AZ Wrights

A Wonderful Life!

2012-01-10T13:23:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is all the time we got to spend with family. We are SO blessed! I pray that my children grow to love and cherish each other as our family has.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-10T12:37:00.001-08:00

Just in time

2011-12-20T10:06:00.000-08:00

Deacon had a goal to earn his Eagle Scout Award BEFORE he turned 14. Well, his is birthday is in 1 1/2 more weeks and we were able to squeak in His Court of Honor this last Sunday. Here are a few pics.

We're proud of you son!

Concerts!

2011-12-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

Between high school orchestra, the East Vally Mormon Choir (EVMCO), high school choir, elementary choir and band we have been concert hopping all month!!! One highlight was having Mamo and Poppa here for a week at the beginning of December. We kept them busy almost every night attending some kind of musical event. Poppa was in HEAVEN......well, Mamo was anyway:) This was the only picture we got of the whole week. Ya, we're pretty lame like that. Don't pay any attention to Shay in the robe...I'm sure she doesn't want anyone to notice...hehehe

Fly like an EAGLE!!

2011-11-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

Saturday was one BUSY day for us. We all got up early and excitedly headed off to Deacon's Eagle project! He chose to work with Save the Family, an organization that helps families of domestic violence get on their feet. We prepared an apartment for a family to move in.

Here's one of Deacon's uncles helping with the job. Sure appreciated the hard work he put in. Most of his time was spent in an upstairs bathroom...eeewww.
We have a very small Deacon's quorum, here is one of our newly baptized Deacon's and his Muslim friend that came to support in the cause.
The best friend was a big help!
And the prospective Eagle himself! He led the project and did a pretty good job at it too.
Kitchen kept me occupied the whole 4 hours!
Ward helpers! Appreciate these guys!
Fellow boy scout and cousin lending a hand. It was a project that left me with a feeling of doing some good in the world that day!

A Little 2011 Heaven!!

2011-10-22T15:12:00.001-07:00

We had the privilege of spending October break with Mom & Dad and all of their posterity (minus 2 Dad's that had to work). It was a wonderful week full of scheduled and impromptu fun. The weather and scenery was beautiful! Here are a few things I don't want to forget.

We determined to do some work projects while we were there. The kids were great worker bees as we chopped a HUGE fallen tree into firewood. Papa's tractor came in quite handy...as you can see:)
Yep...this pile was the work of lots of little worker bees.
Here's a shot at the top of Green's Peak. It's a beautiful view don't you think....look at those kids
Here's a group pointing to the spring. This was the destination of the hike one day. Doesn't look like much, but it's the source of the pond down the mountain.
Truckload of kids on their way to Green's...most of this group chose to run down the mountain instead of drive down.
Here's a shot of one of our Minute to Win it games.
Another game, get the cookie in your mouth with only facial movements! She did it!
Watching this game made me cry from laughing so hard!
We spent one afternoon riding horses. It was another highlight for the kids.

Some other favorites were Family Feud, team building games, singing around the fire with Papa playing the guitar. Making smores, watching old family videos, and exercising with the adults, it was a week full of fun and family. It truly was a little heaven in 2011!

Our little.....more like BIG star!

2011-10-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

Derek tried out for the school musical and had a wonderful experience. They performed Give My Regards to Broadway and he played "Legs." Here are a few photos of the gangster.

I was proud of his efforts to overcome his stage fright! Boy did he overcome!
Here he is in his tutu trying to avoid capture.
He was definitely MY star of the show!!

Grand Canyon Railways

2011-09-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

Mima was itching to spend some time together so she arranged for ALL of us to take the train from Williams AZ to the Grand Canyon on Labor Day. It was a fun trip, cool weather and beautiful scenery.Here we all are. Mima and Poppa's posterity-5 kids with spouses and 19 grandchildren. Quite a crew.
For some reason our rail car was kind of noisy:)
At the Grand Canyon the kids all participated in a jr. ranger program. Here they are at the pinning ceremony.
On the way back to Williams we were robbed! Here are a few of the bandits.

Here we all are being trained by the ranger. She was showing us what animals live in the area. We were even lucky enough to see a couple of California Condors.

Mima and Poppa with their laps full. It was a fun day. Thanks Mom and Dad!!

cousin campout

2011-09-06T14:10:00.001-07:00

The weekend before school starts we have an annual cousin campout for kids 8 and older. We have missed the last few years but were happy to be able to attend this year. Our whole family could go as everyone is older than 8 yrs old. It was an awesome experience. From cooler weather, to playing in the creek, to sharing our favorite scriptures around the campfire.

We were all tuckered out when it was all done. It was a fast and furious trip.

First Day of School!! (a month later)

2011-09-06T14:05:00.001-07:00

Sophomore (holy cow!!)
8th grade
5th grade
My favorite crew of kids. These are fun people!

So far so good for the 2011/12 school year!

Summer of FUN!!!

2011-09-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

We are just catching our breath from finishing one of our best summers yet! We began the summer with a Mayberry reunion in St. David. I loved rubbing shoulders with relatives that we don't get to see as often. I especially loved the map that showed all of the different areas in the world that have had missionaries from Grandpa Jim and Grandma Gwen's posterity. What an inspiration. We left the reunion to travel to SLC for Shay and Steve to perform in the tabernacle. That was an amazing trip as well. The kids and I got to hike Ensign Peak, tour the conference center, go to the movies, shop, and visit with the Brubakers. The trip finished with a bang as Mamo and Susie flew in from CA to go to the concert with us.

We spent June doing Scout camp, EFY, Girls Camp, and swim team. Super fun. The kids and I left on June 30th for an awesome week at Aspen Grove. It's a family camp run by the BYU alumni at Mt Timpanogas. What an amazing experience. We were lucky enough to spend the week with Janette and Brian and their two cute boys. Here are a few pics of that trip.

Twinners slept in the loft of our little A-frame
Shay in the middle of the high ropes course. She rocked it! I couldn't believe how well she did. It was SCARY....I experienced it:)
Here they are going around on the balancing wires. Yikes, and SUPER tiring.

Here we are in front of our A-frame (it just happened to be the furthest one from the eating hall) Which ended up being ok as we were pigging out all week long!

Derek during the family dance-pretty good at the limbo for a tall guy huh?

One of our favorite things was meeting the Hamacher's from Missouri. We loved getting to know them, having game night and especially kicking booty on the wallyball court!

So many memories! We drove home and 2 weeks later flew to Quincy for the Wright reunion. Loved spending time in that little town. The weather was gorgeous and the company was great. We had a whole 10 days to get home and prepare for school to start!

#1 Dad

2011-06-19T18:22:00.001-07:00

This man is #1 in our books. We love all that he brings to our family. Laughter, love, giggles, and happiness are a regular eveyday event in our house because of him. He is our everything! Provider, chauffeur, counselor, cook, teacher, listener, handyman, and on and on. Happy Father's Day!

Some of his biggest fans!

Dream Come True

2011-06-09T20:55:00.001-07:00

We had the amazing opportunity to spend the last week in Salt Lake City. The reason for the trip...so that hubby and daughter could record a CD entitled "Messiah in America" and perform the inspiring oratorio in the Tabernacle. It was an awesome week filled with fun, family, r & r, and a little driving.

Thanks to my awesome sis-in-law who let us crash for the week. The kids had a blast hangin with their cousin, swimming, and playing games. If I have more time and energy I'll try to post some more pics of this fun trip.

(had to delete my photos...apparently the church asks that we not post any pictures of the organ pipes..they are a copyright of the MoTab....who knew!)

My BOLD Boy!

