11 YEARS! Really? Wow!

Well, it's been officially 11 years since Bob & I got married. Wow! Time does seem to fly! It seems like only yesterday that I was at BYU leaving little notes for him on his car. I was even more excited when he left them for me. Back then he was a rhyming poet genius and he would often write verses about meeting me somewhere. I still have some of them tucked away some where (don't ask me where, I just know that I saved pretty much every scrap of paper he ever gave me)!

We spent our anniversary in Sedona. We can't remember the last time we left overnight without the kids, so apparently it was due time! A big thanks to Adam & Kimberly who watched our kids for us! It was so nice to get away and be able to talk to Bob without the kids asking for something or yelling or jumping on us! :) We ate at a decent Mexican restaurant for dinner and a little diner for breakfast. Bob had a huge ice cream cone after dinner - man, talk about a sugar rush. It was really good! I tasted it but was too full from dinner for one of my own. We walked around and looked in several shops. Most were just tourist stuff, but I did manage to find a skirt that I really liked and then we hit the outlets where Bob bought several shirts and some shorts. I found a few cute shirts and some capris for myself.

So it was a fun shopping day without kids (honestly, it's way easier to try on clothes without them crawling in the racks! LOL)! The weather was beautiful and rainy and way cooler than the hot Phoenix valley! It was a fabulous getaway!

Bob, thanks for loving me and treating me like a queen! :) I love you!

Spotlight on Danya

Well, I guess the spotlight is on me this week since I did everyone else in the family already. Who knows, maybe you'll learn something new about me! I'll try to do "unknown" facts...

I was born on Dec. 6th - in some year... My dad gave me the name of Danya Janae Spann. I was supposed to be Dacia, but when I came out, my dad said that I wasn't Dacia (of course that belonged to the sister that followed me 18 months later).

My favorite color is red (although I love pink as well). I started learning to play piano when I was 4 or 5. My mom taught me for a few years and then I had various teachers.

I can't waterski and every person who swears they can get me up on skis I have turned into liars! LOL! I just don't like the feeling of my arms ripping out of their sockets I guess. I have snow skiied though (I'm not terribly good at that either). I love to play volleyball and basketball, but I haven't in years (except for the kids hoop at my house). I played basketball, softball and volleyball on our church team all through young women's.

My junior year of high school I was selected to go to Girls State in Utah. We pretended to form our own city/government for a week. I was elected "postmaster" thanks to seeing my dad do his job on occasion. I have traveled from coast to coast throughout my life since I have grandparents in CA and SC. I left the country once to see Niagara Falls. Ok, that hardly qualifies, but I still left!

I love teaching piano and watching kids learn and succeed in music and life. I taught middle school choir in Tempe for a year and also substitute taught for about 8 months until Channing was born. I would just like to say, middle school kids can be tough to teach! I enjoyed alot of it, but really disliked dealing with the parents who thought their kids were perfect (especially when they were far from it). Maybe one day I'll return to it. I'll be much wiser the next time around!

My favorite place to visit is Patrick's Point State Park on the Northern CA coast. I'd go there right now if I could! I would love to visit places like Europe or some exotic island somewhere (doesn't matter where because I've never been to any and I have nothing to compare it to).

I recently started do family search indexing and have been transferring handwritten names from the 1870 Ohio census to typed records so people can search for their ancestors. I've also started scanning my grandfather's slide collection (about 7500 slides). Some are over 60 years old. It's been quite a challenge. I think I'm about 1/4 done. Lots more to do!

Ok, that's enough about me.

Look Mom & Dad! We're ORANGE BELTS!

Yes, it's finally official! Channing and Cameron have earned their karate Orange Belts. (well, Cameron is a half orange/half white belt since he's technically a tiny tiger). Both did great during testing and seemed to really knew their stuff! They have really enjoyed karate and they were so excited to achieve a new level. Cameron is extra enthusiastic and says everything with confidence. He's often so loud that his teacher applauds his energy (it's pretty funny actually). Channing is more reserved but his moves show otherwise and he's kicks as high and as far as his legs will take him. Congrats boys on your newest accomplishment!

