Thanksgiving 2009

We decided to travel to Utah, rather than have the kids come home to California for Thanksgiving. We were all there except for Denae and Dave -- they were in Utah in September. We had a great few days............13 of us went to the movie, "New Moon". We hit the mall at 4:00 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving. Brett, Emily, Kaley, Dustin, Landon, Jill and I were at Target for the door busters and were successful at what we went to get. We also had a snow ball fight where i was injured with gash to the forehead, lots of blood, but no one was able to hit me with a snowball. We had a BYU party , watching BYU beat Utah in football. And enjoyed the few days.............some of the pictures are below, but as usual we didn't take many.

This was at Tanya and Scott's home on Thanksgiving night. Lots of pie and lots of neices and nephews, kids, and grandkids.

Grandma loves to read.

Kaley is the best Aunt ever. Kameron, Skyler, and Savannah love her too !!!

Sister Kaley and Brother Dustin. Both born on the same day, 3 years apart.

Walking the Mall with some of the kids during Thanksgiving break. Dustin, Jill, and Angie, along with some of the younger ones.

Jill and Angie ..............check out Mom's rolls on the left. They are "da best !!!

Chad and Julie with their new ice cream stand..............at the Southtown Mall in Sandy, Utah.

We will have to remember to take more pictues...............like the 13 of us at New Moon and then eating ice cream bars at the BOARDWALK.

Next big event.............CHRISTMAS !!!

San Diego Trip in October 2009

We planned a trip to the BYU/San Diego State game in October 2009. In addition to the football, we had to do some golf. We met Ernie and Bill Blodgett.............along with Chad and Devin and did some golfing, footballing, Sea World...ing, and eating. We had a great couple of days and BYU even won the game. Chad won the golf. Mom and Landon had fun at Sea World.

Ernie at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Site of the 2008 U.S. Open.

Devin's awesome follow-thru as it hits the ball 300 yards.

Chad trying to hit it 305 yards to outdrive is little brother.



The Golfers at Torrey Pines.

Dad just trying to hit the ball .............let alone 300 yards.

Ernie winding up for a smash.

Bill Blodgett and Denny

I guess this got in cause i missed the ball the first time. Mulligan.

We watched BYU beat San Diego..............great game , great day. Check out Landon's cool shades.

Landon and Mom went to Sea World in San Diego. Big Fish.

Cute seal.

Another cute babe............

The car we took down the highway to San Diego

We had lots of fun and enjoyed the weather, BYU game, historic San Diego, and of course one of the greatest golf courses in America -- Torrey Pines.

HALLOWEEN -- OCTOBER 2009

This is Landon during Homecoming Week on Michael Jackson Day. He's got some new moves.

Mom got these teeth and wanted to me to look about as scary as I could................I looked like this at the Ward party and most people did not know who I was until they saw mom.

This was Mom and she looks good no matter what she wears. And dressed back to her roots.

Me again..............looking pretty weird. If you look close enough you can see the resemblance between me and Chad and Devin.

The videos below are from Landon showing the grandkids what our house looked like when we gave out candy Halloween night. He had fun.........as the doorbell rang, he would shoot the fog machine and the girls would scream.



This is what the house looked like right before it got dark.

Halloween is over for another year. We only had about 60-70 kids show up at the door. But it was fun, and now we are left to eat all of the candy. Mom is going to look for some more teeth for next year. There were lots of comments today at church as to how I looked. At least for a night i had a "little piece of the glory".

KALEY IS OFF TO REXBURG AND THE COLLEGE LIFE !!!

This Temple sits right on the edge of the campus and is simply breathtaking !!!

Kaley outside of her dorm. She lives on the other side of this wall -- 50 yards from campus.

This is her bedroom with her desk below the bed.

This is the kitchen where she is always trying to clean.........just like her Mom.

This is Kaley saying goodbye as we left........do i see a tear or three. Love you Kaley and we will miss you tons. The house will not be the same without you around to stir things up.

This is one of Kaley's roommates........Chrissie.......from England with a great accent.

We are thankful for Brett and Emily in helping Kaley get settled. They have become very close -- and are only about 5 minutes away. Thanks Brett & Emily for being such good friends.

Dadders and the Kaysters.

Mommers and Kaley -- two very beautiful young ladies !!!

Another view of this beautiful site. It can be seen from where ever you are on campus and pretty much in the whole town of Rexburg.

LANDON TURNS 14 -- LAST ONE AT HOME !!!

Landon had his 14th birthday last month and he got some sweet presents.

The snake looking thing is actually a Sasquatch Nike Driver with a Nike cover.

This is our little baby that is now 14. Next year he gets to ride the Scooter to school.

Landon turned 14 in September and is now alone with mom and dad at home. It stinks to be him right now.............except he gets Mountain Mike's pizza every weekend. Watch out girls........Landon is now in high school.

More Half Marathon Pictures

We had so much fun running we have to keep posting pictures................We also publish this blog site into a book and it becomes a pretty good Family History.

Here we are after the race looking at our official times posted on the internet. I love my IPhone.........so does every one else in the family. We have 7 Iphones total among us all. Notice Jill looking at my time and thinking, "How was Denny's time so close to mine?" And of course Dustin could care less about the times...............he just knows someone has a camera !!

A few of the runners.......Kimberly, Jill, Denae, Denny, and Dave.

We were very proud of Landon for finishing this race with an extremely hurt TOE......which he destroyed a few days earlier at "Jump on It".

HOBBLE CREEK, UTAH HALF MARATHON

The Half Marathon Group -- August 2009. This is the group on Saturday night eating ice cream. We deserved it after running the half marathon...........next year we all plan on running. Right ?
Cheering section . Come on kaley....run with us next time. It's the "best" !!!

Mommers the Runner !!!! I've been trying to catch her for 34 years !!! Maybe some day.

FINISHED !!!!!! Notice my cheering section.

Denae looks like she is having fun.

Dave did well. Time......1 hour 47 minutes.

We had a great day as twelve of us ran....Mom, Dad, Julie, Denae, Dave, Kim, Emily, and Landon. In addition, Kim's sister Marissa and Julie's Dad, brother Luke, and sister-in-law Emily ran with us. 1,200 runners in all entered the race. The weather was great, the course was absolutely beautiful, and we were all happy to have it over with. However, we are already talking about doing another one and getting the men involed.......like Pete, Chad, Devin, Brett, and Dustin. Angie plans on running, also. We haven't convinced kaley yet as she thinks we are crazy. The pictures below are a start. We will find some more later on.

Brett and Dustin kept popping up during the race to make sure we were all still alive. They had fun, but wanted to run. Next time they will be running.

Here's the "oldest" member of the race team. There were 12 of us in total. Great day !!!

Mommer's is the runner.....time.....1 hour53 minutes......13.1 miles.

Getting tired..........final count 1 hour 59 minutes.........legs tired.

Jill looks so good and having so much fun i had to put the picture in twice.

We are proud of Landon for finishing without any training..........2 hours 29 minutes.

Denae and Emily did well. Emily ran it in 1 hour 58 minutes (beat me) and Denae did it in 2 hours 8 minutes. Don't they look cute and happy the race is over.

Julie is THE runner in our family. She has great form, knows what she is doing, and beat us all. She ran with the "men" in this race as she was in front. Her time was 1 hour 39 minutes.

Emily crossing the bridge as she sees Brett in the distance waiting.

Kimberly finishing strong. Her time 2 hours 7 minutes.

We had tons of fun.............the run was hard........but rewarding. And it was so much fun to have the family there to root us on. Angie even went and got balloons and had some treats at the end of the race. We trained for several months and did it !!!!! Great experience. I would recommend it to anyone.

Dustin is back from His Mission

Waiting for Dustin !!!

He made it. I always knew he would.

Happiness !!!

Safe at Home after two years away !!!

Kaley's Graduation from Northgate High School

We love you Kaley !!!

We knew you could do it !!!

Party Time !!!

All the Kids Finally Together Again after Four Years

First time all the kids were together in four years.

All the girls in the Blodgett Clan. Which one is the Mom?

Mom and Dad after almost 34 years of marriage.

The Serious Bikers!

