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St. George 2011

2011-07-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

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Long Time Coming

2010-09-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Family,
It's been a long time since I've even looked at the blog. Grandpa or Dad or My Honey showed me how. Now with a little patience, I'm going to write in it. Life is wonderful here. The temp. outside is only 80 degrees. Must be getting fall. Grandpa is getting used to his new computer. He is on it quite a while during the day. He lets me know how the stock market is going and also tells me his blood sugar. It's been up to 158 and that is high. Today, his blood sugar posted 80 and that is GOOD. Jeff got his old computer and it worked the first day and he told your dad, he just didn't have patience. The second day, he called back and said it just wouldn't go on for him. And he was ready to take a sledge hammer to it also. Dad told him to call Don Adams, the computer man, (he was in Jeff's ward so they know each other.) Now it's time for me to get into mine and see the Bank. I haven't balanced that for a long time. Then to look at my e-mails and then read my scriptures, and then do my Church calling, Indexing. Hope you are all well and staying close to the iron rod. That's my prayer every night and day for you. Love, Mom and GMA

Whitney- First Steps

2010-08-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody....Whitney the Walking Machinge. Look at me! I can walk, talk, hold my bottle and entertain all at the same time!

These videos were taken by our flourishing photo bug, Abbigail.

Nice catch Abby...Spencer helps by playing with Whitney so much of the time.

June/July Family Fun

2010-07-10T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Fam,
Here are some highlights of the last couple of months May-July 2010.
We have a great wonderful family who likes to be together and likes to have fun!

Ben Lomond Hike- 7-9-10- Gary, Jill, Troy Marissa

Rememeber this is July in Utah

Farmington Peak Hike- 7-5-2010 Marissa, Troy, Gary, Jodi, Carson, Jill

The Big 5-K in Centerville- July 3rd, 2010

Jodi, Paul, Dean (24 min), Jill-(2nd place in age group-perks of being old)

Jodi and Pauli ran a great race...here is the finish line!

Ryan & Kat's new addition

G'ma and G'pa Marler- Country Club- 5-2010

Abby and Spencer's Final Swimming Lesson- Show and Tell!

The are terrific swimmers!!!

Father's Day at the Farminton Pond Park 6-20-2010

G'ma and G'pa Poll- Maddox for Father's Day 6-2010

Night before Jodi cut's her hair for donation to "Loving Locks" (cancer patient wigs)

Girl's Night Out- Hale Center Theatre- "Wedding Singer"

Poll Family Moab Trip- Blast! 6-10 to 6-13, 2010

Abby & G'ma- June 2010

Abby and G'ma- Aug-2006

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-05-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

We love you more than all of the exclamation marks in the Title!

Upon returning to NYC from my trip to UT, I am humbled by the love, compassion, and willingness to serve of our wonderful family. I believe that we truly have the best family in the entire world! Thank you SOOOOOO much to each and every one of you for all you did to help us with our Fowler houses this last week. It was a truly herculean effort and one which we certainly couldn't have done without each and every one of you.

On the way home, Dad and I were talking about some of the tender mercies of the past week. I consider every minute that each of you spent helping us a tender mercy in our lives. Upon arriving last Friday, I was completely overwhelmed at the task ahead of me. I had one week to completely transform two houses. It was enough work that I would have never finished had I been there for 10 weeks. I simply didn't see how I was going to get everything done, or to even get close. Friday was a pretty rough night. Then Saturday came!

My wonderful family just started pouring in all over the place. I just sat there in awe as a family came together and worked like it was a day at the beach. Nobody complained, or acted like they didn't want to be there. While I knew it couldn't be further from the truth, you all made me feel like there was no other place you'd rather spend your Saturday than remodeling some old house in Ogden. Before I knew it, the wheels were in motion and my attitude did a 180 degree spin. Then along came Cliff with a sledge hammer, Craig with a truck, and Juan with a smile and a response of "como no" to everything I said (Mom, that means "why not"), I just can't believe how much we got done in such a short amount of time. I'm eternally indebted to all of you.

I'm so grateful to be a member of a family that cares so much about each and every member so much and that doesn't hesitate to help out at the drop of a hat. It didn't end Saturday, so many of you continued to come throughout the week and made amazing contributions that made the whole event possible. Everything from Katherine painting with Whitney on her hip, to Marissa cleaning disgusting fridges, to Jodi painting and cleaning in high heels, to Dad driving over an hour in the middle of the day to paint before going back to work, to Bryn and Dean sacrificing valuable hours when they have a huge project of their own, to Ryan coming back for more after coaching a soccer game, to Dave and Mike being the on site jacks of all trades, to Mom painting that midget room 20 times over, to Troy driving me to Craig's house at midnight when he had 6 am work the next morning. There were just too many sacrifices to name them all. I arrived home and could hardly explain to Emily how lucky we are to have such a wonderful family.

So for as little as this simple email can do to express my true feelings, THANK YOU! Thank you each and every one of you for all you did and for all you do. We love you more than all of the wood paneling ever installed in the history of the world!

We have the best family ever and we love you all!!

Love,

Kyle and Emily

Soccer Kids and our "fledgling" crawler

2010-05-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone...this is not really Katherine....but Jill cuz I don't know how to put on a video and Katherine does so she is teaching me how!

Spencer runnin' it off!

Abby- Scores a fire-burning goal

Abby about knocks the coach over!

This was Whitney just last Monday....by Sunday, she was crawling all over the place.

(5-16-10)

March Madness

2010-03-01T13:34:00.001-08:00

Its time for March Madness. It was so fun last year, I think we should do it again.
So sign up, I think we have till the 16th to put in our picks!
Maybe I'll get the entire Polls into and we can have some family fun...

Holiday fun!

2010-01-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

If you're reading this in Utah, this is what you're breathing right now;-)

We decided to get out and breath some fresh air. (top of grandeur peak)

Grandpa cutting up the turkey. Dean is taking notes...as if he doesn't know.

Uncle Jeff will do anything for his nephew Carson, well, maybe Jeff is enjoying himself more.

Carson is so well trained with dogs now.

It looks to me like everyone in this picture is happy...Linda may be just a bit nervous.

Pretty bird

Yep, it's not a trip to Arizona without a classic game of hand and foot.

One cute kid!

Zion's park, yes, that's my husband in shorts.

careful not to slip!

Carson's new favorite game...or at least it entertained all of us for a good 5 minutes.

Christmas shopping with carson, jodi, you need to fatten him up.

Christmas Snowshoeing...because I was there, here are some fun pictures of a fun day.

Ryan got board, but we all had fun!

Dean's doing a flip, he's so athletic!

What a fun family we have! Yes Ryan and Dad, this is fun.

I'm not going to be the judge of who is winning.

But I think mom's on top here.

Here comes Mason and brynley

Ready, set, snowshoe!

Thanks for all of the fun holiday memories!

Family and then some

2009-12-30T23:41:00.000-08:00

I didn't get the snowshoeing cuz I skipped, but i got the good part...good eats...thanks Mom and Dad for putting on a good show.

EKP in SLC!!!

2009-12-13T19:44:00.000-08:00

Hello Families that we love! We just thought we'd give you an outline of our tentative Christmas plans. Please let us know if we need to make any adjustments to these plans. Love you all and can't wait for next week!!

The Kyle & Emily Poll Family Christmas 2009 Itinerary

Tues. Dec. 22: Arrive in SLC -- 10:57 PM Please come to the airport with balloons and banners
Wed. Dec. 23 Daytime: Kyle to the eye doctor in morning, possibly skiing during the day -- Emily shopping and hanging with sisters
Wed. Dec. 23 Night: Poll Family Christmas Party
Thurs. Dec. 24 Daytime: No firm plans
Thurs. Dec. 24 Night: King Family Christmas Eve Festivities
Fri. Dec. 25 Morning: King Family Christmas Morning
Fri. Dec. 25 Afternoon/evening: Poll Family Christmas festivities
Sat. Dec. 26 Morning: Polls and Kings and others have a Snowshoeing Extravaganza!!
Sat. Dec. 26 Evening: No firm plans
Sun. Dec. 27 Morning: Church with Kings
Sun. Dec. 27 Afternoon/evening: King extended family Christmas celebration
Sun. Dec. 27: Depart to NYC -- 11:40 PM (Banners required, balloons optional)

Love you all so, so, so, so, so, so much!! Can't wait to see you.

abby's goal

2009-11-21T21:55:00.000-08:00

Abby played a great game of soccer with the Pink Dragons. We can't get the movie on yet, but here's a few pictues.

Missing Mesa

2009-11-19T14:50:00.000-08:00

We regret to inform yall that Marissa and I will be unable to attend this years Thanksgiving festivities in AZ due to work conflicts. We are really sad about this one especially because it was there, one year ago, where I asked Marissa to marry me. Just thinking about makes me think about how terrible the remaining days and 12 hour car ride would have been if she had said no.
I am also a little sad about the timing for the Park City trip as well. That week happens to be finals week at Weber State and Marissa and I happen to be students. Finals is crappy enough, but now we get to think about how much fun the family is having without us. I do feel pretty safe in saying that we will both be good for both the 20th and 23rd Marler and Poll family parties.
I should probably stop procrastinating my studies now so I will log off.

Love Yall,
Troy

Sub 4 santa and stuff

2009-11-16T10:43:00.000-08:00

It's fun to have people on the blog again... and it's fun to have internet in my home again, and it's fun to have a home. Thanks to each and everyone of you for all of your help in getting us moved in and painting walls etc. We're hoping to really be moved in by the time we leave for Arizona, then we can work on little projects after that, like buying an oven and a bathroom sink. We're loving our home and neighborhood and we're really enjoying working together on this quite large project.
Okay so Christmas time is here...wierd. Dean and I will be driving down with Jodi and Carson on Tuesday afternoon and will arrive in Arizona sometime Wednesday early afternoon...I would guess. And like everyone else, will do whatever Grandma has for us to do. Christmas cards or christmas tree, we can't wait. We'll just ask grandma which is the sugar and which is the salt this time.
We will also be traveling home on Sunday to be to work on Monday. Can't wait to be in Sunny AZ with grandma and grandpa!
As for the fun in Park City. We'll be available like mom most evenings, as I am still employed through the end of the year. But it would be an easy time for me to take a day off work. I have plenty of personal time to eat up. Dean is running out of vacation days, but will be available to come up in the evenings.
Marler party ont he 20th will work for us, and poll party on the 23rd. We'll look into getting Monday off to go down to st. george after christmas. That would be fun to be somewhere warmer this year.
Okay as for the sub for santa. The person in charge of this is desperately looking for sponsors. I have taken two of the largest families to sponsor from our family. I'll bring down the lists of people, and maybe we can have another reason to shop the day after thanksgiving.
If any of you know of other organizations, charities or families that would like to sponsor a sub for santa family, there are plenty of families looking for sponsors this year. My singles ward has historically helped, but they found other families this year, so we are hoping to find some more sponsors. Sorry for the asking for money shoutout on our family blog, but I can say that it probably won't happen again next year as programs like sub for santa will no longer be a part of the Sorenson Center.
I'm excited for the holidays with my family! Love you all!

ibmom & GMA 11-15-09

2009-11-15T19:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,

So finally someone else posted but me! Jodi, I'd like to go in on the $45. for subbing for Santa. I'll get the money in to whomever at Thanksgiving. I'm just calling tonight to see who's coming and the times. I have a hair and manicure at 9:30 and 10:00 on Wed a.m. My cleaning ladies are coming in the morning of the 25th. Jeff & Linda and family are not coming. They want to have Linda's Aunt and Uncle come and they know he wont come over here. But they will come later for pie. So we wont have any of Linda's home made rolls. I don't know what those saltless
rolls are that Jodi talks talks about, but the Red Lobster put out a good roll. So we'll see. Any other questions. Jodi, I think I'mm going to feel like putting Christmas Cards so hope you can help me. Love, IBMOM & GMA

Holidays Are Coming- Gary & Jill Schedule and sorted requests

2009-11-15T15:36:00.000-08:00

Hi Family,
Thanks Jodi for bossing us around and getting us going here.
Thanksgiving- our travel plans are to also leave on Tues after Dad's night class. That will put us in Las Vegas quite late so we are going to get some shuteye there and then on to Last Chance, then on to G'&Gpas house. Maybe around noon to 2ish depending on how sleepy we are. Then we are going to do everything that G'ma and Jodi tell us to until Sunday at which point we will leave early in the morning and sail on home. :-( (that's the sad part).

