Update!!!!!

For all of you people that think I have fallen off the face of the earth.... I haven't! I have just been busy with life... Here is an update! The chickens are growing fast and getting ready to start giving us eggs. The two older ones have already been giving us eggs and we LOVE them. They are so delicious and much better in taste than the store bought eggs. We have planted in our garden beans, black-eyed peas, loofa gords, lemon cucumbers, peppers, sweet potatos, potatos and lots of herbs. Most of these I planted from seeds. I did plant Popcorn and amaranth but the heat, birds and ants finished these off for me. So I am working on a better system so I can replant them.

The sweet potato was about 8 inches long and about 3 inches around. We had it with ham! It was great to eat something we grew!

This is Colton's first day of school! He is doing really great this year and he loves his teacher. This is the same teacher he had in 1st grade...

Ready for the Big Day!

We have been having lots of fun with our little "ranchito". I am also sceduled to take the RN license exam of September 11, 2009 so if you can all say a litlle prayer for me that would be great. We are very excited about the new possibilities this accomplishment will give to Colton and I.... Thanks for all your love and support.

The Make Over!

OK Here is the Bathroom... Lovely, isn't it. I was horrible! Everything was wrong! If it wasn't for everybodies help I would have NEVER have moved! This was the nasty part.... the build up of junk! This house was in complete ruin!

OK here are the after pictures. I think it is lovely. This lighting is a bit off but I hope you can see the hard work. I painted the walls a lovely sea foam mist... I was inspired from our San Diego Vacation... it has white accents.The tub..... Oh the tub..... I tore down the viynl wall covering and scrubbed the tub till I was exhausted. I put on the new shower fixtures and a frined put in the new drain covers! OK so there was the Bathroon! Now on to the Kitchen... We got all new cabinets, stove, paint job and a good cleaning! Sorry it took me so long to post these. Hope you like what we have done!

Summer of Fun

Colton and I went to the Bass Pro Shop for all the fun kid classes about gun safety, archery, camping basics, plant and animal identification and fishing. Colton had lots of fun. They had these free pictures for the kids. Colton did lots of Cub Scouts goals. He is really going to town with this. It has been lots of fun seeing him grow and accomplish these fun goals.

The Perfect Morning at SunShine Meadows

As some of you know my hours were cut back at SCNM. At first I was worried and wondered how I was going to handle this but I have soon realized the true blessing this was. I woke up this morning and was going about my chores and thought what a perfect little life Colton and I have here. I wanted to capture a perfect little morning for you. I wake up about 5am. Dress for the day and excitedly put on my apron anticipating the beautiful morning. I rush out to my garden and chickens. First I peek in on the chickens. I make sure they are all there and safe. They are usually chirping and saying, “where is our breakfast?” That is assuming they could talk but that is what I imagine them to say to me. I then look at my gardens. I pull a few weeds that seemed to have grown over night. Then I water and tenderly look for new growth. I get my little garden basket and harvest the items that are ready, bright red tomatoes, corn, basil, mint and peppers. I feel thankful for the wonderful back yard we have and the ability to have a garden. I then feed the chickens and get my nursing book. I sit outside where I can enjoy the gardens and the chickens and study for my upcoming test. The mornings are still cool and beautiful. It is wonderful to enjoy the morning outside. I have also been doing a lot of canning. Last night my good friend Brad Petersen, also known as Chef Brad, gave me lots of chicken breast that was left over from a catering job. It needed to be canned! I was just the person for this job. I eagerly attempted my first try at canning meat. I called my other great friend Rachel Omerza for guidance to make sure I was doing it right…….It turned out perfectly! I now have 13 pints of wonderful chicken breast ready to go for a quick healthy meal! This morning after I did my chores out in the garden I came in and looked at my handiwork in the kitchen. Washed the jars and stored them away in my canning pantry I have created. (Many of you have seen my canning pantry) The sense of self reliance and provident living makes one feel so empowered! I also made apricot jam last night! “What a night!”to quote Mamma Mia. As I took the finished jars out of the cooker I wait for that moment that I would hear the sound very canner waits to hear…….PING, PING, PING…. Oh, how melodious! Oh, how joyous to hear the sound of all our hard work coming to fruition! (This is the sound the cans make as they seal)

