In Memory of Dean Barnhart

This last weekend the whole family participated in the Layton Marathon and other runs in memory of our Grandpa Barnhart. Grandma came up from Arizona to do the 5K with us. We got up early on Saturday morning and arrived at Ellison Park in Layton, UT. Tony & Brady had already started the marathon earlier that morning (they had a long way to go after all). Kitty & Ramon decided to run the 10K and were off and running at 7:30 am. They each came in 2nd place in their age categories with their run times. The rest of us were doing the 5K which started at 7:45 am. We had a nice time walking together and enjoying the fresh air. Once we were done we found out that most of the family had received medals in their age categories. You'll see them all standing below on the podium. We had a bit of a wait for the marathon runners. It was cold but we stayed in good spirits. Unfortunately Brady's body gave up on him at around mile 22 and he couldn't complete the entire race but in our book he deserves to say he did it because that is a LONG way. Tony came in at around 12:30 pm and we cheered him on. He carried Lincoln across the finish line. Once he was a little rested and got an apple to eat. We went to the Kelley's and took some pictures. You'll see we all wore out 4th of July shirts that had "In Memory of Dean Barhart" printed on the back. We are so glad that we were able to participate and that everyone had a pretty good day. We are so proud of Tony & Brady for training for their first marathon ever...you guys rock! I know that Grandpa was there cheering each on and telling us to run faster :)

Who's Ready to Run?

We're Awake...We Promise!

Grandpa, Grandma, Lincoln & Kevin After the 5K & 10K Runs

Our Little Gangsta!

Family of Champions!

Kevin - 3rd Place in Male 30-34 Age Group

Is this real?

Is there a Dentist around?

Tony nearing the finish line

There he goes - 26.2 miles

Lincoln was such a good baby

The Family

We participated in memory of Grandpa Barnhart

Tony & Brady - Our Heroes!

A Room Once Again

Many of you probably know that we are trying to sell our house. In order to get ready to do that we had to de-junk and send a whole bunch of stuff to my in-law's basement (thanks Scott & Kitty). My parents came up last week and helped me finished the spare room which has been more of a disaster room until now. They did so much while I wasn't feeling well (like redo our entire bathroom) and I am so grateful for them. If you know of anyone interested in our condo let us know or you can find the listing on www.judyallen.com (MLS #994151).

Cabin Retreat

Cousins - aren't they great!

Art projects for the kids!

Steven, Kevin & Josh showing their mad shooting skills!

Eliana and her Otter Pop

Grammy's New Airplane (she asked for toys on her birthday)

I think Kevin is a little more rested than Aspen - who's happy to be here?

Lexie's got a great smile :)

Grammy's new marble castle

Me rockin' the Hog

Jaden showing how strong he is!

Over my mom's birthday weekend we decided that it would be fun to go to the cabin with all the Hadley family. Scott & Kitty let us borrrow their truck so we wouldn't have to ruin our car. We headed up around 4 pm on Friday afternoon. As soon as we arrived we felt that relaxation that comes with good mountain air! Kevin had bought a new book, The Hunger Games, and became engrossed. That night we had sloppy joes for dinner and then had ice cream sandwiches to celebrate Grammy's birthday. Being the amazing grandma that she is she asked for toys for her birthday. We got her this cool castle that you can roll marbles down. The kids all loved it and played for hours. We had good conversation and LOTS of yummytreats. The next morning we got up and had eggs, toast, and sausage for breakfast. Then everyone went on four wheeler rides and mom had some crafts for the kids. The guys shot beebee guns and of course there was LOTS more food! We had lunch and then decided that we better pack up and let the little ones have naps on the way home. We had a moment of panic when Kevin couldn't find the keys to his parent's truck (we thought one of the kids might have taken them) but we finally found them at the very bottom of our bag...whew! We had such a wonderful time and I tried to take lots of pictures. Here are just a few...enjoy!

