Mexico 2014

¡Hola a todos! This is Sam writing, here to give you an update on our wonderful summer (I have the laptop so Kiley doesn't have access to these photos...). I successfully finished my first year of medical school (woohoo!), and I will be starting a rotation at an internal medicine clinic in Albuquerque on July 7th. In the meantime, we have lots of celebrating to do!

The day after my last two examinations, Kiley and I left for Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), Mexico with her family. We drove with Heidi and her kids, stopping in Tuscon, AZ for the night. We stayed in a super fancy casita for an awesome price - thank you uncle Mike!

Here are some of the highlights from Mexico:

• Banana Boat (big, rubber boat pulled by a motor boat - super bumpy ride!)
• Horseback Riding on the Beach
• Shopping
• Snorkeling (we saw tons of fun fish and lots of stingrays! In fact, two family members got stung - good thing we had internet to look up the first aid)
• Canoeing (Zach and I canoed over 2 and a half miles one of the days)
• Boogie Boarding
• Nieve (I would say "helado," but they called their ice cream "nieve" for some reason - that means "snow")
• Apples to Apples (although this game is not as fun with a bunch of kids who don't know what the words mean)

Zach and the boys:

Joey loves his grandpa Kartchner!

The delicious watermelon we smuggled across the border:

Joey had a great time playing with his cousins:

Leah enjoyed eating dirt much more than Joey did:

Joey and Kiley, my two favorite people!

Here's me:

Devery and Easton's beautiful family. We had a great time taking pictures for them!

We always love taking walks on the beach:

Not my glasses! I don't know if you can tell, but Joey already broke this pair - there's a piece of pink duct tape holding them together:

What a beautiful sunset!

We had a blast going to Mexico - Thank you Kevin and Doreen!

Nautical Birthday Party

Ahoy!  I decided to throw a special bash for our little birthday boy.  It was more for me as his mommy to celebrate not only his turning one, but for keeping a human being alive for a year.  Impressive, right?  So I decided to do a nautical theme and invite our dear families.  Here's the invite:

                                 

Our parents and sisters with their families were able to make it.  Here is the spread:

We had Captain's Wafers, Goldfish, nautical cupcakes, watermelon, lifesavers, water bottles, and "chocolate treasure".

 The decor:

 

 Some of the guests:

The weather turned out lovely so we pulled out some kiddy pools:

However, the water was cold, so our guests could only handle so much:

 

Only way Joey would sit in there is if Sam held him. 

 

 Beau wanted to be part of the fun:

What we all enjoy most on any first birthday:

Not sure about the singing:

Being dainty:

Daddy showing him how it's done:

Yum!

Making sure the frosting is in every nook and cranny:

Happy Birthday, Joey!

Easter 2014

This year I wanted to dye eggs since we've never done that as a family any previous Easters.  I'm pretty proud with how they turned out (as you can see).  Next year I plan to do a non-traditional dying of the eggs.  Perhaps silk, or rubber cement, or metallic.

As for events, we enjoyed a nice Easter meal with the Hobbs side of the family along with fun family photos.

Perhaps next year Joey will understand the concept of the Easter Egg hunt.

However, I want to take a moment and focus on Jesus Christ.  Last Fast and Testimony meeting Shauna's brother gave a wonderful testimony that really touched my heart.  He had me imagine the Savior in the very next room and ponder what I would say or do once when I lay eyes on Him.  I don't even know.  I would probably some sort of guilt for hurting him one too many times.  However, I'm sure it would melt away as I feel the nail prints in His hands and feet and the guilt turns into immense gratitude for His love and sacrifice.  I'm not sure what to say, but in that moment, words would not express what I would want Him to know, and He would understand.  I know this day will come when I will meet my Savior.  I sure don't know when, but until then, I will strive to follow His commandments and keep my covenants.  I love my Savior and Redeemer.  I KNOW He lives.

Happy (very) Belated Easter!