Oh Christmas Tree

Here is our tree this year... We have been a lil busy the last month but have loved all our visitors! We are super excited to go back home for Christmas... 15 days and counting! 

Happy Thanksgiving....

We stayed here in K-town for Thanksgiving... Jerian, T and Shay came and it was the best weekend ever! We had lots of fun and did a lil Black Friday shopping. We ate turkey dinner @ the Rowley's and it was fab! 

We have been truly blessed over the last year and are so thankful for all the many prayers that have been answered in our behalf. We love all our friends and family! Thanks for being there and helping us along the way...

Game Day! 11/25

So here is our girl after her 1st soccer game.... She totally rocked it! She has really improved and the last few weeks she has been practicing as goalie. We are so proud of her! They won 2 to 0 good job ladies! 

Surprise! 11/21

A few weeks ago my parents came to visit and they brought the BEST surprise ever.... Kami! We were so excited and Maddi was so shocked! It was a super fun relaxing weekend! We loved having them here...

So this happened.....

Our Maddi Jane made the Lee Wiiliams High School soccer team! We are pretty dang proud of her, even though she hasn't been playing long, she has totally rocked it! We are pretty excited!

We made her this lil poster, to wish her good luck....

Here she is after a long week of practice! All her hard work is paying off... 

Tennis

The kids have both been playin a lil tennis... I signed them up through the city and they were the only 2 in their group, they have both enjoyed it! We signed Kobe up for the next session but Mads will have to wait till spring because of soccer. 

Halloween

Last Monday for family night we had ourselves a lil Halloween dinner.... We made famous rice dish, aunt Jacki's cornbread and had root beer with dry ice. We went to the 99 cent store and picked out a table cloth, the pitcher, and cups & plates... P and I were pretty impressed with the dry ice as you can see... 

We made apple crisp and carved pumpkins as well....

P's on the left, Mads is on the right....

On Halloween night we went to the trunk or treat at the church. This is Klaire (Jon & Alisha's daughter) & Kobe. After we went to the Lee Williams High School football game with the Rowley's.

Saturday night we had a lil Halloween party at the Schrade's.... It was a masquerade! You didn't have to dress up but you had to wear a mask. It was super fun! 

This is Chole, Aspen, Sarah & Maddi

Here's our lil fam... I was a gangsta girl, P was a zombie pirate, Mads was Batman and James was a creey guy! LoL 

I really missed seeing all my cute nieces and nephews dressed up. I've been having a rough week knowing I'm missing out especially as the holidays are near... But over all I/we can't complain. I feel blessed and I'm so grateful for modern technology so we an see pics, face time and keep in touch.

The kids also started tennis lessons this week but the pics I took didn't turn out so I'll post some next week.

That's about all for now... Mads starts tryouts this week for the high school soccer team, so keep her in your prayers. She is really nervous!

Pink Out!!

Kingman is pretty big on breast cancer awareness... Lots of businesses decorate & some of the schools have a pink day once a week. So last Tuesday my work did a pink out to show our support. 

These are 2 of the 3 appraisers in our office.... Michelle, Karyn & Me.

P Dawg!

P is doing so awesome in school here in AZ. He got an award Wednesday night for making the honor roll (gpa 3.0 to 3.4). He kinda struggled in 6th grade so this is a huge improvement. We are proud of our lil Kobe Man!

Soccer...Scouts... And Life!

Yesterday was Mads last soccer game for city league, her team made it to the play offs and took 3rd over all. Mads improved each game, it was so fun watching her. She played with a really great group of kids, all her team mates have played since they were young and we're really good! They were all so good to include her and help her learn the game. :) 

Friday she played her 1st game with her comp team, they lost but played a good game! She is gearing up to try out for the high school team, try outs start Nov. 3rd.

We haven't really done much other than soccer and running around! 

Kobe & James went on an awesome over nighter for Scouts on Friday. It was in Belmont, AZ towards Flagstaff. It's starting to cool off here, so they got a lil chilly, but over all had a good time,

I've been freezing here lately! Sad thing is, is its like 75/80*. I wonder how I made it in Utah all these years.... I definitely won't miss the Utah coldness!

