Just a few fun pics from the last year

We had some really big news during the last year.First was the addition of Rocko last Halloween. Then announcements from Kody and Stacey, and Stef and Beau, that each of their familys are expecting little boys in 2010. Jon and Lyndy, Kody and Stacey, as well as Beau and Stef were all able to purchase homes. We are so happy for them!!! Paying rent STINKS!!! Lacey is splitting time at Talent Sprouts with Stacey, and being a nanny. Kyle is working mega hours at Blue Bunny. Scott got to work at the Iron Man store during this years Iron Man Competition. He is excited to get started with his senior year at PV.

Although this picture is from last year, we couldn't leave out another fun cruise to Catalina, and Ensenada. The 2 of us had a wonderful and relaxing time. We really missed all of the kids (expecially at dinner time) We will have to work something out to get them all there again.

Happy birthday Stef. She and Beau announced that they will be having a little boy this fall. We are so happy for them.

Kathy was hired at Vista School to teach these 1st graders. We are so happy that she found this job and LOVES it!

The whole crew following Laughlin 2010. They all did a great job!!

Scott and Ken at Laughlin. What a fun and windy day.

The usual Tuesday and Thursday activity at the Carlson's.


This year we added an overhead clock and finish banner to our Runnercard finish line.

I love this picture of Max. We watched Cars almost everytime he came to our house.

Kathy loves Max and Rocko. We were so blessed to be able to tend them while Lyndy taught piano lessons down at Talent Sprouts.

Some of the girls took a trip to Arizona for a week end.

Max got a hoop from Nanna and Papa for Christmas.

We had a little snow in our pine tree forest out back.

Ninja Hah!!! Ken, Brad and Nate

Me and Scott after the Turkey Tri November 2009

Max and Nanna Holloween 2009

What a Summer!!

We had such a great summer in 2009. From the time school got out in May until the start of school today, we had something going.

We timed the Quest 10K & 5K and the Northwest Mutual 10k and 5K on the first 2 Saturdays after school was out. The Quest race was held at the Washington Co. Fair Grounds. The Northwest Mutual was in Cedar City.

The 1st week in June we timed the Midnight 5K held in St. George at the Southgate Golf Course. It was a fun but very busy race. Scott got sick and had to leave. We finished up and were getting ready to leave when I heard the announcer call for Jareau Cordell to come up and get his award. I had coached Jareau a few years ago at Dixie College when he ran cross country for me. It was really nice to visit with he and his new wife.

The next week we timed the Utah Summer Games 10K and 5K road runs. We even made the channel 2 news. They were covering the finish of the 10K race. We stayed in Cedar City for 2 days and nights. We went to watch a couple of other events, but our timing wasn't too good. We didn't see much.

Next came our family cruise to Mexico. What a blast that was! I wrote all about that on another blog page.

The day after we got home from the cruise, we headed for Richfield to time their 4th of July 5K. We got to Richfield, got things set up for the race, then headed for Provo to Kathy's 30 year high school reunion. We had a nice dinner and met some of the people she had gone to school with. She really didn't know many of the people there. Her good friends from school weren't there. We did hear some amazing entertainment. We left there around 10:00 and headed back to Richfield. In the morning we set up for the race and got ready to do some day of race registration. We had 211 people register on the morning of the race. That is a ton. The race was about 1/2 hour late getting started. We also had a small computer glitch that we were able to work around, but gave me some stress. After the race we stuck around and watched the 4th of July parade. We were so tired that we headed home a little before it finished.

On July 17 we headed for Bryce Canyon, well actually Cannonville, for the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon & 5k. We always love going to that race. It is such a quiet cool place to be in the summer. The race was large but went very well. We had 1488 runners. We were pleased with the volunteers that we had there to help us. I think the majority of runners had a great day. We stayed in Cannonville for 2 days and went to the Old Time Fiddlers Show in the park on Saturday night. It was fun, cheesy, and good. We ate dinner at the park.

On July 19 we headed for Duck Creek for the Carlson Reunion. We dropped off the trailer at the campground, then headed for Cedar to pick up some grocerys. We met Scott there and travelled back up the mountain just ahead of him. We stayed at Duck Creek Campground for 3 nights. We had a good time and enjoyed the rain and cool weather. Mostly we ate and slept, which is what we needed. It was a fun time and we learned a little more about our family tree. I read about Grandma Tipton, and her mom Great Grandma Miller.

Scott and I went with the Washington YM to Lake Powell for a couple of days of skiing, wake boarding, and swimming. We drove down on Thursday morning and stayed on Ipson's beautiful house boat. It was a blast. There were so many boys there. We rode in the paddle boat, and went skiing and wake boarding. Scott and I rode the tube together. We were a pretty good team. We had really good firesides each night.

