My Oh May

We are HALF, yes, half way through our summer vacation, which I can hardly comphrehend. Long are the days of a three month summer break for my kiddos. With baseball season consuming much of our time, I didn't want to pass on some important highlights we had this year. Taylor was nominated in to National Jr. Honor Society making straight A's for the entire year. What an accomplishment!! She will be the big 8th grader in the household this year....literally three weeks away.

I couldn't resist making a label.

My good friend Tiffany's daughter (Nico) graduated from high school. I racked my brain for a few weeks and decided to break out my rusty machine and quilted for the 1st time in TWO years. I also managed to rope Tishia and Amber in on the project. It worked out well that there were three of us to split up taking turns. By the time we had picked out the colors, cut and sewed it, we decided we all wanted it.

But, knew Nicolina would enjoy it in Provo. She was accepted into BYU this fall.

I instructed my husband to take the camera and document father and son's campout. This is about the best photo out of the 7 pictures he took. Apparently, they thought it was pretty funny. Dad's legs and Jared's head. Ha, ha, ha. The boys seemed to have a great time and no scary accidents other than a flat tire on the way home.

The week following was our end of the year festivities. Weston graduated from preschool.

He parted ways with Mrs.Carroll and his best buddy Jackson. Lookout Kindergarten!

Luke finished 1st grade with Ms. Djilas.

Jared is now officially done with 4th grade and Ms. Alcala's class.

My kids all were lucky to have such wonderful teachers.

Memorial Day weekend was spent at the cabin with Grandpa and Grandma Clouse.

The biggest hit was smores of course!

Monday Memorial Day we were invited for a kickball tournament with 5 other familes. It was quite the match up. Weston was our pitcher and surprisingly held his own.

I survived my 2nd year at Cubscout Day Camp. This was Jared's last year as a weeblo and will be attending the 11 year old scout camp next year. *sigh* This year we reached scortching temperatures well into the 100's. Thank goodness for plenty of water balloon fights.

After Jared's team won the Little League tournament, Weston kicked us off for the summer with flag football. He already has shown us he is serious when it comes to sports. He ran the entire length of the field for a touchdown at his 2nd game.

I guess there is a reason his nickname is Dash.

The Stars Aligned

You would never know the pain and agony by looking at these pictures what it took to get to the lake.  After what seemed to be over a month of planning, fixing trailor tires, driving to 3 locations for a change of registration (another post within itself) the stars aligned and we got on the lake.

I have to admit going to the lake on a Saturday isn't the most ideal day, but it turned out to be a great day!  The weather was in the mid 90's (lower than it has been in weeks) the water was a little chilly, but once you started swimming it was just right.

Our first stop was under a bridge area so the kids could swim and eat lunch.  Heather and I decided to be a adventerous and swam over to a near by cliff so we could jump.  I haven't done that in years.  It only took a few times to have the memories flood back of getting water up my nose and my swimsuit hiked up my bum.  But, it was fun anyhow.  You have to live on the edge sometime right?

It always seems to look much smaller until you climb up the hill.  By this point it was too much effort to try and turn around.  So I had to jump.

Nice jump Jenny (who opens their arms jumping-so dumb)

note to self you end up smacking them on the water duh!

Luke and Weston had a blast swimming around and jumping off of the boat.

Doug was extra stoked he was FINALLY able to try out his Father's Day gift.  I think it took him a while to get used to it (new bindings, different board), but it didn't seem to take long.

Jump Doug jump!

Taylor did some body boarding herself and attempted a few times at skiing.  I think by the end of the day she was tired and decided skiing wasn't her favorite thing to do.

Weston and I (and later Luke) wanted to try body boarding.  I still am in awe how brave Weston is not only in water, but open lake water.  He is most definitely our fish in the family by far.

 Last, but not least we bribed Jared into trying out skiing.  After only 3 times he popped up (just for a minute).  Great job bud!! Next time I am sure it will be that much faster.  Thanks Hunter's for letting us tag along.  You know we are up for a lake trip anyday!

Practice Session For Mom

As I was scrambling trying to find an updated decent photo of each of my children I realized that I had absolutely none. With Easter fast approaching I felt it was appropriate not only to take advantage of our gorgeous weather, but take some updated photographs of my kids. I am normally a matching freak when it comes to a photo shoot, but being in a time crunch I'll take what I can get. I have learned that lighting is key for photographing in manual mode.

Despite the whining and complaining I managed to squeeze out a couple of smiles (with some major candy bribing of course). I instructed my kids to meet me in a field right after school so I could capture their bright smiles.

I am learning that as my kids get older it is harder for them to make a "natural" smile. I suppose that is part of growing up and being independent, but Luke's pirate eyes or Jared's funky squint makes me crazy. Weston on the other hand just gives me the same cheesy grin in every photo. I am sure this won't last. I took quite a few and ended up liking only a couple. I was so worried about the lighting and positioning that I didn't even realize I stuck them in front of this dead palm! I am sure I will have a redo session come Sunday when they really are all "matchy."

