by either a firetruck or a police car. We love the local police and firemen for giving up their time on the 4th.) The kids decorate their bikes and ride around the block twice. The kids at the end of the parade are usually going so slow that the beginning catches up with them, so it's one continuous parade. The kids love it! Then we have a breakfast. This year it was pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, AND hash browns. I should have taken a picture, but I was too busy eating. Then we went to Stadium of Fire on the BYU campus. Here's a picture of us in our "cheap seats" waiting the start of the fireworks. Thanks to Curt's brother for setting out the blankets at 6:00 am so we could have a place to sit that evening. As usual, we wandered over to the stadium itself and tried to peer through the gates to get a glimpse of the opening act, Blue Man Group. After Blue Man Group was done, two ladies came out from the stadium and offered Erin their VIP tickets so she could go in and see the second act, Miley Cyrus. We hustled Erin and Camille inside--two small girls into the 65,000 seat stadium. "Don't worry honey, someone will tell you were to go! Oh, yeah take a phone so we can find you later!" I was so shocked that those ladies were leaving before the main attraction--the FIREWORKS!!--that we forgot to even say a coherent "Thank you!" So whoever you are, thanks so much; we had a lot of fun! Rachel started to cry that she didn't get to go in, so after a few songs, Erin and Camille came out and Rachel and I went in. Here's Miley herself about to perform rock concert movement #4.

As you can see, Rachel is wide-eyed in wonder to be at her first concert. After Miley, we decided we wanted to see the fireworks with everyone else, so we gave the tickets to another girl outside the gates, and rushed back to our blankets on the lawn. I love fireworks! Another fun 4th of July!

Graf Graduates

And the "Beet" goes on for our Beetdigger graduate. College life here we come. This group of cousins all graduated this year. Yeah, class of 2008!

I can't believe it was 24 years ago that I graduated from high school. It doesn't feel that long ago.

Only 11 more years till it's Rachel's turn.

Dance Recital

We've had a busy few weeks. Here's Erin after her dance recital. She did a great job!

Eagle Award

Kevin is officially an Eagle Scout! We're proud of him and his great accomplishment. He has grown so much (in every sense of the word) though the scouting program.
Here he is as an eaglet.


Now, just four years later, he's an eagle.

Havasupai Heaven!

Our older kids and grandpa came along for a great hike to Havasupai in the Grand Canyon. We hired a horse to take our camp gear, and we hiked down with daypacks. We spent 2 nights camping and enjoying the waterfalls and scenery. Truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen- an oasis in the deseret. Here we are ready to descend the canyon--only 10 miles to go.
Havasu Falls. The water is such a beautiful blue-green color and amazingly clear. The Indian tribe whose village is located 2 miles before this waterfall are called the Havasupai, which means people of the blue- green waters.
Travertine pools at Havasu Falls.
Mooney Falls cascades 200 feet. Getting down is a little tricky. The path is steep with chains to hang onto.

Our family at the bottom of Mooney.
Erin and Curt at Navajo Falls. Three beautiful waterfalls are within 1 mile of each other. The village gets everything delivered by pack train or helicopter. Here the mail is being delivered to the post office. Good-bye Havasu! This was an incredible trip; we'd love to come back!

Kevin's Eagle

Kevin's Eagle project was to collect supplies for the Family Support Center here in the valley. He received a lot of nice donations from our neighbors and ward. We took two loads of supplies to the center which helps families in need by providing them with care and counseling.

The Family Support Center

Our garage full of donations

Delivering the items