July in a Nutshell

Our New House!!!
Dave and I finally have a place to call home and we are loving it. It is soooo nice to have a home and enough room to put everything. We have such great neighbors and Gage is already best friends with the boy right next door. We are still working on putting everything together, but it is coming along.
Master BedroomBathroom-I think it's called a jack-and-jill bathroom because it's connected to the master and the hall.
Backyard and garden.
Back of the house.
Front

Kitchen 1
Kitchen 2
Family Room
Downstairs bath
4th bed/office/playroom
I will post more pictures of things as they come along. I am getting a new couch today that I'm soooo excited about. The laundry/craft room is one of my favorite rooms, but it has boxes all over it still. We are putting up some shelving and then I'll let you see.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Dave and I went to Cabo from July 5-12th with my parents. They have a time share at the Pueblo Bonito Sunset and it the the most gorgeous place I have ever been. We left the kids with Dave's brother, Matt and his wife, Amy. The kids didn't want to come home. Matt and Amy loved having them stay and were really sad that the week went by so fast for them.
Wave running was a lot of fun! The only bad part is getting salt water sprayed in your face the whole time. Last time we were in Cabo, we did wave runners and I was a little scared (I didn't want to fall in and get eaten by a shark!), but this time I just let loose and had a blast!
Hanging out have a Margarita! (virgin, of course!)

This picture was taken on Divorce Beach, which is on the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula and the wind is really fierce over there.

This is at a really cute restaurant that's outside with little lights. The meal was huge and really good. I made Dave stick his head inside this shark--just because I thought it was funny!

I can't remember the name of this look through, but you can see from the Sea of Cortez all the way through to the Pacific side. This is usually covered with water, so it was a rare thing for us to get to see it. The other pic, is what everyone usually pictures when they think of Cabo.

My parents have some friends who live in Cabo, and they took us out on their boat for a tour and some snorkeling. For those of you who know that I'm deathly afraid of water, you would be impressed that I at least got in the water and tried it. The water was absolutely freezing and took the breath right out of me. I tried really hard to look under the water and see the fish, but I was just too petrified! Dave said that snorkeling was the most amazing thing that he's done in Cabo, so if any of you are going there--make sure to go snorkeling. Getting back onto the boat was so funny. Russo, our guide, would pull us up and everyone belly-flopped. I only got a pic of my dad, but it is the funniest thing I've ever seen!

This is at the resort. It's really cool, becuase these golf carts (that's what they call them, but they are massive compared to a golf cart) pick you up from your building and take you to the lobby, pool, beach or wherever you need to go. It's pretty neat. The pic of Dave and me is taken on the beach by our resort--the waves are too big to swim in, but they were sure fun to watch.

4th of July

We went to the Kaysville parade on the 4th. It was a lot of fun. Matt, Amy and their twins came down to join us. It was really easy just to walk across the street from our old apartment. I think that might be the only thing I will miss about that place!


We did some fireworks at our place after. It was a long day and I think everyone was ready to get some sleep. After the fireworks, the kids went home with Matt and Amy, because our flight to Cabo was early the next morning. It was soooo hard to leave the kids at home. I only cried a couple times while we were gone. I did a lot better than what I thought I would. I don't think we will be going on any trips without them...at least not for a long time!



Hill Aerospace Museum

Some friends in my old ward went to the airport museum for something to do, and it was really neat to see all the huge planes that were used in war. It was really hard for me because one of our good friends, Aaron, just joined the Airforce and he is done with basic and he and Emily and the kids will be moving to South Carolina soon! It always brings tears to my eyes because there are people who willingly fight for our freedom and the land we live in. I love all the veterans and I'm so grateful for them and their service!

I AM A WARRIOR!

I have accepted a job at West Point Jr. High!! So I will be a West Point Warrior! I couldn't be more excited about this opportunity! Dave and I have been truly blessed with me getting this job! I had my interview with Davis School District a week and a half ago and I wasn't expecting to get an interview with a school so soon. So I decided that I would go down to Mesquite with my parents (last Monday). On Tuesday I received a call from the Assistant Principal wanting to interview me on Thursday! This was the only day they were doing interviews for the position so on Wednesday, my loving parents drove the kids and me back home! It was a long car ride and a short stay in Mesquite, but I have to say that it was well worth the drive! I wasn't sure that I would get the job because in the interview I felt like I was drowning in a an ocean full of sharks!! I was not prepared at all for the questions, but apparently I didn't appear that way to the interviewers! They asked me really specific questions about the curriculum that I would be teaching and how essays, reports, grammar, and about all the mechanics of English that I would use!! Yikes! I hadn't even thought about this stuff! Thank goodness that I am a talker and was able to breathe and think consciously enough to answer the questions without stuttering too much!!