I like the $45.00 per family idea and we are in for this. Who is collecting the $$?

The day after Christmas- Dec 26- Dec 29 Sat-Tuesday, we have a home to say in down in beautiful St. George. Here's the info: New home with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, big screen TV, putting green and BBQ in the back yard. Next ot bike trail and 1 min from Coral Canyon Golf course.
Is anyone interested in coming with us? Please rsvp, email, phone, in person...soes we can figure out fun and food.

The Marler party is Sunday, Dec 20th. We have not made any specific plans for this, so if you have any, let us know. Maybe we'll plan something wild and crazy when we have Shaylee and perhaps Cory and Ronda may be coming over Thanksgiving.

Please fill in with other ideas and fun times ahead. Love you all, the momma bear

Christmas is coming the Geese are getting Fat

2009-11-14T14:11:00.000-08:00

Ok Family - Its time to talk Turkey

Here are the Plans for the next two months. Mother Bear and all others please add to the things I have missed

1. Thanksgiving - It is Mesa TIME! Roll call:

Jodi, Carson, Brynley and Dean will be driving down Tuesday night, staying in LaVerkin that night and arriving in Mesa on Wednedsay in time to make pie, pick up Shaylee from the Airport, make saltless muffins, help with preparations for Thursday and whatever else Grandma says!

Troy and Marissa are trying to get work off...stay tuned

Ryan, Katherine, and kids, Kyle and Emily will not be able to join us down south this year.

Mom and Dad have not reported their travel plans to me. Please do so soon on the blog.

2. I have a condo that is available called Wintergreen Condominiums... located near Park City. I have these reservations from December 4 until the 11th. If the family can make it please let me know. If not I will have a part their for some of my Bonko friends. Please post a comment on this post below and if enough can make it, I'll make some fun plans for us while we are there.

3. Sibling Presents - Last year we were able to have a lot of kids for Christmas. It was cool to do this with our family. I am proposing we do this again instead of Sibling Presents. So my suggestion is Each Family give $45.00 into the pot. We can arrange a day to go shopping that works for most people. If we all give $45.00, Brynley thinks we can help out two families that will need it this christmas (through her work).

4. For Christmas Morning, I think it would still be fun to open sibling presents from each other, but we won't spend a ton of money... so I think we have a pot of presents. For every adult member of the family bring one present that we will put into a pot and everyone will get one to open on Christmas morning (or whenever we all meet up). So make it fun, and you can spend little to no money on this, just it would be fun to see what we can all come up with.

5. Poll party is on the 23rd as always and our Parents are in charge this year so we all get to help out more than usual. Mom has requested we all bring some food and we all have assignments to help set up. This is a Wednesday night so plan accordingly. (if I seem a little bossy, you'll have to forgive me...I'm currently out of a job and need something to plan)

6. Marler party...Mom has this been planned? Do we have a date on this?

7. Ryan, when is your Raymond James open house?

8. Kyle and Emily - will you post your schedule for when you are coming and going and when we will get time to see you. If you have open nights it would be good to know so we can make the most of your time while you are here.

Ok, that is all for now. Please update and add anything you can to this so we can have a complete holiday schedule and we can all make plans in our individual lives.

Love you family

Babies and Halloween! Posted by me- the MOM

2009-10-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

I'll write about all of these just a bit later. On the run for now..luv you all- j/mom

ibmom or gma

2009-10-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

My Dearest friends,

I can't believe it's been exactlly a month since I posted and no one else has posted since. There's so many things I want to hear about. How is Whitney? Is she growing, is Katherine feeling better since the birth, etc. etc.? How are the cruisers? How was N.Y.C. How much fun did you have? Are you all alive?

There are so many things I want to tell you. So I'll begin. About 10 days ago, my friend called and wanted to talk to Dad. He and Fred are her home teachers. She needed a blessing. Dad called Fred. the H.P. Group Leader and about 3 other guys to go over. He was so frustrared and finally called her back and she said she'd check on her sons. She thought she had pnumonia. Her son took her to the hospital and with another son they administered to her. I've never seen Dad so shook up. He cried. He since found out from Jeff that he could hace annointed and blessed. He would just have to have me with him. After they got her into Emergency, and examined her which took 2 or 3 days. They found she had lung cancer and it had travelled to her bones and broke a femur. To make a long story short, they were going to transfer her to a hospice care center, but they couldn's do it until they got rid of the bowell stoppage. Any way, dad and Fred got over to see her yesterday. She was glad to see them. Also a member to the Stake Presidency was there along with his wife. The Church sure cares about each member, as does the Lord. Jeff called today about in tears. They had transferred about 14 men down to Tucson.
Several were from his department. One was the man that did those name signs for Jill, Cory and me. He was going to start on Joel's next and then Jeff's. So I just said we'd have to pray about it and see if we can get a replacement. Jeff got an award for having the most productive operation in the prison system. Got to quit now. Bill O'Reilly is on and our home teachers are coming tonight. Love ibmom and gma

2009-09-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

My Dearest Friends,

As you are the dearest friends anyone could have. Loved the pictures of Whitney added to the family and Kyle & Emily's Wedding and Bear Lake. It was so neat to see the Tree House at "our" cabin and water skiing. I think Cory was one of the skiers and Jodi another. A lot has happened here in Mesa. Dad and I are still breathing. He hasn't gone out on the golf course yet, nor made it to Church. I insist he make it to Church first. Don't plan on golfing when you come down for Thanksgiving. We aren't going to renew our membership unless a miracle happens. It doesn't look like Dad will be golfing again. We don't talk too loudly about that. Jeff is still going to therepy for his broken shoulder. But he goes to work every day. Jeff comes over and tells us about different happenings in their ward. How they have baptized many and getting others reactivated through activities such as a homemade icecream contest. Jeff made a burnt almond fudge icecream which came in third place. He's promised to make some for us. He called last night and said he had Cory's name sign. He brought it over and it has an airplane on it. It looks neat! Jill, do you have yours up yet? I talked with both Cory & Joel about coming down. Cory might come down during Conference which is just 2 weeks away. Joel hopes to make it down after Chris gets back from South America. That will be this week for Chris to get back. Joel's sign will have a deer or an elk on it. I love you all very much. Love ibm and gma

Here She Is!

2009-09-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to introduce Whitney Elizabeth! She was born on August 29, 2009 at 7:27 p.m. weighing 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 22 inches long! It's hard to explain the feelings you have as you bring another little one into this world. There is such an instant bond of love that we have for her. We are so glad to have her here safe and sound and to be a part of our family! We truly feel so blessed!

2 proud Grandmas

Spencer wasn't quite ready to hold her yet, but loved looking at her and wanted to make sure she was okay when she was crying.

Wow! A family of 5!

Abby couldn't get enough of her.

Whitney is so lucky to have such a good big brother and big sister!

Our Princess #2

Bear Lake Fun

2009-08-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

Greatest Place on earth!

I love skiing, even if the water and air are COLD. thanks for the great trip Mom!

And he's down

And he's up!

My brave husband facing his fear. COLD WATER

All tuckered out.

I'm pretty sure that he IS the cutest kid ever.

Dean's first volleyball lesson.

Nertz!!! Better luck next time Troy and Marissa!

I still think Troy blew out some of my pink candles! Love ya anyway bud.

You know our mom, always likes to try a pyramid...in this case it was a wall. Sweet treehouse at the cabin.

Shaylee swinging from the treehouse. Mom went first and Shaylee was scared out of her mind. She said "I have the bravest aunt ever" I think she's right!

It's legal, don't worry about it. We just didn't want to walk to Garden City like Cory and Ronda to get to the cabin.

Thanks to everyone for pitching in to get me the best birthday present ever. I had such a great time in Bear Lake with everyone that was there. Thanks for being so nice and patient and responsive to my friends that came along too. Bear Lake is always fun, even if it doesn't even get up to 65 degrees all weekend!

Kyle / Emily Wedding photos

2009-08-10T11:54:00.001-07:00

ibmom & gma

2009-08-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

Aug 3, 2009

Hi happy bloggers,

It's been a while since I've blogged. So happy to see all the wedding pictures and dinner. Joel called that night of the dinner to say what a wonderful family. He mentioned Cory and Jill, Jodi and Kyle and their spouses. He was excited and enjoyed it very much. Way to go Abby on taking so many good pictures.

Last night for FHE, we had Jeff and Linda over and watched a movie tha had Highland High and many scenes from S.L. It was a good movie and taught good morals and good sportsmanship. They brought over Sour Dough Pizza and home made pistacio ice cream. What a delightful evening.

I think I's better close wishing you alkl a happy & prosperous August. Love, GMA & ibmom

More Beautiful Wedding Days- MOM

2009-08-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

Well family,

I am amazed, thrilled, grateful, full of love, relieved, indebted, appreciative, beholden, satisfied, rewarded, contented and just down right happy about the events of the past month, and particularly the past two days.

Here are a few memories, shot mostly by our budding intern photographer, Abby Poll, who so willingling took my camera around at Kyle and Emily's reception and did a fantastic job of creating some memories for us. Thanks Abby!

Thanks for being the most wonderful family on earth. The way you so willingly pitch in your time, effort, comforts for each other is truly what shows the love you have for each other. I could not be happier.

Congrats go to Kyle and Emily. It is wonderful to be at this part of our road together. Love you all more than words can even express.

MOM

Wedding pictures #2--Katherine

2009-07-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

What a fun last couple of days it has been. Here cute little Carson and Spencer being boys throwing grass
Are we done yet?
Our little princess!
Cool dude!
This is just too tempting. Look at Spencer's face on this one.
Here was the compromise. Getting our hands wet, not our whole body. Look at the little handprints on the sidewalk next to him.
We love our Aunt Brynley!

It was such a nice day, and are so excited for both Brynley and Dean! Congratulations!

Happy Day Happy Day- Dean and Bryn (mom)

2009-07-12T14:33:00.001-07:00

We have had a wonderful time and have been pretty darn busy taking care of business on the wedding side of things for Bryn and Dean...the big days finally culminated this weekend. What an amazing set of events were all involved in one way or another.

All the events were superb and everything that Brynley and Dean deserve. Thank you all soooooo much for pitching in and looking around to see what needed to be done and doing it, communicating, texting, sending, googling, uploading, downloading, asking if you could help, hauling, arranging, sorting, setting up, taking down, carrying in and out, talking with and helping people to feel welcome, comfortable, included, loved and the list goes on.

Bryn and Dean, thanks for the reason for the little get together we had.
Jodi, a special thanks of course goes out to you for being the wedding planner extraordinaire!

Each one of you plays a significant part in making up this most amazing family. I LOVE ALL OF YOU!!!

Here's just a snapshot of a few of the many memories that we made..

Preparing the toppings the week before....

The girls are living it up and getting pretty the
day OF the reception! What fun we had!

Chocolate covered strawberries and bubbly....

You may now kiss the bride!

