We had a fun week of Softball and more softball. Kaitlyn had a great game last Tuesday. In the top of the last hitting with the bases loaded she ripped a shot to right field which ended up scoring three of her teammates and she was able to make it to second base on a throwing error that she caused. She also had another great hit during her first game.
This past weekend she was in a tournament that had 19 teams from Utah, Oregon, California and Idaho. Her team one the first pool game but lost the second pool game to the team from California. In the tournament that followed pool play, Kaitlyn's team won 3 and lost 2. Overall their three losses were to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams. Kaitlyn's team finished 4th. The best victory was beating Blackfoot for the second time this year. We were so excited. Yes the arch rival continues through my children.
Kaitlyn played awesome at third base and made many great plays on fielding bunts and throwing the girls out as well as taking some hot shots down third base and throwing the girls out. She hit the ball well during Friday and Saturday and was moved to clean up hitter for those days.
It was a lot of fun seeing her get better everyday. State tournament is July 10th - July 12th. We will see how they can do. It will be a tough tournament because there are a lot of good teams in the tournament.
We have our garden in and Michele picked 3 9x13 pans of raspberries off our bushes. Oh are they good. I enjoy them every night before bed time.
We are keeping busy with work, garden, yard work and bike rides. I just wished work would settle down but having lost two people and not being able to replace them is taking a toll on my time.
We are looking forward to the cruise and are so excited of the idea to be with siblings and their spouses and Mom and Dad. We are going to have a blast!
Love always!
Bryan and Michele.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
One Big Pig!
It has been a while since I put anything up here and so I thought That I would fill you in on my life down here in Provo.The biggest and most recent event being a Luau that I more or less got sucked into, but also willingly volunteered to be part of. I put this first picture down so you know the culprits of this story! Dayla (the one on the left) myself and The cute brunet on the right Julianna (the big reason I willingly volunteered to do this whole thing:)) This is a picture of us towards the end of our luau next to our partially cooked pig head which was displayed on a spit in the front yard.
So the story goes: There was this Cute Julianna who I meet at a Sunday gathering. We both became weekly attendees to what we call Sunday Sundae (an ice cream social every Sunday evening) One day Julianna came and said the she was going to throw a Luau and that every one was invited. It was going to involve a cooked pig, dancers, Dj, coal walker, the whole enchilada! She knew that I served in Tahiti so we started talking about the actual planning. The First piece being, raising money so that we could decorate provide utensils and buy a PIG!
The Girls had a yard sale and bake sale which people from all over contributed to. Dayla was brave enough to go stand out on the main street of Provo to advertise and drive traffic! With this and our donation jar at the Luau, We raised $250.
With such a huge success Some girls got a little over zealous on the next part. They knew there were going to be a lot of people there so they went out to find the biggest pig the could. They found on from a Farmer in Payson that said we could buy is 200 lb pig. Which Julianna did unbeknown to me, until a couple days before the party. To make a long story short I spent the next couple of days researching the best way to cook a two hundred lb pig and had to do a lot of convincing that it was not going to be over a spit which a member of the bishopric made and welded for them. No matter what I tried these girls were not going to be convinced that it could not be done. It was not until Aunt Teri suggested that with a pig that big, it could catch on fire quite easy due to all the fat that, I was finally able to suggest we cut the pig into smaller pieces. Thank goodness this happened 3 hours before we were going to go pick up this whole pig Friday afternoon. Luckily the butcher agreed to chunk it for us to make it more manageable.
We would have been in big trouble if it had not been for a nice butcher, none the less we spent about 5 hours that night cutting the skin and fat off and getting it ready to put it in roster ovens. (which I was in charge of rounding up the day we were supposed to cook the thing! (Thanks again to Aunt Krissy, Teri, and Carolyn, and My mission president!)
I still think they should have kissed me instead of the Pig head :) oh well!
