scissor hands

I was cutting out something and Corban watched me the whole time. I finally turned over the scissors and let him try his hand out at cutting paper. He was so focused and was concentrating so hard! I love this little man.

50 years

My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on July 20. All my brothers and sisters got together in Bear Lake for a week full of sun, food, games, and reminiscing.

**SIDENOTE: Last year I was in the hospital with a brand new baby girl and my parents were watching Corban. My dad didn't hesitate in mentioning that he never thought he'd be celebrating his 49th anniversary babysitting! Thanks anyway, dad!

grand canyon state

Joe and I moved to Tucson! A lot of little things happened that made it possible for us to move down together. Joe was going to move down to Tucson by himself. We didn't have a place to live and the houses we had made offers on weren't working out. We rented a budget truck, packed it all up, and Joe was going to leave. I convinced him to stay an extra day. We spent our last day together trying to find a place to rent while we worked on finding a home. I decided that day that me and the kids would drive down to Las Vegas with him and stay with family for a month. All with hopes that things would work out.

We were about an hour away from Las Vegas when we got news from our realtor that an offer that had been previously denied was accepted! We spent the day in Vegas and found out we had a place to rent so we could all drive to Tucson together!

All the tender mercies Jesus Christ showed us these past couple of weeks is a bit overwhelming. I'm SO grateful that we all got to drive together and that we all got to go to Tucson together. 

 The truck driver. 

 Corban loved this truck. He wanted to drive in it everywhere!

 The packed truck. We picked up a washer and dryer in Las Vegas so it wasn't quite so empty.

 The AC broke in the truck around the AZ border. Corban didn't love the truck so much any more. 

The AC in the truck broke. They were cooking in the truck. Corban eventually had to drive with me into Las  Vegas. While we spent the day in Las Vegas, we got the AC fixed. It broke again. When asked, Corban refused to get into the truck: "It's hot in there!". Joe drove the rest of the way to Tucson in an oven! The poor guy had major sweat stains and was a sticky mess when we finally pulled into our rental home. 

 Jovi, after screaming for for ever, finally went to sleep. She was mad, even in her sleep!

My view for about 19 hours (the truck could only drive 70 MPH).

We are in a rental home until we close on our house. Hopefully that will be in October. We would love to have friends and family visit, especially when you're in the throws of winter! :)

look who's 1!

Jovi turned one during my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. We had a joint birthday party with Summer Wooten with all the cousins. 

 My sister Denise brought this ginormous pinata from Texas. Jovi actually liked the pinata and wasn't afraid.

 The spread. Everything was gone in a matter of minutes.

 Mama with the birthday girl.

Not too interested in her first taste of sugar. I've always wanted my kids to dig in their birthday cakes and make a huge mess.

I can't believe Jovi is already one. Some of her milestones so far:

• She has 8 teeth.
• She crawls and is working on walking.
• She flinches every time Corban is near her.
• She will wave and say 'Hi' but only once. If you miss it, tough luck.
• Whenever we get in the car, she screams uber loud.
• She hates bananas and peas.

Happy birthday Jovi!

papa's day off

tucson, az

Joe and I are flying to Tucson, AZ for a week to look for a house. We've got some must see houses and a must live in community. Wish us luck!

graduation

Joe graduated two weeks ago. He got his degree in Biology with minors in Chemistry and MIS. We went up on campus the weekend before graduation and took pictures around campus. I'm sure glad we did. We drove past the bull and there was a line 10 people deep. Yikes!

 Grabbing the bull by the horns!

 Tough guys on the "A".

 Future Aggie, maybe?

The fam. Jovi decided to poop during the ceremony. It got on my arm, all over her back, and all over the stroller. Yuck!

I have to admit that I cried a little during the ceremony. It has been such a long journey getting to this point. I am so happy and proud of Joe for sticking with his grades and work and everything! Now all we have left is 6 more years of school!