Thanks kids for being so patient with me, I know having a camera in your face 24/7 makes you all a tad crazy. But, with my new calling for girls camp (camp photographer) I am going to need all the practice I can get. Thank goodness my 2nd photography class is this Saturday.

Spring Break 2009

I started our break with pink toes and even managed to get a little "pink" skin. (sadly my mini tan is now gone). Our weather has been absolutely dreamy! 50's in the evening and upper 70's during the day. If we could just stay this way (although I fear AZ would be a tad overpopulated). Anyways, this year our two week spring break flew by. Here are some of the fun things we did........

Weston learned to putt, putt. And was adamant not to get help. His technique wasn't the best, (it was more of a bat swing to the ground), but he had fun.

Luke and Weston

Thankfully some good friends DO have pools in their backyards. We frequented the Hunter's and Varvel's a few times. The water was freezing, but when you are a kid----let's face it temperature plays no factor.

Grandpa Dale and Luke

We hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Clouse. Luke even managed to get Grandpa to play toss up a few times (his favorite game).

Jared & Keston

Hung out with friends. Jared had a few sleep overs and finally mastered his rip stick. Although I was told the one he has isn't "real" (we bought the cheap version a few years ago). Apparently, the brand on this particular item is necessary.

We were entertained by Ms. Chloe Mae. She is just the cutest thing. I think Weston begs to defer on some occasions, after all he is bigger and he doesn't like the fact she just wants to be by him. Boys, anyhow. Thanks for sharing your playdough with us!

Heather, Jenny, Tiffany and Minnie

We celebrated a dear friends birthday. Not all could attend our birthday lunch at Paradise (we missed you Tishia and Amber). Happy Birthday Tiffany!!

I must have been feeling bright and cheery towards the end of break (I have never painted my toes yellow) I have gone from green, to pink and now yellow.

Week In A Nutshell

The newest Frontier Girls
Jenny and Julie

A few months ago my dear friend Julie approached me and asked if I liked camping. Those who know me, KNOW camping don't go hand in hand. However, now and again I am up for trying new things even if it involves getting dirty. Little did I know that she had something more in mind for me. Never mind the fact she was also the stake camp director over girls camp. (which I vaguely remember back then) I replied with a "sure!" not thinking twice about it. Months rolled by and camping never came up again. Until this week. All the names that are submitted for any church outing or function have to be looked over and "approved" You are now looking at one of the newest stake leaders over the 3rd year girls. Yep, that's me! Thursday night was our first meeting. They have made the entire theme western frontier. Camper or no camper I have my boots ready!

Just a quick snapshot to prove we were there.
It was pretty windy after we got outside

I LOVE this guy!

Friday was just great all around. Doug got off early, the kids were in school so we headed over to the temple. We slacked the past couple of months and squeezed in a session just before the end of the month.

Sarah giving us her tips and secrets

After getting my camera, my sweet husband signed me up for a couple of photography classes with my talented friend Sarah. I spent 8 hours learning buttons on my camera that I didn't even know existed. It's going to take a lot of practice, but lucky for me I have 5 subjects under my roof to use as my guinea pigs. Beware of upcoming photo posts!

Sneigar Park
Baseball tryouts

During the time I was in class Doug drove Taylor over to her dance competition in Northp Phoenix (no photography allowed) then rushed back to catch Jared's basketball game and his little league tryouts. I caught the last 15 minutes. It took nearly 3 hours to have all the boys catch fly balls, hit and do a little fielding. Much thanks to my inlaws who watched my little boys for most of the morning.

With aperture, exposure and shutter speed information in my head I quickly took advantage of the last 30 minutes of light while the boys played at the park. I had to take this photo because I am constantly telling them to keep their shoes on, and this is where I often find them. Scattered in the sand or in odd places.

Doug lounging on the love sac

Once the sun went down I decided to pop in to some of our favorite neighbors. Heather made the suggestion that we grill some steak and chicken. We pulled together a fajita dinner in a matter of minutes. It ended up being so great! Thanks Hunter's for a fabulous yummy evening. Just so you know, Doug fully expects a dodge ball tournament in the near future. :)

good deed Thur: went to a girls camp meeting
good deed Fri: went to temple
good deed Sat.: helped Taylor get ready for her competition

SPT--Loved Ones

Me and My Littles
I am realizing SP's don't capture the best of us.

It's not too often the FIVE of us have even a moment after school. We are normally grabbing snacks and booking it out the door to make it on time for x,y, or z. I decided to catch a rare 5 minute moment watching television none the less. But, hey it totally captures our after school ritual. As you can see Taylor couldn't spare a moment to smile (Sponge Bob has that kind of effect in our home). Such is life! I am off to scouts....

good deed: completed my online scout training. Phew!

