Something comming up

Kayla will soon be turning that magic number of 8. I can't believe it. My last little one to be baptized. She's looking forward to it so much. I'll have much more to post about as time gets closer.





We will actually be having two baptism's on the same day. This is a good friend of ours and her daughter's birthday is just 2 days before Kayla's. It will be a fun experience for them both to be able to share their special day together.

Just having fun.....what a great smile :)

Once again I'm trying out another lens. I think I'm really liking this one as well.
Kayla was having so much fun, I love taking pictures of her when she's so happy. We're all enjoying the lovely weather so much because let's face it....we all know what's going to happen in another month or two at the latest. SUMMER TIME HIBERNATION !!

What's in a name anyway

Well our beloved cat now has a story to go along with her. As explained in earlier post, Daisy just showed up on our back door one morning looking very thin. So we took her in and fed her, took her to the vet, had her fixed (don't need anymore little kitties) and have loved her ever since.

This evening Robert was outside doing some work in the front driveway and a man walked by pushing his small son in a wagon. This man saw our cat Daisy and was so excited. He started up a conversation with Robert and this is how the story goes.

This man and his wife have a friend who lives in an apartment nearby. This friend had a cat but the apartment complex wouldn't allow her to keep the cat. So this friend asked this man and his wife to please take the kitten. So they did. They had the kitten for a while and tried to keep her inside, but she wanted to be outside. Eventually after a few days the kitten disappeared. The couple thought that the cat had been killed becuase they hadn't seen her for a long time. Then today when the man took his son for his stroll around the neighborhood, he sees our Daisy and he called out Chloe. That's right.....Daisy before she was Daisy was Chloe. The man was happy to see that Chloe or Daisy as we now call her was still alive. Robert told him the story of how she showed up on our doorstep and the kids adopted her and now she's our cat called Daisy.

Only one word to say....

!!! Hallelujah !!!

Bro. Curtis

My two brothers, David and Craig

Bishop Homer, Robert, Bro. Stratton

Okay, maybe there is more than just one word to say. Some other words might be.....relief, done, over, no more, yipee, but by far the one word that sums it up would have to be just plain old hallelujah.

What a great day to get this project done. We appreciate the rain holding off until tonight. The building will have a great opportunity to dry and be ready for the rain tonight.

Isn't it just a lovely shade of yellow and brown. That's what they wanted it painted. It's called Southern Pacific Yellow. Apparently all Southern Pacific Railroad stations were painted this color. That's fine with us. It's done and it looks great. They are pleased and so are we.

Another great word would have to be THANK YOU to all our friends and family that helped Kyle in completing this project.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY !!!!!!!!

Saturday morning came and sure enough the clouds rolled into town. We tried our best to beat the clouds, but they eventually won out. We started this project of Kyle's at 8:00 that morning and by 10:30 we had to close up shop because the clouds were going to let loose. If we had a couple of more hours we could've had the rest of the trim painted and been completed.

We did however get a lot accomplished in the 2 and a half to three hours we were there. All the base coat of yellow was finished. Just the trim painting of brown needs to be done with some touch up still.

We will try yet again this Saturday to complete this project if the weather will cooperate. We keep watching the weather reports on line and it changes every day. One day it says 20% chance of rain this comming saturday and then the next day it will say 80% chance of rain. MAKE UP YOUR MIND ALREADY!!

So wish us luck and please, please, please....whatever you do....please don't pray for rain. :)

Kyle's Eagle Project

Yep...this is it, the Eagle Project. Kyle has decided to help the Arizona Railway Museum by painting this double-wide trailer that they are trying to make their Museum building. It used to be a temporary firehouse for the City of Chandler Fire Department, but now will be used the by Railway Museum. Kyle has finally finished the paperwork and gotten the approval of all necessary people to be able to start working on the project.





