Coral's Wedding

Our first niece (or nephew for that matter) has gotten married! Josh's niece Coral (Tiffany's oldest daughter) got married in Boise on the first Saturday in September over Labor Day weekend.

Unfortunately, it was the same day as Micah and Ammon's first XC race of the season, so they weren't able to come. And since it was Micah's first XC meet ever, and his first overnight athletic event, we felt that it was important for one of us to be with him. So, Josh drove the XC bus to Soda Springs (which left on Friday and got home super late on Saturday night), which meant he would also be unable to attend Coral's wedding. Josh and I have done a lot of tag-teaming this fall with all the events that have gone on, and I'm grateful to have a partner who is so supportive and tries to do all he can for our family! I took Kanyon and Jonah with me to Boise, and we stayed at our friend Krissy's house on Friday night. The boys played with Mason while we were there, and they were happy to be with their friend again. After we arrived in Boise, I left the boys with Mason and went to the family dinner following Coral's first temple session (I didn't know I could've taken the boys with me to it--I thought it was just for adults because it was right after her endowment session).

On Saturday morning, the boys and I did a little bit of shopping before heading to the temple. As I was inside for the wedding, the boys waited in the car while it rained, then walked around the temple. Coral was a beautiful bride and she and her new husband Eric were beaming with joy all day!

There were lots of family photos after they came out, and we patiently waited around for the photos that we would be included in. I got some pictures of the boys as we were waiting. It turned out to be a nice day, and the Boise temple had lots of beautiful flowers and plants all around.

Kanyon and I discovered we brought matching clothes!

Josh's parents and both of his brothers came to the wedding as well as his niece Jessalyn (she had to fly home from BYU-Hawaii for it). I got to meet Gideon and Alyssa's new baby boy Teddy that was born in July (but never got to hold him or take a close-up picture of him as he was always being swaddled). They recently moved back to Boise from SLC, so they are a little closer to Salmon which is nice. It was fun to see Gideon and Alyssa as new parents!

Tiffany and Scott's other children stayed in Pocatello while they came to Boise, so their family pictures at the temple seemed MUCH smaller than usual! I love how happy the bride and groom are in these pictures, though!

Before we headed to the family luncheon and then drove back to Salmon, the boys jumped for joy on the temple grounds:

This kid is all arms and legs!!!

Kanyon did a butt-kicker jump.
He hates that his tummy is showing in this pic,
but I think it's adorable!

I think this photo is hilarious! They're doing each other's poses:
Kanyon's trying to do big arms and legs
 (being careful not to let his tummy show again)
and Jonah is doing a butt-kicker, and got some big air!

It was a nice weekend and I'm glad we could be there to support Coral. A few weekends later, she had a reception in Pocatello, and Josh was able to go down for that to see her and meet Eric.

14th Day of Christmas - Gideon

Introducing...Josh's brother GIDEON
Gideon is one of Josh's younger brothers. And except for sharing the same last name, and some similar physical features, they really have nothing in common. They are so completely different!

I first met Gideon in November 1997. At that time, he was just 13 years old. He was such a cute kid, and was so sweet. He was so nice to me, and I've liked him from the first time I saw him! It was fun watching him grow up and mature into the man he is today!

Anybody who knows Gideon knows he is super talented. He dances. He clogs. He sings. He plays the piano. He plays the trumpet. He is an actor. I've gone to many of his dance recitals, his musical concerts, his plays. He never ceases to amaze me. There is nothing this kid can't do. And he excels at whatever he does, too. He dances with a smile. He plays instruments with perfection. He performs without flaw. He is just so good!

Gideon is athletic, too. He ran cross-country in high school and college, he participated in track in high school, and he was on the university dance team every year he attended. And because he's a clogger, his leg muscles are super strong! He played on the basketball team one year in junior high, and I remember going to one of his games. Although it's not a sport he continued to participate in on the school team, he always plays "Lightning" against Josh and Ammon on the driveway basketball court, and he frequently wins!

Gideon is popular. He was a studentbody officer and was class officer several times throughout high school, and when he went to college, he was a leader for a singing group and for his dance team as well. He is charming and makes everyone around him feel good about themselves. He communicates well with both genders, and people of all ages. He is so good with kids, and my boys absolutely adore him! They've missed him since he got married last year and moved away. Gideon got a university degree in communications, and he currently works for the Governor of Idaho.

Growing up on a farm and ranch, Gideon learned to be a hard worker. He is responsible and dependable, and he often gets asked to take on extra responsibilities, because others know that he will say yes and that he will give the assignment 110%. Gideon is fun, he has a great smile, and an awesome laugh. I really like playing games with him, because he's smart and fun to play with and he really likes to play games, too.

He is one of the most righteous people I know. He aspires to be like the Savior. He is loving and generous, he is kind and charitable, he is spiritual and faithful, he is knowledgeable of the gospel and shares his testimony with others. He was a great missionary, and he is firm in his testimony. He is an incredible example to me.

Gideon, I'm so lucky and blessed that you are a part of my life. I am so grateful for the example you are, especially to my boys. I love you and my boys practically worship the ground you walk on! Thanks for always upholding your standards and for making the world a better place!

