Hi Everyone! Yes, we've been in the dog days of summer here in Phoenix for quite some time now. All things considered, I think we're adjusting at least fairly well. Claire has had probably the hardest time of all. Each time we step outside on days when the temps reach 105 or above, she whines, "It's too hot, Mom!" I know what she means, though.
Here are some of the highlights from June, July and August:
*Emily is now working part time from home! WAHOO!!! We love having her home with the kids so much more often. It has been such a blessing for our family!
*Claire is talking so well! She's also grown so much. A lot less tripping when she runs (WHEW!! I was really afraid after she hit her front tooth for the fourth time that we'd have a major issue on our hands. . .) I was asked earlier this summer if she and Ben are twins. :D Her newest thing is that she's a robot princess. She starts talking in a monotone robot voice, and then announces that she is a princess. We love it! She asks every single day if she can go to school. She's so eager to learn!
*We went to Fairview, UT for the 24th of July weekend. The fireworks were awesome this year, as was the rodeo (the rodeo was much improved over the last couple of years), and the derby! Ben and Claire really got a kick out of it. It's a gathering of some of Josh's extended family, which is really fun! Ben quote of the weekend: "Mom, Uncle Russ looks just like dad, only without the big belly." Bwa ha ha ha! We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Bartlett, too! Uncle Rulon was there, and really enjoyed watching the kids have fun on the playground. A few of Emily's brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews came too- on their way to a backpacking trip to Twin Lakes with Emily's Dad. After that, we went to East Canyon for a week of fun! We had a blast on our vacation, and were ready to come home when the week was done.
*Ben has started pre-school again, and loves it! Today was his first day back, and he came out of his bedroom at 7:45 dressed and ready to go. Now, his clothes weren't matching (Blue and orange plaid shorts with a red and blue plaid shirt, ha ha), and he then put on his Sunday shoes with it... "Mom, I know that if I wear these shoes, Miss Candace (his teacher) will say, 'I love your shoes Ben! I want some just like them!' " Oh, the laughter! He so wants to make an impression. Little does he know that he leaves a pretty lasting impression on most folks, without going out of his way to do it. He's so funny!
*We've loved getting to know the Primary kids in our ward. They are so funny! We teach the 4-turning-5 year olds (Class B, Ben's in Class A), and we love them for all their quirkiness.
We love our new home, but there are some things we'd like to trade. . . The heat, the great distance between us and most of our family, the heat, the beautiful mountains, and the heat just to name a few. . .
Heavenly Father's given us so much, and every day we're grateful for our friends (old and new), our family, and the fullness of life we enjoy!
Aug 16, 2010
May 31, 2010
Happy Memorial Day!
Hi Everyone!! It's been a very eventful couple of weeks, and we've had some fun that I wanted to share with you all!
I have observed something that I find very interesting. Phoenix, while being in the middle of a desert, is actually very heavily farmed. There are many different crops being grown here. The fields that I drive past each day have cabbage and corn. When we first moved here, the cabbage was being harvested, and the corn fields were just being ploughed. I've watched these corn stalks grow from just seeds, to being nearly 3 feet tall in the short couple of months that we've lived here, and I feel like we've grown as a family, just like those seeds.
We've all had to step out of our normal "boxes" to make this new place feel like home, but I think we've reached that point. Ben and Claire have been doing well, learning so many new skills and things that they never knew how. Ben grew from not swimming at all, to jumping into the pool by himself! Claire has begun talking more and more each day. Sometimes she talks so well that I mistake her talking to me for Ben talking to me. Josh and I have both had to make new friends, and get out of our comfort zones that we've been so securely tucked into for so long. It's really paying off, though- we love our ward, and our neighbors. We've been planted, and are starting to take root!
For the holiday today, we decided to take a drive and see some parts of Arizona that we hadn't seen before. To my Dad, Val-- you would really have been proud. We found such a "gold mine" of fun waiting for us at the other end!
Final decision: we drove to Payson. We didn't really know what we were going to do there, we just were going to see the forest, and hopefully cool down a little bit. It was a couple of hours' drive from Surprise.
When we got there, we ate at a little mom-and-pop Cafe(mmmmm), and found out that only 10 miles from where we were there was a state park, Tonto Natural Bridge! So, we went there, not knowing what we'd find. There are pictures below, but again due to my ignorance of how to properly post pictures(some day I'll figure it out, I promise), they are all at the bottom of this post again.
We first hiked to a small waterfall, which was so neat! It wasn't very big at all, but it was beautiful. I forgot my camera, so we didn't get pictures of that, but once we came up I grabbed it out of the car, and we went out to the first viewpoint of the actual natural bridge. (Picture 1 below)You may not be able to tell from the picture, but there are people standing underneath the Natural bridge. We decided to find the trail, and hike down.