Kyle's project will be on the 20th of February (if it's not raining !!!!) Kyle met with the museum manager on Saturday and they showed him the colors of paint. I hope they like their choice after it's all said and done. I'll have to post before and after pictures once the job is completed. It will be a two-tone paint job. The building itself will be painted a yellow (more gold) color and the trim will be a dark brown color. Should be interesting. We'll see what happens.

How much snow do you really need?

After all we live in Arizona for cryin' out loud. How much snow does it really take for us to be excited. Well apparently.....it doesn't take much at all. Just the talk of snow brought us to Granny's house for the day. This winter storm that stuck around for several days did dump a small amount of snow (mushy at that) at Granny's. So we took the kids to play in the mush. They didn't mind though. They all had a wonderful time getting wet and cold.

Then of course we had to have the memorable marshmallow roast out in Papa's shed. The kids live for this. They just love to roast marshmallows at Granny's. What could be more fun. Wish Papa was here to see them enjoy his "potbelly stove" in the shed. They put it to good use every time we come. Thanks Granny for letting us come and play in the mush....I mean snow. We had a blast.

YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM

Arrow of Light

Congrats to Nathan. He completed all his requirements in the Cub Scouts to earn his Arrow of Light. They had a wonderful ceremony for him this past Wednesday night at Cub Scout Pack Meeting. It was supposed to be outside, but due to the lovely winter storm that pounded us for 5 days we weren't able to be outside. Nevertheless, it was a great ceremony. They get this gentlemen to come and do the awards. The boys just love it. Nathan had a lot of fun and is looking forward to joining the 11 year old scouts in February.

Congrats Nathan. We're so proud of you and all that you do. Keep up the good work.

3 Mile Hike.....am I crazy?

Nathan needed to go on a 3 mile hike to complete his requirements for his Arrow of Light in Cub Scouts. So today, New Years Eve was the day to do the hike. Nathan's den leader is my best friend Trudy. She took her two sons and I took both of mine. Kayla was the lucky one and got to spend 4 hours at a friends house instead. It's a good think too....it was more of a hike than I think she could've done. It was fine at the beginning, but the quicly got very rocky and steep.

It was a great day for a hike thank heavens.

So here we were....two women hiking with these four boys. They did such a great job. Of course they were far ahead of Trudy and I and wondered why it always took us so long to catch up. They'll understand in about another 30+ years. They think it's funny now, but I'll guarantee it will eventually catch up with them.

Here's the gang. Dallin, Kyle, Ryland and Nathan. Such great boys.

They climbed over these rocks like a bunch of mountain goats. They made it look so easy.

Can you spot all 3 boys?

Me & My boys. Love you guys !!

The two most oustanding moms!!

Jumpin' Jelly Beans

This is for you Granny. We all went to Jumpstreet today. The kids couldn't wait to use their gifts from you. I couldn't get pictures of the boys because they played dodge ball the whole time and you can't get in the enclosure to take any picutres. So all the pictures have major reflections off the glass enclosure. But not to worry, the boys had a blast. They invited Kyle's fried Lucas to go with them. So much fun. They all came out after an hour of jumping all sweaty. They get a really good workout playing dodge ball. Kayla has a lot of fun too in her area. She practiced her gymnastic moves. She loves Jumpstreet.












Thanks again for the wonderful Christmas present. The kids really enjoyed themselves. What a great way to wear them out.

What do you get when you......

1. Have a sister who gives your boys a harmless yet explosive gift for christmas?

OR

2. Combine 1 liter diet coke with one package mentos......you guessed it...they both lead to the same results.

LOTS AND LOTS OF FUN

How many people does it take to rig a bottle of diet coke to explode?




Never the less the boys have always wanted to do this and just haven't had the opportunity to do so. Well their loving aunt Jeri made all their dreams come true this christmas. They were so excited to get this present. They just couldn't wait to give it a try.










The first try was trial and error and so the next day I went out and bought them both another bottle of Diet Coke so they could use the second package of mentos my sister had given them. This time the results were much, much better.

Thanks again Jeri for the boys wonderful memories. They can't wait to have friends come over and try it out.