Summer Update #3

Hello All. It has been almost 2 months since our last post, so we have lots of ground to cover. First off, we'd like to say thanks to our parents for helping us have such a great summer. They were both very kind and giving. We are now back in "Happy Valley" for one more year till graduation. One great spot of news is that I passed L1 of the CFA exam! So things are looking up. Now let's look at the final months of our North Salt Lake Days.

For our 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY we went up to Jackson and Yellowstone territory. Here are Katie and Chris in front of the Snake river, just south of Jackson.

The Family Picture spot in front of the antler mausoleum.

Chris and I had a scary encounter with Bigfoot (Mom, eat your heart out; he's real!).

This is inside Yellowstone at the Excelsor Pots. We also went to Firehole and did some great swimming.

Eventually we made our way to West Yellowstone and enjoyed a free outdoor concert.

Chris loved the teeter-totter.

On the drive home, we dropped by Katie & Jeff's apartment in Rexburg. Beautiful place.

We took Chris to the Utah Children Museum - they had a great expo on frogs. Blue steel?

Nikki had a baby shower and so Derek, Jeff, and I seized the opportunity to go have some "Male-Bonding" time = goofy golf.

Aesthetically pleasing, no?

Now we enter the Annual Patch California trip. It was Chris's first time in California at the beach. Needless to say, he loved it.

There are very few times in a father's life when he can feel that he truly instructs his son in the paths of truth and righteousness. I felt said feeling when I brought Chris to his first Jack in the Box session. However, I did not allow him to suck on the tacos.

The Patch girls.

We also went to Sea World! We had a blast. Chris enjoyed chummin' with the sharks.

He enjoyed petting the rays too.

Shamu! Free Willy!

Our little Shamu was tuckered out after a long day of fun.

Don't worry, we saved Atlantis on the movie-based ride.. and we got soaked for it.

Chris and I both tried Skim boarding for the first time. I think he has better form.

Andando, echando perros a las mujeres.

Russ and Chris hangin out at the Condo.

We saw some cool reef sharks, rays, urchins, and a host of fish while snorkeling.

Now we enter the beach photos.

This time we tried our hand at SUP boarding (Stand up Paddle). It was super fun.

I gotta admit, the girls were probably better than the boys.

In short, we had a great time in California with the Patch's. Thanks so much!

Next is a shameless plug for Kelly Sansom. He took our wedding pictures and did a great job. He took some wonderful pictures of our chubby little man. Enjoy.

Last of all, we welcome Averie Barton into the world! Congratulations Nikki & Derek. We wish the best to the both of you... especially over these next few weeks. Have fun!

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."