One little thing that I have learned in life is to not go around shouting life’s not fair. Instead I have learned that we should look at the beautiful vistas in our life and be thankful for the wonderful things we do have. When we do that we start to see we truly have a life full of abundance and joy no matter our problems or trials.
Hope you have enjoyed our little commentary. Make it a great day and enjoy your beautiful vista in your life… whatever it may be!

Scouting, the Chicken Coop and Enrichment

Colton's first day of Scouts! He loved every minute!

Here is his first project that he did with his den.Here is our Chicken coop that Colton and I made with our two hands. As you can see why we affectionately called it the ghetto! It fell down and was not very sturdy.

Here is the new coop newly opened under new management and proudly named.."Chicks Carlton" (instead of Ritz Carlton). Jordan Came over and with the supplies around the yard we made this very sturdy and cool coop. We only bought longer nail for about $2.00! I think we were very resourcefully! It felt so good to sit back and see our hard work!Yesterday Morning Colton woke up and decided to put on his uniform and go around the neighborhood to pick up trash. This completes one of this Cub Scout Goals! He found 2 bags of trash around the apartments were we use to live!

This is the decorations and display for our Summer Time County Fair! It was a great evening. The presenters did a great job. We have a demo on Solar Ovens, The Spiritual side of Gardening, Canning meats, beans and stuff, and having a Refined home. We also had a pie contest and a talent table! It was great!

This last week has been lots of fun with getting into the groove of Summer, Scouts, my new calling and the Chickens. We are getting a few eggs each week and we are loving the fun we are having. Life is wonderful and full of abundance for us!

Colton's Baptism

What a week! Colton is now an official member for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint! He is also an official Cub Scout. I have so many thoughts I hope they all make sense! Colton is such a special person to me! He really is my best friend. We love doing things together and when he is gone I really miss him. The week before his baptism the Turley family invited him to go to their cabin on their little family get-a-way. I missed him terrible and found that I had time to clean the house and it looked beautiful! At first, I found myself thinking, "I am so tired of cleaning up after Colton." or I thought, "If I have to find one more Lego piece on the floor...." or "Why can't he keep his toys in HIS room and not all over the house." Then after the house was spotless and I had too much time on my hands I started to miss the toys all over. I missed seeing his face in the morning and kissing it at night. By the time he came back on Saturday I felt as if he had been gone for an eternity! He truly is my joy!

My Dad came down from Utah to baptize Colton. We had a wonderful time. We had more people attend than I had imagined would come. It made Colton and I feel so loved. The Priesthood Brothers had some chairs set up and before the program started, asked if I thought there was enough chairs. I thought there might have been too many chairs. As the baptism started they were setting up even more chairs. The whole room was filled. It was very humbling to see how many wonderful friends we have supporting us. After Colton was baptised and we were returning to our chairs a friend leaned over and pointed out how happy and what joy was on Colton's face. I am so glad she mentioned that because even though I was trying to absorb the whole experience and I did look at his face as he was coming up out of the water, I had not made a mental note of that specifically. Since she pointed it out I will never forget his big smile was the water washed over his face.

As a parent you look forward to your Child's Baptism day as being a major first milestone in your childs life. It represents a transition from your child being completely dependent on you to the child stretching his wings and starting on the journey of doing, thinking and acting for himself. He is now responsible for his own actions. I only pray I have taught him all that he needs to have a good start on his journey and that we have developed a relationship where he will continue to listen and accepts help and guidance from me.