The first hour of the Luau it rained cats a dogs. After that the Sun came out, it made for a fun and glorious evening. Here are just a couple more pictures
We ended cooking the whole pig that had a butchers weight of 173 Lbs. By the end of the night we only had about 20 lbs left, which got finished up at Luau # 2 on Monday for FHE! Our turn out for Saturday was at least 250 if we go by the number of plates that disappeared. It was an adventure and a blast. I am kind of Luaued out for a little while though. As for the story of the Cute Brunet, well that is for another blog down the road:)
So the story goes: There was this Cute Julianna who I meet at a Sunday gathering. We both became weekly attendees to what we call Sunday Sundae (an ice cream social every Sunday evening) One day Julianna came and said the she was going to throw a Luau and that every one was invited. It was going to involve a cooked pig, dancers, Dj, coal walker, the whole enchilada! She knew that I served in Tahiti so we started talking about the actual planning. The First piece being, raising money so that we could decorate provide utensils and buy a PIG!
The Girls had a yard sale and bake sale which people from all over contributed to. Dayla was brave enough to go stand out on the main street of Provo to advertise and drive traffic! With this and our donation jar at the Luau, We raised $250.
With such a huge success Some girls got a little over zealous on the next part. They knew there were going to be a lot of people there so they went out to find the biggest pig the could. They found on from a Farmer in Payson that said we could buy is 200 lb pig. Which Julianna did unbeknown to me, until a couple days before the party. To make a long story short I spent the next couple of days researching the best way to cook a two hundred lb pig and had to do a lot of convincing that it was not going to be over a spit which a member of the bishopric made and welded for them. No matter what I tried these girls were not going to be convinced that it could not be done. It was not until Aunt Teri suggested that with a pig that big, it could catch on fire quite easy due to all the fat that, I was finally able to suggest we cut the pig into smaller pieces. Thank goodness this happened 3 hours before we were going to go pick up this whole pig Friday afternoon. Luckily the butcher agreed to chunk it for us to make it more manageable.
We would have been in big trouble if it had not been for a nice butcher, none the less we spent about 5 hours that night cutting the skin and fat off and getting it ready to put it in roster ovens. (which I was in charge of rounding up the day we were supposed to cook the thing! (Thanks again to Aunt Krissy, Teri, and Carolyn, and My mission president!)
I still think they should have kissed me instead of the Pig head :) oh well!
The first hour of the Luau it rained cats a dogs. After that the Sun came out, it made for a fun and glorious evening. Here are just a couple more pictures
We ended cooking the whole pig that had a butchers weight of 173 Lbs. By the end of the night we only had about 20 lbs left, which got finished up at Luau # 2 on Monday for FHE! Our turn out for Saturday was at least 250 if we go by the number of plates that disappeared. It was an adventure and a blast. I am kind of Luaued out for a little while though. As for the story of the Cute Brunet, well that is for another blog down the road:)
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Happy Father's Day to my Dad, Keith, John, Shawn, Gary, Charlie and Chase
Happy Father's Day!!!! It is great to be a father. I love being a father and learning from all of you as you show me how to even be a better father! I love all of you and appreciate the opportunity to know and associate with you.
Dad,thanks for all you have done for me. You have taught me well. I am just a slow learner at times. I appreciate your example and testimony. I look up to you and am glad to call you father. You are an inspiration to me and I appreciate all the positive things that you have taught me throughout my life.
Happy Father's Day!
Bryan
Dad,thanks for all you have done for me. You have taught me well. I am just a slow learner at times. I appreciate your example and testimony. I look up to you and am glad to call you father. You are an inspiration to me and I appreciate all the positive things that you have taught me throughout my life.
Happy Father's Day!
Bryan
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Post Surgery
Today Gary had his hernia surgery and is doing very well. He is home and seems to be getting a long great. The kids have been pretty good about not bumping there dad's "owie". He still has cataract surgery left to do but it waiting until he is healed up some from this surgery before he goes and has the cataract repaired.
Other than the surgery we are doing pretty good. Sandra and I have received 2 referrals and a possible 3 from a service coordinator who is quitting. This will put us up to 37 if we get the third one. We are feeling very blessed and feel that the Lord has really looked out for us.
We hope all of you are doing well. We love you and would love to hear from some of you who haven't posted for awhile.
Chelsea & Charlie congratulations on your triathlon. It sounds like you had great times. We are impressed.
Love the Packard's
Other than the surgery we are doing pretty good. Sandra and I have received 2 referrals and a possible 3 from a service coordinator who is quitting. This will put us up to 37 if we get the third one. We are feeling very blessed and feel that the Lord has really looked out for us.
