Fall's in the Air...

Payton and I left all our responsibilities behind to go to NM for a few days. We missed our guys, but their schedule didn't allow them to go, so off we went...

 Rusty and Payton love each other. Payton gets her fix, and Rusty gets carrots, apples, exercise and lots of love! :)

My mom treated us to lunch, and this HUGE dessert! We could hardly walk to the car after this brownie, ice cream, whip cream, nut & chocolate sauce masterpiece. 

Football time - our first U of A game of the season with my U of A student. (We got one picture and my battery went dead. Ugh!)

Landon found a snake by the pool, and it brought back so many memories.....

He found this one while living in Germany.

This was Striker his first pet.

 While camping......

He found this one while on a hike for his 7th birthday! Yes, it ended up living with us for a while, then he set if free in the wash behind our house. The things moms do for their boys. :)

Summer 2014 in a Nutshell!

Really?? It's already September?! Where did summer go?
 Unfortunately, Landon worked a lot (at Target), so we treasured the times we had with him. I slacked on taking pictures this summer. But the reason for this blog is so I at least write down what "The Summer of 2014 was like."  :)

A friend from Phoenix treated us to a Diamond Back game and dinner. We really enjoyed the evening. Great game, dinner and wonderful company! 

Yes, they have a swimming pool in the stadium. I hear it's $3,000 to rent for the evening. Crazy to think someone pays that kind of money!  

 Here Payton is trying to dunk Max at his yearly Family Day.  

I think several people enjoyed dunking the commander. :) Even though he's a good one - I'm sure he isn't popular "all" of the time. If he was, he wouldn't be doing his job.

Here's Landon reading comics at Barnes and Noble. A great place to hang out on a hot Tucson afternoon. (I love that he still reads comics!) ;)

The kids had several swim parties. I love having my pool and home full of kids! It warms my 

heart. 

Payton played on an indoor soccer league. The court is smaller, and they get to play the ball off the walls. It's very fast paced. So fun to watch!

 Every summer Payton has her best friend, Shelby, over for a sleepover. I left a basket full of junk food for their (very!) late night! Junk food is a must at a sleep over! ;)

Here the two are swimming. They are two peas in a pod.  I couldn't believe that they were even born on the same day. Unbelievable! :)

I also had some company. My friend from Florida and her daughter came for a visit. We had a wonderful time catching up. Max was out of town and Landon worked most of the time, so we had lots of girl time with our daughters. Unfortunately, I can't believe I didn't get even one picture of them Ugh - I guess we were having too much fun! :)

Then my brother, Anthony, and his adorable family came for a few days. We always have a great time just hanging out, eating, swimming and playing lots of board games.

It was a perfect end to a blessed summer! 

Now everyone is back in school, soccer season has begun, and we are preparing for our first speech and debate tournament right here in Tucson with our new club.

 The craziness begins. But it's all good.

I pray God is truly glorified in all we do this year! 

Another Driver!

Well it's that time again. I am sitting passenger as Payton drives me around town. 

We took her for her permit this week, and unlike Landon, who doesn't mind sitting passenger, she jumps in the driver's seat with one hand on the steering wheel and other waving around her permit! She is doing very well. She is very obedient (in the drivers seat, anyway! :)) because she knows my fear of sitting passenger, with anyone! So she doesn't want to blow her chance of driving as much as possible. 

 These are the days I am SO glad I only have to do this twice. Otherwise I would love more children.

Lord, help me through this very difficult season of life! And please keep us all safe!

Taking the driving test.

Hawaii (Part 3)

This next activity was Landon's choice. We purchased two tickets for him and Max. It turns out, Payton, who is terrified of sharks decided she wanted to go. We couldn't believe it! 

She looks apprehensive here, doesn't she?! ;)

This was the cage they got into to see dozens of sharks close up. Crazy.

Here's Landon before he becomes bait.  (Just kidding, it is VERY safe. There has never been an accident.)

They're in the cage. And as you can see...there are several sharks swimming around them! Payton would not rest her feet on the rails for even a few seconds like everyone else. (I love that she is caution. In some areas.) She sure got a good work out treading water for the whole 20 minutes they were down there.  :)

Next, we went to the Dole Plantation.

The gardens...

