2nd Annual Turkey Campout

Scout Troop 582 had their 2nd Annual Turkey Campout the weekend before Thanksgiving. Scott successfully convinced the troop here to start this tradition. They go up the night before and have a light dinner and some campfire fun. Then the next morning is a light breakfast to save room for the FULL Thanksgiving Lunch they all pitched in to make! There were all the trimmings...stuffing, green bean casserole, potatoes...and 3 turkeys! One was cooked in a reflective charcoal "oven", one in a "rocket engine steamer" that Bro. McDowell brought and the other deep fried. All of the trimmings were cooked camp-style over the fire in dutch ovens and such.

With our ward being recently split, Troop 582 welcomed with open arms those that were moved out. I think this camp out will be a bi-ward event every year. There's no way some of the scouters in the new ward will miss this willingly!

Scott worked very hard to make this happen and run smoothly. I'm very proud of the effort he makes for these Scouts and leaders. Word is getting out that the Turkey Camp Out is the place to be the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Scott made sure that everyone helped. Here he's showing the 11-year old scouts how to make the dutch oven pumpkin dump cake

Parker, Bailey, Chase M, and Tanner helping out

Bro Hess and Bro Albretsen help Scott set up the charcoal reflective oven

Scott, Mason, Bro Glazier and Mitch prepare to drop the turkey in the fryer

Bro McDowell, Bro Alberti, Mitch, Bro Glazier and Scott check on the other turkey

Bro's Hess, Jarvis, Glazier watch the turkey cook

Bro McDowell brought this contraption that Scott said "blew away even the fried turkey"

Checkin' out the new favorite turkey

Scott carving a turkey

Master Turkey Camp Out Planner

Chow time!

Mmmmm...

the carnage

Chase and the other 11-year old Scouts playing some kind of Ninja game
Can you see Ninja Chase hiding in the back?

These new scouts haven't learned yet that building fire in caves isn't the best idea

This is what happens

Halloween '09

Halloween was a little sad this year. I was so busy with helping at the school for their yearly fund-raiser it was hard to find time to find great costumes for the kids.

But! As always the prospect of TONS of candy always makes things better!

Chase couldn't find anything but this Freddy Krueger glove

Bonner and Mitch didn't even dress up for the Ward Trunk-or-Treat

Toby did well...He got sprayed to be a ZebraDog

Here's how we all felt after eating TONS of Halloween candy!

Chase's Sonic the Hedgehog pumpkin looked WAY better when lit in the dark...I'm the lame-o that didn't get a pic!

Carson the Ninja Skeleton and Rylee the Samurai Princess

Mitch and Garrett went to a friend's party as Lacrosse players

Shamrock Farms Ward Campout - October 2009

Our ward does a camp out every year during fall break. Last year I didn't want to go because Scott works EVERY Friday night and I was too wimpy to go without him. I heard so many people say they had so much fun that this year I decided to "man up" and take the kids myself!

Scott came home from work on Friday morning and helped us get packed up before he went to bed. We left around noon but with stops for lunch, groceries, gas and the potty we actually left town around 2:00pm. We got there around 4:00pm and boy! Was it ever nice to put the tent up during sunlight hours!

When we drove up to the "camp site" which was actually a gravel parking lot, we found Shane Kobialka, alone, in the middle of said parking lot reading.

We parked next to those Kobialka's and set up our tent

We bought this tent the day before and didn't know if it would fit us all.

It did! PLUS had a "closet" for our suitcase!

Mayzie and Rylee are great friends

More people arrive and set up around us

Mitch had great fun with his green laser

My 3 sons

My sweet daughter

The Hepworth's were there

We got a little campfire silly

The Poulson's made some REALLY yummy, fruit filled, fried tortillas smothered in powdered sugar goodness! My friend Vonda got the first one!

Tessa, Rahgan, McKenna, Shayna, Vonda, Tahryn

Tessa got sleepy

The Marx Family was there too!

Our Bishop and (part of) his family
Bill, Vonda, McKenna, Shayna and sleepy Tessa

The Bishop had us all stand and bear our testimonies.

I enjoyed that

Carson got shoved into the corner and kept falling off his mat

Rylee all bundled up

Chase - so cute when he's asleep!

