Happy Birthday Sarah!!!

Today is our sister-in-law's birthday! It was great we were actually able to celebrate it with her this year. She, Michael & Hunter decided to make a last minute trip up to the cabin in Heber yesterday so we were able to BBQ with them to celebrate Sarah's special day! Sarah is very talented and makes the most delicious cakes. She is a great mother to Hunter and is very active in raising a healthy and happy little boy. She is also very friendly and fun to be around. She always makes a point to meet up with us whenever we visit the valley so we can visit with her and Hunter. Happy Birthday Sarah! We hope it is a great one for you!

5k's and Lazy Days

Andrea did a 5k run yesterday to benifit the Marines which her brother is enlisting in October
Turning the final bend
Crossing the finish line
A tired girl
It rained nearly all weekend and cooled off, here the dogs enjoy lazy rainy days.

Durango Motorcycle Trip

Base camp in Durango, weather was great, a little hot but great ride in.


Cooling off to cold brew, my bro-in-law Ryan and one of the hottest (spicy) pizzas I have ever eaten.
In Sliverton as you can see I had the camera...
Great shot of the road coming down the mountain pass.
The rain storm on the way back through Chinle, AZ.

Happy Birthday Katlyn!!!

Today is our niece, Katlyn's birthday! She is such a sweet heart. She is growing up so fast and becoming such a beautiful girl. We love her so much and we sure love spending all the time we can with her! She is so helpful and always volunteers to help in the kitchen. We sure are lucky to have such a wonderful niece! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATLYN!!!!

Meet Velvet!

Alright, I admit it, I have a rabbit addiction. I got my 5th rabbit yesterday and she is such a sweetie! She is between 3 and 4 years old and absolutely gorgeous. She is incredibly soft and friendly. She loves being held and just likes to hang out with you. I was hoping to get one of her babies and the breeder just couldn't get any babies out of her. He called me this week and said if I wanted her I could have her. I am a frequent shopper at the local feed store so they were very nice to give me this beautiful rabbit. They said that if she ever has babies, they want one. Sounds like a deal to me. We will wait a few months and try to breed her again. She is such a great rabbit. Here are some photos of her:

Tri In The Pines

Yesterday Aaron and I competed in the 13th Annual Tri In The Pines Triathlon here in Show Low. We had a great time. We did the race as a relay and we came in 4th overall. It was an 825 yard swim, 12.5 mile bike and 3.5 mile run. We will definitely do it again next year. Haven't decided if we will compete individually or as a team next year, we will have to see what happens.
Sorry the pictures didn't post in the right order so you will see them in reverse. I actually started the race with the swim and Aaron did the bike and finished with the run. Here is Aaron running.
The Finish Line
Here comes Aaron to finish line!
The champion finishing the triathlon. We were very happy with how we performed. It was a great time.
They had a raffle after the race and I won this water bottle.

Here I am before the swim. I was pretty nervous, but excited.
Showing off our team number. We had to have both arms marked, our age on our right leg and our team number on the left left leg.
Getting ready for warm ups. I was the second girl out of the pool and fourth overall. I was just happy to not be the last one out of the pool.
Aaron coming in on his last lap on the bike. He did great on his time on the bike. I am sooo proud of him!

Aaron finishing the bike portion and getting ready for the transition to the run.

High School Tag

1. Did you date someone from your school? No, just had a lot of guy friends and did things in groups

2. What kind of car did you drive? My senior year I had my own car, a Chevrolet Cavalier Z-24. I really liked it!

3. Were you a party animal? No, but I had a lot of fun going to dances, hanging out with friends, shoe polishing and fart-bombing friends cars. Did a lot of sleep overs and hot tubbing. I was a good girl.

4. Were you considered a flirt? No, I was just nice

5. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? I was in choir Freshman and Sophomore year in Kansas. It was a lot of fun and we always won state competitions.

6. Were you a nerd? Probably, I was one smart cookie and took pretty much all AP classes. I graduated in the top 10 of my class.