We went to the scout store Monday morning to get the needed items for his Den meeting on Wednesday. He reveled in delight at the store. Sheer joy illuminated from his face at the prospect of being a Cub Scout! He ran through the tiny store looking at all the interesting gadgets and his imagination went wild with all the adventures he was going to have. We bought the necessary items to get started. Grandma sewed on the patches and as Colton put on his new uniform, he seemed to hold square his shoulders , his back was straight and he had the face of a true blue Cub Scout. He asked if he could walk home instead of ridding in the car with me. As he started home he walked with such purpose, such dignity. He walk as if to say to all our neighbors..... "I am a Cub Scout!" I am so excited to have him involved with scouts. I will update everyone with all of his Scouting accomplishments.

Well I think that is all hope you have enjoyed the photos and commentary on our lives. We truly feel blessed to have everyone in our lives.

PS... I looked at the living room this morning and it has Colton's Scout stuff and toys all over it.... but I will think twice before I complain too much! Pretty soon he will be gone on his Mission and living his life and I will miss the mess and the dirty hand prints and the freshly painted walls.....

We have an EGG!

I asked Colton to go water the garden this morning before school. As he did so he found an egg!The chicken made a little nest under my corn and laid her egg. Colton is very happy. We don't know if it was Rosetta or Mrs. Darth Vader. I think it was Rosetta because she seems to be the Mama Hen and keep Mrs. Darth Vader in her place. But we shall see. We now have a little bud of corn. I think I planted them to close so I don't know it the crop will really be that good but it was a good experiement. Here is another Photo of Rosetta and Mrs. Darth Vader..........Lots of love from SunShine Meadows!

Mrs. DarthVader and Rosetta

Give a big warm Welcome to the newest members of the Palacio Family and newest resident of SunShine Meadows... Mrs. DarthVader (the all black Chicken) and Rosetta (the black and white Chicken). We now have a total of 10 Chickens. These two should be already laying eggs! We will let you know if we got two eggs when we get home today after work and school.

SunShine Meadows

Welcome to SunShine Meadows....... (that is what we have named our new little house.)

It has been a very long time since I have updated my blog!. Colton and I have been very, very busy! Below are some photos of Colton and out garden. We have corn, peppers, chilie peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, watermelon, honeydew, squash, and artichokes! We are enjoing have a "bit of earth" to dig into and grow stuff.

We also have added some chickens to SunShine Meadows. Our little "ranchito" would not be complete with out some farm animals. This was the day we got the chilckens... this one is affectionately named Duchess.

Look at our babies!
They sure are growing fast! The next adventure is our canning experience! We took my authentic Italian Pasta Sauce recipe and canned it! Que Rico!


We also canned apple sauce, apple butterand apple juice!Next adventure is Colton's camping trip. He love to fish and took his fishing rods to fish with his friends. He caught a blue gill. Our friend James Omerza took Colton. They had a blast.
What a boy! I am so proud of Colton. We are loving our new little house! There is much to do and I hope we have not bitten off more than we can chew! Stop by anytime to SunShine Meadows and see what's happening!

Fels Naptha Homemade laundry detergent

I have found this really great recipe for laundry soap. A family of four can buy all the ingredents for $33.00 for a whole year supply of laundry soap!!!! That is cheap. I have used it for about three months and I have several friends and family hooked on this stuff. I thought I would put all the information on my blog so everyone can have this information.... Enjoy I can send it to anyone who wants it in a word document......

Fels Naptha

Liquid Laundry Soap
1 bar grated Fels Naptha soap
3gallon bucket
1 cup washing soda (Again, Arm and Hammer)
1 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax
2 1/2 gallons water

Put grated Fels Naptha in saucepan and cover with water. Heat on low until dissolved. Fill bucket with hot water and add soap. Stir to combine. Add 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup Borax and mix well. As it cools, it will thicken. May be used immediately. Use ½ cup for normal dirty loads and 1 cup for REALLY dirty loads.

