January Blues

January is a long month.  It's actually kind of a let down after the holidays and there's just not much going on.  Here are a few things we did do though to help with the January Blues:

Brad took Carson to the Rockets game!  Carson had a free ticket with being on the Jr. Rockets team and we took advantage!  They always have a good time.

while those two were out having fun I took the other two to the trampoline park.  No pictures, but I did get this video!  We all had a fun night!

Logan and I got to meet a character from his favorite show Paw Patrol!  He was super sacred at first and did not want to get close,

 but after a while he warmed up and was able to give him a hug!

 plus we won the raffle and got a paw patrol coloring pack!  Score!

 we had some fun school activities: 

(Logan doing yoga)

 Carson had a fireman come to scouts:

 I helped out at Carson's science class.  It was on birds and how different beaks on birds help them eat.  It was fun! 

 Science and math night at the school!  So fun looking through humongous telescopes at different start constellations! 

and Logan and I love our park days.  The weather this winter has been cold!  Then it would warm up for a little bit and get cold again.  So on the nice days we'd take advantage and go play! 

A new donut place opened up that Tanner has been begging to go to ever since he found out they had bacon covered donuts.  They had all sorts of fun flavorful donuts, and looked good but taste wise it was a bit of a letdown. 

Drum Roll for Elder Tim Murphy...

My baby brother got his mission call yesterday!  He is going to....

 Bakersfield, California spanish speaking!  He leaves to go to the Mexico MTC on October 1.  Couldn't be more excited for him and I know he'll do great work!

Soccer Mom

Just call me soccer mom for I am now the owner of a mini van!  My sister Marilyn said I am  now officially a mom.  I guess the two almost three kids doesn't yet qualify me yet huh Marilyn?

We knew the moment we found out we were expecting that we would have to get a larger vehicle.  There was no way I was gonna try and squeeze three car seats into our Murano.  Brad also knew we were getting a van and not a SUV.  I've never understood why people hate the van so much, they are so nice!  Maybe its because I grew up with a van I dunno, but to me I like the easy access and space that a van can provide.

We weren't planning on purchasing a van until we got back from our trip to Utah in June, but this weekend Brad just wanted to "get the Murano appraised" to see how much we could get from it when we were ready to sale.

The first place we went to the appraisal was what we expected, but Brad wanted to try one more place plus test drive some of the vans we were thinking of.  They appraised our car for more then double then what its really worth.   Then we test drove the van.  It was the upgraded version of the van we thought we could afford.  You would never have known it was used.  Its spotless, inside and out.  It has all the bells and whistles and super low milage, and even better it was in our price range.

So with a better then we thought trade in, plus the perfect van we were sold.  Plus I think Carson would have freaked out if we didn't get it, because it has a DVD player.

It's a Honda Odyssey and its my dream car.  Except one of the features I was most excited for has turned into a hassle.  The automatic sliding doors.  I still love it, but the boys love it too, and love to open and shut the doors by themselves.  I was buckling one of the boys in and they pressed the button to close the door and me and my belly got smashed.  I was not happy. Hopefully the novelty of that button will wear off on the boys so we don't have any more problems.

So I can now cross off one of our baby preparations off the list.  We are getting that much closer to being ready for our little one to come.

Retro TV

So today I was talking to a friend and I was trying to remember this old TV show that I used to love when I was younger, but I just could not remember the name.  So when I got home I googled it.


Do you remember Todays Special?  Its an old Nickelodian show that was in a department store and at night a mannequin would come to life if you said the magic words ("Hocus Pocus Alamagocus") .  There was also this mouse that lived in the department store and she had a little elevator.

So while googling this old 90's show it brought back some other beloved classics of mine that I had completely forgotten about, like Ghostwriter.  This show was probably what got me into the love of crime solving shows.  

The Elephant Show!

Remember this song?

Skinnamarinky dinky dink, skinnamarinky doo.
                               I love you…
                               Skinnamarinky dinky dink, skinnamarinky doo.
                               I love you…
                               I love you in the morning and in the afternoon.
                               I love you in the evening and underneath the moon.
                               Skinnamarinky dinky dink, skinnamarinky doo.
                               I love you (I love your singing!)
                               I love you (We'll see you next time!)
                               I… love…. you (boo.  Boo-boo-bi-doo) Woo!