2011-04-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

Friday was twin day at the Jr. High. Deacon and his best friend decided they wanted to do something a little different. Sooooo...here is how they went. He said they had lots of positive feedback, from the principal, to school teachers and students. Many asked to take their pictures. One non member asked "where's your bikes?" I was impressed with his ability to not be ashamed or embarrassed but instead shine as an example of the believers. Almost got me choked up to see what a good looking missionary he is. Can't believe it will all be reality in as little as 6 years! LOVE this kid!!!

A whole decade!!

2011-03-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we celebrated Kevin and Kinsey's 10th birthday. That's right, double digits, a whole decade of having those two in our family! We reminisced watching their first birthday, first Christmas, and other family movies. I can't imagine our family without these two. They add such spice, joy and laughter to our group. I love my twinners. Some of my favorites about miss Kinsey: She still likes to snuggle She tries her hardest in all that she does. She likes to help in the kitchen and does a pretty good job Some of my favorites about the Kevster: This kid is ALWAYS happy He makes me laugh His heart is tender Love to hear him sing-as long as it's not too loud:) See what spice they add? We needed a little more of that in the family....don't you think?

Cabin Fever.....literally!!!

2011-03-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

So we got home from an AWESOME cabin trip for Spring Break (see pictures below)...and Shay complained of not feeling very good. We took her temperature and sure enough, 102! For the next 4 days she was one SICK girl with a super sore throat, chills, high fever, etc. At this point the doctor is suspecting mono. Not fun!!!

Anyhow...we loved the cabin (thanks John and Becca for the awesome Christmas gift) Here is a picture of our hike to "the boulders." The boys swear they found a mountain lion den with footprints and everything.

We tried to drive up to Green's Peak..but too much snow on the roads, so we played in the snow for awhile:)

Did some fishin:)

Look at these two readers

We invited a family from our ward, the Farnsworths, to join the fun. The kids spent a better part of a day building this awesome fort they named the "Hidden Meadows Mountain Man Club"

Daddy/Daughter hike

2011-03-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

These daughters LOVE their Daddy! And Daddy is slightly wrapped around their little fingers...It was a beautiful day spent enjoying some of the best things in life...(food, family, and the great outdoors)...not necessarily in that order

Lunch with Poppa

2011-01-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

We were lucky enough to have Mamo and Poppa visit recently. We had a great time eating out, going to the movies, going on walks, playing pinochle, and just plain visiting. We love those guys and are glad they made the effort and took the time to come and visit. Poppa got to experience "the girls." It's hard not to like them...they come running whenever you walk outside.:)
Here they are joining Poppa for a little lunch.

This one got a little too close and personal. She's taste testing here....uninvited of course. We somehow caught her mid-jump...see her wings giving her a little extra lift?? Poppa's face is classic!

An after work surprise

2011-01-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

I have been blessed with some really great kids! They spent hours and hours working on the sweetest Christmas present for Steve and I. Each painted 3 scenes of something that reminded them of our family on a canvas..totaling 12 scenes. The project took them around a week to complete. I told them, before I even knew what the gift was that I already loved it because it had allowed them to spend so much time together in a united cause.:)

Then..last week on my way home from work I called to let them kow I'd be there in a few minutes. I was told that they were working on something and I couldn't come home for 40 more minutes. Sound suspicous?(their not that smart yet) So I told them I at least needed to come in and use the restroom....(I wanted to make sure the house was still intact) They partitioned the hallway so I couldn't see what was going on and then sang very loud so I couldn't hear what was going on while in the bathroom. I then decided I might as well go on a 40 minute walk.

I came home to lasagna, a killer salad, crescent rolls and brownies for dessert. SUPER SWEET!!!

Photo Shoot

2011-01-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

We had our good friend Marie come visit over the holiday break. She took us on an impromptu photo shoot on Sunday. Here are a few of my favorite pics. Thanks Marie!!

We can..........

2011-01-07T13:03:00.001-08:00

For Christmas the in-laws have requested a special kind of gift. Instead of getting them a "thing" they have asked that we "do" some"thing" for someone else-they like to receive a report on what the family was able to do for others. This was the 2nd year our family was able to help out at the United Food Bank. We spent a few hours sorting the food that is donated and preparing it for distribution. I hope we can make it an annual tradition....the kids really enjoy it.

We were gobbled!

2011-01-07T13:00:00.001-08:00

Which means that this guy beat us all in the annual LeSueur family turkey-trot! I'm telling you-he didn't want caught!

HP 7!!

2011-01-07T12:56:00.000-08:00

We are BIG Harry Potter fans-so it was a no-brainer to buy the pre-release tickets the orchestra was selling this year. We went to the 8pm show before the midnight release. We even got to go with Hermione (who won a best costume prize) and Viktor Krum...pretty cool huh??

We have some Excellent YW

2011-01-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

For YW in Excellence last year the girls wanted to do a formal garden party. It turned out beautifully. The girls really enjoyed getting all dressed up. Here's Shay in her gown.

Shay and Dawn received their medallions in 2010 and are being presented their gift from the stake.

Merry Christmas friends!!!

2010-12-22T13:38:00.001-08:00

To all our friends near or far....have a wonderful Christmas wherever you are!! Love the Wrights!!

mormon profile

2010-11-16T10:10:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to do this for awhile and finally got around to it today. If you go out to http://mormon.org/ you can see my new profile. Happy reading:)

*actually it may be awhile because my responses have to be reviewed..give it a day or so

My kids are DYNAMITE!

2010-11-03T17:35:00.000-07:00

This really happened today!
ring, ring..
Dad: Hello
Dear daughter: Dad, can you bring me my chapstick
Dad: what's going on?
DD: my lips are hurting really bad

No joke! She's never even watched the movie! I laughed out loud in the car, by myself, when I got the low down on this conversation. Gotta love kids!!

"Try"-athletes

2010-10-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

Here are the swimmers about to enter the pool and kick some bootay! I was really proud of these guys. Shay probably passed 15 people.

Here we are at the finish-line. Whoo hoo...I sure love these guys

We did it!!! Our stake held its 1st annual tri-athalon and our family entered as two seperate teams. We didn't really train...although Shay has been doing swim team at the highschool. It was a 1/2 mile swim, 4 mile bike and 2 mile run. The bike was supposed to be 8 miles, but because of the huge number of people that signed up they changed it to 4. They didn't have a permit for that many people to bike on the roads...Anywho, here's how it went down.

Shay-swim, Steve-bike, Kinsey-run (Steve actually ended up running w/ her because she was nervous to do it by herself)

Kevin-swim, Derek-bike, Amy-run

Does conference ever do this to you???

2010-10-21T15:55:00.001-07:00

They were listening....really.....they were:)

Once a Tiger, always a Tiger

2010-10-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend my 20 year highschool reunion. What a treat! I think reunions must be more meaningful when you grow up in a small town. Not only did I graduate highschool with these folks but I played little league softball, was in elementary school plays, soccer, volleyball, basketball, track, student council, seminary, dances, dates, etc, etc with all of these same people. Heck....we couldn't lose a tooth, get a zit, or go on a date without EVERYONE knowing. Therefore....I consider them pretty much family. And that's how it felt, like I was going home for a family reunion...
The front row is a group of teachers that were able to attend. I loved getting to see and visit with them. They are in many memories...funny, serious, and scary:) All had an impact in my life in some way.

This room and these tables were the very ones I used over 25 years ago to eat lunch. Many a conversation was had sitting at these blue beauties.

Still a bunch of crazy kids if you ask me...

