A fun day of Family Golf

Today we took the Family Golfing at our Golf club here in Summerville. The weather could not have been any better.....70's and sunny!

Nick with the Club House in the background.

Practice swing before that first try at hitting the ball down the fairway.

Laurel getting ready to smack a good one down the fairway!

Ben Is Home

Ben was very excited to see his new home, I think he likes it so far! We are very happy to have our family together again. On the ride home from the airport he talked about how things seem sort of new and a little strange but other than Nicks obvious growth we are still the same as when he left and he loves it!

Ben just outside the garage before going inside.

This is the banner that Laurel's seminary class made and we hung it up so as soon as he went upstairs to the main floor he would see it along with other decorations and balloons that we fixed up.

Playing the Piano while we waited to go see the Stake President for his release. Ben has learned to play hymns very well on his mission and we enjoyed listening to him play.

At the Airport

We got at the Airport just as his plane was landing, it came in 20 minutes early! We got to see the plane taxi to the gate from the viewing area where we were sitting on rocking chairs that they have there for people waiting. I took this picture because we knew that he was sitting in seat 36E which was on this side of the plane. Bishop Cunningham and his wife were there too to meet Ben. Ben was of course the last one off the plane!

Bens plane coming in to the gate. Ben is sitting in the row with the last two window.

Nick and Mom waiting at the gate

Moms hug, it took a while before she would let go of him so Nick and I could have a turn!

NOW PLAYING !

TODAY IS THE BIG DAY..........WE ARE ALL VERY EXCITED!

Ben arrives at the Airport around 4PM our time. He will see his name up in lights in our Home theater lobby area where he will first enter the house from the garage. We will post pictures of his homecoming ASAP. Laurel's seminary class also made a banner that we will display upstairs. It will be nice to have Ben home again from serving so well on a full time mission for the Lord these past two years.

WELCOME HOME BEN, WELL DONE!

Elder Johnson & Elder Cawley

On Saturday Ben's Grandpa and Grandma Martineau met him at the Sacramento Temple. This picture was taken after the session. They had a baptism at 3:30. We are looking forward to Ben's return in a little over a day!

It's Spring Break for many and the beach is bustling

The Richardson Family comes to visit during their spring break. We were able to spend a few hours every afternoon on the beach.Kites on Folly beach, a retired gentleman was flying this 15 kite stack while we were enjoyng a sunny warm day near the pier!
Savannah and Zachary loved going in the water even though it was only 60 degrees. We are wimpy now and wait until it reaches at least 70.
Zachary promised he would not get his shorts wet. Can you guess what the out come was?

It would not be a day at the beach without a little game of catch!

We had a blast with the Richardsons while they were here.

Laurel's Family spends the weekend in S.C.

Mom, Marianne and Briel came to South Carolina to visit. We took them to the Aquarium and Fort Sumpter National Monument. The weather was a bit cooler then it has been. We went to the beach anyway. Briel said that the water was warm:)
Briel at the Charleston Aquarium. The new Ravenel Bridge behind her.
At Fort Sumpter National Monument. A very windy day!

Count down until Ben arrives in Charleston SC

March in Summerville

The weather is starting to feel like spring and everything is starting to blossom and turn green! We had a wonderful day yesterday relaxing and playing at home. Nick had a few friends over and they played x-box, music and watched a movie! Darren did somemore work on the front landscape and I finished 4 pages in our 1999 scrapbook! After Dinner it was still warm out so Darren and I played a little basketball and watched the dogs chase each other around the house. One of Kirra's favorite things to do while she is outside.

Spring is on it's way

We were very lucky That the storm that swept the south on Thursday left only puddles after a lot of rain here in Summerville. Thursday morning a truck load of dirt arrived and Darren managed to get it spread before the storm hit. We also had our porch screened in. It is nice to be able to let some fresh air in. We are enjoying warmer weather now. There are blossoms slowly coming. I will post some pictures of all the color as it becomes more plentiful.

