Black & Silver Game/ Luau

 On Friday August 14th it was the Black & Silver Game. It was done a bit differently again this year (this seems to be an ongoing theme for all things football this year- haha). Instead of the varsity scrimmaging the JV and the JV playing Sophomore they had the Varsity play each other and the Sophomore team play each other. It was kind of strange- it felt very similar to watching a practice! But Will got in some good reps which was wonderful!

 It was a VERY hot day and even though the scrimmage was later in the day the temps were still in the high 90's! Thankfully Chan and Brianne found some seats in the shade so we were comfortable while Will was out there sweating bullets!

Right after the scrimmage the booster club put on a luau fundraiser! One of the football players gave Will a Lei! I had to get a picture with him wearing it! I thought he looked cute!I was working in the concession stand helping to sell drinks and treats!

 They went ALL OUT for the food! It was super yummy! It was $10 a plate and the boys had to sell tickets in advance.

 Even though the lines were long to get the food, once people took a bite, they didn't seem to mind! They also enjoyed the entertainment that was provided- a lot of Polynesian dancers etc!

The team ended the night doing the Haka out on the field! It was great! They have really pulled together as a team! I am super excited to see how our team does in our new region! It's going to be a fun year!GOOOOO HAWKS!!

Vocal Camp/Audition with Brianne

 On August 15th Brianne and I headed to Provo bright and early to participate in a vocal workshop and audition put on by Jenni Phillips. She is an LDS singer songwriter who has been VERY successful over the years. She was putting on the workshop to try and find 10 female singers between the ages of 13-30 to record a song on her new album for the 2016 youth LDS theme.

 The workshop had several speakers, including Jenni herself (pictured above), who gave a LOT of wonderful tips and information. There was 150 in the workshop and ALL of them got to audition as well. They all sang a 30 second clip of a song she wrote for the album. She sent it out to all who registered in an email so that they could be prepared. I found out about this a week before it was to take place so she only had a few days to prepare but thankfully the song was very easy to learn!

 When the time came for her to audition she was nervous but did a remarkable job- no surprise there! (remember I am biased because I am her Mom :) After the workshop was complete and all the girls/women had a chance to audition she finally announced the top 20. These people would have to audition AGAIN for the top 10 spots. And guess what....

She made the top 20!!!!! I was SOOOO proud of her! She sang again and was not chosen for the top 10, but we were both thrilled for the opportunity we had to attend and that she had gotten that far. After it was over we went up to Jenni to thank her and she told us that Brianne was very talented and was excited to see what she would do but that her voice was just too "mature" for this project. She then asked how old Brianne was and was shocked to find out she was only 13! I told Brianne that was the BEST compliment she could have received! All in all it was a super fun day and we BOTH learned a lot! Way to go Brianne on another successful event! :)

Football Team Pictures

 This season the high school wanted to go a different direction for team/individual pictures so I took the initiative and found who would be taking them! My favorite photo studio in town FotoFly had started a new "teams" studio and I jumped right on it! I called and got the info and got them booked!

 These pictures are proof of WHY I did! They are truly incredible! These photographers just know how to capture the kids personalities and they ALWAYS nail it on the poses and backgrounds. This one of Will with a helmet is just killer!!

 This is the JV/Varsity team for this year! can you believe how SMALL it is??! There's just over 40 kids this year! And I love that they took the picture over the "Alta" fence. This is actually over on the visitors side, but I love how it turned out!

 When Will ordered his letterman's jacket in the spring he chose the number 41. He had his reasons for this number, I honestly can't remember right now, but he ALMOST didn't get it! There was a senior that was 41 last year and almost took it again until he found that #2 was available so Will lucked out at the last minute and got the number he wanted! Yay!

 He has been working hard since May and is hoping for some significant play time on Varsity this year! He certainly LOOKS tough enough! Don't ya think?

This last shot is PERFECT- this is my Will! He puts on a good show, but he is a sweet, thoughtful kid that likes to have fun! I couldn't be prouder of him and can't wait for the first game! WOO HOO! Go Hawks! #41

Concert time!!!

 On August 8th Brianne and I sent summer off with a bang at the Kelly Clarkson Concert! It was held at USANA amphitheater out in West Valley City. We were lucky enough to score some cheap tickets earlier in the year and Brianne was SUPER STOKED because one of her absolute favorite vocalists were the main opening act! Their name is Pentatonix and they are an accapella group.

 She has been a fan of theirs since they were on the TV show the "Sing Off" on NBC. They were the winners of the competition. Since then they have done several songs and album that are just phenomenal! You know they are good when Brianne is listening to their Christmas album while mowing the lawn in the summer! Hahaha!