Powdered Laundry Detergent
1 cup grated Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup 20 mule team borax
Mix and store in airtight container or bag. For normal loads, use 2 tablespoon. For heavy loads, use 3 tablespoons.


Poison Ivy Prevention: Fels Naptha Soap has been used for over 100 years for the treatment and prevention of poison ivy, sumac and oak rash. My family has personally used it for over 10 years. If you think you have been exposed to poison ivy, oak or sumac, shower immediaetly with Fels Naptha to remove the resin from your skin. This will greatly reduce and in most cases, prevent any skin reaction to the poison ivy oil. Make sure to launder your clothes in some shaved or grated fels naptha (about 1/16th of the bar) to remove the resin from your clothes. Poison Ivy resin can stay on your clothes for over 1 year even if the clothes have been washed with normal detergent.

Poison Ivy Treatment: If you are exposed to poison ivy and you have a reaction, simply shower with Fels Naptha to remove any resin left on the skin and it will help to dry up the rash as well.

To clean your shower, rub a non-abrasive scouring sponge with a wet bar of Fels Naptha and start cleaning. It will take a little hard work the first time you use it but it will be a breeze after that.

Washing with Fels Naptha can greatly reduce the itching and discomfort from bug bites. Though it is NOT a hand soap, it can cut even the grimiest of messes. Wash hands with Fels Naptha to remove ink, grease, or a variety of other nasty stains. Again, remember that this can be a skin irritant and should be used carefully and only after reading the warning label on the soap.

To clean paint brushes, simply drag the wet brush through a lathered bar of Fels Naptha and work in. Rinse well with warm water. The brushes stay soft and supple using this method.




Spring and Fall Lawn Tonic

Spray aphids with 3 tablespoons grated Fels Naptha Soap dissolved in 1 gallon of hot water. Mix well and let cool. Spray as needed.

For Black-spot fungus on roses: Make the Fels Naptha Solution by shaving 1 inch of Fels Naptha bar into a nylon stocking and placing it into a gallon of boiling water along with 4 ounce of liquid dish soap (Ivory). This will keep nicely and you can use it as needed. It will have a gel-like consistency so mix well before using. For the black-spot fungus, mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon of Fels naptha solution and 1 gallon of water. Spray as needed.

IMPORTANT***** In recent years soap manufacturers have added degreasers and antibacterial ingredients to their products. These are VERY harmful to your plants and most likely will burn or kill them. When a home gardening technique calls for liquid dish soap be very careful that you use only Ivory or Fels Naptha Solution. You can also use the original liquid lemon type detergent which has no additives, just be careful that it does not contain a degreaser or is antibacterial.

Fels Naptha Soap is a fantastic stain remover and pre-treater. It works especially well on oil-based stains. Just rub the stain with a wet bar of Fels Naptha Soap. Let it sit for a while and launder as usual. It works great on baby clothes which have formula stains.

* For chocolate smudge on clothes, rub the stain with Fels Naptha Soap and let sit in your filled washer with 20 Mule Team Borax for 30 minutes. Launder as usual.

* Thoroughly wash all clothing including hats, gloves coats in Fels Naptha Soap to prevent an outbreak of poison ivy. Poison Ivy resin can remain on your clothes for over 1 year. Washing with Fels Naptha will eliminate the resin from your clothing.

* To remove Halloween makeup from clothing, simply work a little Fels Naptha into the stain and launder as usual. It may take a repeat washing to completely remove the stain.

* To clean white canvas tennis shoes, simply work the Fels Naptha Soap into a lather and use a soft brush to work into the canvas. Launder as usual without chlorine bleach.

* To remove old stains on colored clothes, make a solution of 2 cups warm water and 1/2 cup white vinegar. Pour on stain. Let soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse well and work in Fels Naptha Soap. Launder as usual.