I think my sisters and I drove my parents crazy with this song, because we sang it over and over again.

Eureeka's Castle

My only memory of this show was the crazy bat and Pizza Hut.  Do you remember when Pizza Hut did Book It?  If you read so many books you could get a free pan pizza?  Then if you got so many free pizzas at the end you could receive a prize (or at least thats how I remember it being I'm not quite sure)  anyway I remember one of the prize's  was to receive a plastic puppet of this bat.

Hey Dude

This is one that Brad remembers. Brad did not like this show because the main girl in the shows name was Brad and my Brad did not like that a girl had the same name as him. 


I love thinking back on old TV favorites.  My all time favorites where Full House and Home Improvement.  I was a big JTT fan.  I loved TGIF on Friday nights with shows like Family Matters (Steve Urkel).  Then there are the cartoons Duck Tails, Chip n Dales Rescue Rangers, Inspector Gadget.  


I wonder if I watched one of theses shows now what I would think.  Anyway what were some of your favorites?

Backyard

Ever since Carson has been mobile, I have been wanting to get our backyard done so he can run around and play. Our backyard (its really more like a side yard, because its so small) was just covered in rocks. However when we first moved in, doing the backyard was not high on our priority list of things we needed or for projects to do for the house.

For the longest time when I would get the inkling to fix our backyard, I would tell myself that we live by plenty of parks that Carson can play at to his hearts content. But in reality it would be so nice to have Carson go into our yard to play by himself, without constant supervision.

So two years later the backyard has moved up to the number one spot on our to do list. With Brad having work, school, and two MAJOR tests to study for this coming fall; Brad has absolutely no time to do it himself so we hired someone and they finished the job in less then 2 days!

I never took any before pictures, because really it was just a bunch of rocks, but here is a glimpse of what it looked like:

(Picture taken last year)The After Pictures:

Our beautiful view:Oh and can you tell that the grass is actually artificial turf (aka fake grass)? Before all you Utahans freak out, artificial grass is actually quite popular here in Tucson and is really nice looking and very durable (not the cheap-o stuff). Plus it requires zero maintenance.

To Carson everything is a train track.

Its only been one full day, but I can't tell you how Amazing it is! We love it. The evenings are absolutely the perfect time for us to have dinner/popsicles and to watch Carson run around in circles. Next on our list is a little pool for Carson to go skinny dipping in.

Remembering 2010

At the end of every year, its nice to look back and see all the blessings that have happened to us this year. Although this year wasn't nearly as much of a roller coaster as last year (getting laid off, had a baby, getting transferred, moving, buying a new house, and all in the space of two months), it was nice to have a year that was non-stressful, fun, and very eventful:

• Carson turned one
• Carson learned how to walk
• Brad's parents sold their house
• Spent 3 weeks in Utah this summer
• My sister Marilyn got married
• Brad turned 30
• Went boating at Lake Mead
• Brad and I got to spend some quality alone time in Hawaii
• Brad got promoted to be a Sr. Industrial Hygienist!

Who knows what next year will hold for us? Its always fun to speculate though...

• Hopefully a wedding (on Brad's side this time)
• More vacations
• Carson turns 2!
• My brother returning home from his mission
• Hopefully Brad's LAST oral surgery
• Brad graduating with his Masters in Industrial Hygiene from Tulane University!

So much can happen in the space of a year, and yet it seems like the years go by faster and faster. Hopefully time will slow down, I'm loving our life right now and am so thankful for all the blessings we have.

Make-up Post

He must have known I put an ugly picture up on my blog, because this week my brother actually sent me some pictures! These two are a lot better then the last picture I got!
Brad said "Daniel actually looks tall!" Its probably a good thing he is in Asia, he fits right in!

The Candy Bomber

Our Primary class with Bro. Halversen-The Candy Bomber

Today was our primary program, which went well, but today for sharing time we had the privilege to listen to a member of our ward speak. He literally is a national treasure. His name is Brother Halvorsen, but he is also known as the "candy bomber". He was featured in this months Friend magazine and he came to speak to the children of our ward. It was the most spiritual lesson I've had since I've been in primary. Here is the article from the Friend:

Parachutes of Hope

By Jan Pinborough, “Parachutes of Hope,” Friend, Oct 2010, pages 28–29

When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service

of your God (Mosiah 2:17).