Bountiful Temple

Wedding Luncheon- Eldridge in Bountful
Nieces and nephews sang "I'm going to the Temple"

Example of the brother/sister comments.

ibmom & gma

2009-06-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

Dearest Family,

I can't believe it's been since June 8th, the last time I blogged. I loved pictures of Australia and if I recollect Jodi's been places since then. I hope you can keep it all up and take care of Carson too. Our prayers are with you. Nice pictures that Kathryn sent too. Yesterday, Allison brought her 3 kids over. They are into everything. But she makes them put things away. They opened up my breathing medicine, had fudgecicles and it was good to see Carson and Talon sharing (Most of the time). Last night Jeff came over and hung our Father's Day, Mother's Day and Birthday gift. We lost one of the bolts and I said a special prayer. When Jeff got over he climbed into the back area and looked down & found the bolt. I think he e-mailed a picture of the name plate to you. They put in a place that is just perfect and in the late afternoon there is a reflection on the garage door. Our friends Jack & JoAnne McLelland came down to see us. We had a wonderful meal at the CC and then they came over and visited for a while. We went to the door to say goodbye to them and and on the way back, I tripped on the carpet that is under the coffee table. I fell flat on my nose. That caused a nose burn from the carpet. My knees are bruised and I cut my lip. I felt weak and the nose burn made me stay home from Church. I hate that. All is well. I wrenched my right knee so I am very careful how far I walk. Jill had a busy trip to Boston and I was glad she was able to visit with Kyle & Emily. I'm so sorry we won't be able to be there for Brynley & Dean's Wedding but we'll certainly be thinking of them. My prayers are with you all. Love you all, ibmom and gma

Boston, NYC and Munkins

2009-06-27T06:26:00.001-07:00

I'll be back later to finish this posting.....

Hi Family,

So here are a few clips of what is happening in this fair month of June 2009.

Pics are worth a thousand words...what a great time in the life...

Abby and Spencer on Speed Mobiles

Home

2009-06-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

I'm home and safe. I did get a lot of your messages while I was away and felt loved! Thanks so much...I did have very limited access to technology including phone and e-mail so I didn't reply much, but thanks for caring enough to see how I was doing. Love you all.
It was a very busy (workwise) and had limited time to see the sites. I met a lady from my competitor Provo Craft who we hung with the whole time and she was fabulous and really loved Carson.
We went to a Zoo and got to feed and pet the Kangaroos. Carson even got close to them. He would put his hand out to feed them, but then when they got right up to it he would throw it at them. It was so cute.
We went to the famous Steve Irwin Zoo and saw all the Aussie animals. I worked a lot, three days in a row, three two hours classes back to back and set up and tear down. The company was a bit overbearing and wanted all our nights too for social gathering for them. I was a bit done with them by the end of it when they tried to schedule my last day the only full day I had for vacation on a hike that my son could not go on. Pretty much told them I'd be fine without their help on my one day to see the country.
Carson did ok on the flight there, and did not so great on the way back. I'm now in class and haven't really slept yet for about 24 hours...Thank goodness for DP. (Which I have lived without for 11 days as they do not export it to AU)
So I'll update more pics later, but here is an overview. Loves.

ibm0m or GMA

2009-06-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

It was wonderful having all the kids down here and meeting Dean and hearing from Kyle that he and Emily are engaged and will be getting married in Aug., just a month after Bryn and Dean. I'll
bet they're busy in the Jill and Gary Poll house arranging for weddings and showers; even a baby shower for Katheryn. We are sorry we wont be there for weddings and showers.

Jeff had excitement at his place last night. Linda's still in Utah. They were all getting together to celebrate Jeff's Birthday. Stuart was sitting out in his car texting someone. This dude came up to the car with blood on his face and no shoes on. He urged Stuart to take him over to
Broadway and then to his girlfriend's house and then changed it to Ellsworth and Broadway. At this point Stuart could see that he didn't have a gun and told him to get out of the car. When Stuart got back to Jeff's house, (Jeff didn't even hear him leave). Jeff urged Stuart to call the police. Within minutes police cars and helicopters were there. They really checked Stuart's story out to make sure he wasn't involved. End of story. We will check from Jeff tonight to see what the real story was and if they cought him or not.

Last Friday on Jeff's Birthday, we had our Brimley Fam. Home Evening. Jeff went with me over to LeAnn's place. It was wonderful. Have I ever told you how great a family I have? Jeff told them what Linda was doing in S.L. They were all interested in it and want her to come to our next FHE in Aug. We will hold it at Jeff's place so Linda can use the computer and television. Luana was especially pleased cause she's been called as the Family history person in her ward.
She may get special training from Linda ahead of the rest of us.

Mark Brimley has had to move out of his house cause they foreclosed on him last Fri. I've talked to Mark and he can certainly use your prayers. I went to Fast Meeting yesterday. I'm always so glad for this. We are fortunate lo live in this last dispensation of time when the Prophet Joseph Smith has restored the Gospel. I know the Church is true. Love you more than the new members in the church as well as the old members and the dead ones. GMA & ibmom

Memorial Day Weekend--Katherine

2009-05-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun weekend in sunny Arizona seeing G.G and G.Gpa. The kids did really well for the 12 hr. drive with only 2 stops. Spencer kept saying, "next stop G.G's house in kleenex meaning Phoenix." It was so fun to see Grandma and Grandpa and have the kids be able to interact with them.

Our weekend was packed with fun things to do with the kids. We started off on Friday for a 4 hr. visit to Chuck E. Cheese. On Saturday we went to the zoo. It was super hot, but thank goodness for the little water park they had inside the park, where we spent quite a bit of time.
Spencer was getting a kick out of this gorilla so close to the glass. He kept trying to give it high five.
Next time we will remember to wear swimsuits to the zoo like everyone else.

On Monday we went to a place called Jeepers. It was one of those places that looked too good to be true for the price and sure enough it was too good to be true. It was only $7 for unlimited day pass on all the rides. They portrayed it as this big indoor amusement park. It turned out to be about 5 rides that you could go on as many times as you wanted. (Lucky us!) The kids actually did enjoy it, but after a couple of hours Ryan and I were ready to get the heck out of that dive.
Can't go wrong with the merry go round
This ride was pretty funny. We were all expecting a slower ride with a few turns in them like the other ones, but when this started it took off. I wish you could see Spencer's face in this one. Once you go around really fast a few times on this one, it stops and goes backward just as fast. Spencer thought it was cool he went backwards like Mater. This was Abby's favorite ride. It made me sick just watching them.
Playing games at night. Abby's favorite was Skip-bo and won 4 games! No wonder it was her favorite.
This is one of Ryan's favorite memories as a child. Drawing pictures on Grandpa's leg. Well, the tradition continues, here are the great grandchildren drawing on his leg. They thought this was pretty cool.

After a full day they still wanted to go swimming every night in the hot tub. What a fun week! It was so fun to be there with Jodi, Carson, Brynley and Dean. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for all your hospitality and providing such fun memories for our family!

Guess I don't have to be embarassed

2009-05-31T16:15:00.000-07:00

One of the signs that we may be too competitive is how the posts fell off the wall, the minute the competition was over. Come on family, let's get with it! I am currently suffering great pain, no, not from my knee or my back or my feet (although they all hurt). I haven't seen any grand kids for way too long. I am about to call my attorney and see if I can file an officially complaint against my oldest two children, for grandpa abuse. I hope this abuse ends quickly.
One important thing; The Slater reunion is Saturday, June 20th, lunch at noon. I think that Mom will be gone on her trip back East, but I would really appreciate participation from any of our family members who can come. I will buy the picnic lunch. Please take a look at your calendars and see if you can work this event in. It is a big deal to Grandma Poll. Love you all.
DAD

Referral - Jodi

2009-05-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

Look at the holbrook blog, cuz I put like a million pictures on it, so you can get the goods there.

I do want to remind Kyle he owes me dinner or something cuz I won the family March Madness and I need a little credit.

Having the best time ever with my family down here in Arizona. GG and GGpa really know how to host a party. Dean just won Golf, Mickey Mouse is on, Breakfast at the country club was great, Carson is loving cousin time and all the attention from the aunts and uncles down here.

Love you family, you are the best family in the world.

ibmom & gma

2009-05-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

Dearest Friends,

I can't believe its been since May 5th since I posted. I didn't mean it to be that long. Monday came and went before I remembered. Gary called me and asked me if I had reviewed the blog. I hadn't, so I did. Thanks to Gary and Ryan for making me cry this morning. Their thoughts were poetic and covered so much territory on people I love. I guess I remember why I forgot to post. Diane & Ron came down. We had such nice visits with them. Thet took us on the longest drive we've been on down to Florence. We went around the town and then met Jeff at the Prison store which is just outside the prison. Then we went back to town to a nice Mexican restaurant. After we got home, we watched Murphy's Romance and other movies. We saw 2 or 3 a night. We also ate out at the CC 3 times. Jeff and Linda met us over there once. We went to Sac. Mtg and R.S. & Priesthood. Since I went to that ball game with Jeff, I decided if I could sit 3 hours through a game, I could certainly sit 2 hours thru R.S. We are looking so forward to your visit down here on the 23rd. So glad we will get to meet Brynley's fiance, Dean. We can pick you up if you need us to. Just call. Love you all very very very very very much. ibmom & gma

Day after Mother's Day-DAD

2009-05-11T06:33:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to express thanks to all in our family. Thanks for helping me commemorate the beginning of my 60th year in that short little 10 day celebration. I am willing to use any occasion and stretch it to the max to get the family together. I loved Mother's Day yesterday. I also love the mothers in my life. I am so thankful for such nearly perfect ladies as my own mother and my favorite mother-in-law. I truly feel that there is no more sacred calling on this earth than that of "mother." I so love and appreciate the mother of our children and my eternal companion. There has to be a special place in heaven for someone so wonderful signing in to be with me forever. I love her for her goodness, her unbelievable energy, and her ability to get things done. Marrying her is the best decision of my life. I am grateful for the excellent mothers of our grandchildren. Happy day after Mother's Day to all.
But, the most exciting news of the day is the upcoming wedding of my baby girl. Welcome to the family Uncle Dean! I thought that the ring on the finger yesterday or something made Brynley even more beautiful. How I love that girl! The next 2 months will go by oh so fast. There is so much to do and so much of the time is already committed. We will all need to chip in. Even me.
I love and appreciate all of you. I hope that Ryan and Kyle get feeling better fast.
DAD

To the Mothers.......rp

2009-05-10T16:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all! I unfortunately have had to sit this Mother's Day out with a cold, but have found a couple of extra minutes to draft a quick blog.

First thanks to my grandmother in AZ. How could anyone be a better example of living life to it's fullest, although somewhat restricted with various physical limitations? Rarely have I ever heard of word of complaint, but just sheer optimism about what the future holds. I certainly love you Grandma!

Like most sons, a large part of who I am today is directly correlated with how I was raised and taught by my mother. Mom, of all the good traits I can tie back to you, I'm very grateful that you prepared me for life in giving me the necessary tools and experiences to be an independent thinker and decision maker. My office assistant Brenda, who is a mother of 10, is always amazed at how quickly and decisively I can make decisions, as she spends a lot of her days at work on her cell phone helping her 10 adult children make simple every day decisions. Besides inheriting your crooked toes, I don't know how I could have a better mother. I love you.

And to my dear sweet Katherine, the mother of our children, I thank you for your sacrifices to make the lives of our children better. The first years of a child's life, in which all children experience such important molding processes, are so critical in preparation for what life will bring them. Having the love and stability that you provide will be such an asset for them as they continue to grow and mature. Thank you for your support of me and for giving up on so many other things, so that your time and energy can be laser-like focused as to what's most precious for both of us.

And to the other mothers or future mothers of our family, I thank you for what you've done in the past, are doing know, and will continue to do in preparation to raise a righteous and eternal posterity. As I recently attended a temple sealing and was able to gaze into the mirrors of eternity, seeing countless and endless posterity, I said a silent prayer of gratitude for the many good mothers that have sacrificed so much for us. I also said a silent prayer for the many good mothers in our family right now and for the future generations to whom we'll pass the baton to.

