CANNONBALL!!!

Riley hasn't changed much since this picture was taken (June 2005). He was at swim lessons with Dani, Brittney, and Cameron. At the end of each swim lesson, the kids are allowed to play around on the grotto faux rock slide. There's also a dive platform for the courageous few. Riley was one of those few. He decided to take this moment and quote a funny line from a great movie -- The Sandlot. He quoted Porter (the catcher/token fat kid) and yelled out, "CANNONBALL!" He, of course, included the subtle, prepubescent voice cracks for effect. Riley is quite a ham when he wants to be (more often then his parents would like and he typically picks the absolute worst time to do it). Ironically, Porter's nickname in the movie is "Ham."

We're afraid he's gonna turn out just like his dad. Time will tell. We're hoping he grows out of it.

It's Been Too Long ...

We must apologize for our absence, but we haven't been taking many picutres lately. (It's the great downfall of laziness ... and a lack of drive to purchase batteries for the camera.) At any rate, I figured we could post old pictures and reminisce. I'll try to do these as often as occasion permits.

This picture was taken in the fall of 1999. I absolutely love the look of this picture. This picture was taken by a lady that, at the time, had recently moved from our ward. She took the pictures with black & white film and then colored them afterward. What you don't know about this picture is that she had a massively fat upper lip. (It's barely noticeable even if you know about it.) Christine and I were at K-Mart with Danielle just prior to this picture being taken and she started to get a little fussy. I decided to turn my focus to her and allow Christine to finish shopping for whatever it was she needed at that store. I began "chasing" her around the one aisle in the garden section and she became immediately interested in this game. She would run around the corner and I would follow closely behind and "surprise" her. On this particular occasion, I waited a little too long (thinking that the more anticipation the longer the game would last and the more entertaining I would be) and, unbeknownst to me, she came back around the corner because she had become bored waiting for me. I decided that I had waited long enough and came around the corner at the same time. She saw me barreling around the corner and turned just in time for me to plow into her back and knock her down. She gracefully braced her fall with her upper lip and immediately started to cry (way to go, Dad!). I took her out to the car and cared for her lip. Christine was less than thrilled with me and wasn't sure if we could keep the picture-taking appointment. We ended up taking her to get the picture taken and we are sooooo glad we did!

Fruita, CO

We finally made it to Colorado to visit the Dares (it took us long enough - 2 years? 3 years?). Anyway, we had an absolute blast with the Dares (why wouldn't we?).

We played the Wii ...

We went to a farmer's market and saw a fire engine for an airport ...

Cameron lost a tooth ...

We went to the local reservoir and played on the beach ...

We also went to the mountains and watched a movie at a volunteer fire station. It was sooo much fun!! Thanks, Dares, for putting up with us. We'll definitely be back next year!

Four Corners

We recently took a trip to Colorado. Our kids decided it was in the Strader's best interest to stop by Four Corners. It was a miserable drive, but well worth the stop. Yipee.

Here's a portion of us ...

Here's the better part of us ...

And some solo shots.

Good ...

Better ...

BEST!!!!

If you ever decide to visit (which we recommend you do at some point in your life), take cash. The Bureau of Land Management charges admission and they don't take plastic. Grrrrrrrr!!

Newport 2009

We just got back from Newport Beach. It was a lot of fun. Here's a couple of pictures from the trip.

We're on our way!

What's a trip to the beach without being buried in the sand?

And, of course, there's the obligatory visit to an amusement park.

All in all, we had an absolute blast! Let's hope it happens again soon!

Happy Birthday Papa 2009

It's been way too long since we posted on our blog. We thought we'd start up again by singing "Happy Birthday" to Papa. I hope you like it. (David was too tired to join. Sorry.)

Square Foot Gardening

We decided to put in a garden this year. Since we haven't had much luck in the past with grass choking out our plants, we are trying a different method of gardening called Square Foot Gardening.

First we built our boxes and put cardboard in the bottom (so grass and weeds can't kill our plants again):

Then Brad and Grandpa made the special soil:

Next, put the soil into the boxes (with David and Cameron's help):

Now we need the grid on top to guide our planting:

Cameron is supervising

Brittney's quite the carpenterLook at all the helpers
All done!
Finally, we get to plant:

Making the holes for the seeds

Don't plant the rocks David

Very cute Dani!

Team work

Can't wait for the seeds to start growing!