Recipe for tanning hides submitted by a gentleman in Indiana…. Did you know that Fels-Naptha makes a great leather tanning solution??? It's much safer than almost any other (chromium or solvent) method for tanning. In 1980, a friend and I tanned 30 deer hides....some for leather, and some with the hair on for rugs, with great success! The hides with the hair on, STILL retain the hair to this day! Use 1 bar per gallon of liquid....we reduced the bars to shavings first, over low heat (we did this in a big cast iron kettle over a campfire), then allowed it to cool. It turns into a runny "gel". Then the hides need to be fully immersed for 1-2 months, depending on ambient temperature. Just thought I'd pass this along, as I'm preparing to do some tanning again just now.

Pinocchio... I've got no strings

At Colton's school the Performing Arts are very important. They have four different performances each year. This time the theme is.... Magic! Colton is in the performance group called Mighty Mites. They did a Pinocchio routine to the song I've Got No Strings. I wish I could post the performance here but it is to long. Colton made the cutest Pinocchio! Good job COLTON! I am so pround of him.

Colton's Message to family and friends......

I was at school on Friday afterschool at 5 o'clock. I had to go back to school to do my pinocchio song and show. I felt scared. The lights burned my eyes out. My Mom was going to go to the show on Saturday but my Mom came on Friday. When I first saw my Mom on the front row, I freaked out in a good way and I had a good show. Love, Colton

San Diego, California

San Diego, California February 16, 2209 - February 20, 2009

What a great time we had on Vacation!!! What great memories and moments!!! I think that it is these small moments in life that help us to see the big picture of what is really important... family. Colton and I had so much fun. Our favorite part of the week was collecting shells on the beach. Colton and I got so excited and we found great shells, multiple star fish, crabs, a car key, small batman toy and a pair of reading glasses! Colton and I were having so much fun seeing what treasure the other person found. The weather was great. We had rain the first day and on Tuesday morning but other than that the sun shined.

We did go out on the Ocean, about 15 miles, to see if we could see any whales or dolphins. The boat was called the "HornBlower". According to the Captian, "This boat is the best ocean worthy little boat and it has never let me down." We did see some whales and dolphins but this experience was not as wonderful as we had all expected. Because of the storms the ocean was a bit choppy... to say the least. We all got sea sick! Hooray for Barf Bags!!!!! Boy did we use them. Dad 3 times, Marian once, Colton once and yours truly once. We diffenatly felt green around the gills. And to think we actually paid for the experience!

The other great activity was visiting SeaWorld for two days. Colton and I feed the Seal Lions. We bought the frozen dead fish and placed them in the sea lions mouths. The little white birds were so aggressive. I had a fish in my hands and before I could give it to the Sea Lions a bird swooped down and took it right out of my hand. It completly took me by suprise! Later, Dad had a bird swoop down and take his breadstick from his lunch tray!

SeaWorld was a fun experience. We had been two years ago for the first time so it was nice to go again and know what to expect and to remember the fun stuff. It was so much fun going with my Dad and my Sister, Marian. It was nice to do a vacation outside of Utah and Arizona. Hope you enjoyed this little travel log.

Celeste and Colton

I am certainly looking forward to next year when we are all going to Jackson Hole, Wy for Dad's big 60!!!! What fun.

Christmas Morning

Feliz Navidad

Colton and I were speaking in Spanish the other day. Colton said the funniest thing in Spanish. Follow is the conversation.
Celeste - "Tu quieres escuhe musico de Navidad?" (Do you want to listen to Christmas music?)
Colton - "Si, Mama, yo quiero eschuco musico 'davi-nad.'" (Yes, Mom, I want to hear 'Mas-Chist' music.)

I don't know if the translation is as funny as it really is. I just laughed so hard. Colton reversed the syllables of Navidad and said Davi-Nad.

Disclaimer****** If you know Spanish and my conjugations (spelling?) are wrong.... remember.... I never said my Spanish was perfect.