Mom and Dad are killing it on their bikes! They just sent us this video of them at the top of Mt. Diablo. I love this picture of mom and dad, mom looks like she loves dad, and dad is just being cool.

Aren't they awesome! Sound off!

Waking the Bennett Up

For those of you missing the bennett, I thought I would share this.

Kaley's Senior Ball

Senior Ball 2009

Kaley looked really pretty in a coral gown and 5 inch heels with her hair and makeup by mom and Denae.

She went with 6'6" Eastan Bunch a really good friend.

Just wanted to get them closer in this picture!

Without the ladder!

Kaley and Kelly

The cute girls!

Kelsey Cropper, Kelly Peterson, Kaley, Abby Lloyd, Christine Assily, Emily Stiener.

Memorial Weekend 2009

On Memorial Day we met Dave and Denae and family at Round Valley State Park for a hike in the beautiful East Bay hills!

We hiked 3.5 miles to get to this picnic table...it was a little hotter and dryer than we expected!

This is the hot and dry part.

It must be a Blodgett thing, everywhere we go we find snakes! After the hike we cooled off with a refreshing dip in the pool. Even Denae and Mom got in.
And, of course, what is Memorial Day without burgers and hotdogs?

It was a fun day.

The End

Weekend in Monterrey

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

(Can this be your official thank you card?)

We had the greatest weekend. It was soooo much fun, relaxing, eating, movies, hiking, biking, hot tubbing, sauna-ing and shopping!

So thank you to all of my sweet children, Pete, Angie, Denae, Dave, Chad, Julie, Devin, Kim, Brett, Emily, Dustin, Kaley and Landon.

Our first stop was the Gilroy outlets where Dad picked out a new dress for me and made me get it for my upcoming birthday. It is really nice. We also got exercise clothes and shoes.

And a new golf shirt!

Next, the fabulous Embassy Suites rooms.

What's there to eat?

Biking the beautiful coast.

Weekend in Monterrey II

We ended our bike ride at this fun lighthouse built around 1850. Then headed back the way we came a total of 13 miles.

On the back to our hotel we stopped on Fishermans Wharf for a delicious bowl of clam chowder with bread!

Saturday morning we had a great breakfast at the Embassy Suites and then headed out to hike in Point Lobos National Park.

The views were breathtaking.
We saw lots of sea lions, deer, rabbits, and even a coyote but no whales.
It was such a fun hike with only a few people, I wish we could take you all there!

Weekend in Monterrey III

We rode our bikes on the famous seventeen mile drive. Starting in Pacific Grove and going a bit past the Pebble Beach golf course and then we turned around (avoiding the worst of the hills and seeing the best of the ocean views) and went back.

Denny's favorite part of the whole trip was visiting Pebble Beach again.

Here he is on the 17th hole. Yes, we walked all over the place!

It was really beautiful.

Mother's Day 2009

Today was Mother's Day and we are very grateful for my Wife and Mother of our 8 children. All the kids decided to go in on a gift for Mom, instead of 8 little gifts. So they wanted me to take some video of when she opened their gift to her. The video below shows her excitement. We love you Mom !!!

Jelly Belly Love

The very day after Easter when we were all filled up on Easter candy we decided to head out for more and went to the Jelly Belly Factory! It was a blast. I meant to post this awhile ago but I especially like the picture of Mom and Dad and their hats on. Oh yeah, AFTER the Jelly Belly Factory we went to Fentons. We were in need of more sugar I guess.! Blodgett's can't get enough Sugar!

WICKED

Last night was amazing!

We went to the play Wicked in San Francisco.

Denae and Dave went with us too.

We drove together and Denae read us a summary of the story on the way so we could be prepared. Then got dinner at Subway and candy at Walgrens and settled in for a great show.

It was really good! When can we go again?

Eastan

Yesterday, Eastan Bunch asked Kaley to Senior Ball by drawing a chalk outline of his body on our driveway complete with caution tape and a note saying, "I would die to go to ball with you".

He knows she is a Jack Bauer fan.

This video was her answer.

Mom and Dad Bustin' a Move

This is Kaley... Mom, Dad and I got home from church today and I quickly grabbed my camera to catch Mom and Dad totally bustin' a move. I'm sad to say I missed a lot of their greatest moves because I was in there dancing with them before I thought to grab my camera. But here they are... the Mommers and the Dadders!

The Lion King Game

So during the wedding dinner we learned that Brett and Emily play fun games on road trips. One of those is the "Lion King Game". The object of the game is to imitate the intro song as accurately as possible. I guess Brett is the very best at it and all the rest of us do it wrong :) You be the judge....

Some Videos From Our Ski Trip

Kaley falls


Brett on the lift











Landon




Landon and Brett




Brett Jumps




the top

Family Ski Trip

We went up to Kirkwood on Friday. It was mommers, Denae, Brett, Kaley, Landon and Landon's friend, Landon. We had a blast. It was a sunny day, very warm, and not crowded at all. The snow was pretty good at the top, a little icy and slushy at the bottom, but definitely good enough!! It was a good day with one minor incident when Denae fell off of the chair lift. LOL! Here are some pictures and within the next day or two I will put some videos on too.

This photo shows how steep it was at the top.

The Landons

Check out that cliff.

I had never skiied with Landon before so it was fun to see him. He's good!

Kaley from the lift.

Kaley fell and I took a pic. Sorry Kays.

Mommers from the lift.

More on the Road to the Championship !!!

Kaley & Courtney

For the next chapter in the game against Pinole Valley, go to Denae"s link. Northgate won 66 to 39. Kaley had 3 three-pointers in the third quarter and ended with 10 pts. Championship game tomorrow against Carondolet at St. Mary's College. Denae has some pictures at this link,

http://denaeharlow.blogspot.com/

Stay tuned for a blog after tomorrows game.

GO BRONCOS.

Kaley "Big Game" Blodgett

Kaley, Kelly, and Val are the three graduating seniors from the girls varsity team 2009.

They are currently 23-3 and on their way to the Northern California Championship game.

The following pictues show number 13 at work. Kaley is fun to watch and has become a

defensive specialist and a deadly shot from 3-point land.

Northgate played their first game in the playoffs last night. The had a tough going for 2 1/2 quarters, but Kaley got hot and the game was over. She shot something like 12 for 17 from the field for 31 points. She also broke a Northgate High School record with 7 three-pointers.

THIS WAS WHAT WAS WRITTEN ON THE NORTHGATE WEBSITE

Broncos run past Montgomery - advance to Semi-Finals. Kaley Blodgett or "Big Game" Blodgett as coach Sopak refers to her, stepped up on center stage and delivered and delivered and delivered..... In all Blodgett netted 31 points, including 7 three pointers, which set a school record for 3 pointers in a game for the Broncos. Blodgett may have stole the show but the Broncos once again played outstanding team basketball with four players scoing in double digits, Janine Loutzenhiser scored 15 points, Kelly Peterson scored 11 and Kendra Hessel scored 10....... and of course Blodgett's 31. Val Middleton and Kelly Peterson both grabbed 9 rebounds and Courtney Hamilton flashed with 11 assists. Montgomery put up a great fight but in the end the pace of the game was just too much for the Vikings. With the win the Broncos move to 23-3 and advance to the Semi-Finals next Wednesday.

Christmas

Christmas was kinda small this year with only three of us left at home but definately rewarding.
Brett and his wii

landon and his itouch

Kaley and her laptop

That is pretty much all the pictures we got of christmas because we were so busy playing with our stuff!

Hike to Eagle Peak

Landon had monday off and we decided to go for a hike to the top of Eagle Peak.

Landon on the trail

enjoying the view

Moms superwoman pose

Landon hugging the top

sittin on the edge

awesome view

After lunch on the top we headed down the mountain and ended up on a trail that was taking us farther and farther from where we parked the car. Since we were on a schedule we took a trail that was basically a water trail and ended up in the middle of nowhere fighting our way through bushes and poisen oak. After we got through the bad part we came out in the middle of some field, stumbling in the grass to get to a trail. We found it and walked about a mile to get to the car. It was a really fun hike and me and mom couldn't help but laugh at ourselves and the way we emerged from the forest with twigs and leaves sticking out all over us and our legs all scratched up.