Monopoly

For his birthday in 2002, I gave Josh a Monopoly Golf. I knew how much he loved the board game, and when I found the "Golf" edition of it, I thought it was perfect for him! He loved it! But it was rarely played because I refuse to play it with him. He always wins Monopoly big-time, and I hate losing so badly over and over and over. Thankfully, when Ammon became old enough to understand the game, Josh found someone willing to play it over and over and over with him! And Ammon has gotten quite good at it, too, even beating his dad on a few occasions!

Now during every Christmas Break for the past 3 years, playing the Monopoly game has become a competition between Josh, Ammon, and Gideon. Ammon looks forward to it, and even played against himself a few times this year to practice for the competition! I think it's funny to watch the three guys play it together, all very serious and competitive, making the game last for hours! Alyssa decided to join in this year's competition, too...but I think she enjoyed it about as much as I did while playing against them, so I doubt she'll do it again!

Each year, at the end of the competition, the champion claims the cherished title of Monopoly King, reigning for a full year until the next Christmas Break!!!

January 2010 - Champion: Josh

January 2009 - Champion: Gideon

January 2008 - Champion: Josh

(sorry, no photo)

09-18-09

Meet the newest Mr. and Mrs. Tolman:

It was such a beautiful wedding.

(the siblings and spouses, minus missionary Malachi)

We all sincerely love both Gideon and Alyssa.

We couldn't be happier for the cute couple!

Identity Identifying

Do you ever identify people by something other than their faces?

For example, you're in a public place and you spot the back of someone's head, but you recognize them because of their hair.

Or you're walking down a street and see a person ahead of you and you know who it is just by the way they walk.

Or you hear a voice and you instantly know who it is that's talking.

It got me thinking...if I posted pictures of somebody's lower half rather than their upper half, would they be recognizable and identified correctly?

So here's my experiment:

do you recognize any of the following people?

how were you able to identify them?

what do you think they all have in common with each other?

Identities 1 & 2

Identities 3 & 4

Identities 5 & 6

A Texan in the Fam

Melissa, you win for being the first person to guess the correct answer for my poem contest as Lubbock, Texas. Since Texas is in the USA, your prize is an American 4th of July decoration! Please email me at joshkala@yahoo.com with your address, and I'll mail it to you. Congrats for winning!

Gideon was in Texas visiting his fiancee Alyssa's family (Alyssa is from Lubbock). They got engaged in May, and a September wedding is planned. When they told me they were engaged, I couldn't stop screaming and jumping up and down! This is the first wedding of Josh's siblings since we got married in 1998! The whole family is SO excited (some of us just show it more than others)!!!

(photo courtesy of Alyssa)

The last time I was in Texas was the summer after 6th grade. My dad and I drove to Florida to see my older sister Lisa's wedding. On the way back to Utah from the wedding, we stopped in Texas to visit my other older sister Michelle's grave in Killeen. The only thing I remember about Texas, other than seeing my sister's grave, was that Texas smelled bad. With the smells of the oil industries and the cow manure, I gagged most of the way across the state. When I first met Alyssa last year, I asked her where she was from. "Texas" she said. "Texas stinks" I said. I told her about my experience, and now we joke about stinky Texas. But nothing about Alyssa stinks. We love her and we are so glad Gideon is happy! Congrats you two! We can't wait!

Where in the World is......

Uncle Gideon?
(did you find yourself singing the finish as Carmen Sandiego?!!!)

Gideon left this week for a few days, and the boys already miss him. So I wanna play a game. I came up with this poem in my dream last night:

He's in a place known by a nickname for a single star.
From Salmon, you can get there by plane or a long ride in a car.
If you take out 3 letters, the city itself would spell "Luck".
People in the area wear big hats, have big cattle ranches, and drive big trucks.

Any guesses? The first person to get the answer right, or the person with the closest answer will win a surPRIZE! Only one guess per person please! I'll let you know on Monday what the answer is and who the winner is!!! Good Luck!

Extravadance

Josh's brother Gideon has been dancing on the BYU-I Dance Alliance team for the last four years. Every year, they perform their dance numbers in a large production called "Extravadance". Because Gideon graduated this spring, this was his last Extravadance performance. I have enjoyed watching him over the years, he is extremely talented and fun to watch! I will miss seeing him and his girlfriend Alyssa (who also graduated this spring) dance on that stage!

The theme for Extravadance this year was "The Journey - A Celebration of Life". They had songs from different generations, songs from different countries, songs representing the different phases of life. Gideon and Alyssa performed a beautiful duet; it was an interpretation about the stages of life.

I thought the funniest numbers were: the 80's dance, complete with a Michael Jackson look-alike, and the ballet dance with Alyssa as the funny student.

There was 22 dances and a finale. Every musical number was complete with beautiful and brilliant costumes. I just loved them all! It was a very spiritual production as well. The dancers started and ended the night all dressed in white, very symbolic of our beginning and ending of life here on Earth. It was inspiring and left a profound impression.

Josh and I went on a date to Rexburg for the show, which is a 5-hour round trip from Salmon, the first week of March. I was so grateful that we had the opportunity to go! The show was fantastic! And I just love these 2 dancers!!!