Monsoon 2008!!! That's a lot of RAIN!

Last Sunday we had a torrential downpour hit the valley of the sun. It was incredible! We logged just over 2" of rain in a few short hours here in central Phoenix! (this is a desert right)?

Water poured out of our backyard like a river. The park/basin in front of our house turned into a lake. (it's true! We saw people canoeing in it)! The kids went absolutely crazy and ran in and out of the house....completely soaked! They stood under the "waterfall" of rain water that was pouring off our roof. At first they used an umbrella and a raincoat, but they ditched them because they couldn't avoid getting wet. They filled up buckets in seconds and then dumped them on each other and themselves. They even filled water guns and ran around squirting each other. Cason laughed and played and after about 30 min. his little lips turned blue and he started to shiver! (hard to imagine in Phoenix huh)? That was ALOT of rain folks!

The next day there was so much standing water in one of the basins by our house that the kids were able to go boating with our friends, the O'Neills. It didn't last long though. Before we knew it, Cameron was in the water up to his chest pulling the boat around. Channing & Cason joined him shortly after. (There's a few clothes that WILL NOT come clean)! Silly Kids!

Wanna be a Disney Princess?

So I thought this was a cute thing that my cousin Breanne did on her blog. Find out what you are too!

You Are Mulan!
Strong and spirited. You're no one's girly girl; actually you are very determined person with a strong sense of self. Never let go of that! The only thing that equals your sense of self is your family, but the traditions of society can always be bent to protect something or someone you love.
Which Disney Princess Are You?

Cason Turns 2 (bye-bye binky)!

So our sweet little Cason turned 2 on Monday, July 7th. Hard to believe that he's growing up so fast! We always call him "little tiny" just for kicks, but he's starting to outgrow the name! Cason was lucky enough to celebrate his birthday a few days early with his extended family and cousins in Utah. We had a small celebration on his actual birthday at home with the Eyre's and the 5 of us. Suzie made a darling Nemo cake for the party and Cason loved it (he's a big Nemo fan even though he's never really watched the movie). It took him several tries to blow out the candle, but he eventually got it!

Unfortunately, with the passage of time and big boy age comes the loss of the binky. We let him keep it for his birthday, but the next day Bob cut the tip off and Cason just looked at it and said "binky broken?" So he and Bob tossed it. It hasn't been the easiest for him to give it up. He was really attached and he loved to have it all the time! He cries for it when he goes to sleep (not all that fun), but he's getting better at going to sleep without it. So, bye-bye binky little man. Time to be a BIG BOY!

Utah Trip & 4th of July Festivities!

We have returned from another successful trip to Utah where we crammed in more fun than we could handle! We spent the days running from here to there trying to see all of our family and friends. It was crazy, but we love it that way.

Sunday we were able to attend the blessing of Corgan Farrell Reeves. Justin gave a great blessing to his first son. So sweet! Afterward we went to a wonderful luncheon at their home (thanks Ashley, the food was fabulous)!

The boys and I & Dad & Dacia and her boys went to SLC and quickly visited Temple Square (quickly because it was HOT and Breanne had a massive migraine -poor gal - and we needed to go to a late lunch with Mom and Suiska & Brent. We enjoyed eating at Mimi's and talking to them for a while. Suiska & Brent then handed off Grandpa Reeves' ginormous collection of slides. I am going to convert them to digital files with the help of a slide scanner. It's going to take a while (ya, there are ALOT, not to mention the nearly 2000 that I have from my childhood - eek)!!! Wish me luck with that!

This is a picture of the boys at the fountain where Bob and I got engaged on Temple Square grounds.

Bob spent a day with his Mission President. They drove his Maserati up to SLC for a quick check-up and then they drove down the canyon and ate at Sundance and visited Pres. Dewitt's daughter. Bob was able to help her with some internet problems. I love that he can do stuff like that. He's such a techie! :)

Channing & Cameron had fun sleeping over at Gr. & Gr. Spann's with their cousins Jonah & Jonathan. They had so much fun that the next night, we took Jonah & Jon to Gr. & Gr. Paxman's and they had another sleepover. They always have so much fun together since they are so close in age. It was a bit crazy having 5 little boys running around though! LOL!

