Fourth of July

Yvette and her family came up to celebrate the Fourth of July again this year.  We always love having them.

A few years ago I made Allie's Chex Mix for them.  It was a huge hit and they quickly named it Heavenly Crack.  It's now become a tradition to make it every year.

The Waffle Love truck came to Taylor so we decided we had to try it.  We waited for nearly 30 minutes, they got a piece of Karen's mind, a refund was issued and I hung my head in embarrassment as I walked away hoping people would not know I was with Karen.  I believe her words were "there are going to be a lot of cowboys here tonight so if you want to be in business, you better start going faster."

We invited Edith over for our BBQ but showing up empty handed is never okay with her.  So much for our hamburgers and hotdogs.  She won the night with her Mexican Cuisine.  Let's just say, there was enough food to feed an army.

 After dinner everyone piled into the Ranger to head to the rodeo.  There was eleven of us total.

It's a good thing John wore that shirt that totally blends in.  Not.

Casa Malpias

In June the kids and I drove to Springerville to visit the Casa Malpais Indian Ruins.  We were quickly losing hope that it was worth the drive as we piddled around in the museum waiting for the tour guide to show up.

But after an hour, Pete arrived and drove us out to the ruins.  He was great!  He kept the tour short enough to keep the kid's interest but long enough to make it worth our money.

After the tour ended we decided to try out the city park in Eager.  Wow!  It was a fantastic park and did not disappoint.  We also ran into one of our favorite missionaries there, Sister Thompson.  We got to know her pretty well and were sad to see her be transferred.

By the time we were done at the park, our bellies were grumbling so we went to Trailriders were we got to have the bomb waitress, our cousin Kelecia.

In the past few months...

We got some exciting news.  Ben has accepted a job at the hospital in Show Low and they will be moving here next summer!  They will be such an asset to the community (whatever nearby community they end up in) and the women here will love Dr. Richardson.  I am confident he will have patients that are thrilled he is here.  We need a good OBGYN around here!

After I got the approval to tell my kids the exciting news, I had to snap a picture to capture the moment.  This is life changing for them!

Lucy has started writing her name on everything.  Ice cream sandwiches being one place.

We endured a very windy field day at the end of the school year.

We closed out the school year by keeping up tradition and having our last day of school breakfast at Trappers.

This boy is getting too big for his own good.

The girls also received awards at school.  Kimber came home about 500 awards from her teacher.  That lady can think of an award for everything that might make a first grader feel special.  Kimber's best award and my favorite was "Best All Around Girl"

Addie received the Citizenship award again.  The PTSO changed up the way rewards were received this year.  I'm not a fan for many reasons including the fact that this is the best picture you can get.

Addie's Recital

In May, Addie had her very first piano recital.  We got a late start on piano lessons and she didn't start until January, but she has excelled and loves to play!

She was asked to select and memorize two songs.  She chose Song of Sunshine and The Talking Clock (shown in the video).  I was so proud of her when I realized she was the only student, out of all 18 to have both of her songs memorized.  Way to go Add!

 Addie has a fabulous teacher, Jean Ellsworth.  Jean is a big part of our lives.  Not only is she a piano teacher, she has been Addie and Kimber's First Grade Teacher, I served with her in Primary for nearly four years and she is an overall good friend to our family.

Tree House

The girls have recently become obsessed with building a tree house.  They gather scraps of wood, hammers and nails and disappear to the front yard to loose themselves in the cherry tree.

It's been over a month now and they are still working on it.  Every few days I get fed up with the blocks of wood laying the yard so I gather them up and put them back where it came from.  It's not long and everything has returned.  It's a cycle but it's also fun to see them work together.

Summertime = Ranger Time

We aren't into flashy toys. It's just not our style or how we choose to spend our money. But we do own one toy that we absolutely love and can't get enough of. When the weather starts warming up, our first order of business is pulling out the Ranger and taking long rides. 

One day we realized our license plate was missing. We said a prayer and followed our feelings back to a trail we had been on a few days previous. There is was!  Right in the middle of the road!

I {foolishly} taught the girls how to drive on their own.  Now they beg daily to drive. When you live in a small town you can push the limits a little more. I do that by letting them drive home. On paved roads. I sure hope we never get caught. 

He's all boy!

It's so fun to have a little man around the house. He loves adventure, especially getting dirty, being in the drivers seat, exploring outdoors and testing the limits.