I loved seeing who had families and how many children everyone had. We are a diverse group of people including: nurses, hairdressers, teachers, physical therapist, doctor, hygienists, artists, police officers, border patrol agents, audiologists, etc.

He is like a star shining brightly.....

2010-08-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

What do archery, orienteering, snow sports, and plumbing have in common? They are all part of the 10 (yes 10) merit badges Deacon just received in his quest for Eagle scout. He is now a star....although I already new that:)

The proud moment...aren't we cheesy

Highschool, Jr. High and the big kid playground!

2010-08-15T16:06:00.000-07:00

1st year at Mesa! 1st year of seminary, 1st year of swim team. Wow! (notice the scar from surger in June...it's healing pretty good)

1st year in Jr High! 2nd year at Mesa Academy...sure love this boy!

4th grade, 1st year of orchestra...wanting to attempt the cello.

4th grade...gets to play on the "big kid" playground. They are all growing up!

Recognize her??

2010-07-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

Hubby's every waking (and sometimes even sleeping) minute these past months was spent on planning the Celebration of Freedom event in downtown Mesa. It ended up being a great success with 50,000 people in attendance. Quite a party planner isn't he? The kids were lucky enough to get a picture with Mayor Smith and Governor Brewer. Heard of her...she's been in the news a little lately? he,he

FLYBOY

2010-06-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

Deacon had the AMAZING opportunity to fly to Williams this weekend in Bishop's plane. He was attending 1/2 day of a neighboring stake's scout camp to get his aviation merit badge. He was the only boy that got to ride in the plane! Here is is before take off.

He got to be the co-pilot. He even got to fly the plane a little!! Do you think this smile is genuine?? What a cool experience.

Girls Camp 2010

2010-06-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

These were my roomates this past week. I consider them some of the best women I know...Not too bad for 4 days with no shower..don't you think??

And here are the 17 girls we worked so hard for...

BE STRONG Joshua 1:9

Busy little Bee.....hive

2010-05-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

In my last post I eluded to some upcoming achievements...well, here is a big one:
Shay received her Young Womanhood Recognition Award this past Sunday. She had to be quite a dedicated young woman to earn her award in just 2 years. Here are just a few of the things she did to earn this award...

*Read the Book of Mormon twice! Once for the value Faith and once for the Virtue value.

*volunteered 40 hours last summer as a junior lifeguard-learning 1st aid and CPR skills

*took a few sewing lessons and completed a pair of pajama bottoms along with 2 quillows(a blanket that folds into a pillow)

*watched all sessions of conference, including the YW general broadcast-and took notes on them.

*taught younger siblings a skill-Kinsey learned to make crocheted hats and Derek learned made a quillow

Shay's next goal is to earn the Bee. This can be done by helping another girl earn her award OR by reading the Book of Mormon again. She already asked for a new Personal Progress book and is contemplating earning a second award.

We're proud of you sis!!

My favorite 14 year old!

2010-05-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

14 years ago, 2 days before Mother's Day..this girl gave me my most prized title of motherhood. I still remember how overwhelmed with love I was for this little girl. Now she's 4 inches taller than me and 14 years old! I have come to not only love, but admire this girl. She is a responsible, kind, smart, helpful, talented, beautiful girl. I feel so lucky that I got her.

We started the morning with our traditional birthday music blasting from the stereo to wake her up. Then she had her favorite...mickey mouse waffles w/ strawberries and whipcream.

It was her year for a friend b-day party. We planned a ward treasure hunt. They got a clue that led them to a ward members house and then had to accomplish a task before they could receive the next clue. Here they are bobbing for apples in ice water! They had to do things like...make a certain # of baskets, get 30 marbles out of icewater with their toes, 100 jumps on a pogo stick, guess 6 pictionary words, get so many points in wii bowling, pass of 4 DDR songs with a grade of at least a B and bob for apples.

We ended up back at our house for a cookout, presents, cake, and more fun. She's got a good group of girl friends. Her surprise was a baby bunny, and 2 baby chicks..we ended the evening playing oo7. The girls had a great time and got lots of exercise.

Stay tuned for more accomplishments from this girl...she's AMAZING:)

Just like the pioneers!

2010-05-10T12:03:00.001-07:00

-Fresh eggs
-garden grown crook neck squash, zucchini, tomatoes, strawberries, chives, and white onions
-still waiting on corn and watermelon

that's about as pioneer as we get..

I'm Worried...

2010-04-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

Steve and I have exercised pretty much our entire married life. Which btw is now 18 years (I actually had to use my computer calculator to make sure) BUT..we have never really incorporated running into our workouts. I mean, only the crazies enjoy running. I've always felt like it was a form of body torture. My feet, hips, knees, back, heart and lungs seemed to hurt after every attempt. A few years ago our stake challenged everyone to run in a 5K they were hosting. Steve and I decided we could make the effort, train for 12 weeks (I know you runners are laughing) and join this run. We did it. I felt good about it. Didn't run again for over a year. Fast forward....Saturday's are the day we get to workout together. We had been walking, then walking with weights, then walk/jogging, and finally progressed to jogging the complete 3 mile loop. As we started jogging it wasn't taking us long enough-so..we added a little to the route and bumped it up to a 4.2 mile loop. After sometime of doing this we started getting this CRAZY itch to see how much we could do--and still be somewhat comfortable. We bumped it up to 5 miles. That's when Steve started to scare me. He began talking about his runs, looking forward to the next run. He even started running on his weight days!! What the...This morning he came home from his workout and said 7.5 miles baby! " This 50 year old man can run 7.5 miles." What is happening...he swears he's not going to go marathon crazy on me...but I'm starting to get nervous...

Live, Love, Learn

2010-03-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

About a year ago hubby's work changed to 4 /10 hour days instead of the typical 5 day work week. For the most part we have LOVED it. It's great having a 3 day weekend EVERY week! When the kids are in school it's like a whole day we get to spend together on a date. First we go to the gym, then we do our Sister Savings/coupon shopping at Wal-Mart. We frequently go to lunch or to the temple together. It's awesome.

There is just one little issue we've(more like I've) had to deal with.....Hubby is the cook. Has been from the beginning. The work schedule change meant we weren't able to eat dinner tell around 7pm. I pretty much need to eat around 5 or I'm cranky. Not only that but- I DON"T COOK!!! So, here's what we came up with.

Each person in the fam takes a night for dinner-hubby has to take weekends due to his schedule. That means my 4 children are getting to each cook dinner 1 day a week. So far it has worked out amazingly well! I get to eat around 5 AND I only have to cook 1 night a week:)

Here are some of our recent entrees

teenager-omelets, pizza, mac n cheese casserole
deacon-sloppy joes, chili and cornbread, tacos
twin 1-pancakes, grilled hot dogs and corn on the cob
twin 2-waffles, mac n cheese, scrambled eggs
me-sweet n sour chicken, chicken squares, chicken noodle soup (home-made even), nachos

Yay for opportunities to learn and improve!

A few of my favorite things..

2010-02-14T12:55:00.001-08:00

I have really been enjoying my kids and family as of late. Not that I don't usually enjoy them, but, I have just had an awakening to how much fun they all are. What a blessing to be a wife and mother to this crew. I figured I better blog about it so that on some future frustrating day..I can look back and remember...

Steve and Derek have been working hard on Derek's science project. Determining which metal is softest-aluminum, copper or brass. Here they are cutting the metal to be tested..

For FHE we each made valentines day mailboxes that we hung on our bedroom doors. We spent the week filling up each others boxes with notes of love and appreciation. You can see that this girl is loved AND appreciated.

