Now that is trashy

Since Queen Creek doesn't recycle we have trash pick up twice a week. It's kind of nice in my opinion. Every Tuesday & Friday Waste Management comes to pick up our can. Well, yesterday was pick up day and Doug took the can out to the road before leaving for work.

Today I went to the side of our house where our can is kept and it wasnt there. I thought it may be outside the gate and looked to see if Doug had not pulled it into the backyard. With trash in hand I looked around puzzled wondering where our can went. A while back Doug installed cameras on the outside of our house. These have come in handy for several things but I thought I would check the video from yesterday to see if I could find where our can went. While watching the video I could see the garbage mans truck come to a stop in front of our house, pick up the can and dump it contents into the truck. He gave the can a little extra shake and there went our can! Yes, straight into the truck with all the other trash. I watched the video as the driver pondered for about 5 minutes what to do then he took off. So, I called Waste Management to see if we could get a new can delivered before Christmas. The representative asked if I knew what happened to the can. When I told him we both laughed! He said maybe the driver was unaware it fell in. I informed him that the driver was fully aware! Maybe next time the driver could be a little more proactive and call the main office to let them know we are in need of a can since he drove off with ours!!

Happy Birthday to Heather

I know this is a little late but I wanted Heather to know that we were thinking about her this week.
Heather you are one of the most giving people I know and I feel blessed to call you my sister. Thank you for all you have done for our family and for the love you share. We hope your birthday was full of happiness and love.

Aunt Annie

Just one reason we love her.

Enjoy!

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Thanks a lot family

So i am glad we really document important things that happen in this family. Things like births or partys. But something has either slipped through the cracks or is considered not that important........JUDDS ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!! YAY! He holds the record in the brothers for the longest time courting a girl among the brothers. :) no hard feelings family.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving 2009 was a pleasant event at our home this year. Good food, good company, and lots of good conversation. Here is a view of what took place.














We ate outside. What a beautiful day and family!














Caitlin and Judd's first Thanksgiving together.














Kimber relaxing after dinner.














Sorry Heather but this was the only picture
I had of dad and the "shirt". The shirt had to
have a place here somewhere.

Ben and Briana

Lacie! Isn't she cute?

Barbie Girl

Doug and I thought we would enjoy a dinner out as a family last night. Being a planner and knowing Kennedy can get anxious at a restaurant I told her to pack her little backpack with things to do. You know crayons, paper busy stuff. She did really good and was very well behaved. About half way thru the meal the people next to us were laughing and just getting a kick out of Kennedy in general. I of course monitored what she was doing and they just seemed to be enjoying her. It wasn't until they were really laughing that I looked over to see what she was doing. To my surprise she packer herself a Barbie. Maybe next time I should inspect the backpack first. The Barbie she was dancing across the pony wall was naked!

HI!

Just thought I would throw some random pictures on the blog since it has not been updated in ages. Here we have some Smith Farm pictures that I took and my bowl of macaroni and tomato!

Cruising!

So does it really matter that we have been back from our cruise for almost 2 months? It is never too late to have a happy memory. So with that said I thought I would share a little of our adventure. We sailed out of San Diego and our first port was Catalina Island. We opted to stay on the ship that day since neither of us had any burning desire to see the Island.

The first picture is our ship the "Elation. Next you will see Catalina Island. Not much to look at.















The next day was totally a day at sea. We loved the ocean breeze and the beautiful view. We ate, and sat in a variety of places to enjoy different views, and we ate, took naps, ate, visited with other passengers, ate, I read a book and a half, and did I mention we ate? Well, we did! The next day we stopped in Ensanada Mexico. This time we did leave the ship and walked into town. I had a blast looking in all the shops. I am not sure it was the highlight of the trip to Russ but he never complained. I loved the sights and the smells. The people were very friendly (of course they wanted us to spend our money in their shop)! It was a great trip. We ended up back in San Diego after enjoying 5 wonderful days on the ocean. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Next time I want to choose our destinations. Okay, and they have to serve Molten Chocolate Cake or I we will have to find a new cruise line. It is a must for me!

Reading with a view

Mean, nasty seagulls.











Chocolate Molten Cake

Most handsome man on board!

Trick or Treat?

Saturday evening the Valencia (single YA) ward had their Halloween party in our front yard. It was a lot of fun with costumes and food galore. Those YA can think up some real creative costumes. Speaking of costumes, Judd and Caitlin won the couples award for best costumes. They came as Jedi Knights. Caitlin furnished the clothing and Judd furnished the light sabers. They make a striking (ha, ha) pair don't they?

Happy Anniversay

Happy Anniversary to our wonderful parents.

Mom and dad met after dad moved down from the ranch where his family was in the Aravipa Canyon to live with his older brother, who happened to live down the road from the Stanford family. This is how dad came to know mom. While on his mission, mom wrote to dad and even hand made him a tie and sent it off to him. It didn't take long when dad returned home from his mission for the two to decide to marry. On October 19, 1974 mom and dad were sealed for time and all eternity in the Manti Temple. They made their first home in Bluewater, New Mexico where dad worked in a mine. Four months after being married mom was expecting their first child and who wold have even imagined 9 more would follow?

As each of us children grow older and wiser we admire and love our parents more and more each day. Their example of marriage and what is ordained of God is a true blessing to us children. I have never heard my mother call my father by his name or my father likewise. They always refer to each other as "Hun" or "Honey". They have had a date night once a week every week for as long as I can remember. Dad always calls mom his girlfriend and as kids we were always telling mom and dad to stop kissing it was gorse. Dad always brings mom flowers each week and I have never heard either of them share a cross word with each other. Family has always been their priority. The relationships that the married children have now reflect the example set by our parents and their love for one another and family.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad we love you very much!

