Colorado or Arizona??

Yesterday afternoon we had a storm rip through here.  It had Kevin and I wondering if we were some how still  in Colorado.  It started out like a regular thunder storm  until just after lunch hail started to come down.  I was amazed! 

We live in the desert now, it's not supposed to hail, right?  Well I was wrong.  It continued to rain throughout the afternoon and the streets started to look like lakes.

At one point we thought we had seen the worst of it, but we were wrong.  At about 5:45 pm we started to hear a horrible sound coming from the roof.  We looked outside and this is what we saw.  More hail, but not like before and not like any I had ever seen in Colorado.  It was huge!  I know Colorado can produce hail like this and even bigger, we had just never seen it before.  Funny we had to come to Arizona to see giant hail...who would have thought?  

This is after it had melted some.  They were bigger, they just melted really fast.

(that blue dot at the top of this picture is a tennis ball, just to give an idea)

Lucky for us our house and cars lived through it.  However, other people weren't so lucky.  Our neighbors had broken windows, dented cars, holes in the stucco.  Some friends and neighbors had hail crashing through their car windows, it was crazy!

White Coat Ceremony

Kevin received his white coat today.  It was fun to go see him and support him. 

Cole and Ashton came along as well.

Here's us waiting for it to start

At Midwestern they give the first year students a white coat ceremony.  It is meant to symbolize the beginning of their professional career as a student.  In the speech they were told to use the white cost to remind them to be professional in their studies, relationships, and choices.  So that when they do become doctors they have professionalism in their daily lives and are well on their way to contribute to their communities. 

I am so proud of my hubby!  

First Day of School...

Isabel started preschool this week.

She has been waiting for this for awhile. 

After watching Ethan go last year, she was excited to finally have her turn.  
Finally she gets to use the back pack she got for her birthday.

I also need to post my other student.

Kevin started dental school at Midwestern on August 30th. 

He has been doing very well in his classes and loves every minute of it.

Ethan Is 6!

Our sweet Ethan is six!

He is still very much into anything Mario. 

So when he opened his gift he was so excited to put it lightly!

Mesa Arizona Temple

We have meet some great new friends, The Smith's.  We met them through dental school.  Kevin and Bracken just started their first year at Midwestern and have hit it off.  Lucky for me Bracken's wife, Lindsey, is so great and so nice, we all get along so well. 

We are in the same boat, it is great to have someone that understands what you are going through. 

 Shortly after we met, the Smith's invited us to go down to the Mesa temple. 

It was a great Sunday afternoon and the temple is so beautiful! 

Arizona in August!

Okay so it is very hot here in Arizona!  When we first got here it was not as hot as I thought it would be.  It was in the 90's and quite comfortable.  However, the second week was in the 100's, and the third week was well over the 100's.  I think the hardest part is that it really never cools down at night.  I think we are sweating all the time!  I know, gross!

This weekend is only in the 90's!  Hey, I'll take what I can get!

I do love it here!  The people are nice.  Where we live, we are close to everything!  The library is like a minute away.  Any kind of shopping is just down the street.  In less than 5 minutes  I can go to the mall, Bed Bath & Beyond, Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, Hobby Lobby, you name it.  I could get myself into trouble.  The best part is that I don't feel like I am that close! 

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First day of school!

The boys started school on the 16th and they are making new friends and adjusting to the new school.

Ethan was REALLY nervous!  He made it and now he loves to go to school.

Kevin started school this week.  He is loving every minute of it!  His classes start on Monday.  He is nervous as well, but very excited!

July

Packing, Birthdays and Good-byes!

The 4th of July:

We went to Erie with the Baileys, our dear friends, to watch the fire works.  It was a ton of fun.  We just love spending time with their family!

Cole turned 9 this summer!  I really can't believe how fast he is growing up.

We took Cole and the family to Chuck E. Cheese's and had a lot of fun.  Kids just love that place!

Moving:

After a lot of tearful good-byes.  We loaded up a large trailer and a small U-haul trailer and headed to Arizona and our new home.  It was really hard to say good-bye to the place we had lived for 10 years.  So many great friends, I still can't believe we are on this crazy adventure.

Our home on Badger Lane.

Good-bye Denver!

Hello, new house!

We were met by our new neighbors, who just so happen to be members!  We have two members as neighbors, one right next door to us and one across the street. We really had a great welcome.  Tons of people showed up out of the blue to help us out.  The Church is so great in that way! 

I'm still unpacking.  I've decided I'm more of a packer than an unpacker.  I like when everything is put away.  The kids had fun rediscovering all their toys though.

June

Right now, I have a lot of nervous energy that I should be applying to the house.  However, I think I'm going to try and get caught up on my blog a little. 

 We have had a very busy last few months and sitting down at the computer just doesn't happen very often.  Since I have two little ones asleep right now, I'm going to give it a try. 

