OH, WHAT A NIGHT!!!

First of all, I owe our friend Joe a HUUUUUGE thank you for inviting Cameron and especially me, to the Cardinals vs. Broncos game last night! It was supposed to be more of a "Guys Night Out" kinda thing, but since he knows of my love of football, he allowed me to tag along with him and his friend. And I am soooo grateful he did! Right there in the above picture--#46 Spencer Larsen--is the reason it was so exciting! To actually watch a friend of yours play in the NFL is truly amazing! We are so happy for him! It was a great game anyway, but he just couldn't leave it at that. In the 4th quarter he intercepted the ball and ran it back to the Arizona 17 yard line!!! Yeah, I have a sore throat thanks to that play! It was awesome!!!
We had AWESOME seats, too!
This is the team heading to the locker room after the game. I'm so happy our seats were right there, otherwise we most likely wouldn't have gotten to say hi to Spencer.
Luckily, a group of us was able to get Spencer's attention and he came over and said hi. I'm so happy we were able to be there to show our support last night!
And here's Cameron and I after the game, along with our huge grins after a great night of football! Go Broncos!!! And even better--GO SPENCER!!!!

WHO WANTS OUTBACK???

Okay, here's the deal--a boy in our ward, Clinton, is trying to raise money with his high school band to go to the Holiday Bowl in California. In order to do so, they are holding a fundraiser by selling tickets to enjoy Outback food (cooked and served on site by Outback) and listening to the jazz band play while eating. Here are the details:

When: Thursday, October 23rd, dinner at 6pm

Where: Red Mountain High School (East of Power on Brown)

How much: $20 for general admission, $15 for students with ID card, $10 for kids

Menu: Outback's Famous Chopped Blue Cheese Salad

Veggies

6 oz. steak or 5 oz. BBQ chicken (grilled right there)

Bread/Butter

Chicken Fingers with Aussie Fries (Child's Meal)

Cheesecake

Beverages

I, personally, am just excited about the cheesecake!!! Anyway, please help us support our friend, Clinton! Cameron and I will be there, so um, that alone should be enough incentive to come!!! Lemme know if you want tickets! Thanks!

"TRI IN THE PINES"--CAMERON'S 1ST TRIATHLON!!

Last weekend Cameron did his very first triathlon up in Show Low! He's been training for it for about 3 months now. Our friends Eric and Kami went up with us and Eric did the triathlon, too! It was his third! His first was in Rocky Point, Mexico and we were there to watch. That's where the inspiration came for Cameron to train for one! They really are so inspiring to watch--all types of people participate--it's so neat! This is Cameron and Eric before the "fun" started! They had to swim 12 full laps in the pool (24 down and back), then bike 13 miles and finish with a 3 and a half mile run. Doesn't that sound like a blasty-blast???
Swim: check. Here is Cameron at the transition area, getting all ready for the bike ride. He was very happy to be done with the swim. He knew it would be the toughest part for him, but he felt very confident for the bike and run.
Bike: check. He said he passed a few people on the bike course that had beat him in the pool, so he felt really good about that.
Run: check. The coolest part about triathlons is that it's not necessarily a race--it's all about just finishing. I was so impressed with Cameron on Saturday! A few years ago, neither of us thought he would be running a triathlon! He's trained so hard and set such high goals for himself--it's so neat to see him achieve them. I am still training to do one myself--not sure when the first one will be for me. And at this triathlon they had a group of kids that did their own little triathlon! It was awesome! I sure hope our little Haylee is one of those kids in a few years! I'm hopin' after she watches her parents, she'll wanna do it, too! She's already got the energy!
Here are the boys after it was all over! In the middle is our friend Rick--this was his first triathlon, too. They all did so good! I personally think they just do it so they can wear the sleeveless shirts and tight shorts...:)

PRETTY PLEEEEAAASSSEEE?????

I think my parents will enjoy this post more than anyone because they can totally relate! When I was growing up we had a dog named Pepper that looked just like Buster. And apparently they act alike also! When Pepper wanted to go on a walk, she would position herself by the front door and wait for you to notice her. Once she got your attention, she'd immediately glance at the door then back at you, like, "C'mon, let's go out!" Well, I was baking cookies today and that's exactly what Buster did as they were cooling. I'm happy I was able to get pics of it! He looked back and forth between me and the cookies about a million times! Such patience!
"You see me lookin' at those cookies right there...I'm sitting sooooo nicely and obediently...gimme a cookie!"
"Are you not gettin' it??? What's the hold up here??"
"It's about dang time! Thank you!"

We post lots about Haylee, but we sure do love our hairy firstborn, Buster!:)

OUR LITTLE SUN BABY!!!