We hope all of you are doing well. We love you and would love to hear from some of you who haven't posted for awhile.
Chelsea & Charlie congratulations on your triathlon. It sounds like you had great times. We are impressed.
Love the Packard's
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Race Day!
As fun as the triathlon was, I am glad we are finished. There was a lot of anxiety going into it, and it was a tough race. We got up at 3:45 am and met with 3 other couples. After securing our bikes onto the vehicles, we drove to Payson where the triathlon would take place. We pulled in around 6:00 am, unloaded our stuff, and pumped up our tires. By the time we made it to the registration table to get our bib numbers and timing chip, it was getting close to race time. We found out that Chelsea and our neightbor Nicole were both in the first heat starting at 7:00 am. They still needed to change into their swim suits and almost didn't make it in time. Charlie, and 3 others from our group were in the 2nd heat starting as soon as everyone from the first was out of the water. The timing chip went around our ankles and there were sensors that marked the time it took for each event.
After leaving the pool, we had to run to where the bikes were parked, dry off, get shoes, socks and helmets on and speed down a small hill toward an 8 mile loop. The bike portion was done while traffic was directed at stop signs allowing us to go through with out stopping. When we signed up for the triathlon, we were told there would be one large up hill and one large down hill. What they failed to mention was that the rest of the bike course would have medium sized hills nearly the entire way. The second time around the loop was much eaiser than the first, because we were a little more prepared for the long series of hills and knew a little better when the turns would be coming. The bike portion finished at the same place it started. The run was mostly on level ground (which was a nice, I don't think I could have made it through any more hills after the bike). It was just over 3 miles, overlapping a little with the bike course and cutting through a few neighborhoods. As I crossed the finish line, I saw Chelsea walking towards me quickly, having just finished herself. I was a great feeling to be done. We look foward to doing another race in the fall.
Chelsea did very well, finishing under 2 hours with a total time of 1:55. Her swim took 11 minutes 23 seconds, the bike 1 hour and 10 minutes, and the run 34 minutes.
Charlie had a goal of finishing under 1 hour and 30 minutes. I am glad that I sprinted at to the finish line. My total time was 1 hour 29 minutes and 55 seconds. Swim- 11 minutes and 2 seconds, bike- 54 minutes, and run- 24 minutes.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
What a great family!!!
OK, so I don't blog ever! I told my wife that i had to keep in check what i did so people didn't think i was gay... you know, working at jewelry store and loving to go with my wife shopping for clothes and shoes (don't let her fool you i put her in most of what she wears) so i told her i couldn't blog, have a myspace page, or do face book because I need to keep the balance more near the masculine side (now you know why i have guns and own a Harley i have to tip the scales some how). but i wanted to thank everyone for wishing me a happy birthday and wanted to reflect on my thankfulness to my heavenly father for what a great family i have been blessed with.
I wanted you all to know how much me and Stephanie love each and everyone of your families. We talk often about the Mecham side and what a blessing it is to have great parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and amazing grandparents to look to as examples in our lives. we know that having a close family is more important than any other of the "things" that we receive on this earth. We are proud of all of you and hope and pray from your success at all things whether it is Derek's fish tank Brant's basketball game or Garys big fish. We wish you all the best in everything you are seeking. we love you all and are grateful for each one of you in our lives.
Love,
Chase and fam.
I wanted you all to know how much me and Stephanie love each and everyone of your families. We talk often about the Mecham side and what a blessing it is to have great parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and amazing grandparents to look to as examples in our lives. we know that having a close family is more important than any other of the "things" that we receive on this earth. We are proud of all of you and hope and pray from your success at all things whether it is Derek's fish tank Brant's basketball game or Garys big fish. We wish you all the best in everything you are seeking. we love you all and are grateful for each one of you in our lives.
Love,
Chase and fam.
Update
Hey family, we finally have our 30 hour of training done and also finished our autobiographies for the home study. I am just finishing up get everthing put together and we will send off our homestudy packet to our caseworker. Then we will go from there.
