Nothing Better than Watermelon on a Hot Summer Day!

January 2025
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​We are SO excited to share our 2025 BoulderCrest Lab Calendar! 

It's been a huge labor of love putting it all together. Thankyou, thank you Trish for all your hard work! This is our 4th anniversary and we have really enjoyed all the wonderful submission and getting to know these sweet Labs and their families better over the years. The calendars are high quality and made in the USA.

Calendar Order Details:
There has been a slight increase in printing cost this year. They will be $45 each with shipping for 1-2 at $11.40 and 3-12 at $19.50. Calendars all ship flat rate priority with USPS.
How do I order?
​Email for more info.

December 2024

 Merry Christmas!

God has SO richly blessed us with such wonderful Lab families!
Thank you for sharing part of your Christmas joy with us!

Nov/Dec 2024
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​November and December Handsome Calender Boys!

Nov- "Bear" (Honey x Bourbon) 02/11/2020
Loved by Meghan and family, Eagle, Idaho. Bear is half of the famous "Adventure Boys Duo", Bear is a lover of outdoor adventure. Whether it's hinking or swimming, you can count him in! He is so sweet and playful. Bear is a wonderful snuggler... you better make some room on the couch for him becasue he will be in your lap! He is always down for a lively conversation, making grunting noises and telling you what's what. Photo credit: Ashley E Photography, Meridian, Idaho.
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Dec- "Dutch" (Sophie x Brody) 11/21/2015
Loved by the Voorhees family in Ca. Dutch is a big sweet hunk of teddy bear love! Everyone who meet him falls in love with this boy. His favorite pastime is eating and he loves his "cookies"! We refer to him as "loyal to the cookie", but I think we're a close second. Home Depot is a favorite outing because he knows a biscuit will be his for the taking. Most days you can find him napping in the best spot on the couch. He's delegated himself as mostly an indoor dog, but never passes up a wet sandy day at the beach. We love our Snuggly Bear.
Dec- "Riggs" (Molly x Brody) 10/21/2019
Also loved by the Voorhees Family. Riggs, also known as Rigatoni, Dolly Bug, or Doo Dah, plays the younger brother pest to perfection. Although he loves Dutch to pieces, he still tries to rule the house and act like the tough guy in charge. Besides bugging his brother, Riggs loves to play ball, dig up the backyard, and swim in the ocean. His favorite toy is a stuffed beach ball that he takes to bed with him every night. He has a tough exterior, but he's a softy at heart. His zest for life is infectious!

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Sept/Oct 2024
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​September/October Stunning Calendar Girls!!!

Juni and Sky (Daisy x Bourbon 1/12/21) are loved by Trish and family. They live in Kansas. Both girls are BoulderCrest Babies. Sky is vey bouncy, and Juni says she's scary and might squish her. .Juni is the boss. Sky just wants to have adventures and fun with everyone. Both are mamas girls, but love everyone.
Mia- (Sasha x Padron 06/15/21) Loved by Hannah and family from Michigan. Mia is a sweet girl who loves to strut her stuff in the show ring. She adores her kids and follows them around everywhere. We are so proud of our sweet girl! Mia now is an AKC Champion!

​July/August 2024​

Calendar Boys Having Summer Fun!!!

Mr July and our cover dog Baron (Angel x Bourbon 07/15/20) - He's loved by Ray and Heather from OH. He loves his time in the pool and loves to do zoomie sessions between diving sessions. He gets excited to play in snow each year, because he thinks snow is AMAZING! He is the biggest snuggle buddy and loves to snuggle with his mom and dad and his brother Bennett Lee (also from BoulderCrest). Photo Credit : Seibert Advertising
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Misters August - Winston and Wally (Winter and Padron 03/30/23) Loved by Mike and Cindy from CA. These boys are the perfect retrieving pair. Winston will chase the ball, and when he gets it Wally will steal it from him and drop it at your feet - stealing all the credit. They are inseparable - eating sleeping and playing together. They even share the same bully stick each taking an end. Photo Credit: Haskell Rosenberg

​June 28 and June 30, 2024

SAVE THE DATES!​

Livestream concert... click link below

​June 24, 2024

Update on Alex and the Church family

Hello Friends,
It’s been nearly half a year since Alex’s ski injury at the Idaho State Capitol on New Year's Eve. While it's impossible to keep up with all the little acts of kindness Alex and our family have received, it is a testament of God's faithfulness to us through three weeks in ICU, two months in SLC for rehab, and three months of transitioning back at home since his discharge on March 15th.
Those of you who know our family well know adventure and hard work are still in Alex and our family's blood. Living out in the country on 40 acres just beyond Horseshoe Bend has its own blessings and challenges. During those long weeks of ICU and rehab, our family coursed back and forth to take turns taking care of the ranch and being together with Alex. These days, Alex is the one picking up where we left off by driving nearly an hour to and from work each day in his specially modified Tesla. Thank you to everyone who contributed to getting him through the intense period of healing and recovery back to home and the workforce!
Alex is comfortably settled in the spare room at grandma's house, just up the hill from ours…and hard to photograph as ever! In fact, it’s ten times as difficult now that he has wheels and a life outside the walls of a hospital or rehab center!  He is doing well in his job and finds it very interesting. We enjoy hearing about the various projects he gets to be involved with...for instance, taking data on cow stomachs and working on a government defense device called an optical fuzzer. Not sure if I'm allowed to say anything beyond this, but you get the idea. It's a great place for him to learn and his boss and coworkers are equally wonderful! 
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We have been swimming at Roystone Hotsprings a few times and Alex has figured out how to swim again.  It is always such a fun time to relax and catchup!
  
After work, oftentimes Tori and Alex meet up at the gym together. At first, this was so he could tell her how to help him with different workouts, which she also got to learn. She told me the only downside to this tradeoff is Alex is quickly learning how to do everything himself! They still enjoy going together for exercise and time together.  Speaking of Tori, we are also grateful how the events of this year had a clarifying effect on her career path. On May 14th, she started working at St. Alphonsus in Boise, where we spent the first three weeks after Alex’s injury, and is working towards being a nurse! She still plans to return to The Master's University this fall to finish her degree in Business Administration.

​Calli, Caleb, and Kaeden followed the Lord’s command to baptism at Faith Community Bible Church on Sunday, May 26th: https://youtu.be/tUBMNRnkKEs?si=DsZb6nugVswgIt4V
What a demonstration of Yahweh’s faithfulness and love to call these three into His family! 
I'd take the hardships of this year all over again for this evening because of the reality it represents!
Congrats Grad! 🥳 
Calissa Rose is now ready to jump into college at The Master’s University with Tori and Alex. 
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” ‭‭~ Psalm‬ ‭121‬

And this brings us right down to the present… Healthwise, Alex has mostly remained stable, though he continues to experience nerve pain from time to time. As I already mentioned, he is going to the gym and staying active. Last weekend, he went paragliding again for the first time!! Mentally, he remains positive and active and hasn't lapsed into depression or inactivity. Socially, he maintains about the same level of interaction as before his injury and is glad to have a couple of friends in town and our family here at home. He also has several good friends down at TMU to be back with in the fall. Spiritually, He is unfazed in His faith, but please pray for him and our family in general to continue maturing in our personal Bible study and spiritual disciplines.    As for me, I’m busy preparing for two benefit concerts for Alex at the end of this month, glad for an opportunity to use the gift and training in piano performance I received at TMU. 
For these upcoming concerts, I’ve enlisted the help of several musicians from our local church, FCBC, for a great evening of music reflecting our family’s dynamic, outdoors lifestyle. Funds raised will help Alex pay for his car and the remaining medical bills. A livestream link and recording of the concert will be shared on the GoFundMe page.
Please, please join me in praying these events would  -Bring glory to Christ through the opportunity to share His faithfulness to Alex and our family -Thank everyone who has loved and supported us, and  -Be a clear gospel witness to our local community We couldn’t be thankful enough for each and every one of you. In many ways, we are undeserving of the amount of love and care we have received. I continue to pray this will be to the glory of God's grace and I pray He will continue to sanctify and draw us nearer to Himself and each other every day. "We love, because He first loved us. - 1 John 4:19" ♥️
By His grace, for His glory, The Church Family​

May 26, 2024

Calli, Caleb and Kaeden getting baptized!!!
Praise God for choosing them to be His children!

NOTHING in the world more important then having my children commit their life to Christ and walking with Him!
​I am SO blessed!

​January 15, 2024

These four handsome fellows are looking for their wonderful new furever families.
Boys are crate trained, have early house training and two sets of puppy shots. They sleep quietly in their crates from about 11 pm- 6 am.
email for more info