Saturday October 25th James as officially been in AZ for one year! Time has went by so fast! We really miss our family, friends, camping, Atwoods Ranch, turkey steaks, Farm bread and Mads misses the fall weather.... Other than that we can't complain, over all things get better each day and we have and are being so blessed! 

Mads is counting down the days til we go to Utah! 60 days and we can't wait! 

Peace & Love 

Beautiful AZ....

The sunset! :) 

Soup with the Sisters....

Tonight we got to feed the Sîsters... We love having them! 

We kinda had a busy day... The kids left at 10:30 this morning to go to the Vegas Temple to do baptisms, James and I went on a lil date on the bike... Then I had to go to the church for primary program practice. So I was trying to think of something easy to make for dinner, so we made enchilada soup and it was the BOMB! 

Fall Break...

Last weekend was the kids fall break so we went on a lil trip to Phoenix. We went to the Phoenix Temple open house, then to the movies.... Meet the Mormans, it was dang good! 

Then Sunday we went to an NFL game.... Cardinals vs REDSKINS! I'm not really into football, but I must say its was pretty cool! The boys thought it was great! 

We did a lil shopping and got to eat at Čafe Rio! Yum! 

It was an awesome weekend with our lil family! 

Nucor Safety Posters

I totally forgot to blog about this...

Back in August Nucor had a lil safety poster contest. The kids had to come up with a safety slogan and then draw it. 

P's is the top one and Mads is the bottom.

They had a lil ice cream party last month (Sept. 6th) and announced the winners. Every kid that entered got a $15 Walmart gift card, so they both got that. But Maddi also took 2nd in her age group and got $50.00 cash. 

I was pretty proud of them, they both did a super good job. :)

Traditions...

Beings how we are on a new lil journey..... I figured we probably should start making some new traditions, since we aren't able to join our families back in Utah for every special event or holiday. So here's to the 1st new tradition. 

Cinnamon Rolls on Conference Weekend 

Mmmmmmm.....  GOOD!

This was my 1st time ever making them. The kids both helped, P and I made the dough and I rolled it out. Then he buttered them, added the cinnamon & sugar. We did some plain, some with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and then good ole raisins. Maddi helped place them on the pan and butter the tops and then she made some killer cream cheese frosting.

Over all I think they turned out pretty good for my 1st time... Nothing compared to Gm. Kent's but James said we did an outstanding job! I needed to spread them out a lil better cause they were a lil doughy.

Then we also thought it would be fun to have Papa Murphy's pizza, so we had that for dinner after the boys got home from the Priesthood session.

So these we'll be our new Conference traditions....

Other than that here is a lil about what we've been up to.

Mads soccer team is killin it! They have only lost 2 games and we thinking they are going to make it to the finals. She did super awesome this morning at her game. She improves every week! I'm so proud of her. She has also been practicing with a comp team and has her 1st game with them on the 24th. Then she has also be staying after school 4 days a week doing an awesome workout that her PE teacher teaches... I'm a lil jealous, her workouts sound intense. I told her maybe I should join her. LoL She still has some tough days, but I think things are coming around. :)

P and James went on a over nighter for scouts (Sept. 26 to 27) and they got soaked! It rained super hard the whole time, they did come home a lil earlier than planned Saturday. P thought it was great! He has found a new lil hobby Rubix Cubes he is totally obsessed! I took him to Walmart and he bought himself one and is totally hooked. We just ordered a 4x4 on Amazon, he can't wait for it to get here. (A 4x4 is just a different style of cube)

That's about all for now...

So....

The weekend of the 12th we had a few visitors.... Gm. Lynn, Aunt Jacki and these 2 cute kids! It made my whole week, we absolutely loved their visit. Living away from "home" is hard!

Now that we are pretty much settled I am realizing its a lil harder than I thought it would be. I think it's mostly a girl thing cuz Maddi and I are the only ones that really seem to have bad days. I guess my boys are tough! Over all we are adjusting and things are good! We just have to live outside our comfort zone. And say lots of prayers!