7. Were you on any varsity teams? No, spent my time hanging out with friends and studying.

8. Did you get suspended/expelled? Never!

9. Can you still sing the fight song? I know the one from Kansas, but I don't remember hearing the one in Tucson's fight song.

10. Who were your favorite teachers? Dr. N and Mr. Spiker

11. Where did you sit during lunch? We took turns going to friends houses and we mastered the dollar menu at Sonic, Costco and McDonalds.

12.What was your school's full name? Maize High School in Kansas and Mountain View High School in Tucson

13. School mascot? Eagle colors red & white (Kansas) Mountain lion and our colors were black and silver (Tucson)

14. Did you go to Homecoming and who with? I only went with friends

15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? No, it was fun and I made great friends, but I like where I am now and college was so much better!!

16. What do you remember most about graduation? The thrill and excitement of finally being done and partying with my friends.

17. Where did you go senior skip day? Spent the day relaxing at the pool

18. Were you in any clubs? Yes, Drama (Kansas), SADD (Kansas & Tucson) I was vice president of this club and Key Club (Tucson). Key Club was a lot of fun especially buying Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas gifts for needy families.

19. Have you gained some weight since then? yes

20. Who was your prom date? Ryan, he lost a bet to me and had to be my date. It was a lot of fun going as friends.

21. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? I don't know yet. It could be fun.

I tag: Lisa, Sarah, Morgan, Crystal, Becky and anyone else who wants to do it

Quilt Updates

Here I am with Hunter when we gave him his birthday quilt. I can't believe how big he is. He is such a sweet boy!
I finished this Paddington Baby Quilt in May. I made it just for fun and I love how it turned out. I loved Paddington Bear when I was a kid and I used flannel fabrics so it is very soft.
I machine quilted this quilt and I just love how it turned out. We don't have kids right now, but if we ever do I think I want to do a Paddington Bear themed room.
For Hunter's first birthday I made him a quilt. I bought the fabric in January to give me plenty of time for his July 12th birthday, but I didn't do it until the week before his birthday. I love the color scheme of his quilt.
It is an outdoors theme and all flannel so it is very nice to snuggle with. I should have taken a full length photo of the quilt, I'll have to ask Sarah for a picture of it.
Hunter and his Aunt Andrea with his birthday quilt. I hadn't made anything for Hunter when I bought the quilt material and thought it would be nice to make him a special quilt for his 1st birthday. I am going to have to work on making quilts for my other nieces and nephews too so each one can have a special gift from us.

Farm Update

Here are some farm update photos over the last month that I just haven't had a chance to post:One morning I went outside to find Aaron and this is what I saw. He found a cowboy hat and decided to wear it while he took care of the weeds with his torch. He sure is cute!
Meet Mopsy! We have had her for about a month now and she is a cute little thing. Her face reminds me of a teddy bear and she is very friendly.
Close up of Mopsy!
Mopsy in the farming basket.
Our cute little girl!
Aaron spending some quality time with Mopsy.
Here are some photos of Mopsy from last week. She has more color now and has a light black stripe on her back.
In her rabbit run.
My White Midget Turkey enjoying the sun.
One morning Aaron found a snake in our strawberry patch.
He is an Arizona glossy snake and eats gophers and mice so we decided to free him. I held his head while Aaron cut him out of the netting. He was really stuck and wrapped up in the netting. I was a little freaked out holding his head, but he didn't hurt anyone. We've seen 2 more of this same kind but smaller in the last month.
Last week we merged all of the chickens into one house. The Thanksgiving turkey has gotten quite large and he is very protective of his hens. He was all puffed up and strutting around the hen house keeping the roosters away from his hens.
The chickens.
This rooster really, really, really liked the new hens and I had to put him in solitary confinement for a little while so the hens could have a break.
Our pond is full of little tadpoles.
The Thanksgiving turkey. He is 2 months old and huge. He will be 40 pounds by Thanksgiving, but I don't think I can cook him for the big day.
Another one of our roosters.
In the chicken yard
The new hens and turkey exploring the yard.
These hens like to hang out under the rabbit run. They should be laying eggs anytime now. We have 3 roosters that can cause some headache, but the roosters sure are pretty, I mean handsome.