December 2025
Merry Christmas! Well 2025 sure was an eventful year. We rang in the new year with the boys’ new tradition of a plunge in a frozen lake in Mammoth on New Years Day. And January brought the final games of rugby season for Camden & Isaac; Kolby & Danalyn’s wedding reception in Sacramento; Courtland’s pole vault summit in Reno; Stephanie being asked to be assistant director for the girls summer youth church camp; and Eli teaching people about the gospel & doing community service as he continued to serve his mission in Guayaquil Ecuador.
In February, Isaac & Courtland started track; Camden pitched the idea of starting a new job doing all the shopping & dinner prep for our family (which Stephanie eagerly took him up on); Kolby & Danalyn’s BYU student film was released; Stephanie & the youngest two boys & her brother did an epic & somewhat grueling 13 hr, 4200’ scrambling adventure in Joshua Tree; & Camden went with Michael for his annual ski weekend visiting his parents in Boise.
In March, Courtland (16) got his driver’s license; Camden played the tuba in his advanced band & french horn in his intermediate band concerts; Michael & Stephanie continued their night hikes up Black Mountain to prep for longer treks later this year; Camden gifted Stephanie a day of skipping school to hike Indianhead Mountain together for her birthday; we hosted the rugby team banquet at our house; Stephanie did a fun day trip to Catalina Island to prep for the upcoming youth camp; and Courtland achieved his pole vaulting personal record of 14’ 2”!
In April, Kolby’s film won the Audience Choice award at the BYU student film festival we took our family vacation to Washington DC; Camden opened his mission call and learned he would be serving in Spokane Washington for the next two years; Danalyn graduated from BYU with a linguistics degree; & Kolby ran a half marathon. And sadly, Berkley, our 9 yr old Great Dane, passed away.
May brought the Spring Formal dance for the three younger boys (Courtland’s first date!); we were excited for Kolby & Danalyn to move in with us; and then we hosted a wedding reception for the two of them here in San Diego. Then Michael, Stephanie, Kolby & Danalyn took a trip to visit Kolby’s friends from his mission in Lima Peru, & then to Cusco & Machu Picchu, & culminating in an amazing 11,000 foot, 4-day trek to an archaeological site called Choquequirao. After returning home we also had a fun overnighter with the younger three boys to Ladder Canyon.
In June, Camden (19) was recognized for volunteering with the D39C middle school band, & he graduated from seminary and from high school. Isaac & Courtland were each recognized as 2nd Team All-League: Isaac for the 4x800 relay & Courtland for pole vaulting. We went on a long desert bike ride where the boys spent hours filming a really creative action film along the abandoned trestle bridge & railroad cars there. And Michael & the three younger boys had a cool backpacking church camp in the High Sierras. Stephanie sprained her ankle in the ocean & unfortunately had to miss the girls camp she had been planning for months. Danalyn got a new job working with middle schoolers at a local school, and Kolby started working as an Instacart shopper. Then Michael’s parents came for Camden’s endowment at the Newport Temple.
In July, Isaac (18) & Stephanie got to go on a humanitarian trip to Nadi Fiji, where they helped build 3 classrooms, and also got to visit the temple & attend a national rugby game. We’ve been so blessed to do these trips with each of our boys, where we get to work hard helping others, make good friends, & visit places we may never have gone otherwise. And Michael got to visit his sister’s family in North Carolina. Next we welcomed Cash, a sweet Great Dane puppy, to our family. Bodie, our 2 yr old Dane, wasn’t sure what to think of the pup at first, but now they’re pals. And the rest of July brought all the summer fun that we wanted to fit in before Camden left home: Michael & Camden went to Bridge to Nowhere for bungee jumping for Camden’s 18th birthday gift; we enjoyed a day cliff jumping & snorkeling near Newport; the youngest two boys got passes to Universal Studios; and Camden & Stephanie had their day out in LA visiting the observatory & hiking to the Hollywood Sign together.
In August, the Conde cousins visited; Stephanie was asked to serve as secretary in the girls youth program at church; Isaac was asked to be a church chorister; Isaac started his senior year & Courtland his junior year of high school; Camden left for his mission; Isaac took over the job of shopping & cooking for the family; Michael continued to enjoy trips to the temples as often as possible; Isaac began his final cross country season; and Stephanie had a grand time on an impromptu 17+ mile hike through Yosemite with her sister-in-law.
In September, we travelled to Utah for Grandma Faun’s funeral. Then Michael & Stephanie left to pick up Elijah (20) in Ecuador at the end of his mission, including meeting his friends there; hiking to cool waterfalls; & then having an amazing adventure exploring the Galapagos Islands.
In October, Michael & Stephanie took the long-awaited victory trip with her parents (celebrating Stephanie & her mom both overcoming cancer over the previous year). They had a ball visiting Greece & Italy, and some of the highlights included: cool hikes to Katholiko Gorge in Crete & the Badovas Hermit Caves in Meteora; everything in Florence; exploring the towns & swimming in Cinque Terre; The Last Supper & Duomo in Milan; and daydreaming about moving to a country house in Tuscany. Also that month, Courtland built the sets & worked on the stage crew for the school play The Outsiders; Eli got a job at Jimbos grocery store; Kolby started working as an associate producer on a feature film in LA; and Isaac completed his college applications.
November was relatively calm (being the first time this year we all remained in San Diego for the entire month). We filled it with simple joys: Isaac & Courtland filmed many magic trick videos for their YouTube channel, got together with friends to dig massive holes at the beach for fun, and started filming a comedy series with their friends. Eli continued to train for his upcoming marathon and has been getting all geared up to start college at BYU this winter. Stephanie enjoyed her pickleball & hiking groups, and opportunities for genealogy research with her mom. Michael decompressed by reading Sanderson novels whenever possible. And we decorated “turkey cookies” and made all the traditional Thanksgiving foods together as a family; did a fun hike the day after Thanksgiving; & then picked out a Christmas tree. And Isaac has started preparing for his mission, which he plans to begin this upcoming summer.
Earlier this month, Kolby & Danalyn celebrated their first anniversary, and they just signed a lease for an apartment in LA. December was busy for Michael with his responsibilities as a volunteer coordinator for our church’s local community event focusing on the true meaning of Christmas, Walk Through Bethlehem, which turned out lovely. Isaac began his final rugby season, and is also doing pre-season track training, & started surfing with friends before school. Stephanie, Michael, Isaac, & Courtland enjoyed a fun overnight hammock backpacking trip to Three Sisters Falls. And Camden always looks forward to getting emails from family & friends while he’s away on his mission!
Wishing you tidings of comfort and joy this year,
Michael & Stephanie Bradshaw & family
15500 Tanner Ridge Road
San Diego, California 92127
stephanielbradshaw@gmail.com
michaelbbradshaw@gmail.com
camden.bradshaw@missionary.org
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