In 1948, the children of Berlin, Germany, knew all about bombs falling from

the sky. But miniature parachutes carrying candy bars? That was something

new. And it was all thanks to a member of the Church who wanted to send a

message of love and hope to those children.

During World War II, bombs had destroyed many homes and buildings in Berlin.

After the war, the whole city looked flattened and almost deserted. Now only

2.8 million people lived in a city where 4.6 million once lived.

But now there was another terrible enemy in Berlin—hunger! The people needed

about 5,000 tons of food a day, but the city had only about 100 tons. How

would the people keep from starving? Several countries sent cargo planes

with supplies. They brought flour, milk, dried eggs, potatoes, and other

food for people to eat and coal and gasoline to keep them warm.

One of the pilots who flew a big C-54 cargo plane was an LDS young man who

grew up on a farm in Utah. His name was Gail Halvorsen. He flew daily

missions to Berlin.

One day on his day off, Brother Halvorsen took his movie camera to the

runway where the supply planes landed every three minutes. He noticed a

group of children at the end of the runway watching the planes land. He

talked to them. They were so brave! And they were very grateful for the food

the planes brought.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his last two pieces of chewing

gum. When he gave them to the children, they broke them into tiny pieces to

share. Some only got to smell the wrappers, but none of them asked for more.

Then Brother Halvorsen had a great idea. He knew Heavenly Father loved those

children. He wanted them to know that they were important and that someone

cared about them. He wanted them to be happy and to have hope. “Watch for me

tomorrow,” he said.

“But how will we know which plane is yours?” the children wondered.

“I’ll wiggle the wings of my plane as a signal,” Brother Halvorsen promised.

That evening Brother Halvorsen bought some chocolate bars. He made

parachutes out of his handkerchiefs and attached them to the chocolate.

The next day as he neared the runway with his load of food, Brother

Halvorsen moved the wings of his plane up and down. Then he dropped his

candy parachutes to the children watching below.

Soon Brother Halvorsen received many letters addressed to Onkel Wackelflügel

(“Uncle Wiggly Wings”). Other pilots started helping too. Children and

adults back home donated handkerchiefs and candy.

In all, about 20 tons of candy floated down on little parachutes to the

children of Berlin. And each one carried an important message. Every child

is important, and each one is loved.

Brother Halvorsen is now 90 years old and has 24 grandchildren and 22

great-grandchildren. After retiring from the United States Air Force, he

served as a missionary with his wife in London, England, and St. Petersburg,

Russia. Today when he gives talks about his experience, he often meets

people who received his parachutes as children

I called my dad and told him of this wonderful experience and before I even got 2 sentences into the story my dad, the ever knowledgeable history guy (especially WWII history), immediately exclaimed "thats the candy bomber!" My dad went on to tell me how he has his book, but then said "I don't think you realize what a historical figure this guy is, because of him many other pilots started to drop candy and this changed the way the German's perceived us (Americans)."

About 6 months ago, Brad was asked to help move a family out of our ward. Only a few people showed up to help, and included was a 90 year old man. Of course he didn't do the heavy lifting, but Brad said he moved the boxes and was an extremely hard worker. While working with him he told Brad his life story, about how he stayed in the Air Force and became a high ranking officer. He was also heavily involved in the Apollo 11 moon landing. He goes around all over the world and tells his story. He told our primary that just 4 days ago he returned from Iraq and before that he took his grandson to Germany to drop candy bars from his airplane (yes he still flies) to the grandchildren that received his candy bars back in 1949. He said that while in Germany he spoke in a ward about his story and the other speaker was a girl that received his candy bars. He still gets letters from the service that he did. He has changed so many lives and

It was amazing to listen to him and I hope that I can strive to live my life the best that I can so that I may effect at least one person.

Mexi Truck

Mexi Truck

Definition: overload, stuffed, filled to the brim, encumbersome, weighed down, obstruction, oversupply, possibly illegal, unsafe, unreliable, dangerous, obstruction of view, alarming, hanging by a thread, perilous, insecure, unsound, and last but not least... how do they do it?