Last week Gary went in for his annual physical and found that he has a hernia. He is going in for surgery on the 16th of this month. We are hoping he will be completely healed and ready to go fishing in Alaska. He is going to go see an eye doctor/surgeon at the end of this week for a cataract that his doctor states is getting bigger. So he may end up having two surgeries we will just have to see. He is hoping that he gets a long with the doctors since both of them are in our ward and live nearby us. Gary will be off work until the end of the month so it will be different having him here all day.
We hope all of you are doing well. Kaitlyn good luck in your tournament this weekend.
Love
The Packards
Last week Gary went in for his annual physical and found that he has a hernia. He is going in for surgery on the 16th of this month. We are hoping he will be completely healed and ready to go fishing in Alaska. He is going to go see an eye doctor/surgeon at the end of this week for a cataract that his doctor states is getting bigger. So he may end up having two surgeries we will just have to see. He is hoping that he gets a long with the doctors since both of them are in our ward and live nearby us. Gary will be off work until the end of the month so it will be different having him here all day.
We hope all of you are doing well. Kaitlyn good luck in your tournament this weekend.
Love
The Packards
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Summer has arrived.....
Hey family,
I must repent for not blogging the past few months. Robyn has kept me updated but I have been slothful. Sorry....
Just wanted to let you know about a few things. First, Jarom was given the "Mayor's Award" at his elementary school for his many acts of kindness towards his peers and teachers. The Mayor of Brigham City actually came and gave him the award. I think he was suprised but excited that he was honored.
Brant was voted to the Standard Examiner All-Area Basketball First Team. He was the only non senior to make the team. You can view this article at http://www.standard.net/ASP/BoysAllAreaBBall.pdf
This was a nice honor for him and well deserving.
The kids are all busy with summer activities. Kyler is feeling the stress of playing 3 sports that all coincide during May and June. It can be very tiring and I hope he can handle it... He through a no hitter last week vs Mountain Crest but still lost 2-0. Bummer. :)
Jarom has had fun playing baseball and has pitched well.
Annie starts softball tomorrow. She is excited. Annie was the only girl in her class that had perfect attendance at school. I think she is already missing school including her teacher and classmates.
Tegan graduated from pre-school. She really enjoyed her teachers and classmates. On a sad note, Tegan was diagnosed with Asthma this past week. She has an inhaler that she has to take as needed. We have discovered that she mostly needs it if she is running outside and playing hard. We still don't have our thumb on it but we have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday to get some more information on how we can best help her.
I was just notified that I will be doing my administrative internship starting in the fall. This will entail 6 weeks at our middle school and 6 weeks at an elementary school. It will be weird not to be teaching math for the first time in 16 years. I am excited to see if I like what people call the 'Dark Side".
Robyn is still hot. I mean good looking. She is very busy with our summer schedules. She has her sister Kristyn coming to Brigham on the 13th of June for 3 weeks. It will be nice to see her and her family since they have been in Germany that past 3 years. We have plans to do swimming lessons for the kids, basketball camps, Lagoon, and to visit the OKUR mountain Temple open house. I know you don't speel Oquirrah like OKUR but that is how Kyler pronounces it because of the last name of the Utah Jazz center.
Happy B-day Chase. I still remember you sitting on my lap with a basketball in your hand. It is great to see how you have grown up and are doing great things with your family.
Alaskan Cruise Update: You all have asked many questions about the cruise and the things we would like to do. We have some ward members that are on the same exact cruise this week and when they get home, we are going to ask them for suggestions, hints and ideas. We will let you know what we think.
Enjoy the month of June. We love you.
KRBKJAT
I must repent for not blogging the past few months. Robyn has kept me updated but I have been slothful. Sorry....
Just wanted to let you know about a few things. First, Jarom was given the "Mayor's Award" at his elementary school for his many acts of kindness towards his peers and teachers. The Mayor of Brigham City actually came and gave him the award. I think he was suprised but excited that he was honored.
Brant was voted to the Standard Examiner All-Area Basketball First Team. He was the only non senior to make the team. You can view this article at http://www.standard.net/ASP/BoysAllAreaBBall.pdf
This was a nice honor for him and well deserving.
The kids are all busy with summer activities. Kyler is feeling the stress of playing 3 sports that all coincide during May and June. It can be very tiring and I hope he can handle it... He through a no hitter last week vs Mountain Crest but still lost 2-0. Bummer. :)
Jarom has had fun playing baseball and has pitched well.
