Happy Birthday, Mom

Mom with Tanya and Brett in 1975-right after she returned from Greece

Its a Boy!

Chad and I are expecting our first baby in June. We just found out that its a boy. We are so excited and can't wait till he is here!

Amazing Dad

Dad e-mailed me some photos of the new storm door he just made for their front door. He is always doing something creative and useful. I wish I could run up to his front door, ring the doorbell and press my nose up against the glass until they answered. Wouldn't that be fun?

Tucson Paint-O-Rama

Katie just finished a weeklong national horse show held here in Tucson the week after Christmas. She tried her hand at reining events on a horse named "Flyer". She did pretty well her third time on the horse. She beat her trainer! Reining is a western event with big run downs, spins and sliding stops. Lots of fun to watch.

Pool Party

A mother bobcat brought her kittens over for a swim this morning. She's on the wall watching (out of view.)

Cache is here

Our little bundle of joy was brought into this world Thursday, September 18 2008. Cache Allen Calkins was born at 2:27 pm and weighed a hefty 9 lbs 2 oz and was 21 inches long. He was 5 days overdue, but he came just in time. We love him so much. There is pictures and my labor story posted on my blog. He is so cute and I can't wait for you all to meet him.

Before and After

This is the old city hall before window trim.

AFTER
The photos below show the result of many months of hard work and perseverance. The window trims that Dad has been working on are beautiful. Just another step in the complete restoration of this building and a labor of love on the part of Dad and all those who believe in this project.

Way to Go, Camden!

Dad e-mailed me some great photos of Camden's Court of Honor held on July 27, 2008. He earned his Eagle along with 5 other young men in his Ward. Wow, they must have a great scoutmaster and a wonderful Bishop! What an accomplishment for Camden. A man from Hogle Zoo brought an eagle to the event-this eagle was nursed back to health but was not able to return back to the wild. I'm sure it must have been powerful for all to see this magnificent bird and realize that the Eagle award in scouting is a great achievement. Congratulations, Camden!

Leslie and Jason are Married!!!

Here are a few pictures from Leslie and Jason's wedding. The photographer will have many more, but we won't get those for another week. Thanks to everyone who shared this great day with us. It was fun to be together and we missed those who couldn't make it. The day was beautiful, but hot! The flowers were gorgeous! And we had a lot of fun!

Paint World Show

We came to Ft. Worth with a few thousand of our closest horse and rider friends for the annual American Paint Horse Association World Show. The Will Rogers Memorial Center is kind of like Temple Square for horses with three big indoor air-conditioned arenas etc, etc. More boots and hats than we knew ever existed.

Kate is competing is several events, both Western and English. To make a long story short, Kate won the Novice Amateur Hunt Seat Equitation (English tack, riding a pattern to qualify for the finals and then in the arena with all 16 finalists riding along the rail together). She is the 2008 APHA World Champion in the event.

We were thrilled for her! People come to this show year after year and never make it to the finals.

She had friends watching the live video feed in Arizona and California, who called their mutual friends and Kate had a dozen phone calls congratulating her within about 20 minutes of the win.