Dreams!

They make us work harder!

They provide purpose in life!

Completion gives us a sense of accomplishment!

They dare us to do things that aren't on the normal agenda!

So guess what Kevin got for Christmas! 

 I'll bet you didn't guess this!

Well, Kevin spent a long time doing his homework, deciding on how big, what kind, how much he should spend and decided that, this was it!  When this plane came up for sale, the price was good, the size will get him his license and it will be fun!

 The cute little guy Kevin bought the plane from was living in his hanger with his wife, he was 85 years old and a man of many talents.  You can't see it, but he builds coffins in his spare time.  There is a coffin on the other side of the plane.  And his wife was just as talented.  She had many art projects and they were really good.

 Sorry babe, I don't have to live in a hanger, so therefore, I am not going to live in a hanger!  They did a great job of making it a comfortable home.  There was a bath and two bedrooms upstairs and they were comfy and roomy. The kitchen was all top of the line modern appliances.

Brandon; friend, commercial pilot and instructor, Kevin and Adam.

Adam already has his license, so he can fly any time.

Chase has always wanted to get a license, but it might be a little while before Chase is licensed, he has a heavy school load and that is by his choice. Go Chase Go!  We don't want to interfere with your school work!  So get it done so you can come fly!

And Kevin is ready to begin the process of school and lessons.

Did I mention how Kevin's eyes twinkle and he floats like a little kid who just got a brand new plane!  Adam is also!

So the year of 2012 will be up, up and away! 

Tree Down!

Utah had an East wind blow through and it was a strong wind.  The Bountiful area had hundreds of trees blow down.  Big beautiful 30 yearish old pine trees.

 

The Frog's (aka. Grandma and Grandpa Larsen) had one of their big pine trees blow down also.

 

So in good ol fashion family togetherness. We met on Sunday and cut that baby into pieces.  Rocket and Grandpa ran chain saws.

 The tree was wedged against another tree and had to be cut so it would come all the way down!

Kevin, Jamie and Adam ran a limb chipper and managed to chip up a huge pile of limbs.  Garrett, Myself and Frog helped where ever help was needed.

Tom and Arial are digging the tree root out.

In two hours we cut up the tree, chipped up the limbs, filled Rocket's truck full of wood, swept up the yard and dug up the trunk.  Then Froggie fed us dinner.

It was a good evening!

This is Homework Adam.  He is so close to being down with school.

Graduation in May - Go Adam Go!

Thanskgiving in Oklahoma for 2011!
Morgan and Chase have not been to Tiff and Rob's place, so Kevin decided since they had time off from school and Kevin had a few days off, we were driving to Oklahoma for turkey.  Yum, Yum.
On the way, we think we got some bad gas in Wyoming.  Our truck would be moving along at 75-80 and than we would lose power and couldn't go faster than 60.  With a little help of gas cleaner additive and patience, we made it to Tiff and Rob's.

We took Cadence her Christmas present and that was first on the agenda once we got our Hello hugs!

A BIKE!  Who would have guessed.  This is a balance bike, it doesn't have pedals and helps kids learn to balance, thus, a balance bike. Cadence wanted to ride faster than Kevin could put it together.  She already is a star.  She rides it backwards, tips it from side to side, runs into things and lives to try again.  And that is just in the living room.  Wait until she can zoom up and down the sidewalks.

"I go fast, Mom!"

Morgan and Chase have the "We drove straight through for 19 hours with gas and potty stops only," look. 

"See the dog dog's Grandpa, Can we go outside?"

Our favorite way to eat turkey is deep fried.  I'm so glad that Tiff and Rob like it this way also.
Rob and Kevin are checking the turkey.  "Is it done yet?"

 We managed to sneak a family picture taking session in with the rain and the wind.
You did good again, Chase.

Morgan and Chase slept on a blow up mattress and Cadence liked to jump on the mattress.  Well she was having fun, so we joined in.  We would circle the mattress and alternate pushing on the mattress so Cadence would bounce up and down.

Giggling and laughing

A little hat fashion show with Chase taking pictures!

We had an enjoyable weekend/holiday.  Than got back in the truck and drove home.  Again straight through with only potty, food and gas breaks.

The truck had a fuel filter change and ran great on the way home!

Make sure you all come back now, you hear!

We sent Tiffany and Cadence home and a week later Tiff ran another marathon.

Route 66 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

This girl loves to run! 

In fact she loves to run so much, that this race finish time qualified her for the Boston marathon.  Boston 2013 here comes Tiffany!

Good job Tiff!  You are an inspiration!

Tiffany and Cadence came for a visit!

 We sure love having them visit.  We spend every minute we can with these guys, cause our visits are too far apart.  This visit was special.  Great Grandpa Leake is dealing with liver failure and he didn't think he would make it through the holidays.  So Tiffany came to spend some time with Grandpa.  Precious, valuable moments!

 Cadence has taken to calling Great Grandma Leake, "Grandma meow, meow!"  Cause Grandma has two kitties!

 The weather was beautiful and we couldn't resist a hike up corner canyon to Ghost Falls.  Cadence fell asleep quickly and just bobbled along!

 But she woke up and didn't want to miss out on stretching her legs and checking out the Falls for herself!

 We found Grandpa for lunch one day!.  Grandpa shared a sip from the sippy cup!

 We took Ohno for a walk to the church park and kicked up some leaves!

 Cadence wants Grandma to teach her how to drive.....Cadence likes trucks too!

 Cadence also loves tuna...she was soooo hungry that she was eating as fast as she could and made herself a tuna smile.  So stinkin cute!

Yes we spent a bit of time in the truck and car seat.  But when you have cool shades, it's all good.

The visit was lovely and then we had to send them home again.

The sun was shining, we had a little bit of snow and Karina and I went for a hike up Bell Canyon.  The hike to the resevoir was dry but once we headed east up the hill, we encountered some snow on the trail.  That didn't deter us and we made it all the way to the falls.

 Bell Canyon Resevoir

 Ice

 Top of Bell Canyon Falls!

Karina

On our way up the trail, we passed this cute older man who was coming down.  He said he was hiking to get in shape for skiing and asked if we were doing the same.  I told him we were out for some mental health therapy.  He stopped, turned around and looked me in the eye and asked "What is the problem"!  He made my day.  Someone who actually listened to the words being spoken and was concerned enough that he was willing to ask if he could help me.  I meant it as a means of enjoying the moment, the day and company of a friend.

He was an inspiration to me today!