Mitch on his iPod

Bro Harrold came in the morning to help Bro Porter with breakfast

Heidi Anderson and Tatum...2 camping princesses

Jennie, Edna and Bishop

Mitch, Nevan and Chase warm up

I thought Meeka was being cute all alone in the middle of the parking lot playing so I tried to take a picture of her aloneness...Carson had other plans

Nevan found this crazy creature

Rylee and her friend Julia

At the end Bishop was making eggs to order

Heidi, Vonda, Crystal, Lily, Jennie and Chris

Bishop having fun with Matthew

Balloon Fiesta 2009

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2009

Early morning bus ride
Breakfast burritos and cinna-cones
Beautiful weather
Tons of pictures
Hundreds of balloons

Mitch and Chase on the bus

Candace and Brooke

Greg and Rylee

Scott had to sit up a few rows on the full bus

Eating breakfast burritos, cinna-cones and hot chocolate

Getting up close to see how the balloons get filled and go up

Carson loved the flame throwers

Greg and Scott

The kids waiting for the bees to go up

These Bees are so cute! They hold hands while rising in the air...here they decided to give each other a kiss

Always a favorite

The Creamland Dairy cow and the kids

We lived in Albuquerque for 13 years. We've been to many, many, many Balloon Fiestas. I have many, many, many pictures just like these from years past.

This year, however, we attended the Fiesta as real tourists visiting from out of state. I wanted to go again for Carson since when we left ABQ he was only 2 and didn't remember this experience.

I use to think, "If you've seen one balloon, you've seen them all" but I still love getting up close to those balloons - feeling the heat of the burners as they fill the envelopes with hot air. Clapping with the other on-lookers as they rise up in the air. Seeing so many, many, many balloons fill the skies above ABQ. Taking picture after picture.

Always a good time!

Still Remembers...

I said it best last year...

http://monkeypantsjorg.blogspot.com/2008/09/i-remember.html

Whitney and Dan's Wedding - 8/14/09

My sister Danene's oldest got married on August 14th - the first wedding on my side of the family. They were married in the Winter Quarters Temple which is about 3 hours north of where they live in Shawnee, Kansas.

Whitney married Daniel Condie and oh, how cute they are! As soon as Whitney announced her engagement I quickly made plans to be there. Scott took the week off so I could leave the kids with him and go help my sister. It was nice to be there without kids to completely help do whatever Danene needed me to do! We had fun too!

We spent the entire night before the wedding putting together the boutonnieres, corsages and the bridal bouquet.

My other sister Dianne has major art skillz...she did this drawing of one of their engagement pictures. Very nice!

My sister in law, Suzie putting together an under-water floral arrangement for the cake table

Her colors were black and white - these black and white daisies were so cool

At the temple I had fun taking TONS of pictures - Here is me and Lindsay

Courtney

My big bro David

My sis and the mother of the bride Danene

Danene's husband's sister - I'm not sure what that makes us but Laura and I share the same Girl's Camp name (Staccato)

Danene and I have a picture like this from her wedding, my wedding and now Whitney's wedding

Moroni with the moon - cool

I love this kid! Brayton couldn't find his socks at the hotel so he ended up like this! He was embarrassed about it till he heard that the motorcycle men at the hotel yelled out, "We like his suit the best!!"

Apparently Daniel or his Dad has never done this before. Dan came out of the temple WITHOUT his bride! We all were yelling for him to go back in and get Whitney! He felt a little silly!

Mother of the Bride making her exit after helping Whitney get ready to come out and greet us

YAY! Daniel found his Bride!

My brother David giving the newlyweds great advice, "Don't let anyone come between you!" as he wedges himself between them. :)

A couple of days before the wedding all the boys went to play basketball. Brayton got Daniel's elbow in his eye and had a black eye for the wedding.

David Young's (Father of the Bride) parents are on a mission at the Winter Quarters temple. They arranged for us to have a nice luncheon at the Visitor's Center - the food was so good that Danene wanted you to see!

They were too nice to each other...

The "balloons" in the car after the reception

Daniel doesn't know how to drive stick so Whitney got to drive them away!

This is Anne Yates...she is an angel. She did so much to help Danene. I love her for being a sister to my sister!

Videos from the Reception - 8/14/09

Danene dancing like we did "way back when" in the '80's

Brayton has moves...it took a promise to drive a car to get him to show us those moves

Brayton's moves are better than his Dad's

She was so happy to have caught that bouquet

During clean up Jeff Yates made 3 of these shots - skillz