 They did not disappoint either! Everything they sang was literally perfection! And we truly lucked out in the weather department as well! It was warm with clear skies! We also found the perfect spot on the lawn to enjoy the performances. Once it all started I couldn't help myself and I bought a bag of cotton candy! I haven't had that since I was a kid! It was yummy and I did share too!

 Kelly Clarkson was stunning too! Her talent is just awe inspiring! In fact after hearing her in person Brianne was even MORE impressed with her! She put on a clean show and even stopped right in the middle of a song to pick up a cute baby boy in the audience! It was unreal! Brianne and I both LOVED all her songs! We sang along and even danced a bit toward the end of the night!

 During the performance there was a firework show going off in the distance! It was almost like it was planned! We also got her the mandatory concert T-Shirt, which HAD to be Pentatonix! And I have to admit I think it's a pretty cute one!

At the concert we decided that we're going to go to a concert and a musical/play every year! We've gotten it all in this year with this concert and the Little Mermaid musical! So I'm excited to see what we find to go to next year! It was the perfect ending to a busy and fun summer! :)

MOTAB Practice with the family

 Grandma and Grandpa Gilbert are moving to Arizona soon to live with Chan's aunt Kris and Uncle Tony and before they headed down south she really wanted to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform. Kathy looked into it and found a practice they were holding on a Thursday evening at the Conference Center so we met up for dinner and went up to see it.

 It was so fun to go with them because none of them had been there before! They were incredibly impressed with the building itself and loved hearing the choir sing. It wasn't as great as an actual performance because the choir director kept interrupting them to make changes/corrections. But they really are amazing to listen to!

 One of the songs they sang was "Give Said the Little Stream" and Grandma Gilbert was thrilled because it was a song she remembered from her time in Primary long ago! We sat and listened for over an hour and loved every minute!

We decided that we want to come again to see one of the performances of Music and the Spoken Word. Hopefully sometime this year we can make it happen with this same group of fun people! Grandma and Grandpa Gilbert won't be able to make it since they will have moved, but Jenny (Chan's aunt), his Mom and us girls would LOVE it! How blessed we are to have them close by!

Deer Creek Camping!

 This past weekend we had the pleasure of going camping again with the Crismon Clan! It was a family gift from Chan's sister Brooke for Christmas and we were excited to get out of town again and have some family time!

 It also happened to be the blue moon our first night in camp! It was HUGE and stunning! I tried my best to get a good photo and this was the best I could do! The camp site was a short hike to the water and the evenings were cold but the day time was HOT! Up to about 94 degrees! Yikes!

 The first night a bunch of us were up late playing Apples to Apples! It was so fun and we laughed pretty hard! If you haven't played that game you NEED to!!

 The next morning after we all warmed up a bit Chan and our family made a big breakfast for everyone! We brought cut up fruit, made bacon, sausage, hashbrowns and pancakes! It was quite a feast!

 Will was a great helper with the cooking! Everyone enjoyed the meal and took a few minutes to relax before getting the kids ready to go to the lake to swim and play in the water.

 It was a bit smoky that morning too! We thought maybe the fire was close by because it was a strong smell, but over about an hour or two it blew away with the wind and was nice again. The kids, Grandparents and most the parents went down to the lake. Chan and I stayed behind at camp to relax. I'm not gonna lie- I took a lovely nap in the trailer! :)

 Later that afternoon after eating some snacks we played some more games and chatted!

 This game is another hilarious one! It's called Headbands and it's almost as fun to just watch as it is to play! :)

 Chan and Will also brought along their RC trucks and so did Myles. They had fun running them together! Myles especially loved playing with Chan's big RC truck! He was in heaven that Chan let him drive it!

 These cute cousins are inseperable! They do everything together! It's so cute!

 They kept posing for pictures! They got pretty silly that night before getting really pooped out!

 I love this shot Brianne got of Will and Chloe! The girls LOVED playing with him! He would toss them in the air and tease them! It was cute!

 Will was a sweet guy to keep playing with them!

 They ended up in his tent jumping on the bed and attacking him! It was funny! He eventually got them all out so he could go to sleep! I think they pooped him right out!

The last night we started out with games but ended up watching a few videos on YouTube about Penatonix- an accapella group that Brianne LOVES! It was a great night! On Sunday we woke to a yummy breakfast of sausage fondue! After eating that we spend the morning playing games and chatting and laughing together. This is the kind of family time I truly enjoy! It was wonderful!