Cruise Report - Day 6 & 7 (Final)

So we had another day at sea before arriving back in California. Kevin wasn't feeling well so I went out and watched the belly-flop competition on deck. I also inadvertenly burned myself pretty badly. We took some time and went Ice Skating and took some pictures with some of our favorite employees (they served us so well). As our time came to a close we enjoyed every last second of shows, parades, food, and fun. The last night we ended up hanging out in one of the lounges with some of the cruise staff listening to Jazz music. We weren't sure how we would feel about cruises but it turns our we love it and can't wait to go again.

When we got into L.A. the next day and reached our departure time we found Cindee who picked us up in her branch new mini-cooper. We were glad to see her new car (that she had bought the week we were gone) but it wasn't very easy to fit three adults plus a week worth of cruise luggage (lots of changes of clothes). We laughed and worked it out. We were glad we could see her if only for a moment.

Ready....FLOP!

Vivian - Our Stateroom Attendant

Ashley - We never wanted for a Diet Coke the whole trip!

Kevin rockin' his skates

Whoa...that was FUN!

A few of the ice performers - we saw their show earlier in the week.

Manoj - Our Head Waiter

Dee-Pac - Our Assistant Waiter

"Mini" Cooper Ride

Cruise Report - Day 5

This day we were at our last port, Puerto Vallarta, where we were going to swim with the sea lions. I had been so excited for this and couldn't hardly wait. We were instructed to wear our suits to the preserve. Most of the people who were on the bus were going to swim with dolphins but only 10 of us were able to swim with the sea lions. We got to ride on a boat to a different area of the preserve where we showered and got into a pool with 3 sea lions. The two we were allowed to touch were Cassandra & Shanna (pregnant) but the other one was being ornery so they didn't want us bothering it. We all stood at the edge of the pool while they would swim next to us and we could feel their body and fins. Each of us took turns going out and having them come up and kiss us on our cheeks and hug us with their fins. We each swam out into the middle of the pool and they jumped over us. It was one of the coolest things we've done in our whole lives! After about an hour we got out and went to look at the pictures they had taken (yeah...like we're not going to buy them...right?) and they had a buffet lunch set out for us. A bit later we returned to the ship to change clothes and then set out to go souvenir shopping. After a while it just got overwhelming. Kevin was determined to have at least one authentic Mexican meal while we were there so he scoped out a place and we went in (after some hesitation from me...sorry babe!). We had ceviche, quesadillas, enchiladas (I think that is what Kevin had), and other yummy stuff. I'm glad that Kevin persisted because it was really good. Mexico was playing in a quarter final game of the World Cup. They won their game that afternoon and the city erupted. All the little kids were coming out of school and there were parades and people gathering in the square. I'm glad that I had been through this once in Brazil because I wasn't too scared. Once we got back to the ship about 30 minutes later the rain started coming down (see picture below) and we were very glad we had come back to the ship a little early. That night we went to another show, The Wonders I think, and partied the night away. All three of the ports were fun but this one was by far my favorite excursion.

Our ticket into the Sea Lions

Do you like our excited faces?

I can hardly stand the wait!

Kevin made a new friend!

The Dolphin Tank

Cheers!

This is "Senor Frog" - There are stores and restaurants at EVERY port

Cool picture of the rain at the port

Cruise Report - Day 4

The next port was Mazatlan. It was a very dirty city with armored guards and craziness. We wre going on a tour outside of the city and were able to see the real beauty there. We went and saw how they make bricks by hand, went to a bakery and had some yummy bread, & saw tiles being made. We also had the chance to see the Papantla Flyers. They practice this religion that worships the Earth. All their costumes have meaning...it was really cool to witness. When we got back to the ship we took a nap and then caught the sunset...so cool! That night was a Luau up on the top deck. Kevin bought a pineapple drink in a real pineapple. All in all a great day!

Making bricks

The Bakery

Yummy!

Making Tiles

Kevin & a Tequila Tree

The Papantla Flyers

Our Tour Guide - Mario Sr

We had to get a picture of the Armored Truck!

So Beautiful!

Kevin, His Pineapple, and our Towel Animal (thanks to Vivian)