A Grand Adventure to Grand Rapids

With a very large truck loaded to the brim with all their
belongings, Ali and Jade are ready to travel across the country.
Salt Lake to Grand Rapids in four days, with stops in
Cheyenne, Omaha and Michigan City.
Grandma went along to help drive and entertain the boys.

Our second night was spent in Omaha, to the sounds of tornado sirens
and a phone call from the front desk inviting us to the basement
until the warning was lifted, about 10 p.m.
We took peeks outside to watch the clouds gather, changing directions rapidly,
from north to east then south, then heavy rain mixed with hail filling up a dry ravine
with 10-15 feet of running water behind the hotel, for a total rainfall of 2.5" for the night.
We were happy that no tornado touched down near us,
for by morning there were 60 tornado sightings reported from this storm,
including one at a scout camp an hour north of Omaha, that killed 4 scouts.

Rain or shine the delivery boy delivers, thank goodness,
and we ate our Chinese dinner in a basement room while the storm raged on.
For several hours this is what we watched on the TV screens,
waiting for the storm to pass.

The next morning, before continuing our journey east, we stopped at the
Winter Quarters historical site with the beautiful cemetery and Temple.

Owen and Connor were happy to pose for the pictures,
but Spencer hid in the shadows.

On day four, we arrived at Grand Rapids, Michigan,
and turned onto the lane where Ali and Jade would soon call Home.
Their home is straight ahead, at the end of this very long lane.

This is the back of the house (that's the Realtor, not Jade, standing on the top level with Ali and the boys). It's very high up, and through the trees where Owen is standing, you can see the river which is just one lot away.

The Bringhurst's new home.....and the best part, the boys spotted a blue jay!

Parker's Baptism

Parker Snow was baptized and confirmed by his Dad,
Saturday, June 7, 2008,
at the East Mill Creek Stake Center.
The reasons Parker listed for choosing to be baptized are:
"So I can git the Holy Ghost
So I can git to be a member of the church
So I can be confirmed
to be obedience"
It was a wonderful occasion for all who could attend.
We are so proud of you, Parker!

The Stripes are NO MASK!

Oops! We caught a SKUNK in our raccoon trap this morning!

The good news is that Russ, our friendly urban wildlife specialist, was willing to come haul him off anyway. However, he did a little preventative measure first by sneaking up behind a large cardboard square and either sticking him or spraying him with something that made him immobile and unable to squirt.
That was our big event for the week; while the rest of the neighborhood has been enamored with the filming of scenes for High School Musical 3, three doors away, at the Van Wagoner's house, which included many trucks, tons of people, and sightings of the young stars, reported to us by the younger generation. We opted not to walk over to watch because we wouldn't have recognized any of the stars, although while Stan was working in the front yard he saw "Zach" skateboarding down the street. It went on for three days and nights (most of the filming during the late afternoons and evenings). Last week they filmed over on Oneida, at the Orchard's house.

Who is that masked bandit?

We've declared WAR on all uninvited RACCOONS----which is pretty much all raccoons.
After spotting one at 10 o'clock in the morning, we decided to purchase our own trap. The first night of setting the trap we watched a raccoon walk right into the cage and get caught. However, the next morning he was gone. He had broken through the end and escaped, so Stan returned that trap and upgraded to a double door cage. The next night another one was caught, and the Bringhurst boys watched with great interest until the urban wildlife specialist, Mike, came and took him away. The bait of choice seems to be chocolate chip cookies and marshmallows.

Henry the Twelfth

Here's Henry at three weeks old, with brothers Hardy and Redd.

Henry really does have 2 dimples!

Henry's not big on long photo shoots, but at least we got Cookie in on this one.

Sunday at the Owen Home

A little soccer, a little dress-up, a lot of fun......




And here's our princess Ava! She loves the outdoors.
In line for the next line backer on the team......Henry the 12th!
Dr. Owen (Bringhurst, that is) is at the door to wish everyone well as they leave...

U of U Commencement - Old Face, New Graduate

May 3, 2008, a beautiful day
to graduate!

I lined up for the procession
with friends, Esther and Yumi.


Mario Capecchi, Utah's first
Nobel Prize winner, gave some interesting facts on
global warming.





It was a wonderful program.
Danielle's uncle,
David Neeleman, received an honorary degree, also.


This lucky graduate got to sit on the front row!

This was a very special day for me,
and I was happy to share it
with those I love....







I couldn't have done it
without all of you
(including those not present).

To top it off, we went home and
watched the Jazz beat Houston
to win the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Reflections on Easter '08

It all begins with dinner...who's hungry.

Great-Grandpa Butters joined us.

Ava's modeling her new cap, knit by Grammy

They're off and running......in the hunt for the Easter candy!
Thanks to Camilla, Jordan and Danny for hiding them all over the yard.

Easter can be exhausting! Just ask Ford

Here's the crew with their loot. (We missed Luke.)

Number 12 Has Arrived!

Henry Michael Owen has arrived.
Born Thursday morning, April 3, 2008, to Alissa and Brandon,
weighing in at 9 pounds 10 ounces, and 21" long.

Here he is less than one hour old
wondering what happened to his nice, warm quarters.