Christmas Eve 2008

We had a great time on Christmas Eve at Mom and Dad's.... we wish everyone could have been there.

We had a delicious dinner, the nativity, dancing, stories and a yummy dessert.

Mom read her childhood book "Davey's First Christmas."

Mary rides into Bethlehem.

Brett was the donkey and enjoyed munching on some grass while the scriptures were being read.

The dessert was waffle cones dipped in dark chocolate with peppermint pieces on it and peppermint ice cream inside.  (recipe courtesy of Sophie).

Kaley's New Ride

Yes, It's Red!

When she saw it she said, "Here comes Kaley!" No one will miss her now!

What should we name it?

I do not want to call this car "the red car" or "the Honda". We don't have a good track record in using things name. I still call the cat "the cat".

Bye Bye Jeep

Well, the Jeep finally bit the dust. Here it is getting its last tow.

It has seen alot and had adventures with everyone.

Angie got to drive it brand new. She and Sybil christened it by backing into each other.

Denae rear-ended a lady while on a quick trip for a bagel and was backed into by a girl in a parking lot.

Chad drove it so slowly when learning to drive that I had to keep telling him to speed up.

Devin hit someone while looking at friends as he was leaving school. And locked himself out of it countless times!

Brett made me chase the jeep down the street to get his necklace.

Dustin was rear-ended and the insurance paid us 1700.00, that was all that they said the Jeep was worth then. He left it with yellow paint on it from the poles at Northgate.

Kaley's only wish was to get to drive it like the other kids! She drove it on empty for weeks at a time.

Halloween 2008

Dr. Suess's Thing 1 and Thing 2!,

aka: Kaley and Kelly.

And they can both wear these warm footies at school next year!

This is what they wore for the trunker treating.

Yes, Kaley did go around and get candy too.

Landon as a mountain man.

He was a ghost for tricker treating and a GI Joe at school.

The dress-up bin still comes in handy.

Missing Matt

Yesterday was Matt's last day living as a Blodgett.

We are sad to see him go but I wonder if he feels the same way.

I got pretty good at saying, "go ask Matt" whenever Landon wanted help with his homework.

I will miss that!

Denny was happy to have someone else to enjoy sports with....we didn't enjoy the BYU game, although we watched it.

Matt is probably already missing his comfy leapard print bed.

And I know he will miss being beat at fast scrabble...j/k... we will not miss being beat at fast scrabble!

He has promised to visit once in a while ...I think at least during the world series.

Bye-Bye Matt

Protect Marriage!

Hey family... First of all it is snowing already here in Rexburg... I am freezing my bum off! But I just wanted to make a quick post about this whole proposition 8 subject. I have recieved some emails and looked up some videos that I have found interesting... We have a big fight in front of us. This first video is the news clip that Dad sent us,
http://cbs5.com/video/?id=40324@kpix.dayport.com,
This next one is from a Sister missionary that I served with... it is an interesting video,
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1815825713,
This next one is the video clip from Elder Bednar answering young adults questions,
http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/media/mediaplayer.swf?media=http://broadcast.lds.org/newsroom/video/flv/bednar_edit02_150k.flv&type=FLV,
This next one is a video from young adults about gay marriage,
http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/media/mediaplayer.swf?media=http://broadcast.lds.org/newsroom/video/flv/Prop_8_Young_People_Master_150k.flv&type=FLV,
Finally this last one is about a first grade class in San Francisco that took a field trip to the wedding of their teacher and her partner,
http://www.protectmarriage.com/article/first-graders-taken-to-san-francisco-city-hall-for-gay-wedding

I recieved my ballot yesterday and have never been more excited to vote. Emily got an assigment from her bishopric this week to volenteer at least four hours in the BYU-I calling center to call undecided voters in California. Alot of the men and woman I work with also have been recieving calls in their wards and stakes. They are helping us out up here and in Utah. There has been talk that if this passes, newly weds wouldn't be able to recieve pell grants at BYU becuase we do not support gay marriage. Also that we would have to get married first civily and then in the temple. There are two websites that I really like, http://www.preservingmarriage.org/ this is the church site, and then the site of the colalition is, http://www.protectmarriage.com/.
All this has been pretty interesting and I know that it has been the topic of conversation in California for awhile now but it is now the topic of conversation here in Rexburg. I love you family, your "da best" and I hope we can get this to pass. Thought you might find this interesting.

Its True my amigos... !

I am engaged... for now I will just refer you to the Crowley Blog... I will do a post later when I have more time! But to see the ring and some pics go to

http://www.thecrowleycrew.blogspot.com

Sure love you, and my FIANCEE!

Dustin, Mission President's Assistant

Dustin wrote me just a quick email this week to say that he was too busy to write.

It does looks like they are very busy!

Is he caddying for the President?

J/K

I'm glad he gets to have a little fun too.

Lando's Birthday

13

Yes, you're looking at a TEENAGER!

I wish I could say that he only looks like one but...his bedroom looks like one and he sometimes acts like one too! (And the rest of the time he looks like a monkey and acts like one too!)

Mississippi Mud cake!


Brett found this for him in San Francisco, they kinda look like twins!

The Denner's birthday

Here are some pictures of Dad on his birthday. He had a great birthday and although I didn't get a picture of him with all his presents. I did get him with the golf clubs.

Just in case he hasn't written his thank you notes, he loved the gift certificates, shirt, meat and BBQ sauce from Kinders, ding dongs, candy and and M&M's.

He also got this flag from Dev and Kim ,and was excited to hang it before the first game.

Dylan Edrington, whose family lives across the street and hangs a UCLA flag...literally snuck out of his house and ran to his car to avoid Dad after that game. BYU 59--UCLA 0
Why is Brett wearing Utah colors?

Fall Fashion Show II

After viewing Denae's Fall fashion show on her blog I thought I would post Kaley and Landon in some of their new school clothes.

Kaley was "too tired" to try on more than one outfit!

Kaley in front of the Jeep painted for her senior year!

Still running, when she can afford gas!

He should have been a superhero!

Lakin's smile

He's started to smile a lot and I love it! He's just such a sweet, cuddly, and cute little boy! Here's some pics!

Family Night in Benicia By The Water

My Costco Experience!

So I thought I would blog about my recent experience with Costco. First of all a little background. I am on vacation/break because I have been working and going to school since I got off my mission a year ago (however there is no money to prove that I have been working). My point is that during this summer I have chosen to sleep in more that normal. Yesterday my Mom come barging into my room around 9:00 am and starts listing off a million things I have to do... keep in mind that I was just awaken from a deep sleep so I was already confused as to what was going on... She said, "Brett listen, I need you to bake a batch of cookies before noon so I can take them to a luncheon. Then I need you to go to Costco to get oil, eggs, avocado, and hot dogs. Then could you wash the sheets of Landon's bed for Chad and Julie. Then if you could pick up the house please." She was very polite and nice about it. The first thing I said is, "Could you please write that all down and leave me a list before you leave with Kaley?" So the cookies and the sheets and the picking up were easy and fast. I then got in the car and headed for Costco. I flashed the Costco card and entered. Ok I have been to Costco plenty of times but never by myself. I had just a few things on my list but felt like I was a white man dropped into the middle of Tokyo!! I had no idea even where to begin. To add on to that there is no one really to ask... everyone that is in Costco seems to know exactly where to go. I was pushing a cart but getting bumped around and felt like everyone was racing to see who could shop the fastest.

I managed to get everything on my list except for the oil. I called my mother who was a little annoyed because I had called a number of times before and I asked her where I could find the oil. My mom has been shopping at Costco for maybe 30 years. She directed me through the phone to where I could find the oil. I hung up and then realized that there were what seemed to be millions of different kinds of oils. Corn oil, safflour oil, olive oil... I called my mom again and she said to get the one we always get. HELLO... I don't do this every month.... and I certainly don't pay attention to the oil we have because when do I ever use oil! Then I proceeded to check out. An old man cut me in line but I didn't say anything cause he was only buying a few items. Then as they were scanning my items they asked if Jill was there. I said no why... they said well she is the one with the account. I said well I am her son... Then the wouldn't let me use her credit card and wouldn't take my VISA credit card (who doesn't accept VISA? Hello?) So I had to use my debit card and I was lucky that I had enough money in there! Anyways that was my experience which was a little scary but I managed. When I got home to prepare for the BBQ I had to run to Safeway two more times after that to make sure we had everything!


