Mosaic of me

Hebgen Lake 2008

The summer trip to Hebgen Lake, Montana was fantastic. We went for 3 weeks and it was tons of fun. Papa reiterated his desire for us to gather and know and love each other as an intergenerational family. This intergenerational family is incredible - 10 children, over 50 grandchildren and Lance and Johnny as 2 of the 3 great grandchildren.

We towed the boat up for it's maiden voyage in Hegben Lake's freezing cold water. The temperature actually wasn't bad - 67 to 70 degrees. We knew the exact temperature because The Black Pearl (that's the name of our 2007 Supra Launch 22SSV boat) has accurate doodads that describe the depth and temperature of the water. The Black Pearl has cruise control so that you tow your skier, surfer or wake boarder at the perfect speed. The Black Pearl has multiple coolers to stow any treats you might have packed for extra energy on the excursion. The Black Pearl even has an iPod connection so that you can blast your favorite tunes through the amazing sound system Micheal Bennett installed himself while you're on the water or even just parked in front of your house while you're cleaning the boat for an hour after practically living on it for 3 weeks.

The Black Pearl was truly our home away from home and did not disappoint. Here are quite a few pictures to document the experience.


Dad and Mom were suberb surfers. Mom's crowning achievement was surfing all by herself by the end of our trip. She rocks.



Practically my favorite part of the trip was watching Jake wakeboard. He got so much better over such a short period of time that I was almost inspired to try wake boarding myself. Almost, and then I biffed it and got the wind knocked out of me and decided to wait until we get a helmet. Nice air, Jacob.

This is me fulfilling flag duty. I was definitely meant for these duties - dead guy duty, kitchen duty, flag duty - that's me.




Johnny shaved half of his goatee to create the handlebar mustache. Besides looking like he just stepped out of the WWF, I think he looks pretty dang cute.



One fun thing about surfing was helping the little kids surf with me. They were too little to surf on their own, but big enough to hold on. James and Spencer were good at posing for the camera.

My all-time favorite picture of the millions of pictures that we took on this trip. Katie surfing into the sunset. What a babe!




The classic Hebgen Lake muscle shots.

The new classic Hebgen Lake muscle shot!

Can you tell our favorite trick with Johnny quattro? The cousins just fell all over themselves to get to play with Johnny boy. We stayed in Hebgen One with the Jones family. Anna just wanted to squeeze Johnny's face all the time and Eliza was my hero watching Johnny each morning while I got to go on the bike rides with the rest of the family. And, you might be wondering who is wearing the diaper in this shot. Let's just say both of them are.

Nana made Johnny boy this onesie in West Yellowstone summer 2007. That was before he was born, but we were so excited to think that one day Johnny would be alive and enjoying Hebgen Lake. Here's to a lifetime of fun in Montana and many more shirts from the T-shirt shop.


Johnny quattro really got to know his Nana. Every time she walked by the car seat where Johnny was trapped, he would cry out to her because he knew that she would come pick him up. Johnny boy was the best traveling baby. He did so well. While we were in Montana, his first two teeth came in on the bottom together. He also learned to scoot towards things army style.

On the last day possible, before we left to drive home, Katie and Jake pulled out the double ski from their bag of tricks. The real trick was that mom was able to take their picture, drive them and get them up on their first try.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

We celebrated the 4th of July in Park City with the Felt Family reunion. Kathleen Felt Covey is the daughter of Paul and Afton Felt, who are the parents of 12 children. When Paul asked Afton to marry him, he asked her if she was willing to have 12 children. Grandma Felt said yes, but she honestly thought Grandpa Felt would forget about it. 12 children and over 65 years later, their posterity is gathering together every year. We played tennis, went to movies, hung out at the pool, watched fireworks in the plaza, lit up sparklers with the cousins and picnicked in the park. Johnny and Katie were the star emcees of the annual talent show. The ultimate compliment to Johnny's act was that I overheard some cousins using his magic show tune when they were trying to do some magic show tricks. You'll have to request to see the magic show sometime.

Here are most of the cousins waving the stars and the stripes around.

Here is Johnny boy showing off his talent and his patriotic flare.

Here is a close up of some of the cutest Felt cousins (I just call it like I see it).

Happy Anniversary!

Three years ago, Johnny and I became a covenant couple. Who knew life could be so much fun? It was definitely worth the wait and I'm so grateful for the teamwork that pushes each of us to be our best selves for each other. Shout out to marriage and shout out to all of the memories. Keep in mind people, that marriage is all about love and being able to laugh at yourself.

Here are just a few memories from our quote book.

We were engaged and I was planning the wedding and working full time. Of course we did everything on a budget and looked for buy one, get one free. Johnny wrapped his arms around me one night after a long day of scheduling everything, intending to give me a compliment and said, "You do so many annoying things."

We were registering for gifts and Johnny fell in love with a shower curtain. He's standing in front of this shower curtain, practically drooling over it. "I don't know why I love this shower curtain so much. It's perfect. Why do I love this shower curtain?" I didn't really understand, but I didn't care and especially not if Johnny expressed an opinion about registering for gifts. We would do what he requested because we're both so laid back. Then, 3 months later, we're living in his parents' basement and I' figured out why he loved the shower curtain so much as I was in the guest bathroom looking at the exact same one.