Happy Mother's Day!
rp

ibmom & gma

2009-05-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

Dearest Friends,

I am ticked off. I was just finishing the last paragraph of the blog and must of hit something wrong cause I lost it all. Anyway, it sounds like you had a great time celebrating the father's, grandfather's, husband's birthday. Spencer and Abbey are so lucky to see you guys so much and it was nice to have Kyle home. I have been asked to serve on a committee for indexing. It will just last for about a month. They will send me out the improvement they want to implement and I will do them and let them know what I think. We will be able to pick Brynley & Dean up at the airport. I wrote and told her to just let us know. It will be only a half hour to get there. We're looking forward to you all coming. I don't hold my breath for Ryan and Kathryn and the kids. But hope they can make it. Diane & Ron are coming on the 7th until Mother's Day. Oh bytheway Happy Mother's Day to you all. Just show up here on the 22nd and that's my Mother's Day Gift. Dad and I are still hanging in. He went & picked up groceries today. The trouble is he always brings stuff we don't need. Got to go now. Love you all dearly ibm & gma

Fun week--Katherine

2009-05-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

What a fun week it has been celebrating Grandpa's 10 day birthday and having Kyle in town! Our kids are still talking about the fun weekend of setting up swingsets, jumping on the trampoline, and going bowling with Uncle Kyle. Spencer always has to add that he didn't even cross the line!

Thanks to GG and Grandpa for their hard earned winnings from the blog victory that they donated to the little one! I feel a little guilty accepting this award.

We are within a week of having green in front of our house! We were supposed to have sod today, but with all the rain, we still haven't been able to spread the rest of the topsoil and rake it so hopefully by the end of this week we will have no more mud! Well, it has been such a fun week spending so much time with the fam! We will see you all soon.

Love ya,
Katherine

Continuation of a Habit- (mom)

2009-05-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it has officially been completed. The winners were announced and the awards were presented. GG (G'ma) had requested that her award go to Katherine for quality and quantity of postings and Dad, as you see his request below, bequeathed his winnings over to little Jillietta, so yeah Kat!!!

Hopefully, those of you who were sooooo close to the top, will now have a wonderful habit of posting and we may continue to see those stories of your lives appearing on the now famous Poll blog. For the others, may this be a happy incentive to strive for just a few more frequent postings so we can all benefit.

Abby is the presenter of the "Poll Blog Contest" awards! (sorry for the fuzziness..forgot to turn the flash on)

Thanks for everyone to change your schedules to Friday to accomodate the rainy day on Saturday. True to the weatherman's promise, it has arrived.

Kyle, it is soooo good to have you around. The get togethers are just that much better when you are here. We miss you very much when you are not with us. Thanks for making that eye appointment!

Love you all- MOM

Thanks Matt-DAD

2009-04-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

I have no victory speech. Just a solemn thank you. It is hard to argue with the count, because I was one of the counters. I would like to contribute my winnings to my yet to be born grandchild's college fund and thank all those who have contributed to my having a happy birthweek and a day. Yesterday we officially finished our school year. I still go to work, but won't be teaching any classes until we get back from seeing Kyle. Tonight is the PM Olympics for one of my classes. It will be at our home. I hope it goes well. I hope to see all of you at my end of the birthweek party this Saturday. I understand the starting time to be 10 AM, but may need to be moved up a little to accomodate Troy and Marrissa. Flash bulletin, it might be on Friday. Keep posted, or call Mom for the up to the minute reports. I love you all and appreciate all you do to keep our family caring and loving.
DAD
PS- Jodi-Have a great time in St. George. We'll love and miss you.

Details, details (KP)

2009-04-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

I never was the best at reading the fine print. Congrats to all of the winners! I really have enjoyed reading so much more about what's going on in everyone's life. Love you all!

-KP

Request Granted....additional winner announced!! (Contest Committee)

2009-04-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

Wow...the kid's a fighter! Kylie Q, if we are ever playing a game, I always want to be on your team. Your tenacity is most impressive. Thank you for taking notice in the results of this contest and pointing out some details. There HAS been a change in winner status....drum roll.....
Brynley....are you listening???

Thanks for noticing the post, especially the steller part. Not that I thought this may happen, but the committe set up the rules at the beginning and now it is time to refer to them. By the way, is your middle name Florida? Should we be looking for those hanging chads?

See Rule #4 on Jan 11 posting: "The end of a week is Saturday at 12:00 a.m. The beginning of a week is Sunday at 12:01." True that....you definatly wrote on both 1st(s) of the month which were Sundays, which made you golden for that week beginning with the Sunday. But, for example, if you look at the week of Sunday, Jan 25 at 12:01 to Saturday, Jan 31st at 12:00 a.m, the committee has done a recount, searching high and low and cannot come up with your name anywhere in that window of time. As you may guess, this same most unfortunate occurance happened the last week of February 22nd to 28th.

The committee has gone back to look at how they (after two vote countings) had missed the "Dad" posting on March 8th. Computer glitch? The post is definately the words of your father and none other...no mistake, but it says "Posted by Kyle Poll" as the signer ...check it out. So even tho you did not post that day, you got the credit and the father did NOT.

So now the real funny thing is that since your father realized that he did not win, he said so himself, "why would I read the blog now that I know I didn't win". So somebody should tell him that there now has been a three-way tie. That would make your father 14 for 14 just like Kat and G'ma.

Welcome on the Gold Medal Stand Mr. Gary Poll. You are a WINNER!!!!

The prize money will now be divied up three ways and you can all fight over how it should be spent. The committee recommends not to spend it all in one place...ya know....all eggs in one basket sort of deal. These big financial planner type people in our family will know what that's all about. You may want to go with a split stock option, and rumor has it that bonds are NOT the way to go right now. Most are suggesting investing in real estate. So with that tip...you are on your own.

Congratulations to all. Kyle and Brynley, you may both want to take each other out to dinner! You'll feel better for it!

ibmom & gma

2009-04-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

Dear Forever Friends,
Isn't that great, no matter what else happens, we are family forever. Jills post was tremendous and she says they will be here over Memorial day which is tremendous. We already have reservations for Brynley & Dean, and we'll be happy to meat Dean. You are all welcome, just let us know. You know how it is first reservations get their pick of beds or couches or floor. We're looking forward to that. Diane and Ron are coming for over Mother's Day. It's nearly 11:00 a.m., and only 80 degrees. I'll have to close the front door in a few minutes. The Diamondback Ball game was super even if we didn't win. They had the roof open and Jeff and I had a hoagy sandwich. Fun days to remember. The cleaning girls came before we went to the game and then I had my hair done and nails manicured. What a terriffic weekend. Got to go now and get into my Church calling which is indexing. I hope you are all taking care of your Church responsibilities. Love, ibmom & gma

I demand a recount (KP)

2009-04-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, Okay, so I got a little cocky and competitive there towards the end. But hey, nothing's wrong with a little friendly competition. I'll also admit that I was a bit surprised when I read the official winner rundown (which by the way was quite the stellar post). However, I was ready to accept defeat and I figured that I had just inadvertently missed a couple of weeks. So I was writing my concession speech when I just thought, hmmmm, I might as well check what happened those weeks that prohibited me from posting when big bucks were on the line. Well, as it turns out.....drumroll please......

The judge was right, I did not post on the last week of January or February, HOWEVER....If you'll refer to posts on Sunday, February 1, and Sunday, March 1, you will see that I did post in each of the two referenced weeks, I just happened to post on the last day of the week, which just so happened to fall on the first day of the following month in both cases.

I promise not to complain if my request for a recount is overruled, but in fairness to all candidates, I think I must also point out that the official announcement states that Dad did not post on the week of March 8-14 and I just checked and saw a post from my dear father on Sunday, March 8. It's a short post, and Ryan posted that day as well with an awesome picture of his chest so I can see where Dad's post may have been lost in the shuffle, but there was indeed a post that day. Well, with all that said, I think I must sign off and turn in for the night. I love you all and even if I don't get the prize, I'm sure glad that we've all posted so much over the last four months. I love reading about what's going on with my family that is so far away from me. I can't wait to see you all in a few days.

Love,

KP

And the WINNER IS............!!!!!

2009-04-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a family.

They entered a contest by choice.

The contest results were achieved.

The family now knows more about the family.

So who was the winner of the big stakes cash prize??

Is it Marissa or Troy?

Ah....how can you get married and blog in the same quarter? It just ain't gonna happen. We sure do love those two for getting it done!

But...regarding the contest? a whopping goose egg...so...nope.

Was it the Mattster?

Well, since Matt is coming on over with the little munchkin today for a birthday dinner, we can forgive him. However, another no hitter.....so nope.

Could it have been Gpa?

We love him like CRAZY. And true, it is a pretty giant step that he was able to read online all of our rantings and ravings, (without G'ma printing them off for him like in the olden days) so we are going to give him and A for access.

Was it the mother?

Uh....3 x in 14 weeks makes not a winner.

Could it have been Jodi or Ryan?

Well, a very honest effort coming in for RP with the grand total of 6 of 14. And a picture of his sexy chest and the wire leads was pretty amazing. (Did Katherine have to help you with that?)

Jodiah?

Jod filled us full of eventful and mega-interesting info and pics....we especially loved the video of Buster's first steps! Nice job and such an easy photogenic model.

But alas....9 of 14 didn't quite fit the bill. (Hundred dollar bill that is)

Was it Bryn Tin Tin?

Burnhydle was hanging in there so much of the time. Altho, it was not just the Boston thingy that kept her from having that perfect score. It was skiing, snowshowing, x-countrying, climbing, kidding, basketballing, soccering, and just being the coolest kid for the kids that there ever was. But another very entertaining score of 11 of 14.

Now here is where it gets a little comical.

There are a couple of guys that thought they had it sown up, in the bag, close that refrigerator door so to speak.

KylieQ....can you spell the word C-O-M-P-E-T-I-T-I-V-E?

Hey KP...what happened on the the last week of the month of January and February. They must have been killers. Probably busy writing the bills and stuff, because, ya just didn't quite show up. But come on guys...12 of 14 is worthy of talking about! Let's give him a ROUND of applause!

So of course with all the talk and chatter, we must all just have assumed that is was our DAD.

Was it DAD?

Our dad is the most consistent goal driven guy we know. If he sets a goal, it IS achieved. So there was a great effort to write on the proverbial Sunday and we would often see his howdy doodey on that day. But what happened the week of March 8th-14th? Ooops. Ya know, 13 of 14 times is dang close. So way to go!

However, close only counts in ya know....a game of horse shoes.

Well...that's just leaves two left.

14 of 14 weeks!!

Who?

GG and KK!!!!!!

Granma (Great) and Kat and Kids

What can ya say about the most techy G'ma there ever was.....and now posting pictures too!! Here's a woman who doesn't stop at anything. She's a mover and a shaker.

Kat's a fighter, an achiever. Give her a challenge and she's going to go for it.

And here are the stars of the show. The little budding movie stars are getting their start in the advertisement business. The announcements extraordinaire were fantastic and we can't wait to see the arrival of the next little star.

The prize money is ready and waiting. Perhaps we may arrange to deliver it to sunny Arizona in person on Memorial Day....and we may want to drag KK and associated father along with us (consider this pressure).....and Bryn and Dean are going too...and WHO ELSE WANTS TO COME ALONG!!!

WAY TO GO EVERYONE!!!

YOU TOOK IT A RAN WITH IT!

I LOVE THIS FAMILY- NO QUESTION!!

10,839 REASONS

Love THE MOM

Congrats to all the winners!-- Katherine

2009-04-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

I surrender! Fair and Square, I did not win the jackpot. So I think the rest of you should draw straws or something. It has been fun keeping up with what everyone is doing each week.

So funny story. Last week in church during Sharing Time we were watching a movie on the resurrection. We were watching when Mary goes back to the tomb and finds it empty, and then it shows two men running to the tomb. The teacher asked, "who do you think they were?" Without hesitating, Spencer yelled out, "Laman and Lemuel!" All of the teachers could not help but burst out laughing. Hopefully it didn't ruin the spirit that was there, but it really was funny. Oh, how I love that boy!