Later that afternoon we packed up for home! Thankfully we got home in time that I could do some wash from the trip while taking a snooze on the couch! Haha! It was a rejuvenating weekend! How blessed we are to have such great family!

Football Camp 2015

 Will posted this picture on his Snapchat while we were in Yellowstone and I laughed out loud! It's so very true! That bench just inside the garage door in our family room becomes the football gear storage bench! Do I love that?, no not necessarily, but it is what it is!

 In years past they would hold their football camp down at Snow College, but since the changes in High School regulations last year they have no longer done that. But there was plenty of changes coming this year anyway, so it was probably best for them to stay at the school. This season I will no longer be the Booster President and that comes with a huge sense of relief. I do miss being around the team a lot and interacting with the coaches and administrators, but since I got my new job in January I just knew doing it right would prove too difficult. Besides there would also be a new coaching staff and I was certain they would want to start some new traditions anyway! It was a good time to bow out. But I am still involved, just at a much smaller capacity!

 The school had also just finished a huge renovation of the work out facilities. This room here is their new weight room/fitness center. It is state of the art! (the lights were turned out during this photo so it seems a bit dark) This room is going to make a HUGE difference in their workout routines, in fact, it already has! On this day they had a person from the Navy there talking to the team.

 The new coach, pictured in the center here, is Coach Alema Te'o. He started the All Poly Camp here in Utah and is widely known all over the country. Alta was lucky to get him and we are very excited to see what he and the other new coaching staff can do for our team. We were also bumped from a 5A team to a 4A team this year. Which means we'll be playing all new region this season. Frankly, I am excited about this too. It could mean some great opportunities for Alta while we build up our numbers again.

Will (pictured here #57) had a great camp. This picture was taken at a scrimmage they played against Bingham during camp week. He worked hard and was very excited to be back in pads! He is a defense guy and as of right now is sitting as the number 2 as linebacker. He's happy with that and also plans to play some special teams this year. He has been working hard with the team since May- even stopping his workouts with John Madsen to spend more time with the team. He is a dedicated teammate! He will do anything for his team! Chan and I couldn't be more excited for the season to begin! Let's go Hawks!

Yellowstone 2015

This trip has been talked about and planned starting back in December! Chan was the one who kept bringing it up and insisting that we all go together. Over the months the planning changed from staying in cabins at the KOA to staying in trailers! His parents bought their trailer a while ago but this summer his sisters got a trailer and motor home so suddenly the cabins weren't needed- in fact they had extra room for us! It worked out beautifully! We were all very excited! The ONLY bummer was that Will wasn't with us. He stayed behind because he had football camp the same week we were going- bummer :( But I am certain we will go back and next time he'll be there no matter what!!

We all arrived in west Yellowstone on a Tuesday and got settled at camp before hitting town to do our grocery shopping. It just made more sense to buy everything there. Each family had one night to make dinner for everyone and then we were on our own for breakfast and would picnic for lunches. The plan was set! So we went to a local pub to eat called the slippery Otter, got our groceries, put them away and then made a plan for our park time the next three days!

 This was our first day in the park! Nothing like a goofy group selfie to get things started off! Haha! We snapped this as we were walking a trail by the mud pots. No one mentioned the smell of these things... yikes! But the sounds and beauty from them are so neat!!

 That first day we drove ALL OVER! In fact we clocked 126.5 miles that day! We drove over by the lake and also toured the different geysers! It was awesome!

I loved this picture! It was taken by either Chan or Brianne! I love that they got the reflection in the water! I loved this area and how it looked like veins in the water. It was gorgeous! And the crater in this area was SO BLUE! It's actually very inviting looking if you didn't know you'd burn to death!

 We also went to see Old Faithful that day! That's one thing I have ALWAYS wanted to witness! And it did not disappoint! It was interesting to see the variety of people in the park from all over the world! And all of them walking around with their selfie sticks and GoPro cameras! It was crazy! Old Faithful was awesome and loud! I loved it!

 We found this great picnic area right near there and decided to stop for lunch! Each day we would bring in our lunch and drinks and find a pretty spot to sit and eat! I loved this area- the trees were amazing! I think I must have said a thousand times that the trees were so dense there! I have never seen anything like it before! In fact these pictures don't do it justice! We must have taken a thousand or more photos while we were there- this is just a small snippet!

Day 2 was our waterfall day! We saw many, mainly around the Grand Canyon area, but others were near the firehole area. They were all incredible!