We have been busy with soccer, Maddi is improving every game. I am so proud of her! She has also started practicing with a comp team, I think she seems to be really liking it.

P got put on the yearbook staff, James thinks he is going "nerd" on us, I think it's great cause he is a whole new kid here and is getting all A's & B's. He has really came out of his shell and is getting really involved with different groups at school. He has lots of personality and some days it's a lil much.... But we love are lil man! He is also getting a few armpit and leg hairs that he is super proud of! LoL :) 

Not much else is going on here.... Sleep, work, school :) 

San Diego....

We took a lil trip to Cali for Labor Day! It was the kids year for vacation and they planned our whole trip.  James and I were talking and said this was probably one of our most favorite vacations! It was nothing to fancy and pretty low key. 

Saturday we went to  Coronado Beach and it was amazing! Then Saturday night we all went to the temple and did baptisms for the dead. James got to baptize and confirm all of us. It was a fun experience to do as a family. The temple was absolutely amazing! 

Sunday we spent the whole day at the San Diego Zoo! It was pretty cool! After the zoo we went to Old town San Diego to go to dinner and happen to pass a San Diego church history museum. So we took a lil tour. It was about the Battallion, they had P put on all the pioneer gear, all the guns and ammo, it was right up his alley! :)  He got to see and feel how hard it was back in the day to come across the country. After that we went to a lil Mexican restaurant and the food was the BOMB!

Monday morning we went to the Old town State Park and toured around, it was pretty cool.... After that we headed for home. It was a great vacation! 

This last week we have been busy with soccer, Mads had 2 games this week and then Friday night James and Kobe went on an over nighter in Lake Havasu and P passed off one more merit badge!

It was 109* and hotter than heck! They couldn't even really go to sleep cuz they we so hot and sweating to death!

 

That's all for now....

Well....

This last week the kids and I really wished we could of been to the Box Elder County Fair! :( We were pretty bummed, first time we have ever missed it! We will be there next year for sure!

Friday night Mads went to a "spa" night at Cali's and James, Kobe and I went to the monster derby with the Belew's. It was pretty redneck but we had a good time.

We also found out this week that P got cut from the football team, we were pretty bummed! P said he really didn't wanna play football here.... I'm guessing that's part of the reason he got cut. He said the coach told him they just had too many kids.... It is what it is and life goes on!

Me and Mads have been trying to jog/run again and we are forcing Kobe to do it with us. We struggle and kinda go in spurts. I hope one day to master it! James joins us when he can.

The kids seem to be adjusting and the newness is slowly wearing off and things seem to be going pretty well for both James and I. I'm still not 100% sure about my job but it's growing on me and I'm learning lots of new things. 

That's about all! 

We hope all our Utah friends and family have a good 1st day of school! :) love you all!

Soccer Saturday

Well yesterday was Maddi's 1st soccer game, they won 3 to 1. Mads did pretty dang good! And she seems to really be liking it...

Oatman, AZ

We took grandpa, grandma, uncle Brad and the Young's to Oatman! It's a fun lil town with wild donkeys roaming the streets. We had a pretty fun day and ended it with an amazing dinner with a few of our family favorites... Dutch oven potatoes and aunt Roxie's frog eye salad. YuM! 

We loved having everyone here! I think over all it was a successful weekend...

Route 66 Festival

This weekend was the Route 66 Festival. We thought it was going to be some big crazy event, kind of like the B.E.C. fair.... But it wasn't anything to write home about. James' family was here so they got to enjoy it with us. :) They did have a pretty cool car show...

Vegas Baby!

Last weekend we took a lil trip to Vegas. Some of Maddi's Utah friends were in Vegas for the weekend so she wanted to meet up with them. And I thought it was prefect excuse for an over nighter.

Her friends (the Allen's) picked her up at our hotel Saturday morning and then James and I took P to a few fun places....