I couldn't resist getting a picture of the new glasses. Isn't she cute?? You can almost see the little heart she had in her hair for V-day today. We've had fun putting hearts in her hair all week.

And here's my boy with his newly acquired braces. Life is constantly moving and busy at our house...but for the most part..I sure enjoy these guys.

Tid bits

2010-01-30T14:57:00.000-08:00

Went on a field trip to the state capital this week with my 8th grader. Here's some things I learned...do you know the answers?

How many Supreme court justices in AZ?
How much do they make?
What is the line of succession for governor in AZ...1-5?
We elect many positions that other states let the governor appoint, such as secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, superintendant of schools, etc.
The state librarian gets to do some cool stuff:)
AND 8th graders are A-L-O-T scarier then they used to be....

On another note...Kins was awarded the award this month at school for the character trait of determination...Uh..YAAAH. She got to eat lunch with the principal. We had to laugh, even the teachers notice her ummmmm trait.

She did it!!!

2010-01-05T15:41:00.001-08:00

A year ago we came upon a random blog (someone we didn't know) and were intrigued by their entry. Three kids were pictured, each with a $100 bill in their hands. As we continued to read we discovered that they had each made a commitment to go for an entire year without candy in exchange for 100 big ones! The rule was that they could pick 3 days out of the year to eat candy-the rest of the time there was to be NO candy! However, cake, cookies, ice-cream, donuts, etc. were acceptable-just NO candy. Well, being the candy lover that I am I started to talk about what an IMPOSSIBLE task this would be. Immediately my 2 daughters piped up that they wanted to make this same commitment if I'd agree to the payout. I flippantly agreed, knowing this wouldn't last more than a few weeks. As you can see...when a challenge is issued...I have 1 girl who is up to the task:) I can't tell you how many phone calls I received: "Mom, is a popsicle considered candy.?" Or how about chocolate covered raisins? This girl wanted to be honest and very sure before she had anything remotely sweet. There were numerous times that I would forget and pass her the box of candy while at the movies or other outings-she would respond "Mooooommmmm..I can't have candy!" She saved her valentines candy from school and ate it on Halloween-THAT is impressive-although a little gross.

Here's to my Kinsey girl- $100s richer!

Mele Kalikimaka

2009-12-26T20:21:00.001-08:00

We had the UH-MAZ-ING opportunity to cruise the islands of Hawaii with my parents and my sister Janette and her husband Brian from Dec 12-19. Here are a few highlights!! I have to say that cruising is the absolute BEST way to see all the islands..basically a floating hotel with food and entertainment. Each day we spent on one of the beautiful islands seeing the sights.

Steve had a slight cold.....actually this picture is taken on the Big Island at Akaka Falls:)

Here we are on Kauai..we had just kayaked 2 miles up the Wailua river and then hiked a mile through the jungle to get to these beautiful falls, named Ulu Vea, meaning life giving. We swam in this pool and renewed our "bowl of light" before hiking/kayaking back.

On Maui we saw this ship on our way to church and had to stop and take a pic for Mamo and Poppa who so graciously watched our kids while we were away. We love you guys!! Thank you!

Here we are at Iao state park on the island of Maui. You can see some of the beautiful scenery we were able to enjoy behind us. We learned lots of Hawaiian history to.

We spent a day on Maui snorkeling at the Molokini crater. We were lucky enough to see 1/2 a dozen whales including a mom and her baby while cruising to our destination. We also ended the trip with a visit to turtle bay....lots of beautiful sea turtles..this was quite a memorable time. Mom even won the raffle on the Four Winds excursion that day!!

On the Big Island we spent a day touring the Kilahuea Volcano national park. We walked through the lava tubes, saw the steam vents and craters and drove down to the ocean to see where the most recent lava flow closed the road.

This picture is on Kauai where we rented a paddle board and did some body surfing. You can see our ship in the background...The Pride of America.

Too many pictures to share all of our happenings...suffice it to say that it was a trip we will remember FOREVER! It was like an early Christmas present/anniversary present combined. Thanks to both our parents for making this trip possible.

Mele Kalikimaka!!

Memories...

2009-12-04T16:18:00.000-08:00

Shay found this at Walmart today and I couldn't resist buying it. This candy reminds me of my Great Grandma Amy (yes, she's my namesake) Everytime we visited her home we could have a piece of this kind of candy. I've eaten like 10 pieces already...

Some of my favorite Peeps!!

2009-12-03T12:44:00.000-08:00

What a crew we've become! Just a few days previous we were all out running/biking our own home-made turkey trot....4.5 miles! We didn't look or smell as nice then....

This is Halloween...this is Halloween

2009-11-02T17:43:00.001-08:00

Marie: this post is for you!!!:) Here is #1 nerd-bomber in her AWESOME dress she and Marie made...isn't she cute???

#2 nerd-bomber as Hermione Granger...she even let me put some curls in her hair...

#3 nerd-bomber I'm bumbed that I didn't get a better picture than this. It's hard to see, but we shaved the top of #3's head so that he matched his Dad. It looked pretty funny.

#4 nerd-bomber is a Sith Lord with his double bladed saber...

BOO!

It's cool when...

2009-10-25T19:58:00.001-07:00

One of the dentists I work for happens to be an 11 yr old scout leader AND is planning an activity that my boy needs to pass off. Why? Because we only have 2 more months before he turns 12!(I know, I can't believe it myself) Anyhow, sounds like it was a killer hike up the Superstitions...thanks Doc!!

Why We LOVE Quincy!!!

2009-10-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

Quincy is a quaint little town in Northern California where Steve grew up. His parents, Mamo and Poppa, still live there. We love visiting for many reasons!! Here are just a few.
We get to bring Sinbad along and he and their little Dachsund (Tootsie) play like long lost friends.

Sometimes we get to make a fun stop along the way. This time we surprised the kids with the trip to Universal Studios. They didn't even know what it was when we first pulled up. They quickly learned-and we had a blast going to shows and riding the rides.

Poppa and the kids made lots of yummy blackberry jam from the handpicked fruit Poppa picked and stored. MMMMMMMM good

We almost always get in a puzzle(which we did-no picture) and a few card games. This year we decided that Derek was old enough to learn the fine art of Pinochle. He didn't even get "beetle-bombed" Unless you count the bowling trip we took:)

Some of our other favorites things are: the traditional Mickey Mouse waffles we eat for breakfast, our trip to the fish hatchery to see Poppa's babies-he's the one that started the hatchery many years ago. Our drive to see the peacocks, the museum and many other fun things.

We had a wonderful visit and are so thankful for Mamo and Poppa-we love you guys!

It's like Easter!!

2009-09-27T19:31:00.001-07:00

Well....sort of. Our fine laying hens have become official "egg layers." Yesterday we woke to a fun surprise of an egg in the coop. Later that day Shay found another egg under the ping pong table. Today we found 2 eggs on top of our outdoor table-yes the chickens can jump on top of the table. Kind of gross. So, it's anybodys guess as to where we're going to find the eggs tomorrow. See what I mean? EASTER!

On another note...my cute 13 year old has started a little hair accessory business-she has even put a few things on a blog called http://littlebowspeep.blogspot.com -She's actually done a pretty cute job. So, I thought I would give her a shout out on my blog-if you have daughters, nieces, sisters, etc., these would make cute gifts. Here are a couple pics of how we've used a few of her creations. She also has bows and yoyo barrettes.

A Second Witness

2009-09-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Take the time to watch this video of the depiction of Christ in the Americas. I know He Lives!

http://Deseretbook.com/video/embed/343

our stab at self-sufficient

2009-09-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of things we've done recently to attempt to be more self-reliant. I'm still waiting for our 1st egg out of these hens. Should happen as things start to cool down. They are almost 6 months old now.

