Long Time...

Yes...it has again been a long time since I have posted anything. Primarily, my life has been too busy to blink, much less update my blog.So, since February, my life has included the following:

• Multiple trips to far and wide for work
• Finding and reuniting my Aunt Judy with the daughter she gave up for adoption
• Losing my Aunt Judy to lung cancer (which is a HORRIBLE way to die)
• Moved to a camp trailer in an RV park with Emily for a month
• Helped Emily adopt a puppy, which she named 'Muffins', he thinks I'm a chew toy
• Finished packing and moved all of us to Camp Verde; for my health and for Emily's attitude adjustment, Kevin commutes
• Attended the wedding of Kevin's brother, Robert to Becca Lunt in Utah
• Had a manhole cover dropped on my left hand, the reason I am now typing with one finger....yeah, that too affects my ability to update my blog!

Emily attended the Mormon Prom with Daniel Frost

Emily and I with Aunt Judy

The whole family with Kim Gray and her

daughter Stormie were able to meet Judy a week prior to her death

Renaisance Fair

Emily and left the cold north and came down to the Mesa valley. On our way down, Josh called Emily and said he and his parents were at the Renaissance Fair and that they had an extra ticket.

So, off we went to the Fair! I mainly wanted to see the naughty nuns, which I was told that it was the 'Hey Nunnie Nunnie' show...they are hilarious! While sitting there, a gentleman in a wheelchair at the side watched Emily and I. He said later that he wasn't always staring at us, as we were sitting next to his daughter, but said that he was an old photographer and Emily and I needed to go get our portrait done as our resemblance was uncanny! We laughed, but did one of our own.

We then dragged Josh to ride the elephants with us. His dad took pictures...of a fly, himself, the elephant's forehead...but he did manage to get some of us! When we were waiting for our elephant to finish drinking, the one next to us decided to 'sniff' us out. Josh and Em were not too thrilled at this!

We saw the wild mud men and the sword swallower, who managed to completely swallow a 4-foot long balloon. He burped and told us we didn't want to be around when it came out!

Em and I are now waiting for the roads to be cleared of snow before traveling back north.

Gila Valley Arizona Temple Groundbreaking

So, since I was baptised in the Gila Valley, almost 25 years ago, Kevin and I went down for the Gila Valley Arizona Temple Groundbreaking. It was a beautiful ceremony and very peaceful.

Christmas and Justin

So, this was our first Christmas without Justin. My cousin Skylar (currently serving in the Air Force) came out with his dad, Jacky. Judy, my parents, grandmother and Becky along with multiple dogs enjoyed all of the excitement.

We were able to talk with Justin for the first time since we dropped him off at the MTC. He is doing very well and is loving his mission and the people that he is serving. Besides the stiches early on in his mission, I don't believe that he has had any other injuries, but of course I will be the last person in the world that he would tell!

He has had many baptisms and has met many people with ties to Arizona and to individuals that we know. A pair of missionaries were stranded at their apartment near Christmas time, one of the missionaries lived just a few miles from us in Colorado!

Emily's Winter Formal

Emily was very excited to attend her first Winter Formal with an official

'boyfriend'. Two of her friends came to the house to get ready.

Catastrophic Structural Failure in Flagstaff

So, when I was last in Houston, I received a call from Kevin stating that we had suffered a 'catastrphic structural failure'. He said that the top of our storage shed had partially collapsed. This past weekend, we received a record 28" of snow in 24 hours, causing further collapse. The photo shows that the entire top of the shed has now collapsed!