Emory and Jude

In early October 2007 Jude and Emory came to Utah for a visit. They also caught up with Emory's mother, siblings, siblings-in-law, and other family members. They mostly live in and around Ogden. We had a fantastic time with them.

Josie

Sitting in the backyard on a coolish but pleasant Autumn morning.

Worm's eye view

They say that the early bird catches the worm....but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Forty Candles at Rich's Camping Birthday Party

Laura made this cake for Rich and opted to fire up forty individual candles. After the park ranger left and the camp-site was back to normal we agreed that next year we will get two candles for Rich's cake - one in the shape of a '4' and the other in the shape of a '1'.

Birthday Frock

One of Gracie's birthday gifts this year was this pretty summer dress that her Grandma Gayle made for her.

The next amazing installment in Laura's series of child-delighting cake designs is this beauty. Absolutely delicious, except the doll was a little chewy.

Bowling

There is just so long that you can resist the lure of a bowling alley in your neighbourhood. Charlie, Grace and Rich had a great time and all of them cracked the magical 50. No need for lessons with such innate talent. We won't mention the three warnings we had from the manager for bouncing balls and sliding on our tummies down the lane.

Waiting for the Mailman

Laura likes to buy things on Amazon and has even made some successful forays into the world of Ebay. Here she is waiting for one of her bargains to be delivered.

Little Cottonwood River

Charlie and Rich had an adventure in late July in the Little Cottonwood Canyon. We found a beautiful river with icy cold water. Very refreshing to dunk your head into after some hot hiking.

Camping

Rich's Birthday

Rich's love of camping is unquestioned. So to celebrate his 40th we all packed up the van and headed for Spruces' camping ground in Big Cottonwood Canyon, 45 minutes from home. We had a fun time.

Where's Josie?

Towel-heads

Grace and Jane making themselves bootiful.

Family Portrait

This was taken on Charlie's birthday, at This is the Place Heritage Park.

Two Blowing Out Candles Ceremonies

When you're seven you get to blow out candles on cupcakes and a Bionicle Mask cake.

American Frontier Classroom - circa 1865

First time in the saddle

This is the Place Heritage Park

Here we are at 'This is the Place' Heritage Park in Salt Lake City. Our good friends Joe and Leslie took Charlie (and his family) for his birthday. The petting corral was a big hit.

Hi there!

Artists in residence

Off to Church

Do you know how long it takes to get your hair just right? It's exhausting.

Laura and Grace

Three Wee Gels

Happy Birthday Jane!

Jane is Two

Checking out Jane's Birthday Cake

Laura made Jane's cake and put it in the fridge before the big event.

New Reality Show

We've been approached by a TV producer here who wants to do a 'Super-Nanny' meets 'Burke's Backyard' program.

Gardening

After some initial skepticism regarding dirt and grass etc, the children are now enjoying helping in the yard.

It's Official

We took Jane to the doctor and she ran some tests. Our suspicions were confirmed. Jane is a monkey.

Gracie at three and three quarters

Grace is enjoying the outdoor lifestyle and exploring our home, yard and the neighbourhood. She is constantly upbeat and willing to try new things.

Josie at four months

You'd think that after living in three continents Josie would have picked up a few languages by now.....

The 'Good Room'

Visitors are not allowed past this room.

Our Home in Draper, Utah, USA

This is our new home in Utah. Every national holiday that is associated with patriotism some young men in the neighbourhood put flag poles and flags in our yard (and everyone else's). They just appear in the morning, like mushrooms.

The Rockies

This is the view from our backyard of a mountain called 'Lone Peak' - a part of the Wasatch Front, which is a little stretch of the Rocky Mountains. This shot was taken in April 2007. The snow is gone now but we hear a rumour that it will be back in November or December.

Family Room and Kitchen/Dining

This is where we spend a lot of our time in our new home in Draper, Utah.

Watching the baseball

Charlie and Rich had a great time watching their first baseball game.

Josephine - 3 months old

Chubby and cheerful.

Feeding the ducks

The ducks were very comprehensively fed by Charlie and Grace. They seemed quite unmoved by having handfuls of grain hurled at them, and snapped it up.

Our Jane

gracie's photo

This photo was taken by Grace - pretty impressive, huh?