The Love of my Life turned 30!!!

So what am I supposed to do with him now?

BirThDay bOwliNg

We got together with some friends for Ezra's Birthday, and Reno treated us to Pizza, Bowling, and some sweet arcade games! (Reno, you are truely the BEST!!!) We bowled the night away while eating delicious Pizza Factory Bread Twists, Pizza and of course, Dessert! We all played amazing and had so much fun! Reno pulled some strings and got them to start cosmic bowling early so we could enjoy the music and lights! Ezra ended the night by telling me that this was the Best Birthday Ever!!! Thanks to all our friends for celebrating with us! We just love you guys!

Reno has great form, and he puts quite the spin on that ball!

After Bowling, we spent some time in the arcade!!! I havent had this much fun in a long time! The boys played some double shot, and we ALL punched the punching bag to see who was the toughest! The 1st place prize goes to Ezra for hitting it the hardest, and getting the High Score!!! The 2nd place prize goes to Sunny for showing the boys whats up, and getting a higher score than the two other guys (I wont mention names, as this may hurt their self esteem!) and 3rd place goes to Errin for taking a real punch in the arm... yep, Reno took it to another level when he punched Errin in the arm... a real punch!

Birthday Cookies

So every year for Ezra's Birthday I try to make "Monster Cookies"

These arent just any cookies... Look at them, they are filled with all sorts of goodness!

I will never compare with his Mom's skill of cookie making,

but believe it or not, Ezra told me that this is the "BEST" I've ever done!!!

I will take that compliment and run with it!

THe SurpRisE ParTy!!!

So I pulled off a SURPRISE PARTY for Ezra's big day!!! The whole neighborhood came and supported Ezra as he journey's out of his 20's and heads into the unknown world of his 30's!!! He was so SURPRISED... and he felt so special to have all of our friends there just for him! Thanks to everyone who came! I really appreceiated all the help in decorating, and surprising!!! Errin, THANKS! It was so much fun just hanging out with everyone, eating cake, and celbrating Ez!

The party was a total HIT!!! I mean look at these kids eyeing this cake!

Happy Bithday EZ... I love you so much!!!

Lake Powell 2009

This is what the view was like ...

Here we are just exploring the canyons

Tom... the captain of the boat!

Ezra's Sling shot ideas!

One of Ezra's goals this trip was to create the "perfect sling shot"

yes, the tower has more than one function

If no-one will help, I'll do it myself!

Perfect form!

Lake Powell 2009

Here's the fam rockin it on the surf board!!! Oh and dont forget Sandy lookin sweet in the double glasses get up! And just look at that Finnster... he's the cutest thing ever!

The Wave

Happy Birthday Craig!!! So Craig took the Boys to this Wave simulator thingy... and Ezra loved it! Here is a sweet pic (thanks to Brittany!) of Ezra living it up... surfing in Utah! Thanks Craig!!! and dont worry, 30's not that OLD!!!

The Lee Family

The Two That Started It All

The Kids and their Fami-lee's

Here is "most" of the Lee Family...

I think we were only missing two husbands and one of the grandkids...

not too shabby!

McCall Idaho

Here is a nice mixture of the water activities we all enjoyed!

There will always be surfing, wake boarding, and skiing!

Just Hanging out!

How many girls does it take to roll a log?
Lyndee, if he is old enough to read, he's too old to be carried around like that!
The whole crew
He guarded the boat like this every night!
Ezra just playin some Frisbee... with Bodie
Jacque... why don't they love us???

The Grandkids!!!

The three cutest kids on the planet!

Look at this kid eating peas for the first time! I think he loved them!
Megan is such a cute mom... Love the dress!!!
This picture speaks volumes! Look at that face!
Splish splash
Just look at how much these kids are loved! These are too sweet for words!

Bike Rides, Hiking and Tennis...

Of course we couldn't just relax while on vacation... My dad keeps us rather busy with bike rides, hikes, and don't forget the tennis!

What would boating be without the TUBE?

Tubing is one thing that me Megs and Tanya love!!! We used to sing "I think my dad's gone Crazy!" while tubing, but this time with Mike driving... all we could do was say our good bye's to each-other. Megan, It was really nice getting to know you these last couple of minutes, and Tanya, I've grown really close to you these last few minutes, and Im gonna miss you! (yeah, we are awesome!)
The Bawden family looks right at home rockin out on the tube! Bodie LOVED it and didnt want to get off, while Dillyn on the other hand... was hanging on for dear life!

One last look at the beautiful McCall Idaho

This is the condo complex we stay at! It's just beautiful!
Just a rainy day... but don't think a little rain will stop Dillyn

Draper Parade... A Branch Family Tradition!

The Branch Family LOVES the Draper Parade!!!

Here's the crew bright and early ready for some FUN!!!

as you can clearly see... Brant and Ezra are BFF's



The kids got to test their skills at Karate... Bodie dominated and broke the board in one try... Dillyn on the other hand tested the theory "3rd times the charm"... and it was!

Yes, we are an adorable couple!

I just love catching Tanya off guard! She's just adorable! (She's probably saying something super sweet to me!)

Ezra's going for the business in the front... party in the back look! Oh the things I put up with!

This kid is such a stud!!! I think he ate the candy faster than we gathered it up!

Slip n' Slide 09'

Q- What would Summer of 2009 be without Ezra's Slip n Slide?
A- Not very FUN!!!

The guys decided just going down the slip n slide wasn't fast enough... so they started throwing each other down it!

Dave with his cute little twin girls... They loved it!

Like Father like Son!

Trey is seriously FEARLESS... this kid went down
more times than everyone else combined!

Here's what the girls do at the slip n slide...

And here's what the boy's do at the slip n slide!

This is the pile up after the "man train"
I took so many videos, because it's so much fun watching all the different ways to go down a slip n slide... here's just a few of my favorites!

They're comin to America

Our friends from Holland decided to come see what America is all about!

They stayed with us for a few days and we decided to show them the mountains, and what better than going through Timp caves? We stared the day driving up the canyon enjoying all the waterfalls and trees, then we went to Sundance and ate the brunch buffet! Delicious! Then we hiked off all the food we ate (yeah right) and enjoyed the caves! 

Palmyra New York

We were able to go to Palmyra New York with the Jones's! It was such a great trip! Brandon's parents are serving in the temple presidency at the Palmyra Temple... so we were able to stay with them, and have our own personal tour guides! 

President Jones had the perfect trip planned for us, and it really was so great! We saw all the sights in Palmyra and were able to go through tours of the Smith Farm, the Whitmer Farm, the Hill Camorah, and the Book of Mormon book store! We also were able to go to Niagara Fall! Wow! Oh, and don't forget the Butterfly Emporium... but don't worry... I have pictures of all of it! 

The Smith Farm

This is the Smith home.  It's just tiny! What humble circumstances they lived in, seeing these homes made me so grateful for all that I have been blessed with!

The white home was built for Joseph's brother.  He died before the home was finished, so the Smith family moved in for awhile once it was completed... because it was so much bigger than their home!

I am a pretty small person, and look at me in this house... I almost touch the top of the door way! This just gives you a perspective of how small these houses really were... thank goodness for vaulted ceilings!