Turning One!

It's hard to believe it but my little boy is now a year old.  It has been a fun year and I have enjoyed watching him grow and learn new things.  He can now walk, throw a ball, and point at things while saying "this."  He loves playing with cars and wrestling.  He adores his big sister and follows her around everywhere.  He is also very opinionated and only has one really loud screechy cry that breaks your heart in a second.  (Basically, he's really good at getting what he wants.)  I love him so much and we are grateful to have him in our family.

To celebrate his birthday, we had some friends over to watch the BYU/Utah game, eat some delicious BBQ, and have some cake and ice cream.  It was a great time, especially for us Utah fans.  (Too bad I was the only one.) To go along with the game, I made Peter a sports cake. 

 

He liked the cake but he really LOVED the ice cream.   

 

We opened his presents the next day since that is his actual birthday.  He caught on really fast and was an expert wrapping paper remover.

He loved this car that he got from Grandma.




When he opened his new church shoes, he picked one up by the laces, looked at it for a moment, dropped it back in the box, and moved the box so he could open another present.  He already thinks clothes are a terrible gift.




Peter got this pump that sprays water in the bath tub, since he always thinks he needs to have the water running.  Mariann loves it. (Peter does too, but I'm not sure who likes it moew.)




Peter next decided he should stand on his presents while opening them.  Lucky it was just blocks and nothing breakable.





After opening the blocks, we couldn't get him interesting in opening anything else.  He had had enough of opening presents, getting his picture taken, etc. He just wanted to build something with his new blocks, so Mariann opened the rest of his presents for him.




Happy Birthday, Peter!  It's hard to believe you are getting so big already. 
We love you!!

Campin' Out

We finally made it campin' up Mt. Lemmon, thanks to the Ward Camp Out.  We were able to drive up Thursday  afternoon (August 25), since Lee didn't have to work on Friday.  The canyon is really beautiful and changes from desert to forest as you rise in elevation.  It is also has tons of curves as it wound its way up the canyon.  Mariann couldn't take all the turns and got sick.  We unfortunately pulled over a second to late and she ended pucking all over her car seat.  I'm hoping she grows out of the car sickness thing just like her Uncle did.  The Mormon Church has a camp that we stayed at on the mountain called Camp Zion. It is used for girl's camps, boy's camps, and ward camp out for all the stakes in Tucson.

On Friday, we went on a hike in the morning and then spent the rest of the day enjoying the camp and playing in the dirt.  The hike was steep but fun.  It ended on a summit with a bunch of cell towers and a spectacular view of Tucson below.  The kids enjoyed the hike and all lizards and horned toads running around. 

On Saturday, I helped cook the breakfast for the ward and then we just hung out and packed up camp.  Mariann was dumping dirt on her head and when I asked her what she was doing she said, "Taking a shower."  She did a really thorough job.  She even put dirt down her shirt and patted it into her skin just for good measure.  She was filthy, but she had a great time. 

Prayers are Answered

So we have been on the market for a new house ever since we learned we were staying in Tucson in June.  We have looked at countless houses but none of them were right for us.  We saw some hilarous paint jobs as well as do it yourself home improvements projects.  It was fun to see all the different floor plans but as time went on we were beginning to get a little frustrated since it didn't seem like any of the houses were right for us. 

We finally decided to put an offer in on a house we had seen a few weeks before.  It need some work (mostly, the previous owners had done some "upgrades" but didn't know what they were doing so they need to be take out and the house needed to be painted), but we liked the floor plan and the yard was a good size.  We were constantly praying about this house and had began to feel good about it.  We had to wait to get some pre approval so we were waiting a few days to make the offer.  The day before the pre approval came through and we were going to make an offer, another house came on the market.

We decided to go see this one last house and it was perfect.  It was almost like we had designed it.  It had everything we wanted and the yard was a good size.  We quickly altered our plans and put in an offer on this house instead.  It was a prayer answered.  The Lord knew which house was right for us and made it available right at the perfect time.  There was a reason we had to wait to put in a offer on the other house.  This was a faith building experience for me that demonstrated that the Lord does in fact listen and answer our prays.  He might not always answer how and when we expect him to, but he does answer.  

We close on the new house in the beginning of October and are really excited to move into our own place.  Mariann already has her room picked out and she is constantly talking aobut her "new house with stairs."  We will have plently of room, so visitors are always welcome to stay.