Left to right:  Daisy boys (middle boy is no longer available) and Blondie boys

​January 14, 2024

​Dear Friends,
Today is exactly two weeks after Alex's ski injury; and let me tell you, his ICU room has become quite the popular place to be! We've managed to ward off most of the paparazzi (his accident was written up in the paper and on local tv stations; they want to do a live interview, but hospital won't allow them in ICU), but we're thankful for all the friends, family, and supporters who have dropped in or sent us a note of good cheer;)
At the beginning of this past week, Alex was still being pumped with medicine to give him high blood pressure. Yes, you read that right...some studies indicate high blood pressure helps give the injured area the best chance at healing at the price of temporary suffering. With this came many other medications to keep everything else in order. Both the medications and high blood pressure caused Alex to suffer from terrible migraines, nausea, loss of appetite, and tiredness. According to Alex, he felt like an overblown balloon with a constant headache. Dad wrote a priceless, fatherly poem for Alex at this time called "Tough as Nails." We were all so happy when he was taken off of the medication on Saturday evening (1/6)! 
As soon as the intravenous meds were stopped, Alex felt very strange. Fortunately, he was in excellent company with a couple of good friends (one of them being a dapper little snowman Kaeden made). 
Sunday morning, Alex woke up feeling like a new man. Since then, he has continued to grow stronger every day, and has daily therapy sessions which include moving himself from a wheelchair to a bed/mat, and wheeling himself around in his wheelchair on his own! Today, with a little help from Kaeden, Alex sat back and received a grand tour of the hospital.
Everything was cleared for Alex to receive treatment at the Craig Neilson Rehab Center in SLC and he was scheduled to leave on Friday (1/12); however, the day before, Alex’s doctor told us he was going to need another surgery to insert rods in the back of his neck to stabilize everything. We were assured the surgery was very safe, but the recovery process would be painful (due to cutting through muscle). He also told us Alex would lose 10-20% range of motion in his neck. Since Alex has already lost so much ability to move, we weren't so keen on him losing that much neck motion, but we naturally agreed to whatever the surgeon thought was necessary. Until someone strongly urged us to get a second opinion...
The mom of one of Alex's friends heard about the second surgery and reached out as both a mother and RN at St. Als. Through her connections at our hospital, she made it possible for mom to talk to another neurosurgeon here at St. Als who she has known for over 10 years as one of the best spinal surgeons in the Treasure Valley. He agreed to take a look at Alex's case and was very thorough in taking new post-surgery MRI and CT scans. Alex went in for these scans around 3am, and Dr. Montalbano visited first thing in the morning to give his opinion on a second surgery. He told us that he wanted to do the surgery, but instead of just inserting permanent rods in the back of the neck, he wanted to insert a cage from the front with temporary supporting rods that would be taken out in a few months. He also wanted to realign the titanium plates inserted in Alex’s first surgery. If Alex had really good bone, Dr. Monty could support the plate from T1 and not need to go through the back, but he said it would require perfect conditions.
The surgery plus wait time before and after was to take around 3 hours, so most of our family went to watch Calli's Senior Presentation. On the way back, Dr. Monty called with news on the surgery: the conditions were indeed perfect and he was able to give Alex a new support structure in the front which will feel much more natural, provide better mobility, and possess less risk for complications down the road. We were ecstatic! God is so good...
Yesterday, the day after his second surgery, Alex felt much better than expected. He says he only feels some soreness where the incision was reopened in his neck area, but other than that, no nasty headaches or other pains. Dr. Monty says he is good to go to SLC as soon as his room is ready and transportation can be scheduled. We expect this to be any day early this week. Tori will go with Alex and mom to SLC the first week while I stay with the other kids to take care of the animals at home. Lord willing, all of us siblings will be together in SLC during weekends. 
Looking back on this week, here are some of the things to PRAISE GOD FOR:
-  A huge outpouring of prayer and support. We've had friends from church bringing us meals, so many people praying and sending notes of encouragement, and generous financial support for Alex's medical needs being donated via Venmo and GoFundMe. 
- Alex's increased level of overall well-being and increasing strength since coming off of high blood pressure and related meds. 
- Our ability as a family to work together and adapt to this new phase of our lives. Obviously, you can continue praying for us in this regard since there are many phases to go through in Alex's recovery.
- God's providence at work in setting up the connections for Alex's second surgery to be modified for a much, much better long-term outcome. Even before Alex's friend's mom got in touch with us, there were two people we know of who had a bad feeling about the second surgery specifically and were praying for the Lord's protection and guidance. We also know many others were praying for Alex's safe recovery generally and God brought to pass exactly what He knew was going to be best for Alex.
-  Alex's acceptance into one of the best rehab centers in the country for spinal chord injuries. Dr. Monty said Alex's school insurance must be amazing. He's had many a patient turned away from admittance into the Craig Neilson Rehabilitation Center because their insurance wasn't willing to pay the state-of-the-art price tag. Thank you TMU for choosing a good insurance provider for students!
- Six out of our twelve puppies have found their wonderful new homes!
And things to PETITION GOD FOR:
- Alex to continue regaining more feeling below his chest. If the Lord wills, anything is possible, but we would have great cause to rejoice if he were to regain his abs and bowel/bladder. 
We were originally told 72 hours after the first surgery was the time frame to see if any function below his chest would be regained, but Dr. Monty said we could see things happen in the next six months and beyond. 
- Safe transportation to Utah sometime in the next few days. There has been a crazy amount of snow and very low temperatures. There are many accidents on the roads, including a severe one that brought a young man of nineteen into ICU just down the hall. Eian has been in a coma for several days and we are praying for and with his family. 
- Smooth and quick adjustment to the rehab center and strength for the rigorous training program! 
- Wisdom and love in the many conversations we have with other families and the nurses, doctors, and therapists serving us. We even had the local news stations talking to us, which showed how God has given us a connection with our local community through this injury. I want us to take full advantage of opportunities like this to share with others the hope and goodness God has given us in Christ in all of this (1 Pet. 3:15-16), but am reminded, especially by Alex, of the example of Paul, who in his witness "did not come with superiority of word or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the witness of God...so that the cross of Christ would not be emptied of its power (1 Cor. 2:1, 1:17)." Rather, His "power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9)." What a wise and holy God we are privileged to walk with in our witness and worship during this unique season! 

​

New Years Eve Dec 31, 2023
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Alex had a serious ski jump accident
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After being in ICU for two weeks (Dec 31-Jan 14) with a broken neck (two vertebra)... we will soon be going to SLC for a few months of rehab. Alex is paralyzed and cannot feel below his chest.  He had two spinal cord surgeries to repair his broken vertibrae (C7 completed shattered and C6 broken). This tragedy hits our family hard... but the Lord has a plan and He is walking with us each step of the way.

​The story below of Alex is written by his sister Abrie.

"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." - 1 Cor 13:13
A pair of skis, a body of youthful strength, a mind and spirit quickly fueled by challenge and adventure, an escalating runway of packed ice and snow, a moment of suspension, a powerful thrust of over-rotation colliding with an unforgiving layer of packed snow atop pavement, a conscious realization, a completely shattered C7 vertebrae and fractured C6, a crucial, highly technical spinal surgery spanning six hours and bringing to close not just a year, but an era in the life of Alex and the Church Family...
On December 31, 2023, our family woke up early to care for our animals and join our body of believers at Faith Community Bible Church. God’s Word was opened to passage after passage describing God’s love and how it circulates as the predominant and overarching characteristic of Christ’s church. Little did we know that before the day was over, we would cry out for this love and experience it being showered upon us to a greater degree and fervency than ever before...
After church service and fellowship, Alex headed to the Idaho State Capitol to practice on a massive ski jump on which he was signed up to compete. The winner would jump during the Idaho Potato Drop at midnight. But Alex wasn’t there to win any prize other than the thrill of being on the snow and in the air with the other competitors. After taking three jumps to get used to the very unique conditions, Alex felt ready to try a backflip. Still unexperienced with the size of the jump and winch used to pull him at 40mph, he thrust himself faster and harder than necessary, spinning around not just once, but making an extra half rotation until his lower neck made contact with the cold, hard ground.
Alex felt no pain when his C7 vertebrae was immediately crushed. He remained fully conscious and asked someone to call his mom while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. When mom received a call from a woman informing her of the accident, I was sitting nearby at the piano. The woman said he was safe, but could not feel his legs...
We immediately prayed together and readied ourselves drive to St. Alphonsus where Alex was being taken. Tori, Calli, Caleb, and Kaeden were at a nearby mall using their Christmas gift cards. They arrived at St. Alphonsus just in time to see the ambulance arrive with Alex. When mom, grandma, and I arrived about an hour later, the doctors were still preparing for surgery, which began around 10pm.
It was a long and uncertain wait for our family from the time we all arrived at the hospital until Dr. Joyce, the surgeon, stepped into our private waiting room. Without hesitation, he told our family what we were all afraid of, but inwardly suppressed for fear of being true: Alex's spinal chord injury would almost certainly prevent him from ever using his legs again. Fiercely distressed, our tears flowed freely...
Just before the operation, mom, grandma, and I were permitted to see our dear Alex. Though he was heavily medicated and surrounded by equipment, he was conscious and told us we were “taking it a lot harder than he was.” The way he continued to joke, we secretly wondered if Alex had been kept from knowing the seriousness of his injury so as not to worry him before the surgery. As the anesthesiologist began talking with us, it was evident Alex was indeed aware of his condition, but even more than that, he was aware of his position and purpose as a child of God. So we encouraged Him in the Lord with the words of Joshua 1:9 and prayed for God’s miraculous favor in the surgery, if He should so will it for the glory of Christ. Later, an assistant nurse told mom what Alex said after we left: “I can still serve the Lord, even with a broken body.”
The surgery was expected to last at least a couple of hours. After three long hours, the anesthesiologist came and told us the surgery would take yet another two or three hours as Dr. Joyce painstakingly worked to remove all of the shattered bone fragments and replace C7 with a prosthetic vertebrae supported by a titanium plate. The plate was also fitted to support C6, which had been fractured.
Request for prayer was quickly sent out as the surgeon labored on into the night. Late as it was, surely the message was received by many who were awake later than usual that night for the New Years Eve holiday. Our family continued to pray, hope, and wait fervently as the old year passed away and a new year dawned...
It was nearly 4am on New Year’s Day when the surgery was finally completed. Surprisingly, Alex was awake and able to talk with each of us later in the day, continuing to be full of the peace and hope of Christ. He could still remember with amazing clarity everything that had happened before and after the surgery, such as where he parked his car for the ski competition and the conversation he had with mom, grandma, and I just before the operation. The following day, he was already able to sit up in a padded chair for over an hour. The therapist said 99% of patients with complete spinal injury would not be able to do so this soon after surgery!
Better yet, we continued to receive an overflowing abundance of prayer from Alex's church in CA (Oak Hill Bible Church), Faith Community Bible Church here in Boise, and many other friends and family, including The Master's University professors and staff. And many were already putting feet to those prayers by offering us their homes as a closer place to sleep than our own, bringing us food and good cheer at the hospital, and in the case of TMU, offering to make special accommodations for Alex to continue working towards his electrical engineering degree.
All of this would be a special source of love and encouragement in the coming days. From Wednesday until now, nearly a week after the accident, Alex has been very tired, struggling to keep food down, and enduring a continual headache from the many medicines in his body. We suspect the high blood pressure medicine to be the main contributor to his present challenges, but it was important for the damaged area to be getting an abundant supply of blood to have the best chance of healing. We hope his head will begin to feel much better today since the doctors took him off of the high blood pressure medicine yesterday evening. He is looking forward to watching Sunday service online with mom in a few hours:)
Looking at the road ahead, Alex will most likely be transferred to the University of Utah's Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital in a week or so where he will learn how to be independently functioning without his lower body. He will spend 2-4 months at their state-of-the-art training center, which specializes in spinal chord injury. Fortunately, Alex has student insurance that will help cover the cost of the surgery and some rehabilitation, but we know that besides deductibles, there will be many additional expenses such as ambulance transportation for Alex to Salt Lake City, room, board and gas for mom who will stay with Alex throughout the duration of his rehab and the rotating siblings who will take turns visiting for a week at a time and returning home to take care of our ranch, adaptive equipment for Alex, and the out-patient rehabilitation and services he will need in the months and years ahead. Even though the needs are costly, we are so thankful to know God will "fulfill all [our] needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:9
We continue to pray for a miracle of full or partial restoration to Alex's legs if it will bring the most glory to Christ our Savior and the most good to our dear brother Alex. Within the first 72 hours after the surgery, there was a very slight possibility this could happen naturally, but only if the spinal chord was severely bruised rather than damaged. As this window of time came to a close without Alex regaining any sensations below his chest, it became clear there are now two possibilities: either God can heal him now, after the complete spinal injury has been confirmed, in order to demonstrate His complete restorative power, or God can continue to best show His power and the growth of His Kingdom being made perfect through Alex's present weakness. We are truly blessed in knowing our God will choose the best of these two wonderful possibilities because of His loving character, promises, and relationship towards us in Christ.
For everyone reading this who truly knows the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and truly follows His Son, Christ Jesus, we are so grateful knowing you will cheerfully give yourselves to prayer on our behalf. We pray many of you will also spread the testimony of God's grace in this trial as both an encouragement to the body and a witness to the world. If you do not truly know and follow the sovereign God and coming King, we pray for God to show you the way of salvation in Christ and teach you to WALK in His footsteps, just as Alex does and will forever...
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." -Isaiah 40:28-31
If God leads you to support us financially during this triumphant battle, we are so grateful for your fellowship in our present sufferings, just as we share in the sufferings of Christ together. If you donate through my Venmo: @Abriana-Church, there will be no transaction fee. When Alex is feeling well enough to manage financial affairs, his Venmo will be substituted here. Email me through GoFundMe if you have any questions. Also email me if you would like to receive regular updates, praises, and ways to pray for Alex and our family throughout this journey!
In the faith, hope, and love of Christ,
The Church Family (Robert and Amy, Abrie, Tori, Alex, Calli, Caleb, Kaeden)​

Alex LOVES anything outdoors! He loved to rock climb, surf and ski.  He was going to The Masters University in Santa Clarita, California with his sister Tori (sister Abrie graduated) and cousin Andrew.  The support from his friends has been overwhelming.  He has two friends who plan to move to SLC to be there with him during rehab.  

