Spring is Coming

There are so many things I love about Grandma's house.  Today Colton and I picked carrots and I admired all of her beautiful flowers.  She loves flowers and she likes to keep them looking nice. I still can't believe flowers are already coming up and it's February!  That is one thing that I really like about being here in Arizona.  I know there is no way I could plant any flowers in Utah or Colorado right now! 

Grandma's flowers are always so pretty!

I love fresh carrots!

Official Car Owner!

I can't believe the time has come but we have bought a new car!  It was totally spur of the moment and I don't know what I was thinking!  We were in Gilbert this weekend and we had been talking about wanting to get a new car but nothing more.  My car was starting to shake once we hit about 60 mph but I'm not saying that's why we bought a new car!  We had a choice on Monday to either go to the movie with Donelle and the kids or go test drive a car.  I really just wanted to test drive a car to see what exactly I wanted so that is what we did and ended up finding a car I really liked!  It was such a tough decision for me because I had never bought a car before so I had no idea what I was doing!  We were debating so in the meantime we went to dinner and discussed it a little bit more then ended up going back to the dealership.  We said yes and picked up the car the next day!  I can't believe I am an official car owner.  I feel so grown up which is great but I'm still not too sure if I like it!  It is so different to really do things on your own.

I'm so excited for my new car, I still can't believe it!

Reading

I love that Brooklyn just adores Colton.  She is always excited for us to come and when we came to visit this weekend she had a book to read for homework.  She had to read it three times and read it to Colton.  I just love these little moments.

Notice that Colton was having to hold the book! =)

Grandpa's Birthday

Grandpa is turning 80!  I am so glad that Colton and I were able to be here this year with him to celebrate!  Just spending these past months with him have been so fun.  He has told us many stories, we have gone for several drives, and we have made a lot of trips up to the cabin.  He is such an example and I love him so much!  For his birthday, friends and family wrote notes to him and they were put into a book and I think he really liked that!  We celebrated by going to luch at Casa, his favorite restaurant!  Happy Birthday Grandpa, I love you!

Looking at his book.

Shooting

We went shooting with our friends today and it was so much fun!  I haven't been shooting very often and I really enjoy it.  We set up a couple targets and I have to brag just for a second (because I'm sure it won't happen again) but I was a better shot than Colton!  I couldn't believe it.  Maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much! 

Back to School

Well it is that time of year again, school has started and to be honest I am not very thrilled.  Usually after a nice long break you are rejuvenated and ready to go again.  For some reason I still don't have a lot of motivation.  However this semester we get to start IV's and hang medications.  Starting an IV was my worst fear for this whole program and Colton and I both were able to practice on our instructor.  It actually wasn't that bad and I definitely feel more confident about starting another one!

Dance Recital

The girls had a dance recital tonight and it was so fun to watch them.  They both did a great job!  My Mom did their hair and makeup and then they were off!  They were the opening act to the Dutton's who were on America's Got Talent and it was so fun!  They are a very gifted musical family and their program was so fun.  I would definitely go see them again!

This weekend while we were at Donelle's we also went 4 wheeling in the desert the one day and shot some arrows.  It was so much fun and I think Colton really enjoyed it because he loves to do that kind of stuff.  Too bad we couldn't party like this every weekend!

I Love to See the Temple

Colton and I were so fortunate to see the Gilbert Arizona temple today!  Thanks to Donelle, she got us tickets so we were able to go.  I was so happy that my mom was able to come with us too.  This temple is beautiful!  I had never been to an open house before and it was so neat!  I love the fact that we can walk through the temple that is in our area before it is dedicated.  I love that we can invite our nonmember friends and have them experience a little bit of our religion.  I am so grateful for temples and so happy that I was able to go to the Gilbert temple today to see its beauty!

