Holy Cow. We've been away from this blog for over a year...

Hello everyone -

The last time we posted on this blog was back in November. I guess we kind of forgot about it with all the craziness of losing my job, finding a job, having a son graduate, then having a son leave on a mission.

It's probably time to jump-start this bad boy.

For the record, we have been maintaining a blog for Dallin's mission - mozambiqueandbackagain.wordpress.com - Dallin writes it and I publish it. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out. He's been in Mozambique now for three weeks and has already had a few crazy adventures.

We're also setting up a blog for Mom and Dad Orton and will get that one published as soon as possible as well.

So.. look for some more frequent updates. We'll be more regular - I swear.

Pat

Summer and Fall Recap session...

It's been seven months since our last post and we've had a lot of changes come our way in this time. How about we catch you all up?

We had a great time with Karli's sister Julie and her awesome kids during the Lehi Rodeo. This little cutie is Krista... and Katelyn too. Dustin had a lot of fun catching up with his cousin (and best buddy) Klora - they slept in a tent in our back yard and shot snakes in the middle of the night with air soft guns. Some fun. 

While Mom and Dad Craner have been on their mission, we've managed to commandeer their sweet raft and embark on frequent trips down the Provo River with friends .. (and in this case, a girlfriend).

... and Family! Here we are at the end of one of our floats with Brenda's kids! If you look hard,  you can see Alayna, Ariana, Saige and Eric Johnson. It's always a blessing when we can have Brenda and family can come and stay with us. 

Karli and I took a week out of our summer to accompany our ward's youth on Trek as a Ma and Pa.  Our ward went alone to a stretch of the Mormon trail in Western Wyoming, near the Utah border. There were lots of things to see along the way and this trek was a lot tougher than our previous experience in Martin's Cove, Wyoming. We just really enjoyed ourselves with our amazing kids and our amazing youth. 

As mentioned earlier - my awesome sister Brenda and  my amazing nieces came to hang out with  Natasha - oldest of the Hubner girls - in anticipation of her having a baby! And here he is with Karli ... Samson Johnson. 

And here's the proud Mama herself. This was taken about one week after delivering Samson. Mom and baby look great. 

We also learned during the summer that Dallin has a pretty serious case of scoliosis - and at his age, there isn't much we can do about it except stretch and exercise and hope he doesn't end up like his father. 

Like every year, Kristen played soccer in the summer and fall - just like her cousin Nicole Smith. We think they look a lot alike. Kristen's team finished fourth in their division with a 6-3-2 record. 

Katelyn worked hard for a spot on the Lehi High School Tennis team and made it. This is a picture of her  double's partner. She had a great season - winning about half of her matches. Great job Katelyn! She also benefitted from having her big brother as the assistant coach and mentor. Great job Dallin. 

One of the highlights of my summer was being able to see my rock and roll hero - Weird Al Yankovic in concert.  Jill and Mike Darrington invited us to Wendover to watch the show and we had so much fun. The concert was both amazing and hilarious. So funny. So enjoyable. 

After the show, we got to meet the man himself. He was very nice and cordial. We had such a fun night. Thanks to Jill and Mike for your awesome hospitality. 

Here's a picture of Dustin winning third place in our ward's pinewood derby race this year. Dustin decided to have a Portland Trailblazers car and aptly named it 'Rip City.' 

We were also blessed with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Craner in October for a few days - enough time to remind us that Grandma is just a big kid at heart... as evidenced by this picture. The other young kids represent the Craner senior class of 2013. Madison, Dallin, Jessica and Savannah. 

This picture represents what Dallin experienced during Conference this fall when President Monson announced that young men can serve a mission starting at age 18 - one year earlier. It made him think a bit about his future and he's  since been make plans to start his mission directly after graduation. That's a lot to think about for a young man. And his parents.... 

This summer, with the assistance of Grandma and Grandpa Orton, the kids were able to plant and grow a garden. We were able to harvest corn, carrots, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and PUMPKINS! The girls were so proud of these little beauties. 

Those same pumpkins were subsequently turned into the best looking jack o lanterns on the block!  Here's what Dallin and Katelyn came up with for their entry. The toothpick teeth were a nice touch, I thought. 