We will see you all tomorrow! Congrats to Bryn on finishing her race so well!

2009-04-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

Testing! yeah! ibmom gma via Jodi

ibmom & gma learning to post pictures

2009-04-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

Just trying to get as smart as you all are, except Gary. Testing one, two. ibmom & gma

ibmom & gma

2009-04-20T18:18:00.000-07:00

Dear everybody,

What wonderful posts! Kyle, are you sure that's the David Buckner from Ogden? I thought
the Utah David Buckner taught acting career wise. He looks like the David Buckner from Utah. Are they one and the same? Let me know for sure. Jeff and Linda are over for FHE and brought some soup and I made the Salad. It is so great to have Jodi here and Carson too. Jeff is taking me to a Diamondback game next Fri. They play the Giants. Got to go. Love you all lots. ibmom & gma

I'm gonna pass out (KP)

2009-04-20T06:27:00.001-07:00

So I don't know if you all heard about this, but this is my Stake President and Dad's good friend on the Glenn Beck Show. BTW, Emily and I were in a temple session with Glenn Beck a few months ago. Anyway, just watch the clip.

Click here to see David Buckner

Arizona - Jodi

2009-04-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

Its so hot here! I love it. Carson and I flew down here on Thursday and I worked Friday and Saturday. Carson got to go play with Alison and her kids all day on Friday and Saturday. He's teething and I don't think he was his usual chipper self, so I think Alison really had her hands full...she was amazing for taking Carson for two full days!

Today he has been mostly happy, he has slept a lot and for the first night in about 5 nights, I put him down without Motrin.

He loves to play in the Rocks at Grandmas, he can't get enough of the outdoors. He gets mad when I take him in. The kid is so funny. We are going to the Zoo tomorrow with Alison and her kids. Tuesday Grandma and I are going to a fancy place of her choice. Wednesday we have to come home. Guess I do need to get back to school. Its so, so great to see Carson play with GG and GGpa. He gets excited and says GG and Grandpa and loves to see them when we come back home. He has made himself right at home. We love the hot weather.

And I'm not sure why everyone is declaring themselves the blog winners. I havn't heard an offical post from the mother bear declaring the winner...and I'm pretty sure I'm getting the $100 dollars...I'm just saying!

A proposal-DAD

2009-04-19T15:59:00.000-07:00

I propose that we take the $100 prize and go out to eat when Kyle is in town on May Day and that everybody who has posted on the blog since we started be invited and that Kath get to choose the place because the quality of her posts have exceeded the quanitity of my own. I appreciate the blessing that it is to be able to communicate this way. Someday I will learn how to put pictures on here too. We are down to about ten days until our Semester ends. Then I won't be teaching until Mom and I get back from our little trip to see Kyle in June. We also have a little trip down to Bryce Canyon in June. Good Luck to Brynley with her big Boston Marathon tomorrow. To Troy with his Crystal Crest opportunity this Saturday. Congrats to Abby for getting her 4 shots and to Spencer for turning 4 in such a splendid manner. Grandma Poll is finally starting to feel better. I look forward to seeing Jodi and Carson when they return. Mom's ribs still hurt. I hope Kyle's chest is improving. I hear he scored two goals last Monday, so he must be at least a little bit better. I chickened out on racquetball again this past week. Hopefully tomorrow. I love you each and all.
DAD

I would like to declare myself the champion! (KP)

2009-04-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, Dad is my co-champion I think. Brynley really hung in there for a lot of weeks. In fact she held in for every week......except this week when she is in DC/NYC/Boston without a computer. Oh Bryn, you shoulda put in while you were at my house. I'll share my prize with you at the Shake Shack.

So I had a WONDERFUL week with my favorite little sister! Bryn, thanks for coming out and letting me hang with you and Kim. We did so many cool things. We went to the trio of squares: Washington Square, Union Square, and finally we ate at the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. We went to Times Square, I watched them go to the Phantom. We walked the Brooklyn Bridge and ate at Grimaldi's. Oh the fun we had. I love you Bryn and I'm so glad you came. I hope some of the others of you get a chance to come visit. I know it's expensive and it's a long way from home, but just know that you're always welcome and that I love to see you all.

I went to Boston last night and watched the Red Sox beat the Orioles. I wish I coulda sat by Bryn and Co. all night, but such was not the case. It was still fun seeing Bryn and Dean. Good luck on the Marathon Bryn! I love ya!!!

To the rest of you, I'll see you in a week and a half!

Love,

KP

Spencer's Birthday--Katherine

2009-04-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Sunday was such a fun day celebrating Easter and Spencer's birthday. Thanks for everyone who came. When I put him to bed, he said, "Mom that was a fun birthday." The remote control jeep has been a big hit, and is about time to put new batteries in! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the cute card and money! He was excited to open it and see his picture inside. He has also been playing a lot of football with his dad thanks to Aunt Brynley.

On Monday, we did a little friends party over at Classic Fun Center. The kids had a blast there, and was extra nice because we almost had the whole place to ourselves.

Driving the car game is always a favorite!

I can't believe my baby is 4 years old. He has brought so much happiness into our home. Here is a little trip down memory lane. I can't believe how fast time has gone. Before I know it we will be sending him on a mission.

Spencer Ryan born on April 12th at 8:17 a.m weighing 6lbs. 12 oz.
"Our Little Dude"
1 year old
2 years old
3 years old

Our little 4 year old getting ready to go to church on Easter Sunday!

Our little Princess!I didn't ask them to hug for this picture, they did it on their own. They really are good buddies!

Thank you family--rp

2009-04-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

What a fun past couple of days we've had around here. And thanks to the many who made it a deal to be apart of it, one way or another. I think both Spencer and Abby might sleep for the next week after everything that they've done. One birthday party after another birthday party! But like has been mentioned, I don't know of anybody who has been looking so forward to his/her birthday than that of my son Spencer.

Speaking of birthdays, we're already at the halfway mark before we have another birthday party of our third child. Of course, I can say "we're already" there because I haven't had to deal with the daily, constant discomfort of carrying the baby. I think Kath is overall feeling a little better, although she's not one to complain regardless of how awful she may be feeling.

And while we're on the subject of my wonderful wife, I'm not sure how and when this $100 blogger award will be given out. I know I should personally finish in the top 10. I also nominate my wife as the hands down "most improved award" for blogging. She has gone from once a year post to once a week post, with downloaded pictures included! Not only that, she's also created our own family blog and updates that regularly.

Well I'm signing out wishing all of my family, wherever they may be, the very best with all of the many good things that are going on at this time. I'm very pleased to be a member of such a great, eternal family unit.

ibmom & gma

2009-04-13T15:29:00.000-07:00

High youz all:

What a wonderful blog. Good info about Spencer's BD. We called at least 10 different numbers trying to get hold of him.Can someone please give me the date of Marissa's birthday and the current address? Did you buy a house, Troy? Wish Brynley the best in Boston. Sounds like Kyle will be seeing Brynley soon and what fun to have Weber State in Carnaghe Hall. Oh dear, Jodi's back better be better by the time she gets here. I can't imagine how she'll do with the baby on the plane and all she needs to bring him down here. I hope she gets good help from the red caps. Gary, you had a neat trip with David. Which David was that? Jeff is going to be published in The Friend. They read his story and he just had to add a few things, including a testimony and a few minor changes. The story is "The Second Wind." it's a neat story about how his coach asked him after he would finish a race. "Hey Marler, Did you get your second wind?" After many races and it appeared he was going to lose, he got his second wind and a source of energy he didn't know he had, He won the race. I think it took a little prayer and help from God. Watch for it in the next couple of months. This is Apr. 13th and we still have temperatures in the 80's That is wonderful. Love you more than the last time, ibmom & gma

Birthday Cake Week + Easter Icing- (Mom)

2009-04-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

Well, as many as possible showed up to our big birthday events this week. We we happy to usher in another year for Marrissa; big 24 and for Spencer; big 4. Great food and fun was had by all who came. And, oh don't forget the Easter Egg hunt at the park yesterday. We always miss those who couldn't make it but now share the events with the rest of you. Love you all!

Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.....Wildcats in the city (KP)

2009-04-12T22:09:00.001-07:00

Weber State, Weber State, Great, Great, GREAT!
So I had the thrill of being a Wildcat again this week. Weber State's wind ensemble was invited to perform in Carnegie Hall so Weber State decided to hold its semi-annual National Advisory Council meeting in NYC. That's good news for me. They invited me to a luncheon with the NAC and we heard Gary Crittenden, Scott Baxter, and Omar Kader speak. They all were very interesting. I sat next to Fran and Leann Wheeler. They said to tell you hi Dad. They also invited Emily and me to attend the show "South Pacific" at the Lincoln Center with them. It was a neat show and it was even better because it was free. The next night we had an alumni reception at Carnegie Hall followed by the WSU performance in Carnegie Hall. It was really neat, at least the first 15 minutes....then I got a bit bored, but that was my first time in Carnegie Hall and it was really neat. Well, I'm super excited for Brynley to be out here this week. I love you all and I'm excited to see you all in just 3 short weeks!

Love,

Kyle

Happy Easter-DAD

2009-04-12T21:05:00.000-07:00

Have any of you noticed that the sponsor of our contest hasn't entered a post on the blog since the contest began? Maybe she hasn't had time to get on the computer or maybe she forgot how to do it. I know that I forget from week to week. When does this contest end anyway? Where is she going to get $100?
I don't think I have ever seen anybody more excited about having a birthday than Spencer was today. It was a trully memorable birthday party. I was able to take Carson on his first Easter Egg hunt. He actually put an egg in the sack. Of course he thought it was a ball and he threw four out that I put in. Abby was all too happy to add them to her already giant collection.
Best of luck to Brynley this week. Hope Kyle's chest is feeling better. Good luck to Troy teach forf 20 minutes in a Seminary class this week. I feel terrible about Jodi's back. Mom's ribs seem to be about healed and my knees made good progress this week. I think I might try a little racquetball tomorrow,
I appreciate the reminder that Easter is of all the Savior has done for us. I know that He lives today and cares about the things going on in our life. May we always remember Him. May we be as quick to forgive each other and others as we hope that He is to forgive us. Have a wonderful week.
DAD

Congratulations!!!

2009-04-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Gma and Kat! Really, I'm proud of you both! And as much as I hate to say this, I stand corrected, I did miss a week in March, I thought I was 100% until my triip, so hats off to you perfect bloggers. As a quick hope to get some good for nothing bonus points, I'm going to post a few pics of the last few weeks to make up for my laziness. I love you all, and welcome back to the blog for those who took a vacation over the last year. And I haven't even mentioned yet...happy birthday week DAD!

boston here I come

2009-04-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that it's finally here. I'm leaving tomorrow for the race, as always I'm anxious to leave town- it's always nice to get away and try something new. I'll be leaving tomorrow, so I'll see you all on the other side!
General conference was great-I love to pick out different themes each conference. I especially loved to emphasis on the temple, what a neat place that is!
On Saturday night, after Priesthood session was over, Dean and I were trying to figure what to do with the evening, then we realized we hadn't visited our cousin Rachel for a while, so we jumped in the car and headed down South. We watched conference on Sunday with Rachel, had a picnic between sessions, loved the sunshine! and headed back North. We stopped by Doris' on the way home and had a great drum talent show from Chris. The trip was short, and sweet and made me really excited for the Summer!
This week has been a good one. It isn't exactly like I imagined my last week of training would go, but despite my ankle injury I have been able to ride the bike for a couple of hours this week. Well, I better go pack and do some laundry and call it a week. Love you all, and have a great Easter. Troy, you can eat the Easter candy that I would have found on the Easter egg hunt. happy birthday Spencer! Sorry I'll miss the festivities.

