MORE..Cool Sedona fun.....getting away from the heat!!

Just sightseeing Sedona, Arizona as you can see....we had to get away from the heat!!

Seven Springs

This past weekend we headed up to our favorite spot to hide from everyone called Seven Springs. This is a remote campground up near Cave Creek that has a small stream for the kids to catch their yucky crawdads....EWWW gross but they love it. We can have cookouts there and just enjoy natures beauty without the hassle of everyday life. We always have fun as you can tell. Its our secret hiding place........shhhh don't tell.......jk

Frankie showing off his crawdad catch....totally gross stuff...

All the kids sliding on slippery green moss here...

Finally letters....

Yesterday we received these letters in the mail from David who is currently in Afganistan for a year. My kids were so excited to get mail all the way across the ocean from another country. I was pretty surprised myself since we wrote these letters about six weeks ago. I am not sure if David will appreciate me posting these publicly, but I am just so happy he safe and doing well. We miss him terribly, but I know he is out protecting our country for us. Stay safe David, and can't wait to see you soon. Love your family from everywhere. xxxooo

Happy Birthday!!!

My youngest sister Jessica was born today at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phx, Az. This day is special for me, cuz I remember wishing for another baby sister to arrive at our house. I had several other sisters at home, but for some reason I needed another one. When my mom recieved word that we were gonna adopt another baby I was so excited. We weren't sure of the sex of this baby yet, but I started thinking wouldn't it be nice to have a baby sister. Well on the day she was born I had to have surgery at the same hospital coincidently. After my outpatient surgery that day I still felt pretty sleepy from the anesthesia given, but I remember getting into the van and seeing her for the first time. Oh she was so beautiful, and more than I ever expected so I was happy with our new sister. Jessica you are such a blessing to us all, and have always had a positive outlook on life. Happy Birthday sis.....we sure do love you always...

Jessica and Anna who are about 3 yrs.
-with Sarah behind them...so cute

Our new house / 1st day of school

Finally some pics of our new house we just recently moved into this week. The kids like their new house and especially all the fun hiding places they have recently discovered. Most of our moving took place during the 110 degree heat, which didn't thrill me too much. During all this moving fun I unexpectedly came down with flu-like symptoms and have felt miserable all week. So not a good way to start off my week much less my kids' school week. Just glad to have some kind of normalcy back into our lives to say the least...just hate moving in the hot summertime.

Here is some of our new adventures of our 1st day of school for Ana who is now in the 5th grade at Litchfield Elementary. (Oh Frankie is also in 5th grade too) Sabrina is a freshmen at Millenium High School now and likes it so far, which is a postive sign for us. Later we went to my niece Alex's open house to meet her new teacher and find her classroom. She was excited to go at first, but got shy as we headed into the class. Vanessa will be in the 6th grade now, and loves school anyway. Just wanted to share some of our memories with you all. Still trying to get back into the swing of things, and I start school (ASU-West) in two weeks too...YIKES!!!

Lots of cousin fun

Parts of these videos are the after effects of Rachel's wedding..Sorry I'm a little late with posting this, but thought it was just so cute to see...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Stake pioneer camping trip

For our pioneer celebration day our stake decided to have a camping trip up near Heber, Az. Here is some of our adventures with the kids having fun together in the cool pines. We didn't even get a drop of rain to spoil our fun, which made the kids disappointed. Many families spent the night and attended a fireside and ate smores by firelight. On Saturday we started off by having a big breakfast together and then they set up pioneer games and crafts for the kids to participate in. It was so good to see so many friends of ours while we could and visit with them for a few days. I ended up spraining my ankle slightly in the first few hours of arriving while setting up our tent, so I was not a happy camper with a painful foot....Anyways fun was had by all as you can see!

Why are kids so fascinated with fire?

On this 4th of July...PLZ honor our soldiers

Just some photos of David out in the Afganistan field.

Our soldier guy (David) gone again...

A few weeks ago David left for Afganistan for an entire year. He had these family pics done before he left his wife and kids. I think they are adorable. I love my adorable, and stinkin cute nieces and nephew. Little Kleeo is about 4 months old now, and David Jr. is three, and Malayisa is 6 now. They are getting so big, and I wish they didn't live so far away. Our prayers are with you David and hope everything is well over there. We Love and miss ya

Summertime fun here and there...

For our latest summer adventures we went to St. George, Utah to visit some interesting places.

Just climbing some pretty red rocks here

St. George, Utah temple-2009

My brother David just left for Afganistan for an entire year-we are so going to miss him. My mom and kids went up to Colorado to say their goodbyes...WE LOVE YOU& THX FOR SERVING OUR COUNTRY

Sabrina's Promotion

This past week was my oldest daughter Sabrina's promotion to 9th grade. She was really nervous about the event, but was excited to shop for her dress and shoes. The school she attended was Wigwam Middle School and they gave each student only 4 tickets to give out to whoever. I am just happy to have her experience this step in her life and hope that her high school years will be just as memorable. The ceremony lasted for about two hours, which was rather long for me. After the ceremony she was invited to ride with some friends of hers in a hummer limo to the Az Mills mall to celebrate. She came home in a rather good mood, but was exhausted for wearing her high heels for the last 9 nine hours walking around the mall(crazy if you ask me)!Anyways she is done with elementary school for now, and is headed for the unknown of high school. I think all of you know what our high school days were like, so you can relate to the sarcasm here. RIGHT???

Sabrina with a few of her friends

Can you believe they actually fit all those kids in that limo?

A Year Older....

The month of May is all of my kids birthdays, so it is a fun time for us all. I decided to get their pictures done at JcPenneys this year. I usually get their pictures done every two years to see their growth. I was really happy with the way these photo shots turned out. It just makes me realize how grown-up they are getting, and that they are not babies anymore. My oldest daughter Sabrina is a whopping 15 years....I can't believe a teenager already...YIKES!!! My next is my son Frankie who turned 11 years this week. He was so excited to celebrate his birthday at Gameworks to play his games. My youngest daughter is Ariana who will turn 10 years now. I can't believe how tall she is getting, but she wants to be a teenager already. She loves make-up, and being the center of attention. I just wanted to let you all know that I love my kids and that they are such a blessing in my life, and how grateful I am to be given the opportunity to be a part of their lives. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUYS...