So it begins.....

It's been so hard to keep up with all our friends and family that we decided to start our own blog. We are hoping this will help us feel better about not being very good at keeping in touch like we should! We've been very busy this summer and are including some pics from the last few mths. We hope you enjoy!








Joe just finished his MBA program in May and is working hard selling ultrasound to Dr's in Denver and Idaho. He is out of town A LOT, but he always finds time to have fun!

This is Joe playing with his band 'Salty Paper Cut'
He is their lead singer and kazoo player. They definitely know how to have a good time. You can check out their work at www.saltypapercut.com - be prepared to be impressed!

We went to Arizona for a family Reunion in June and drove our new van with my parents. (I should note we've had it for two mths now and we are already over 5,000 miles!) We were very grateful for the extra room and enjoyed the sights along the way. We stopped at Zion's National Park on the way and stayed in St.George over night on the trip down. We drove straight back and would never have made it without the DVD player (thank goodness for modern technology!!!) It was a very fun trip and we are looking forward to next year's reunion.

We went to Payson Lakes with our friends the Sutherlands for Field Day (to my best understanding it's where HAM Radio Operators come and practice their stuff making contacts all over the U.S.) Our friends, Brett, Tina and Nathan, have their HAM License. Joe hopes to get his, someday.

Joe, Quin, Tina and Rachel



Audri and Quin sitting at the campfire.

I'm going back to school this fall to finish up my schooling and get a Bachelor's. Hopefully that will all go well. I enjoy staying home with the kids and like going to all of the activities they participate in. I like to go running with Tina and we competed in a couple 5K's this summer. We weren't great, but were able to beat our time by 1 minute each race. That felt good. I'm in a quilt guild and still enjoy sewing and quilting when there is time.


Clayton got stung by a hornet just as we were leaving the campsite, oops. He has some awful luck. He is my only child to be stung by a bee, and he's been stung four times. He broke his leg last October, hanging from a tree at the neighbors house. Hopefully we won't have anything major for a while.

Clay is five and a half and starts Kindergarten on the 25th of July! He is way excited. He knows his ABC's and can count to fifty. He knows all his colors and is an excellent artist. He loves to color and paint and draw pictures. Clayton has been playing soccer for a year now and is excited to start again this fall. Joe got the boys a couple of ropes last spring. One is a rope swing and the other a climbing rope. Clay can climb to the top of the rope (15-20 ft) all by himself. He's a very energetic young man.




Quin watching movies on the way home from the campout.

Quin is three and a half and busy,busy, busy! He loves playing computer games, playing in the sandbox, swinging high on the rope swing, playing with cars, trucks, and everything boy. He likes to sit on his bed and read books and can resite Green Eggs and Ham word for word. He is hard to understand, but he understands everyone else perfectly. He is very smart. He starts preschool in August and is really looking forward to it.


Ali waiting in the car watching "Blue's Clue's", her favorite, while we pack up the campsite.

Ali is almost 18mths old. She loves to boss her brothers around and she is very good at getting her way. She is a real cutie though and lots of fun when she's in a good mood. She's a very good talker and loves to play with her baby dolls. She especially loves to push them in their stroller. She is also a shoe fanatic! She LOVES shoes. She's all girl!!!