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May: Week 5 (a little overdue!)

For Memorial Day we just stayed home, BBQ'ed some ribs and played outside. Kason went swimming in his little pool and had a blast.

I LOVE this picture! He's so goofy!

Then Tuesday we left for Payson and we TRAVELED the White Mountains.

We went to Payson, Jo City & Eagar.

In Payson we just hung out with my family, took Kason to the park and relaxed! The weather was so nice up there. That is one thing I miss about living up there!!

On the way there we stopped at Roosevelt and had a picnic and we walked out on the pier for Kason to see the fish. He thought they were pretty cool and we could tell he wanted to get in the water!!

At Green Valley Park with Dad and Grandma:



Contemplating something!

In Jo City we visited Alicia, Danny & Lacy Deets. Kason and Lacy are exactly one month apart so it was a lot of fun to watch them play together!! They really took us out on the town (well, as much as can be done in Jo City!) We checked out Speedy's: you're all-in-one shop, Hansen's Auto Repair (Alicia even hooked us up with shirts - they're awesome), Mr. G's Pizza (yummy!) and Kason got to ride a horse. It was a fun few days and I was sad to leave! Thanks SOOOO much Danny and Alicia for being so great!! We miss you guys here!

Kason giving Lacy "loves"



He wasn't to sure about the horse:

On the horse:

He was happy as long as the horse was moving, as soon as it stopped he started crying:

He's such a typical boy, he would much rather play in the dirt:

Two peas in a pod - Lacy and Kason playing in rocks:

We didn't realize it at first but those rocks were actually asphalt so they were both covered in black. whoops!

After Jo City we drove to Eagar to see Rand and Karen Baker. On the way there we stopped in Snowflake because Kameron had never seen the Snowflake temple! So, we went to see that and then headed on to Eagar.

We went to Eagar because the Bakers were blessing their new daughter, Raegan. It was fun to see them too and see their new house (I'm so jealous!!). We spent lots of time at the park there and Kason loved it! Plus, I had to take Kameron to Buzz's since he'd never been! They have such yummy food! Thanks Rand and Karen for letting us stay with you and share your weekend with you guys!! We miss you too!

Kason absolutely LOVED this slide! We seriously went down it 50 times. He had so much fun!

Exploring:

Such a handsome boy!!

We love our Kameron!!

This is a few days late but, I still want to do a Father's Day post and I'm actually going to steal this cute idea from Heidi ...

1. Kameron was born July 8, 1980
2. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii
3. He has lived in Hawaii, Japan, California, & Arizona
4. He graduated high school from Buena High School in Sierra Vista

5. He served his mission in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

6. He loves sports. He loves playing them, watching them, and learning about them ... anything but NASCAR and hockey.
7. ESPN and Food Network are his favorite TV channels.

8. He loves to be outdoors!

9. He has more clothes than I do. Seriously. And I have a lot of clothes. He still has clothes that he got before his mission, he still wears them too.
10. He has more shoes than me too.
11. He loves soda - his favorite is Sierra Mist.
12. He speaks fluent Cambodian - I think it's sexy.
13. He loves to take naps.

14. He loves to cook & he's awesome at it.

15. He has always held leadership positions in the church; Seminary President, AP & District Leader on his mission, Elder's Quorum President & YM Presidency - I think this is sexy too.

16. His favorite food is Teriyaki Chicken

17. In high school he was the official school DJ

18. He loves hanging out with Kason - they're best buds.

19. He hates earthworms - they actually freak him out.

20. He can't eat watermelon because of #19.

21. He loves hip-hop music and he teaches Kason how to dance hip-hop

22. On his mission he had a pet monkey named, Cocoa.

23. He used to play the clarinet.

24. He thinks he can sing better than me, he really can't.

25. He is the best husband and dad in the world!!!

Gone Fishin'

'K - First off - let me explain Kason's poor face ...

I was getting ready one morning and I left my hair straightener on the counter ... and plugged in. Well, you guessed it - he pulled it down right on to his face. I felt soooo horrible. And I'm hoping it doesn't scar because then I would feel horrible every time I looked at it!! So - that's the explination of his battle wound. Poor Kid.

Here's some fishing pictures that Kam wanted me to post:

This one was with Uncle Matt out at John Garret's pond at his house. Kason had so much fun. He really wanted to go swimming though!! AND he got to help feed cow! But, I'll post that later.

These next one's were all taken at a place called "Rancho Tonto Catch-a-Trout" (catchy name huh?) It's just outside of Payson, about 20 minutes. We wanted to go to the Fish Hatchery but when we got there it was closed. So, we found this little place!! They had a pond FILLED with trout! We would throw the fish food in and they would go crazy jumping up to get it.

Kason caught 2 fish and he loved it! He's so fascinated by them. It was a really neat place and we definately want to take him back!!

just like my DAD!