We live off of I-19, the main highway from Tucson to Nogalas, Mexico. These Mexi Trucks (and I'm not being racist ALL of the trucks like this have a license plate from Mexico) are a common sight to where we live especially after our community has a yard sale. Mexicans have yard sales down like pat. Its amazing.

Driving behind one of these on the highway though are extremely scary. Some things look like they are going to fall right off and a few times they have. A pillow from a couch flew out and I ran over it. We have also had a work ladder fall off a truck and we hit it dead on causing damage to our car. Illegal you might ask? You'd think so right? But we continually see these perplexing vehicles. They truly are a phenomenon.

End of Summer?

Its August 31 which to me always felt like the end of summer. School starts, football season starts, and in my mind September was always the beginning of fall. Alas in Arizona that is not the case. Summer here doesn't end till October and I'm getting really tired of summer.

All I do is stay inside my 80 degree house all day long. I'm getting restless! I'm wanting to go to the park again, or really, to be able to do anything outside. I love monsoon season, but it has really put a damper on going to the pool. I'm looking forward to going to Apple Annie's again to get a pumpkin and to have some apple pie. To dress Carson up for Halloween. I'm wanting to make soup and rice pudding. I'm wanting the leaves to change color (although I might have to make a trip to Utah for that one). I'm just ready for summer to end.

Not related to my post are some cute pics of Carson:

A Child's Prayer

I can't stop thinking about it so to make myself feel better I'm going to write about it.

I don't know if you've noticed this on my blog the past year or if you even checked his blog out, but this is Ryan Hess. Shortly after we moved into our new ward here in Sahuarta, Ryan Hess was diagnosed with Cancer. Ryan went through a few rounds of Chemo and a bone marrow transplant. He went into remission, but a few weeks later the Cancer was back. Ryan is now home on Hospice and the doctor told him he had about two weeks to live.

Ryan has beautiful wife and she brings her two small children to church every Sunday with a smile on her face. I have never met anyone so positive while going through such a tragedy. She is such an example of strength, and her two kids couldn't be cuter. Which brings me to the title of my post. Yesterday, during primary sharing time, their 3 year old son Max said the opening prayer. In his prayer he asked that his daddy feel better, his mommy feel better, and at the very end he said "...and please bless that my dad won't die, Amen". I think every teachers heart just broke and we were all crying. It was the sweetest prayer. I still can't think about it without tears swelling up in my eyes.

I have never met Ryan, I've only given him a couple smiles at church when he was feeling well enough to come, but I feel as if I've know him. I feel like I know him through the many prayers and fasts from our ward. This is the second tragedy I have gone through with a ward family and I'm always so humbled when I see the outpouring of love and a strong desire to help the family in need. Not only does it bring the ward together, but also the community.

In her blog, Ryan's wife, states that she KNOWS that this is the Lords plan and that she will be with him forever, because they were sealed in the temple.

I'm so thankful for this gospel. For the knowledge we have that we can return to our Heavenly Father, and through temple marriages, we may live together as families forever.

Please pray for Ryan and his family as they are going through this difficult time.

Wedding Planning

Since my sister Marilyn got engaged I have been trying to give her ideas for the wedding and while looking at different wedding ideas I keep thinking how fun it would be to plan my own wedding again. Don't get me wrong I loved my wedding but in the past 5 years styles have changed and I love the new trends for weddings. Plus I actually know people now like photographers and other venders. It would be so fun to plan another wedding.

The Wedding Dress: With the new temple guidelines on not wearing wedding dresses in the temple, a lot of brides are adding color to their dress. Some do an off white or cream while others have a splash of color. Personally, I love the colorful sash around the waist.

Shoes: I LOVE the new trend to wear colorful high heals, just love it!

Photo courtesy of ellie cutler photography located in Odgen, UT

Wedding colors:

Photos from Orange Turtle Blog

Cakes: Look how creative and fun you can be!

Flowers: I loved my flowers and would get them all over again.

Although if I got married in the spring time and not the fall maybe I would go for a tulip bouquet:

Aww the possibilities...