The Morning Of.....

This year Brayden reached the overly excited age where he had a tough time sleeping and came into our room at 5:30 ready to go. Logan obviously is not quite at that point because at about 7:00 we had to drag him out of bed to open presents. They had so much fun opening their stockings and new toys this year. Some of the monumental presents this year were Brayden's new bike that has a sound like a motorcycle, which he likes to show to anyone that will listen, the trampoline, Logan's curious george stuff, Brayden's magic set, their marble tower, and many more. And because I had the next week off we had some time to pull out each gift and enjoy it. Here are some pictures and a video below to capture the mood of the morning.






















































This picture says it all. Logan is yawning / exhausted and Brayden is happy / delirious and ready to go.











And

Our Hobby of Choice

A hobby that we have loved to do since we have been married is snowboarding. I have snowboarded for some time now but was able to teach Camille about 4 years ago. So this winter season we had to ensure that this was on the priority list. So Camille and I took off for her 26th Birthday up to Sunrise Resort. We were able to snowboard for 2 full days. It was a blast. Below is a video that I took of Camille shredding down the slopes and some fun pictures.

Christmas Events

As always our Christmas season is full of lots of different events with Family and Friends. And this year did not disappoint.

We have been able to go to the Temple lights which is a tradition that we absolutely love. This year we went and saw the Christus and also looked at all the international nativities inside the Visitors Center. We wanted to take them to the temple first to ensure that we remembered what Christmas was really all about.










































We also were able to go to the Polar Express up in Williams, AZ. This was quite the experience!! Camille and I had never been and we decided that we wanted to take Brayden and Logan up there since they are getting more excited about Santa and the whole Christmas thing. So we got in the car on Wednesday right when Brayden got off from school, luckily it was a half day that day, and headed up to Williams. It was a 3 hour drive and on the drive we had them watch the Polar Express movie to get them ready. So we got there and got on the train. Once we got on the train chef's started serving us hot chocolate and cookies while the train traveled to the north pole. When we got to the north pole Santa was there with his reindeer and he was waiving to all of us. On the way back home Santa went from train car to train car saying hello to the children and passing out Christmas bells. I included a video at the bottom of the pictures where Santa is entering the car. We were singing Christmas carols as loud as we could to get him to come and then we started chanting his name and I got it all on video. Watching the excitement of Brayden and Logan the whole time made the experience completely worth it. Once we got off the train we drove home and finally ended up at our house around 1:30am. A long day of fun!















We have also been able to go to many other Christmas events / parties. We went to my friends and wives white elephant gift exchange, Curtis family puppet shows, Stevens family party, and our Ward party. One of the puppet shows that we went to was in a Southwest Airline hanger and there was a car show. Logan was so excited to see all these cool cars so he had me take pictures of him by some of his favorites.



































































We wish all of you a Merry Christmas and hope you are able to feel the spirit of Christ during this season.

Thanksgiving Events

We had another wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends. First it started off with the Turkey Trot with the Curtis Family. Camille's family every year has a breakfast Thanksgiving morning where we eat, play ultimate frisbee, and then ride whatever we have that has wheels around the church. We had a blast once again this year.






Next up was our family hike that we have started doing the last couple of years. We hike up the mountain that I proposed to Camille on :) It was a lot of fun and this year Camille and I were done by the first flat spot and our kids wanted to keep going to the top. I am sure as the years keep coming that will continue to become more and more of what we should expect..... our kids outperforming us and having way more energy.


















Lastly, I could not have the Thanksgiving weekend pass without a flag football Turkey Bowl with my close friends. This is a tradition that we have kept every year and is a blast. Each year it seems that we are panting harder and running slower. But nonetheless, it is still a ton of fun.

My Cali Surprise Trip

So I wake up on my birthday, which was August 28th by the way, and my wife says October 8th I will give you your present. So a month and a half later I wake up on "October 8th" at 4:30am to go play basketball, but no.......Camille tells me I need to get ready because we have to go. So I'm thinking 4:30am, wow this is going to be a long day! So after I get ready I am thinking we need to wake up Brayden and Logan but no, Camille took them the night before to my parents without my knowledge. So now I am thinking, WOW, she is getting very sneaky here. So then we start driving with Connor and end up meeting Kathryn at the Airport for the drop off. So she takes Connor and now it is just Camille and I walking into the airport to fly who knows where because she won't tell me. Then we get up to the ticket counter and the guy spoils the surprise!!! He says, "so you are flying out to SANTA BARBARA huh?!" And I say, "Uh, sure......" I have been to Santa Barbara one other time and loved it so I am very excited to go again. So after we take the flight and land Camille had arranged for a rental car by herself, with a little help from my Dad, which I was very impressed with by the way. Then we start driving and we end up at this hotel that is right on the beach looking over the ocean...HELLO!! Is there any better way to tell me that you love me.....NO!! Not only is the hotel right on the beach but it has complimentary breakfast, free jacuzzi, and complimentary beach cruisers! These are all required on my list for hotels to have by the way.... So she nailed it! She gave me the greatest surprise gift I have ever received. With the exception of Connor! Ha. But wait there is more....While we are sitting in our hotel room after taking a nap....What? That's right..a nap. A word I have seldom used over the past 5 years of our marriage but a word that I love nonetheless. So after this nap, she pulls out this paper and says, look at where we are going tonight! And I swear there were angels in the faint background singing Hallelujah as I opened the paper and saw......JASON MRAZ concert tickets!!! In two hours we were going to see Jason Mraz, one of my favorite musicians, and someone I had never seen before. What a gift! Well anyway, it was an amazing show. He brought out Colbie Caillat to sing "Lucky" with him, he sang "Im Yours" or course and was very engaging and fun throughout the whole night. We both even got Jason Mraz t-shirts as a souvenir from this trip.

We had so much fun together walking along the beach, riding our beach cruisers along the beach, relaxing by the pool and jacuzzi, shopping of coarse for Camille's sake, and just being together ALONE without kids, which a rarity. Thank you Camille for great trip and memory.

Here are some pictures and videos:

6 Months Later.....

Finally I have decided to update the blog. Between work, school, family, church, and some slivers of relaxation, I have had no motivation to post anything new. It is only fitting that the last blog I wrote was the birth of Connor, the addition of a third child to our lives. This was the precise time that our lives became crazier than they ever had been before. So I will share some updates from the past 6 months.

Updates

- Brayden Started Kindergarten and loves it
- Logan turned 3
- Justin Graduated College finally!
- Camille has been busy being a Mom, no surprise there
- We took a few trips: 1) to Carlsbad for a week on the beach. 2) Camping at Bear Canyon Lake
- We have swam a lot this summer
- Brayden played T-Ball this summer
- Justin started a softball league

Other than that here are a few pictures from a recent flood on our street, of Connor getting older, and our recent camping trip.