I am so excited to be a part of the "family" as the faculty calls it! They made me feel very welcome and I am so excited about the way West Point takes care of their teachers in helping them with the students! It will be a great experience for me and I am exicted to start the journey!!





Dave and I went out to celebrate my job! He took me to Texas RoadHouse, which is my favorite place to eat right now! I'm surprised that it has taken the lead in front of Olive Garden (well for the moment-anyway)! It was fun to go out with Dave--we don't do it often enough. After we ate, we strolled through RC Willey and looked at furniture that we are in desperate need of. It was fun just to go on a date with my hubby!
This last week has been a busy week of going to Cherry Hill. Gage had so much fun playing in the water with Coooper! Gage went swimming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday! He is a fish in the water and he is getting more daring. Gage spent the night at Coooper's house on Friday--it was his first sleep over and it was really hard for me to let him stay. It just means that he is growing up too fast--and I don't want him to! Gage had a blast and didn't want to come home. I met Amy (my sis-in-law) and the kids over at Cherry Hill later on Sat. It was a lot of fun and it's great to be in the water when it's so hot outside!
I think this picture was after swimming on Thursday.

Bostyn loves playing in the water and he is a snatcher of other people's toys. He is constantly moving from place to place and taking things. It's funny to watch. He will climb in and out of the water onto the concrete and it doesn't seem to bother him at all.

Gage, Amy, and Cooper floated around the lazy river while I got Bostyn dressed and ready to go home. They had such a fun time floating around. Gage used to be so scared of being in the water without someone holding on to him and now he doesn't want any help. He loves being able to use his tube. This pic was on Thurs. and by Sat. he didn't want his floaties anymore--he just felt comfortable using his tube and floating down the river!

These pictures were down at my parent's home in Mesquite. We filled up a little pool and Gage had a blast. It was scary with Bostyn though, because he would crawl from edge to edge and stand up. I'm surprised he didn't fall over board and smack his head. Although, I'm glad that didn't happen!

Bostyn found a basket that looked like fun to crawl into. Gage got jealous and had to join him. The basket was a little bit too small to hold both of them in it.

While I was down south, I was able to visit one of my good friends, Alisa and her family. I had my parents take me up to St. George for the day and Alisa and I took the kids to the recreation center for some swimming. It was a lot of fun to watch the kids play. It was funny because Gage and Ashlyn never played on the same toys at the same time. When one finished the other one decided they wanted to play in that spot now. It was hilarious! When we got back to Alisa's house the kids were hiding out under the girls' bed. They were playing drums on the bottom of the bed. I'm so glad that I'm able to stay in touch with my good friends and that our kids can play together. It's crazy to think that as kids in highschool we would grow up and have kids of our own! I knew this part of my life would happen, but it's crazy to believe it's real!

Zoo, Superheroes, and Hideouts!

Our ward is doing a thing for the summer called TRACKS. Basically every week we do something different together as a ward. On Monday it is park day and then later in the week it will vary what the activity is. A couple weeks ago we went to the Hoogle Zoo. This is Gage with his friend Logan. They played together all day and had a blast!
We were able to get really close to the giraffe. It was a fun day and I think both of my boys had a great time!

Bostyn was soooo good! He sat in the stroller and just watched all the animals and the crazy kids running around. He loves to eat apples-so this is him sucking and biting on Gage's unfinished apple.
Of course, Gage's favorite part was being able to ride the carousal at the end. He also loved being able to play at the park! It was a fun time for the kids--although I have definitely seen better zoos. It's hard to go there, but I was able to get in for free on my friend's buddy pass--so it was well worth the trip!

I never knew that at 3 years old kids would rather be with their friends than with me!! It's kind of sad that it starts that young! Gage is constantly wanting to go over to his friends' houses or have them come over here.
Gage has been playing a lot with our next door neighbor, Lane. Although Lane is 7 years old--they play like they are the same age. On this particular day it was all about being a superhero! They switched costumes a couple times and Mr. Incredible was also a part of the game, but I don't have a pic of that.

Gage and Bostyn have been loving to build forts with the boxes we have around. It's almost a daily thing to have a fort and hide out under it--Gage will get under and watch t.v. and Bostyn just knocks everything down and makes Gage mad! It's pretty funny. I have to limit the times we do forts, because it does get messy and I don't like cleaning up all the time!


There is some space in between our couches that has been made into a little place where some toys are at for the kids to play with and Bostyn loves to crawl back there. Sometimes he gets stuck, but it is so cute with his smiles--it's like he knows he doing something he shouldn't be doing!