And its gone - Jodi

2009-04-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

So a crazy week of work, school and life.
Thursday night I felt it coming...Friday it was confirmed. My back is out. Its been over a year since it been this bad, but just sitting here at the computer it throbs and twists. I went to Lori's house last night and took some strong pills, so Carson and I had fun doing that. That made it so I didn't care so much about the pain, but it never really left. So today is an exciting day of laying flat, because that is the way it won't hurt so bad. Need to do my exercieses so I can be ready for Arizona next week. Yikes, I'm afraid! Well thats all the sitting...talk to you later...see Carsons blog for the fun part of the week.
Hugs

Katherine

2009-04-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

So this has been a fun week so far. Starting with Conference last weekend. I always enjoy conference and hate to see it come to an end. I especially enjoyed Elder Scott's talk. Monday was a fun night celebrating Marissa's birthday and playing nertz, even though we took dead last. I am ready for a rematch now that we have had our practice round. Tonight we went swimming at the Aquatic Center as a reward for the kids finishing their scripture charts. They had so much fun. Their favorite part was the waterslide. You could hear Spencer the whole way down the slide laughing and saying "Woo Hoo!" Here are a few pictures.

We will look forward to more fun this weekend celebrating Easter and Spencer's birthday! We are doing dinner at our house at 5:00 for anyone who would like to come. See you all soon!

ibmom and gma

2009-04-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

Dearest Family,

I was glad to read your new blogs. I, like Kyle loved Elder Holland's talk. The talk about Christ's Atonement for us was wonderful. He said that Pilate would be better not to have been born. Wasn't that the Lord's plan to have Pilate identify Christ, Gary? What other way could it have been done? I hope all the sick get better. Jodi is coming on the 16th. That's just next week. Jodi, let me know if I need to pick you up. I'm missing my copy of "24". I think Jill may have it, I've E-mailed her to get it to Jodi if she has it. I have a list of six easy things for Jodi to help me with when she comes. One is to go to a gormet restaurant for lunch, another is help me get pictures on the blog. One is to get in the spa. They are all easy I'm anxious. Jeff brought over a turkey dinner with all the trimmings including mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, apple pie, and I'm not sure what all. He also brought me 24 grapefruit We were out. Love them and him. He takes time in his busy schedile to call or come. It's warming up. It's 2:20 pm and is 85 degrees out there I'd better close for now. Love you more than all the tuna in cans or in the ocean. Mom & ibm

Loved "The General" (KP)

2009-04-05T21:51:00.001-07:00

Wow, what a conference. It's really late out here, but I've gotta get in my blog for the week to keep up my perfect weekly blogging streak. I know I've got a few others with perfect records as well, but I guess we'll just have to find a proper way to split the dough.

Elder Holland's talk was my favorite. I loved so many of the wonderful talks though. The concept of the Spirit leaving Christ so that he could experience what it is like for us to lose the Spirit when we sin is something I hadn't thought of before. If he were to truly understand everything we go through as mortals, he would have to understand the agony of losing the Spirit when we sin. Because he never sinned, he didn't know what it was like to lose the Spirit. Therefore, just when he needed it most, the Spirit was withdrawn from him. It is amazing to think of the love involved in the Atonement. It was a wonderful conference.

My chest is still hurting, but I'm sure it will get better with time. I've organized a soccer team and we have our first game on Thursday. I hope I'm ready to play, but for some reason, I just don't think I'll be up to it. Well, I'm pretty tired and need to get some sleep.

I love you all!

-KP

No sock Sunday-Dad

2009-04-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

There are a whole bunch of reasons to love General Conference weekend. One of the smallest is that there are no socks and no neck ties. I loved the Conference and am determined to continue to review the talks. It is hard to choose a favorite, but I really enjoyed President Uchtdorf's Priesthood talk about how we sometimes let unimportant things get in the way of things that matter a lot and for a long time. I would be interested in hearing about each of your favorite conference comments. We loved having Ryand, Katherine and Abby and Spencer come over this morning for the AM session. Mom was great as she made Conference Bingo sheets and entertained while we all watched. We have a bunch of the walking wounded in the family now a days; Mom's ribs, Kyle's chest, Brynley's ankles, Grandpa Poll's feet and Grandma Poll's coughing. I took a little spill yesterday going down the steps and hitting first on my knees. They hurt, but it seems to be a long ways from my heart. I love you all.
DAD

Countdown--Katherine

2009-04-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

So I really have nothing new to write about, but with Grandma's little plug for me for the $100 I don't dare miss a week. We are on countdowns at our house for different things. Abby is on the countdown for how many days until she gets her Kindergarten shots out as she puts it. Every morning she will wake up and say I know how many more days until I get my Kindergarten shots. It really is quite funny. She obviously doesn't remember what shots are, and I don't know whether to tell her that it will hurt a little, or just let her think we are going to do something fun, and let her find out herself. Any suggestions?
Spencer is also on the countdown until his birthday. He is so excited and likes to invite people to his birthday party. Well, we will see you all soon.
Katherine

What a day!

2009-03-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I should be going to bed, but I just had one of those it's great to be alive days. Sometimes i feel myself getting bogged down with...well who knows what, I really have nothing to complain about but still find time to do so. But I was reminded today of how great life is. I FINALLY made it up to the slopes today. The snow was fantastic! The weather was quite reasonable, and the mountains are absolutely beautiful!!! I realized that i have a marathon in 3 weeks from today and I probably should have been running, but I went skiing, so when I came home I ran around sugarhouse park and called it good. If I did that 9 times I would have run a marathon...so that's a good start. Well then me and Dean went climbing at the climbing gym down in Draper. It's always a humbling experience, but it was a great time too. It made me even more excited for the weather to warm up so I can start climbing outside again.
Congrats Ryan and Kat on the news. I'm so excited for another niece! Kyle, hang in there...you need to be better because I'm going to visit you and I don't want to see you sick;-) Thanks for the updates on our extended family dad and thanks for being my family. I never have to look far to be grateful for each one of you. And for the record, Brynley has also posted each week since the race began. love you all!

Monday night and alls swell-DAD

2009-03-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

Hea, what's this trying to influence the vote by proclaiming a winner already. This is the haven't missed a week father of the family who keeps putting the word out even when I have nothing to say. I would like to report that Grandma Poll still feels terrible, but she is not coughing as hard or as often and she has been able to get a little sleep at night. Grandpa has a nurse come in to dress his foot 3 times a week until Grandma feels well enough to help out. We need to keep them in our prayers. Sherry Burton (Brady's wife has been diagnosed with Bacterial Meningitis and is very ill. We need to keep her in our prayers also. We should also remember to be grateful for all that we have. I am so thankful for our family and for the gospel in our lives. We had Ryan and Katherine and Abby and Spencer over for FHE this evening. I was grateful for how well those kids know the stories in the Book of Mormon. I hope that we are all making scripture study a part of our lives. I get to represent Peter at the temple again this week. It is a big responsibility and I am enjoying the opportunity. I love you all. DAD

ibmom & gma

2009-03-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

My Dearest Friends,

What a blog! We're going to have a dirl. I loved that announcement. There is no doubt in my mind whose going to win that $100. Katherine even put sound to her pictures. Wow! Those little kids are worth at least a million dollars per. Today is a beautiful day out there. It's still only 60 degrees in the shade. Jeff called us last week and told us one of the inmates came up to him and asked if he minded answering a question. Jeff said go ahead I'll answer it if I can. He said: "Are you LDS? You have such a light in your eyes." Jeff said "Yes, I am. I'm also a Bishop." That flabbergassed the inmate, who said I'm LDS also. The light of the gospel shines through us all.
I'm looking forward to Conference. I'm just reading last Conference report in the Ensign. I'm also reading the D & C up to Sec 122.. I keep busy with my indexing and I got to Sacrament Meeting yesterday. Well just to let you know I Love you Truly, ibmom & gma

Rainy Days (KP)

2009-03-29T22:39:00.000-07:00

It rained in the city today. I wish I had something more exciting to report. Thanks to all of you who have expressed concern for my chest pains. I'm sure they'll get better at some point. That point was just not destined to be this week. Anyhow, our friends Russ and Bonnie came into town last night and we had a great time with them. Work is getting busy and I'm getting ready for a big presentation that I have to give on Tuesday. I'm a little nervous so say a little prayer for me on Tuesday from 12pm - 2pm MST. I'm really excited for conference weekend. I love listening to the inspired leaders of our church. I'm sad I have to miss priesthood conference with my fam. I love you all and I can't wait to see you in just one month!

-KP

It's A ..........

2009-03-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

So we found out today if Abby and Spencer will have a new brother or a new sister? My friend Kellie picked them up from preschool today and she was asking them if they thought it was a boy or girl? We were laughing at Abby's response. She said, "Well, me and my mom think it's a girl, but my dad and Spencer think it's a boy. And boy names are just so difficult to think of." I cannot believe how they listen to everything. We were at the park last week with some friends and we were talking about names, and I said how much harder I thought boy names were. But we were cracking up when she used the word difficult today.

I know we did the whole video thing when we announced we were having a baby, but Abby and Spencer love feeling a part of things, so we decided to do the same thing. Watch the video to see what we are having!

running fun?

2009-03-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

I'm going to relate with kyle when I say that the second half of the marathon isn't always the greatest. Moab was sure an eye opener for me. The Moab half was exactly one month before the Boston marathon, and I now know that 26.2 miles isn't going to be easy for me...but really, now that I'm in, I should just go and run at my pace right? Well as soon as I can kick this small cold, I'll get back to some good training runs.
It was great to go down South even though the run was rough for me. The weather was beautiful and I went down with a fun group of friends. We camped out on friday night, ran Saturday morning, and headed to the Canyonlands. We hiked around for a while, and headed home. We were waiting for a sunset at the end of a hike, then decided it was too cloudy and there wouldn't be much to see. By the time we got back to the car, the whole sky was lit up and it was obvious that there was a great view from the place that we just came from...but what do you do? We got home around 12:30 and I was able to sleep quite peacefully that night.
Kim's birthday was on Monday so we partied hard. We went to breakfast, went shopping at REI, went climbing all afternoon, had some dinner and came home for a great cake and ice cream party. It's always fun to get a bunch of mixed friends together, Kim was really glad that my sister came...(she likes you more than me. i guess it's good you live in Layton or i may get jealous
;-)
Well back to work yesterday, I'm hoping the snow keeps coming for just one more week. Then I can go skiing on Thursday and well, then I'm ready for Spring and really summer too. Love you all, have a great week!

ibmom & gma

2009-03-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

My dear friends,

Nice to read your blogs. Kyle, hope you get that taken care of you. Not right! You & Ryan having chest pains. So fun to watch Carson walking. We look forward to seeing Carson & Jodi in a couple of weeks. I took GPA back to the surgeon that did the prostate. He is doing just great. Then he goes in to the surgeon that slice is side to get a stitch our. He will have the stitches taken out next Fri. It was certainly nice having Cory here. He helped with Dad and did work around the yard. Fertilized, cut roses back. sprayed for bugs on my rose tree, transplanted a rose from the rose garden and replaced them with some new plants. Plus he found a small leek in the front yard. (We just paid a man $200 to repair. It seems every month we have a $200 repair bill on something or another. Last month it was the refrigerator. Who ever figures repair bills in their budget?) I'm still working on getting the right picture in the blog. I guess I'll have to wait till next month when on of the experts can help me. Love you more than all the rose blossoms in the world. ibmom & gma

Quantity not quality-DAD

2009-03-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it is Sunday afternoon and I know that our family is in a wide variety of places. I hope that Kyle is safely home from his exciting weekend in Washington DC. I also hope that you are feeling much better. Thanks to Emily for her nursing care and congrats to Emily for qualifying for the Boston. Congrats also to Brynley and Mom for their fine performances in Moab yesterday. They both ran well. I manage to watch well and avoid getting sunburned. Mom and I had a few fine days in southern Utah with a few of our friends from the Institute. We did some 4 wheeling, some biking, some talking to Aunt Doris and some serious driving and eating. I love being with the mother of our family. This next weekend Mom is going to do a service project with the Horse people on Antelope Island. I would like to put up the swing set if I can get some help from any of our male family members. I need to haul it from the Farmington home. If any of you are available let me know-the grandkids will love it I am sure. If not, we'll try for some other time. Keep Grandma Poll in your prayers, she has a major case of bronchitis and a very sore throat which is making it dificult for her to even swallow her medicine. All of you are in my prayers. I love you each and all.
DAD

DC Marathon....check. Qualified for Boston......no check (KP)

2009-03-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

So I'll be brief. I'm on a bus from DC back to NYC and my battery only has 12% left. So yesterday I ran the marathon. It was a pretty wild experience. A couple of days before running it I started to feel some chest pains that worsened when I breathed deeply. Well, the night before, the pain was quite severe. After consulting with my almost a doctor friend Dan, we decided that it wasn't heart problems and I'd be okay to run. Well I ran and the first half of the marathon I was doing fine. I was actually on pace to finish in under 3 hours. Well, then things got bad. They didn't have enough bathrooms at the start line so I didn't go before I started. So I finally found a bathroom that was a couple of hundred yards off the course. By the time I took care of that little dilemma, I never really was able to get back to where I had been before. My legs started hurting, my chest got bad, I realized that I wasn't going to qualify so I just decided that I needed to finish and not worry about the time. So that's what I did. I finished in under 4 hours (which means it took me 1 hr 30 for the first half and 2 hrs 30 min for the second half. Oh boy. Well, at least I finished.