Here is what happened in June:

The first of June we had our Family Pictures taken by Becky!  They turned out great. 

I love this one of us all together.

After our pictures were taken, we headed off to Lake Powell!  It was tons of fun.  The weather was great!  We could have stayed forever. 

Cole practicing his surfing.

Ethan learning to surf.  He got on his knees, what a great start!

Izzy just loved being on the front of the boat when ever she could.  She loved cheering on her brothers!

I didn't think it was possible, but Ashton has his older sibs beat.  He is even more of a fish than the other three.  He absolutely loves being in the water!

Good-bye Denver Zoo!

We tried to get to the zoo as much as possible before we moved.  It is one of the kids' favorite places to go.  This was our last trip, at the end of June.  It was our most fun trip yet.  I let them go on the train and the carousel.  However, the highlight of the day was the baby sea lion.  It was just a week or so old and just the cutest thing ever.  I couldn't have asked for a better way to end our time at the Denver Zoo!

Soccer

This years soccer, I have to say I was sad to see it end.  We had the last game yesterday.

It has been fun watching the boys.  

Cole really loves to play (once we get him there).  He loves to run down the field with the ball.  He is quite good, he averaged about 3 goals a game. 

Ethan is still in the tumble weed division and they don't play games yet.  However, he loved to get out there with his friend and his coach made it a lot of fun working on the fundamentals.

Isabel loved going and watching her brothers. 

I really think she enjoyed going to the park to play a little more.  It was cute to hear her cheer for them.

Holly's Giveaway

My sister Holly is holding a Giveaway on her blog Treasured by Holly! She's giving away a gift certificate of $40 towards anything in her Etsy shop. You should definetely go and sign up to win! Even if you don't, please comment that I sent you to look since that will earn me points. Anything in her shop would be perfect for your little girls or as gifts for the ones you know ;)

R.I.P.

In memory of one of our most beloved....

Trees.

Yes I did write tree. We love our trees so when we lose one it makes us very sad. For years we water them, trim them, enjoy their beauty and bask in their shade. This tree was a type of cherry tree. For the last week it has been in full bloom. Well last night we were hit by YET another storm, this one dumped snow. Well our tree and all its flowers just couldn't take all the weight and it snapped, right down the middle. I HATE THE SNOW!!!

I know I'm being just a little bitter, but I am a desert girl and I just don't like to live in the snow.

Sorry, I'm mad and I needed to vent.

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So while I'm on here I thought I would do some catch up. We have been very busy as of late with things that I cannot report about yet. So what I can report is we took a trip to St. George and Phoenix for spring break. It was fun to go somewhere new and the weather was beautiful!

The desert was in full bloom!

These Saguaro cacti are really cool! They were everywhere.

We couldn't keep the kids out of the pool...they had a blast!

Yes, an outdoor pool in March.

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Isabel turned three in April, she is so fun! We just love having her in our family.

The kids have been loving the hammock in the back yard. I love to use it as well, it is a great time to sit and visit with the kids as we swing and relax.

Ashton never wants to get out. It's really cute.

Ashton Turns One!

Our last little baby turned one last Saturday!

Ashton is so special to us and we are so lucky to have him in our family.

He has recently mastered walking and has now moved onto climbing (typical boy)!

Here is the panda bear cake I made him. As you can see from the picture before, he loved his first piece of cake.

Here we are right after he was born.

Happy Birthday Ashton!

We sure love you!

Zoo Day!

I took the kids to the Denver Zoo last Friday. It was a beautiful sunny day, so we thought we would go and send a couple hours.

The kids had a blast, it was the first time we have gone in the winter time.

The kids always love to see these HUGE fish!

One of the elephants was taking a nap in the afternoon sun. She had her trunk propped up on this pole with her mouth wide open. It was so funny!

We will have to go again soon, it's like a whole new zoo in the winter time.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We have had a lot of fun the last two weeks.

We all enjoyed Christmas, it was simple and quiet. I really love being at home, doing our own thing. It helps us grow closer as a family, making our own little family traditions.

Here are a few of the high-lights....

Kevin didn't work this past week. The time we have spent together as a family was priceless, we don't want it to end. After a busy year with Kevin in school and the rest of us busy with Young Women's, sports, and everything else we need time to just be together and be normal. Something we never feel we get to be with the pressure of everything we have going on.

So this week was spent time swimming at the local rec. center, going to a movie, snow sledding, and ice skating to name a few. We also had our families first ever New Years Eve party. We made our own decorations, party hats, and noise makers. We played Twister and some other games. Stayed up late( 9:30), had a count down to 2010! We all had a blast!

Ethan tried hard, but he fell a lot and was all tied up in knotts.

He was so funny.

Kev and Izzy

Cole on his way up the hill.

Jill, Ethan, and Izzy headed down.

Hope you all had a wonderful end of the year!