After we played all day we all meet up for dinner. It was super fun and the food was amazing! The Allen's took us to an amazing Italian place, it was to die for!  We had a super fun weekend and Mads had the best day ever! 

1st day of school...

The kids started school Thursday August 7th. I'm always kind of sad to see summer break come to an end but I do like having more of a set schedule.

This year it was extremely hard to send them to school.... Maddi got a ride with a friend and I took P and after he got out I just cried my whole way to work. I prayed they would be able to find there way around and most of all be able to find and make friends. They both have had a few rough days but things are coming together. 

P started 7th grade at White Cliffs Middle School. His school is about 6 years old and seems pretty nice. He also started football right after school on the 1st day. He practices every day after school til 5:30. So far it's going pretty good for him. He loves being here in AZ with his dad. And is loving passing the sacrament and being in young men's.

Maddi started 9th grade at Lee Williams High School. She has been lucky to all ready have made a few friends before school started. She is enrolled in the Cambridge program, which is a lil more challenging as far as school work goes. The program is designed to help kids prepare better for college. You have to apply and have good grades to be in the program. So far it's not bad, but some days we wonder if we are in a lil over our/her heads. Her school is only 3 years old and is super nice! So far we are way impressed with the school system here. Maddi also started city league soccer this last week, she is on a co-ed team. She seems to really be liking it and is doing very well.

WoWzers...

So we have been kinda busy the last few weeks... We have done a lil school shopping and got the kids all registered for school, signed up Mads to play city league soccer, went to the Nucor summer party at Wet n Wild in Las a Vegas, done a lil yard work and fed the missionaries again!

My work as "offered" if that's what you'd like to call it..... For me to work full time. There really isn't a reason why I can't work full time, I just didn't really want too. I was pretty sad about it and totally bummed! I wasn't really loving the job in the first place. So I kinda looked around for other jobs but there really isn't anything, so I kept saying my prayers to understand why and also what I should do and my prayers were answered. Things started getting better at work and I have figured out the job a lil better, they agreed to let me take off any time I need to for family, school, kids games or appointments. They really are great people to work for, it's just a whole different line of work than I'm use to. But after I humbled myself I realized the reason I was given the opportunity to work full time..... Nucor has been a lil slower the last few months, and me being asked to go full time was an answer to my prayers.

I can't even begin to tell you how many prayers have been answered in our/my behalf over the last few months. It's been amazing and a huge testimony builder for me. I truly feel BLESSED! Living away from home is hard, but I don't think we/I would be where we are spiritually if we were still in Utah. We have grown so much in such a short time, it's amazing! Today our sacrament meeting was probably the best fast and testimony meeting I have ever been to. We have a lot of converts in our ward that shared their testimonies today and it was just amazing! We really did live a sheltered life in Utah! It's just amazing to me how different the church and people are outside of Utah. It's amazing and my lil family has been/is so blessed!

I'm so grateful for my mom's example and being faithful with going to church... I'm grateful for Jerian's friendship and example as well.... And I'm truly grateful for the power of prayer. Life is hard and being away from home is hard but through prayer and the comfort it brings we are able to do hard things.

There use to be a time in my life that I rarely went to church and I NEVER  prayed cause I felt like my prayers were never answered and things never went right for me or the harder I tried to do good and right the worse things got.... A few years ago I gave myself a challenge to try a lil harder and to pray every day and my/our life has forever changed since doing so!

I challenge you to try a lil harder and to be faithful in your prayers!

Any how... Getting the kids ready for school was SUPER CHEAP! ZERO fees for P-dawg and only $20 for Mads, the kids have to wear uniform shirts that were only $3.99 each! I'm still in shock.... We sign up P for football this  week and it's only $1.00 that's right ONE FREAKING DOLLAR! That's a DEAL!

The Nucor summer party was AMAZING! It was right up my alley @ Wet n Wild! We had lots of FUN!

We got Mads signed up for soccer and we are excited! I think things are getting a lil easier for her. But she is still missing all things UTAH!

P seems to be doing just fine, he does miss his Aunt B. and Car and really misses his gma Lorise and gpa Kennard.