Everything turned out great though and it was a lot of fun!!

High Adventure!

This past week Mom, Dad and I went on High Adventure for girls camp. It was tons of fun and very adventurous, almost to the point of deadly. We'll tell you details and stories when we see you because its too much to type. The first day we went rappeling. 80 ft cliff. The second day we climbed Half Dome. 17 miles in one day. The third day we went on a 1500 ft zipline 60 ft up in the air at Moaning Caverns. The fourth day we went whitewater rafting on the American River, classes 3, 4 and 5. Friday we went on a 14 mile bike ride up in Tahoe on the famous Flume trail. Very hard and very terrifying. Its a miracle no one died. Then we came home. Fun week.

Here are some pictures.

This is me and Moriah Doman dangling our feet over the edge. Mom and dad were freaking out.

We all made a huge deal about this because Kelly started reading the Ensign in the car and she came across this article which basically says how this girl got converted because she went to girls camp and read a touching article in the Ensign. We had to get a picture =)

Lakin is here!

Welcome to the family Lakin. We love you so much!

Summer Pictures!

So I have done some posts over the last couple of weeks but I haven't had any pictures... here are some of the pictures! They are from the air show, floating down the river, camping and our visit to Utah. Sorry there are so many but I hope you enjoy... Love you all!

We made this pizza and then ate it in the park... was a double date the girls planned!

This was the Rexburg Air Show... it was way good!

Floating down the River!

"This is the Place"

These are from our hike in Yellowstone!

Sorry they are out of order!

Please go to my blog and leave comments sharing your experiences with the good old Jeep.

Click here

Wyatt!

Here are some pictures of Wyatt! Devin and I wanted to thank Jill, Denny, Lando, and Kays for coming to meet Wyatt. It was great to see you guys.


This was Wyatt's first prayer! :)



Below is one of our very first family photos all together.






This picture was taken after a bath. I think its super cute!

First of all, I would to thank Brett for keeping the Buzz alive!!!

Second of all, I would like to share a snippet of a conversation I had with the Bretters just moments ago. It made me laugh. Very typical Bretters.

Brett: So I went camping in Yellowstone this weekend!

Me: How fun!

Brett: Yeah, we saw a bear.

Me: Really? That's so cool... what kind of bear?

Brett: Well, I'm not so good at telling bears apart but I kind of narrowed it down. I know it wasn't a polar bear. I'm pretty sure it wasn't big enough to be a grizzly. So it was definitely a brown bear or a black bear.

Me: (dying laughing) I think you narrowed it down about right.

Brett: Well, I'm no Steve Erwin that's for sure!


The End. Maybe you had to be there. But it was funny. I love to hear about Bretters' adventures.

Now, Dev and Kim. I know you're tired but can we please get some anxiously awaited updated pictures of Wyatt! Who does he look like? I need to know.

Awkward Moments!

Ok so first one... I was walking home yesterday in the Rexburg 85 degree weather. I am a healthy kid and because I am healthy I sweat (a little) when it is hot and I am briskly walking. I crossed the street and was about 200 yards from the entrance to my apartment complex. All of a sudden a girl from my ward came out of the middle of nowhere and linked arms with me!! She is not to attractive, to me at least!... She linked arms with me and started to talk to me. My first thought, Um please get your big arm off my soon to be very sweaty arm!. My second thought, are you serious right now? My third thought, what is going on and please let me walk home in peace? I couldn't believe it... I asked her what her name was and was very nice to her. We walked with linked arms for like 100 yards and then she split off and went back to her apartment. I was very confused and was trying to think if she had to do that for a class or if she is just awkward. Not in a rude way but I hope that I don't "run into her again"!

The next one... Today I got a haircut and as I was sitting there I noticed that every other person there was talking to the person that was cutting their hair. I thought to myself, Am I suppose to spark up a conversation with this person? Aren't I kinda paying her to cut my hair and keep ME entertained for that half an hour? Also... when someone "plays with" your hair, it feels good and you get kinda sleepy.... right? Thus I don't really have a desire to talk... I think that I would rather just get in... and get out! I don't know... what do you all think?

A day in the Sun!

Ok so these last couple of weeks the weather here in Rexburg has been so nice. It has stayed pretty much in the 80s but as I was looking at the weather forecast this last week it said that Saturday it was going to be 90 degrees. I came up with the best idea ever... to rent a canoe from the campus outdoor center and float down the river with Emily. So thats what I did. I showed up Saturday to pick up the Canoe but they had double booked everything and there was no more left. So instead we got two river tubes to float down peacefully and enjoy the beautiful day. The date began and as we floated down, we ate our lunches and it was a lot of fun. We saw a baby deer and its mother drinking from the river. We saw a beaver swimming up stream with a branch in its mouth and we also saw a otter swimming around. But then it begun... The river started to branch off in different directions... there were forks and I didn't have any map and had never floated down the river before. We hadn't see any people or even signs of civilization for a while and so we didn't have anyone to ask!! We just kept choosing the bigger part of the river and the one with the most current. Then after three hours of floating down I started to wonder if we were ever going to arrive at the destination where my car was. Then the current stopped... I told Emily to hold on to my feet as I paddled... then the mosquitos started to come out!! Ok to make the story short it took us four hours to get to the park. The first three were great but then I had to paddle as my body was being eatin by mosquitoes... My roommate later counted and I had 119 bites on my back and they were all over my legs too... we finally did get to the park. But really what was I thinking, we could have ended up in the middle of no where! Also how am I not dead? How am I not lost? Do I have the West Nile virus? How is this girl Emily still talking to me? I might add that a flock of birds almost attacked us as we floated under and bridge where all their nests were! It was an interesting day and defiantly a fun memory!! (Sorry I don't have any real pictures!)

Backpacking in Zions

It all started about 10 years ago when I went to a family reunion in southren Utah and visited Zion's and Bryce National Parks. I loved the red cliffs and rock formations and I was told that you could backpack through incredible canyons. I really wanted to do that, but never got around to it. Then my brother Kevin sent me an email telling me that they had planned a trip and wondering if anyone in our family wanted to join them. So Landon and I packed up and drove 11 hours to St George and met Chad, Kevin, Justus, Marion, Travis, Dallin, Becca, Renae, Matt, Lance, Matt Pruitt, and Jake (our fearless guide who had done the trip before) and we had an amazing experience that we will not forget!

We hiked Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, slept under the stars and a very full moon...I almost wanted to ask someone to turn out the light!

Cooked great meals on our little propane stoves.

This is a huge blockage caused by flash floods. We had to take off our packs to climb over and down. It was much steeper than it looks.

Fat Man's Misery

On the way out! And Low on Water!

Welcome Baby Wyatt!

Wyatt Robert Blodgett was born at 7:17 am on Sunday, June 22, 2008

He weighed in at 6lbs, 2 oz and 20 inches long.

He is a really cute baby and the consensus so far is that he looks more like Kim. He definitely has her big beautiful eyes. 

I will let Devin and Kim tell the whole story later but they said it was okay if I posted a few pictures.

Congrats guys!!

BYU Grad/ Working Man!!

I must first apologize. This post has been long over due....please forgive me.

As many of you know Devin recently graduated from BYU with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management with an emphasis in finance! What an accomplishment! I am super proud of him, especially since BYU has a nationally ranked business program and Devin got to be a part of it! :) Below are some pictures of my handsome husband on his graduation day.


Here is a close up picture of the graduate!

Here are some pictures of Devin with Jill and Denny. Thanks for coming to celebrate with us. We loved hanging out with you! It meant a lot to us that you came to support him.


Here is Devin in front of the Tanner Building, which houses the school of business. Most of Devin's class were here.Here is another picture of Devin...notice the Y in the background. Nice camera work Jillers.


Above are some pictures of Devin and me in various places around campus.

Here is Devin with one of finance study buddies, Dallas.


Lastly, we ran into Mike and Marci on campus because Marci's sister-in-law also graduated on the same day. It seemed only appropriate that Devin got a picture with Mike on graduation day since these two have been inseparable since I have known Devin. Mike was a big part of Devin's BYU experience...intramurals, almost every class together, roommates, and living next door to each other once married.