I was cleaning Haylee's room the other day (unloading more boxes) and I found these cute sunglasses! We've had them since before she was born and I was so worried they would be too small! Yeah right! Is ANYTHING too small for this girl! I don't think so!
Now that we don't have our REAL pool in the backyard, we've had to improvise. This is our little "backyard oasis"! I'm pretty sure Haylee wonders why we're takin' baths in the backyard now with our swimsuits on! She loves it though! She just sits and watches the trees and watches Buster run around the yard. The last time we went out there, she scooted herself to the side and reached out and started pulling grass into the pool. I moved her back into the center and she was a little ticked off at me for that so she'd threaten to take her hat off! This girl has way too much attitude! Wonder where she gets it...
Look Grandma Penny! Lood at how my hat shades my ENTIRE body (almost)!!! How cool is that??? This was taken on the 4th of July at our friend's apartment pool. Haylee was lovin' the water so we decided to try dunkin' her under--she did awesome! We did it like three times and she did great! No crying! We are so happy Haylee was born with her dad's olive skin--this girl will probably always be tan! And she LOVES the water! It's so much fun! She fits right in with her mom and dad--the other sun-babies!:)

TRUST ME--YOU WANT THIS!!!

If you have ever walked into my house and said or thought,"Mmm, it smells good in here!", then keep readin', my friend! For the past year, I have been using Scentsy candles. They are awesome! They consist of a way cute burner (they have about 45 different cute burners) and scented wax. I love them cuz they smell up your ENTIRE house with just a little bit of wax! And they are safer than regular burners because the burner uses a 25 watt bulb, so the wax doesn't get hot enough to burn a child or animal if it spills. My friend Kami is having a party to sell these candles next Thursday evening from 6:30-9pm. If you want to learn more about them you can go to www.scentsy.com/sarah . I am actually personal friends with Sarah (the Scentsy consultant that will be there) cuz she did a party at my house--she is awesome! She's so funny and personable! You'll love her! Let me know if you are interested in going!!!

WHO WANTS TO COME WITH ME???

D&C 88:119 “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God”“Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year’s supply of food … and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year’s supply of debt and are food-free.” -President Thomas S. Monson

Those of you that know me well know that I am incredibly passionate about emergency preparedness. It is always on my mind and I try to do something every day to work on my family’s food storage. I have been blessed to learn techniques and tactics from people who have taken the time to teach me and now I want to pay it forward. I am absolutely excited to share some resources that make emergency preparedness & food storage easy and fun so, I’m hosting a FOOD STORAGE/EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS WORKSHOP. __________________________________________________What: Emergency Preparedness / Food Storage Workshop

When: Saturday, August 9thTime: 9am - Noon (Presentations start at 9:15- come and go/stay after that)Where: The DeWitt’s home 11320 E Starkey Avenue Mesa, AZ 85212 (Email for directions if needed tawnijean@hotmail.com)

___________________________________________________The beginning will be packed with presentations and information – after that it’s all about questions and answers, and trust me there will be answers!

Presentations will begin at 9:15 on the following topics:
Ø Everything Under the Sun Is food storage overwhelming to you? Come and learn how to get started, how to select what and how much to store, and how to rotate and cook it when the time comes. This was the most motivating presentation I have been to and is what got me started!

Ø Shelf-stable dairy products (milk, butter, and whipping cream) The shelf-stable milk is 'real' milk that is processed at a higher temperature to kill all of the bacteria. It has the same nutritional value and taste (very important) as milk that you purchase in your favorite grocery store. <click here>

Ø Mountain House Freeze-dried Food Storage Just add water! And better yet 30+ year shelf life! Come and taste for yourself then order at distributor prices! If you can’t make it to the workshop and still want to order at these low prices… let me know and we can place it for you, EVEN if you live out of state!!!<click here>

Ø Canning How To & Bucketing for Long-Term, Space Saving Storage Learn the basics of home canning so you can store meats, beans, vegetables and fruits long term. I am even more excited about learning how to properly bucket your grains for long term storage.

Ø Square Foot Gardening Tricks of the trade by Master Gardner and Southwest gardening expert, John Chapman. Here is one of John's favorite quotes... President Kimball said:We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Some argue that they can buy their potatoes and other food cheaper than they can grow them, but that is not the point is it? There will come a time when food will not be available at any price then what will they do? (CR Apr, 1976)

Ø Food Processors, Wheat Grinders, Water Barrels and more hard goods. You won’t want to miss out on this opportunity to learn and prepare! I have booked presenters that have been at previous food storage workshops as well as new presenters so, if you have attended before come check out what’s new. Please forward this on to those you love and want to be prepared! I hope to see you there!!!

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This is my friend Tawni that is doin' this little workshop in her home! I am soooo excited about it cuz I am completely overwhelmed when it comes to food storage and all that stuff--I got lots to learn! Who wants to come with me????