Random, but Cute

Emily's gotten into combing hair. My sister-in-law, Heidi, was kind enough to let Emily work her magic on her hair.



It's gotten hot here already, so of course it's time to bust out the baby pool. They love it.




There several new perks for a kid who turns one: eating honey, drinking cow's milk, and having birthday cake to name just a few. In my opinion, the best one for a kid has to be finally being able to sit in a forward facing car seat. This is Dallin's first ride in his new big boy car seat.

House Hunting Trip

Danny and I went down to Tucson Friday afternoon to look for a place to live. We spent the better part of Saturday looking at rental homes and we found one we really liked, similar to this one.

What we're most thrilled about is the master planned community in which this house is located. It's called Rancho Sahuarita (check it out at http://www.ranchosahuarita.com/) and it's about 10 miles south of Tucson. It's pretty much in the boonies, but the amenities it offers are incredible. They are only offered to members of the comminity and include a fitness center, a lake, a water park, miniature golf, a train, tennis courts, and more. They even have a school, a Fry's, and a gas station in there. Though it's definitely different than what we're used to, we've heard great things about it and think it will be perfect for the eight months we'll be down there.

Conference Weekend

I love General Conference, thanks to my brother Todd who, as a returned missionary 16 years ago, instilled in me a vibrant enthusiasm about the privilege of sitting at the feet of living prophets and apostles. Our kids did really well and I was able to listen to most of the talks without too much distraction. I was touched by the Spirit as I sustained President Monson. I know he is the Lord's chosen prophet to lead this Church. It was an honor to raise my hand to sustain him. I really wish I would've been a little more on top of things and had taken a picture of Emily raising her little hand when it was her turn to sustain him. It was cute and the solemn assembly was a neat experience. My love grew for President Monson as he gave his closing remarks. It was neat to hear some funny, personal stories and to see his humorous side. He was really funny!! I was also grateful to be able to sustain the new First Presidency and Elder Cristofferson as the newest member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles.

Every talk was fantastic and gave me a lot to ponder and to improve. However, I have to admit my favorite was Elder Ballard's. It was literally an answer to my prayers. His talk made me feel so good and inspired me to be better. I love how specific he was on things I as a mother can do at this critical and special time in my children's lives. It gave me a lot to work on. I listened to this talk the other morning as I got ready, and I will listen to it over and over so his words will become written in my heart. I love General Conference! Did anyone else have any favorite talks or a special Conference moment?

Dallin's 1st Birthday!

We celebrated Dallin's birthday tonight with a big family birthday party. My sister, Jennifer, was nice enough to have it at her house since it's a much bigger place than ours. We had aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents from both sides there to celebrate with us. We barbecued hot dogs, and had baked beans, chips, fruit, veggies, pasta salad, and of course cake and ice cream. It was a great party and I think Dallin had a good time, though he didn't really understand all the hoopla was for him.

The birthday boy waiting patiently for his dinner.

Fun times!

Dallin's first time eating a hot dog. He loved it and ate a huge dinner.

Dallin was mesmerized by the flame.

It was Dallin's first time eating cake. He didn't dig in at all at first. He just pinched off minescule crumbs for the longest time. It was pretty funny.


He finally got down to business and took some big bites.

He even got a little messy.

Posing like a pro.

Opening presents.

He got lots of fun presents from everybody and it made a huge mess!

Even with all his new toys lying around, he liked the balloon best.

Happy birthday, sweet Dallin Boy! We love you!



These are some of the professional photos taken on his birthday. So cute!!

Tucson or Bust!

We FINALLY received word where Danny's job will take us first: Tucson, AZ! This is what we'd hoped for and feel so blessed it has worked out this way. So here's the deal with Danny's job, in case people are a little hazy. Danny will graduate on May 10th from ASU with an MBA in Supply Chain Management. He was hired by Raytheon - to begin work upon graduation - last November after internshipping with them last summer in Dallas. (go to http://www.wikipedia.org/ and search "Raytheon" if you should feel so inclined to learn more about the company). They offered him a full-time position in their prestigious Leadership Development Program, an opportunity not many graduates get. It's a rotational program. This means essentially that he'll get to try three different types of jobs within the supply chain field at three different business units in a two year period. If you do the math, you see we'll move every eight months during these next two years. Crazy, I know. At the end of the two years, after they've mentored, trained, and developed him into a skilled leader (hence, the Leadership Development Progam) he'll be up for grabs within the company (they say he'll be a really hot comodity by then) and we'll move one last time to another business unit where his permanent job will be. For now, we're just so glad to finally know where we're going. Exciting, exciting!