Christmas Letter to Family and Friends

Dear Family and Friends,
I decided to post our Holiday letter on my blog and just sent out postcards with the blog address. Hopefully if you are reading this you were able to get to my blog. I thought I would save on postage and paper. Not only good for my pocketbook but also for the environment.
What a wonderful year it has been for Colton and I. I finally graduated from both Mesa Community College with my Associates in General Studies and from Excelsior College in Science of Nursing! I thought graduation day would never come. But with some determination and lots of prayer, we did it. I still have to take my state boards before I can work as a RN. I am studying and looking to take them the first part of next year.
While I have been busy studying and working Colton has been on two different vacations this year…. One with my Mom to Pinetop, AZ and the other was to Utah to visit my Dad and sister, Marian. He flew in the plane by himself! This was not his first time flying but it was his first time flying alone. I think I was more nervous than he was. Needless to say I did not get a vacation this year and I am ready to have some fun in this coming year.
I had been serving in the Liahona 3rd ward (Spanish Speaking) for the past four years as the Young Women President. In October the Liahona ward was re-organized and the Primary and Youth Programs where combined with another English ward in our Stake, I decided to have our records transferred to the English ward which we live in. I loved the opportunity to serve in the Liahona ward and I am so grateful that I was able to learn another language through my service to the Lord. I am hoping to keep up on my Spanish. I have a friend at work that speaks Spanish and we always talk in Spanish, plus when I start working in the Hospital I am SURE I will be utilizing my Spanish on a daily basis because of the area we live in.
Colton is attending New Horizon School for the Performing Arts. He loves learning the dances, songs and after school sports program they offer. Reading had been difficult BUT I discovered Star Wars beginning reader books and since then reading has been easier and more enjoyable to him. The other night I caught him with the light on reading after bedtime. Part of me is upset with him because he needs his sleep but the other part of me wanted to jump for joy because reading has been so difficult for him. He loves Star Wars and will often put “Anakin” on his school papers. He has asked me to call him “Anakin” but I refuse!!! He will always be my Colton Jordan, mi Corazon!
Currently I am working at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine. I love my job. It is a college for Naturopathic Doctors. The environment at work is so peaceful and holistic. I am learning a lot of great stuff and the people here are great. After working as a RN for a while I would love to come back and become a student here.
Well I think that this letter covers the high points of our past year. I hope that all of you will take time to “Count your Blessings” and realize the hand of our Heavenly Father in your lives. Colton and I have been so thankful for all the friends and family that has been there for us over the years. We truly have been and are blessed!
With much love,
Celeste and Colton

Thanksgiving

Well as promised..... Thanksgiving Photos! We had such a lovely day. We have so many things to be thankful for. Our lives are truly blessed. In the back ground it our Thankful Tree. Every morning we wrote down 2 -4 things we were thankful for. Near the end it became difficult to think of something different. We began to put things like "cereal" & "blueberries" (these are the thinkgs we were eating for breakfast!). I hope that we all can carry our thankful attitude in to the Christmas Season and give to those that are in need of love, support and friendship.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!! Love Colton and Celeste

How to Cook A Turkey

Celeste: How do you cook a turkey?

Colton: Oh, There are 300 ways to cook a turkey.

Celeste:But if you haad to cook a turkey how would you do it?

Colton: I would use number 1 way.

Celeste: How would you do number 1.

Colton: Well, you warm it up, then cut it up, then serve it. It's that easy.

Applesauce Making

Pumpkin Carving

Colton's Hoe Down... I love this Blogging stuff

Colton's Hoe Down was a complete blast! This morning he asked if I could make him a vest ... I did my best and I was able to make one for him. I think he looks absolutley dashing. He danced a great Country Western routine to the song Itty Bitty. I wish I could post the video but it won't let me. I guess I am doing something wrong OR it is too long. These are Colton's friends.. Corbin, Enrique, Mirah, Not sure of the girl in the black hat and then Colton. Colton did so good I had three peoplecome up to me and tellme that they noticed Colton and that he looked great up there with his Country moves. I think I amgoing to have to start teaching him the 2 stepso we can dance together!!!! I think I am addictedto this blogging thing. I love recording our life this way... Hope you enjoy as well.