We are also using these guys as "natural exterminators" They can eat some bugs!!

This was an expensive little project. It'll take a HECK of a lot of produce to make this worthwhile. Nevertheless...it's an attempt to teach kids, be obedient and learn a little in the process...

School Days, School Days, dear golden rule days...

2009-08-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

After the fastest and BEST summer ever the much anticipated day came. Here are my cuties on their first day of school.

8th grader, 5feet 9 1/2 inches-she made the necklace she's
wearing and is quite proud of it

6th grader starting a new school this year-finally passed me up in height! 5 feet 6 1/2 inches

typical pose for this fun kid-3rd grader

and last but not least my cutie patootie girl-3rd grade

and here they all are-even Sinbad (that's for you Poppa)

Nauvoo the Beautiful

2009-08-11T19:53:00.001-07:00

I asked hubby where he would like to go for his 50th birthday present. He chose Nauvoo, IL. SO, here are a few highlights of our trip. What a wonderful experience it was to visit these historical/religous sites.

This was the cute little hotel we stayed in....The Woodruff hotel. It was right next to Zion's Mercantile where we ate most of our meals. Yummy soup and sandwhiches.

Right across the street from the hotel and mercantile was this beauty. We got to attend a session where we enjoyed moving from room to room. The murals on the walls are beautiful, the woodwork and stonework are spectacular. We also got to take a little tour, where we saw and learned more about the baptistry, saw Joseph Smith's saber hanging in one of the offices, also saw the apron and slipper of Mary Fielding Smith. A beautiful building with an amazing history.

Another highlight of the trip was this narrated carriage ride. We learned about many of the church members that had land in the surrounding areas and more backround about the happenings in Nauvoo during this time period.

This is Steve in front of the Mississippi river. Quite a feat to cross it, let alone with wagons and animals!

This is the Carthage jail. It is the original building. For me, this was one of the most spiritual places we went. Quite a touching story. The hundreds of senior missionaries, and the many young performing missionaries were wonderful. We enjoyed every minute of being there. Our testimonies were strengthened and we left wanting to do/be better.

reunion continued...

2009-08-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

These are our shots of "work before play" unfortunately we didn't get the pics of the "play" part...we were too busy playing!! Walking on stilts and playing roll the hoop with the stick...Sure am glad I have a washing machine!! Steve enjoyed telling the kids about how he had to wash his clothes like this on his mission in Mexico. He said he lost a few buttons before he figured out that you need to rub from the inside of the shirt.

stay tuned for...trip to Nauvoo!

Wright Reunion at This is the Place Heritage Park

2009-08-02T19:51:00.001-07:00

Just returned from a fun trip to Utah for the Wright Reunion. Here are a few of our favorite memories:

We saw this picture of a pioneer family that made it across the plains and thought they were such a handsome group that we took a picture of them....:) teehee

The boys with their cousin Caden. They were resting after a fun game of baseball.

Kinsey joined the family volleyball game. She looks like she may have some natural talent huh?

This was a game of "how many balloons can we keep off the floor at one time.

Shay got put in the dunce seat when we visited the little school house. Hope she gets it out of her system as school starts in just over a week.

Too much to post in 1 session....to be continued.....

No Toil Nor Labor Fear

2009-07-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

This was the theme of St. David's Annual Pioneer day celebration. We headed down for the festivities this last weekend. This included having a float in the parade, chasing greased pigs, the water balloon toss, water balloon capture the flag, the donut eating contest, community bar-b-que, etc.

In line before the parade started. Andersen is getting an old fashioned bath while wearing his not-so-old-fashioned diaper.

Kinsey led this little goat in the parade. She is a hard working farmer (if you couldn't tell)

The boy cousins LOVING hangin out together. We enjoyed a beautiful monsoon rain that made things nice.

All together now...

2009-07-21T13:09:00.001-07:00

Shay and Kinsey finished their summer synchronized swimming season this last week. They both did GREAT! They had a good coach that has competed in some national competitions. I created a youtube page with videos of their performances for those of you that are interested. http://www.youtube.com/user/thesawright6
Shay's synchro team.

Shay's trio (the one in the white shirt is one of her coaches)

Kinsey's synchro team

Kinsey's duet

The "Hippest" guy I know..

2009-07-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

So, honey gets home from his weekly trip to Home Depot (we're working on the lawn mower) and this is what I see....

Me: What the heck is on your rear?

Him: What do you mean???

Me:(ripping the sock that is velcroed to both of his back pockets and showing it to him)

Him: You mean I walked around Home Depot for 30 minutes with that on me???AWWWWW MAN!!!

summer fun!

2009-07-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

This used to be one of those horse walker thingies...look what Uncle Dave converted it into!

After a trip down the salt river.....do you think my shoes are getting too worn out???

Our trip to Christopher Creek for the 4th of July...WHAT...I can't believe anyone else had the same idea!!!

What do you do in the summertime?

2009-06-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

Oh what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is HOT
Do you tube at the Lake, or almost step on a snake
spend every morning at basketball camp??
Is that what you do...so do I

Oh what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is HOT
do you hike to the stream, or bury kids til they scream
volunteer at the pool every day!!!
Is that what you do...so does Shay

Oh what do you do in the summertime, when all the world it HOT
point your toes in synchro, practice for the breast stroke
learn new games at the cabin to play
Is that what you do...so do they(Kev,Kins,Shay,Derek)

After visiting Gramps, Shay practices her "skills" with Kins as her model:)

Kev's first cub scout day camp....Steve got to be a volunteer...lots of fun

Cousins burying Kinsey....at the Hidden Meadow cabin...

Hangin out with a few elk in the mornings.....BEAUTIFUL

Enjoying the babies, as always.....Stevadore

Girls Camp!!

2009-06-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

It was real....it was fun.................it was REAL FUN!! VIRTUE-No Matter What

Grand time at the Grand Canyon

2009-05-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

We took an impromptu trip to the Grand Canyon this past weekend. The kids got out of school, we had a long weekend...why not??? The kids had never been to see it.....we were reminded that it truly is one of the 7 wonders of the world!! Here are a few pics.

Believe it or not, it was quite nippy in this part of AZ at the end of May. We even got some rain.

You have NO idea what a feat it was to get Kevin to even step foot off the trail. He was so paranoid of falling:)

truly grand isn't it

Shay's practicing her camera skills.

The Hopi house. One of the historic buildings there.

Fathers & Sons FEAR FACTOR

2009-05-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was our ward Fathers and Sons outing. My boys sure did come home with some fun stories. The ward put together a Father/Son Fear Factor game that was a HUGE hit. Here are some pics...I will try to explain the events as much as possible.

BECAUSE OF THE WAY I POSTED THE PICS...THE FIRST THREE ARE ACTUALLY THE LAST 3...SO SKIP TO # 1 -5 AND THEN COME BACK TO 6-8 FOR THE FULL EFFECT:)
#6-One member of each team had 1 minute to get out as many marbles from this icy water filled chest as they could. Derek was able to get out 27 with his talented toes...brrrrr

#7 This was the challenge that won Derek the respect/admiration of the whole ward. Steve had originally designated himself to do this challenge...it was to eat a small can of wet dog food. After one bite he couldn't do it and left to heave...thinking that their team would be disqualified. He began to hear people shouting for Derek and turned around to see that Derek (who can't eat his vegetables without heaving) had stepped up to the plate for the team and was shoveling in spoonfuls of the "so called" dog food. He would plug his nose, shovel it in, and then gag it down. This picture is in the midst of a full on heave! He completed the task! He later learned that it was really goose liver pate...I think dog food may have tasted better.

