Friday, May 23, 2014

Graduation

Yesterday my favorite little sister graduated!!
 I drove up to see her walk and celebrate with the family.
Mom had the house decorated so cute, with pictures of Holly hanging from the ceiling along with streamers and other little signs!





Kiley Rae helped me make the painted signs.
(I made her take off her cute outfit so she wouldn't get paint on it...
she wasn't too happy with me for making her paint in her undies. haha!) 

Aunt Holly with Brookie & Kiley
[[Brooke and Kiley modeling their Little Ms Lex Beads]]

Georgia, Holly, McKenzie, and Paige

 Class of 2014!!
Cheering on our favorite graduate!
Way to go Holly!!
Grandma & Grandpa Richards
Hall Family
Mom & Dad     ||     Sisters!


We are so proud of you Holly, and are excited to see the amazing things you will do in the future.
You are an amazing young woman and I'm so blessed to get to have you as my little sister and best friend! Love you lots....and GO HAWKS! 




Monday, May 19, 2014

Gilbert Weekend

Thursday afternoon we took off for Gilbert! 
 Tyler had another doctors appointment for his back...and everything is looking good!
He is gaining more strength in his leg, and isn't in as much pain as he has been. We are praying that it continues to heal itself. He still isn't fully back into his normal routine...(obviously that will take time) but the doctor did say that he can begin exercising a little to try and rebuild the muscles in his leg as well as his core muscles. To the gym we go! :) 
Please keep him in your prayers!
 Kiley, Brooke and Jami came over Friday afternoon to spend the night while Brandon was away on a church camp out. We played by the pool, made lots of necklaces, and watched Winnie the Pooh! 

Saturday was spent doing outside chores and swimming. Kiley was so brave in her 'muscles', but we're still working on getting her off those steps. :) 

Brookie wasn't quite so daring...after Uncle Chris did a cannon ball into the pool she preferred sitting on Jami's lap to watch us play. Way to go, Uncle Chris! 
 Can you tell I'm loving our new toy?? 
That little GoPro is so much fun, I highly recommend it!

Sunday, Holly had Baccalaureate. She got to introduce the Principal, and she did a great job!
We are so proud of her, I can't believe my baby sister is graduating this week!!!  

 First attempt at the family photo via GoPro...we're still working on it. 

We had such a great weekend, thanks Heninger fam for putting up with us!
Love you all, and see ya Thursday for graduation!!

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Saturday Adventures

Yuma Saturdays mean Adventure Saturdays! 

This morning after a gym visit, we took a little drive out towards the Proving Grounds.
We found lots of stuff on the side of the road. 

Helicopters, tanks, tiny churches in the middle of a farm, old bridges...there was a little bit of everything!






We love Saturday's spent exploring Yuma!



A Box of Sunshine

Today we got the best surprise...
A BOX OF SUNSHINE!!
After hearing about Ty's back injury, our cute cousin Ashley Camp sent this sweet package all the way from Canada, full of fun surprises!
She wrote, "Since my bank account won't let me make a personal visit out to you, i thought a "box of sunshine" would be the next best thing!" 
Is this not the cutest idea?!?!
And how did you know that we needed sticky-notes and band-aids?! 
You just saved me a trip to WalMart.

We've already broken into those gummy peaches...and I can't wait to munch on those candy bars.
Yum!
Thank you Ashley, you are the sweetest!! 

(P.S. We've been talking about how we can get up to Canada to come visit :) woohoo!! )

Isn't family the best??


Monday, May 5, 2014

!!Fiesta!! (on a budget)

After my sister posted this photo of our Cinco De Mayo party last year:
I decided I needed to buck up and be fun again!

Sometimes being fun AND on a budget can be difficult, but never fear my friends, it can be done!!
How does a Mexican Fiesta for less than cinco dollars sound??

Here's how I did it.
(NOTE: Most of what I used, I already had...so get creative with what you have sitting around the house!)

1. Go to the Dollar store. 
Get yourself some construction paper, mustaches, and tissue paper

2. Cut the construction paper into whatever shape you want for a banner, and using sharpies or crayons, decorate your banner! 
3. Hang banner using either string or tape. (I used some Washi tape I had)
4. Cut little triangles from remaining construction paper to use as confetti!
5. Fold tissue paper into flowers. (I used THIS tutorial)
6. Set the table, whip up some salsa, quesadillas, rice & beans, and WHAM BAM!
You have a fiesta. 
 Best Salsa recipe...Ready?

1 can diced tomatoes 
(i like a little kick, so i use the tomatoes with jalapeno's)
Minced garlic
Lemon juice
Seasoning salt
Onion powder
Cilantro 
Garlic salt

Put all in blender and blend to desired texture/thickness.
I don't have any specific measurements...but I used about 1 tsp of the garlic, then just added the rest a little at a time, and taste tested as I went. Make sure you have a bag of chips close by :)
Yum!


Thank you Tyler, for humoring me and joining my fiesta!! :)




Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!






Saturday, May 3, 2014

Exploring Yuma - yuma territorial prison

Tyler and I decided to check out the Yuma Territorial Prison today.
It was very interesting, so much history! 

 Guard tower







 When prisoners acted out, they were sentenced to the "Dark Cell" for anywhere from 1-12 days, where they were stripped to their undies and chained from both ankles. They only had one meal per day of bread and water, and the only light that entered the cell came from a small hole in the ceiling. 
We walked in there...talk about claustrophobic!!! 
One prisoner spent a consecutive 140 days in the dark cell (at least i think it was 140...i may be a few off) but gosh, i think I would've gone crazy!


Yuma is turning out to be a pretty neat town, it's been pretty fun exploring and learning more of its history!