Our new abode

This is it! We have still got some moving to do, but here is our new place.

Carina lost a tooth!

Tunneling into a sand dune

Came across this unfortunate story that reminds me of the times in Pacific City when we tunneled into the dune.

Wellington boy killed in sand-tunnel collapse
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700260449,00.html

At the time I had visions of the possibility, and I think we even had a close call once, but what a tragedy!

Something to talk with the kids about . . .

Ninja cat

Time to Pack

We listed our house and sold it in two weeks!! It was an amazing blessing! We had it on the market last year for 6 months and not a single offer. We sure showed it plenty of times though. I turn into this witchy mom who forbids her kids from getting out lots of stuff and making messes because we MIGHT have to show the house. Heavenly Father must have known I couldn't have handled it again for so long. All the prayers didn't hurt either. Now it's garage sale time on Saturday and we have to be out by the end of the month.
We found a rental yesterday and signed a 6 month lease. We can start slowly moving in on Saturday, the 20th. That gives us 10 days to take our time. Is that good or bad?It is about 5 blocks from the kids school so we will be walking and riding bikes more often. Fun! It's a cute 4 bedroom, not very big, no pantry, which I will miss, but we'll manage for a short term stay. We are still in the ward, so we are very happy.
Willie is looking for work now because Keystone Homes is closing shop. He has applied for jobs here in Arizona and also in other states. I know the Lord will bless us and we will soon find a great job . I am constantly amazed at the blessings our family receives each day. Family, friends, and ward members are praying for our family and I feel so blessed and comforted and humbled by their simple acts of love for us.
I am so very grateful to have the gospel in my life to give me guidance and direction. I know Heavenly Father has a plan for us and I am so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know he loves me and loves each one of us. I know that if we trust in the Lord, we will be blessed.

Happy kids

The kids have been in school for one month now. Activities and sports have started and things are really busy! Wesley ran his first cross country meet today. He loved it! He said today that he is so glad he joined the team. His best friends are on the team and they are working hard and having a blast. He loves his coach, Mr. Quinn, who is also his P.E. teacher. Go Wildcats! Scouting and Mutual also keep Wes busy. He is having a great 7th grade year so far.
Carina continues to love Kindergarten. She has recently learned to play a couple of things on the piano and is teaching them to Kacie, her best friend. I babysit her after school for a couple of hours. She is a sweetie! Carina loves having her over every day.
Zachary is enjoying 3rd grade and is also enjoying running. He loves P.E. and is still obsessed with legos. They keep ending up in the laundry. AAARRGH!
Maddie is super busy girl. She just joined the school band and is a flutist. She has learned two notes and is excited to play them for me. They practice before school Mon, Wed, and Fri. She is also on the Robotics team again. The team is small this year. It is made up of 3 fifth graders and 3 fourth graders. The theme this year is "Climate Connections". Crotchet club and activity days also keep her very busy. She loves to be involved and hang out with her friends.

Young Women Iron Chef

Last Tuesday we held a healthy cooking Iron Chef contest at our house for our mutual activity. The girls had a blast. Tonight they were asking me when we could do it again. I divided them into two teams and set the timer to 30 minutes. They had full use of my kitchen and each team had to come up with a "Healthy" meal using the fresh ingredients they were given. The secret ingredient was "Salmon". The also had an angel fook cake dessert and that was judged on aesthetics. The girls came up with grat ideas and then the judges "Willie and I" gave them the results and we all sampled. So fun!

Team Results

These are both teams dishes. Both teams sauteed and team B used herbs from my garden. Yum!

Scout Camp

I know this blog sometimes isn't chronological, but oh well, this is just so adorable of Wes. He's packed and ready to go. They met at the church at 4:30 am on Monday and returned Saturday afternoon. According to Wes, "It was the funest thing I've ever done." My big 12 year-old. Wow!

Ramnsey Canyon with Lanes

We headed to Ramsey Canyon to cool off and it was so gorgeous there. The kids played in the creek for almost two hours. They built boats and floated them down the creek and the small waterfalls, looked for bugs, ran around and did much exploring.

Ben + 2 = 5

Coming to a town near you. Maybe.



Ben + 2 = Five