First off, happy Fathers Day to all you dads and expecting dads as well! How wonderful to be a dad isn't it!! I could not, in my tiny little brain, comprehend the happiness I would feel after Kason arrived and made me an official member of the 'DAD' club! This past week is a perfect example! On wednesday Kason went fishing with me and his uncle matt. He helped matt catch a 5 pound catfish!! He loved it! He even got to help reel it in! Then on friday up here in Payson the little guy got to catch two trout!! He had the biggest smile when we pulled it in! That very smile makes being a dad so much fun! My goal is to do all i can to keep that smile on my childrens face. I know it is possible because my own dad did it! He would always go out of his way to spend time with his 3 boys. My dad made to all our games, school activities, and church functions...if something was important to us, it was just as important to him! I truly thank my dad for being a great example.....and my hero in life! I'll make sure i get some pictures of kason and the fish posted! HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!

Seriously, could he BE any CUTER?!

May: Week 4

This weekend was by far, my favorite weekend of the whole month! One of Kameron's old mission president's sent us to the Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix - with all our expenses paid!! It was such an amazing weekend!

When we got there and got checked in, we were starving so we wanted to get our things to our room and go get some dinner. Well, it took us seriously like 30 minutes just to find our room! This place was SO huge! We were in a special wing on a special floor that is apparently, really hard to find. So, after we FINALLY found our room we went and had dinner at the Blue Sage restaurant (which was also really hard to find!) and they had the yummiest Mexican food buffet. The food was so delicious and the dessert was to DIE for!

Saturday morning we woke up and went to the Revive Spa and got a couple's massage. It was so incredible. Kameron and I were both so relaxed all day because of it. Afterwards we ate breakfast at the restaurant at the spa. Then we went and explored the resort. This place had 3 pools, 2 hot tubs, a lazy river, golf course, shops, and 6 restaurants! The weather was kind of cool but we really wanted to go swimming so, we got changed and went down to the restaurant at the pools for some lunch. We swam a little bit but it was too cold. So, Kameron sat in the hot tub while I just layed out.
Saturday afternoon one of my best friends from high school, Mekahla, got married!! We went to the sealing and it was so neat to see her get sealed. I love that girl and I'm so happy she has found a great guy to spend eternity with! Then after the sealing we went to their reception and spent the rest of the night there.

When we got back to the resort - we ordered room service!! I'd never done it before and it was SO fun! Neither of us were very hungry but it was just fun to order room service.

Sunday the weather was SO much nicer! So, after having a room service breakfast we went out to the pools and just swam and relaxed all morning. Right before check out we went to eat at the steak house there - oh my goodness - it was SO incredibly delicious! Kameron and I still crave the steak skewers with chile mustard that we had! SO GOOD!

When it was time to check out we were SO sad! I did not want to leave AT ALL. I missed Kason but, I was having the time of my life! I loved every minute of it!! Maybe someday we'll be able to go back there. It was such a beautiful place and I really enjoyed spending a whole weekend with just Kameron. So, thank you Mom for watching Kason! And THANK YOU President and Sister Colton for our WONDERFUL weekend! We will never be able to thank you enough!!

Here are tons of pictures from the weekend:

our room:

the bathroom:

the most comfortable bed in the entire world!

the tv:

the view from our room:

Kam eating room service:

there were rabbits EVERYWHERE! it was so fun!:

the neat centerpiece right as you walk in the lobby:

in the lobby:

Kam at the entrance (see how huge that place is?! and that's just the front side!!):

going to the sealing:




the happy couple; Mekahla and Randy Cheney:

group shot:




me and Mekahla:




It was such a great weekend. It really made me realize that Kameron and I need to get away more often without Kason! It was so wonderful!!!

Life is Good!

Just a quick update! I am going to live. That's such a 'matter of fact' statement but when you've gone through the stuff I have...it holds meaning! I am now at a lower medication dose on the steriod Prednisone. I also see my docs only every three months. It was every week and my Rhuemetologist was in Tucson. I have finally steadied out in weight and am getting stronger day by day. In the last 6 weeks i have maybe had only two flare ups(lupus attacks)so that is good! It is so nice to have a bit of normality in my life now. There was a point during this experience that I couldn't even pick up Kason and now all i do is play with him all day long! So yeah I am living again! I am ready to move forward..I am job searching so if anyone knows anything let us know. Thanks to all for the prayers, love, and support! I really made a difference! It guess service is the best medicine you can take!!!!

May: Weeks 2 & 3

Mother's Day:

I know this is a month late but, I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Kameron and Kason bought me a couple Willow Tree's that I had been wanting. They both fixed me a HUGE breakfast and just let me relax all day. I even got a 2 hour nap! They were good to me on my special day. AND - a family in the ward watched Kason for us during sacrament so we didn't even have to wrestle with a toddler! It was a wonderful day!



Diamondbacks Game:

We got some free tickets to a Diamondbacks game (thanks Cindy and Matt!) and we had SO much fun! We left Kason with Kameron's parents and went with Vernon and Tiana Batty. We even got there early enough to get free Chris Young bobble heads! (Kameron was super excited about that!) The Diamondbacks lost but the game was still really good! And afterwards there was a free Trace Adkins concert so I got to go to my first ever concert!! It was a really fun night and it was a good break for me and Kameron!!

Our family in our D-backs attire:






I love this picture of Kason:





Here's our view from our seats - we were in the 3rd row on the top level - right behind home plate! AWESOME seats!!



I *love* Stephen Drew ... Kameron thinks I'm like a high school girl with a crush ... and so what if I am?!

Me and Kameron:

Trace Adkins:



What a FUN night!!!