Camping Trip to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole

Beautiful Jenny Lake, under the Grand Tetons

Moose near our campground in Jackson Hole

Grandma swingin' with the kids

More of Jenny Lake

Some hot springs in Yellowstone

Lower Falls in Yellowstone

The Buffalo were really presumptuous with walking through the campsites, but who's going to argue?

Uncle Johnny with Lincoln

The famous Old Faithful geyser. Not sure what the hoop-la is about. Even for a geyser, it is neither the tallest, longest lasting, nor the most predictable of the geysers in the park.

Old faithful #2, worth the hoop-la

Morning in the campground next to Yellowstone Lake

Grandpa John with Lincoln

Taylor's 4th Birthday Party

We invited a bunch of kids over from Taylor's church class and the neighborhood, as well as some family that was in town. They all had a great time. Funny about the cupcakes that mom made below: all of the kids who had them only licked off the frosting and took one bite of the cupcake, then left them!

Las Vegas, etc

Some time in Las Vegas for Grandpa Chuck's 70th Birthday party. Here poolside at the Mirage with Casey's brother Rick and his family, and his brother Sean
We had a delicious dinner at a fancy Chinese restaurant in the Mirage hotel. Here's a group shot of everyone: Top Row: niece Allie, Casey, Emma, Sandy, Rick, Grandpa Chuck; Bottom Row: nephew William, nephew Ricky, Sean, Grandma Diane.

Here's a couple of shots at Old Cove Fort, a historical site for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, located in central Utah. This fort was created as a stopping point for people traveling west during its occupied time.


On a hike with my dog Shiloh in the trails above Pleasant Grove, Utah, close to where we live. Beautiful streams, pine forests, and meadows there.

Yea Summer

Dressing up at Grandma's house in San Diego.




Shiloh, the good ol' boy
the floor before...
During...and after!
Celebrating with a BBQ

Welcome Spring!!!

Hello again from the Ruiz fam. Yea! spring is finally here! Life is good in our neck o' the woods with the kids having fun and Emma's belly getting bigger. Baby Boy is due in the middle of September and Em is doing very well. We recently closed on our house (see below) and are very busy working on projects and getting really acquainted with Home Depot again. Just like old friends... In fact, today is our 2nd Anniversary, so we celebrated the same way we did for our first meal as a married couple... with greasy hamburgers.
Upcoming events are officially moving out of our apartment into the house (may 24), a trip back to San Diego to attend a wedding of friends and to pick up my dog (Shiloh) down there (end of May) and Papa Chuck's 70th birthday bash in Vegas (July 12th). Stay tuned!!

Lincoln is a crack-up!

Easter Time

Working on our new garden plot. Hoping for something edible to come out of these boxes!

Who was that masked man???

Taylor in our new back yard.

Casey doing some damage in the new house. Here he is tearing out a water-damaged bathroom floor in order to put in a new subfloor and eventually laminate wood flooring.

Lincoln is SOOOO big...

Yummy watermelon to celebrate our anniversary this month.

Casey and Taylor when we all went to the Hunger Banquet at BYU a while ago.

Casey's coworker Nelda teaching Taylor how to play the harp.

This is when all the international Executive Directors from our partner organizations (of Enterprise Mentors) came to Utah for a week of training. They also got to tour around a bit and meet with some BYU students. This table is at the Omniture Rock/Paper/Scissors tournament in April.

So here is our new (old) house. Built in 1909 and definitely got character. We closed on May 7th, Casey's birthday (most expensive b-day gift ever). It's got lots of projects to work on but will be a lot of fun. We love having a place of our own again and the kids enjoy playing in the back yard. Say goodbye to spare time!