Now, Devin has moved into a new chapter in life. He is a working man! He graduated with a job at Goldman Sachs! Way to go Dev! He started this last week. Here is a picture of him on his first day of work. Doesn't he look nice and if I might say so, very professional? So far, he has enjoyed it! Good work Devin! We are all very proud of you!

So what is it with people!!?!??

Ok so the rumor is that I am not that modest. Everyone claims to have "seen me" at one point or another. Yes I do remember Kim and that insident but I can't remember anyone else getting that privledge (teasin). Ok so yesterday there were some people over. I wasn't sure exactly who was over and I was getting ready for a date. I was just in my garments. Ya know the whole shirt tucked into the mesh bottoms. People don't look attractive like that and really they look pretty dang funny!! So I casually walked from my room into the bathroom. As I was half way I froze, just like a deer in headlights... a girl that I had just met was standing there staring at me. I quickly dove head first into my roommates room with a scream. ohh man! What an embarrassing moment... wow I was so scared to go out and see her again. So I got ready went out there and quickly looked at her and said in a soft voice, "sorry". So if I had boxers, or even briefs it wouldn't have been so bad. It would have been at least a little bit normal... but me in all white garments, with the shirt tucked into the mesh bottoms in just plain embarrassing!!

Mylie's Special Day

Thank goodness grandma had M&M's! A great bribe to get kids to smile for the pics!



What a wonderful day!!

The Blodgett Buzz is Alive!

Denae - thanks for setting this up, now i feel some ownership since I can publish posts with my name at the bottom.

So, first things first. What is everyones favorite color....(teasin).

LONG LIVE THE BLODGETT BUZZ!!!!

Boys will be boys

Well, I hope no one is embarrassed by this video...you all knew you were being recorded! These boys are pretty funny when they are all together!

It appears that The Blodgett Buzz has died.

RIP

A Little Competitive Spirit

Dear Family,

It seems, the Bob Blodgett family might be scheming to beat us in the family races at the reunion this summer! We must not let them prevail. Please start getting into shape.

CLICK HERE to read the post on their family website about trying to beat people.

And then go running.... they look tough in the pictures.

Denae

SHADOW

Our sweet family dog of 14 years passed away last week. Shadow was as loyal and good as they come. She was old and it was her time to go but still we will miss having her around.

The Grandkids did a balloon release in honor of Shadow. They sent balloons to her in heaven!

I didn't get a picture of everyone but here are the ones that I got.

Lexi

Caden

Logan

Macey

Savanah

Kameron and Preston

Brett

Off they go!

We love you Shadow!

Addicted

You know you are addicted to golf when you will play in this type of weather. Denny, Chad, Devin and Ernie got through 9 holes at Thanksgiving Point last week. They finally called it quits when they couldn't find their ball in the snow. Too bad it wasn't a better day but they have a fun memory and can say they played in a blizzard. 

This is what Landon has to put up with!

I was just looking at some pictures I had downloaded and found this sweet little video of Easter Morning. Watch Kaley's face. The whole thing reminds me a little of animals and "the survival of the fittest".

Landon is da best!

We had such a great time with Landon! Thanks for coming to visit Lando and for being so great with our boys. We had fun playing with the Mac, washing the car(sorry i put you to work), going to the Planetarium, park, on a hike, jump on it, and just hanging out. Thought I'd post a few pictures.

Kaley Goes to Prom! 2008!

Kaley went to prom tonight and looked so beautiful!

I had to post the pictures in a few different posts, so look at all of them and then comment on this one. Thank you.

This is her date Brett. He is very nice.
Trying to get that boutineer on!

The kids and I had to spy on them out the window getting in the car.

The Group Photos!!!

Remmeber when these girls were, like, 3? And now they're all old. It's weird!

President Blodgett??

Yesterday after church I was sitting in my friends apartment and we were talking about the recent student elections that took place here at BYU. A kid from our ward won the election and will be the student body president for this university. He has asked some friends from the ward to work with him on different commitees. I have learned that this kid and those that will be working with him don't pay for school. Tuition, book, lab fees, etc. are all paid for due to him being elected. He also has a part time job up on campus were he is required to put in 20 to 30 hours a week. Yes his work load will be great however he is the student body president of a major university and receiving money at the same time!! How great does that look on a resume! Anyways... I got to thinking that this type of stuff is in my blood... Brett Blodgett Student Body President of BYU-Idaho...! I would then have a part time job doing something important and fun and getting school paid for, while gaining experience and learning!! I want to hear your ideas... Should I maybe run for it? I was thinking that if elected I could pull any string I wanted and probably change my track to Fall, Winter or even get into BYU after my term was served. I was thinking that I could do some car washes and raise some money to run a sweet campaign that won't accept defeat. I asked Denae if she would come to Idaho to help me campaign and then I thought I could be like Mitt and have all the brothers and sisters come up and help me win. The Blodgetts would sweep through campus until my slogan, "Don't Fret, Vote For Brett" was sounded in every ear. We could give out free donuts, have a dunk tank, wear bright colors, have wrist bands, suckers, candy, and fun activities! If any family could pull this off it would be ours... so what do you think? Should I try to "get a little taste of the glory, to see what is tastes like?"... Let me know...
Should I run for office?

Front Row Seats!

Just the other week it was the last home team for the BYU basketball team. I had made previous plans to go with my good friend from the mission Matt Harris. The day of the game Matt calls me and tells me that he won front row seats for the game when he won a horse shoe throwing competition. So we had front row seats and we felt like we were right there on the court with the players. For sitting there we got a free t-shirt and then when the cheerleaders were running by I got the attention of one of them and asked her to get me a t-shirt... she did and threw it to me!! Two Free t-shirts!! The game was awesome! We won and got the trophy!! The cut down the nets and it was all right it front of our faces. When they were awarded the trophy they ran over and we all touched it and got to do a little celebrating with the team. After the game we went out and rang the victory bell and gave them all high fives. We got a picture with the Six Man Loyd also... here are some pictures!! (man I wish BYU-I had sports!).

Devin's Birthday!!

So, I thought that I would post a blog and some pictures about Devin's birthday on Saturday. After all, turning 25 is a big deal!




Here is a run down of the day:
- in the morning Devin and I went to Best Buy where he picked out a new wii game. Below is a picture of him enjoying it. :)

- Devin played in his intramural game with Brett and won by 1 point!! It was an amazing game. They were down by 8 with a minute and a half left. The Abillas and the Chad Blodgett's also came to the game for some moral support. Thanks for coming guys.
- We went over to Chad and Julie's new home and had a small party. Dev opened his presents and we had cake and ice cream.
- Dev and I went to Red Robin with Mike, Marci, and Brett. Dev had been craving the jalapeno burger there. Wait, is he pregnant? Teasin.

Anyway, here are some pictures from at Chad and Julie's. Also, at the bottom I included some pictures of me being pregnant per Denae's request. I must say that I felt sort of like an inmate getting my profile picture taken. Denae, the last picture shows the top that you and Dave gave me for Christmas. Thanks again!

Photos by Bretters

Brett was messing with my camera when he was home a few weekends ago. These are some of the pictures he took. Brett, you're such a photographer... you really "capture life."

Us in the Bathroom. Why were we in the bathroom anyway?

Lexi and Clayton hangin' on the couch

Dave always scaring baby Bennett

Poor Shadow... always left out in the cold


Julie always pickin' her nose

Brett, please stop harassing my daughter
Mommers... always in the kitchen

Julie always looking cute... me, always yelling stuff

Kays always posing

Mommers always happy for the camera

The End.

Northgate on to NCS Championship

Northgate eliminates Maria Carrillo
Amanda Johnson leads the Pumas with a game-high 13 points before fouling out
By PHIL BARBERTHE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A lot of people figured Amanda Johnson's high school basketball career would end on the court at Oracle Arena in Oakland, with her Pumas playing for the Nor Cal title. Instead, Johnson's tenure at Maria Carrillo ended on the bench. She fouled out of the Pumas' North Coast Section championship game with about 2:45 left, a key factor in Northgate's 39-32 victory at Carrillo on Wednesday.