# 8 Here is the picture of the 2nd place team! The prize...a couple of really cool buck knives!!

#1 First event was to have 1 member from the team run a blind-folded race. The teams runner that was in last place would be eliminated from the game. Derek did this challenge and came in 3rd.

#2 This challenge was to clean out the inside of these dirty diapers. If you enlarge this pic you'll see how much Steve really got into this one.

#3 I still can't believe Steve did this! Derek is putting a live cricket into Steve's mouth. Steve then had to run 100 yards before he could spit it out. He complained that Derek smooshed some of the guts out as he put the cricket into his mouth. What a Dad!

#4 Each team was given 5 minutes to come up with a skit only using Duct tape a paper plate and string as props. Apparantly these guys had the best skit. They sang a sesame street song about letters...their assignment was to be hiccuping robots.

#5 One member of each team had to down this delicious bowl of 2 sardines and 3 oysters. Steve couldn't quite make it go down....but they weren't eliminated because one team wouldn't even attempt it.

Kevin & Kinsey's 2nd grade play

2009-05-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

This was Kinsey's part in the 2nd grade play. She's a red robin (in case you were wondering)

This was Kevin's part. Isn't he a great little singer?!?! The play was very well done. All the kids did a super job.

Some of our happenings...

2009-05-09T11:52:00.001-07:00

It has been crazy busy these past months...here are a few highlights! We are now the owners of 4 baby chics.

The plan was to enjoy them while they were cute and then send them to SD to live at Mima's house...but, Steve decided to be a farmer and built a little chicken coop in our back yard. We'll see how long this lasts:)

One Sunday as Steve and I were taking a nap Shay decided to play make-up artist. We woke up to Jack Sparrow (Derek) in our living room.

Derek (and Steve) experienced their 1st official scout campout. It was the 11 year old district camporee. They froze!

Derek is sharing his talent at our ward primary talent show......yes, it's reading

Kevin played a piano piece for his talent

We've spent some time swimming this last month as the temperature has warmed up considerably.

Shay had nerd day at school....

Shayster!

2009-04-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

Shay: Dad, listen to the poem I wrote for my Social Studies class.
Dad: okay
Shay: reads poem
Dad: That's really good, you didn't go online, find a poem and change a few words around...did you?
Shay (In her teenager voice) DAD.............I'm not a polygamist

What do you suppose this is??

2009-04-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

Last night I found this container, filled with these items, sitting in my pantry. I asked Steve what the heck it was supposed to be and he chuckled, telling me that he saw Kinsey putting this little "kit" together. If you can't tell it's 4 containers filled with water, a box of hot chocolate mix and a glass. When Steve asked Kinsey what she was doing she replied that she was getting her own 72 hour kit ready.:) Is she the cutest or what?

R.A.I.N.

2009-04-11T10:39:00.001-07:00

Ever gone running in the rain??? We got drenched...as it started raining harder and harder we just laughed harder and harder. By the end of the run our hands were cold, our pants were sticking to our legs, and our shoes were sloshy. At least we had the canal all to ourselves:)

You can tell we're desert folks. We LOVE when it rains. Here is Kinsey enjoying the rain in the back yard.

Baptism pics

2009-04-02T11:58:00.001-07:00

Kinsey before the baptism

Kevin before the baptism

Family, friends and the bishop

Chase and Kendal represented the Wright fam

Marie (nanny to the twins when they were toddlers)with Kevin and Kinsey

The Great 8 (for us)

2009-03-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

A party where they each invited 6 friends....Here Kins is getting her face painted

Blowing out the cupcake candles....each blue and pink cupcake had a K on it

opening presents....they are just fine sharing the lime light....thank goodness

Here is the crazy crew.....WOW...that was A LOT of kids!!!

Happy birthday to my twinners. I can't believe they are already 8! They bring me SO much joy. Pics of the baptism to come.

Another laugh courtesy of Kevin

2009-03-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

Every morning the kids pack up the lunch their father has made for them. He always
writes a little positive message on the kids sandwhich bag. They pretend that they're
embarrassed by it, but really they love to see what it will say each day. Here is the note
from Wendesday.

When I came home for lunch that day this is what I saw sitting on the stove....apparently he
didn't want a turkey sandwhich:) What a character...

Spring Break Happenings

2009-03-20T12:23:00.001-07:00

Got to do a little of this....conditions were suprisingly good. I fell once and almost peed my pants laughing:)

kids had a blast with cousins

look at the setting...beautiful

I sure like hanging out with these guys. They make me smile. (We're missing a few people that had to leave early)

Here was our backyard view....K & K have some cute buns don't ya think?
Thanks to the generosity of some family friends...we had a wonderful time.

Randomness...

2009-02-24T14:26:00.000-08:00

is there anything up that nose?

half done

cute piggies

Every once in a while...

2009-02-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while I do something that I call "boofy." It is SO against my nature and can be
uncomfortable for me. These two projects were fun, easy and turned out pretty cute.:) My friend Jeri Donnely would be so proud.

Do you prefer stacked or side by side?????

This was a practice run for Kinsey's valentines day hairdo. Way easy. We got the idea off of

one of our favorite hair blogs...can't remember which one.

I'll try to do a better part tomorrow:)

Something EVERYONE should know about!

2009-01-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

Have you ever watched a movie that had a good story, fun actors, cool special effects but you left thinking..."if only it didn't have the language, this would be a great movie." Or, "if this movie didn't have that one scene I could feel comfortable about letting my kids watch this." I mean, what do those words or scenes really add to the movie anyway??? NOTHING!! We used to be members of the Family Flix franchise before they got sued and put out of business. We were so bummed when that wasn't an option anymore. WELL, we now have another alternative...it's called the Clear Play DVD and filter. For more info go to clearplay.com and read up on this cool new gizmo. It is basically a DVD player that you download movie filters onto. You can choose the setting...G, PG etc. We just finished watching The Dark Knight....less all the cussing, I think it may have skipped a violent scene or two (not sure). We didn't miss a thing. When new movies come out on DVD new filters are added to the web site. You can either pay a monthly fee to download...or you can go online 1 or 2x a year and pay to download the newest filters. There are thousands of movies to choose from that have already had filters made. Not a bad deal for a mere $80...

They're HOOOOooooome!!!

2009-01-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

Here we are, quite a spectacle. Our group standing with signs in the middle of the night, in a fairly dead Phoenix airport...We got a few stares from people. I'm sure they were wondering what could be SO important that you would keep children up at all hours of night on a school night! Well....none of us wanted to miss it. After 18 months in the Philippines Mima and Papa were COMING HOME!!! Here they are seeing our group with all of our signs. Boy were we happy to be together again. We are so proud of them and the service they have been able to give. We've had a wonderful time hearing stories, looking at pictures, and feeling their missionary spirit. Welcome home guys..

What we've been up to...

2009-01-06T14:49:00.000-08:00

trying to hit this
with this...amazingly Kevin did the best
hanging out with these guys
learning some new tricks
Bid D's 11th birthday!!!
opening much anticipated presents....
yes, he actually asked for an exercise ball
the loot
the poser
We've been having fun and making memories!!
Hope you have to!

2008-12-22T20:49:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I forgot one!!!

2008-12-14T19:00:00.000-08:00

Steve reminded me about one of our favorite family traditions at Christmas....
Has anyone ever heard of aebelskivers? (I thought so) They are Danish pancakes that are basically little balls stuffed with jam, applesauce, cream cheese, whipcream, basically
anything yummy. I'll post a picture of the little darlings and the fun pan you have to use
when you make them. This is our Christmas Eve dinner! Steve's family grew up with this
tradition and it has carried on into ours...that's what I love about these fun traditions.
I'd be happy to share the recipe, but I'm not sure you can find the pan just anywhere..

