I have to start out with Dawsha--I can't believe I didn't snap any pictures!!! BUT, after our fun-filled day in Tombstone, we hung out with my old college roommate and her fun family. We even got to see an amazing stained glass window that she had designed and created and installed above their back door. So talented!! We got a good visit in over dinner and then tagged along to a stake Valentine's Day dance where we got in some line dancing and Dave stole me away for a couple slow dances to make it seem like he enjoyed the dance floor :)
The next day, after our adventure trying to find a place to go to church on Sunday (I say "trying" because the address online led us to a bunch of old houses and there wasn't a church in sight...so no Sunday worship for us despite our good intentions!) we headed up to visit my sister Jennifer and her family in Casa Grande. They moved out of Syracuse UT while I was still in Paraguay and preparing to move to Syracuse NY (funny huh!) so I hadn't seen their new house though I had heard lots of stories about the neighboring coyotes, scorpions, and jackrabbits. Since Marc had been working during the wedding, he hadn't gotten a chance to meet Dave yet, so I was really excited to get everyone together. Marc grilled some yummy steaks on the grill and Jennifer whipped up some amazing jello cake for desert.
They have a BEAUTIFUL home with lots of space for all the boys to have their own room, a gigantic master closet that is bigger than my entire bedroom, and lots of open space for the boys to run around. The lawn is dead (Jennifer explained you had to re-seed every 6 months if you wanted to keep a lawn!) and there are cacti growing in the front yard instead of the lilies she had in Utah, but it was delightfully warm and sunny. We took a walk up to the neighborhood duck pond that is part of the housing development. They forced me to take a shortcut through some empty land that I was positive crawled with scorpions and rattlesnakes but thankfully I survived...
Some ducks blissfully unaware they are living in an illusory world of ponds and fountains in the desert.
Feeding old bagels to the ducks. Scotty was so excited he barely broke his apart at all and, instead, chucked about 4 pieces in and wanted another bagel.
Dave about to get his first point in our traditional breaded duck hunt game. To make throwing bread a little more enjoyable, I made up the game a while back--3 points if you hit the head, 1 point for a body shot, best score when the bag runs out wins!
Back at the homestead, the boys showed off a Wii game where you have to do various actions to rock songs--like Rock Band but without the instruments and with admittedly more hand-eye coordination required. At first, I thought Scotty was just feigning the motions because he looked a little over-anxious to cross his arms and pump his fists, but as I learned how to play the game, I saw that he actually knew what he was doing! So cute! The 'big guy' is already 5 years old...crazy that he's growing so fast!
Here's the family getting into the action. You can't tell here, but Jennifer looks more and more like mom every time I see her!! I about died seeing her pick up the remote and swinging her arms around too. Nathan lost interest, but A.J. and Josh are still in, and Scotty patiently awaits his next turn.
Gotta love the whole-body experience :)
It was great to spend time with the Webbs! Thanks for having us over!
On Monday, we enjoyed a swim in the hotel swimming pool (swimming in February!!!) and I got in a workout in the hotel fitness room before we headed over to meet Dave's sister Ashley and family on their way to the new job in San Diego. Dave LOVES his adorable little niece and I was glad to see that Parker took to him so quickly.
We stopped for lunch at a steak house to give the crew a break from driving and enjoy some visiting time before Dave heads to Iraq.
Despite being tired from a few long days on the road, Parker managed to wrangle up enough energy to put on a show in the restaurant:
It was GREAT to be able to cross paths with the Nesbitts on their way to San Diego. Here is the clan in front of Hank's truck with the remnants of stuff that didn't fit with the Marine moving truck. Ashley's car followed behind and a very energetic Miles is inside the cab.
And off they go to California!! I hear Parker has a great sense of direction ;)
Last but not least, Monday night was our time to visit with Chris Olsen and his family. Dave's childhood friend, Chris is now happily married with 2 adorable kids and a very lick-y Boston Terrier. We got in a great visit and learned a new game called "Power Grid" that is a lot like Ticket to Ride but building power plants and trying to expand your power company. A super fun relaxing couples night as the kiddos were put to bed!
We had missed seeing the Olsen family for our wedding because Lolly was due with their second child on our wedding day!! Chris made an admirable effort to try and be there, but we made sure to keep him home for his family. Here is Chris with 7-month-old baby David.
Lots of friends and family and a quick weekend in the sunshine. Love you all!!
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