The German Festival

When I heard that the German Festival was coming to Tempe I was so excited. I was anticipating German Culture, Dance, Food and FUN! I was sadly disappointed!!! Colton and I was there for only a couple of hours before we decided this was not a German Festival! They were more interested in selling Beer and having seedy woman dressing up as very bad bar maids telling ronchy jokes...... with bad polka music playing in the background. This was a very big disappointment this past weekend!

So I decided I had to come home and find some of my own German Photos to put on my blog. The photo of the Castle I belive is Neuschwanstein... but since I was born in Germany and just a baby, I don't remember. I am not promising that the Castle photo is Neuschwanstein. The Photo would have been taken around 1975-1977. The Photo below is of Marian, my older sister and I with our dirndls. This must have been some time in 1977... I would say in the spring time because of all the flowers.... I am not sure though... So enjoy the "real" German Photos because there was nothing real about the German Festival that we can share!

I went to a Kaplan class to help me pass my State Board test. It was two days of intense review and I still have two more days to go next weekend! I recieved my new calling in the Olive ward as Sunday School Teacher for the 16 and 17 year olds..... I guess they seem to think I have a knack with the young people. I am looking forward to relaxing a bit and not having such a demamding calling. Well this is my post for the week . Make it a great day and week for that matter!

The Hispanic Featival

Last night Colton, his friend Laura and I went to the Hispanic Festival. They had food, music, dance and arts representing 20 different Hispanic Communities. Since Colton is half Hispanic (Argentina) I try to help Colton learn and develop a love for his own cultures. They had a Pinata making craft. Colton made a Darth Vader Pinata! As Colton says, "I am Star Wars number one fan!" My Dance teacher, Liliana also performed her Flamenco dance with her group, Flor Y Piedra, which is translated into Flower and Rock. Her Husband is Peter (Which means the Rock) and her name Lilliana (Which is a flower). They are great people. Colton and I love to watch them dance! It is spectacular and captivating. This is Peter with the Guitar and Lilliana dancing.

Today I was released as the Young Women's President of the Liahona 3rd Ward. I have mixed emotions... on one hand I am sad to leave my girls and to not have them to think about and worry over on a weekly if not daily basis, but on the other hand we have been so short of good leaders for so long it has became a difficult burden of caring for these beautiful girls and knowing that there is more that needs to be done that I just could not do. I hope that I will have been an influence for good to them in their lives. Colton and I have had our records moved over to the Olive (English) ward. We are looking forward to an exciting new start there.

Well I guess this catches everyone up on our lives. I hope you have enjoyed your little peek into our lives. Feel free to leave comments, email, and or call anytime.

The Lost Dutchman ~ Camping

Last night Colton and I went camping at the Lost Dutchman State Park with our ward, Liahona 3rd. The mountains were spectacular! The sunset was stupendous! Colton thought it looked like the planet Tatooine from Star Wars so of course he was glad he brought along his lightsaber. We had a nice time making tin foil dinners and smores. The weather was still a little warm but cooled of to a nice 75 degrees at night. I would like to go back to this place in a month or so when the weather would be 75 degrees during the day and 50 degrees at night. Enjoy the photos!

The Chinese Moon Festival

Last night Colton and I went to the Chinese Moon Festival at the Chinese Cultural Center in Phoenix. We loved the exotic smells, vibrant colors of reds, greens, yellows and blues and the different dances and martial art performances. I had two favorite performances. The Peacock Dance and the famous Lion Dance at the end. Colton's favorite performances were the martial arts, there were young men used weapons as they did martial art moves and displayed great acrobat skills. The more dangerous and flashy the better, Colton thought.

