Winner of the Flat Tire Award! Ü

Well, here it is another year and time to do the Pinewood Derby again. I can't say that is exactly the top talent we possess in the Crawford genes. We ARE good sports, that's for sure. Well, usually. Ü You might have seen one of these pictures with Eli not looking too excited. But, the important thing is that we participated, right?

 

Our stake puts on a pretty impressive Pinewood Derby. They have a nice track, have a screen up with the boys' pictures and how they rank, sound effects that sound like the car is starting it's engine and then peeling out....and all that fun stuff. We enjoy watching all the different cars that are created.

 

 

 

 

 

But for sure, we don't have the mad skills to get a trophy car. I don't know what it is that the rest of them have. Honestly, we only have one more year to go and we have NEVER won the thing. I know, there are lots of people that swear by watching some stuff on you tube or some other place online...but i guess we just never thought of doing that ourselves. Or maybe it's too much work? I don't know...but....if you can't be THE TOP DOG.....what fun is it anyway?

 

Unless you win the FLAT TIRE AWARD! Eli was so excited that he got the flat tire cake! Yep, that MUST be the reason why we didn't want to get any extra hints from anyone or anywhere, cuz that way you get a cake all to yourself! Yesiree! Good Job Eli! Here's to one more year til we're DONE with this sport! AMEN!

 

Well, there's the beautiful flat tire cake that Eli ate all by himself! He deserved it! Love you Eli!

It's the Girls' NIght Out and We're gonna have FUN!

We moved here to Arizona a little over 5 years ago. We are in East Mesa...and since it's an area that is growing rapidly, we have been living in the same house and have been in 3 wards. I have been sad each time we leave a ward because we have made such great friends, and don't want to leave them. HOWEVER....the great thing about being in 3 wards is meeting so many great people! Shelly Turner is definitely one of them! I look up to her in so many ways! She is such a beautiful person inside and out! She is one of the kind of people that everyone wants to be around. She just makes everyone FEEL GOOD! We need more of those kinds of people in our lives for sure! The dads took their boys out and we decided to go and have a girls' night out plus one cute little boy! I thought we would just do McDonald's or something since we had all the girls...but Shelly said "LET's GO OUT!"

 

I might have gone on a little too much about my new favorite place. Abuelo's. IT's such a yummy Mexican Food Restaurant. It was still yummy...but the service and stuff weren't up to par from the 2 other times I had gone. All the same, we had ourselves a wonderful time! What's not wonderful about great food and great company?

 

 

 

 

I think little Talan is an adorable little baby. I just want to squeeze him every time I see him! Look at those big eyes and dimples! Simply irresistable!

 

I am so grateful for good people in my life! I love being around people that truly raise me up! It's hard sometimes not having family here and I feel like Shelly is a sister to me. We have kind of "adopted" family while living here...and I'm glad they are "family" now.

Pancakes for Dinner!

We love where we live! It is so fun to have neighbors as friends! Last week we were all outside and hungry. I had JUST bought a 50 pound bag of IHOP pancake mix, so what better night to try it out than a night that we're all outside! David set up the table and got a griddle and before we knew it, Amy brought over another griddle, some milk and we started cooking! Making dinner is so much more fun with people all around!

 

I had to get some shots of people saying "THUMBS UP!" I thought it was cute. Especially Bryson from across the street....look at his "thumbs up" he's pointing his finger!

 

We feel like we have a great thing going here! Here's to many more dinners together!

Christmas Happenings 2010

It was David's idea to go to Utah this year. I'm always happy to do it so I can see my family. It's just he expense and the cold and the fact that our van is getting old. (144,000 miles on it).....With that being said, we had our van serviced to make sure it was "trip worthy" so we wouldn't be stranded anywhere in subzero temperatures! HA! You know where this is going, don't you? Here in Arizona, we just don't really understand what winter is. If there is rain, we think we're experiencing bad weather. The day we left just happened to be overcast. Not a big deal, got to Vegas and there was rain, St. George...sleet, and wouldn't you know it? Cedar City it started to snow! No problem, we have driven in snow before. WE were doing fine. We noticed cars that had slipped off the road hitting the median or going off the side, but we kept plugging along. Suddenly, our car started to kind of hiccup....we thought maybe it was the bumpy road cuz of the snow or maybe that the gas was getting low. We were lucky to find a gas station since between Beaver and Mona there really isn't much of anything. Actually, there really isn't much in Mona either. The exit before Mona, we pulled in and got gas, went the bathroom, etc.

