Rooster

Sadly, one of the hens turned out to be a rooster...  

Ella's 8th Birthday and Baptism

Ella turned 8 years old, an exciting time for her baptism!

We made her delicious pancakes for breakfast on her Sunday birthday.

As always, the sun is shining in "the valley".

Adam took the week off and put in long hours trying to get home projects done.  There is still so much more to do and it's very tiring.  We had carpet installed in most of the bedrooms.  It was wonderful spending the week together despite the labor.

John and Ella had an art festival at school to showcase their work.

And Ella's big day arrived!

Here she is ready for baptism!

Adam performed the ordinances.

We felt very blessed to be surrounded by family and friends.

Ella said she wanted to do it all over again.

Here is Ella's baptism dress.  

She is nothing less than a princess.

Peavine Trail and Nana's Birthday

Nana wanted to go on a hike while we were up at the cabin for her birthday.  John enjoyed climbing the granite dells.

Massive cottonwood tree remnants

We also saw a rattlesnake...do you see?

The weather was perfect and we made it 5 miles.

David cooked breakfast and Ruby was hoping for scraps.

We also went to the local steakhouse for dinner, sat around, and I pulled weeds for two hours on Saturday in memory of Grandma Barry whose birthday is also April 14th.

The End.

Happy Birthday!

Easter

We had a fun time with Easter eggs.

And getting all dressed up.

Having Children in Faith

Grandma LaBelle

Grandma LaBelle passed away on March 12th.  We spent a very emotional weekend in Utah to remember and celebrate her life.  This photo of Grandma and Grandpa was taken at our wedding...how we miss them. Grandpa passed away 11 years ago.

I love this photo of Grandma and Grandpa holding John when he was 1 month old.  Grandpa shared his testimony during this visit and he passed away shortly after this photo was taken.  Look at how sweet Grandma is here.  She loved children and was a teacher for many years.  I'm glad they are together now.

Grandma was pretty much the most perfect person I have ever met.  She was a great example.  I remember the first time I ever visited her house in Utah.  She kept her house just like the temple-- clean, white, and her yard was full of the most glorious roses on earth.  She also made us fresh squeezed orange juice.

"Adam, your Grandmother is....PERFECT,"  I said.  Grandma was always so thoughtful, giving, and faithful. She was also very beautiful and a snazzy dresser.  She was a master with cross-stitchery.  Grandma loved bling and she loved her posterity even more.

My mom sacrificed a bunch of frequent flyer points so Adam and I could fly up together to celebrate this remarkable woman.  She also took care of John and Ella, a great gift to us because we know how much John and Ella love their Nana.  There were lots of smiles and lots of tears.

The Bishop of Grandma's ward joked that he was worried she might not show up for her own funeral because the weather was gloomy.

However, during the dedication, the sun came blaring down just over us.  It was a miracle.  We felt Grandma all around us.

Do you see Grandma's pink vault cover?  Grandma loved pink.

John (Adam's dad), Brenda (Adam's mom), Aunt Marilyn, Uncle Jay, Aunt Susann, Aunt Jill, Uncle Scott

We didn't get enough photos of the family, so we hope to see some on other blogs.

Do you see Aunt Marilyn's missionary tag?  She and her husband serve as mission presidents in Florida.  Her husband obviously could not come because of this God-directed call, so she had him on Skype and he shared a talk through the church broadcast system.  

One cannot go to Utah without partaking of fry sauce.

One the way home...the Phoenix city glow.