We had a great time swimming with Heidi & Tyson and Grandpa Spann in Heidi's parents community pool. There was as little 2 foot kiddie pool just right for Cason and Tyson. Channing and Cameron played in the bigger pool that had a slide and a diving board. That night we went up Provo Canyon to South Fork and had a BBQ with the Spann clan and Bre & Paul & Emma. Yummy! Oh and the river was ICE COLD! Brrrrr!!!! Kids played in it anyway! Sillies!

On Wed. I ate lunch with my friend Lisa who I don't get to see nearly enough! Then we had the honor of eating dinner at Grandpa & Grandma Paxman's house. Dad Paxman was there as well. Following that we went to the Spann's and had a Wii party! (Guess what, I'm really bad at car racing on the Wii)! Jen & Aaron & kids joined us for the fun and Heidi & Devin & Dacia & kids were there. (Oh ya, I think Devin knows how to play the Wii, his car actually stayed on the track)!

Thursday, we drove to see Jen & Aaron's new house in Lehi that is almost finished. It's really nice and we hope they get to move in soon! J'Nett and Chris and Jacob drove in that night too. So it was another fun and busy day.

Friday the 4th was the big RACE DAY (oh and the Fourth of July of course)! Bob proved that hard work matters more than age. His official time for the 5k was 20:38. He was 71st overall (out of 1667) and was 3rd in his age bracket so he got a medal for his awesome finish! Bob asked me if I was surprised that he beat his brothers. I said NOPE! Here's a guy that lost over 30 pounds and trained for 6 months. There was no way he was going to lose it unless he was injured. Even with a sore achillies, he was able to pull it off. His mission president even came to cheer him on! His quote was, "if we have to get up this early (5am), he better win!" LOL! I agreed!

After the race we enjoyed a picnic breakfast with the Paxman's and a few Spann's. Then we went to the parade. We were 30 minutes late and Bob was grateful because he hates going (I love to drag him though)! :) The kids had fun while the sun was hidden behind the clouds. Otherwise it was BLASTED HOT! Cason slept through the whole thing. Poor kid was so tired!

We then enjoyed a family picnic with many of the Paxmans and cousins. The food was great and it was fun to get to see so many aunts and uncles and cousins that we rarely get to see. It's amazing how quickly all the kids grow! We had a great lunch and then some fun with water balloons (well, except for the stray one that I threw that hit a dirt patch and splashed Aunt Linda....I still feel bad for that. Big Oops! Sorry! Next time I'll look before I throw)!

As night fell we went to Grandpa & Grandma Paxman's house and walked down to the Stadium of Fire. (well, after Cameron managed to burn his finger on a sparkler). The fireworks were fabulous as always. Channing stood there and tried to catch them as they fell. Cameron fell asleep on the blanket and despite all we did to wake him, there was no rousing this little fella. He had a long, long day and a burned finger, so he was out for the count. Cason, who we thought would be scared of the fireworks, LOVED them. He was in awe the whole time and kept saying, FIREWORKS! LOUD! CIRCLES! It was super cute!

Saturday the "dad's" went golfing at Cascade. I believe Nate took that one. Then we all met at BrickOven to celebrate J'Nett's Graduation from Nursing school, and Cason and Mom Spann's birthdays. It was so fun to get 2 families together and have some great pizza and cake!

Afterward, we went to Shawn & Julie's and went swimming with their family at the PG pool. The weather was a little interesting (well, it sprinkled a little anyway). The kids had a wonderful time though and they enjoyed being the center of attention. We were able to spend some time chatting and having dinner with the Reeves as well (thanks for the awesome food Julie & Shawn)!

So, that was our crazy Utah trip. I know nobody really wants to read all that, but one day I will put it all in a book and my kids can read it and see what they did when they were little.