A few days before the accident... climbing the Sawtooth mountians with his siblings... so they could ski down on fresh powder!

Alex always has the biggest smile to everyone he meets... and he still does!  We are SO proud of you Alex and know the Lord is going to use you in so many wonderful ways.

​Happy New Year 2024!!!!

May the blessings of Jesus and knowing Him bring you and your family much joy, love and peace in 2024.

GALATIANS 5:22-23 NIV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

​January 1, 2024

Here are some pics of the babies.  We had both our girls (Joy and Bambi) and most of our partnership families girls (Indy, Blondie and Daisy) come into heat at the same time... so LOTS of little ones!  They are ALL a blessing from the Lord!  Some are looking for their forever families... inquiries invited.
Eleven brothers    ~    ​One little sis

Our mommy said we are doing VERY good on our crate and house training.  We also have learned stay and working on "sit".

​April 15, 2023

Our dogs are classical snobs, as they listen to nothing but The Best! Abrie is getting ready for her Israel fundraising concerts happening in the next couple weeks here in Boise, Idaho and also Culver City, California. We would love to see you there (sorry, no dogs will be attending).
​Here is a link for more info on the concerts:​

​gofund.me/ca5ada6d

Feb 11, 2023

​Abrie is the guest artist at the Culver City Symphony(LA area) on Feb 11, 2023. 
​ All are invited to attend!

Next Saturday! Culver City Symphony Orchestra Presents Concerto Competition Winner in Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No.2  Dear Friend of the Orchestra, Our 2022-23 season spotlights three finalists seeking to be our new Music Director-Conductor. We continue the season with guest conductor Clyde Mitchell in a program featuring our 2019 Parness Concerto Competition Senior winner, Abriana Church, in a performance of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2. Prokofiev wrote the concerto in 1912-13, but the score was destroyed in a fire following the Russian Revolution. He reconstructed and revised it in 1923, when he was living in Paris, and it is that rewritten version that we know today. Prokofiev was a virtuoso pianist, and this concerto is considered to be one of the most technically formidable piano concertos in the standard repertoire. We look forward to a spectacular performance by Abriana! The concert will open with music from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Suite, and end with Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World."
Admission to this concert is FREE  Saturday, February 11 at 7:30pm The Robert Frost Auditorium in Culver City. Click to visit our website for more details Clyde Mitchell was an accomplished French horn player, including as Principal Horn of the Montréal Symphony, before turning to conducting. He was the Resident Conductor of the Vancouver Symphony for nine seasons, and is currently Music Director of the Lions Gate Sinfonia and Youth Orchestra of North Vancouver, Canada. He has been a guest conductor for the Toronto and Montréal Symphonies and other Canadian orchestras as well as numerous engagements in Europe, Asia, South America and the United States. Mitchell lives in the Los Angeles area and in 2022 he conducted our Marina del Rey Summer Symphony in Burton Chace Park.
Abriana Church brings fresh virtuosity to the stage with some of the most daunting pieces composed for the instrument.  Her emotive musicality and a natural proclivity for the art of performance have won enthusiastic reception from audiences and jurors alike. Ms. Church currently resides in Idaho where she takes inspiration from mesmerizing mountainous landscapes and her energetic family. Recently graduated from The Master's University in Santa Clarita, she plans to pursue further compositional studies alongside piano performance.  Abriana is featured on our YouTube channel. Click on the image to view her all-Liszt recital recorded in 2021.

​Merry CHRISTmas 2022!!!
Our six sweet Labs... Bourbon, Honey, Bambi (or new girl), Joy, Blondie and Padron.

Luke 2 7-14
2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

​Dec 24, 2022
Tori singing "White Christmas"

​Summer/Fall 2022

​FOR SALE~ Beachfront Palapa in Mexico $175K

We have decided to sell our amazing beachfront palapa "Tranquila" located 1 hour water taxi ride south of Puerto Vallarta. It is located in a off grid community (full solar) of about 25 other palapas called Los Chonchos. It is a 38 years lease until 2060. Maintained fees are $2800 per year and there are NO other fees. It is remote, safe... and very peaceful! Everyone is very friendly. The palapa is open air and has two beds and a loft and comes completely furnished and ready to enjoy! Palapa has internet, hot water, frig and cooktop. Chimo is the nearest village to go for food and supplies. It is an appx 45 min hike to town or you can hire the boat to take you.

Also... copy/paste links below for more info. The video is actually of the palapa "Tranquila". It has been updated since the video was taken (new concrete counters, new shelves/storage, new concrete shower, new ladder to loft and railing, etc). They have laundry services available and will pick up and do laundry in near by town of Chimo.

We have a second palapa "Tree house" available as well for $75k, as it needs a bit of updating. It is in the hills overlooking the ocean and Bandelero Bay and about 150 steps to the beach and about a 5 min walk to Tranquila. The community has a local builder/repair personal to help with any needs. I can send photos if you are interested.
There is no financing available... so it is a cash sale.
Call or email for more info. Amy Church (208) 602-2197
https://www.facebook.com/Los-Chonchos-Eco-Village-271090986402827/
http://www.beachfrontcasas.com/
https://vimeo.com/147069557​

Spring/Easter 2022  

Happy Thanksgiving from our crew to yours!!!

Patiently waiting for their Thanksgiving feast!
"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His loving kindness is everlasting."
​Psalms 1:18:1

before and after pics...

... and LOTS of snoring going on!

Oct 2021               

AKC Ch Legacy's Joy To The World at BoulderCrest
"Joy"

Joy just won a Major Win/Best of Opposite Sex in Texas 
and is now
an AKC Champion!
A VERY big thank you to our wonderful handlers
Susie and Jorge Olivera​

​We are SO happy to have our sweet Joy girl back home... and I think she is happy to be home too!

I'm at it again... building a new home for my mom.  She sold her bigger house I built for her and is downsizing the house... but upsizing the acreage from 20-40! We are doing a lower maintenance yard this time.  My mom will be 90 this February!  She is doing amazing and can't wait to move in her new home!  I love it because she is only one property away!

We grew some VERY big zucchini this year!  Caleb and the kids made some delicious zucchini bread.

Mini had the share her horse trailer will some lumber needed for building.  She was on her way to a new indevour for her....cart training. 
​Can't wait to have her pulling a cart... so fun!

Fall is one of the best times for riding.  On one of the rides we were going to ride to Bogus Basin Ski Area.  We'll... the Suburban overheated and they had to ride all the way home (through town/hwy/18 miles).  Kaeden learned to canter on this ride and had so much fun!

Calli riding Padrona... our new 3 year old Arab mare on the Brownlee Loop (12 miles).  She is a Padron Psyce daughter.

Oct 30, 2021
​ This is Tom... the last kitty of 5 we are fostering.  If anyone is looking for a super affectionate kitty he is it!  We have a bird and the two don't mix well. 

F​all 2021

Where does the time go!!!! 
​ 
Abrie, Tori and Alex are now all in college!!!  They are all at the same Christian University in Southern California (The Masters University and Seminary).  Abrie will graduate this year, Tori is second year and currently spending a semester in Israel and SO blessed to be there!  Israel is closed to tourist visas... so not many people.  They are filling their days will field studies, biblical teaching, learning Hebrew and even got to ride a camel! It is Alex's first year and he is SO thrilled he was accepted. Their walk with the Lord is more precious and meaningful then any other accomplishment or anything else in the world!        

​​"We went in a boat on the Sea of Galilee!"
In one of the most spectacular miracles of the Gospels, Jesus walks on the surface of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 6:45–53; John 6:16–21). In Matthew’s version of the story (Matthew 14:22–33), Jesus invites Peter to leave the boat and come toward Him, which Peter does and walks on water. Two other remarkable and well-known miracles that happened near the Sea of Galilee were the feeding of the four thousand (Matthew 15:29–39) and the feeding of the five thousand (Luke 9:10–17).
Jesus taught the crowds by the shore (Mark 4:1–34) and preached while standing in a boat on the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 13:2). And the Lord is believed to have delivered His famous Sermon on the Mount on the shores of the sea near Capernaum (Matthew 5—7).

Old City Jerusalem Summary Day 1
After taking our very first glimpse of Jerusalem up close from the window of a bus, we stopped and walked out to the Jerusalem wall surrounding the Old City near the Jaffa gate. To be so close to something that has been around for so long and has so much history surrounding it just made me speechless. The day just kept getting better and better, however, which began when we entered into the Old City and started walking down it’s narrow stone streets and alleyways. Vendors of fruit, candy, and clothing, just to name a few, popped out from every wall of the city making the atmosphere alive and cheery. Due to COVID and the shortage of tourists, we were able to make it into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It was a very solemn experience to be able to see and touch the actual stone upon which Jesus was crucified, and then to stand in the exact place he was resurrected. Next we walked up to the top of the Austrian Hospice where we got an amazingly clear view of the city and the many domes therein. After this, we walked on a hill full of gravestones parallel to the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives was also covered in tombstones. This is because many people believe that when Jesus returns on the Mount of Olives, those nearest to the place of his descent will be the first to be resurrected. We walked along a while longer and came to the wall right outside Herod’s temple. The men and women are not allowed to approach the wall together as it is considered sacred to the Jews, so there is a divide. My girlfriends and I walked up to the wall and after standing in line waiting our turn, went up and were able to touch it. Being in this city and being able to see and touch things that you read about in the Bible was something I will truly treasure forever. We walked around a bit more, and, after totaling about 5 miles, headed back to the bus and Yad Hashmona.

Old City Jerusalem and City of David: Day 2
The day began with a walk up to the top of a small hill. At the top, we were standing on the exact spot where the land had been divided. In bible times, this ridge was known as the watershed ridge. Next, we hiked down the other side of the ridge and came to a place known as the Way of the Patriarchs. It was on this very route that Isaac traveled to find his wife and had a dream of a gateway into heaven. We came upon an old grave site that was hundreds of years old and were even able to fit all 18 of us inside one of the tombs (which was just a giant hole dug into rock with a small opening at the top). We climbed to the top of some tall buildings in the Old City and were able to get a good view of the Dome of the Rock, the Mount of Olives, and the lay of the land, as well as the valleys and pools. We were able to stand on top of and see ruins of David’s palace (including a rock with a small hole in it, which quite possibly was David’s toilet). As we stood on top of David’s palace, we were able to look down upon his city and think back to all the stories that unfolded here hundreds of years ago. Lastly, we made it to Hezekiah’s tunnel, which very well could’ve been the coolest place I’ve ever been. We walked along underground through this tunnel which was mostly about a bit more than shoulder width apart, and about 6 feet in height. The deepest part came up to our knees, but mostly the water just barely came up to our ankles. In total, we walked about 6 miles in the scorching sun, but the sights definitely made it all worth it!

June 13, 2021

Abrie preforming An All-Liszt Salon Recital
in Longview, Washington
scroll forward to watch performance

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/abriana-church-liszt-salon-recital/

​April 2021

We are SO excited our Bourbon boy is going to be on the cover of the Labrador Quarterly magazine this summer!  Tori flew home from California (from college) this weekend to take the photos and I think she did a wonderful job! Here is a sneak peak.

April 2021

April has been a busy month here at our ranch!  The kids found four birds nests in one day (robin, duck, killdeer and grouse).  Paris (our doggie) had one of the eggs in her mouth and we took it out and put it back.... then five days later they all hatched!! We also had this cute bear passing through.  Tori got about 30 feet from him to take these pics.  And... these adorable kittens were born to a wild cat in our shop.  Always lots of babies in the spring!

