Bartley Boys

Hello All,
Nathan and I (Bartley) spent the weekend in Rexburg, ID. at a baseball tournament. If you asked Nathan if he liked the trip he say, "Yea, but we didn't win any games." We didn't win a thing. Outside of that we had a good time together. We took our bikes are were able to get a little riding in. Sat. morning we found my Great Uncle Steve's house. We visited them for about an hour. Many of you don't know, but my brother Sandy was with Uncle Steve when he (Sandy) died. I had never really known what had transpired when he died, other than he was fishing and started feeling crummy (I was on my mission when Sandy died). I asked Steve if he would share with me what had happened and he did.
We also were took a two mile ride along the Snake River. It was actually to the first mile marker and back. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to drive home. I told Nate he would have to drive. He was really happy with that.
I wanted to take an alternate way home so we stopped at Walmart to get a map. The world is soooooo small. I was looking up and down the aisles and I see Kyle and Stephanie Moore.
They use to live down the street from us. They built a house in Riverton and then we knew they had moved to Washington state. They have been living in St. Anthony for the last 3 years. We were able to visit for a half hour. It was wonderful to get the highlights of their life. It just goes to show that you need to behave wherever you go because you don't know who you'll run into.
The alternative route we took was through Preston/Cache Valley way. I stopped and visited my cousin Lisa. I have not seen her for a while and was good to see her and Blair. We use to tend Colton when he was very little. Now he is very big.
While listening to the radio we heard an announcement of a book signing from a 15 year old author. I am sucker for book signings so we stopped an bought a copy of the book and had the author sign it to the "Bartley Boys"
I took Nathan to the Blue Bird Restaurant in Logan. He has his Father's appetite for beef. He ordered a piece of Prime Rib. He was able to finish about 1/3 of it (with the help of his dad) and then nibbled on it all the way home.
Our hotel didn't have a swimming pool. We went to the hotel where most of the team was staying and swam in that pool. We had a good time.
The hotel we stayed in had a hot tub. You will need to ask Nathan his take on the hot tub.
It is late and I get to stay home this week. Thanks Heaven.
One last thought: I realized on this trip that I miss open spaces. I like to see open space between towns. I like to know where one city/town starts and another one ends.
Love to all

Bartley

Murdock Reunion

Today I have been thinking about the last few weeks and I can't believe how totally crazy it has been for our family.

First I spent a few nights last week at the Marriot for my Annual training with the Sellers Group. Lindsey, Maggey and Abbey were all able to come and spend the night with me. We were able to go to the Hogle Zoo (paid for by my employer) after hours and wander around with out any crowds. The little girls had a blast! They got to ride on the new carousel over and over and over and, well you get the picture. Lindsey is an animal lover and so we all had a good time.

On Friday, I quickly drove home from my training and picked up Jamie(my baby sister) and Nathan, Maggey and Abbey. We threw their suitcases in the back of my van and we were off. 51/2 hrs. later we arrived in good 'ol Carey, Idaho. (Carey, Idaho is a VERY small town in Idaho where my grandparents and four of my cousins live. My mom was born and raised there.)

We were able to attend my grandparents 65th Wedding Anniversary(WOW) celebration, which was wonderful. I am so lucky to belong to such wonderful, amazing, and inspiring people. It was fun to see my cousins, and to be in a place that has so many warm and wonderful memories. My mom's whole family is amazing. I love you all!

Saturday was full of MURDOCK family reunion, once again with my cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, second cousins (or is it once removed???). The usual family reunion stuff, games, food, THE circle game, visiting, etc...I had fun watching my kids make friends with my cousin's kids. It is a thrill to watch them make the connection...

Sunday was great, we went to church in my grandparents ward. My cousin is now the BISHOP (HA!). What a crack up,my older cousin Dan conducting the meeting. The same cousin who teased me until I cried, threw water balloons at me from the tree house, and infamously rode his bike through a family reunion with smoke bombs bombing,(or is it smoking?) is the BISHOP! :) It is funny to me that we are all such serious grownups, old and boring now.

