A little heartbeat...

We are very happy to announce that we are expecting an addition to our family! We were thrilled to hear a little heartbeat yesterday at the doctor's office, so we're now confident that this little person is working hard to come join the party. :) I'm about 10 weeks along, officially due February 22, 2009. For those whose next question is "when will you find out what you're having?" the answer is "another couple of months." It's at 20 weeks when you can have an ultrasound done. Yes, we will be finding out and we will be telling you, so stay tuned.

p.s. In another few months, we'll be in the market for a larger family vehicle. Minivans are currently not an option, so if you see any fantastic deals for a 2005 or newer SUV, let us know. Thanks!

Girls' Camp 2008

The bishopric members and their wives were privileged to attend Girls' Camp on Friday evening, the girls' last night at camp. The bishopric made dinner and the wives and girls waited patiently. :) It was a really yummy dinner of Navajo tacos. Bishop Arrendondo rolled out the dough. Chris had the job of frying them in oil. Brother Grow (Tanner) had the job of laying a fire.

Tanner bravely captured a couple of "potguts" - resident rodents. :)

Potgut

This fire was extremely well-laid, but we (the ladies)
were all a little nervous about its size.

Mel (leader), Cloe, Britni (leader), Yae-ri, Aubrey

Fun walk after dinner

Bishop & Alicia

We enjoyed skipping rocks on the pond.

L-R top: Genn, Yae-ri, Tanner, Chris, Bishop, Alicia

L-R bottom: Cloe, Leah, Britni, Aubrey, Mel

Isn't it beautiful?

A little Bambi :)

Chris showed me a gorgeous view from this perch.

Final fireside

Leaders and wives amused by...

Dancing Priesthood. :)
Tanner - front and center, Bishop and Chris - far right

And finally, the huge pile was lit.

It was so nice and warm...

This is from several more feet back. The 7-foot high
wood structure produced flames even higher.

"Biggest roasting stick of all time"

The well-built fire came down safely, too.

Thanks for a really fun evening, everyone!
It was so nice to be a part of Girls' Camp, even just for a few hours. :)

Pelissie BBQ

We had a nice little BBQ at our house on Thursday, the 24th. It was nice to spend a little time with Chris's father , Jean-Marie, and his wife, Berni, as well as Vero, visiting from England, and Marc, Ollie, and Eric. We had a very enjoyable evening, though we missed Angi, as she was very sick with the flu. Hope she is all better now!

Chris, Jean-Marie, Marc, Eric

A Car-Full

On Wednesday, July 23rd, I drove up to the ranch to get Corban, who had been babysat by my Aunt Roxanne. Squeezing all three boys, now forward-facing, in the back seat together was a bit of a challenge, but we managed. It was not as peaceful of a drive as it usually is, though. Close proximity breeds "he's touching me!" squeals, even if there are not words to go with them. ;)

Green River

We just got back from a super fun overnight down at the Green River. Ashton, my sister-in-law, has helped with guiding river rafting for Outdoors Unlimited this summer down here. So Ashton, Brandon, Amber, Dustin, Chris, and I were able to get away and go, too. She helped us have a fantastic time in double "duckies" down the river. It would have been worth the three-hour drive just for the first run we took. The yummy food, overnight camping, and another two runs on Saturday made it even better. It was so fun!

Isn't it so pretty? I think it's called the "Green River" because of its color, but I prefer to think of it as because of how green the foliage is along the banks. :)

Some rafters on the bank during our drive to put in

Hauling the crew :)

Since we didn't want to take our camera on the river,
we posed these pics on dry ground.

Mmmm... hot dogs for din din...

Studly Brandon

Ashton insisted on cherry cobbler and
we were all SO glad she did. It was scrumptious!

Thank you so much, Ashton! What a fun time we had.
Glad you were able to arrange so much for us!

My hubby, the eternal pyro.
He actually tried to burn a railroad tie.
He was up half the night next to the
fire trying to get it to burn through.

Amber, Bran, Ashton

Cute Amber :)

This was the best picture I could take of the stars.
There was a true full moon last night, so the moonlight
was brilliant on the mountains around us.
The stars were gorgeous, too.

Awesome Ashton woke up first and got breakfast
cooked for everyone. She made some incredible
bacon, sausage, and pancakes. So yummy!

Mmmmm...

A little softball for the guys

I wish we could capture how fun it was to ride the rapids and lazily float the calm parts. It was a great break. We really enjoyed the sun, although I think we got a little too much. :( It was worth it, though. Bye, bye, Green River!