April 10-11

Alex is deep into bouldering and had a fun adventure at Leavenworth, Washington with his friend Ridge.  He shot some of this video with his new drone.

​March 13, 2021

Abrie preformed at the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition.  Results from the competition will be announced the first week of April. 
The winner of the international competition will perform at a Gala Concert in Budapest, Hungary in Sept 2021.
Abrie performed:
​Division X, BudapestGrandes études de Paganini, S. 14100:28 No. 1 in G Minor05:18 No. 4 in E Major07:36 No. 3 in G-sharp Minor, "La Campanella"12:57 Der Müll...​

March 2021

Our New AKC Champion!

Our boy Padron is all grown up and winning his third AKC Major Win!
Winning from coast to coast (California, Oklahoma and Florida). 
​ He is a well traveled boy.

Our sweet girl Joy... winning an AKC 3 point Major in Texas!

Jan 13-22

Puerto Vallarta and Los Chonchos, Mexico
Wow...I don't even know where to begin. This place is an adventure and amazing!

At the boat dock in Boca De Tomatlo (45 mins south of Puerto Vallarta) waiting to take the water taxi to Los Chonchos.

  Taking the water taxi from PV to Los Chonchos... about an hour ride.  Los Chonchos is VERY private and remote on a 25 acre off grid turtle reserve.  

The hike to Los Chonchos (from Chimo) is a beautiful one!  They have donkeys to carry your luggage and supplies/food.  The kids meet a nice local on the trail and he opened a wild/fresh coconut with his machete.

Caleb climbing a coconut tree with his beach towel. 
​We have SO many fresh coconuts...we would eat them by the bowl full.

Open air palapa right on the beach and a VERY private beach!

It is SO relaxing we LOVE it here!  We love it SO much...we now own two palapas and can go anytime!  It is a great place to whale watch.

If you are interested in a vacation adventure to Los Chonchos...
many owners rent their palapas through Air b-n-.b
You can also get more info at:  beachfrontcasas.com

Hiking two miles to Chimo for food...
​only way to get to the small fishing village.

Los Chonchos off grid palapa..."Casa Tranquila"

All this...surf, sun and fun
makes you tired for
an afternoon siesta!

A highlight is catching crabs and view from "Treehouse" palapa.
​

It's a real jungle with wild bananas, coconuts and I even see a monkey in the tree...oh no, that is Alex.

Heading back to Puerto Vallarta via Water Taxi
and stopping at some of the Mexican villages along the way.

Back in Vallarta and seeing some sights.

Having a lovely dinner in Vallarta.

Back to reality... and the plane home.

​Happy New Year 2021!!!!
May Jesus fill your life with joy, peace and love in 2021 and always!!!

​Merry CHRISTmas 2020!!!
And fun on the slopes... the FUN place to wear a mask!

What a WONDERFUL Christmas we had!!!  We have been SO blessed!  Our family and my sister's made 100 gift packages with yummy sweet breads, books, ornaments, etc and hand delivered them door to door in our neighborhood.  So fun to see happy smiles on unexpected recipients.  My only regard is that we did not make 500 to deliver.  Maybe next year!

​November 2020

Alex made this video of his cousin Andrew climbing when they went to Red Rocks, Nevada over Thanksgiving.

Sept 22-26, 2020

Arabian Sport Horse Nationals
Our new two year old Padron Pysche daughter winning Top 3
at Arabian Sport Horse Nationals!!!

​Summer 2020

Come Move to Beautiful Gardena, Idaho

Country elegance exudes from this one of a kind estate home on 20 acres. End of road serenity, wildlife, 360 degree mountain views and no ccr's. This estate is located in a prime location only 39 minutes to Eagle, Idaho and 55 minutes to downtown Boise, Idaho. All three bedrooms are master suites, each unique in design and character. Home feels spacious beyond the square footage. Exquisite custom trim throughout, cast iron tubs, granite, natural stone and wood adorn this masterpiece. Greenhouse, beautiful inside and out.  Home is appx 99 percent finished.
Link to listing below

​https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/97-Rolling-Hills-Dr-Horseshoe-Bend-ID-83629/89931348_zpid/

I designed and built my mom's house.  It has been a labor a love. She is now 88 and it is just too much house and property to take care of.  It is bitter-sweet, but she needs to sell.  I will be building her a house, but much smaller and very low maintenance yard.  You can contact me directly for more info.

June 2020

City of Rocks
Almo, Idaho
​City of Rocks Endurance Ride was a blast as usual!
​

It was a three day ride, we ended up staying an extra five days, looking for a lost horse.  She got away from her rider and had full tack on (bridle, breast collar and saddle). She was lost for over two weeks in the high country and two lost hikers finally found her.  She still had her bridle on, but somehow she didn't have her saddle or breastcollar on.  We explored A LOT of the country and is was beautiful!   We took three Labs and our six Cresteds, so it was a motorhome full.  But... not full enough, kids found 10 stray kitties that made their way home with us.  Always an adventure!

(Top L to R)Heidi and Bodi, Calli and Dream, Tori and Copper.  Heidi and Bodi rode 75 miles and Calli and Dream rode 50 mile in the two days and Tori and Copper did a one day 25 mile.
  (Bottom L to R)Alex and Lucy, Caleb and Minnie Mouse, and Abrie and Copper.  Alex and Lucy almost finished a 25 (she fell and was a little sore, so didn't finish), Caleb and Minnie 50 miles and Abrie and Copper 25 mile .

         People come from all over to climb and hike in this beautiful state park!

The California Trail goes through City of Rocks.  There are immigrant signatures on the rocks which date in the 1800's.

Alex was in his element... he LOVES to rock climb!  He climbs about 5-6 days a week!

... on one of our hikes, looking for the lost horse "Xena".

Vet checks ~ Horses are checked before, at the halfway point, and after the ride to ensure they are healthy and happy and to prevent any injuries😊

Calli and her beautiful, sweet girl "Dream".  She was a rescue... tied to a tire when we found her.  She is doing SO well... learning to love and trust.

  Caleb is either getting pulled around by his pony.... 
​                                                                                    Or has to pull her around🤭.                                       

 
... at camp and an afternoon siesta!

My co-polit.... Winston
​

                                              Rest Time😴 
​

The lost horse "Xena" is found... praise be to our Heavenly Father!!!!

The kitties we found at the ride are doing SO well and TEN of them!  We had a nice bed for them on the floor, but they always wanted to sleep in our sinks, so moved their blanket to the sink.  If anyone is looking for a nice kitty... let me know. They have been vet checked and have their shots/worming.  There are two girls (Dolly and Soxy) and eight boys (Cougar, Tater Tot, Tabby, Keys, Midnight, Earl, Kit Kat and Treasure).

Spring 2020

​Our Labs Daily Run
Tori took some fun pics of our Labs LOVING their daily 4 + mile run off the 4 wheeler! They have a couple water holes and sometime mud puddles. They run between 8- 12 mph and its LOTS of hills! They are in good shape. I should run with them... but then they would get NO exercise (too slow)! Always in the lead are Brody, Elsa, Joy, Blondie, Fiji, Honey, Padron and Bourbon is ALWAYS last! He is SO lacks-a-daisical....

Padron and Bourbon sharing their lady bug toy  ~

Joy (Elsa x Bourbon) will butterfly ears!
​

Bourbon LOVES his sticks!
​

Half-way resting spot
​

.... heading home (and finding mud on the way!)

June 2019

Our New Pond!
We had a pond dug last year, so this is the first year it is full!  We should have done this long ago.... the dogs and kids LOVE it!

Bourbon and his 6 month old daughter Joy retrieving/swimming.

March 2019

One of our Elsa x Bourbon puppies "Nibble" who lives in Colorado having fun with her robot friend Misty of Misty Robotics.

​Merry Christmas 2018
From our family to yours!!!

God has SO richly blessed our family!  Our four legged babies, loved all their new presents!

​Dec 14-16, 2018 
                                                        Nutcracker
                                                       Idaho Regional Ballet                                              

The Kids had 10 parts in the Nutcracker this year and it was VERY magical! Tori was The Doll, Dew Drop and Merliton.  Calli was Clara's friend, Sugar Sylph and understudy for Flowers.  Caleb was naughty Fritz and Russian and Kaeden was a Party Boy, Trumpeter and Russian.  Idaho Regional Ballet puts on a really beautiful production and the kids are thrilled to be a part of it.

​May 28, 2018 

Tori's little Puff girl "Paris" LOVES to retrieve!  She was thought by Tori's Lab Elsa.  Elsa is supervising and mom Clea is on the beach cheering her on!

​March 14-April 1, 2018

Florida Trip.... More to Come!

It was a LONG drive from Idaho to Florida in our motorhome, but well worth it!  We had a litter of Crested babies and Labs we took along to meet their new families along the way.  Cousins Breanna and Alesaha came, along with my sister Tess from Cheyenne and my mom. Abrie's teacher Dr. Iene Peery-Fox also came to hear Abrie, as well as her grandson at Nationals. Disney was great, as was hearing Abrie play so beautifully at Nationals... but the highlight was staying at a friend's beach home!  We didn't want to leave.  It was a trip of a lifetime and we will always remember what wonderful memories were made.

​March 2018

Silly Snowy Girl
​What Snowy came home with from one of her adventures!  We were in Florida and had a friend watching the place, when I got this pic.  Haynes said..,
"Did you leave instructions for Snowy to gather firewoood?"

​
​Jan 15, 2018

   Abrie Wins Regionals!!!

We will be heading to Orlando, Florida in March for Abrie to compete at MTNA Nationals in Senior Piano!  She played on a VERY high end Italian piano called a Fazioli.  Well... we just had the most striking Powderpuff boy born on Jan 2nd, so we just had to call him Fazioli!  He is black and white just like the piano!  The competiton is being held at one of the Disneyworld resorts, so of course... we will be going to Disneyworld and the kids are SO excited!  It has been about 12 years since we went to Disneyland, so it will be a first for Calli, Caleb and Kaeden.  Alex was SO young, he was scared of everything.  Now... he jumps off  mountains (paragliding)!! It will be a long drive... 2600 miles one way, but we have decided to drive.  We are very lucky to have a dear friend come and watch our place and all our pets.  I wish we could take them all, as we will miss them terribly.
Please pray for our safe journey.

​Halloween Fun 2017

The kids rode their trusty steeds on a ghosty of a good time trick or treating.  They were all Wizard of Oz characters.  Caleb had not ridden Mini in a few months and she can be kinda spooky.  He REALLY  was the cowardly lion at the beginning of the ride... but at the end he gained his courage and LOTS of candy!  Alex had fun putting the video together... enjoy!

​​Fall/Winter 2017
​
I saw Calli put this picture on her Instagram page... and she said 
​"School isn't so bad with a pup on your lap."  
There are going to be some VERY excited families this Christmas, as puppies will be ready for their new families mid Dec.
​ 

Pictured at one week old
​

​Summer 2017

We had a really busy summer.  It started with an endurance ride at City of Rocks.  Caleb (age 9) rode his first LD 25 miles on his pony Mini and Calli got to ride on her new mare Dream.  Abrie, Tori and Alex also rode their horses on 25's.  Their cousins Dani and Andrew also came for the ride. It is gorgeous country. 