After the marathon, things got pretty bad. My chest started hurting really bad and I finally found out that there was a doctor that was on call from the hotel I stayed at. After looking online and consulting with him, we think I have something called Chest Wall Syndrome or costochondritis. It's not serious, but it's extremely painful. Well, after spending all afternoon and night on Saturday in bed, I went to church this morning and now I'm headed back to NYC. It feels a little better now which is great news. Well, I'm almost out of battery. I'd better send this thing.

I love you all.

-KP

Warmer days to come

2009-03-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

Carson has had so much fun outside. I'm so happy for the warm weather. I even did yard work so he could play out there. See more pictures on his blog. www.lilholbrookfam.blogspot.com

ibmom & gma

2009-03-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

Well, Jill worked with me for about an hour
and I finally got a picture. It'a not the one with
Jeff & Linda's Wedding Anniversary Dinner. I'll
work on that later. Thanks Jill and I love you all.
ibmom and GMA

Happy 32nd B-day Ryan---Katherine

2009-03-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

As you all know today was Ryan's birthday although it didn't feel much like a birthday. He is been sick with strep throat, but has been a good sport. I have seen on other blogs, where you write a few things that you love most about that person on their birthday so here it goes.
1- Ryan is such a great Dad! My kids couldn't have a better dad. There are days when he is so tired and stressed from being at work, but when he walks in the door he is ready to play with his kids. They know they are loved from their dad!
2- He is a faithful priesthood holder
3- He is very unselfish
4- He is fun, patient, and very understanding
5- He is my best friend!

Happy birthday babe, I love you.

ibm & gma

2009-03-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

Dear you all,

What wonderful information we get on the blog. I'm sorry Ryan's been so sick. Missing a birthday--and so busy at work. Loved those pictures of Carson walking from GPA to GMA. We've had a busy day. I got over to Costcos an 9:15 a.m. and found they don't open till 10:00. What a bummer! Our home teachers came over and talked about aunts and cousins and travelling etc. He had no lesson, but Dad did get him to say a prayer. They are nice people and it's the first time I've met his wife. We are taking Jeff & Linda to the C.C. tonight for their anniversary. I'm going to try and get some pictures, but I don't know how to put them in the Blog like Katherine and some of the rest of you. I'll need to get some instructions. Stan Brimley was made a Bishop yesterday. What a thrill! There are 4 of my dad's grandkids who are bishops at the same time: Jeff, Merrell, Don and Stan. All you maraton runners, I'm proud of you. When is the big Bostan one, Brynley? Got to go now. Love you more than anything, gma & ibmom

Sick Day at home-rp

2009-03-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

So yes, as Dad reported, I did get hit with strep throat over the weekend. I thought it was just a nasty cold until I opened up and saw a huge white pocket in the back of my throat. So needless to say, I've quarantined myself in the home office today and am having a great time working at home. By tomorrow, I shouldn't be contagious and will be able to get back at it again.

Don't you love Katherine's blogs? I can't believe she is now the tech queen in our home, with Abby being a close second. From what I understand, she is even starting our own family blog. Who would of thunk that?

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers over the past month on my behalf. It has been quite a humbling experience dealing with these health issues all at once. But I thankful that there is light at the end of the tunnel and hope for better days ahead.

Love Y'all,
rp

Sunday Night and all is swell-DAD

2009-03-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well we just closed the door on another Sunday. Bryn, Dean, Troy, Marissa, Jodi, Matt and Carson were over for a wonderful chicken dinner cooked by the loveliest of all mothers. The Jello salad was set to perfection and I did an honorable job with the mashed potatoes. My goal is to get good enough to qualify for Thanksgiving Dinner. It is just a dream. We missed Ryan for his birthday dinner. Getting strep throat is going to the extreme to avoid coming over. Hope you get better soon Ryan. I did get to see Abby and Spencer yesterday for a few hours. We went to the dollar store, rode the bikes, went to the park, jumped on the tramp, had lunch and played some serious ping pong. We enjoyed the wedding and reception for Michael and Brecklyn this week. They are a very handsome couple. I was glad that they were able to have the Temple President perform the ceremony. He is kind of like my boss, I guess for my Wednesday temple assignments. This next week is Spring Break at the U, so Mom and I will head for a little sunshine on Wednseday. It will be in the sun with the Sunshine of my life. Oh boy.
Love you all
DAD

Back in the big bad city (KP)

2009-03-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back. Back to the dark and dreary city. Okay, so it's not dark and not even a little dreary. It's actually nice being back. Work was pretty busy this week in getting caught up from taking a few days off. I found out this week that I'll be getting an intern in a few months. That should be pretty exciting. I'll have someone to help out with some of the stuff I've been working on, and we have a new project that we're going to hit up. It's already time for me to start looking at my new job for the next rotation. I've been here 6 months now. Boy how the time flies.

Emily and I went running yesterday and we went to the Guggenheim Museum. That place never ceases to weird me out. Well, at least we can check that one off the list. I was pretty bummed to hear about the whole Weber State debacle. I was really hoping to see those guys in the big dance. My work is having a big March Madness party this Friday, but I'm taking the day off to go to DC for the Marathon. Oh boy, the marathon...... I've gotta be honest, I don't think I'm quite ready for it. I should have spent more time training like my little sis, but I'll give it my best shot. I won't be walking for a week, that's for sure. Well, look forward to my next report. I'll let you know if I finished and if I qualified.

Bye for now. Love you all!

Bubba is Walking - JPH

2009-03-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

Draper Temple open house-Katherine

2009-03-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to take the kids down to the Draper Temple open house, and finally made it down there today. Of course, it is a beautiful temple. I think Abby and Spencer enjoyed it. I don't think they really understood very much, but I think it is such a unique opportunity to do this. I wish we could of had a little more time to talk to them about each of the rooms as we went through. When we were done I asked them what their favorite part of the temple was. At first they both said the shuttle ride. When I asked what about after the shuttle ride Spencer said, "he liked the baptism room because then you can have the Holy Ghost." Abby said she liked the marriage room (sealing room) because it means our family can be together forever.
Spencer loves to wear this white shirt and red tie to church every week and tells everyone that it is his missionary tie! Oh what a good little missionary he will be someday!
The sun was so bright, that we couldn't get any good pictures in front of the temple. This is Spencer saying, "the sun makes my eyes hurt."

I am thankful for the blessings of the temple so that my family can be together forever! We watched a video before going up to the temple and in it Elder Holland said, "he couldn't imagine Heaven without his wife and children with him." I feel the same way. If I couldn't be with Ryan, and these sweet children it wouldn't be Heaven!

Coulda shoulda woulda

2009-03-11T17:36:00.001-07:00

Well,
I agree, it was a great weekend with the fam. I had Monday off and I coulda gone skiing, but when talking with some people that I was going to go up with, we decided that the snow wouldn't be great, so we should wait for the next storm. So after wasting away my Monday morning off, I finally got the energy to go on a run. My roommate Kathryn and I decided to run from the zoo, until big cottonwood canyon along Wasatch drive. Well after running about 4 miles, the snow began to come, after about 7 miles, I started thinking, ya know, the further we go, we'll just have to double our distance to get to the car. We finally decided to turn around a the trail head to Mt. Olympus. Well that was 8.5 miles there, so we headed back to the car in what seemed like the best snow storm of the year. It was icy cold, and the wind was even colder. Every step of the way I was thinking, oh to be skiing right now. Well, we lived through it, and it's two days later and I''m still payin for it, but I guess whatever it takes to get to Boston. I'm excited for that trip! It seems like I haven't been on vacation in way too long. Well the last couple days at work were really busy, but i have a feeling that I have a lul for the next 6 weeks. So if anyone needs me to look anything up online, I'm your person;-) I love you all and can't wait to read what you have to say!

What a Weekend! KP

2009-03-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, it was so great seeing you all and being with you this weekend. Congrats to Troy and Marissa! It was a wonderful event. I had so much fun with my niece and nephews. They're the cutest things alive. I had a great time skiing on Saturday with my friend Kyle and the Ralphs (Alan and Greg). I'm not too excited about going back to work, but someone's gotta pay the bills right?

I love you all and I love seeing you. Keep in touch, I'm just a speed dial away.....unless you're Jodi and don't even have me programmed into your speed dial. grrrrrrr..

ibmom & GMA

2009-03-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

Dearest Friends in all the world,

I read Kyle's blog about his heart condition. I think it could be Emily. That could be taken care of. GPA had an irregular heart beat like that. He went to a heart specialist and he coiuldn't find anything wrong either. He said he could get Co-Q-10 which is an over the counter med. It has really helped too. It's about $35 a bottle of 100, but is quite often on sale 2 for 1. He's taken it for years and his heart beat is nearly normal. Speaking of GPA--He is going in as an out patient on the 18th. The surgeon that operated on his hip said he may have left a stitch or staple in. Hope that will do. Jeff is going to take the day off and take him in. I was so thrilled to hear about the wedding supper and those who attended, Including Joel. Then to hear about the ceremony performed by Roy and Ronda was there. Then to hear about the reception and Donna and Susan were there. (Bart's son Trevor was getting married) Jill called us three times that day to report on the events. Thank you so much. That took some of the pain away for not being there. I wish you all the best for this next week and love you more than the sands of the sea. GMA & ibmom

All wired up--rp

2009-03-08T19:13:00.001-07:00

It's been several weeks since I last posted a blog. One reason for my slothfulness is that I wanted to get the results with my little heart condition before posting. I've definitely had to look at my own mortality right in the face over the past several weeks.

For those who didn't know, I've had some discomfort in my chest area. I went to see the dr. who told me everything was normal. I then went to get my blood drawn, which also showed all is OK. Finally, I went to the hospital and received a Halter Monitor (see posted picture), which acts like a 24 hour EKG.

The results after this test also showed "nothing remarkable". Needless to say, it's been a frustrating ordeal as I still have bouts where my heart races and minor chest discomfort. More than anything, it's just annoying to feel something different in that area of my body.

It's also been frustrating dealing with the HMO medical community through this. The answers and professional help I've received has been minimal and the costs for such professional help has been quite expensive. But the good news is that any of the "big" things have been ruled out. Most likely, I've just been dealing with a little stress, which has allowed my body to act a little out of the normal. So that's the news on that side of things.

On a much brighter note, it was sure nice being a part of the family's big weekend!! What a wonderful event it was as I don't know how things could have gone better. Congrats to Troy and Marissa and congrats to them for doing everything the right way. It was sure an honor to them and for both sides of the family to witness such a huge turnout at the wedding reception. The wedding reception MC kept saying that in 15 minutes the bride and groom would cut the cake. Well after the third or fourth time of saying that, I politely told him that until the line ends somewhere in the cultural hall, it might be best to exercise a little patience.