Baking Frenzy

I had an extra skip in my step this morning. This was the first Sunday we switched to our new church time. Since moving here our sacrament block was from 2 until 5pm. I'll be honest it wasn't AWFUL, but definitely more difficult to try and keep the kids occupied until we had to leave. Not to mention I was half asleep and dragging when it started.

We arrived home at 11:30am, and because it's Christmas we broke out 5 aprons, the flour, sugar and eggs and baked away. Doug had a request for some of his favorite snicker doodles. The kids wanted to help so we ended up making three different types of cookies. I made sugar cookies and fudge, Jared (snicker doodles) and Taylor the chocolate chip.

Luckily Taylor also took over documenting our morning. I have been such a photo slacker lately. This photos are all courtesy of Taylor.

Weeney Good Time

We are finally feeling relief of scorching temperatures in Arizona. Phew! It has been cooling down at night into the lower 70's making it great to hang outside. Our farmer friends (The Gustafson's) invited us over at the last minute to roast some hot dogs and smores. Julie's only request was to bring a watermelon and some wire hangers. Luckily I was at the grocery store and thought to go next door to the cleaners to ask for a hanger donation. The woman thought I was a little crazy coming in asking for hangers, but after explaining that we needed them to roast marshmellows she immediately ran to the back to hand me some brand new hangers. I told her that she didn't need to do that, but she insisted. So I walked out with 6 new hangers in tow. Perfect.

It's been getting darker earlier and earlier. That is the one thing I hate about fall, but at the same time it is super nice to have some cooler weather. Night photos make me crazy because I haven't quite figured out my settings. Their blurry, so this is my best documentation of roasting our food. My kids had a blast each taking a turn roasting their dogs. I was totally laughing at this photo of me and Julie. It looks as though she was swinging around her food. Thanks friends for a weeney good time!!

**B and Ang I am modeling my new jeans for ya! :)**

Massive Monday

It makes me extremely upset with myself how lackadaisical I have gotten with my blogging. Here it is nearly a week and so much has gone on. I hate to leave things out, hence this will have to be a massive catch up post. Last Wednesday Doug and I headed over to the temple for a session. It was a great way to celebrate his home coming. We have gone separately to the temple over the past few months due to scheduling, so it was nice to go as a couple. And even better to the temple we were married in.

Luke the bakers man

I am loving having just Weston in tow when the kids go off to school. He is such an easy going child, it's fun just to be one on one with him. This also allows more time for me to volunteer at the school (which I have never been able to in the past). Last Friday the entire kindergarten had a nursery rhyme parade. The kids were supposed to bring in a prop for a nursery rhyme to dress up. Some of the kids were obvious, Luke wanted to be the bakers man even though he looks more like he belongs flipping burgers!

Weston, Doug, Dad and Mom C.

Doug had last week off so we also had the opportunity to meet up with his parents for lunch. We decided to test the BBQ here (since San Antonio has some of the best). We have been wanting to try Famous Dave's and it didn't disappoint. However, the brisket wasn't as good. No one can really beat Jason Richardson's homemade brisket, with Rudy's coming in at 2nd place. I would have to say the ribs, pork, corn bread and french fries were my favorite. Hello? Can you say OINK?

On our way back home I couldn't resist taking this photo. Have you ever seen a banana stay on the bumper of a car going nearly 60mph? We were both waiting to see how long it would last, but we had to turn off onto another exit. I would hate to have been the car behind it. Ha!

Glenn, Doug, Jared and Aaron
(photo courtesy of blackberry phone)

It isn't any secret that Arizona is known for golfing. We are surrounded by several just in our area. Another added bonus is it is really reasonable to play 18 holes with a cart. Jared has been begging Doug for months to go out and play. He called up his brother Glenn (who lives not even a mile a way) and made it a double date with Aaron. The boys had a blast.

I also feel so lucky to be associated with such a great group of women in the blogging community. It's comforting to know that friends near and far still think of you, especially when you move into a new area. I received this thoughtful note from Claudia. If only I could write like her.

Doug, Jenny, Julie and Eric

We have also met a great family who also happens to be in our new ward. This is the Gustafson crew. They have 4 kids like us and also happen to be all around the same age. Ironically, Doug went to homecoming with Julie back in high school. It's been such a small world living in Arizona. I swear we could do the Kevin Bacon game each time we meet someone new.

Luke, Weston, Magnus, Hayden, Zoie, Taylor, and Ryker (speeding by)

My boys really enjoy going over to their house since they live on 2 acres. They not only have 4 dogs, but goats, hens, a horse, and a mini motorcycle. Needless to say it puts current yard to shame aka Iraq dirt (what I like to call our current yard). They invited us over for Swedish pancakes before church on Sunday. Since we are now supporting 2pm church. (don't even get me started on the time......Yuck!

Doug driving the kids to school

Last, but not least today was Doug's BIG first day as an official physician. How appropriate that his first patient ended up being one of his biggest mentor's (JC Jackson) who talked him into this long journey. All and all we are starting to settle more and more in as time has gone on. We really do love it here!