Our Tree

On Friday night we had a great rainstorm. We were very excited as we had not had one for a while and because we live in Arizona we are always in desperate need of rain.

On Saturday morning this was the view out our front door.

Our tree had blown over in the storm.

Thankfully it did not hit any vehicles or our house. We spent the day Saturday getting it all chopped down and cleaning up our yard. I promise I did help more than just holding the camera, but I am the official photographer of most events.

The kids helping with the cleanup.

The finished and very bare front yard.

After we finished the front yard Jared helped me mow the back yard.

First Day of School

So I can hardly believe that the first day of school is here already. Summer went by really fast, but apparently school is starting none too soon if the last week was any evidence. The kids had a little bit of cabin fever and this is what happened to our front room several days last week.

Here are the kids all ready for their first day of school.

Daddy worked from home on this day so he walked with us to school. Jared was very eager to get there so he could play on the first grade playground so he took the lead.

Gwen was very excited about school and after a few tears last night was able to recover very well and had no problems going to school today. I can hardly believe that my baby is in school. I know that I am not that old.

As you can see she had no trouble waving goodbye when it was time to go.

Summer Fun

I know it has been a while since I posted. We have been having a fun and busy summer. Here are some pictures of what we have been doing.

Playing in the sprinkler

Enjoying our 4th of July BBQ

Jared and Gwen playing at the splash park

Bonnie watching the ducks behind the splash park, she far preferred this to actually playing in the water.

Gwen warming up in the sun after playing in the water

Nate took a fencing class this summer. He really enjoyed the class and has been "teaching" the other kids how to fence with sticks all summer long.

For Mother's Day and my birthday combined Ben got me a Bosch mixer and a wheat grinder. In return I have been making bread every week.

We have also been swimming, going to the summer movies, and just hanging out. All in all we are having a pretty good summer. I will post more pictures from other summer adventures later.

Krysti

Ben's sister Krysti passed away on June 19, 2009, at the age of 42. She was such an amazing mom, wife, sister, daughter, and friend. We will miss her so much. She always made everyone feel welcomed and loved. We loved to visit their house and she and Bryan were always very kind to let us stay with them on our drives to and from Utah County or Idaho. We love Krysti and pray for her husband, Bryan, and her children, Zach, Brenna, and Anna.

We went up to St. George for her funeral and spent time with family. While we were there we welcomed Zach home from his mission in Brazil. Here are some pictures of our time with Ben's family.

At the St. George airport when Zach came home.

Stephanie, Alexis, and Jessica

Watching for Zach's plane to land

Zach and Bryan

Zach and Grandpa Walker

At the viewing

Most of the girl Walker cousins

Some of the boy Walker cousins

At the cemetery in Hurricane.

The brothers, Jake, Ben, Chuck, and Matt

Ben's family, Jake, Margie, Jeanette, Ben, Chuck, Sandra, Matt, and Dad

Our family, Bonnie was grimacing because she was not feeling well. We drove back to Arizona after the funeral and Bonnie was sick the whole way home. Thank goodness for ziplock bags.

It was good to be with Ben's family at this time and to see what good friends they all are and how they all bonded together to help each other at this time. We love them all so much and are grateful for the knowledge we have that families are forever.

Sprint Triathlon

Ben did a sprint triathlon last week out at Lake pleasant.
It was a 1000 m swim, 23 km bike, and 5 km run.
I wasn't able to go see him race, but a friend of mine was there and got a picture thankfully.

This picture was taken by the photographers they had at the event.

Times:
Swim: 27:01
Bike: 47:04
Run: 32:38

Overall Time: 1:46:44

Way to go Ben!! You are BE-AWESOME!!

Gwen's Preschool Graduation

So I am a little late posting this, but Gwen graduated from Preschool on may 15th. She was so excited for this graduation that I heard about it constantly. The day before her graduation she came and climbed into my bed at 6 in the morning and said, "Mom, can you believe I am going to graduate tomorrow?"

When the day finally arrived she was wore her favorite dress and was ready to go long before we needed to leave. However, we did finally make it there and it was fantastic. Here are some pictures and videos.

Gwen in her cap and gown.

Her certificate for Story telling because she loved to tell them all about everything going on in her life.

With her teachers Miss Tracy and Miss Megan.

They sang several songs during the graduation and Gwen always sang at the top of her lungs, and about a half note behind everyone else. It was awesome. I think on this particular song she actually stayed with the rest of the class.

Fathers & Sons/Girls Night

This weekend was Fathers and Sons. Unfortunately Nathan had a fever on Friday so Ben and the boys couldn't go camping. To compensate for this they set up the tent in the front room and Ben, Nate, and Jared camped out in there.

Nate and Jared trying to get the best of each other while pretending not to since I was taking a picture.


Nate, Ben, and Jared in the tent

The girls and I always have a girls night on the weekend of Fathers and Sons so we went ahead and did that. The boys got to watch a movie on Ben's laptop in the tent while we watched a movie in the family room on the t.v. We also painted our nails and then Bonnie and Gwen had a sleepover in my room.

Gwen, me, and Bonnie


Our beautiful fingernails and toenails

All the kids playing in the tent on Saturday Morning. The blankets on top were making it dark so that it could be a cave.