Annie starts softball tomorrow. She is excited. Annie was the only girl in her class that had perfect attendance at school. I think she is already missing school including her teacher and classmates.
Tegan graduated from pre-school. She really enjoyed her teachers and classmates. On a sad note, Tegan was diagnosed with Asthma this past week. She has an inhaler that she has to take as needed. We have discovered that she mostly needs it if she is running outside and playing hard. We still don't have our thumb on it but we have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday to get some more information on how we can best help her.
I was just notified that I will be doing my administrative internship starting in the fall. This will entail 6 weeks at our middle school and 6 weeks at an elementary school. It will be weird not to be teaching math for the first time in 16 years. I am excited to see if I like what people call the 'Dark Side".
Robyn is still hot. I mean good looking. She is very busy with our summer schedules. She has her sister Kristyn coming to Brigham on the 13th of June for 3 weeks. It will be nice to see her and her family since they have been in Germany that past 3 years. We have plans to do swimming lessons for the kids, basketball camps, Lagoon, and to visit the OKUR mountain Temple open house. I know you don't speel Oquirrah like OKUR but that is how Kyler pronounces it because of the last name of the Utah Jazz center.
Happy B-day Chase. I still remember you sitting on my lap with a basketball in your hand. It is great to see how you have grown up and are doing great things with your family.
Alaskan Cruise Update: You all have asked many questions about the cruise and the things we would like to do. We have some ward members that are on the same exact cruise this week and when they get home, we are going to ask them for suggestions, hints and ideas. We will let you know what we think.
Enjoy the month of June. We love you.
KRBKJAT
Cruise
Dear family,
I can't believe the cruise will be upon us soon. I am getting so excited about this. It will be my first time away from my kids that long. Josalyn, I hope you will be okay with the home/mom sickness they may experience. Mom said that she reserved the train ride in Skagway for all of us. I am up for any excursion that any of you want to go on. I have reserved the fishing trip in Ketchikan for Gary from 7:30-12:30 but I will be available for any other excursion to do in Ketchikan. I figured this may be a once in a life time opportunity for Gary to Fish King Salmon. Lets all pray that he catches one and then the cruise stated that they would prepare the fish for us on the boat if he does. It would be fun to eat Salmon that he caught.
Mom & Dad, if I haven't already told you, You're the greatest. Thanks for allowing us to have this experience with you. I am sure it will create memories that we will never forget.
Any of you out there ever written a consent form for medical treatment? I thought I should have one for Josalyn in case something happens to Daniel & Emmalynn so that she could take them to a doctor if needs be?
Thanks for being my eternal family! I couldn't ask for a better one to belong to.
Love
Laree
I can't believe the cruise will be upon us soon. I am getting so excited about this. It will be my first time away from my kids that long. Josalyn, I hope you will be okay with the home/mom sickness they may experience. Mom said that she reserved the train ride in Skagway for all of us. I am up for any excursion that any of you want to go on. I have reserved the fishing trip in Ketchikan for Gary from 7:30-12:30 but I will be available for any other excursion to do in Ketchikan. I figured this may be a once in a life time opportunity for Gary to Fish King Salmon. Lets all pray that he catches one and then the cruise stated that they would prepare the fish for us on the boat if he does. It would be fun to eat Salmon that he caught.
Mom & Dad, if I haven't already told you, You're the greatest. Thanks for allowing us to have this experience with you. I am sure it will create memories that we will never forget.
Any of you out there ever written a consent form for medical treatment? I thought I should have one for Josalyn in case something happens to Daniel & Emmalynn so that she could take them to a doctor if needs be?
Thanks for being my eternal family! I couldn't ask for a better one to belong to.
Love
Laree
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Happy Birthday Chase!
If my calculations are correct you are turning the big 24 this year? Wow, next year you will turn 25 and I will turn 50. I can remember when I was your age as this is how old I was when Chelsea was born. It just seems like yesterday and now 25 years later, look where we are at. I have a feeling these next 25 years will probably go just as fast. That is scary.
We hope you have a wonderful day!
Love Uncle Bryan and Aunt Michele
We hope you have a wonderful day!
Love Uncle Bryan and Aunt Michele
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