Potty Trained!

Yeah for Taft! A couple of weeks ago I was watching my friends son who is the same age as Taft. He asks to use the bathroom and I was so surprised he was potty trained. That did it for me, no more diapers! The next day we hit the potty training full force. We went to Target and Taft was excited to pick out some Disney/Pixar themed underwear. He only had a little 1/2 accident the following day. It's been great! With my other kids I spent weeks going back and forth from pull-ups to underwear to diapers and then trying it all over again. Guess it's a good thing I waited until he was 3 1/2 Ü

Another Blog

One of my interests is natural health. For years I've been studying and appylying various topics under that category. And get great results. I recently completed a Family Herbalist study course and just read all I can on related issues and love to talk with and learn from others on the subjects of healthy eating, our food supply, natural remedies, herbs, etc. With the encouragement of some friends I hosted a discussion group a few days ago and have posted the notes on what I shared about eating a bit more wisely on a new blog I started, Healthy Steps. This is a group blog so multiple authors will be contributing info. Starting something like this was stepping way out of my comfort zone, but I recieved such positive feedback and we had a great turn out from our discussion so, I am excited about getting together next month. Any of my local friends are of course welcome to join us, let me know. Everyone has a little bit to share that when we get together we can all benefit and learn things step by step to help ourselves and our families achieve a new level of wellness.

Just Peachy

This weekend has been JUST PEACHYand I mean that literally. We bought 2 boxes(about 60lbs) of Utah peaches. Well, friday night we had Peach Mousse. Saturday morning we had pancakes topped with Sliced Peaches. That afternoon we enjoyed a Peach Smoothie. And for dessert, you guessed it, Peach Shortcake. All Saturday we Canned Peaches, made Peach Jam, and Frozen Peach Slices. Not to mention all the ones we just ate au natural. Kirt and I had never canned before and we hope to never do it again--what a chore! We netted 14 quarts and they all sealed fine so that was good. We worked for hours and I think we used every pot and bowl in the house, not to mention a whole laundry load full of rags and all the clean-up afterwards. Sticky floor, cabinets, counters, etc. I don't get why people do this. I guess if I owned an orchard and didn't want them to go to waste. Kirt, joked with me as I was whining over the work afterwards, "well, at least you learned something", I said, "yes, I learned that Costco has a pretty decent price on bottled peaches!" He agreed Ü

Family Pictures

Well, we finally went and took new family pictures. The anticipation and planning of such is a high stress event for me. No wonder we hadn't updated in 3 years. And I never fully like the pictures until a year or so later. Right now I still see little things that if I could just tweak this or that, they'd be perfect. We got a CD with all the shots they took on it that the lady said was perfectly OK to blog with--no copyright infringement going on here. Well, below is a a sample of some. Kirt and I couldn't agree on which family shot we preferred, the black background or white.(Neither one of us were a fan of the brown one). So, just for curiosity sake leave a comment with your vote. We did buy both, but it's a fun little debate we're having Ü

Baptism

Dallin was baptized yesterday by Kirt. He was a mixture of excitement and nervousness. From his smile here you can tell it was a happy day for him. As well, as for all of us. We were so grateful for our family that came and ward friends. We were especially touched by our many neighbors/friends not of our faith that accepted our invitation to share this event with us, too.

We are so happy for Dallin's decision to follow the Saviour and the example he is setting for his younger siblings. We love our Dallin!

An extra special treat this day was that Grandma and Grandpa Nelson were able to come! They had been serving a mission in St. George and got released a few days early to come to the baptism. This meant so much to Dallin. We all enjoyed their visit this week :)

First Day of School

The first day of school came early this year, August 6th. Dallin just getting over being sick, so not too happy here, was off to 3rd grade. And Elaine, excited to walk to school with Dallin and neighborhood friends was off to 1st grade. Taft wanted to be a part of it all too, so we packed him a juice box and pretzels for his walk to school. Dallin and Elaine both got male teachers, a Mr. Hamlin and Mr. Harris. Crazy coincidence!

Taft really enjoyed walking to school and after dropping Dallin off at his line we waited with Elaine in hers until the teacher came. Well, poor little Taft was so sad he had to leave, he was convinced he was going to school with Elaine, today :( After a few tears he came in the stroller with Brigham and every couple of hours asked when Elaine and Dallin would be back--sweet.

Happy Anniversary

This month Kirt and I celebrated our 10th anniversary!

I can't believe how the time has gone by. I guess, the old adage is true, 'time flies when you're having fun'. It has definitely been a wonderful and busy 10 years. 4 kids, 5 houses, 2 states, college graduations, job changes; we're finally settling here in Arizona. I'm so grateful for the last 10 years we've had to spend together and look forward to an eternity more.

For our anniversary Kirt surprised me with a day at Saguaro Lake. Well, it was a week after as on our actual anniversary, we were camping with the boy scouts--nice timing :) He rented a wave runner for the day and we played on the lake for 6 hours, just us. It was fabulous!

We pretty much had the lake to ourselves in the morning. The day and the scenery was so beautiful.

I was a bit of a wimp when it came to really speeding around the lake, so Kirt took the wave runner out for a solo spin. Although, I did get more courageous as the day wore on. It was a blast!

