We are starting our move back to Arizona. We just left Tennessee yesterday and that was kind of strange. I still can't believe that we are on our way back, I am so excited I can barely stand it. We will be in Iowa getting the rest of our things this weekend and start our 1600 mile drive to Arizona on Tuesday morning. My sister Adria and her husband Mark are flying in to help us drive back! We will be getting into Arizona on Thursday, that will be a great moment! I'm so excited!
Here are some moments of us enjoying our evenings
here in Tennessee. I got these bubble guns for the kids
& they were having so much fun with them! I'm not in
any of these pics because I'm behind the camera. I
swear we would have no pictures if it wasn't for me.
Dave loves to look at the pictures afterwards but at
the moment that I'm trying to take them...the "love"
is no where to be found! The following morning the kids
were playing in their room with these bubble guns. It was
first thing in the morning so I wasn't quite awake yet.
Tyler comes into my room to tell me that Ashlynn has the
gun stuck in her hair. I go in there and my sweet little
princess has this gun twisted in her hair! She looks at me
with a huge smile and says, "HI MOMMY!" There was no
way that I could be mad after that. Needless to say, I put
those bubble guns in a better place after all that.
Here we are swimming at the Beasley's pool. Dr. Breck
& his wife Candy have been amazing to us since we
have been here in Covington. Our kids have been
playing so well together & have become little buds!
Taylor is holding Ashlynn, she is 9 years old. Addey is
next to Tyler and she is 5 years old. We have had so
many wonderful times here with them. We've even
seemed to have picked up a little "twang" in our voices.
It's really contagious! It's hard to believe that we are
packing up and getting ready to leave our little home.
We will always have a special love for Tennessee!
Our FUN & AMUSEMENT in Branson, Missouri!
Our kids love this guy! Ashlynn screams his name every time she sees him..."Elvis, Elvis!!!" She even gave this guy a kiss on the cheek, I think she might be the youngest fan ever. I hope we aren't doing something a little crazy to our kids. It's playful fun right? Tyler now wants to be Elvis for Halloween...we better teach him how to curl his lip!
Dave and I celebrated our 9th Anniversary last week on the 11th! We were able to get a sitter and went out to dinner to a quiet Italian restaurant and actually sat and had a conversation! How nice is that! The things we sacrifice for our children sometimes. The next day we packed up and took the kids over to Branson Missouri for the weekend. What a fun town...it's totally centered around good clean family fun! We went to Silver Dollar City for a couple days...that is a huge amusement park there. We even had time to fit in an Elvis impersonator show! We have become big fans of Elvis since we have been in Memphis so much. Ha Ha! Anyway, the show was so good and the kids loved it. We kept having to explain to Ty that this guy wasn't really Elvis & that he was pretending to be. Ty would go back and forth about him being the real Elvis or not. But he put on a great show and was taking pictures with people. So we went up onto the stage to get our picture with him. As we are waiting in line, I'm watching "Elvis" kiss every woman on the lips as he greets them before taking the picture. These women were crazy in love with this man. I was starting to get really nervous as I made it closer and closer in line. I looked at Dave and said, "Honey, what do I do if he tries to plant one on me?" My mind starts racing and I'm already thinking about having to repent if this man comes close to my lips! We get to the front of the line...luckily my sweet husband says hello first and basically made a statement without saying it out loud. I'm so glad because "Elvis" kissed me on the cheek...fewwwww! Anyway, we had fun weekend together as a family. We forced the kids to go on a few rides so that us big kids could have fun too! The things that we do to our children! We definitely want to go back! Now we are back home and need to start packing up. We will be leaving our little house in Tennessee next weekend, we are getting so excited and anxious to be back in Arizona. Tennessee has sure been good to us!
I am responding to a friends blog that I read a couple weeks ago. Here I am just barely being able to sit and get to it...life has been busy! I will do the same thing that she did in saying that if you read this post...consider yourself tagged! You don't have to respond, but if you want to...please let me know so I can read your post. (if you are my sister you better do this or else!) Hope you all learn something new about me and that I might do the same with you! Thanks and have fun!
Four jobs I've held...
1. Party Hostess at Peter Piper Pizza (fun job)
2. Office manager for a Chiropractic Office (loved this job)
3. CSR for Feature Films for Families (hated this job!)
4. Human Resource Specialist for Staffing Agency (was good & bad)
Four movies I can watch over and over...
1. Any movie with Chevy Chase in it
2. Father of the Bride I or II
3. Goonies
4. The Holiday
Four places I've lived...
1. Gilbert, Arizona
2. Provo, Utah
3. Dallas, Texas
4. Tulsa, Oklahoma
Four places I've vacationed...
1. Catalina Island
2. Puerto Penasco, Mexico
3. St. Louis, Missouri
4. Memphis, Tennessee
Four of my favorite dishes...
1. Chicken Parmesan (so good!)
2. Pizza
3. Lettuce Wraps
4. Crab Legs (delicious!)
Four sites I visit daily...
1. gmail.com (my email)
2. blogspot.com (friends & family blogs)
3. wellsfargo.com (online banking)
4. insouth.com (online banking)
Four places I would rather be right now...
1. Arizona
2. Utah
3. Lake Powell
4. Fiji
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I've been doing a lot of thinking this past week. All of the things that matter most to me...my husband, my children, my family, friendships, the gospel, my Savior and the blessing of eternal families. I am so incredibly grateful for the gift of eternal families. Last week I found out that my Aunt's husband passed away. I was shocked and full of disbelief. The following day I got an email from a close friend of mine. She told me that her sister-in-law also passed away on the same day as my Uncle. A million questions ran through my mind. I really believe there are reasons why things happen the way that they do. But in that moment of tragedy you often question why? We must remember to trust in God and have faith that everything will be OK. I was reading a lesson from "The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball" and I came across a paragraph that I wanted to share. "No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our character, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God...and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven..."(Orson F. Witney)
This quote helped me to remember that whatever trials we have, we will grow from them. We are here on this earth to learn and to grow. We all have trials in many forms, some more than others. We must remember to trust in God and have faith in Him. This past week has definitely helped me to look at my own life, my family and my priorities. I am so grateful for all of my many blessings. I'm grateful for this time I've had to remember these things and to cherish them. I am GRATEFUL and BLESSED.