Some of my favorite Christmas traditions...

2008-12-04T10:06:00.000-08:00

1. Ever since I can remember we have baked and decorated a gingerbread house

at Christmas time. Oh the memories...As a Mom myself I have discovered these

wonderful pre-made houses at Costco and we have each put together and decorated

one every year. We now make gingerbread villages... The kids look forward to this

just like I did.

2. Starting at the beginning of December we draw names each Monday night to see

who we will have that week. We are then that persons "Secret Santa" for the next 7 days.

I LOVE seeing the creativity of each child. Sometimes we do a secret act of service and don't

leave anything, other times we write a note, or draw a picture, I've even gotten poems.

Occassionally we'll get a little Christmas goody. LOVE this tradition.

3.We also draw names for our Christmas exchange. Christmas Eve we get to open

1 gift and this is it.

4. The Christmas decorations....the weekend after Thanksgiving the kids are ready to break

into the decorations. We get down the boxes and run around the house putting up all of our

fun decorations. It's always a fun family time.

5. As a child we ALWAYS did the nativity story with our cousins. Scripts, costumes, songs, everything. We have tried to do this with our children, but have missed a year here or there.

Traditions are SO fun, they bring the family close, provide for lots of great memories, and can create a lasting legacy for kids and grandkids. What are some of your favorite traditions???

Maybe I'll add a few.

Do you have a testimony of scouting???

2008-11-20T11:20:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that my "testimony" of the scouting program is quite weak. I've even been a Den Mother for a time. I do think it's wonderful to have good influences in our children's lives..and that is something I can feel positive about(Derek's leaders have always been stellar)
Well, last night my "testimony" was strengthened (although I still think Round Table stinks:))
Derek received his Arrow of Light Award. The highest award given in the Cub Scouting program. He was properly honored and sent over the bridge (literally) to Boy Scouts. Mom and Dad would be proud. They are avid scouters....

Here is Derek being welcomed to Scouting and given his new Boy Scout manual by the 11 yr old scout leader. There is even an 11 yr old scout there to greet him.

Derek is showing off the new arrow that was made just for him. Complete with horse hair, turkey feathers etc. (By this time he was tired of pics)

The Cub Master had him light 7 torches that each represent an attribute he has and will continue to develop...wisdom, courage, self-control, justice, faith, hope, and love.

Preparing to cross the bridge....

I was appreciative of all the effort that went into this event and all leading up to it. Many people worked together to bless the life of my boy and for that I'm grateful.

I guess we'll stick it out a few more years...

Bribe or positive motivation????

2008-11-08T11:07:00.000-08:00

What do this book......

and Carrie Underwood have to do with each other?????? Well.....as I've mentioned before, we are big American Idol fans. We have enjoyed watching Carrie's success since she won AI a few years ago.

In May our DD learned that CU was coming to town in November and began begging to go to the concert. My DH was tired of the nagging and so he told her that if she would read the Book of Mormon (on her own) before Nov 7th then he would get her tickets. She began reading every night and had finished by the end of September!!

SOOOO...last night was the concert. It was a fun date with our DD and her friend. CU did not disapoint and was a great performer. She has an amazaing voice! Here are a few pics and a video our DD took of part of the concert.

DD and her friend

Carrie Underwood

One for the journal

2008-10-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes our kids are smarter than I give them credit for. A few weeks ago Kevin FINALLY lost his last dangling front tooth. He then followed our routine of putting the tooth in a snack bag and then under his pillow. He showed me with excitement the next morning the $ that had been left in the snack bag in place of his tooth. That would normally be the end of the story...but not this time.

The next night Kevin fell asleep on the couch and Steve carried him in to bed. While tucking him in he noticed that the snack bag was back under the pillow WITH another tooth in it!! He brought the bag out to me asking.."Did someone lose another tooth today?" ME: "Not that I know of." Steve: "Well then whose tooth is this?" ME: " I don't know..let me see that" I then proceed to look at the tooth that is in the bag. It looks like a primary incisor...possibly a lateral. I then took the tooth and pinched it between my fingers and it broke. It was at this point that the light went on. I started to laugh as I told Steve what Kevin had done. He had taken a candy corn and bit off the white portion and put it in the bag. It looked amazingly like the real thing. This kid was going to TRICK the tooth-fairy!!

Steve decided that 2 could play this game. He took a $10 bill and color copied it. He then cut it out and wrote on the back of it...NICE TRY....THE TOOTH-FAIRY and put it back under Kevin's pillow. The next morning Steve woke Kevin and asked him if the tooth-fairy had come a few days ago. Kevin said that she had and then remembered his little experiment...he looked under his pillow and his eyes got HUGE! He pulled out the bag and held it up so Steve could see. Steve: "What is that Kevin?" K: "$10!!!" S: "What's it for" Kevin was embarrassed to tell us what he was trying to do so he just said that he didn't know. Steve told him to take it out of the bag and look at it. Kevin took out the $ with a big grin and opened it up. Turning it over he then read the message on the back side and busted up into big belly laughs. He then had the guts to tell us what he had tried and that the tooth-fairy was too smart to fall for his trick.

What a kid.

KID QUIP

2008-10-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

So we have this 7 year old boy named Kevin who doesn't like to eat his vegetables at dinner..(or any time actually) Last night Steve decided to put his foot down and let Kevin know that if he didn't eat his green beans he would take away what Kevin loves most the next day. No computer, play station, etc... in fact, no electronics AT ALL! Kevin thought for a few seconds and then while climbing down from the bar stool said..." I can live with that."

You gotta love kids!

American Idol Junkies!!

2008-09-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, we are big American Idol fans at our house. We even vote multiple times for the artists we love...(should we be embarrassed?) This last season there was a contestant from Mesa who made it into the top 5. Her name is Brooke White. Since Steve is the Director of ..(the name is too long) suffice it to say PR for the city of Mesa he figured out a way to combine work and fun by organizing a "Welcome Home" party for Brooke this past weekend. Brooke's parents basically live across the street from us and are in the same Stake. Steve has enjoyed getting to know them and getting to know Brooke through e-mail and cell phone conversations. Last Saturday evening we had a gathering of over 1500 people at the Mesa Amphitheatre to congratulate Brooke on her accomplishments and hear her sing a few songs. As you can see, we got to be VIPs who had back stage passes for autographs and pictures. We are anxiously awaiting her new album to be released sometime in the next year.

Kinsey and Shay with Brooke White. A couple of star struck girls...Shay had Brooke sign her autograph for all of the Beehives in our ward....8 of them! (that was nice of her don't you think?)

Family is where it's at!!!

2008-09-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

My sister Janette's baby shower. How many squares will it take?? She's one of my best friends and I can't wait for her to start this crazy job of motherhood. She'll make a great one!

O.K....I had to put this shot in because my DH Steve made this!! It was the hit of the party. My cousin Jill lovingly nicknamed him "Martha Steve." We love that guy:)

One of the.....ok the MAIN reason we moved back to AZ was to be close to family. We have had some experiences in the past year that have reminded us that it's in our families that we learn the important things in life. Like....love, service, forgiveness, and fun just to name a few.