Road Trip Fun!

This weekend Judd Tanner and Taylor had a little road trip. We all went to the ranch and back. in one night. I wouldnt recomend this to anyone with the slightest amount of brains in their noodle!

Judd wanted to go hunting so he loaded us up and we left at six.

And got home at twelve. Not a total loss. I think i have a permanant stomach cramp from laughing, and we had alot of good times. Not to mention that my back tire has skunk wrapped all the way around it!

FUNTING

This one is for Jordan! Remember when we bought a sprite and ended up winning four free ones? This is the place! Judd Tanner and Taylor went to the Ranch to check it out (Big let down) and stopped to talk about old times at the places we could remember.

We got a Sprite, and Cactus Cooler for old times sake.

Fun with Kennedy

Last Friday Cooper and I went to Bounce U with Heather and Kennedy. It was so much fun! Cooper and Kennedy had a blast with bouncing and playing Air Hockey. Enjoy the video!

Thanks Heather for inviting us!! We always have so much fun with you and Kennedy!!

Golfing

From left to right: Elder Weston, site director, President Hemingway, Elder Duncan, ME!
That was what I did last p-day, it was fun!

Happy Birthday Kennedy!

Happy 4th birthday Kennedy.

Check out a special birthday wish on Doug & Heather's Blog.

Rise of the Hunting Bears

OK so this one is for Jordy. This post is to show the HB and the new sounds that it puts out. And boy oh boy does it sound better than a stinky bean fed uncle on the rez.

Here is the other new sound that comes out of it. Dont worry about the roar of the engine. That music will drown out EVERYTHING else.

did we find are man

today I was looking on craigs list under lost and found and i just had a feeling to look under lost dog I found this you tell me is this our long lost Charlie

Brigham

It only happens once a year

As I was thinking about you on your birthday today I wanted to wish you a very happy birthday. Originally my post was to be a list of all your great qualities, achievements and characteristics. But, I kept coming back to what we as your children often forget to say...thank you! So mom this is a happy birthday wish with all the thank yous' you deserve.

THANK YOU FOR

• Always making dinner and encouraging us to have dinner as a family each day.
• Teaching us to be savvy with our money and make wise choices when it came to spending.
• Having fun treats ready for us to snack on each day after school.
• Taking us to the doctor or the dentist even if it meant we had 8 cavities.
• Encouraging us to have and make good friends with like values.
• Forcing us to love our siblings, somehow now that all makes sense!
• Making us share rooms with each other even when the other sibling was a messy roommate.
• Letting us build all kinds of dangerous forts in the backyard.
• Allowing us to have animals that smelt, ran away and caused more problems then they were worth.
• Teaching us to pray and believe in a higher being.
• Loving our father in a way we we saw each day.
• Showing us how to set goals and reach them.
• Taking us to dinner even if everyone stared at us like we were from Colorado City.
• Sacrificing so we could go on trips like Disneyland (twice)
• Teaching your girls how to cook, clean and sew...priceless skills.
• Letting us sleep in your room when we were scared of the thunder or a man at the top of the stairs.
• Letting us sneak some popcorn and black licorice on our way to bed.
• Taking us to our grandma and grandpas so we could spend the night.
• Teaching us that what others think doesn't matter when you do what is right.
• Sharing your birth experiences with your girls in a way that was special and educational.
• Helping your boys complete their Eagle Scout even when they wanted to quit.
• Counseling your children to be good and do good.
• Making your children acquire good grades and a job in order to get a drivers license.

Most important mom you have always been there. What a bunch of lucky kids we are to have you. Having a child is lots of work but having 10 takes someone special. We hope your birthday is a special one!

American Leadership Academy

School will begin Wednesday August 5th. I can't believe it is already that time. My classroom is finally ready to roll. It was a lot of work and I have lots of people to thank for all the help I received. You know who you are! The room wasn't much to begin with but it is functional now. Take a peek!

The red door on the right is my room. It is room 102. Above is Heather helping me start to sort through all my junk. The truck picture is Brigham and Judd unloading all the crud, and I have a lot!

And here is the finish product. We had our official "Meet the Teacher" night and everyone seemed pleased with the results.

Where is the staple remover?

I just couldn't resist this picture. I had never seen staples up close and personal. Yuk! They have since been removed, but I thought everyone might like to see what I saw.

The longest scar is about the length of my index finger. The other 3 are small holes they also made. I am not sure what the holes were all about. I thought the scar would be much longer. Now if he can just get past the itching we might be home free.

Dad Gets Surgery!

Here is the post I have been trying to get to. It's all about Russ's hosptial experience. Do you think they have the right idea about advertising their name. Check out the area above the bed. The accomodations aren't so great and the food is... well hospital food is what it is. No salt, no seasonings, no flavor. They do send the "chef" to your room to take your order. I think that is to help you feel like your getting some special treatment. Good try but it still tasted like hospital food. My favorite picture is the one of Dr. Ben. Is that picture a sign of things to come?

I didn't take any pictures during the ilium episode. It was just too stressful. We are grateful to all the visitors that came and for all the care and concern everyone showed. The prayers, fasting and numerous blessings really made the difference.

It's too bad we had to go AWOL at the end. There were many great Dr.'s and nurses that took good care of Russ but when it was time to go home, even that didn't matter. We had to do what we had to do. Just remember, "There is no place like home".