The hike was difficult- steep, and a lot of rock-hopping to get to the bridge. Ben loved it! He hiked up to a cave with Daddy (see pictures 2 and 3 below), and decided he's a natural-born mountain climber.
We also encountered a few of my favorite friends here in Arizona-- little teeny lizards!!! Not only are they so cute, they also eat the bugs that I so detest. (picture 4)
We hiked as close to the natural bridge as we could with small children, and Daddy went to see it up close. There is a waterfall that comes down the other side of the bridge itself, and it was beautiful! Sorry, no pictures of that one. However, while Daddy was gone, the kids decided to have some fun, and throw rocks into the stream. (picture 5) I found out later that there is a rule of the park that no rock should be thrown anywhere. . . The final picture (picture 6) is Mommy, Ben and Claire when we got as close as we could to the natural bridge. Ben and Claire were pretty tired! We all had so much fun together! We can't wait to go back again!
Finally, Happy Memorial Day!! I'm feeling sentimental today. We're usually with Mom and Dad Evans out in Tridell, visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Bartlett, but due to the recent move we were unable to be there this year. I have always enjoyed going to the Tridell Cemetery for the 21 gun salute in the morning. To anyone who reads this blog and is currently, or has been in the past a member of the U.S. Military, any branch at all, we want to say thank you. Nobody can say that enough! Thank you for defending our country. We love you, we pray for you, and we thank you!!
I have observed something that I find very interesting. Phoenix, while being in the middle of a desert, is actually very heavily farmed. There are many different crops being grown here. The fields that I drive past each day have cabbage and corn. When we first moved here, the cabbage was being harvested, and the corn fields were just being ploughed. I've watched these corn stalks grow from just seeds, to being nearly 3 feet tall in the short couple of months that we've lived here, and I feel like we've grown as a family, just like those seeds.
We've all had to step out of our normal "boxes" to make this new place feel like home, but I think we've reached that point. Ben and Claire have been doing well, learning so many new skills and things that they never knew how. Ben grew from not swimming at all, to jumping into the pool by himself! Claire has begun talking more and more each day. Sometimes she talks so well that I mistake her talking to me for Ben talking to me. Josh and I have both had to make new friends, and get out of our comfort zones that we've been so securely tucked into for so long. It's really paying off, though- we love our ward, and our neighbors. We've been planted, and are starting to take root!
For the holiday today, we decided to take a drive and see some parts of Arizona that we hadn't seen before. To my Dad, Val-- you would really have been proud. We found such a "gold mine" of fun waiting for us at the other end!
Final decision: we drove to Payson. We didn't really know what we were going to do there, we just were going to see the forest, and hopefully cool down a little bit. It was a couple of hours' drive from Surprise.
When we got there, we ate at a little mom-and-pop Cafe(mmmmm), and found out that only 10 miles from where we were there was a state park, Tonto Natural Bridge! So, we went there, not knowing what we'd find. There are pictures below, but again due to my ignorance of how to properly post pictures(some day I'll figure it out, I promise), they are all at the bottom of this post again.
We first hiked to a small waterfall, which was so neat! It wasn't very big at all, but it was beautiful. I forgot my camera, so we didn't get pictures of that, but once we came up I grabbed it out of the car, and we went out to the first viewpoint of the actual natural bridge. (Picture 1 below)You may not be able to tell from the picture, but there are people standing underneath the Natural bridge. We decided to find the trail, and hike down.
The hike was difficult- steep, and a lot of rock-hopping to get to the bridge. Ben loved it! He hiked up to a cave with Daddy (see pictures 2 and 3 below), and decided he's a natural-born mountain climber.
We also encountered a few of my favorite friends here in Arizona-- little teeny lizards!!! Not only are they so cute, they also eat the bugs that I so detest. (picture 4)
We hiked as close to the natural bridge as we could with small children, and Daddy went to see it up close. There is a waterfall that comes down the other side of the bridge itself, and it was beautiful! Sorry, no pictures of that one. However, while Daddy was gone, the kids decided to have some fun, and throw rocks into the stream. (picture 5) I found out later that there is a rule of the park that no rock should be thrown anywhere. . . The final picture (picture 6) is Mommy, Ben and Claire when we got as close as we could to the natural bridge. Ben and Claire were pretty tired! We all had so much fun together! We can't wait to go back again!
Finally, Happy Memorial Day!! I'm feeling sentimental today. We're usually with Mom and Dad Evans out in Tridell, visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Bartlett, but due to the recent move we were unable to be there this year. I have always enjoyed going to the Tridell Cemetery for the 21 gun salute in the morning. To anyone who reads this blog and is currently, or has been in the past a member of the U.S. Military, any branch at all, we want to say thank you. Nobody can say that enough! Thank you for defending our country. We love you, we pray for you, and we thank you!!
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