We get back on the road and the car hiccups again....ok.....it's OUR CAR! We pull off the road and say a prayer. Great time to teach our kids a valuable life lesson that when you are in need of help, you call for Divine Intervention! We pray and I say "I have a really good feeling...I think everything is going to be fine". Mason says he got that good feeling too! I'm so grateful for opportunities to teach my kids the gospel! :) SO, David says "You got a good feeling? Oh good!" With that, he turned the car on, put it in drive and........NOPE! Not gonna go. "DOn't lose faith guys" I say...."Heavenly FAther will bless us, I had a good feeling!" Now I'm thinking, I hope I have enough faith to finish this great lesson! What if we DO get stranded? It's storming, 7 degrees outside, dark and we are in the middle of nowhere! I say another silent prayer....

We slowly drive down a dark road to get out of the way of traffic, but are heading towards NOTHING. Let me tell you, even if Mona is the name of the town, there really isn't much of a town. NO services for sure. So, I tell David we should turn around and at least be close to the freeway. We turn around move a little towards the freeway, then pull the van over, turn off the lights, turn on the hazard lights and take a deep breath.

I'm a little frustrated, but don't want it to show. I mean, we just payed $900 to make sure we would get there safely without car problems....I'm feeling blessed that we are only a couple of hours from Orem...so worse case scenario would be my parents coming to get us....but still....

Heavenly Father was looking out for us. We experienced a TOTAL tender mercy. The minute we turned on the hazard lights, a SUV comes driving toward us and stops to see if we need help!!!! YES, WE DO! Long story short, the kind man builds metal shelves for Costco and was at Home Depot getting ideas for his business. What a blessing for us! He also happened to own a few trailers. THAT is not a coincidence! What a blessing to have him say he would drive home to get one of his trailers and would haul us into Provo! He came back 15 minutes later, loaded our van up on his trailer, had us get into his Suburban and drove us 45 minutes to PRovo! I told the kids that Heavenly Father doesn't always answer our prayers how we expect them. I thought he would just make our car go...but instead, HE sent us someone to help us.

So....here are some of the highlights of our trip....

 

All the kids playing in the snow. THe good thing about driving to Utah during a storm was that there was TONS of snow to play in!

 

 

We got to hang out with our cousins. These are my youngest sister Autumn's kids. We love them! Autumn is such a bonder. She is always the first one to come and see us when we get to Utah. Even though our kids aren't the same ages, we have so much fun together! I think it's cute little Aaron was trying to wear my shoes. He was having a hard time walking in them, such a cutie pie!

 

IT's always fun to go and see G'ma and G'pa. G'ma's been a little under the weather. She fell and hurt her back a couple of months ago and is still on the mend. We hope she'll be feeling 100% soon!

 

David and I have been enjoying reading the "Great and Terrible" series. It's always fun to have a good book to read on vacation! :) Abbie is following her dad and reading too! LOVE IT! If we weren't playing in the snow or reading, we were watching movies or playing on the computer. Now THAT'S what we call VACATION! No work....just figuring out how to entertain ourselves. (well, we did shovel sidewalks and do dishes, and cook....but you know what I'm sayin....)

 

The big reason for going to Utah in December was to ski! David has taught the boys to ski one at a time. Mason learned at 4, Eli at 6 and now Abbie is 7. It was her turn to learn. Apparently she did great. We don't have pictures of her skiing cuz it was yucky weather.....David was afraid of ruining the camera. I came and got Abbie half way through the day and then at least took pictures of her with her skiis.

 

David was able to get some pictures of the boys....but as you can see, it was still really foggy....just not sleeting anymore!

 

This year mom made chimes for us. Such a FUN idea! I want to make them now. It's a great way to involve everyone in a big group. We each had 2 notes to play and we all sang as we chimed our chimes! VERY fun and a great memory! Thanks mom!