The story of our house

2008-09-19T11:28:00.001-07:00

Some of you have asked about us moving recently. Here's the story...we moved from Reno, NV in 12/06. Because we were selling our home in Reno we rented here in Mesa. Our home sold quickly, but we continued renting for 1 1/2 years waiting for the right opportunity to buy. That opportunity came about in May of 2008. We found a home in a beautiful area that was a "short sale." It was pretty much ready for move in. We are doing a few things here and there to get it just the way we want it Here are a few pics.

The laundry room... LOVE the counters and all the cupboard space. You can't see the counter and cupboards that are behind me! I spend a few hours a week in here folding laundry:)
Another selling point about this home was the HUGE backyard. This fun b-bque was a bonus. We are waiting for things to cool down a little before we have a backyard bash with friends.
This is just another angle. You can see where we had our above-ground pool. We just took it down last week. We would like to eventually do some nice landscaping back here.

Kitchen...I am liking the black appliances. I always had white before.
Great room. The kitchen, eating area, great room foyer, music room are all open to each other. It is a BIG space. We've had a group of 20 over and it seemed to accomodate fine.
dining area
I think this is my favorite room....the music room
office

Here's a view from the front. We aren't super fond of the color. We'd like to paint the outisde a darker color and add either brick or stone to the entry way. Hopefully in the next year or two we'll conquer that project.

I didn't take a picture of the master bedroom because I'm currently washing the sheets on my bed:)

Irrigation & turtles

2008-09-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

The kids love to help open the "flood gates" when it's irrigation time

One of the most anticipated events at our new home is irrigation day. During the summer months our back yard is flood irrigated once every 2 weeks. To me it looks like a big

dirty swamp land, but to the kids....adventures galore!! This week they decided to teach our

new turtle, Encanto, how to boogie board. I'm not sure he was enjoying it as much as they were.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2008-09-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

My last patient of the day today was a 5 year old girl. She was cute as can be, not too scared and
quite teachable. In our pre-appointment chatter I asked her if she had any brothers and sisters. She answered that she had 3 sisters. I then asked if she had any brothers......she had a slight pause and then smiling said "yes, I have one brother.....his name is Jesus."

Ok, WOW...how profound and sweet. It made me feel all warm inside as I answered "you know what, I have a brother named Jesus too."

Labor Day Boogie

2008-09-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

Here's our best temple picture...This is Amy's whole family (minus Mom & Dad on their mission)

We spent Labor Day weekend in La Jolla at the beach (courtesy of Dan & Louise)...thanks guys! We had a BLAST boogie boarding, playing in the sand, kayaking, visiting with family, and playing games. It was the kids first time boogie boarding and they caught on quickly. I couldn't help myself, everytime I caught a wave I would give a little yell and smile the whole way in. On Sunday we took a little stroll over to the San Diego temple and got some pics. Our first time seeing this beautiful temple and it was beautiful. The weather.....a nice mid 70's the whole trip. We need to do this more often. Any ideas for October break???

BACK TO SCHOOL BEAUTIES!!

2008-08-13T10:43:00.001-07:00

Well, we've made it through another summer. This one was particularly difficult. We moved. The kids didn't really know anybody, and I didn't sign them up for much to do because I didn't know what was going on in this area. They were all excited for their first day of school. Shay is in 7th, Derek-5th, Kevin and Kinsey are in 2nd. After some initial back to school adjusting I'm sure we'll be in for a great year!

ANNUAL MAYBERRY COUSIN CAMPOUT

2008-08-08T21:18:00.001-07:00

For the past 8 years or so all of my Mom's siblings and their children (and now grandchildren) have had an annual cousin campout. Children 8 years and older are invited to come with their parents to enjoy camping, hiking, campfire testimony meetings, early morning devotionals, etc. We have never been able to attend due to living out of state, or scheduling problems. WELL...this year we did it. Steve took Shay, Derek and our nephew Taylor, while I stayed in St. David with Kevin and Kinsey (they're still 7). Here are some pics showing how much fun they had..what a great tradition. Next year we can ALL go

FUN WITH HAIR

2008-08-05T20:48:00.000-07:00

We found these really cute blogs that teach you how to do cute hair styles...we've been experimenting. Here are some of our outcomes....not too bad for the first time. Shay was taking pictures of her own hair....not a great shot...but you can sort of see.

She Passed Me!!!

2008-08-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

I've suspected this for awhile now, but we officially measured today.
My 12 year old has passed me up. My official measurement 55 3/4 inches and hers...57 1/4!!! I don't think she's done yet either. WEIRD

MORE PHILIPPINE PICS

2008-07-29T18:21:00.001-07:00

A tasty snack we found just outside Mom and Dad's little house. Yum! (this is my brother John)
An ostrich that wasn't very happy as Steve blew in it's face!
One of two big Montitor Lizards we saw as we toured the Underground River. That was one BIG lizard
These little monkeys were so tame they would eat right out of your hands. I have video of me feeding one. I'll see if I can figure out how to get it onto the blog.

This is a Carribou, or water buffalo. The islanders use these animal for lots of things. Plowing the fields, pulling their carts, etc.

A LITTLE CATCHING UP!!!

2008-07-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

We FINALLY have it together. Our camera is now downloaded and we can catch you all up on what has been happening in our family for the last few months. This may take a few posts.....and a few days:) First...Steve and I took an amazing trip to the Philippines in May. We were visiting my parents and my Uncle Dave and Aunt Nancy on their missions. I'll share a few pics and try to explain.

This is a picture of 4 generations in the church...a rare site on the Island of Palawan, Philippines. Such sweet, humble people.

The kids were too cute! They loved posing for pictures after church.
Sunday morning we were able to see a group of youth off on the ferry bound for Manila. They were on their way to do baptisms for the dead. It would be a full week trip for the youth and the leaders.

(we visited a crocodile farm while in the PI's-crickey mate!! Look how huge this one was)

My ALMOST 12 year old girl

2008-04-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

A few of the reasons I'm proud of Shay this month:

1. recently brought home a straight A report card
2. gave her first talk in sacrament mtg and did GREAT!!! (it was on fasting)
3. has made dinner 3x in the last week w/out being asked-tacos, pizza and omelets
4. consistently makes good choices
5. can't wait for Girl's camp, and she's even excited that her mom will be in her cabin

Birthday Madness in March!!

2008-03-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my babies are 7!! They celebrated their birthday this past Thursday and it was filled with lots of smiles. It begain with the primary b-day sonsgs playing to wake up the fam. K & K requested oatmeal w/ bananas for breakfast. We opened the small family presents then. We had filled small gift bags to take to school for their class-mates. Kinsey handed out the girl bags and Kevin handled the boys. After school was VERY crazy! We had a Dr. appt, mtg w/ the Jr. High principal, 2 baseball practices and the requested mickey mouse waffle dinner! Somehow we got it all accomplished. The big present was opened after school. They each got some new scooters (which are the current hit of the neighborhood) We ended the day sharing what we love about each of them. Boy am I glad these 2 came to me. Life just wouldn't be the same without them.

Easter in AZ!

2008-03-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like Easter in Arizona. It's the BEST time of the year, with the weather in the 70-80 range (ok, this last week it was more like 85) the flowers in bloom, baseball season starting, the Mesa Easter Pageant(which we enjoyed this year with Tani, Emmy and Maddy) Our neighbor owns the Wright House (a wedding reception hall) and hosts a fun easter egg hunt for the kids. This year it was after church-12:15. We then were invited, for the second year in a row...to the Mesa Wright's Easter bash. Boy do they know how to throw a party! Good food, fun activities and lots of visiting. I'm posting a clip of Steve getting ousted in musical chairs. Also a clip of Kinsey having fun during the marshmallow war. I wish I would of captured a shot of her winning the hoola-hoop contest. That makes 2 years running!!!