I got kinda sentimental being there and wondering if this could be the last time I would visit my grandparents in their lifetime. I had to hold back the tears as we said goodbye. It was harder than I thought.

I will post more pic's later......

Another Update by Bartley

Hello once again.
Nathan decided to go to Carey. He is having a fun time except for the fact that he was bitten by Tade, Grandpa Duane's dog. From the sound of it he got bit on the lip. I have not seen it yet and won't until Monday. I think he is doing okay.
Ashley is currently at Lake Tahoe. Boy life is rough. They have gone camping for the weekend. She was able to go to see Wall*E at Pixar Studios on Thursday. She really liked the theater there. She is not going want to go see a movie anywhere around here.
Lindsey is very sore tonight. She has spent 22 plus hours with marching band in the last two days. She and her friend Emily have been riding their bikes to band to save gas. Lindsey has had a pretty good attitude about doing it. Way to go Lindsey. I watched them rehearse part of their show today. The way it has been described to me and what I saw today it will be fantastic. I am looking forward to seeing it.
Lindsey and I went to see Iron Man last night. I appreciate her spending time with her old dad.
My Mom has always wanted to go for a hot air balloon ride. Today she got to do just that. She was up in Heber and had a wonderful time.
Jen will update you on her trip on Monday or Tuesday and hopefully have some pics for you.
Much love to you all,

Bartley

Update by Bartley

Today Nathan finished his baseball season with the Dodgers. We won our first game of the tournament by one run and lost today's game by one run. The team really did well and they have a lot to be proud of. Nathan caught a fly foul ball. The batter popped it straight up; Nathan, being the catcher that he is, ripped off his helmet and found the ball and was able to catch it for an out. He was moved to third base later in the game. A runner was stealing third on a pass ball. The catcher threw the ball to third where Nathan caught it and tagged the runner, but the runner was safe. The runner then stepped off the bag to talk with his coach and did not call time out. Nathan then tagged him for the out. Nathan and I are heading to Rexburg for an All Star Tournament on Wednesday. We get to play four games at the minimum.
Last year Nathan asked me to take him camping for his birthday. He liked it so much that he wanted to make an annual thing. This trip will be "the guys" campout. We are excited.
Jen, Maggey, and Abbey are heading to Carey tomorrow. Nathan is still undecided. They will get to spend time with many of the Murdocks and are looking forward to it.
Lindsey has started marching band this week. Friday and Saturday will be all day band days, as in 11 hour days. She has received her music for show and will learn the first part of the "drill" in the next 2 days.
I have decided to stay home from Carey. Health wise it would not be a smart thing to do. As much as I try to convince myself that the a hospital visit can be a little R&R, I'd rather not go (to the hospital). Uncle Bobby once asked me if I was getting the hospital confused with the Hilton. At that time I had never been to a Hilton. I have since, and I can tell there is a lot of difference between the hospital and the Hilton. I would rather have the insurance pay for the "real" Hilton and stay there. It definitely be a lot cheaper (I wonder if I could get the cardiologist to write me a prescription for that?),

FYI:
Uncle Bobby is AKA Dave Larsen. As in my brother-in-law, my sister Juli's husband. Several years ago Dave and Eric started calling Nathan, Richard. I am not sure where Nathan came up with it, but he started calling Dave, Bobby. I want to say that he was given inspiration from another aunt, but I cannot be sure. So, I will withhold Colleen's name in case I am mistaken.
Love to all, and I have appreciated reading the comments many of you have left.
Airman Nicholes, I'd love to bring my computer to you to see some more New York pics. By the way, I do not recall that kind of hairdo being approved by the military? Are you going undercover somewhere?
Here's to my Boys of Summer (Nathan's baseball team)

Bartley

Ashley Update

We've talked to Ashley every few days and she seems to be doing great and it sounds like she is having a great time. She had a memorable trip to Disneyland, and LOVED the new "Toy Story "ride. She did say that it was hot and sweaty, and she liked it when we went in Feb. 07 cause the lines were shorter. (I took that as a good job, Mom!)