For Halloween, Dallin let me give him a bowl cut so he could look like a nerdy kid from the 80's. He also raided my closet to complete the look. Why must my clothes be the nerdy ones?

Kristen was a little stressed on Halloween Day because she wanted to go trick or treating but didn't want to spend a lot of time on a costume. She brought her dilemma to Katelyn, who helped her come up with this beauty of a costume - A Care Bear. I thought she should be Grumpy Bear. She went with a happier version instead. 

Zoey decided to be Bat-Dog for Halloween. 

Here is Krissy with her costume designer, Kate. Aren't they cute? 

Here is Dustin with a Mohawk. He wanted to be a crazy goalkeeper for Halloween, so we dug into my soccer gear for a goalie shirt, then we bought him some gloves and then bicked his head with my razor for an authentic crazy punk rock goalie look. All the house commented on his cool decision to shave his head. The next day, we shaved off the remaining hair and he attending school bald as a baby. He wants to do it again as soon as possible. 

Dallin got his braces off a few weeks ago and he was very excited for that. What a nice smile. 

20 years with Karli? How Lucky am I?

   For spring break, Karli and I finally embarked on our dream vacation - a week in Paris looking at the sites and museums. But the most fun was just spending time together in a place that's near and dear to our hearts. 

   We did this trip on an extreme budget - using Delta Skymiles, Marriott Hotel points and eating sandwiches from supermarkets - but we had so much fun. 

   So - here are some of the photos from our trip.

Here's Karli in front of one of Montmartre's existing windmills. There used to be 14. Now there's only two left. 

Isn't she pretty? This was taken at the Jardin de Tuilieries - a fun little park to spend a day in - right in front of the Louvre. 

Behind Karli you can see the Sorbonne dome and the dome from Les Invalides - where Napoleon is buried. 

This is taken on Ile de la Cite - that's the Seine River behind her with some cool boats. 

Isn't her smile amazing? 

Notre Dame in Spring. I love the pink blossoms and flying buttresses behind her. 

Musee D'Orsay. I loved the impressionist paintings in this Museum so much. This is one museum I wasn't able to go to during my mission. So glad I finally got that chance. The Musee D'Orsay is housed in an old train station.

This is us on top of Montmartre - on the steps of the Sacre Coeur. Paris  is behind us. Cool view.

The happy couple. 20 years and still smiling.

Besides Karli, the best part of this picture is my sweatshirt. 

Sacre Coeur. I love the straight lines and curved domes. Gives me chills. 

If I would have had 200 Euros (Roughly $250) to spend, I would have bought this guy's painting.  He was old and cranky - like most French people - but you can't deny his talent. 

More Sacre Coeur. I love the small, winding streets.

Pere Lachaise Cemetery is one of my favorite places in Paris. Gravesites are everywhere and very old.  

End of the Jardin of Tuilieries, Beginning of Place de la Concorde, Effiel Tower in the background. 

Arc. Love this view of it. 

I can't for the life of me remember the name of this church right now but it has the coolest stained glass I have ever seen. This photo does not do it justice. 

Gargoyles. 

Back of Notre Dame. Did I say I love flying buttresses? 

This was taken at the Musee de Cluny. These are the statues that once resided on the Notre Dame. They were pulled down by rioting revolutionaries in 1793 and buried and forgotten. They were unearthed about a hundred years later and put on display. While the Notre Dame got new statues, these are the originals.... without heads. 

And here are the heads! These heads represent the Kings of David - Christ's ancestry. 

More cool side street photos.

Tower. We didn't go up... it was too rainy and expensive. 

This was taken inside of the Notre Dame. I love the vaulted, gothic ceilings. The church was packed the week were were there... not with parishioners... with tourists. 

And there you have it... some of our photos of Paris. Let me know if you're interested in seeing my Louvre pictures. 

And feel free to comment!

Aloha and Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone.  Since I'm hanging around the house for my Christmas, Karli suggested I make my self useful and update the blog. For Thanksgiving we were blessed enough to be able to spend a week in Hawaii compliments of Mom and Dad Orton.