The cold-shooting Pumas (28-2) were down 37-29 with three minutes left and desperately trying to claw their way back into the game when Johnson picked Kelly Peterson -- Northgate's best all-around player -- in the backcourt and headed for a layup. Instead, Carrillo's versatile star was called for the foul.Seconds later, the Pumas trapped a Northgate player deep in the backcourt, and Johnson tipped and intercepted a pass. But she was called for a charge on her way to the basket.She headed to the bench with five fouls, and Maria Carrillo's incensed fans emptied their lungs. The referee temporarily halted play to warn the crowd after someone threw an object onto the court.The Pumas would score only three more points after Johnson's fifth foul, on Ashley Morgan's 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining."The game doesn't come down to two plays," Johnson said after the game. "If I hadn't have fouled early, the situation wouldn't have been that. But it's hard. There's a physicality necessary in a game like this."Carrillo coach Steve Azevedo wasn't as diplomatic."The fifth foul, I don't know how you make that call in an NCS final. I don't know how you foul out the best player in the section on that call."In a disjointed game that saw both teams miss numerous open looks, Northgate led 13-9 after the first period and 18-15 at halftime. The pace finally started to heat up when each team score seven points in the final two minutes of the quarter.Johnson made a nice move along the baseline and drove for a layup, then put back center Ariana Demery's airball to give Carrillo a fleeting lead at 21-20. Northgate's Kaley Blodgett immediately answered with a shot from the perimeter to regain the lead. The Broncos' Peterson scored over Johnson, Demery completed a three-point play with a free throw (after a lane violation erased her miss), and Peterson struck again just before the buzzer after Northgate (25-3) beat the Pumas' press, giving the visitors a 27-24 lead.It was Blodgett, a skinny 5-foot-5 perimeter player, who became Maria Carrillo's nemesis. She nailed a 3-pointer with 5:23 left in the game to give Northgate a 34-27 advantage. And when Morgan hit two free throws to cut the deficit to five, Blodgett struck again with another trey."We knew right where she was supposed to be," Azevedo said. "We just didn't take care of that."Johnson led all scorers with 13 points. But hounded by a mix of zone and man-to-man defense, she never found the hot streak Carrillo needed to get to the Nor Cal finals. On the defensive end, she picked up a couple of fouls early and had to curtail her aggressiveness.Morgan had nine points for the Pumas, and Demery had five. Peterson led Northgate with 11, helped by Blodgett and Courtney Hamilton with 10 each.It was an abrupt end to an amazing season for the Pumas, the best in school history. Johnson will play at Oregon next season, but the senior wasn't ready to be excited about it Wednesday night."It's hard knowing your next game is not at this gym," she said. "I've been playing under Steve for three years, and I have a great amount of admiration and respect for him as a person. I'll maintain contact with him and the girls, but it's hard knowing they won't be a part of my everyday life. Change is inevitable, but that doesn't make it any easier."

Can you believe Kaley is 17!!!!!!!!

I can not believe that Kaley is 17 year's old. She has made the last 17 years very exciting for me and the rest of her family. Some of the memorable events of her life are:

Leaving home whenever she could as a toddler and all of us looking frantically for her. Once she was returned home by our very dusgusted neighbor ( she had taken a huge butcher knife with her)

Being bit by a squirrel

Getting a ride down from the top of Northstar by the ski patrol when they found that a six year old couldn't ski a black diamond run.

Watering my indoor plants with the outdoor hose.

Pulling the fire alarm during a basketball game at Foothill and they couldn't shut it off until the firemen arrived.

She caught a foul ball at the Oakland A's game.

Hiking Half dome with an eye patch.

Getting banned from the waterfront at girls camp for abandoning her sinking Kayak to win a race to the beach.

Ok, I could go on and on but maybe you can share some memories.

This is the day Kaley was born. We were really excited to have a little girl. Her big sisters especially!

Dustin has always declared that she is his present because she came on his birthday

Kaley wanted to be sure Dustin was there for their birthday this year too!

And Brett wrapped his present for her in his back pocket and made her get it out (an itunes gift card, so it was worth it!)

Happy 17th Birthday Kaley!

You're da Best!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUST-BALL!

It is Dustin's b-day this week (and Kaley's too... we'll highlight her later). Dustin is, of course, serving his mission in New Jersey BUT he does get to read this blog once a week when he checks his email. Dustin, we love you and hope you have a great birthday! We miss you but are so happy that you are setting such a good example and serving a mission. You're doing a great job and we LOVE to read your letters every week. Keep it up and always remember that all 27 of us (plus lots more people) are praying for you!

And now you're 20! Happy birthday you old fart! (And mom will never know who posted this and said that bad word mwaaahhhahahh!)

Now read the comments to see what everyone loves about you!!

Videos For Dustin

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUSTIN!!!

HE WANTED SOME VIDEOS ON HERE FOR HIS B-DAY! SO EVERYONE SHOULD ADD SOME. HERE'S MINE:

Background: Macey got in a little fight with a boy at gymnastics the other day. She has been obsessed with high school musical 2 music. There is one song that Gabriella sings that says, "listen Troy... I gotta say what' s on my mind, something about us doesn't seem right these days... life keeps getting in the way!" etc.

Anyway this boy got in her face and said, "I'm number one!" and I watched as Macey transformed into Gabriella and started singing that song to him. He was not happy and screamed he was #1 again... then they stuck their tongues out at each other. Nice.

This is me interviewing her about the fight and her telling me what she did.

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last Weekend, was DA BEST!!

Ok so even though sledding wasn't the first thing that I did this weekend I thought it was fo show one of the highlights so I decided to put it first. No one was going down this hill and I didn't see anyone take this jump, so I didn't quite know what to expect. As you can see I got tons of air and yes I did hurt myself. I have perfect form as you can tell but I thought I broke my tail bone. The second time it knocked the air out of me and then....

The third time I completely lost the tube and upon landing thought I was going to dislocate my shoulder!! This picture doesn't give in justice cause I was high in the air. But yes it was all worth it and yes I would do it again any day! Just call me Brodders lets do it, I bought a sweet tube!

Hecka cute couple!! They don't get much better than that!

So besides sledding Emily and I did alot of dancing. All Friday night was dancing up at the University of Utah at a huge institute party.

I also took Emily to the Mayan Restaurant, which was a lot of fun as we watched the Cliff divers do their little show. We felt like we were in the movie, The Testaments with Pahoran walking around!!Then Sunday night we spent walking around temple square and downtown Salt Lake. We were at the visitors center and listening to the Prophets testimony when we found out of his passing.

Overall it was a great weekend. We also went to the BYU basketball game, saw the movie "Bucket List", ate at an Italian Restaurant with a waitress named "Flow" (from Dumb and Dumber), made cookies, went to church, played the Xbox, walked around campus, and a snow ball fight!! It was a lot of fun! It was fantastic, da best!
Take it easy, XoXoxoXoOxoXxxoooxoxoxXooxOOxOXXOX

Kaley the basketball star!!

She might look small and sweet in this picture but....

SHE'S AN ANIMAL ON THE COURT!!

She had 16 points last night!

And for this "stay at home mom", in the dead of winter, with little excitement in her life, let me just tell you, it was exciting. I thought I was going to run onto the court and hug her and cheer with her every time she scored!

I was proud.
It was FANTASTIC!

She's also famous.
(See below.)



I had a little "taste of the glory" when I pushed my kids in a picture with Aunt Kaley the famous basketball player after the game.

Love you Kays!!

Brett and Emily

Brett is always on his cell, but paused for a moment to take a picture. Aren't they cute?!?

Devin and Kim

Still adorable after 2.5 years of marriage!

The Parents

Isn't this a great picture of mom and dad??
Do you like it better in Sepia or regular color?

Happy Birthday Lexi!!

Today is Lexi's birthday! She is 7 now! Wow! Let's all say what we love about this pretty girl!

Bennett is born!

Welcome little Bennett!

Happy Birthday Macey!!

It's Miss Macey's birthday! She is 3 years old! Isn't she beautiful?? Let's all say what we love about her! Happy Birthday Macey!!

Mylie is born!

Welcome to the family Mylie!

Happy Birthday Kameron!!

Kameron turned 10 today!!!