Julie took her to the Jelly Belly Factory (FUN!) and they have had a "craft" day. Ashley wouldn't tell me what they made, but I can tell from her voice that it must be something "FABULOUS". I am thinking that she sewed something because she informed me that she wants a sewing machine just like Julie. (Thanks Jules!) It sounds like my average Kenmore is just "lame" and "old". (Like it's owner!)

I asked her if she was ready to come home, and she replied with a resounding "NO!" I guess that homesickness is not a problem. I am beginning to wonder if she will get on the plane and actually come home when the time comes. I keep telling her that no one lives a life of just fun, sometimes life is just boring or hard, but Dan , Julie and Emma are proving me totally wrong! Thanks a lot you three! :)

Love you, Ash!

Lindsey's New York Trip

We've finally downloaded Lindsey's pictures from her trip to New York. She went with the Marching Band(see Update post for more info). She was a member of the 1st band from Utah to be invited to participate in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We were proud of her. You don't know how much work and effort goes on behind the scenes for something like this, until you actually participate. The band practiced for countless hours, not only the music, but the formations for their 1 1/2 minutes of TV time. The band made a whole trip of it, knowing that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for most of the kids.

Lindsey was able to go to; Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Manhattan Temple, Times Square, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall and Ground Zero.She marched down Broadway, Columbus Circle, Times Square, past the Museum of Natural History, and Herald Square.

Here are just few of the pictures she brought home. If you want to see more, call us and we'll bring the computer to you.

Update

We have had some questions about the other kids, it seems that we have blogged about Ashley and Nathan but not Lindsey, Maggey or Abbey.

Lindsey is enjoying a few weeks of summer before the intense band practices start. She did have a "clinic" last Saturday all day, 7am-8pm. For those who don't know what we are talking about, in American Fork the High School Marching Band is cool. You heard me COOL! Lindsey plays the flute and she loves every sweating second of the band. The AF Band has actually won the Utah State title for 15 years in a row and they have been invited to a big national competition this fall. I know it sounds kinda nerdy, but it is a big deal here, bigger than football. Anyway, she will be starting up practices every weekday soon, and some weekends as well.

She is also trying to earn money for her band trip, so if anyone out there has yard work, babysitting, or other projects that she could help with(and you can pay:))...let us know!!! Also she can sell a Domino's Pizza Discount card to anyone who is interested. It is good anytime at any Domino's, $10.00. Let us know if you want one.

Maggey is sad because school is out. She thinks summer should be 3 weeks long, not 3 months. She says it is too long and she misses her teacher. (She had a wonderful teacher!) Anyway, she has been busy riding her bike over to our church building and riding around the parking lot. Her "Best" friend (besides Abbey) Sydney lives across the street and they pretty much play together every day, all day. Bikes, hopscotch, jump ropes, and of course the kitty, Max are their main sources of entertainment.

Abbey is happy to be outside every minute of every day. She likes to go to Nathan's baseball games (not to watch Nathan, but to by candy for only a penny!). She's a regular at the candy shack! She is likes to ride bikes at the church with Maggey. She loves the cat too and spends a lot of time packing him around (when he lets her) and "helping" him climb our tree. She to is "BEST" friends with Sydney and plays all day with her and Jack, Sydney's little brother. Abbey has asked for a little brother here and there (NO WAY!) and so I tell her to just borrow Jack. Anyway they all play pretty good together and seem to enjoy it. She misses school too, and thinks summer is too long to be away from her teacher.(Her teacher was great too!) She is trying to convince her Dad to take her camping by themselves this summer. I am not sure if that will be possible, I am leaving that up to Bartley.

Cute Picture

We were just downloading pictures and I came across this one. I just had to post it, cause my kids are so great!:)

The BIG Surprise!

So Ashley is finally in the know about her "Big" Surprise! DISNEYLAND!!! Dan and Julie were able to get some tickets through Pixar and take Ashely. Julie made her go around the house and find letters, then Ashley had to spell out the words, "Pack your bags,we're going to Disneyland!"
I've known for a long, long, long time that this was going to happen, Julie wanted to have it be a "Big" surprise for Ashley. I made Julie promise that when Ashley found out that she would call us. She did, and WOW she was excited! It sounds like they will get to ride a new ride in Disney California based on "Toy Story" before it opens to the public. Lucky!!

