July 2007

Beatin’ the Heat of July!

July came and went too fast! Here is an update of our month!

Our good family friends were married Saturday, July 7^th in the Mesa Temple! Even though the day was HOT, everything was great; the sealing was very special, the reception was fun with great food, it was a great day!

Leah and Mackenzie were the flower girls and they were adorable! Of course I forgot my camera for pictures at the temple, and the pictures of the reception were horrible! Luckily the photographer sent me a few cute ones, so I will post those!

Leah "walking" to Lindsay- she took a few steps, but thats about it!

The Flower girls at the Temple

Leah points at something she wants or somewhere she wants to go and expects us to get it for her or take her there!

Leah and Daddy

Being silly with Mommy

Ethan was camera shy the entire day, but for some reason not embarrassed to dance around in his underwear after we got home. I really wanted to get a picture of Ethan and "his girlfriend" but he wouldn’t pose with her. I am posting these pictures so it doesn't look like I only took pictures of my Leah. I am not playing favoritism. (Ethan is going to kill me when he is older for posting this!)

And just as I thought nothing good comes out of AZ in the summer, the monsoons roll in and I am in love again! Monsoons are the best! It will be a bright, hot, no cloud in the sky kind of day when out of no where the winds pick up, the blue sky turns gray and the rain comes down… hard! It all happens in minutes and lasts just long enough to cool the place down a bit and get some great pictures of amazing electrical storms.

Ethan woke up one morning and got dressed in his bathing suit and said he wanted to go swimming. Out of nowhere, it started raining really hard, so I told him we couldn’t swim today unless the storm passed quickly. I decided to run some errands, so I told him he needed to go get dressed. About 10 minutes later, he came downstairs “ready to go” still wearing his bathing suit, but he also put on his rain jacket, a beanie and rain boots! He said he decided to wear his bathing suit because “it was supposed to get wet anyway, so if it got wet in the rain it would be ok.” He looked hilarious! I took him shopping with me without making him change because I thought it was funny how he dressed himself. I also got Leah her rain jacket too- it wasn’t cold enough to wear it all day, but this jacket was $2 at Target a few months ago and I have been waiting for a chance for her to wear it! Here are some pics of the kids! Call me crazy, but I love the rain!

Do ya like Ethan's outfit?

Also this month, we decided to take the kids to the temple! We have lived in Phoenix for just about 2 years now and Ethan has never been to the Mesa Temple. (Leah has only been there for the wedding she was in, but that’s it!)

The temple is closed for the entire month, so we got a great parking spot! That never happens! The grounds weren’t crowded with bridal parties- we had the whole place to ourselves! We went through the visitors center and it was great! Ethan was asking a lot of questions about all the pictures hung on the wall, and Rob and I loved the conversations it started about the life of our Savior. In one room, there were gorgeous statues of all different scenes- the First Vision, The Garden of Gethsemane… I couldn’t believe the talent of the artist! There was a life-size statue of Christ that was amazing- carved out of some kind of wood. I could have stood there for hours! Unfortunately, Leah didn’t like it- she gets freaked out by big things- a giant teddy bear in a candy store sends her bawling and clawing at my shirt when we pass it in the mall- poor girl! (But it is kinda funny!)

Anyway, we had a great time and I am so grateful for the opportunity to spend time with my family, and I am especially grateful for the spirit that was with us that provided learning experiences and a chance to grow closer together and closer to our Savior. Ethan has mentioned several times this week that he can’t wait to see Jesus again and he hopes he comes in “100 more sleeps!” (That’s how he measures time, by how many times he has to fall asleep before something happens!) Anyway, here are some pictures of our great day!

The kids taking a water break!

Surprisingly Leah wasnt afraid of this statue!

I love this picture- the kids look like they are having so much fun!

Ethan kept busy this month playing Tball! A couple of his games were cancelled because of the rain, and Ethan was pretty upset about that! He counts down the days ‘til he gets to play and then an early morning call on Saturday Morning can ruin everything for the boy! We signed him up for Flag Football, which will begin in August, so we will see how he does with that! He is also learning sign language, and it amazes me how fast he picks up on it! We watch a program on TV called “Signing Time” and it has become our families favorite thing to watch together, especially since the banning of SpongeBob in our home! Ethan came up to me one day and said, “Mom, I know how to spell red.” This was the first time he had ever told me he could spell anything except his name, so I asked him to tell me. Much to my surprise, not only did he spell it, but he also signed it using the American Sign Language Alphabet! What a smart 4 year old! He even taught his 15 year old aunt how to spell her name! That was funny to find out about- a preschooler teaching a high school student!

Leah is growing, growing, growing! She began walking this month and is of course into everything! She mimics every sound you make, and is fun to watch. She also started sleeping in past 7am this month! (Thank goodness!) She teases other people by acting like she is giving them something and then just when they reach for it, she grabs it back and laughs! Little stinker! We are getting ready for her birthday and just cant believe that our little girl is turning 1!

So that’s the update! Have a great month of August everyone!