In honor of her birthday I thought we should all say what we love about her.

I love Kameron because she laughs a lot. She has a big, pretty smile, AND she is a very good example to all of the cousins.

Now, everyone leave a comment and tell us what you love about Kameron!

We hope you had a great birthday!




posted by Denae

Christmas is Coming !!!

We have lots of fun decorations, but it is hard to see them in these pictures. Actually the pictures don't make the house look as nice as it looks with all the Christmas stuff.

"Anyways"

We have our tree up and mom has decorated the house like she always does...............perfect. This picture doesn't make it look as nice as it looks in person.

The picture below is the Santa we have had for years. Doesn't he make you feel like you are welcome.
Well -- You are all welcome.

Landon and I added lights to the house and to the bushes. So it looks good at night and now we are ready for Christmas to get here. Listening to Johnny Mathias, Barbara Streisand, Bing Crosby, Kenny G, and all the new ones. "It's the best".

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS DUSTIN, ANGIE, PETE, CHAD, JULIE AND ALL THE KIDS. WE WILL MISS YOU IN CALIFORNIA.

I'm thankful to be alive

Mom and I had a talk the other day about all the mishaps I've had in my life. Dad and Mom reminisced on all the things that happened when I was little and told me about them. We tried to make a list. There were too many.

All the times I left the house when I could barely walk, like the time I took the butcher knife bigger than my body down the hill, bit by a squirrel, the ski lift, getting up the oak tree and then not being able to get down, walking along the edge of the banister in the kitchen, almost dying while kayacking to Mccovey Cove and many more.

People at school often ask for me to come visit their group at lunch and tell a story. No joke. I have so many and I am good at telling them, I exagerate and pause and use my hands...very entertaining.

Anyway that gets to the main reason of my blog. We have the whole week off of school for Thanksgiving and I have been veru busy hanging out with my friends. So yesterday Kelly and I were hanging out. We watched a movie, maked a cake, baked some cookies and ran some errands. Then we decided to go for a bike ride and Kelly wanted to go up to the old house (La Casa Via). We rode there and walked through the Moon's backyard up to the hills. We walked to the rope swing and continued on the trail toward "the lake". We were along that trail where very few houses are and heard a distrubace down at a certain house. We looked down and saw THREE, HUGE, rottweilers. When I saw the first one I thought it was A BEAR. That is how huge they were. The owners were out with them but then we saw them get in their car and drive away. We were sharing stories of rottweilers and pitbulls mauling people and all the things we've heard and saying how thankful we were for the fence they were enclosed in. We decided to head back and saw a HUGE hole in the fence. It looked like it had been made by the dogs. ( maybe they had broken through the fence and already mauled someone who walked on this trail?) Anyway, we were walking back and heard loud, vicious barking/growling. We look behind us and all THREE dogs looked like Chirstmas had come early and were sprinting as fast as they could up the hill right at us. My heart dropped to my stomach, I got all sweaty and my breathing came out in fast, loud gasps. I had pretty much given up hope and the fear of getting mauled to death right here on my old stomping ground was the only thing on mind. But maybe from all the Jack Bauer watching or all the times I had been in life-threatening postitions I was prepared for this. I grabbed Kelly by her arm and we started running away. I know your not supposed to run from a vicious dog(it will only chase you faster) but if we had stayed there they would have killed us. Menwhile, I am frantically looking for a tree for us to climb (we could not have outrun them) and a weapon of some sort to try and defend us. We could hear them barking and going crazy. I couldn't find a tree and I stopped and prayed. "Please don't let them kill us. Please let them not care about getting us anymore. Please let the dogs die." etc. Instead of going down the path we'd come up I threw Kelly off a cliff(hoping if we got down there they wouldn't be able to see us) and jumped down after her. We both nearly broke our ankles and were covered in dirt but we got home in one piece.

It was very VERY terrifying and another near death experience I can add to my list. Maybe my number was up when I was a baby and I'm messing with fate or maybe I have a mission here on Earth that I CAN'T miss and He has been trying really hard to keep me alive even though danger and trouble ALWAYS find me. That is my story and this Thanksgiving when we all go around the table and say what we are thankful for, my answer is "I'm thankful I am alive."

Kaley all dressed up for homecoming 2007!

doesn"t she look cute.

Kaley and her best friend -- Kelly.

They all went to PF Chang's for dinner.

All grown-up and ready to take on the world.

Halloween 2007

Landon got into the Halloween spirit this year. We had Dave, Denae, Lexi, Logan and Macey come for FHE and we made tombstones. Dave and Landon cut the boards and everyone painted. Here is our final product!

Las Vegas...Ohh Yeah!

Ok, Following the lead of Angie Denae and Julie. I took my camera to Las Vegas and took pictures! We had fun running around together and checking out all the great hotels. We think that the one we stayed in, the Mandalay Bay Hotel was the best. Even though Dad doesn't look like he's having a good time...he was!





This is the Luxor, where Pete, Dave and chad dropped pennies on people from the the peak.

This is the Excaliber.....KIng Arthur's castle I guess.

Dad in front of New York, New York. We rode the rollercoaster! Pretty wild!

MGM Grand.

And the Mandalay Bay

We ate in fancy restaurants, I had a massage, we went to a show and a movie and slept in...didn't gamble, but saw more nakie people than we wanted to! Learning from Denae, here is a picture of a lunch I had: a chicken, cheese and mushroom crepe and a chocolate brownie dessert crepe!

And last of all, they were having the world championship bull riding contest at the Mandaley while we were there. I tried really hard to get some pictures of the cowboys but they didn't turn out because of the delay on my camera!

Featuring Devin and Kim in Mexico!

Kaley's movie

This was fun. It didn't take too long either. It's my first one and its not that good. Enjoy!

Getting Grooovvvyyyyyy

Dad goes all out for Halloween

Ok, so we know that dad has an allergic reaction when he takes Advil...he also must be allergic to something in aspirin. He's pretty scary looking and these pictures don't even do it justice.

Christmas!!

Can you believe it is almost here! I love this time of year!

Julie and I are very sad that we won't be able to come home and party with ya'll. Take pics, and vid's and sign up on twitter so it will be like we are there with you.

Here is an interesting study conducted on our gift giving assignments...the names in italics are repeats from last year. Pretty much Julie lucked out getting gifts from Denae again, Pete lucked out getting gifts from Julie again, and Angie got robbed getting gifts from Devin again...Teasin' Dev!!

Love ya all!

Christmas 2006			Christmas 2007
Pete gives to Landon			Pete is giving to Devin
Angie gives to Denae			Angie is giving to Kaley
Dave gives to Dustin			Dave is giving to Kim
Denae gives to Julie			Denae is giving to Julie
Chad gives to Devin			Chad is giving to Dave
Julie gives to Pete			Julie is giving to Pete
Devin gives to Angie			Devin is giving to Angie
Kim gives to Dave			Kim is giving to Landon
Dustin gives to Kim			Brett is giving to Chad
Kaley gives to Chad			Dustin
Landon gives to Kaley			Kaley is giving to Denae

Christmas Gift Giving 2007

Guys, I drew names at mom and dad's to see who everyone has for Christmas. If you think you've already had the person you have, you're right. We've all had eachother before cause we have been doing it for awhile now. So don't worry.

Pete is giving to Devin

Angie is giving to Kaley

Dave is giving to Kim (is that awkward? hahahah just kidding)

Denae is giving to Julie

Chad is giving to Dave

Julie is giving to Pete

Devin is giving to Angie

Kim is giving to Landon

Brett is giving to Chad

Dustin............ WE MISS YOU!!!!! AND LOVE YOU!!! EVERYONE SEND DUSTIN SOMETHING.. HE IS ONLY IN NJ IT IS NOT HARD!

Kaley is giving to Denae

Landon is giving to Brett.

Sound good????

Christmas Presents

Hi Everyone,

Does someone want to draw the names out of a hat and post who got who for Christmas this year???

If not, I will do it tomorrow when I'm at mom's house.

I like to know ahead of time so I can think about it!