Well last week, I spent most of my week in Las Vegas at a convention. Needless to say, I stayed out of the office during a quite tumultuous week in the financial markets. So I'm off to bed in preparation for what I know will be waiting for me in the morning.....

Nighty Night,
rp

Wedding day plus 2-DAD

2009-03-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

Hello family
Thanks oh so much for the past few days. I am so grateful for the experience we had in the temple on Friday. The dinner was nice, the reception was delightful, the lunch was yummy, but the temple was divine. I don't think that grandma Poll ever quit praying for Grandpa during the ceremony. Her prayers were heard and answered. Congrats to Troy and Marissa and welcome to the family Marissa. Our family got better and stronger on Friday. The same thing that happened when Kath and Matt were added to our family. For those who were unable to be in the temple with us for reasons beyond your control; we missed you! Like I tell my students when they miss an Institute class, "You have the right to miss, but I have the right to miss you." I love my family more than ever. Thanks for loving me back.
DAD

Wedding fun

2009-03-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

Well, Katherine has outdone me again. I don't have so many fun pictures, but I have to agree that we had a great day. Congrats lil brother-and welcome Marissa. Maybe you'll be a better blog attender than my little brother has been. It was a great day, and fun to be with the whole fam. You guys are the greatest.
Well, basketball is now in the display case and we've moved on to indoor soccer...my favorite. I never realized that going to Kyle's 12:00am indoor soccer games would be a benefit to me, that's the only thing I know about indoor soccer is from the good 'ol days of watching my older bro play. Too bad you live a continent away, because I need some coaches.
We went snowshoeing today for the last time this year, and had a great time. I 've had so many fun/funny experiences with the kids in the mountains over the past year, when we have a good group and ample help, I think that's my favorite part of my job. And really, it's pretty hard to beat.
Well, I almost missed it again, but I'm still 100%, sorry to those who got distracted with some minor wedding details;-)
Love you all!

Katherine

2009-03-07T15:20:00.000-08:00

It has been fun to be with the family the last couple of nights. I thought I would post a few pictures from the wedding yesterday. Congrats to Troy and Marissa!
Cute Cousins! Abby and Spencer are such good buddies! (most of the time anyways)
This is Spencer dancing to the wedding video and music. He kept saying, "This is a fun show huh mom?" After quite a while he decided he was hungry, so Ryan went to get him some food. When I got over there he had already had 2 ham sandwiches and wanted a 3rd. He told me "I am a hungry boy from all that dancing I did!"
This is a picture of Spencer trying to get Abby to dance with him. He and Abby had been intently watching Troy and Marissa dance with their Mom and dad and then with each other. When they said for everyone to come dance, Spencer wanted to dance hand in hand like he saw the others do, but he had his first rejection. Abby wouldn't have any part in that. Sad huh.
Thank goodness for Aunt Jodi who went and danced with Spencer!

Jodi - My Post

2009-03-02T21:19:00.001-08:00

http://www.lilholbrookfam.blogspot.com/

ibmom & gma

2009-03-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

Dear best friends of all:

I was surprised to see 4 new posts. Kyle, you lucky duck for being able to come to the wedding.
I called Troy and Michael last night to let them know we wouldn't be there. It breaks my heart. We pray that Brother Poll will be able to perform the wedding.

Jeff called last night and said Satan is really rampant. He has a man who just joined the church less than a year ago. Jeff and Linda came to S.L. to conference with he and his wife. He is a very intelligent person and had a job in the church. Now he's turned his back on the most wonderful gift he could have, the light of Christ. Everyone, stay close to the gospel. Follow that iron rod.
Then he had a women who needs to be excommunicated. He was certainly discouraged last night.

I've talked to several people about the gospel. But actually got the nerve to call 2 neighbors to see if they would like to hear about our Church. They both said No. They're still good friends and it disappoints me. Maybe, I'll get the nerve to ask 2 other neighbors.

Kathryn. I love hearing about your kids. Spencer surely likes the sunshine. I'll be glad to hear if it's a boy or a girl. The sun has been shining lots here. But it's still only up to 60 degrees this morning at 9:30. I've got the front door open and the fan on here in the office.

Gary, I love your testimony and sorry to hear Jill doesn't feel well. Hope she gets better fast. You're all in our prayers. I'm hoping Dad gets an appointment with the surgeon. He still has drainage from that sebatious boil like thing that's right over the scar from his lasrt hip surgery. Love you more than ever, gma and ibmom

I can't wait for Wednesday! (KP)

2009-03-01T19:30:00.000-08:00

Hey Family that I love so much! I'm coming home in just three more days! I'm so excited. Troy, thanks for giving me a good excuse to get outta here for a weekend. I'm excited for you both. It's been a pretty exciting week here in the city. I posted a picture from a few weekends ago when Emily and I went out to New Jersey with our friends Russ and Bonnie. I think I wrote about that in a previous post. I also posted a picture of the cutest nephew and niece ever! I love you guys.

So yesterday Em and I went for a run and we explored a whole bunch of new places. We went to this amazing garden in central park that neither one of us had seen before. We ran out to the East River and ran down to a place where there's a tram (almost like the tram at Snowbird) that takes you over to an island in the East River called Roosevelt Island. It was a beautiful view on the tram and the island was cool too. We ran around the island a couple of times and then took the tram back to the big island (Manhattan). We ran back through the park and went to the Central Park Zoo for a few minutes and then headed home. It's pretty cool being in the city sometimes.

Work has been pretty busy this week. I'm finishing up some major projects and things are going pretty well. We took the sisters out to dinner last night at Tom's Restaurant, that's the famous diner from Seinfeld in case you haven't heard of it. I've been teaching a class in church about Member Missionary work. Today was the last week of the four week class. It went really well and I learned a lot and am more excited than ever to share the gospel. I've had some really cool experiences sharing some of my beliefs with co-workers and other friends. I'm go grateful for the gospel in my life and for the countless opportunities I have to share it here in the city.

I love you all and can't wait to see you!

Love,

KP

Sunday Morning

2009-03-01T09:12:00.000-08:00

DAD
It is Sunday morning and I am so grateful for our family. I am thankful to have the mother of our family back in the house. Mom has not felt well since she returned. She has the flu bug. She gets more done when she is sick than normal people (like me) do when they are healthy. I love our house, but it is not a home unless we have family in it. It was great to have Troy and Marissa and some of their friends over last night. They even used the basketball court and lights.
I am looking forward to going over to Matt and Jodi and Carson's for dinner this evening. As of this AM Mom is not planning to go. I intend to go to G-ma and G-pa Polls home after dinner.
I was a little upset that our cable package did not allow us to watch the BYU-Utah game yesterday, especially because I was so sure that it would, but when I saw the outcome of the game, I was glad I hadn't wasted my time. Apologies to Ryan for having him come all the way over for nothing.
Elder Quentin Cook of the 12 spoke to CES people on Friday night at the Tabernacle. He gave a wonderful talk. He told us to warn the youth of the Church to avoid "Foolishness". It seemed like a good message for all of us.
I am so looking forward to this next Friday morning and thank our family for living worthiliy to meet in the temple. Another temple quote, "The temple is about being in love. I'm sure none of your students have ever thought about being in love before, but the promise of the temple to each person who receives these ordinances, is that you will spend eternity in love. The Lord know who you will marry, and he sees your future eternal companion better than you dreamed he or she could be; perfected, majestic, wonderful, and he sees you that way too. Handsome is not bad, neither is beautiful, or athletic or brilliant or wealthy or a wonderful personality. But the most valuable attribute will be that both of you have learned to Seek first the Kingdom of God. Your prince husband or queen wife will become perfect, and even more exciting, so will you. Come to the temple because you don't want to spend eternity alone, you want to spend it in love.

I want to spend it with our famiy. All of our family.
DAD

Is it Spring yet?--Katherine

2009-02-28T15:57:00.000-08:00

We are so ready for Spring around our house! The kids keep asking when it will be time we can go to the park again. Spencer wakes up in the morning and if the sun is shining he will say, "see Mom I can wear my shorts it's summer outside." The kids took their bikes they got for Christmas outside for the first time today. Up until now, they have been riding them downstairs in our unfinished basement.
We went to the Dr. on Thursday and found that all is moving along well. Next time we go we will find out boy or girl.
We are excited to see Kyle this week, and to be together for Troy and Marissa's wedding.
We will see you all soon.

Done and Done

2009-02-28T14:22:00.000-08:00

Well can you believe it, the jr. jazz season has finally come to a close. I know you've all be anxious for this to be a thing of the past, well today it is. It felt so great to leave work today at 1:30! Between work and church stuff, these last couple of weeks have been pretty busy, but i think we're on to a new era. In fact I'll be heading up mt. olympus in a couple of minutes to see if it's hiking season yet. These sunny skies are making me anxious for Spring. We won our church ball game on Thursday night and it was a fun game too, there are a lot of "ballers" in my ward, so that makes it even more fun. Well, I'm excited to see the whole family this weekend for Troy's big day. Love you all!

A little late, but still 100%-DAD

2009-02-26T06:27:00.000-08:00

It is Thursday morning. I teach tonight, so I will go into work a little later-or maybe quite a bit later-we'll have to see. I do have to register my car and get a hair cut before I go in. Mom has been gone since a week ago last Tuesday. I miss her oh so much, but I am very grateful she was able to go and be with grandma and grandpa Marler for several days. Everybody's life is better when Mom is around. I think that is true of all Moms. I know it is true for Carson. I am grateful that Jodi is back. I had a sweet visit with their little family on Monday. I went and watched the Utes beat UNLV last night. I am looking forward to their game against BYU this Saturday at 3 PM. If any of you would like to come over and watch it, please feel free. I am looking forward to lots of things, but next Friday in the temple with all of our family together makes the rest pale in comparison. We had a wonderful couple (Dan and Barbara Workman) come to our Inservice at the Institute last week. They talked about the temple. I would like to share a few short quotes they shared with us in each of my blogs for the next few weeks. With all that goes into getting married it is easy to forget the most important of all the events, the covenants entered into in the House of the Lord. "You won't walk out of the doors and say, "Wow, I've been sanctified" but if your spirit has been teachable, you will be changed. You can receive the ordinances of the templde in a couple of hours, but you can't do sanctification in a couple of hours. That's why the Lord makes it possible for us to go again and again as we serve those who did not receive these ordinances in mortality." I love my family and look forward to being with you in the House of the Lord next Friday. May we all always be worthy to return.
DAD

A month of Traveling - Jodi

2009-02-25T09:35:00.000-08:00

So it has been a busy few weeks for mama Jodi. Beginning at the end of January I went to So. California...actually right next door to Disneyland for a Trade Show. It turns out Alison and Chuck were there at the same time. To bad we didn't hook up for some good Mickey Mouse food.
After California I was home for a bit, then went to England for another Trade Show called Stiches. So I did similar things that I did in California, selling my product. But I did stop of in Liverpool to see all the Beatles beginnings. I just posted details on this on Carson's blog so check this out...www.lilholbrookfam.blogspot.com

From there I was home for about 24 hours then off to Canada. In Canada I taught classes and did more selling and demoing of our new product. In Canada my car was broken into and Marth our beloved GPS unit was stolen. Poor Martha. I made some good friends in Canada however and really enjoyed all the people I was traveling with. We had a fabulous time.

Now I'm home. I've been back at work the last few days, but today Bubba and I will just hang out. Well he is sleeping now, and I'm working/posting, but this is good. My last day of school is tonight, well at least for this class series. I pick up again in March and then I'm officially in the program!!!

So there's the word on the street. Love my family. Gpa glad to hear you are doing better. Gma I wish I was there to help squeeze those oranges. Maybe Carson and I will make a trip down there soon and help out if we can...