Levi the photographer

Levi has learned how to operate Yvonne's digital camera, so we all have to be on guard when he has access to the camera. Here are a couple examples of his work -- the first a self portrait (he takes a lot of those), the second a candid of Yvonne at the grocery store after Levi has asked Yvonne about 50 times to look at him (she looked, and he clicked).

First week of school

Summer is over...wow. The kids are back in school -- Melissa is a high school junior; Colin starts middle school as a sixth grader: Carson rules the school in fifth grade and Dylan is in second grade. Levi, well Levi is still home. Alone. So alone. After a week (three days for Dylan, who picked the first week of school to be sick), all is going well and the kids are happy with their classes and their teachers. As you can see from the photos, the kids didn't mind lining up for first-day-of-school snapshots.

Bedtime story

Jason and Colin goofing around late one night (check out Jason's sweet pj pants). Another example of us never having a dull moment.

Classical Mystery Tour

On our last night in Park City, we went to see the "Classical Mystery Tour," a Beatles tribute band performing with the Utah Symphony. The show was part of the Deer Valley Musical Festival, held at an outdoor amphitheater at the Deer Valley Ski Resort. We got in on a family pass -- they didn't even blink when we said we had five kids; evidently Utah is more familiar with our size clan.

We got there early so we could set out our blankets and eat a picnic dinner (i.e. Quiznos sandwiches). Levi took one look at the amphitheater shell and said, "Look at the big hat!" Shortly after we finished eating, we heard thunder, dark clouds quickly rolled in with a strong wind (launching several table umbrellas), and it rained. And rained. And rained. We watched the first half of the concert huddled under an umbrella and layers of blankets. By the time they played "Here Comes the Sun," though, the clouds were gone. We were damp and a little chilled, but we had a blast. As the band came out for an encore, we all stood and sang along with "Hey Jude" and "Twist and Shout." While the band used the word "Classical", we agree with the Beatles that it was Magical.

World Series softball

We enjoyed five days of softball with Melissa and her team, Las Vegas Rage 16,in Park City. We have known and travelled with several of the girls over the last 18 months (or, in some cases, even longer), and we enjoy being at the ballpark with them cheering for a great group of girls.

Melissa participated in skills competitions (her team placed third in their division in the "around the horn" contest) and played second base in all of the team's eight games. The team's coach asked Jason and another father to help with warmups and practice, and Jason enjoyed being on the field. Melissa was also thrilled that Yvonne's parents came down from Idaho to watch four games, and that Yvonne's sister Pam came to the two games that were played in Salt Lake City.



Melissa was also selected to play in the tournament's all-star game. It was a great opportunity for her to compete in front of a large crowd, be a teammate with girls from across the West and Canada, and to play a very high level of softball. She made some new friends and smiled from the beginning of warmups through the end of the game.

With the tournament over, Melissa has a week to rest up, and then it's back to work on the field.

Parade in Park City

We're in Park City, Utah, for a family vacation and for Melissa to play in the Triple Crown World Series with her club softball team. Today all the 16-under and 18-under teams (around 50) paraded down Main Street in historic downtown Park City to open the tournament. Melissa had fun with her teammates, and the boys had a blast catching candy from the players.

Levi, in particular, had this event wired. When the candy hit the ground, he was off and running to get a piece or two. Then he figured out he's young and cute, around a bunch of 15-18 year old girls. So he stood at the side of Main Street , smiled, and waved, and they brought the candy to him. Pure genius. He collected his weight in candy while the other boys scrambled for flying candy pieces. But, being experienced at these types of things, they collected plenty, too.







With clean air, cool weather, and good teammates and parents, we had a great time.

A visit from the McKees

Our good friends Jared and Brittany McKee dropped by for a visit a two weeks ago (it's been a busy couple weeks since they left) on their way home to Idaho. We had a great time with them while they were here.

Jared and Brittany went to the boys baseball practice on a really hot, really dry Thursday evening (July 3). Levi enjoyed playing with Brittany, and Melissa and the boys had a blast playing ball with Jared. We also played guitar, goofed around, played Dance Dance Revolution, talked about old times, and just enjoyed being around each other. Yvonne has known Jared's family for as long as she can remember (she babysat him a few times, ha ha), and Jason has known Jared since Jared was 12 or 13.

Jason and Jared were in the young men's program for many years together, and they shared a lot of good experiences together hiking, playing ball, doing service projects, and lots of other activities. They're more like brothers than friends.



Over the last year we've had a great time with the McKees on a few visits together. This most recent visit was no exception, and the kids keep asking when we can see them again.

(We had to include a photo of Jason and Jared's first backpacking trip, to upper Palisades Lake, in 1995, we think. Jared is third from the left, Jason on the far right. From left, it's Nathan Brian, John Oborn, Jared McKee, Mike McKee, J.D. Oborn, Bill McKee, Craig Hall, Robert Webb, and Jason)