Denae

Rocky

Family - I really like this scene from the latest rocky movie. Life seems to beat down on us a lot with the various things we are all doing. But the trick is to keep movin' and to enjoy, as President Hinckley has said, the ride. I love you guys.

more pics

Read my blog to see others

Presidential Candidate Matching Game

Luke sent me a quiz from CNN that matches you up with the current Presidential Candidates. It was fun. So, here is the game.

Everyone in the family takes the quiz and then reveals who they match up with (first, second and third) in the comments. Then we will see who the hidden democrats in the family are!!

Click this link to start

Im Coming Out!!

Hello Dear Blodgett family of mine... First off I would like to say that I love you... and yes love is going to be the topic of this blog. I thought I would take a moment of your time to explain to you all how my love life is going. There are rumors going around about a girl named Emily Crowley from Benicia and its about time to set the record straight. Yes we did start liking each other many years ago in high school... and yes even though some beg to differ she was in high school and not elementary! But due to age differences and weird high school situations we did not deeply persue that love interest at that time. So now lets talk about today! Yes I have dated her again, yes I loved it, yes I did look her up on facebook as soon as I got home from the mission, and yes she did also look me up as soon as I got home. Yes our dates are fantastic, yes they are da best, yes we click, yes we are physically and spirtually attracted to one another, and yes all of this is perfectly normal for sons and daughters of God. So here is what we are doing about this attraction. Umm well we are dating, pretty much every week while at the same time dating others to get to know other personalities (her idea). We are classified to everyone as just friends or teased by others like my roomates as engaged. We dont know the future and we cant tell you what will happen but we are going to keep enjoying one anothers company, lips, and friendship, until we figure things out. So you all need to take it easy and go read some books. I appreciate your love and opinions and would love to answer any questions sent my way.

Fall Family Fling-a-ding!

On Saturday Julie and I and Clayton and Conner had a BLAST at Jump On It! It is a new business that is filled with trampolines and bouncy houses. See the videos below…

So…this gets us to the next point. October in Utah is our favorite time of year. The weather is perfect, the best activities come out, and we sit and talk about the upcoming holidays!

This October we are officially inviting the Denny and Jill Blodgett’s and the Dave and Denae Harlow’s to come to Utah to party with the Chad and Julies Blodgett’s, Devin and Kim Blodgett’s, Pete and Angie Abilla’s and the Bretters. Here are just a few things that we will do….

1. Corn belly Maze: Last year…the maze won (I had to give up cause we couldn’t figure out where to go!). I am bound and determined to make it through this maze this year if it’s the last thing I do – but I need all of your help! There are also a ton of fun things for the kids. Check out the link: http://www.cornbellys.com/
2. Jump On It! The kids will love this, and so will the Adults! They will literally be bouncing off the walls!
3. Haunted House: There are plenty of spooky haunted houses around…and babysitters work for “like a dollar an hour” in Utah!
4. And more!

We are open for any weekend during October – so lets discuss the dates in the comments!

Life is flying by so we gotta party while we can.

It's not me...it's the car!!

Many of you know that last summer while we were living in Murrieta I hit a post while trying to park our car and knocked our side mirror off. Recently we re-glued the mirror with gorilla glue...WOW that glue works. I would recommend it to anyone. Anyway (say that with a nacho accent), as Dev and I were driving back to Provo from Walnut Creek we saw a car with its side mirror (the same side) knocked off and it was Ford Taurus...same make and model! That let me to wonder maybe it's not me, it's the car! Take a look at the picture. Dev and I sure had a good laugh.

Putting at Cascade

There is this really fun, free putting course at Cascade in Orem. Chad and I have been going there on occasion ever since we were married. We love it because the kids can run around and its fun for us too. The last week we've gone a lot with Devin and Kim and Brett. It is fun to watch the Blodgett brothers. They are all really good, very confident and very competitive.

The course is 18 holes. Each hole is par 3. So far Devin holds the record at 14 under. Today Chad and Devin tied at 12 under. Then they played 3 play off holes and Chad edged Devin on the last playoff hole with a birdie. So - between Chad and Devin they are 1-1. I have a feeling this will be an ongoing tournament this semester. Brett was very impressive as well and ended up being only a few strokes behind at 9 under. For not playing as much as the older two, I thought that was great. But mostly I was proud of myself for being 5 under, hardly ever playing and being 6 months pregnant. I have to admit, golf is really fun and as much as I complain about how its such a long, expensive sport, I can see why so many people love it.

Here are some pictures from today's round:Some of the bwuddahs.
Usually Clayton putts with us , but today he collected worms, flowers and sticks.

My New Car After Dad Took Out a Fire Hydrant

Tonight I got tried of waiting for Brett to put his pictures from his cell phone on the computer so I could blog about Dad's accident ,so I went to the car hospital and took these pictures.

I might get a bigger purse so I can carry my camera everywhere like Denae does.

I feel sad about my car, but I'm glad Dad didn't get injured....today he took the bus home from work!

Also I'm wondering if I bought a cursed car. Here are the things that have happened so far:

The day after I buy it I realize the honk won't honk at all.

I also realize that what I thought was bug spots on the front of the car are actually paint damage.

That same day I get rear-ended in the Macdonald drive through, by a lady with no insurance.

I have a second key made and 3 weeks later find out that neither key will work in the doors (500.00) to rekey everything because someone had broken something off in both key holes...or so they say)

And now Dads take out a hydrant....

Hey everyone, put pressure on Brett to download his pictures of the huge water geyser and Dad getting a ride on the stretcher.

Raising Boys

On the way to the airport my boys made me real proud. We passed the new IKEA store shown here...

And what did they say???

BEST BUY DADDY! BEST BUY! DADDY, BEST BUY!!

Good boys. We have made quite a few family trips to Best Buy. Mostly to just look around...at all the sweet stuff. It was funny how the colors of both stores made them think that IKEA was BEST BUY.

That is one of the ways to raise boys.

My Brother, the Pest Control Sprayer

Brett has a sweet new job spraying bugs.

This job came with a car, a uniform that is cleaned for you daily, a cell phone, and tons of poison in the back of your truck to use at your disposal!

He loves it!

Yesterday he showed us all his truck, guns and the basic "ins and outs" of his sweet new job.

Way to go Bretters!

This is what he looks like when about to spray a yard.

Holding one of the big guns used to spray trees... right Brett?

In front of his new truck!!

Now Lexi, Logan and Macey all want to be pest control "workers" when they grow up like Uncle Brett!

My Favorite Purchase

I had been reading about the iPhone for months. The ads, the info on Apple.com, the Keynote address at mac world just had me drooling.

I Texted everyone I new the friday that the iPhone came out to see if they were planning on going to the store to check them out.

I went the next day with the fam, played around with the phone...but didn't buy it.

One week passed. A week filled with following user reviews of the phone online to see what people were experiencing. I would check Apple.com to see if my local apple retail store had any iPhones left...most of the days during the week it didn't.

Saturday rolled around - I called Pete and Danny to get their opinions. I called AT&T to see what my monthly rate would be (and was happy to know that it was only $10 more). Then, I called the local Apple Retail store.

"We just got a shipment in 10 min ago. If you are here within the next hour or so you'll be able to get one."

The race was on.

I made it to the store, purchased my new 8gig iPhone. And drove home.

I thought about buckling up the beautiful bag that the iPhone comes in...but I didn't.

I got home to a thunderous crowd...that all gathered around to unveil the iPhone. Here are some of the pictures...

2.5 more days until Brett gets home!!!!!!

Summer 2009

To all of the Blodgett siblings:

So Chad came up with an idea... a really good idea.

Summer 2009 all of the adults in this family are invited to go on an adult trip to Maui.

Dad is looking into housing arrangements.

Meanwhile, you need to start saving a little extra cash and plan for a babysitter for your kids. Oh yeah, and if you are going to be having a baby any time soon... the sooner the better. The baby should be born in time for he/she to be old enough to leave for 5-6 days in the Summer of 2009. I think this should work out since those having babies soon will probably have them next year right?

Dustin will be back, and all 8 siblings can be together for the first time in 4 or so years. Sound like a plan? Dave and I will be there FOR SURE. And I hope everyone else will plan on it too!

What do you think???

Graduation!!!

Today Kimberly Jean Blodgett graduated from Brigham Young University! We are so proud of her! Great job Kim! Here are some pics for the fam and future posterity.