New Driveway

We are so thrilled to have a paved driveway. Darren was at Home Depot getting some pavers for the front walkway and saw the paving company's truck. Darren talked to the guy about our driveway. He came out and gave us a bid that afternoon. His bid was better than any we had. The company was in Summerville doing a few jobs and fit us in the next day. They were fast, 3hrs start to finish. We could not drive on it for the next 24hrs. So my car stayed in the garage and Darren's truck was parked around the block in front of a nice neighbors house. It was worth the inconvenience.

Progress on the Gate!

Well it is a cold and cloudy Saturday here in Summerville. Darren worked all day on the electrical and lighting for the gate. People who were going out early this morning would wave and tell him how much they like his new gate:) I love that he can see something in his mind and then create it! You should see the call box, it is serious business. This is the 4th gate he has built. It is by far the largest!

Missionary news

Hey everyone just thought you would like to know, Ben has been transfered to the Antelope Stake. He did not say which ward he is in yet. He will probably stay there until he comes home. His companion is from Savannah Ga. He is actually from the ward that Elder Richard Shelman is serving in. How funny is that? We are so cold here, its in the 40's when we go to seminary, and the upper 50's in the afternoons!

Winter Day At The Beach

Darren surfing IOP. The weather was nice that day at the beach. A warm breeze and lots of sunshine:)

Christmas Day 2006

After the sunrise we woke Nick up and opened gifts, Ben called at 9:30. It was so fun to talk to him!
Nick found a Bow and Arrows left for him by Santa. He is having fun dispite the rain. It was a warm tropical rain :)
We enjoyed a southern style Christmas dinner. Some wonderful friends invited a few families new to the area. We sure have been blessed this year!

Zone Leader Inservice Meeting in Gridley

Great Grandpa & Grandma Bagley visit with Ben for a few minutes after his meeting at the Gridley building.

Decorating for Christmas 2006

Darren rented a Cherry picker yesterday so he could hang the lights on the house. It is much to high for a ladder. I was a little worried when the motor shut off becouse it became unbalanced. He had to wind himself down for a few feet until it became level again. We turned it back on and he came down all the way no problem! It was sunny but very cold for Summerville.

Everyone wants in on the action!

Inspection of the lights before going into the bucket.

Disney Dreams movie trailer

COMING SOON TO HOME THEATER!

My vacation motion picture "DISNEY DREAMS" is in the works. There is a ton of footage that I have to go through and edit and it takes a long time to put together a good quality movie. Im trying to do my best to make it in the style of a Major motion picture and since I am not a professional I have to do everything the hard way. To view the trailer you will need WINDOWS MEDIA or QUICKTIME applications. The entire film was shot in HD Widescreen 1080i video / Dolby Digitlal 5.1 surround sound with my new SONY HDR-SR1 camera. The DVD will be available in the following formats: SD widescreen 16:9 @ 720p (Played with a standard DVD player) and in full HD quality @ 1080i AVCHD via Blu-Ray Disc technology (To view in HD requires a Blu-Ray player)

The DVD will have Setup options and scene selections as well as bonus material with deleted scenes and trailors for other upcoming movies that Nick and I are Filming. Here is a snapshot from my DVD Architect program of the main DVD menu:

To download the Disney Dreams Trailer please click on the following links:

Windows media (low res)-

Quicktime (low res) -

The weather was very bad the day we arrived at Disney's Cay(key) so the ship could not be docked. We spent a day at sea instead. We loved it! We watched an Ice Sculpter carve this 300lb block of ice into fish and coral. It was amazing! That is one cool job! We attended a class by Chief Donovan from Jamaca. He taught us how to make Shrimp and Sundried tomato risotto. So Yummy! I will try it soon, we got a copy of the recipe.
More Ice!
We also took a towel folding class and learned the secrets of creating animals with towels. Who knows maybe when you come to visit one will be waiting in your room!

Thanksgiving in Florida

Sun setting over Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Nick at Disney's MGM Studios
Pirate night in the dining room aboard the Wonder.
We spent a wonderful week in Florida and on the Ocean with alot of our Johnson cousins and Grandpa and Grandma Watson. We drove down to Florida on friday. just as we were arriving on the Cape we saw a rocket that was launched go into space. That was a site to see.