San Clemente Vacation

This past week we went to San Clemente, CA with the Watts family for a little camping and beach trip fun. This pic was taken our last day after playing hard in the sun and dirt for 5 days so we all look a bit "swarthy" as Kirt says. It was a great trip and the Watts were so fun to be around and the kids really enjoyed hanging out together. Thank you Watts Family :)This post may be a bit long with pictures, but I enjoyed everything so much it was hard to pick favorites. So enjoy scrolling through them, the photos mainly speak for themselves.

Beach Fun!

Dallin and Elaine loved playing in the surf. The last time we took them to a beach Elaine was a baby and Dallin about 3, so it was a new adventure for them.

Just hanging out with the kids. (I'm using Elaine as a 'cover-up' here).

Daddy digging with the boys. This is basically all Taft did on the beach, dig and dig and it was heaven to him. The water scared him and Brigham would scream if I even got near it holding him.

On our last day at the beach Brig finally was enjoying the sand and stopped screaming if Mom and Dad touched the ocean.

Elaine was a Boogie Boarding maniac. She loved it!

Kirt also enjoyed diving into the surf on the Boogie Boards.

I like this pic b/c it was our last moments at the beach and Lori convinced me and Sara(Stoddards were in town and joined us this day) to make the most of it , leave my warm towel and dive into the cold water one last time for some Boogie Boarding. I'm glad she did, it was a blast!

Legoland Day

We took one day out from the beach to go to Legoland! The kids enjoyed going on many rides and seeing the Lego statues. It was a fun little adventure, but we don't think we'd go back. A bit subpar compared to Disneyland and geared to the younger kids. But we're glad we went, it was fun to see the kids enjoy themselves.

Lego Star Wars--Dallin was loving it!

Thomas the Train--Taft was giddy!

The kids with their Lego Licenses. That was one of the big highlights and must do's for them. They even took a driving test--yikes!

This was typical of most of the rides. A little vehicle to spin around or go up and down in. It was great b/c Elaine was able to go solo on them which she loved. Kirt and I were Taft's riding buddy. There were a couple 'bigger' rides, but the hour long line was not possible with wee ones in tow.

I love this picture as Briggy is the same size as the little Lego men--funny!

Camping

This was our first time camping for more than one night as a family. It was surprisingly enjoyable :) Kirt was excited to use his new dutch ovens and whipped up some tasty vittles. The last night we had the yummiest peach cobbler as Lori suggested it and then we all craved it :) The kids loved getting dirty and sleeping in a tent.

A fun shot of all the kids hanging out. After a day at the beach we'd come back and shower everyone off before dinner. They all look so fresh and clean. They made friends with a boy from the campsite next to ours who hung out in the evening with us. He had an English accent --a little Harry Potter according to Dave. Dallin got his address so they could exchange Pokemon cards.

Tide Pools

After packing up camp and a lite brunch at 'Surfin Donuts' we stopped by the tide pools in Dana Pointe. Unfortunately, the tide was in so we didn't see too much anongst the rocks. It was a fun little last hurrah with the Watts before our long drive home from our fabulous week in San Clemente!

Fire Station Fun!

On tuesday we went with a group of friends to tour the Gilbert Fire Station. After the tour I concluded that Firemen have it pretty good. They work 10 days a month, have a gourment kitchen, a well equipped workout room, big screen T.V's, leather recliners to watch training videos, own bedroom as they are encouraged to nap to be well rested. Sign me up!!!

Hanging out by the fire truck. The kids enjoyed running around the station, although Taft was surprisingly reserved. Just in absolute awe, I guess as he LOVES anything to do with fire trucks.

Here's those recliners I mentioned. The kids quickly filled up the cozy chairs. Even Briggy recognized the quality resting place and was happy to snuggle up with Elaine.

The fireman pole!

This was the highlight, I think. Dallin and Elaine couldn't wait to see it. Fireman Hans demonstrated going down, but due to liability issues this was as much fun as the kids could have on it.

A fun shot of our group learning the ins and outs of the fire truck.

A Happy 4th!

We had a fun and relaxing 4th of July. The kids think it's fun wearing their 'flag' t-shirts together. And yes they say 2007--I'm a bargain shopper. Except, today I went to Old Navy to grab some for next year at 50% off and they'd sold out of T's before the 4th--bummer!

For a little afternoon entertainment I got the kids some waterguns. Dallin is obviously having a blast drenching his sister. Since it was 112 degrees out, she dried fast Ü

We invited the Woodard and Linford families over for BBQ dinner and swimming. We had a great time with them just chatting and hanging out. They're fun company and the kiddos all seemed to get along great. We have been blessed to make some neat friends here in Arizona (that includes those of you not pictured here) Ü

After dinner it was refreshing to take a dip in the pool. Although, after the kids got done splashing or rather attacking Erin and me, we were quite drenched. I think I still have water in my ear.

What kind of summer holiday would it be without ice cream! We polished off the night with some treats and while letting the kids run wild Dad's played air hockey and Mom's visited.

This day was definitely an upgrade from last year when we'd barely moved here and just went out to chinese food on the 4th Ü