Hot, hot, and hot brought to by the letter S

I'm really having fun with the 365 A Photo A Day. I'm looking for opportunities to record life. My skills still need improving, but it's coming along. Rather than bore you with a daily photo log, I think I'll just share with you the highlights of my life.

Saturday, June 25 - Crop Day
You probably realize by now that I like to scrapbook. It is a creative outlet for me that does not require a computer (which I desperately crave). I started a scrapbook group about 7 years ago called the East Valley Scrapbook Guild and have met some wonderful women through it. We get together about once a month to crop. The Saturday before last my sister was able to join us. The time always flies too quickly when I'm cropping with friends. I did take time out to snap a few photos.

The other big news from this past week has been the temperature. For my friends who live in AZ, you experienced it first hand...it was stinkin' HOT this week. On Wednesday, June 29th it was really weird because it also rained. So it was 110 degrees outside and raining. Don't believe me, check it out...

Friday's letter of the day was brought to us by my 2 year old niece....

The letter S.

This past Saturday, July 2nd my youngest brother and his wife moved from far, far, far east Mesa (ASU housing) to Kingman.  Did I mention it was a record breakingly hot...again, my obsession with the thermometer...

Yes, that thermometer is reading 119 degrees, and I should probably tell you that the thermometer itself is outside under the shaded patio.  So that was 119 degrees under the shade. AAGGHH!!!!!

So, my dad, brothers, and brother-in-law loaded everything up very early in the morning - can you imagine how much fun it is to load up a moving van with 4 engineers and a physical therapist (doesn't that sound like the start of a joke).  And then they all rolled out for a 4 hour drive to Kingman. 

My sister and I rolled in behind them and spent 2 1/2 hours cleaning their old house for them...yes, that's love!  I wouldn't say that we had fun, but we definitely worked up a sweat.  Now I normally try to avoid sharing picture of myself but I'm actually going to post one. AND, it's a horrible picture of me because I have no make-up on, i'm wearing my workout clothes, and i've just spent 2 1/2 hours sweating and cursing over an old kitchen floor. Tada...

And the only reason I had my picture taken was because it was the condition under which my sister would allow me to take her picture.

OK, for a recap of my Sunday, July 3rd photos you'll need to head over to my food Blog - A Feast For the Senses, because Sunday's pictures were of my 3-ingredient-roast-that-will-knock-your-socks-off.

AND, last but not least, HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!!  I'll be celebrating today with family.  I'm grateful to be an AMERICAN and deeply grateful for the men and women who helped establish this country and continue to sacrifice so that I may enjoy the blessings of liberty and freedom.

Worse than moving in July in Arizona

At the end of February I drove up to Rexburg, Idaho to help my sister and her family move into a temporary rental.  She and her husband were fortunate enough to sell their home relatively quickly (at least in today's current market).  They are planning on moving down to Arizona and are waiting until the kids are done with school.  I offered to help with the moving and cleaning.

I really enjoyed the 17 hour drive, other than the whiteout conditions that existed between Logan, Utah and Rexburg, ID.  I actually look forward to some nice relaxing me time - plug in a good book on tape and the time goes by in a blink of an eye.

My sister had already packed up most of the house.  I just helped to do the final boxing and then the cleaning.  It was the two of us and a 3200 sq ft. home.  We worked like dogs, but we GOT IT DONE!

However, the most impressive part of the move was all the help they got from the ward to actually haul all of their stuff from one house to the other. Check it out...

And I have come to one conclusion after the entire experience...THERE IS ONLY ONE THING WORSE THAN MOVING, IN ARIZONA, IN JULY. THAT WOULD BE MOVING, IN FEBRUARY, IN REXBURG, ID.  It was sooooo stinkin' cold! The high on the day we moved was 17 degrees, everything was covered in snow and ice.   It was so cold that it was painful to run out side with things to load into the car.

** Note to self and others: Don't move in winter in Idaho or summer in Arizona.

Despite all the work to move, I made time to play with Kiki and the kids:

I'll be so happy when they all move down to Arizona...hopefully before it gets too hot.

Aunt Megan's Annual Halloween Party - 1st Installment

So last Friday was Aunt Megan's Annual Halloween Party. I believe it was the 6th year I've done this. As I was frantically running around trying to get things out and directing the fun, I didn't get to take any pictures. Fortunately, I'm part of a "picture-taking" family and so my brother Jeff snapped away for me. He's supposed to come over tonight and bring all the pictures so I'll have to post them in the 2nd installment.

Till then, you can watch the magic show. For the entertainment portion of our evening I invited the kids to each prepare a magic trick to share. They loved performing and we had a blast watching them perform. Check out the video...

My newest project - A hat

So while visiting my sister Kiki in the frozen-tundra-of-the-north (a.k.a. - Idaho) we had to limit our activities to those things which could be done in doors, thus I learned to crochet. I decided that I had to have a hat to match my adorable neice Karlie.

Kiki had made the hat and so she taught me how to crochet, my first project was an adult sized hat, for those cold mornings in AZ.

I worked on it on my bus trip from Rexburg to Salt Lake and finished it up this week. So rather than show you my big head in it I got Justin's kids to model it for me.