Dave's 40th Birthday

I think pulling off this party has given me a few grey hairs, especially when Dave decided he would stay home from work on his birthday. Thanks to my Mom, sister Amy and Grandmother, the party was a huge success and he was really surprised!!

I promised lots of yummy treats and that's what they got! I spent the entire week making and freezing Oreo truffles, Nutter Butter balls, red velvet cake pops and chocolate chip cookies. Gram made her famous O'Henry bars and Dave's sister Heather made her famous salsa. All of the guests were well fed. And I just couldn't leave out the baby pictures! Take a look at the poster of pictures I put together.

Thank you to everyone that was able to come and celebrate with Dave. He has so many great friends and lots of wonderful family! We'll have to do it again in 10 years!!

My brother Seth gave Dave a sign that says, "Super Dave's Hanger" with a picture of his ultralight. Dave really loved it!

Grandma Joy and Grandmother Ford

Dave's mom Judy and sister Heather

First Day of School

Here are the boys on the first day of school. It started August 11, 2010. Carson is in 1st Grade and has Mrs. Zale as a teacher. Last year he went to her class for reading time. He likes her and is very comfortable in her classroom. He is a bit bored with the work they are doing, way too easy for him. I assured him that soon they will be learning things he doesn't already know and that made him happy. He loves playing on the "big kid" playground with the his brother and cousins.
Adam is in the 4th grade this year. His teacher is Ms. Ramirez-Ragland. It's taken a while to get her name down but he loves her already! She is really exciting and teaches with such enthusiasm. I know he will do great with her. He is looking forward to their Kartchner Caverns trip and the "lock in" they do at the end of the year. He also likes learning to type with the "writers" they get to take home. It's sure to be a great year!!

Dave's New Calling

This past Sunday Dave was ordained a High Priest and put in as the new 2nd Counselor in our bishopric. I am so happy to be married to such a worthy and strong man. Isn't he handsome!

He was interviewed last Tuesday night and was told that the change wouldn't take place for a few weeks. We went to Mesa this past weekend and planned on going to church with some friends. Dave called Bishop Sunday morning to let him know that he would not be at meetings and Bishop said that we should probably get home. At the last minute there was a change of plans and they decided to make the change Sunday. This was at 9:30 and our church starts at 1pm. We threw everything in the car and ran out the door. We hit the freeway at exactly 10am and was in Thatcher at 12:15. The fastest trip home I have ever made. Luckily we had our church clothes with us, but Dave didn't have his suit. We stopped at his brother's house, borrowed a suit, changed clothes and raced to the church. We made it with time to spare. Talk about a wild ride!

Dave's dad ordained him as a High Priest and then President Sanders set him apart. Both blessings were beautiful and memorable. He was promised some wonderful blessings and I am so thankful for the opportunity he has to serve.

One last vacation

We usually take one last vacation before school starts, in the past we have gone to Tucson to shop for school clothes. I decided to do most of my shopping online this year. This allowed us to change our traditional vacation, instead of Tucson we opted for Gilbert to stay with the family of one of Dave's childhood friends. Dave's brother, Erick, and his family joined us. The boys had lots of fun swimming in their pool and playing with all the other kids. Brady even found a playmate...a pretty little girl named Elena!

Adam loved the water slide!

Carson enjoyed snorkeling, he got really good at it. Maybe we'll have to go to the beach so he can really do it.
Brady and Elena
Sharing his pizza...true love!
Since we didn't have lots of shopping to do we decided to take the kids to The Arizona Museum of Natural History. We stepped into the lobby and Carson began screaming with delight and jumping up and down! (Did I mention that he loves dinosaurs?!?) The boys practically ran to every exhibit. They were happy to be there and Dave and I were happy that they loved it. A win win for everyone.

Panning for gold.


How I'd like to keep them...locked up behind bars!!

Summer Time Fun

I can't believe that school will soon be starting and our summer time fun is coming to an end. I am a true AZ girl, I worship the sun and love the warm weather. I love spending time outside with my family. I'm going to miss the lazy days of summer. Here is a glimpse of what we have been doing.

Cousin Rusten invited us to his 4th birthday party. It was a hunting party. The boys loved getting to shoot the BB guns.

We spent some time picking peaches at Apple Annies in Wilcox, AZ. We brought them home and I made peach jam and canned peaches. I also got a box of peaches from my grandma and have canned another 18 pints of peaches! They're like little bottles of sunshine sitting on my pantry shelf.

Dave promised to take the boys fishing. His brother bought a house and it has a pond on the property. The boys loved it! They each caught a few and then called Uncle Scott to teach them how to clean them. The fish were pretty little so there wasn't much meat but the boys didn't care. We took the meat home and fried it up. Carson declared it was the best fish he ever ate!