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.