Banana tree...

Max's weakness....cacao! 

And of course pineapple. 

 Isn't this little pineapple adorable? It amazes me on how they grow on these plants.  Hawaii has both of my favorite fruits. Pineapple & coconut. 

My kids were too cool to get in the "pineapple" for a picture. But I wasn't. (Isn't it great to finally get to the age where you don't care what others think. My only care is what God thinks. Period.)

 Pearl Harbor 17 miles...our next stop.

 Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The attack lasted two devastating hours! The Japanese destroyed 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships and 220 airplanes. More than 2,335 soldiers died and over 1,000 were wounded.  

The Arizona Memorial sits above where the USS Arizona was attack. 

The ship burned for more than two day and 1100 of the crew lost their lives.  

Over 100 lost their lives in the USS West Virginia. 

 I have been to many memorials including concentration camps in Germany, Holocaust museums, Corrie Ten Boom & Ann Franks home, and unfortunately, have attended soldiers memorial services. They are all very difficult and sobering. I hate war. It all stems from evil, which is why God has to judge it one day. 

Okay...onto a lighter note.  Max and I thought it would be cute to pose for a picture by the statue of the famous "kiss." (The story is: a photographer captured a sailer kissing a nurse in excitement  after hearing the war was over.) 

We gave Payton the camera to take the picture, but when she was taking sooooo long, we got up to see what the problem was. The truth is, she took "one" picture very quickly and walked away, and just left us in that position (which seemed like an eternity!). She said she left us there as a joke, but Max and I are convinced she was embarrassed when we decided to pose like this in public. The funny part was, when we got up there was a crowd watching us...so, we laughed and joked with them about how our daughter ditched us. It was too funny! ;) 

Here we were after the lua at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The PCC is a wonderful place with lots of history and entertainment. We really enjoyed it!

Dancers from Tahiti (if I remember correctly?) 

This guy climbed the tree barefoot. Ouch! 

 This guy was HILARIOUS! 

Entertainment at the lua 

My guitar player trying out a ukulele on the way to the PCC. 

I forgot to post a picture of Mr. Turtle who we got to swim while snorkeling. So cool.

We made lots of memories on another wonderful family vacation that I will always treasure. 

Hawaii 2014 

Hawaii (Part 2)

While driving around the Island of Oahu, I was thinking to myself how blessed I've been to get to see some of God's most beautiful creation: The Alph's in Switzerland, Black Forest in Germany, the Tulip Gardens in Holland, the Grand Canyon, the red rocks in Sedona, Tuscany, the Redwoods in California, the Saguaros in the Sonora dessert (yes, I'm partial!), the white sandy beaches in Florida, Hawaii, etc.
These places are only a glimpse of what our Creator has in store for us in heaven. His imagination and creative power exceeds anything our mind can fathom! Heaven is a physical place with beauty and glory (because of Jesus' presents) that we can only try to envision.
Until then, I am so thankful He has allowed us a peek into what eternity holds for those who make Him Lord. 

Back to Hawaii...here are some pictures I took just driving around. (This was through a windshield, so you can only imagine what it was like in person. Spectacular.)

                                      Very cool to see a rainbow in the "Rainbow" state. ;)

The picture below are from Ka'a'awa Valley. This valley is famous for quite a few movies. The one it is most known for is Jurassic Park. Godzilla, and the TV show LOST was also filmed here.

They are off. Don't get "LOST." (Yes, that was a pun.) :)

Is that a T-Rex I see hiding back there?

They can't get me up here!

  

The hike to the top was a bit muddy and tiring. But, the beautiful waterfall was worth it.

Our next hike was Diamond Head. Which starts in the middle of a volcano crater. The hike is 1.5 miles, which doesn't seem like much...however, it was 560 feet up the side to the top of the rim. Including 173 steps! 

 Of course the kids went ahead of us. (Max could easily keep up with them, but he's a gentleman and stays with his slow wife.) :) Payton was keeping to a jog to stay in shape for soccer.

Here's Landon patiently waiting for us (me!).

Half way up.

Here is some of the stairs I was talking about. E-X-H-A-U-S-T-I-N-G!

It was so nice looking from the top. (The view wasn't bad either!) Ha-Ha!