We had so much fun. Karli and I couldn't believe we hadn't gone before. What a treasure to have a state like Hawaii. We quickly grew accustomed to warm ocean, the gentle breeze and beauty everywhere you looked. I also enjoyed spending a week with my family doing nothing but playing around. So - here are some of our photos. If you want more, you've got to come visit and read the book we're making.

This is us mere moments after we landed in Honolulu. We all loved our awesome lei's - except for Dustin. Boy's don't wear flowers.  The flight was long and all we wanted to do is jump in the ocean. Which we did!

 

Here is Kate with Mom Orton. We had just arrived at the beach after checking in and all of us decided to get real wet. But the best part of the vacation was spending time with the entire Orton family in Paradise.

These are my twin sons fresh out of their showers. Since we played so much in the water, we had to take a lot of showers to keep the salt and sand away.

Here's the family before heading off to the Sea Life Aquarium. Yes, that's the ocean in the background. And this will probably be the only time you see Dustin smiling in a photo.

I'm holding my little niece - Kelsey Acor. I miss having little girls around.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was when we went snorkeling off the shore of Hanuema Bay. Dallin was able to find a sea turtle eating vegetation off of the coral about 25 feet down. It was an amazing experience to see a real life sea turtle in its natural habitat. Sadly, this picture is of sea turtles in a not so natural habitat.

This kids. Mostly happy. Dallin is 16, Katelyn is 15, Kristen is 12, Dustin is 10.

I really like this picture. Yes, I staged it. I wish Dallin wore pants that fit.

Not a perfect picture of the family, but the scenery behind us is pretty cool.

My beautiful girls, posing on the grass.

Me. I had a fabulous day at this Sea Life Park.

Here's Kristen. Love her pretty smile.

Dallin and Katelyn with a beautiful background.

We took many pretty pictures of Katelyn. This is one of the many.

What I love most about Mom and Dad Orton is that they chose to send the entire family to Hawaii because being around their family is what brings them the most happiness. They could have easily gone themselves, but instead they planned, paid for and facilitated all of our fun. What amazing examples they are. Thanks Mom and Dad.

More Dallin.

We spent one day on the North Shore at a very cool beach known for it's crazy, powerful waves that crash you around the surf. Unfortunately, the photos don't tell the story of the power of the waves. In this picture, Kate and Kristen start off the fun with boogie boards. We quickly abandoned them.

Dustin spent his hard earned money on snorkeling gear. It was a smart use of his money, he found beautiful, colorful fish everywhere. When we were in the water, he was exploring what was under the waves.

I call this 'Baywatch Babe.' You can kind of see the crazy crashing waves behind us.

Here we are with my nephew Dakota Acor on the North Shore beach.

We spent a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Here's Kristen posing and showing off her pretty hair.

Dustin yawning his way through the Hula.

In the Tongan Village, I was chosen to get up on stage and have a 'drum-off'' with this gentleman. Watch the whole event on youtube  here... http://youtu.be/XSh1Fi30dVc

The Poyfairs. I am wearing a woven leaf head band - my prize for drumming so well.

Here's the entire group in front of the breathtaking Laie Hawaii Temple. Amazing that we all decided to wear a lime green shirt that day.

In this picture, we're all wearing the cool clothes we purchased at all of the shops at Waikiki Beach. We also learned that the styles don't always translate when you get back on the mainland.

That's a good looking bunch of kids.

These are what the sunset look like at Waikiki beach. I snapped this one with a touch of sadness, we were scheduled to leave just a few hours later. But we had so much fun. Can't wait to go back.

Dustin came back and celebrated his 10 birthday with some cool new duds from Grandma and Grandpa Orton. He's so stylin.

This is Dallin with his friend Melanie Davidson. They went to a Chrismas/Ugly Sweater themed dance a few weeks back.

Katelyn also celebrated a birthday upon her return. Here she is holding up the blouse she received from Grandma Orton.

And here she is after church, wearing said sweater.

Meet Zoe. This was Dustin's big birthday present - an 8-year old English Bulldog. She has been a ton of fun for our family to have around. She is the biggest sweetheart, loves to play and eat food. Sorry about her green demon eyes.