We fed the missionaries this past Friday and we just found out today that Sister Arnold is transferring to Lake Havasu, we are totally bummed! We love her, and wish her the best!


That's about all... Love you all!

Oh and about the yard work... A few weeks ago I posted about the monsoons well with those we have lots of thunder and lighting. One of the bushes in our front yard got hit by lighting and it fried it! So yesterday we dug it out and trimmed up all the trees and bushes in our front yard. I enjoyed the day working with my family. 

Sister Missionaries

Saturday we got to feed the sister missionaries! We were super excited! Sister Arnold is from Birmingham Alabama and Sister Martin is from Mexico City and has only been out in the field 3 weeks.

They are both awesome!  We loved having them in our home, you could feel the spirit so strong, it was amazing! They are both super sweet but Sister Arnold is super cute and out going and has the cutest southern accent! 

They live in an apartment complex here in town and told us there was a new family that just moved in from Tennessee. They invited us as a family to go with them to meet/welcome them. So last night after church we meet up with them and got to do a lil missionary work. It was pretty cool! The parents both took teaching jobs here and they have 3 kids. The missionaries are meeting with them again later this week. But they did agree to come to church next week. We are excited and hope to see them there.

James and I also got church callings, I will be teaching Primary (6 year olds) and James is the Deacons Quorum Advisor. P is pretty excited to have his daddy join him. :)

That's about all for this last week! 

Chillin on Beale Street

On the 3rd Saturday of every month from May to October in old Kingman they have a lil car show... 

Mads got invited to go to the movies so James and I took P to it. 

It was pretty cool, these were a few of the cars I liked! 

One day we/I will own a old fashion car, I love them!

Holy Rain!

The picture doesn't really do justice.... But this is a field/park we call the "green hole" and when it rains it fills up with water. We had one wild and crazy monsoon, it poured rain! James was @ work and the kids and I took a lil drive and the streets were flooded with rain, mud, and huge rocks! It was kinda scary! Our power was out for about 5 hours.

Monsoons and Mormons

Well this week we experienced our 1st monsoon here in AZ! It was pretty A-MAZING! It was the most rain with the hugest rain drops we have ever saw! 

They say monsoon season last for about six weeks. It isn't like a Utah rain storm, it rains and then 2 seconds after it stops, it's dry and sunny! It's pretty crazy....

Any how you are probably wondering what Mormons have to do with monsoons.... Well you guessed it.... Nothing! LoL But I thought it sounded good together. 

But beings how we are Mormons we got to speak in church today... I must say I think we did a pretty amazing job! No one was worried but me! Imagine that!:) It was Kobe's 1st time ever speaking and he did great! We told the kids to make sure they spoke loud and clear and to look up every now and then. After Kobe was done I told him he did a good job and I asked if he was nervous and he said yes and I said so am I. He said just look up at the people when you change pages... He says that's what I did! I thought it was cute. 

Last Monday Kobe left for scout camp @ 4:30 AM. Over all he had a pretty good time. A few of the boys were kind of rude, but he made the best of it. He earned 3 merit badges, and is starting a few more this week. The scout leader said Kobe was way into scouting and basically a super scout compared to the rest of the boys. He was the only one that took and wore his scout shirt. He LOVES scouts and is looking forward to earning his Eagle Scout! Someone once told him,that grandpa Rick buys the boys a gun if they earn their Eagle. So I secretly think this is his motivation and idk if that's even true??? 

That's about all for this week! :)

A day @ the lake!

Yesterday.... Alisha, Michelle and I took the kids to Lake Havasu. We left bright and early so we could get a good spot! It was a nice relaxing day! I'm kind of a sucker for water, sun, a few treats and great company! It was perfect! 

Sarah, Chole, Kam, and Mads

Kobe and little Miss Klaire had a blast playing in the sand and diving for sea shells!

After we got home and all cleaned up, the fellas joined us and we had a lil BBQ @ our place and ended the night with s'mores and woof'ems! :)

I LOVE summer nights in AZ! The best part no mosquitoes!