Austin has arrived

Thursday Austin arrived & we are very excited to have him for part of the summer. His sisters are LOVING him. They enjoy wrestling with him (I'm not sure the people below us appreciate it). When we picked him up from the airport Alyssa was a little shy when he said hello but that did not last long. We went to get his luggage & he was way ahead of Alyssa & I and she said "Where Bubba?" I said "He's up there sweetie". She hung her arms down & said "Oh sad." She loves his brother & he gives Grandma a run for her money. The first night he came we were getting ready to read scriptures & she wanted to be on his lap. We drove up to see the grandparents & while we were there David & Austin were reading about all the people who have died in the Grand Canyon (I know exciting right?) and Alyssa wanted to read like Bubba so she grabbed the Crochet book & read with them. Saturday David & Austin went hiking while the girls & I spent the day with grandpa. David showed Austin the dam (he was a little nervous on the bridge as I was), they went hiking up Toadstool Trail & took a swim in Lake Powell. It may not be Colorado but Arizona is beautiful in it's own way.

Memorial Day Weekend

Our memorial day weekend started with Daddy coming home from work wanting to take us out to the mall so we could play with the girls but instead he came home to girls in trouble (does that happen to anyone else ha ha) so we stayed home instead, but the excitement of the night was when Daddy made doughnuts. They were so yummy!! You can't see in the picture but Alyssa has sugar all over her face & hair. Zhara kept licking the plate of sugar..she couldn't get enough. Sweet tooth? I think so. Grandma Burney drove down from Page & spent the weekend with us. Saturday morning David started holiday weekend off with a service project for one of the scouts at church. He pulled brush out of a park for like 4 hours. We took the girls to get their pictures done (it's been over a year) and Alyssa did not want to sit up on the table but there was a bubble blower and that girl will do almost anything for some bubbles. Then grandma watched the girls & David & I got to take our first trip to the temple together since moving here. The Mesa temple is beautiful & so much bigger than the Denver temple. We enjoyed an evening alone. Monday Grandma took us to the zoo. What an amazing zoo. We were there for 3 hours & still didn't see everything. We got a pass (they are open 364 days) so we will be going many times this next year. There are a ton of things for the kids to do besides just looking at the animals. They have a splash park & a large treehouse with a creek for the kids to play in. The girls got to brush a goat. Zhara did it happily but Alyssa wasn't so sure until she saw that the goat was sleeping. So she started brusing it & the goat woke up. She backed away and say "Sleeping no. Sleeping no" and she was done. We had a very good time. It's the first holiday that David has not been working a car show in almost 4 years so we enjoyed being together.

That being said I'd like to say how thankful I am to our military that they are ready to give their lives so that I can enjoy moments like that with my family & not be afraid that someone is going to blow up the zoo I am walking through. I am thankful for the freedom that they fight for and I hope that we all take a moment to thank them when we see them. I am so grateful for this country & the freedoms that we do have. Sometimes it's hard to remember how beautiful this country is when we watch the news but it is a wonderful country that has wonderful freedoms. I am so grateful that I am free to worship as I wish and teach my children to do the same. So thank you from the bottom of my heart to all who serve our country.

Rain in the desert?

Monday & Tuesday we broke the record and hit 108. Today the high is 69 & it's raining. The girls wanted to use their princess umbrellas so very bad so they put their shoes on & played in the rain (more like sprinkles). Zhara dressed herself this morning & found her sisters Colorado fleese that "Hannah bought me because she loves me" and some pink pants because "they match". We went for a walk this morning & we were all in jackets & the girls had a blanket on them.
Finally after our couch being in storage for a month & people stepping on it I washed the cushions this morning so the girls decided to play boat on the LARGE bean bag we have just sitting in our living room because it won't fit through the hallway. I gave them spoons & they paddled their way through the water. We read scriptures this morning on the "boat" and when it was time to pray Zhara had to paddle her way to dry land.

Following the crowd

Okay this is for all you in Colorado that keep telling me that I need to make a blog so you can keep up on our family. Although it makes me incredibly nervous...not sure why I do think it's a good idea because I enjoy reading everyone's blogs. So here we are. After I figure it all out I will do a longer one.