We then had a week long dog show in Filer and Blackfoot. Ivy got her Grand Championship, Paris got two Majors and Honey, Brody and Elsa all got Best of Breed Wins.  Honey finished her AKC Championship and Brody only needs one point to finish.  Brody, Elsa and Honey continued on a two week show circuit with our handlers.

We were home about a week and then off to Scottsdale for five weeks, as Tori and Calli got accepted to Master Ballet Academy for a ballet summer intensive.  It was HOT... but we had a lot of fun swimming in the pool almost every day.  The kids got to visit their grandparents and relatives in AZ, so that was a lot of fun for them.  Alex got his first taste of flying (Paramotoring) and is now obsessed with flying.  He is taking paragliding lessons at a recently opened flight park right here is Horseshoe Bend.

Our new bird Paco.... he LOVES to dance!

~
​

Honey... Our New Champion!
​

Ivy... Our New
Grand Champion!
​

Alex's first tandem Paragliding flight
and
right here in Horseshoe Bend at the new
HSB Flight Park.
​

Horseshoe Bend Flight Park Promo Video
​

Alex's New Passion... FLYING!!!

...and here he is flying solo!

Alex in Training
​Idaho Statesman Article Sept 25, 2017

​Horseshoe Bend Flight Park caters to paragliding, above, hang gliding and the more extreme speed flying. Provided by Horseshoe Bend Flight Park OUTDOORS Ever dream of flying? These guys did too, and they made it happen in Horseshoe Bend BY JOE CARBERRY Special to the Idaho Statesman

A group of men, all wearing backpacks, scaled the steep foothills surrounding Horseshoe Bend. Below them, the Payette River snaked its way south as the wind blew ever-so-lightly in their faces. It was a beautiful summer afternoon. In the distance, the small group, many of whom had helmets dangling from their packs, spotted two men approaching. Scott Edwards, a longtime speed-flying pilot from Boise stepped forward to greet the pair while the rest of his group kept hiking. “What are you guys doing,” one of the men, Steve Loomis, asked.“We’re just hiking up this mountain to fly off the top,” Edwards said, explaining the contents of his backpack. “Well, you’re hiking on my property,” Loomis said. But Loomis, a former smoke jumper, was intrigued. So he allowed the procession to continue up the mountain. He liked what he saw as the group of pilots removed small parachutes or “wings” from their packs, ran off a ridgeline and began a high-speed flight to the valley floor. “After he watched us, he asked if we wanted a ride to the top,” Edwards said. “So he shuttled us up.” Thus began a friendship that was the building block for the Horseshoe Bend Flight Park, a 910-acre venture in Horseshoe Bend off Idaho 55 north of Boise that is essentially a club for flight sports in the Boise area. The park will offer memberships that will include shuttles for experienced hang gliders, paragliders and speed-flyers. The new business offers tandem flight, lessons, camping and other amenities. “This has been a dream of mine for a long time,” Edwards said. “My wife has been listening to me talk forever about wanting to buy property with a mountain to teach people to fly.” It turns out Edwards didn’t have to buy a mountain. He met his business partner, Justin Boer, four years ago while flying in Hailey. They formed a bond after Boer crashed into a pond and Edwards was the first on the scene. “I pulled him out of the water and got him onto life flight,” Edwards said. “But Justin kept on pursuing his dream of flying.” Boer, originally from Bend, Ore., was partially paralyzed from the crash, but it didn’t stop him. He became a representative for an air sports company and moved to Hawaii to fly and continue therapy. He also started a licensed school, Freeboern Air Sports, to teach people to paraglide and use speed wings. That’s how the partnership started. Boer brought the licensed school to the table. Edwards, who grew up on a farm near Pocatello and learned to fly after meeting a skydiver for a college report at Boise State University, had the inside track with Idaho landowners. “We’re bringing a new site to the community,” Edwards said. “We can fly 270 degrees off the mountain on both sides.”

Owners of the Horseshoe Bend Flight Park say the area’s light winds and lack of heavily-wooded areas make it ideal for hang gliding and paragliding.

It’s something the Boise flight community has needed since the regulations changed at the main meeting spot near the old Ben’s Crow Inn in East Boise. That site had been a free-fly zone for hang gliders, paragliders and speed wings since 1957, Edwards said. It was a place where the flight community could train, gather and share ideas. But that all changed a few years ago. “The lady who owned the property (and let us fly) sold it to the city with one stipulation,” Edwards said. “‘You’ve got to let these guys still fly out here.’ But then the city sold it to the Fish and Game, which shut it down because they were observing animals. It took three years, but we finally got it opened back up but it’s only open for three months in the summer.” And while the flight community’s gathering spots have shifted recently, so has the sport. Hang gliding is no longer en vogue, replaced by paragliding and speed flying. People still hang glide, Edwards said, and they’re welcome at the Horseshoe Bend park, but people mostly paraglide or speed fly now and the flight park will focus on those two disciplines. And it’s safer than you might think. People start small and work their way up, some choosing to fly in light winds or with conservative parachute setups. Speed flying is the most radical of the two parachute sports, but as Edwards explains, both can be done conservatively.

The flight park will have a soft opening this fall and a grand opening in spring.

Edwards and Boer emphasize the safety and fun in the sport and the diversity of participants’ backgrounds. “I’ve mentored Olympians, Air Force pilots, Navy Seals [and] kayakers. We work with disabled people or amputees. So many different types of people get involved in the sport,” Edwards said. And Horseshoe Bend seems like an ideal place to practice with its light winds and lack of heavy timber. Edwards and Boer wanted to buy a piece of property in the area, then lease, but nothing was working out. But their friend Loomis kept steering them toward a piece of property he owned on the other side of the river. “Steve had been telling us about the other property,” Boer said. “We looked on Google Earth and it didn’t look that appealing. It was next to the transfer station. But as soon as the first site fell through we looked at the other one and it was way better. It was out of the way with a nice landing zone.” So the duo leased the place from Loomis on the west side of Idaho 55 up the Old Emmett Highway just out of Horseshoe Bend and went to work building the site and raising money. And they noticed how much the community was behind them. “We had a public hearing in August and the whole courtroom was full of people,” Boer said. “We had 12 people testify that they were for the flight park. It was pretty heart-warming.” The flight park will have a soft opening this fall. Next spring, it’ll host a grand opening. “Horseshoe Bend is near a cool city and it’s a passageway to all this adventure,” Boer said. “Our whole goal is to grow the sport of flying and this is a great spot to do it.”

​​Spring 2017

Tori doing school with some of her friends.  She has to watch her books, or her homework
​will REALLY get eaten!

​April 1, 2017

Owyhee Tough Sucker Endurance Ride

It was the first endurance ride of the season for most of the riders, and many came with horses who were not dead fit and were still winter-hairy. 20 started the 50-miler, 19 started the 25-miler, and they all finished! No lamenesses, no metabolic issues - good, smart endurance riding out here in the Owyhee desert.

The April Fools ride also saw the return of the Church kids after a several-year hiatus from riding. Former Junior Abrie was now the sponsor for 3 of her Junior siblings, and the youngest one on the smallest pony won the 25-mile ride, pulsing down first in 3:10. Best Condition went to Simone Mauhl and Dudley's friend Boogey.

The weather was PERFECT, which we all deserved, since we all suffered through a terrible hurricane/typhoon/rain/sleet/snow/windstorm on Thursday and Friday (and Sunday was not particularly lovely with the rejuvenated cold wind). Saturday was 60* and sunny, with only the slightest breeze. Trails were in perfect condition, with lots of grass on trail and flowers just beginning to emerge. 

The Pickett Crick Ramblers played some fine music afterwards, both Friday and Saturday nights. Abrie Church, who masterly plays both the piano and fiddle, and who had never touched a mandolin in her life, borrowed a mandolin and jumped right in and started playing with us. Sure, mandolin and fiddle are tuned to the same strings, but - still! We were all astonished and delighted she made us sound so good! A younger brother banged on the drums, then dad stepped in and really meshed us all together. We were rather impressed with ourselves… we sound a lot better than we did 2 years ago!

Taken from: Merrie's Travels on Endurance.Net

We all had a great time on our first endurance ride of the season at the Tough Sucker Ride in Oreana, Idaho.  Abrie is now 18, so she sponsored Alex, Tori and Calli on the ride. Calli came in 1st on her pony Mini!  The kids made a really nice bridge to cross the water where we were camping.  Abrie played an April Fools joke on her sisters and brother and said her horse was lame and he couldn't ride. That meant NO ONE was riding, since she was their sponsor.  Everyone was SO upset... then "April Fools!"

​March 2017

                                            Antler Shed Hunting

Abrie and Alex decided to go antler shed hunting and they found 6 VERY NICE antlers in two days!  It was their first time!  Maybe it was beginners luck. We want to train the Labs to help us look. They dogs LOVE to chew on them!

​Happy St. Patrick's Day 2017!!!​

Abrie decided to dress her girl in green, so she wouldn't get pinched.

​Feb 26-Mar 4

Off to NYC and Juilliard

Some VERY exciting news for the Church family!!  Abrie got accepted to live audition at Juilliard!  Her audition date is March 1st at 10 am.  This is Caleb's birthday (he will be turning 9) and he sure wishes he could come.  I wish everyone could come, but so much to keep going at home.  My mom, Abrie and I are going.  My mom use to live in NY, so she is excited to go back and show us a few places.  I promised the other kids that if Abrie gets in we will drive the motorhome to NYC this fall and spend a few weeks seeing where Abrie will be living and the sights.  I know it will be a HUGE change from our quiet (but super busy) life in Idaho.  We wish her the VERY best for an audition.  If she gets to stay home an extra year we would love that also.  It is in God's hands.

....at Lincoln Center and going to Little Italy for some yummy Italian food and real Italian Cannolis, Staten Island Ferry, Juilliard, Grand Central Station and the Broadway musical Phantom of the Opera.  We saw the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Times Square, Trump Tower, shops on 5th Ave.... plus lots of others exciting places.  Everyone was extremely friendly and we had the most amazing trip!!!!

​

​Our other favorite pictures
​from 2016

 Our BEAUTIFUL girls (Elsa, Honey, Winter and Holly) waking up in the morning
from their trundle bed and hopefully a good nights sleep.
​

The kids have teams and put on cooking contests.
 I LOVE it.... as I get to be the judge!

​Ivy says... "I'm smiling... honest!"

... and sweet girl is.

Fall 2016
Idaho Mountain Orienteering
Looking for markers using a compass
​
​

Tori with her three little babies... Fern, Macy and Paris.

Tori and Calli riding Calli's new mare Dream.

Who said Little Dogs don't like to have fun in the mud?!?  This is how Ella would come in from playing outside!
She said..."I don't want to be a show dog... we'll at least not today."

A GORGEOUS litter of English Puppies from my dear friend in Oregon.  We kept a number of them to add to our breeding program...they are SO nice!

 
​ ~  Merry Christmas 2016
​and Nutcracker  ~

 We had a wonderful Christmas suprise... as Honey had her puppies!  She has 5 boy and 3 girls and they super big and chubby and doing great!  Abrie made THE MOST amazing home made healthy Marzipan as a suprise for everyone.  It had NO sugar and it tasted amazing!!!  She makes the most wonderful tasting, but healthy food.  We always tell her she needs to open a health food restaurant.  Tori rode Lilly to grandma's house (helped with the Marzipan) in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve to pick up Abrie.  She ponies her horse and they both rode home.
They kids had a blast performing in the Nutcracker this Christmas.  Tori was in Waltz of the Flowers and Waltz of the SnowFlakes.  Calli was a Party Child and in the Chinese Tea dance. Unfortunetly... Calli changed SO quickly back stage, I don't have any pics of her.  The two little boys, Caleb and Kaeden were both mice and trumpeteers.  The is a lot of fun.  They were all REALLY sad when it was over.  They had four performances in three days.