The moon festival is a celebration for the bountiful harvest. There is also another tradition of eating moon cakes under the moon. Thankfully we had a bright beautiful moon last night..... so needless to say we did eat soft lotus mooncakes and red bean mooncakes under the full moon. We were not accustomed to the taste of the mooncakes so after we had our bite of the mooncakes so we could say we participated in the chinese tradition we bought a piece of chocolate cake to share. Colton found a beautiful wooden sword to buy and I found a beautiful black lace fan with roses on it. We also bought a Chinese yo yo to play with. We had a great night! We love seeing new thing and learning about other cultures.

P.S. Don't tell Colton... but I am going to have him do a short three sentence "essay" on our experience....... I will post it when we get done with it.

What a Summer

Well..... I decided to start this blogging thing to see if it be a good and fun way to document our lives and to let family and friends know about how we are doing. I am not sure were to start so I guess I will start with the most recently victory in our lives.

I finished and passed the CPNE test! If you are wondering what this is, it is the final exam I needed to complete to finish my Nursing Program through Excelsior College. I used all of my cell phone minutes calling my Mom and Dad crying about the stress and talking about the days activities each night that when I did pass the test on the third day I was out of minutes! I had to have them call me in my hotel room to talk. I am very glad that this is over with. Out of 7 students that went to New York for the test only two of us passed. It was very sad and nerve wracking to see the other students dropping like flies on the second day! But I stayed focused and did what I know I needed to do. One song that I played over and over to try to help me reduce the stress was "This Is The Moment" From Jekyll & Hyde Musical. I have included the lyrics here for you to see what great lyrics they are.


This Is The Moment Lyrics
This is the moment!This is the day,When I send all my doubts and demonsOn their way!Every endeavor,I have made - ever -Is coming into play,Is here and now - today!This is the moment,This is the time,When the momentum and the moment Are in rhyme!Give me this moment -This precious chance -I'll gather up my pastAnd make some sense at last!This is the moment,When all I've done -All the dreaming,Scheming and screaming,Become one!This is the day -See it sparkle and shine,When all I've lived forBecomes mine!For all these years,I've faced the world alone,And now the time has comeTo prove to themI've made it on my own!This is the moment -My final test -Destiny beckoned,I never reckoned,Second Best!I won't look down,I must not fall!This is the moment,The sweetest moment of them all!This is the moment!This day, or never,I'll sit forever With the gods!When I look back,I will always recall,Moment for moment,This was the moment,The greatest moment Of them all!

When I spoke to Colton (he was staying with my Dad in Utah) he said, "Mom, I knew you would pass." I thought to myself, "I am glad I did not have to tell him that I did not pass." I think it would have been hard to have Colton disappointed with me for not passing. Every morning during the Summer he would ask Heavenly Father to, "please help my Mom pass her test and to not be stressed out anymore." I am so thankful to have a son that knows the importance of prayer in our lives.

On the other side of Colton being happy I passed my test.... the other day I was reinforcing the rules of the house and homework rules and Colton yelled at me and said, "where did the "fun" Mom go before the test?" What he meant was during the Summer I was so stressed and busy trying to study I let a lot of things slide and he had way to much freedom around the house. I was on maintenance mode when it came to motherhood! We spent hours at parks, the Zoo and museums where he played in a certain areas while I had my note and books trying to study and absorb all the information that I needed for my test. He is defiantly not happy with the more involved Mom !

So now you might be asking what next? That is a very good question I am asking myself that For so long my life has focused on the CPNE I am spending some time readjusting and looking forward. In October I will Officially graduate from Excelsior College. After that I can submit my application to the AZ state board of Nursing. I will be able to get a job in the hospital and work for up to three months before I take my state board Exam. So...... right now I am staring to study for the stateboards, wait for October 17th so I can get my graduation letter, transcripts and diploma and then it is off to work at the hospital.

I can't believe that I graduated twice this year. First at MCC in May with my General Study Associates and then from Excelsior with my Nursing degree! What a great accomplishment !