August 5th

Lilli went on her first date! Nathan Tanner asked her out to dinner and to go to meet the teacher at the high school with him. It was super sweet of him. He's a great friend. Lilli had a fun time. The had dinner at Big Buddha, a local Chinese restaurant.

The twins went to the Shadow Ridge High School meet the teacher on their own and Dad and I went with Daniel to his at Valley Vista. I think it will be a great year for everyone!

On our way home we saw a storm wall coming. Shortly after, the view out the back window was crazy with dust and wind.

Then the storm really hit, and the rain came with more wind. The power went out about 7:30 pm. Lilli and Nathan came over after their date and the rest of the Young girls with a couple of their friends. We lit candles and tried to stay cool. The temperature outside dropped to 74° so Dad and I sat out on the front porch. We had to find the cushions for the out door furniture, it had blown down the street. It was pretty nice out. We just read, while the kids played Five Hunting Hounds inside. 

Sara came home from the YSA FHE and was not in the mood to be in a hot house, so we hopped in the car and drove around. Laney came with us. We stopped by In-N-Out for burgers and learned that they give free hot cocoa to kids on rainy days. Laney was thrilled! We came back home a little before midnight and at 11:58 the power came back on.

Hooray for air conditioning!!!

Sam came by the next day for a visit. That evening they had a man night and played video games.

They played Halo for hours. It's always extra fun when Sam comes over.

Well, on Thursday the school year started. Summer flew by especially fast with all the traveling we did. It's always bitter sweet to send them back to school. They are ready to be busy and see friends, but I always miss them.

Susanna is in 5th grade.

Laney is in 7th grade.

Andrew is in 11th grade and the dental assisting program as West MEC.

Freddy is in 11th grade and the medical assisting program at West MEC.

Daniel is in 9th grade and starting high school.

Being at a different high school than his siblings, he doesn't really know many people. However, the people he does know are Lauren Ruff and Isabelle Hunsaker, both of them are beautiful seniors. They are so kind to him and have taken them into their group of friends. He is having a wonderful start to the school year!

Lauren and Daniel

July 29th

While we were in Utah, Laney attended a Book of Mormon sleep over at the Crockett's. They read the whole Book of Mormon in 24 hours. They only took a few short naps here and there.

Brylee Cuthbertson, Larysa Mitchell, Averie Jordan, Laney, Kendall Fechter, Taylee Crockett and Anna Kate Gent

Back to home life!

This beautiful picture was take for Timmy's enjoyment. It is full of lots of love for him!

One morning, we spent a few hours with our darling friends, the Bakers. Krista and I had fun talking while the girls played and danced. 

Laney, Kailey, Lindsey and Susanna

Kailey, Susanna, Lindsey, Laney and Jackson

Sara was happy to catch up with her friends too. Makaila came over!

Sara has some wonderful friends, and Makaila is one of the sweetest.

Gavin and Cadie came up for the week. It was fun to spend time playing and singing and talking with them. Their kids are growing so fast and get cuter all of the time!

Daphne, Susanna, Freia and Laney

Such beautiful cousins!

Freddy and Andrew made this awesome shade for the bikes. Sadly, shortly after this picture, a monsoon storm came through. It picked it up off of the rebar stakes and threw it over the fence into the street. It isn't broken beyond fixing,but beyond functionality. We are planning to fix it ASAP.

Our buddy, Ty Towle, surprised us with a short visit. He was down here from Utah for a wedding. We played  a few rounds of Jungle Uno with him.

Friday,Josh Jordan, Josh Jensen, Miles Spencer and Ethan LaClaire came to hangout. This would be Ethan's last time before moving to California. Of course there was lots of jamming around the piano!

They sang some Broadway, Jason Mraz, One Direction, a bunch of others and of course, Shawn Mendes. He's a favorite with these guys.

Then it was off to the stake center for a blow dart battle! Freddy cut some pipes and bought a ton of darts. They even let the little girls join in the fun.

It was fearsome!

Josh Jensen and Miles won the first few rounds, but it may have been because they didn't engage in battle as often as the others. Laney was the unexpected super star. She was always around until the end each round.

Josh says, "Hi Tim!"

The girls both ended up with fat lips, but no tears. They had too much fun!

Saturday, Susanna made a bunch of cookies to share with neighbors. She was pretty proud of her yummy work!

Saturday night, we all attended A Night Of Music. My dad had arranged for a bunch of musicians to come and perform for three of the wards in the Glendale  Stake. Gavin, Daniel, Laney and I were some of the performers. Laney and Daniel sang a duet from Seussical the Musical, Alone in the Universe. Gavin performed two numbers, Race You to the Top of the Morning from The Secret Garden, and Into the Fire, from The Scarlet Pimpernel. I sang Vanilla Ice Cream, from She Loves Me, and How Could I Ever Know, from The Secret Garden. It was a ton of fun! Thanks Daddy for making it possible and for being our biggest fan.

Laney, Madi, Leah and Alana Livingstone

Freddy and Daniel

Livingstones, Algers, Madi and little Cathcart girls

I love singing with this guy! He is one of my favorites!!!

Leah and Tessa with their partners in crime!

After the performances, we went back to Gram and Papa's to play!

The Livingstone girls came over too. There was some wrestling, dancing and movie watching.

Dad and Susie did the Happy Feet Dance!

Utah Day 11 and Home Again

Sunday! We love Sundays in Utah! We all went to the Bytheways ward for church. However, Kim and I snuck out early to attend the homecoming meeting for Ashley's mission president, from the France Lyon Mission. It was crazy packed!

We all meet back at the house after church for lunch, Auntie Kim style, heavy on the candy and sweets. Luckily there was some fruit Sara and Daniel could munch on and I brought my own food.

The kids all played games and Kim and I talked while preparing shepherd pie for dinner. She made a TON!

Kim, Sam and Timothy in the back
Andrew, Bethany, Sara, Daniel and Freddy
Playing Scum

Drew and Natalie

A serious game of Risk!

Then dinner, with Grandma and Grandpa Loveridge and Grandma Bytheway. I left just after dinner, with Sara, to take Sam back to BYU for his first meeting for the next session of EFY. 

Then we hurried back to spend a couple more hours visiting. We never have enough time with the Bytheways.

And it's always hard to say goodbye. There were lots of hugs.

And some dog piles. Sara and Natalie are somewhere under there.

The next morning, we packed up and said our goodbyes to all the little cuties and Randy and Marilyn's house. 

Michael and Sarah had come the day before with all of their kids, Genelle, Max and Ali. They were waiting for their new baby boy to be born, baby Vegas. He has the same biological mother as Ali. Then they will take him home to Indiana! It was fun to see how much the kids have grown in a year.

Genelle was so proud of the face she was making in the picture. Silly girl!

Sarah, Randy and Marilyn

We are grateful as always for their hospitality, their love and for how much fun they are!

Even though it was sad to leave our friends and family in Utah, I think we were all glad to be heading home. There is just something about seeing that beautiful desert landscape, it just feels where we belong.