​Nov 27-28, 2016

 Time to Get a Christmas Tree....
and
....Our First Snow!!!

We have a family tradition of going to find and cut our Christmas tree.  The Labs LOVE this tradition!  We usually have a couple puppies who get to come also... this year is was Parker and Duke.  The kids have been waiting and waiting, checking the weather daily to see when it will snow.  Well... the day after the Thanksgiving holiday week it snows!  It is Monday and should be back to school and it snows!!  Luckily... for them they are homeschooled and mom is sometimes a push over.  They spend the day in the snow.  Whomever said little dogs and Crested don't like snow forgot to tell our dogs.

​​Nov 24, 2016

Happy Thanksgiving...
​
from our four (some two) legged furry, feathery, scaly, family... Holly, Brody, Bella, Elsa, Winter, Honey, Bandit, Winston, Clea, Lola, Ivy, Belle, Sophie, Bernie, Oaty, Ollie, Tilly, Mini, Lilly, Copper, Lucy, Dream, and a couple of THE CUTEST little puppies....Finley, Vinnie, Fern, Macy, Paris, Max's little brother, and Little Boy to yours!!!
WOW... we have a BIG family to be VERY thankful for!
We not only made our Thanksgiving... but a YUMMY Thanksgiving "Feast" (as Caleb calls it) for everyone!

Update 12/6....
I gave the dogs a wormer from the vet (IntersepterPlus) on Thanksgving evening and Clea had a BAD reaction and we almost lost her!  It was SO scary!!  She was not well for a week, could hardly walk and was on IV"s for two days!  This is why I DO NOT like giving the dogs anything unnatural.  I will be looking into a natural alternative for worming.  We are SO thankful our Clea is getting better. 

~   Patiently waiting for "The Feast"  
​and before and after photos  ~​

Bottom ~
Our two partnership dogs Martha and Porche whom we got the pleasure to watch while their family went out of town for Thanksgiving.  They are BEST buddies for sure and SO sweet and SO beautiful!

Top  ~  Caleb and his Honey girl just couldn't make it to their trundle bed.  We are SUPER excited... as we think Honey is pregnant! She is getting a little rounder in the middle and hopefully it isn't all the good food.  This will be her 1st litter.  She is due around Dec 28th. We bred her to Am GrCh Noteworthy Music Man "Canon".  Canon is the sire of our Brody, Holly and Anna.

​Bottom ~  Canon has one of THE BIGGEST, blockiest heads I have ever seen on a Lab!  Canon is out of the #1 Lab in 2010 and Honey is out of the #1 Lab in 2013.  We can't wait for this litter... as we think they are going to be out of this world for big headed blockiness...which we LOVE!

~  Canon  ~
Sire of litter with Honey 
​

​Nov 19, 2016

Abrie Wins State... VERY exciting!!
We will be off to Regionals mid January in Washington.  She performed a Liszt, Beethoven and Ravel and played them all amazingly beautiful!  We are SO proud on Abrie and all her hard work and dedication.  She will be auditioning this fall to Juillard, Curtis and Peabody.  Whatever happens... we know God has a wonderful plan for her!

​Sept 5, 2016

A Labor Day Adventure
The kids have been telling me about "Their Secret Spot" for awhile and I got to go with them and check it out! It is VERY neat!  It is about 5 miles from our house.  You go on the gravel road for a few miles and then on a  little dirt trail. It is in the middle of nowhere.... there is a corral, a HUGE picnic table, a water trough with gold fish (Calli, Caleb and Kaeden had to go in and try to catch the fish) and wild plums, apples, pears and blackberries.  Tori made a jump in the corral and jumped Lilly.  Kaeden (age 6) rode home all by himself on Lucy and can't stop asking about riding again.  Abrie made homemade potato salad and THE BEST muffins with no sugar.  They were delicious!  The kids said there is an old cabin a little ways away, but we did not have time to check it out this time.

​Summer 2016

Summer Private Ballet Lessons
Tori and Calli take private ballet lessons with Lana Kroth and Phylis Rothwell-Afranti.  They are both GREAT teachers and they have learned SO much.  This is a short clip of Tori working on Paquita Variation.  She has only been doing ballet for a year and a half.  This is her second day working on this variation.

​
​4th of July, 2016

AT Lake Cascade
We had a great time at the lake (dogs included).  Alex had SO much fun on the waverunner...
​that he ran out of gas and had to be towed in! We stopped and spent most of the day exploring at a very private beach. The kids had swim races with the Cresteds and Finley and Ivy would go in the water all by their selves!

Our GORGEOUS English girls... Winter, Elsa, Honey and Holly

​June 15th/29th

Your Invited..... San Jose, California and Portland, Oregon
​
Abrie was accepted to participate in the San Jose International Piano Comeption and it is open to the public.  She will also be putting on a concert in Portland, Oregon on June 25.  Hope to see you there!
​

June 15, 17 Possible 18 & 19 (depending on placings) in San Jose, California
​      and
June 25 in Portland, Oregon

​April 2016

       Going For a Spring Hike and Ride

We took a fun spring hike with the dogs and the older kids rode their horses.  The BIG dogs got to help Grandma.... when the hill got steep.

It is SO beautiful in the hills in the spring.... It reminds me of the Sound of Music.  If only it stayed green all summer.

​April 1-6, 2016

    Abrie's Wins 3rd Place at MTNA Piano Nationals in San Antonio, Texas!!!! The whole family went and the kids got to ride on an airplane for the 1st time... which was quite exciting for them!   We stayed at the Grand Hyatt (where the competition was held) and the kids made up the cutest song about..."Poor dad, how were we to know that water cost a fortune ($5 each)???".....  We visited the Almo, The River Walk and the beach.  Both Abrie's piano teachers came which was very nice and all her grandparents.

​
​March 26 & 27

Celebrating Easter on The Ski Hill at Tamarack Resort

The kids had a lot of fun skiing and hunting for Easter eggs.  The eggs were REAL hard boiled hand painted eggs... which I love.  The boys also had a tasty snack which they loved!  They had a Easter egg hunt for the older kids and offered free season passes spread out on the mountain.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate Jesus and the wonderful sacrifice that he did for us.

​March 1 & 2, 2016

Abrie gets a VERY well deserved new 1909 full restored Steinway piano!!!
​
It was LONG overdue..... as Abrie has advanced to a level that our pianos were not.  
My mom, Kaeden and Abrie (of course) went to Portland on a two day piano buying excursion.
 She tried every top end piano (mostly european), from Steinway, Bosendorfer, Fazioli, Estonia, Mason & Hamlin,Schimmel and Yamaha.  She even played and considered a Bluthner (German import) piano owned by Bill Gates.  ​They said he traded it in because it was too small.  She ended up falling in love
with a 1909 model o Steinway from Classic Pianos in Portland.  I would highly recommend them to anyone who is in the market for a piano.  The sell/ship nationwide and even overseas.  They have an amazing collection from beginner pianos to the highest concert grand level and everything in between.  They are also VERY knowledgeable and extremely pleasant to work with. They had our piano delivered to our home (actually my mom's home,as our house is too small for a grand piano) in two days!  Abrie absolutely LOVES it!
​ The only problem is she is always playing and we miss having her at home.

Abrie's LOVES playing her new piano!!!

​Jan 17, 2016

Abrie wins MTNA Regional Piano Competition!!!!
Abrie is the 1st person in over 20-25 years to win Senior Piano NW MTNA Regionals from Idaho!!!  It was SO exciting!!!  There was LOTS of crying and LOTS of hugging.  The NW regionals is VERY competitive, as Oregon and Washington (as well as the others) have amazing talent.  There were 27 competing in Washington for state.  We will  be heading to Nationals in San Antonio, Texas on April 2, 2016.  She will be competing against 6 other regional winners for National Champion.  Abrie's first piano teach Mrs. Wilcher came with us, as well as my mom and 16 dogs!  One of our current teacher David Tacher also came to hear the performance. Our suburban was packed! It is always crazy busy, but we have a lot of fun.

State Champions (L to R) Oregon, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Alaska and Wyoming
All did an amazing job and are wonderful accomplished pianists!

Mrs. Wilcher (Abrie's first piano teacher), Grandma, Mom, Dad and David Tacher (Abrie's current teacher) Her other teacher Dr. Irene Peery- Fox did not attend.
​

Abrie's first piece Witches' Dance by Edward MacDowell
​

Abrie plays Chopin Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23
​

Domenico Scarlatti Sonata in D Minor, K. 141, L.422

Chopin "Black Key" Etude in G-flat Major, Op. 10 No. 5
ALL (but one note) are played on the black keys
​

Abrie's final piece.... Toccata, Op. 11 by Sergei Prokofiev
​

Jan 2016

                        Abrie getting ready for MTNA  NW (Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Montana and Alaska) Division Regional Piano Competiiton
 in Missoula, Montana  Jan 17, 2016
Abrie is playing 5 compositions by Chopin, McDowell, Scarlatti and Prokofiev.  She has worked VERY hard on these pieces and is an amazing artist!  We wish her THE BEST of luck!

 ~  Christmas 2015 ~

We wish all of our dear, dear family and friends a VERY Merry Christmas!  We will be staying home for the holidays which will be a wonderful treat. We are getting LOTS of snow... so the kids are super excited and having LOTS of fun!  The Labs and Winston (our sport model Crested as he is called) LOVES to play in the snow. Alex, Caleb and Kaeden made a snow house and the Labs thought it was pretty neat.
We had to take all the candy canes off the Christmas tree after realizing that Holly and Winston were eating them all! Winston kept opening everyone's presents (beautiful painted rocks from Grandma)... so we had to put them away also.  He is going to be SO happy to open his present soon (a yummy bully stick.) Warm hugs ~ 

...going for our daily run and fun....  How could we miss on Christmas Day with LOTS of snow.... they LOVE it!

Our gorgeous, very sweet Trouble girls... Honey and Elsa enjoying their first white Christmas

Nov 25th- 30th, 2015

Thanksgiving Holiday in Arizona

We spent the holiday is sunny, warm Arizona visiting Robert's family.  We had a good time... I think the dogs enjoyed the warm weather as much as we did.  We took cousin Dani and Andrew, so had 8 kids and 13 dogs (8 puppies) in the motor home.  Everyone was very good... only one puppy accident! They kids enjoyed playing a Monopoly National Parks game on the way home. Some highlights included visiting the Grand Canyon (found a friendly wild pig), Tonto National Monument Cliff Dwelling, hunting and finding some VERY old Salado (Anazazi) pottery (900-1150 ad) in nearby hills while 4 wheeler riding and playing with cousins Adam and Kevin.

We would LOVE to spend a week here.... maybe next year and we will definitely plan a hike to the bottom.
Kaeden (age 5) did a 13 mile hike to Stack Rock a few months ago... so I think he will do just fine.

Indian Desert View Watchtower at the Grand Canyon
is located at the south rim.  It was SUPER cool....designed in 1932 by architect Mary Colter (who also designed many other buildings at the Grand Canyon) had Hopi painted murals of prehistoric pictographs & petroglyphs.