 When I got home and looked at these pictures they look fake! This places colors and textures are so unreal! I suppose that it what makes it so incredible to see in person! We had fun driving all through the park again and hiking up and down trails. And the kids were the real troopers! Every day I was shocked and how they would just continue to go and go! I suppose they did get little naps in while we were driving though!

 The Grand Canyon there was awesome! It was something that Brianne really wanted to see and me too! And do you see what I mean by the pictures looking fake! I guess it's too beautiful to capture! Haha!

 This area was one that freaked me out getting there! Where we are standing there is a barrier but the road to get there didn't have any! And of course the cliff was on MY passenger side! It was straight down! SCARY! But we survived! It was a gorgeous spot.... just don't look down!

 This waterfall area was stunning!! I would have to say it was my favorite! And I can't remember the name of the area. It was a big waterfall and went into a stunning valley covered in pine trees!

Don't you love the rolling hills and mountains in the distance! So pretty!! And thanks to Dakota for this awesome picture! He was quite a helpful photographer! :)

 I also forgot to mention that we were not short on seeing wildlife in the park! On our first day we saw a buffalo and after that saw several of them as well as a bear, elk, fox, many different kinds of birds and of course squirrels!

 This is a photo of the bear we saw. It's a crazy good shot of it too considering we were in our truck, moving, while I took it using a very long lens! I am pretty proud of it! And you can't see it very well but the kids said their was an elk carcass right by him. He was feeding and then resting according to the park rangers. He was there for days!

This guy was right by the side of the road- like most of them! I love their attitude about the people around. They know we will wait for them to move and the look they give us is like "yeah, yeah, move on people"! It's awesome!

This day we found another great picnic site to eat lunch. Brooke and Mark were huge in helping us navigate the park. They've been there a few times and know the lay of the land!

 Every night after spending hours in the park we'd head home for dinner. We were smart and planned crock pot meals so that dinner would be ready when we got there. Thanks to hook ups at the camp site- it made our plan easy! We ate VERY well! Chan and I also took all the kids one night in the back of the truck to the KOA store for ice cream! They LOVED sitting in the bed of the truck! We told them it was like being in a parade! 

 They also had these park swings at every site and the kids loved swinging together. It was cute!

Once dinner was eaten then it was time for the games to begin! This has always been a favorite for Chan's family- Tripoly! :) Believe it or not we got everyone in this picture! This was in Brooke and Marks trailer. The best part is we could watch cable TV while we played! It helped keep the kids entertained too! Game nights happened almost every night! Fun!

 The last day we went to another totally different part of the park. We went over to Roosevelt Lodge on this day for our lunch. We were all a bit tired of sandwiches so we decided we would eat there instead!

 These antlers were above the door to the lodge and I had the bright idea to take a photo at just the right spot! This is a favorite picture from the park!

 I was proud of myself because I ordered a taco salad that had "wild beef" in it, which I found out was a mix of bison and elk. It was actually really good and didn't taste that different that beef!

 The food was good, it took quite a bit of time to eat, but I enjoyed it and I think others did too!

 It was nice to slow down a bit because we had been going from one thing to the next for days!

 One of the last things we saw this day was the Mammoth area. Our drive there ended up being longer than anticipated because of some construction on the roads in that area. Because of time we didn't get a chance to hike that part, but Chan's foot (he had surgery on it in May and it was still healing) was getting very sore from all the adventure and I don't know that we would have done it anyway.

The next day several people went back to hike it but Annie, Gerardo, Dakota and our family stayed behind to have a "chill day". We really wanted to spend some time in West Yellowstone so we grabbed Dakota and went to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. Annie Gerardo & Chloe stayed at the KOA doing laundry and swimming.

 At the Discovery Center we could see the bears up close! I mean LOOK at this picture! Is that not great! There were three bears out while we were visiting and they were all big! It was awesome to see them up close!

 They also had a bear skin you could touch- Brianne thought it was gross! It was more rough than I had imagined! Looking from a far their fur looks soft, but it's really not! After seeing the discovery center and checking out the bears, wolves, bald eagles, owls and more we were hungry and Dakota had been craving a burrito so we went next door for some Mexican food! Our tummies were full and it was time to head back but I insisted we go to the entrance for these pictures!....

 It is NECESSARY to do the tourist picture by the sign! We saw people doing this every day we entered the park!

I had to get one of Dakota too! He was kind enough to get our family so I had to get his! :)

All in all Yellowstone was just amazing. We loved the scenery and we loved being there as a family and playing together! I am certain this is a trip we'll not soon forget! And I am sure that we will be doing it again. Like I said Will wasn't with us and I KNOW that Carter wants to see this place, so here's to hoping that we'll be able to go again with them!