My Birthday Puppy - REALLY???!!!!!

While I was out of town, James informed me that the girls had bought me a puppy for my birthday. He assured me that I would love it - it was well behaved, house broken, hypo-allergenic, soft and the perfect lap dog. I could not believe my ears... I kept thinking it was a joke, but after speaking with Jacob I was starting to believe I had a dog waiting for me at home. My family in Utah got a big kick out of my worry and we all had a good laugh about it. When James and the kids came to the airport to pick me up, they told me the dog was in the car in a special carry case. I geared up for the worst. Sure enough, in the car was a dog, just for me - only it was a CAKE! In a special box, sitting in the car was the best cake I have ever seen. We named him Sylvester, he was delicious!

The day after I got home, we hopped in the RV and went camping at the river. The kids and James planned and packed everything. In addition, James bought me a kayak for my birthday. It is yellow and very agile. I made my first 2 trips down the river that weekend (no swimming yet...), and I really enjoyed it. We had a great weekend - you will have to take my word for it though - the only thing we forgot was a camera.

Grandpa Durex

My 91 year old Grandfather passed away peacefully in his home on Sept. 27, 2011. He was one of my very favorite people and I will miss him. I was able to attend the funeral in Utah over General Conference weekend (also my birthday). James was sick so he stayed home with the kids. It was great to see my Dad, Jody, my Aunt and my brothers and sister. In addition, my Great Uncle Barre (my Grandfather's brother) was able to be there. It was a treat for me to spend some time with him. We had a really nice time together and although Durex will be greatly missed by all of us, we know he is with his sweetheart, 2 of his children, his sister and parents, so there is great comfort in that. He lived a life full of service to others, he was a great example to me. Because of his military service he received a full military funeral. Normally they only have a few guys show up for funerals, but there were over a dozen retired or current service men there to honor my Grandfather. Apparently when word got out that the service was for Rex Barrett, they all came. There were 3 buglers as well which as super neat. The fall colors came late this year in Northern Utah so they were at peak that weekend, just for me. I felt very blessed. It was an honor to speak at my Grandfather's funeral, although harder than I had expected. I am especially grateful for the time we were able to spend together this summer, I will always be glad I went to Utah to see him this summer. I am so grateful for the influence he had on me and the love I felt from him.

Happy Birthday Kathryn!

Kathryn turned 11 in Sept. How time flies! We had a great time on her birthday. We opened a few presents in the morning and then finished them off that evening. We left for the river to camp for the rest of the week the next day. We celebrated all weekend with GAF, river rafting, shopping, camping and lots of fun. Kathryn is a blessing to our family. She is smart, kind, super funny and very responsible. Recently she asked if she could work at the local dog pound. Since she is not 16 yet, they said she could volunteer there if a parent came with her. She has been an asset to them as she plays with the animals, combs hair, cleans cages, and washes dishes. It has been so fun for me to see her rise to the challenge and have such a good time doing it. Kathryn has joined a speech club this year and is doing really well with it, she loves it. Since Jacob has early morning seminary this year and I don't get home with him until 7:15am, Kathryn has taken over making breakfast for the family each morning. She is doing a great job and it is so fun to see her growing up. As she reminds me, only 1 more year until she gets to be in YW. She is an amazing person and we are all blessed to have her in our family. Kathryn got a bunch of fabric, some clothes, jewelry making stuff and a hammock. For her birthday party she wanted to take a few friends to the river for a day of rafting. Here are pictures from her big day as well as a video of her party that she made for her friends. She is so fun! Unfortunately the audio on the movie will not come up because it is a bunch of really great songs that are copyrighted....

More River rafting and Kayaking

We spent as much time as possible at the river this summer. We ran away for weekends, arriving home late Saturday night, or just went for the day. Sometimes our friends came, sometimes it was just our family - it was super fun EVERYtime. Each trip was filled with warm sunshine, cold water, great memories, lots of smiles and pizza. Last year Kathryn and James went the Guest Appreciation Festival (GAF for short) at the Nantahalla River Outpost (a cool store we like at the river we go to). This year we looked forward to everyone going. We camped for several days, thoroughly enjoyed the festival, met new friends, sold our old boats and bought new ones. The kids also got to try out using a paddle board. Sarah and Kathryn were surprisingly good at it. By the time the weekend was over we came home with a play boat for Jacob to learn to do tricks in, a boat for James that fit him better and Kathryn's first boat. We even found a tiny boat for the little girls to enjoy. Here are some pictures from several of our trips to the river. What a fun summer!