Many of you out there are probably wondering about my other kids and how they are handling this information about Ashley getting to go to Disneyland. I am really proud of them. They did say "Aw, no fair!" when I told them, but other than that they are just excited for her. We did talk about some of the trips/excursions we had planned while Ashley was gone, and that helped ease the "pain" of it all. We also joked about all of us jumping in the car and driving straight to Disneyland and meeting Ashley, Dan, Julie and Emma there and surprising them. We decided that Ashley would not enjoy that as much....she might say something like "what are you doing here?"

We can't thank Dan, Julie and Emma enough for this wonderful opportunity for Ashley!!

Have fun Ashley-we LOVE you!

All Star Team

Nathan made the all star baseball team for his division. He will play in a tournament in Idaho at the end of the month. Congrats Nathan!!!!!

I was thinking that it was the first official day of summer, but that really doesn't happen for a couple of weeks. Because school is out, I would consider this the first official day of summer. For this first day of school I painted downstairs and went back to my classroom to work on homework for class tomorrow. I still have 6 more days of my math endorsement. I have learned many things from this class, but I will be certainly glad it's finished. This next school year I hope to be able to relax a little and do the regular classroom teacher stuff. No more math class and no more HP grant.
I have been downloading some pictures that we have taken over the last few months and finally downloaded pictures Lindsey took in New York last Thanksgiving. We need to let her choose a few and upload them with some captions she would write.
Considering that Jen told you about our latest addition to the family we ought to load some pictures of Max. He is a fun cat to watch. He loves to play with strings, shoelaces, jump ropes, etc. He is also fun to watch as he plays in the tree in our front yard. He also likes to sit on the front driver's side tire and relax.
Nathan will be playing the last four games of his season in the next two weeks. He has done very well. He has played catcher most of the season. Last year he didn't like it very much, but he has loved it this year. He has been able to get a couple of runners out after a couple of pitches got behind him. He has learned to toss the ball and look at the same time hoping that the pitcher is there to get the toss. He doesn't listen to his coach very well. I was coaching third and I told him to run home on a pass ball. It wasn't even 10 seconds later he was walking to the dugout after stealing home.
I have really enjoyed coaching this team. I am glad that I have had the opportunity to do it. I have had a great support group to help me. We are hoping to finish the season well.
Of course Ashley is very excited to go to California. She gets to go see Wall E before the rest of the world gets to see it. Julie has told there is another surprise, but she won't tell her. Ashley has asked me a few times if know what the surprise is. Ashley doesn't know that I know. If she reads this blog she will know, but that's ok. Have a good time Ashley.
Lindsey gets a week off before she starts doing the band thing. They start parade season and not too long after that they start learning their show for the upcoming season.
Maggey and Abbey are happy to be able to play outside in the water and ride bikes. They spent most of the day doing those two things.
Bye

Californina Here Comes Ashley..........

Ashley will be in California in 2 days. I hope everyone there is ready for her. She is sooooooooooo excited she can't sleep (she woke up every hour last night). She has already started packing. She reminds me so much of Julie right now, she has a black binder with all her lists in it. Each list is color coded and has further instructions on the back side of each page. I think there are four or five pages of lists. What to take on the plane, what to pack in her wallet, etc. She has of course made several other pages of just artwork, containing her favorite renditions of her "California" art.
I hope she will be able to settle down once she gets there, and hope that she will have a blast. (NO pressure Dan and Julie):)

We are gonna miss Ashley, she brings her own sense of humor to every situation and ends up making us all laugh in the process. She is so creative and talented when it comes to anything artistic. I will miss her playing the piano, and I will miss her memory. Who needs an electronic planner when Ashley will remind me and keep reminding me until I do it? (Julie beware: if you give her something to remember, she will NEVER forget it until you do it, so use this skill wisely!)

I hope she will have great times and memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks to Julie and Dan for this great opportunity!