Nov 14, 2015

 Tori and Calli ~ Idaho Regional Ballet 
Photo Shoot for 2016/2017 Calender

Both girls work VERY hard and are doing GREAT in ballet.  They have aspirations
 to dance professionally with a company some day.

Idaho Regional Ballet Video
"The Training of a Dancer"

Tori dances with the Junior Company Idaho Regional Ballet

November 21, 2015

Abrie's Wins the MTNA Idaho State Piano Competition!!!
and Sophie has her puppies!

We had a VERY exciting, crazy day today!  Abrie competes at the MTNA National Piano Competition and Wins for Idaho.  She plays Chopin, Prokofiev, Scarlatti and McDowell beautifully and we are SO proud of her and all her hard work. We will be heading to Missoula for Regionals this January. She will be competing against Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Montana and Wyoming to go to Nationals.

My mom's girl Sophie was pregnant and due any day... so I felt it was best to take her in the back of our suburban to town.  Well.... 20 mins into our drive home, Sophie goes into labor.  She has 5 puppies in the car on the way home with my mom was the midwife.  She ended up having 12 puppies... 7 boys and 5 girls! All are doing great!

I'm sure Sophie was happy to get home and finishing birthing in her nice soft bed... 
by the warm fireplace.

Oct 31, 2015

Happy Halloween

Kids had fun riding their horses trick or treating.  Abrie was a Spanish Senorita on her Spanish steed Copper, Tori was Dorothy, Alex a Roman soilder on his Black steed Lucy, Calli was Cleopatra, Caleb a jail bird (always wanting to steal candy) and Kaeden a wise man.  They went to a house that did not have a trick or treater for 23 years!!!  They were SO happy to see them, but didn't have any candy... so gave the kids LOTS of coins (about $25).  We also go to a house where it is the lady's birthday... so we sing "Happy Birthday" to her. Also along the way is a neat old wooden train.

Some of our Other Favorite Pictures
 from 2015

After a 10 mile 4 wheeler ride and a swim in the pond.  
Can you believe these are our Show Dog?!?.... Crazy!!!

Gorgeous Anna x Trouble puppy 
"Lilly"

Oaty's new friend Ollie

Alex is a GREAT bread maker....
 he made this delicious loaf with NO recipe!

How the little dogs go for a bike ride... and sometimes 5+ miles ~

One of this years highlights was that we got to foster Beautiful Indy girl.... 
She is our Holly and Anna's mom and Honey and Elsa's Grandma
and has the most wonderful temperament
~

We notice that Holly always finds the softest place in the house ~

I walked in the room and this is what I saw....Brody, Holly and her two Trouble girls Elsa and Honey looking at me.  SO sweet they all are!

Sept 10-13, 2015                      Salt Lake City Dog Shows

We had a good show... Ivy west Best of Breed 3 out of 4 days and Henri went Best of Breed 1 day.  There was a small turn out for Cresteds, but A LOT of #1 dogs (per breed) in the US.  We were waiting to go in the ring and I saw a nice looking Pomeranian and thought "That is a nice looking Pom", well..turns out he is #1 Dog is the US (all other breeds included!!!)  It was HOT and our generator was on the blink... so the kids keep cool in the stream they found next to the fairgrounds.  They caught fish in their nets and found a pigeon.

Aug 16 & 17, 2015                                Sun Valley/Red Fish Lake

We had a great time in Sun Valley.... always A LOT going on with LOTS of kids and dog!  We first went to a orchestra concert at the Sun Valley Pavilion and the best part was that you could take your dogs!  It was nice to stretch our legs and hike up the ski hill. Abrie's played beautiful at her concert....it was a real treat!  We then headed to Red Fish Lake for some R & R.  The kids/dogs had fun on the paddle boats and canoes.

Sun Valley News Release ~ Upcoming Performance
August 16, 2015

Virtuoso Fifteen Year Old Prize Winning
Piano Student “In Recital” August 16th
At St. Thomas Episcopal Church

Abriana Elise Church, winner of four piano competitions thus far in 2015, and winner of competitions in 2011 and 2013, will perform a stunning repertoire of piano solos at St. Thomas Episcopal Church on Sunday, August 16th, at  5:30 PM.

Abrie has been studying piano with David Tacher, renowned pianist, organist and harpsichordist, who also has performed recitals in the Wood River Valley, and frequently is substitute organist at St. Thomas Episcopal Church.  Abrie has also began studying this past year with Dr. Irene Peery-Fox, professor at BYU, as well continuing her studies with David Tacher. 
Multi-talented Abriana also plays violin with the Boise Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.

At age 10, Abriana and her younger brother and sister were going to quit music lessons because of financial need.  However, they chose instead to start selling baked goods, cookie mix and greeting cards “door to door” to raise money for their music lessons.  They did this for five years, and then started a new business breeding and showing their dogs.  Abrie and her brother and sister each play two instruments.  You can learn more about the family at www.bouldercrestranch.com.

Abrie’s recent piano achievements include:

* 2015 Winner of Meridian Symphony Young Artist Series, Senior Division
* 2015 BPYO Concerto Winner
* 2015 Musicians West 2nd Place in Advanced 2
* 2015 Boise Tuesday Musical Highest Award Scholarship
* 2011 and 2013 First Place in MTNA Idaho State Piano Competition (Junior)
* 2011 and 2013  Honorable Mention for Regional MTNA Piano Competition
* 2013 First Place Sonatina/Sonata Festival Level 15
Her future goal is to be accepted into a TOP music conservatory for college, and to become a concert pianist and/or college professor of music.


At this concert, Abrie will be performing works by Chopin, Mozart, Scarlatti, MacDowell and Prokofiev.

Abrie thanks God for being SO BLESSED (in her words!) with a great family, great teachers, and the ability to participate in the enjoyment of music.

The public is invited to attend Abrie’s recital, free of charge, and enjoy music with her.  Donations will be accepted at the door for the Barry Keller Fund, which has for many years brought these outstanding musical 

July 29 - Aug 9, 2015

Cheyenne

We had another REALLY fun trip to Cheyenne.  The kids always LOVE playing with their cousins Shane, Breanna and Alesha. This time my sister Heidi and her two kids, Dani and Andrew came.  They all had a good time riding horses, playing on the trampoline, playing cards in the motor home with their chickens and playing red-rover.   Breanna and Alesha have two of our Labs Elsie and Annie...both girls are super sweet.  Whenever Elsie has a chance, she leaves with their little Chihuahua Sambo and the two head to the hills to go hunting together. It is really the cutest thing ever.

July 7, 2015

Clea's 6th Birthday

Our sweet little Clea girl is 6 years old already!  Tori just had to buy her something yummy to celebrate... a "Chicken Breast Cake."  She sure did enjoy!  We made her share with her daughters Ivy, Lola and also Uncle Bandit.

July 2-5, 2015

International Dog Show Trip to Seattle, Washington
and
4th of July

We first went to Portland, Oregon to bring a puppy to her new family.  On the way, we saw a BIG fire by the Columbia Gorge River. Then we stopped in Vancover, Wa to visit my Uncle Richard and Aunt Stella.  It was great seeing them after so many years.  We then headed to the beach and then off to the International Dog Show in Washington.  It was a great show and we now has International Champions.  They judge via the European standard, which is judging against the standard NOT against other dogs.  It was a neat experience and we meet a lot of nice people. We went to Seattle to watch the fireworks.... What a show!!! It was quite a busy motor home with all the Cresteds (Clea, Ivy, Lola, Henri and Bandit), three Lab puppies (until one left), Brody and pregnant Holly.  My mom also came, so her poodle Bentley was also with us.  We also had puppies on the trip, as Holly had three girls.  Unfortunately, one was still born, so she has two VERY healthy and fat little girls.  This is Holly's first litter with Trouble (#1 Lab 2013.)  Caleb is VERY excited, as he is going to keep one of the little girls for his very own.

Elsie and Lexi enjoying a day at the beach with the girls

June 9-14, 2015                                            Blackfoot/Filer Dog Shows

May 30, 2015

Ballet Recitals

Tori and Calli had a great year in ballet and learned a lot!  Tori was a doll and danced to Coppelia. Calli was Cotton Candy and danced to Mirlitons from Nutcracker. They both LOVE ballet and could see themselves doing it professionally.

Tori's ballet recital dress rehearsal 
(sneak peak) 
It was really fun....at the end of the piece big men came and carried the dolls off stage.  We have a professional video coming in a few months.

May 23, 2015

Piano Recital

Abrie, Tori, Alex, Calli and Caleb each played two pieces at their spring piano recital ~ I have posted one of them.  We are SO thankful the Lord has brought music to our family and home.  The kids work VERY hard and are great students.  We have been blessed with a wonderful piano teacher ~ Dave Tacher, who has taught the kids so much about music, expression and dedication.  Each of the children play two instruments, besides piano (violin, viola, cello and flute.)  Since piano is a solo instrument, it is nice for them to play two, and their other instrument they can play with on orchestra.

Abrie (age 16) plays Witches Dance by McDowell

Tori is VERY talented, whether it be in her piano, viola, voice, ballet, horseback riding, showing dogs, skiing... she always excels.  But.... besides all her talents, she adores and loves all animals and is THE BEST big sister!

Alex (age 12) playing Storm Etude by Randal Hartsell

Calli (age 9) playing both pieces~  
Scherzetto and The Wild Horseman by Shaumann

Caleb (age 7) plays The Crab and The Cantankerous Kangaroo

Caleb is my "Juice Boy"

Caleb and Kaeden are my "Juice Boys".  They can juice a gallon at a time!!  Now THAT is a lot of juice!  With our size family, we need that much. We like to eat healthy and our family does A LOT of juicing of fresh greens and fruits.  Fresh orange juice and apple juice with ginger in SO delicious!  I also did a 20 day water fast in April which was a great detox. My mom, sister and Abrie bought this juicer  (Omega vsj843) for my birthday. It is great!!  For our Cresteds, we mix some of the juice/pulp into their raw meat/kibble for a healthy diet. What a wonderful present... we all LOVE it!

May 16-17

Musicians West Piano Competition 
 ~  Lava Hot Springs

We had a fun weekend in Pocatello.  My sister Heidi and her two children Dani and Andrew went with us to a piano competition at Idaho State University ~ Musician West Piano Competition.  They all played beautifully!!!  Abrie won 2nd place and Tori, Alex, Calli and Caleb all received an Honorable Mention. Cousin Andrew won 2nd place in his division. We camped over in the motorhome and the girls did ballet in the beautiful building that evening and NO ONE was there!
Then it was off to Lava Hot Springs for a day of R & R.  Well, maybe not R & R as the older kids did a platform dive of 23'!!  The also rode the slide the drops you 60 feet and 38 mph.  Not for me... that's for sure. Kaeden and I will be "chickens" together.

Lava Hot Springs has a "Dog Day" in September, when you can take your dogs.  I think we might have to come back with the Labs, our Cresteds would not like it.

May 10, 2015

Happy Mother's Day 

to all the wonderful Mothers of not only kids, but 4 legged kids as well ~
I had a wonderful day putting in a new fence. Showing our Cresteds is a real challenge, as we have SO much dirt and LOTS of weeds, it is near impossible to keep them clean.  I will be making this area as dirt free as possible.  My super sweet kids cleaned LOTS of dishes, helped with fence holes, stacking fruit trees, plus LOTS of other chores.  I have THE BEST kids in the whole wide world and am SO thankful!!!

