Arizona

Well it's been a few weeks since we went to Arizona but that's how blogging works right now.  We made a trip over to AZ over General Conference weekend for a few reasons. The first being to support our sweet niece Lucy at a vision walk. She has a rare syndrome called Bardet-Biedl Syndrome that can cause her to go blind (among other things) at a young age. She is doing really well with it and it has been a blessing for all of us to rally around her. She is a very special girl.

Here are some of us at the after we crossed the finish line. Josh is with us and is another reason we made the trip over there.

The next reason we went was to spend some time with the rest of Lucy's family. The picture below is right after we pulled up to their house. Our kids were so excited to see them and they gave us the best welcome as they waited outside for us to arrive. 

Note: You'll notice a contrast in some of these pictures! Shawni sent me a few that she took. 

Man we love spending time with these guys!

On Saturday night, the men went to the Priesthood session of General Conference while Shawni and I got to talk and hang out with the kids. When they got back we put the kids in bed and Max and Elle were nice to babysit so that we could go out with Josh, Shawni and Dave. Man they are fun to talk with!

Sunday morning between sessions we got all 9 of the kids together for a picture! While they were sitting there Shawni brought up that this is pretty much what it would have been like for Linda and Rick with their NINE kids.  Could you even imagine?? I know you guys will read this so to you I say...You are truly AMAZING!!

From oldest (Max almost 15) to youngest (Bennett 4months).

And then we had to say goodbye. We love those guys so much!

Monday we got to go see Josh and meet his class at school. He is such a great teacher. It was so neat to see him in action and see how much the students adore him.

McKay jumped right in with his class. They plant a garden every (sometimes twice) year and McKay got to help plant some seeds.

He also jumped right in and gave four square a try at recess. It was fun to watch him give it everything he's got. I was so impressed with the kids because they were so patient with him. They let him stay in when he would miss and helped coach him as the game wen on.

And he got to use the computer lab that Josh set up in his room. 

The school he is in got redone so Josh gave us a tour of the new buildings. This is the front of the school and if you make a slight shift...



you would see the new Gilbert Temple going up. They are literally right across the street from each other. This is his view at work everyday. Pretty neat!

Another great reason for coming to AZ is to see some of my family. We got to stay a night with my Aunt Laurie and Uncle Brad. They are the best! Some of my cousins came over and Brad took all the kids for a ride in the trailer. Noah hopped on too. 

This is the group that was there after Marianne went home with her family. Darn that we missed you in this picture. I can't believe how much I love all these guys!

My kids have grown attached to my aunt Laurie. She is another grandma to them. Monday afternoon she saddled up their horses and took us all for a little ride. The kids were in heaven.   

Lyla was excited too can't you tell?! She had just woken up from a nap in the car.

We had a fun time with them and only wish we could have stayed longer.

Then we wrapped up the trip at the Koplins. We couldn't miss going to see our dear friends.  We got to see them for a short time but time with them is time well spent.