Kathy, Lyndy, Max and Lacey took a week-end trip to Payson to see the Kent Family. They had a really good time visiting with all of the family. You'll have to get more details from them.

We have purchased another timing system to use for our really big races. It is a chip system that uses disposable chips. We are excited for it to get here and to start using it. It is called the Jaguar Timing System.

Summer flew by with all those activities. This has truly been a summer of good memories.

June 2009 Fun On The High Sea

We did it!! We got every one of our kids on a cruise with us. After lots of prep and planning we headed out for San Diego to get on our cruise ship, "The Carnival Elation" It was quite a drive to San Diego, but we all made it in good time and without major problems. We each enjoyed the good sleeping and food aboard the ship. We saw a couple of great shows and enjoyed some entertainment.(except for Ken's attempt at Sinatra Kareoke) We laughed and ate, and slept, and ate, and played and ate, well you get the idea. We did some shopping in Ensenada and Catalina. Turns out the Stratton's are quite the bargainers.

For us, the part of the cruise that will always mean the most was having dinner with everyone each night. You kids will never know how much it meant to us, to have you all laughing and enjoying each other. We love each of you and hope you will always have great memorys of the Cruise 2009. Here are a few pics of our trip.


Max wasn't too sure about the shuttle ride.

Ken had to put in the miles.

Stacie and Lacey and more food.

Ken pulling out of the San Diego Port.

Beau and Stef chowing down on great food.

Pass the salt.

Max enjoying the evening meal.

View of our ship "Carnival Elation"

Us at Catalina Island.

Our Home (no more rent) & Santa Clara Elementary

We finally got all of the red tape cut and the bank okay'd our offer. We moved into our new home the second week in April. Thanks to everyone for their help in heaving a piano, couch and other assorted items into the house. We really love this house, the view, the ward, and all of the possibilities that come with it. I love the big garage, a workshop, and a storage shed. I have been trimming everything in sight. With the help of some new tools, I have managed to get things looking good enough that I could even show it off to my Grandpa Carlson. Inside we have put up a few pictures, the guitars, and even a few trophys. We look forward to a life time of peace and happiness here.

Kathy received her assignment for student teaching in the Fall and the SEE program in the Spring at Santa Clara Elementary School. We are so excited for her to get that assignment. It is only about 1/4 mile from our house and will be a great experience for her.

2009 Laughlin Half Marathon Fun

We had a great time with the 2009 version of the Laughlin Half Marathon. We had about 260 runners and some really nice weather to enjoy. Thanks to all of the family for their help. Mom and Dad, Scott, Lyndy, Jon, Max, Kody, Stacey, and Kyle were all there to help us. We had a really good time and ate some really good food at Perkins. After the race we spent some time at the pool soaking in some rays. Some of us even gave our blood. (way to go donors) Those who donated got free movie tickets. We went to see the most stupid movie ever created, Monsters vs. Aliens. Dumb, Dumb, Dumb. We missed Lacey due to Preference Dance, and missed Stef and Beau due to a wedding in Beau's family. Hope they can make it next year. Everything went according to planned on race day. Happy runners, nice awards, good weather, (although we had some wind at the end of the race), good food, meeting new friends and reaquainting ourselves with some old friends, were all part of the event. We look forward to 2010 and more fun and games in Laughlin NV.

Spring Break At Brian Head Ski Resort

We had a blast at Brian Head Ski Resort on Thursday during Spring Break. I had never been skiing before so I had some work to do. We got the gear on and headed for the lifts. (not as easy at it appears) Anyway, we got on the lift and had a beautiful ride up the mountain. Then the fun began!!! I was less than graceful getting off of the lift. Imagine this ski polls crashing between my skis, ski tips crossing, sliding down the exit area, oh by the way I was on my back. The small injury in the below picture was a result of that perfect 4 point landing when I got off the lift. Standing up again after that was also a challenge. I finally got up with Kathy's help. She pointed me in the right direction, told me how to snow plow, and I'm sure she expected to see her coordinated and athletic hubby cruise down the hill. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Long story short, after several crashes and contenplating the possibility of walking, I got up and got some advice from another sympathetic skier, (who by the way was helping a blind man ski down the mountain)After that I continually improved to the point that we were having some fun on the mountain. At about 1:00 we went in and had a great lunch then back out to the slopes. We skied until they closed the lifts at 4:30. We had such a great time together.

Everything is Amazing and Nobody is Happy