Abrie, Tori and Alex learning to use power tools (skill saw, drill, saw zaw, etc) and Kaeden intently watching.  The kids are making "Garden Boxes" for our vegetable garden.  Hopefully we will have LOTS of yummies veggies from the garden this year.

May 5, 2015

Kaeden's 5th Birthday
He had fun swimming at Roystone Hot Springs, but he REALLY 
wanted to stay in a motel for his birthday. That's my traveling boy!

Spring 2015

We all LOVE having puppies in the house again!!!
Puppies are THE BEST part of spring ~

 ~  Stunning Anna/Trouble puppies  ~ 

Brody x Bella Puppies
Playing in the grass

Caleb and Kaeden LOVED this little restaurant they made, as Calli was their server and they could have their puppies will them while they ate!  

April 29 - May 3, 2015

Salt Lake City Dog Show
We had a fun and exciting trip!  It started out on Wednesday when we were packing the motorhome and Tori found the 1st rattlesnake of the season.  We caught it and our first stop of the trip was to relocate him to a safe location.  
The show went VERY well!  We showed our 4 Cresteds ~ Ivy, Lola, Clea and Henri as well as our Lab Holly.  All did VERY well and gained 8 total points toward Champion/Grand Champion AKC titles.  We took an afternoon after showing and went to Utah Lake.  The kids had fun playing in the water (rolling a 400 lb? log into the water to play on) and catching over 400 lady bugs for our garden!  

Rattlesnake gets a short ride in our motorhome and rattles ALL the way!

Some of our dog show "Loot"... as we call it ~

Abrie, Alex, Tori and Calli showing Ivy, Clea, Henri and Lola
Look at all those Puffs in the ring... I LOVE it!!!

 ~ Comment at the show.... "Now THAT (Holly) is THE classic yellow lab" ~ 

Henri (our new boy) at 9 months and his first show ~ He did AMAZING!!!

The kids showing their Puffs~  What a lot of work with all this fluff... 
but what a lot of fun!!!

The kids and I rolled this HUGE log from shore into the water,
 so they could float and play on it ~  Tori keep saying " I know we can do it!"

Kaeden is my little "Vagabound"... as he LOVES to go on trips!!!  We will just get home after a long trip and he keeps asking when we can go on another trip!

Lady Bugs and Camp fires ~

This log was HUGE!  My guess 400+ lbs.  After the first roll and seeing how far we had to roll it, I had doubts we could move it that far.  And I usually do not have doubts.  But Tori keep saying " I know we can."  We probably rolled it 100', but we did it and they had fun floating/playing on it.

April 25, 2015

Abrie plays Mendelssohn Concerto with Meridian Symphony
What an EXCITING evening to hear Abrie playing with the symphony!!!

Abrie playing Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25 Felix Mendelssohn 
3rd movement, Presto- Molto Allegro Vivace
with the Meridian Symphony

Abrie is a joy to listen to, as she plays with SO much emotion and expression ~ 

April 2015

Brody LOVES a Big Stick..... the bigger the better!!!
~ The Labs LOVE their visit to the lake ~

 ~ Brody and Holly having fun at the lake  ~

 ~ Holly likes to wait and steal the stick from Brody when he comes in ~
Now that is a FAT otter tail, Holly!

Trampoline Fun!!!

The kids use one of the dogs beds to bounce each other in the air.
I call it.... "The Flying Saucer" 
They can really get little Kaeden high in the air and he LOVES it!

Spring 2015

Hikes and Picnics with our Cresteds and Labs

We are all LOVING the warm weather that spring has sprung! The dogs LOVE going on hikes and especially love the picnic part (Abrie's homemade apple pie).  We miss our Tucker and Vienna who went to their new home this past week. We welcome our new Puff Henri to our family.  He is such a sweet, sweet boy!  We are looking forward to showing him this summer.

 ~ Our new Puff boy... Aja's Dance with me Henry "Henri " 
by CH. De La Mahafu's Chicho-Chagall De Aja x Chinese Line Aja's ET Cetera (both Swedish imports) at 9 months old ~ 
His half sister was #1 Chinese Crested 2014/#8 Toy/Best of Breed Westminster 2015

Spring hike with the Cresteds and Labs.....
 and yes... some of the kids hike 2+ miles barefoot; they have tough feet!

March 31, 2015

Happy 16th Birthday to our sweet, sweet, dear Abrie!!!

March 1, 2015

"Yep.... Horses Can Jump!!!"

Kids had a fun day with the horses... jumping, jumping
 and more jumping and Kaeden even got a ride!
And
Caleb's 7th Birthday!!!!

February 21, 2015

Boise Tuesday Musical Piano Festival

Five out of six Church kids attending Boise Tuesday Musical Piano Festival
 and five out of five recieved Superior rating!!!  Way to work hard!!!  Kaeden will be six out of six soon!  It was a busy day... Alex also had his first Cello Concert with the Intermediate Honor Orchestra.
Update
March 21, 2015    Winning Superior Rating at BTM, Abrie, Tori and Alex got to compete for piano scholarships.
They all won scholarships with Abrie winning the highest amount she could be awarded~  $800 is not bad for playing a few songs ( I should mention, Abrie plays piano about 4 hours a day and when you add up all the kids time practicing piano each day... it comes to about 9 hours of piano playing a day)!!!

Jan/Feb 2015               Abrie competes and wins Concerto Competition for Meridian Symphony and BPYO (Boise Philharmonic Youth Orchestra) performing
 Concerto in G minor mvt.III by Mendelssohn ~  

We are all SO excited to hear Abrie perform as a featured soloist 
with the symphonies this April and next fall!!

Sept/Oct 2014

          Dog Shows in Idaho and Salt Lake City 
~  and   ~
Tori and Calli at Ballet Lessons

We had a couple 4 day dog shows in Boise, Idaho and Salt Lake City this fall.  It was a lot of fun and we have a new Champion in the family ~ Ivy ~ !!!  Lola only needed one major and she too will be an AKC Champion like her sis. 
The little ones REALLY found out about salt water and that you CANNOT sink... but it REALLY burns when it gets in your eyes and nose!

Tori and Calli got to perform in the Nutcracker this year with Ballet Idaho!!  They had a lot of fun.... Tori played one of the party girls in the Party Scene and Calli was a little mouse.

October 31, 2014

Trick-or-Treating on Horseback

It is an annual traditional around here that the kids go Trick-or-Treating on their horses/pony.  It is always a lot of fun!!  This year some people remembered them and had horse treats for the horses, which they LOVED!!! Mini stuck her head right in the bucket.  At one house the lady's birthday is on Halloween and her husband's birthday on Christmas.  It was SO sweet, the kids all sang "Happy Birthday to her".  I like that they get more riding in and not as much candy collecting/eating.

 ~  Halloween concluded with carving pumpkins contest 
and a Halloween dance/play at Grandma's house  ~

 


 ~ Lots of wonderful memories with our furry 
little friends ~ 
Some Favorite Pictures for 2014

 



Aug 3, 2014                                                         Finding Goldfish 
                                   
we caught around 375 Goldfish and all with our hands!!!  It was muddy, but it was SO fun!!!  The kids found this muddy cattle pond when they were jogging (12 miles) the Brownlee Loop on Saturday.   They were SO hot (90 degrees++), they went in for a swim. They first felt all these THINGS rubbing up against their legs.  Calli was scared it was snakes. Come to find out.... they were Goldfish!!! LOTS and LOTS of Goldfish!!!  They were VERY over crowed and we relocated some of them to a pond by my mom's house. 

Aug 2, 2014                                                       Caleb Learns to Ride

Caleb (age 6) learns to ride!  We took a horse ride to Grandma's house (3 miles each way) and Caleb learns to post.  He now LOVES to trot!  Lucy is such a good girl for the little ones. I only have one little boy left to learn (Kaeden-4) and he is well on his way.  He has ridden a few times, but hasn't got the idea of posting down.  He has fun though. 

July 14-28, 2014                       Cheyenne Fun

We visited my sister and her family in Cheyenne for two weeks.  The kids LOVE to go see their cousins, Shane, Breanna and Elesha.  They also have horses and live on 40 acres, so we feel right at home. We rode in the Cheyenne Frontier Days Parade, found a new horse for cousin Alesha, did LOTS of horse riding and went camping. Went hiking to a hidden waterfall and the kids caught an injured bird while camping.  He was brought to a wild life animal vet/rescue.  He had a fishing hook caught in his throat.

July 4, 2014                    4 Wheeler Ride to Placerville

We rode the 4 wheelers from our house to Placerville, about a 80 mile round trip ride.  We found a cool pond to take a dip in and Daddy flagged down a Swans truck for ice cream!!!  They only had large quantities, but no one complained about eating too much ice cream on a HOT day!  We found a lot of neat things in that old ghost town.

June 28, 2014           Kids Ride to Smith's Ferry/Tripod Lake

Abrie, Tori, Alex and Calli riding their horses/pony to Smith's Ferry/Tripod Lake about a 30 mile ride~  When we got to the lake we had fun playing with the Labs in the water.  Calli did GREAT on her pony Mini.  This was her 2nd 30 mile ride on her pony.

June 27, 2014             Round Up


Abrie, Tori and Alex ride their horses and help our neighbor round up his cows.

June 18, 2014                               New Boat

I don't know who loves the boat more....the kids or the Labs!!!  We sure do enjoy getting out of the heat and into the water.  The kids LOVE to be pulled on the tube!  And Dad can still do an AMAZING back flip!

June 12-15, 2014             Filer/Blackfoot Dog Shows


We went to the Filer/Blackfoot Dog shows a 6 day show. We also visited Shoshone Ice Caves, Craters of the Moon National Park, Arco, a great swimming lake in Blackfoot and the best part of our trip....visiting Henley one of Clea's puppies from her first litter.

One of our adored puppies... Henley!  It was the ABSOLUTE highlight of our trip to see him again!
He is such a BEAUTIFUL sweet,sweet boy!

May 17-18, 2014       Musicians West Piano Competition
                               and Lava Hot Springs

Tori and Calli both won 1st place in their divisions at Musicians West Piano Competition in Pocatello at Idaho State University. We then headed off to Lava Hot Springs for a day of water fun!  It was a full house, or should I say full motor home with 7 children (cousin Andrew came), and 6 dogs (4 Cresteds and 2 Lab puppies) and 2 orphaned kitties we just found.  The more the merrier...as I always say.

Taking turns and waiting to get ice cream after a fun day at Lava Hot Springs.  Why are dogs NOT allowed in for ice cream!  They like it too~~ NOT FAIR!

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May 12, 2014                       Found 2 Wild Kittens

Alex found these two wild kittens in our Boulders as he was letting his snake go. It didn't take but two days and they were as tame as could be. The LOVE sleeping on the kids beds. We keep them for a couple months until we could find them a wonderful home. We sure will miss those cute little fur balls.

May 10-12, 2014            Finding LOTS of snakes!!!

The kids found these three snakes within 2 days of each other this past Spring.  We also found 3 rattlesnakes, but will not show you those.  We keep them for a day and then let them go (not the rattlesnakes.) The kids must have a little of their Grandpa in them... as when I was a kid, my dad did NOT want his kids and especially his girls to be scared of snakes.  He would pay us a quarter to touch a snake and a dollar to hold one.  Amazingly enough...it skipped a generation, as my kids LOVE snakes!  I don't mind them.... but I don't want to jump out of the car to go catch one either. And I don't have to pay them any money either!

Striving for THE BEST.... BoulderCrest!

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