Christmas Break

This semester has been hard and challenging at times so I think it is safe to say that we are both excited and ready for a break. We headed to Utah first and had a really good time except Colton got sick a few days after we got there with strep and then it gave it to me about 5 days later.  Then a few days after that I got the stomach flu and was throwing up all night so our time in Utah was fun but we just weren't in the best health!  We did have a little fun while we were there though, the boys went shooting and hunting for animals and Colton and his dad went on a horse ride.  Christmas Eve we had a karaoke night and the older boys were loving that!  Colton, Kristopher, Curtis, and Bryant all had their fair share of singing!  It was great to see the family and our two little nephews that will be here with us in just a few months.  I can't believe Kylee and Kali are due so close to each other!  Those little boys will be the best of friends. It was a really fun time and a great Christmas even though Colton and I were both sick the whole time.

We left the day after Christmas to go to Colorado to spend some time with my family.  We had a great time there and Jake, Colton, and Zach went snowmobiling.  I know they all had a great time doing that especially Colton since we can't really do that in Arizona.  We played games, watched some movies, and since we were there for New Years, my Dad had all of us set some New Year's Resolutions that we will open at the end of next year.  I think this was a great family night and I loved that Colton and I had the same first resolution, going to the temple at least once a month.  I guess we both knew what to work on and I'm going to try really hard to make that one happen. The temple is so important and we get so many blessings from going there so I'm really going to make this a priority.  It was great to be together as a family, we haven't had a lot of opportunities for this and I really liked it.  I have realized lately that families are so important and I am so grateful to have the family that I do.  They have made me who I am today and I will be forever grateful for them.  There is such a peace in knowing that our families our eternal and we will forever be together.

This break has been so fun and relaxing and now that it is coming to a close we are both sad to go back to school.  Only a few more years... that seems like forever but it will go by fast.  At least I'm hoping!

Nothing like a little Egg Nog for the road trip! He makes me laugh.

Jaxton's Christmas program at school.  He was the BEST singer!

Singing their hearts out. (All night long!)

I just love this picture.

These boys love their Uncle Colton.

I loved this.  They were both taking a little snooze.

Bowling with the family in Colorado.  My Dad kicked butt!  He won both games!  I couldn't believe it.

I just thought this picture was really cool so I had to share.

Light Parade

I have to say I think this is the first time I have ever been to a light parade before and it was fun.  It is a small town thing so I got my first change to go here in Safford!  It was fun to see all the floats, some were definitely better than others, but it was still fun.  It was short and sweet but at least it got us out of the house for a little while.  I love the Christmas season and this year has been hard just because we don't have a lot of room in our apartment so we haven't put any decorations up.  (Colton said there was no room.)  I assured him there is ALWAYS room for Christmas decorations but he wasn't going for that.  Seeing all the lights did get me a little more in the Christmas spirit.

Hard at Work

I brought lunch to Colton today while he was at work and decided to ride with him for a little while to see what he did.  I quickly found out it took 15 minutes to go from one end of the row to another and all he had to do was turn it around, push a button to line it up, turn the plow over, and then wait another 15 minutes to do it again.  So it wasn't too exciting but it sure beat just sitting at home.  I think Colton really likes this tractor because it pretty much does everything by itself so he doesn't have to do much!  I'm glad he enjoys being on the tractor.

It's that time of year

Grandma has a pecan orchard in her yard and all the nuts are beginning to fall off.  They have been slowly coming off for about a month now but there's a lot more falling now since it is getting colder.  Grandma loves pecans and she loves to work!  Without fail, every time Colton and I go over to visit, you can count on Grandma being outside!  She has about 8 buckets full right now and she will have SO many more to come.  She was telling me every year is different as to how many nuts they get but these pecans are also very pricey.  She said they are about 10 dollars a pound which I couldn't believe!  I never realized how much work nuts are!  She hand cracks ever single nut.  She is just incredible and I love to sit and watch her.  I can't believe she is still working even when she is sitting!  I am sure thankful for all of her hard work so I can get some of those yummy nuts.

Grandma hard at work.