Summer Update # 2

Hello all! Summer has been awesome so far. We've had a great time enjoying the sun. Click on the pictures to enlarge them. Vamos!

I would now like to throw in a quick advertisement for Rapid Progression Kayaking. My cousin-in-law works as a kayak trainer. These guys are the real deal. They hold kayak trainings here and there at local pools. They take their trainees on trips too if they'd like. If you have a party coming up and you don't have an idea of what to do, then try kayaking!

Here I am learning how to flip the kayak.

Chris wanted to get in on the action in Katie's kayak.

Katie & Liz practicing.

Christopher's hair was getting too long, so we had to cut it. Here he is at his first haircut.

Here he is at his first "real food" restaurant. We fed him rice cereal and he loves it.

I'd now like to introduce you to a man that's become a dear friend: Luis. He came to the US from Mexico and has been looking for work. A man in our ward not only gave him work, but he also allowed him to live in his home. I had the privilege of getting to know him as I assisted the missionaries in teaching him the gospel en espanol. But that's not all I helped him learn...

We took him on a tour of temple square. Here we are at the top of the conference center.


Luis joined the church in early June. He is such a neat guy that will do amazing things in his life.

Here's Chris swimming at a local pool with his mom and grandpa.

Here he is in his new swimming shorts from grandma.

Chris fills his pants better than I fill the fridge with otter pops.

In June the Averett/Barton clan took a trip to Bear Lake. Here you'll see Zach launching off his rocket in the annual rocket contest. He pretty much rulzz.

Devon, Zach, and Jayden playing in the sand.

The whole crew.

We went up to Oakley, UT for the annual Oakley National Rodeo. It was a blast! I have mad respect for any guy that would ride a bull like they do.

We were graced with a visit from Jake, Megan, and Tyler Richardson. It was Megan's birthday too! We went hiking up Mueller park and then went to gateway. You guys rock!

Chris got a little sleepy..

These next few pictures are of Derek, Nikki, and I going geocaching! If you haven't done it yet, you have to give it a try. Arguably one of my favorite hobbies.

Derek found the cache!

Nikki was the stalwart "direction giver" and codebreaker.

We stumbled upon an Anti-Government rally on the state's capitol. (PS - Ben Bernanke is the man!! I hope he gets a second term.)

Our Cache hunts took us to some statues and monuements to extract info to plug into the GPS.

Finally, that night Katie, Chris, and I went to Farmington to see fireworks. It was so funny to watch Chris as the night would light up. His eyes would go wide open.

That's all for now! In the words of the pointy-eared man, "Live long and prosper."

Memorial Day & Other

Hey all - We had a fun Memorial Day along with some other activities.

Derek, Jeff, and I met together on Memorial Day at Dad's grave. It had been almost 8 years since we'd been there at the same time. It was really nice.

Us with the Grandparents.

That evening we heard about a bagpipe concert at Lakeview Cemetary. It was really cool.

Aside from the music, we got some free cookies, drinks, and hot dogs!

Here is the "hot" bagpipe player that Arika stalked. Sadly, there were no repercussions.

The day afterwards Liz, Annie, Katie, Greg, Alex, and I went for a bike ride up the Bonneville shoreline to Ensign Peak. I grossly underestimated the degree of difficulty! Here's Katie trucking along.

Boo-yah! "Be At the Mountain"

Yes... Katie's biceps are way bigger than mine.

That Friday we went to a SLC Bee's baseball game. Chris ever so cutely showed off his portly belly.

Afterwards there was a sweet fireworks show (although it doesn't quite hold a candle to BOB's show through the opening roof)

The day after that, Alex, Mom, and I ran a 5k in honor 0f 5 Park City students who died 7 months within each other. One of which was a missionary that Alex trained in Brazil. Mom rocked the block at her first 5k!

Alex pulled about a 28 and I finished right around 30 minutes. It was really fun.

So there you have it! Summer is awesome! Hope you're all enjoying it as well. Remember, keep your friends close, but keep your otter pops closer.

Summer Update

Hello everyone! Hope you are all having a wonderful Spring/Summer. A lot has happened in the Barton family, so let's jump right into it...

A bunch of my good friends just graduated. They're off to medical school (Trent), Dental School (Shum), and Law School (Devin). Congrats to them. VP73 is off to do great things. Here we are in one last hurrah filled with Blitz, Mario Tennis, Guitar Hero, and more.

Next, here's Katie with some of her best friends at Graduation (Katie, Katie, & Amy). Way to go!

2/3 graduated in the family

Russel also just graduated (and rocked the GMAT!)

Christopher is a poser. A cute poser.

The official deed.

During the graduation speeches, Chris got all excited and decided to blow out is cute outfit. So we had to haul it out in a garbage bag (thanks Janene, Annie, & Liz).

The proud parents and graduates.

It is Patch tradition to visit Escalante and Southern Utah during Easter. So instead of going Easter weekend, we all went down directly after graduation. It was a really fun visit. Here you will see me, Steve, and Russ spending our time trying to fish with a little blow gun and darts.

Lower Calf Creek Falls 3 mile hike.

Chris didn't seem to mind the hike, but neither would I if someone carried me there and back.

Later we hiked through some slot canyons called "Spooky Gulch" and "Peek-a-boo." There were times that the walls were about 1 foot apart, so we took Chris out of the carrier and just passed him along the canyon.

Hiking through.

Our Christmas Card

I post this mainly to highlight Russel's derriere

We also couldn't pass up some awesome Geo-Caching. This one had me and Steve hiking up one mountain, only to find out that the coordinates were off. As usual, Russ found the ammo box. We also found another one by lower Calf Creek Falls.

This is near the Upper Falls. Here I am doing a gainer into the freezing cold water.

There was also a fun moss slide.

Here Russ and I doing some more dives.

Greg doing a masterful front dive. Russ, Greg, and I were the only ones to actually dive. Hopefully next time the others will jump too.

Chris hiding in the rocks.

I also turned 24 recently! Thanks Liz for the otter pops and the sidewalk display.

Excellent dinner with the Padres at Maccaroni Grill.

Yay!

Katie also got to celebrate her first real official Mother's Day. Chris was kind enough to give her a card that he personally signed.

That's all for now! Katie and I have moved up to North Salt Lake for the summer while I prepare Level 1 of the CFA exam. In June I'll start work at Alta Capital which will be a great opportunity. We're loving life and our little man. Come visit us and we'll shred at Rock Band or perhaps find a hidden gem of a movie at the Davis County Library.