I can't keep a secret. I get too excited and then I feel like I can't lie about it and then I ruin it. I was driving in the car before we were married and Johnny called me on the phone. A simple question was my undoing. "What are you doing?" I burst out with the truth that should have been my surprise for our wedding day. "I'm having our wedding rings engraved with our names on the inside!" What else would I be doing?

We were newly married and I was complaining about my weight. "I'm so fat," I complained. Johnny, in his sensitive and loving way, trying to encourage me to be proactive replied, "Don't SAY things like that." My ears perked up, waiting for the reassurance that I was gorgeous and skinny. He continued, "What are you going to DO about it?"

We received a tent as one of our wedding gifts and I was determined to use it. So, instead of going up the canyon, we just went "camping" in the backyard...on the deck. It rained all night and out of complete loving concern, I kept asking Johnny if he were getting wet. It would have been a romantic story of a new bride caring for her new husband except for the fact that I kept waking him up out of a dead sleep to ask him if he was okay.

I was cuddling with Johnny and looking at his hand. I kissed one of his fingers and Johnny just starts laughing. I didn't understand why it was funny and a few minutes later, after Johnny could finally stop laughing, he confessed. "I just picked my nose!"

Going to school at BYU means having a graduate student parking lot pass. However, before Johnny was born, I often justified parking illegally so that I wouldn't have to walk too far to class. Then after Johnny was born, I continued to justify parking illegally so I wouldn't have to carry the baby so far. I probably got 6 parking tickets and you are only allowed to have 7 before BYU kicks you off campus. I always paid my tickets, knowing that it was worth the $10 to me if I got caught. Horrible, I know. Johnny saw a parking ticket on my car floor and asked, surprised, "When did you get a parking ticket?" I replied with honesty, "Always."

Rhymes with Coat

Lately we have been spending a ton of time on the family boat. I say family boat because we invested with three other partners. We split our share with our business partners and close neighbors, the Welch's. In all actuality we only own 1/8 of the boat. But we're definitely getting our money's worth. We usually go out on Thursday mornings and probably 2 Saturdays a month. It's so fun to learn to wake surf and be on the water. Here are some action shots from the boat. Thanks to the Bennetts for making everything happen behind the scenes so we can enjoy the boat.

Lehi Round Up Celebration

In celebration of Lehi Round Up, Camille and I participated in the Tennis Tournament. The registration guidelines were 5th grade to adult. So, when Camille and I got there and saw that we were the only girls doubles team (there were two other mixed doubles teams), we were a little nervous. However, we finished 15-12 in the round robin play giving key losses to some top teams. We finished in the middle flight and lost in our first match to a pro coach and his 8 year old son. It was so much fun to play and we look forward to making it an annual event.

Happy Birthday, Katie!

We love you, Katie
Oh yes, we do
We don't love anyone
Like we love you
When you're not with us
We're (BYU) blue
Oh, Katie We love you!

Happy Birthday, Katie! Baby Johnny just has something to tell you. (PS - I sing Challagah to him all the time thanks to you)

Happy Father's Day!

I love fathers. I love their willingness to fulfill their divine callings to provide, preside and protect their families. I love how the fathers in my life contribute meaningfully to their families. They give and sacrifice and work and teach to ensure happiness and progression. My father that raised me rocks the house. He is kind, caring, loving and fun to be around. When I was little, dad was trying to get the Christmas tree to fit into the stand, but even having the screws put in all the way, the trunk was too skinny. I suggested that dad use some wood chips to brace between the trunk and the screws so that the stand could keep the tree in place. I will never forget what my dad told me. He said that I should be an engineer when I grew up because I was such a problem solver. I want to be that kind of parent - the one that helps their children to understand their limitless potential. Shout out to dads that build up their children instead of putting them down.

Shout out to all those that accept the challenge to be fathers.

We celebrated at our house by having Collin, Catie, Carlie, Micah, Camille, Nigel, Papa Jerry. Mom, Callie and Isaac come over for dinner and a little American Idol competition afterwards.

We got our dad a shirt for Father's Day. When I told my primary kids it was BYU blue, they erupted into some major applause. This shirt shows off your biceps, babe. Love it.

Cate and Sue were the best rockers. Ask them to show you their dance moves, too.

Isaac was so happy because he loves country music and the songs on the boat are the same songs he has in his car! Isaac tore it up and actually knew the words to sing.

American Idol is a serious competition not for the faint of heart or vocal chords. The louder you belt it, the easier it is to sing on key, as demonstrated by me and mom doing our Reba impersonation! Good times on the microphone, people.

Old MacDonald never had anything this cute on his farm

We went with Nana, Camille, Lance, Lina and her family to the Thanksgiving Point Farms. It was fun to see (smell) all the different animals and Johnny boy enjoyed his first pony ride. Thanks, Nana for the tickets and Camille for the pictures to record the world's cutest cowboy.