 

Ashley, Rodd and Oak redid this family picture for our parents. When Oak and KaNeil were married, I guess we were totally spaced getting a picture taken with just our parents with their 7 kids. Well, Oak and KaNeil have divorced and the last family picture we had was our wedding. So, with the help of photoshop and I don't know what else, Oak was able to somehow get just us in a picture. It's funny, cuz if you look closely, you'll see some of the funny stuff. Like David's hand on my shoulder looks like Dustin has his hand on my shoulder. Anyway, the important thing is, my mom got her wish. She got all teary....which is AWESOME! Love those sappy tears! We as siblings also went in on group gifts for the padres. We got mom season tickets to the Hale Center Theatre. And Dad a night to display his pottery. Rodd wrote this cute poem and Ashely did a TON of work trying to get a place for DAd to have an art show. IT's something he has wanted to do for years. He did it a long time ago when he was at BYU....but he said that would probably never happen again. Once again, those sappy tears came flowing! LOVE IT!

 

Here's Amber (my sister) and Michael and their boys Chandler and Ayden. I've always had a soft spot for Chandler. He was a little baby when I got home from my mission. I used to go and pick him up all the time and take him places. Ayden is 2 years older than Mason. THose two just click! They are really fun to watch. Glad they are so bonded. :) Amber is such a great sister. She is WISE! I look up to her so much! Love her!

 

Uncle Craig comes out a couple of times a year. Bless his heart, he is a bachelor and used to things clean and quiet....a combination that doesn't come with large family gatherings. When he has enough of us...he goes for a walk, or shovels snow. He's a good sport to come so often. We even get him to come visit us sometimes here in Arizona.

 

Autumn is the epitome of a mom. Patient, kind, fun and nurturing. I love her so much!

 

Rodd and Ashley are lots of fun. If it wasn't for Ashley, the Christmas gift would not have been so sentimental! She is wonerful. Rodd is a funny guy. Keeps us laughing.

 

Here we are Christmas morning. Kind of different trying to do ours with kids and the grown ups with their 3 presents each. They would have more, but we did a HUGE group gift on CHristmas EVe...so we kind of felt a little on display. But, the kids didn't seem to mind. They were happy to get their gifts.

 

Yes, those are THONG underwear. It's a family joke we gotta keep going. Actually, I think it's Oak or Autumn that started it...I just keep being the place where the joke stops! 2 times now, in my birthday package from my mom, she has sent some crazy underwear to me. My kids always question me about them, so I thought it was finally my turn to return the favor! You know, those gag gifts are the best, aren't they? lol

 

Lookin' good on Sunday after church, huh? Can you tell Eli is NOT a fan of having his picture taken?

 

 

We HAD to go up to Salt Lake City to see the temple lights there. After all, that's where David and I got married. Good for our kids to see it, and there is always a great feeling there! I love that Chandler, Ayden, Autumn and Lucas joined us too! IT was CCCOOOLLLDDD that night, but they were all troopers!

 

ok....not in order...don't know how to change it...my lack of blogger experience. Just a fun picture of the cousins.

 

 

Since it was so cold outside we lingered a LONG time inside the tabernacle. IT was warm and a very nice, and inviting spirit there. I love that the cousins enjoy each other so much!

 

I love to see the temple! Especially at night with the lights on!

 

After walking around the temple grounds, we walked accross the street to the Joseph Smith Building and went up to the top to overlook the temple. Such a gorgeous sight!!!

 

Kids got to have a sleepover one night at the Bustos home. So fun to be little and everyone fits on the living room floor!

 

One night we went up to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple and did Sealings as a family. On the way home Rodd and Ashley suggested we go to this place called "JCW" apparently it stands for "Just Can't Wait". We loved it so much, the next day we took Oak there for Lunch. Oh, yes, Oak came the day after his birthday. Always fun to have Oakie Ben with us!

 

On the way home, we had to stop at the squeaky cheese place. We kept hearing about it, so had to try. Ummmm....I hate to say it, but the kids are NOT fans. So, we got ice cream there instead.

We came home New Years Eve. We planned on coming home the day before, but of course....it stormed so bad that we had to wait an extra day to come home. So glad we went though! Happy New Year!