Playing Catch Up, Marc's BIrthday!

I know we have been non-existent in the blogging world, but here are a few reasons why
1. My little brother's High School Volley Ball Team were playing GREAT! They ended their season 22-0 AND Arizona State Champs! We went to all the games we could near the end of the season and were there to scream and shout as the winning point went down on the court!
2. The same brother graduated from high school and celebrations were abundant!
3. Marc decided he wanted to go back to school, so I have been working full time and over time while he studies and goes through the application process to get a masters.
4. Summer vacations and swimming have kept us out of the house and off the computer!
5. Marc and I each celebrated our 24th birthdays almost a month apart, and between celebrating with both families, our weekends have been used up.

So, now time to play catch-up!
On Marcs birthday his parents, took us and his little brother out to lunch. Marc wanted to go to a family favorite Mexican restaurant, and we were so full! We had fun visiting with them though! Then that night we celebrated his birthday, just the two of us! I heard earlier this year that Bennihana, a super fun teppanyaki grill, has great monthly coupons. I signed up to get them and put Marcs name and birthday down thinking that if there was some fun birthday coupon I could use it! BEST IDEA EVER! About a week before his birthday I got an e-mail for $30 off a meal and dinner and the chef's table. I called and made the reservation and did my best to keep it a secret, I have a hard time surprising people because I like to see their reaction, but I kept this one. We got in the car and I drove so he wouldn't guess along the way. He figured it out before we turned into the parking lot, but he was so excited! We had been wanting to go but never had! When we got the menus they told us that their monthly special was a $40 dinner for two! It included, soup, salad, shrimp, chicken, steak, veggies, and rice all cooked on the grill right in front of us! It was SO tasty! Because it was Marcs birthday they brought out a half a pineapple that was carved to look like a fish with orange slices, lime slices and a cherry to make the tail! It was so cute, but I forgot to take a picture since there was a creepy little girl sitting by us that looked like she was going to attack it! They did take a picture for us and gave us a copy and emailed us one, so here is the only picture we have!

I felt pretty bad though, because I have made him a cake every birthday since we have been married and wasn't able to since I was working, but my mom made him a delicious German Chocolate Cake the Sunday after, it is his family tradition for just about every birthday!

We also celebrated with his family but there are 4 birthdays within a month, so we had one big party! We went to Ancala for a Delicious dinner then back to his parents for ice cream cake, swimming, and presents. Overall he isn't so sad about being 24 anymore!

Gila Valley Temple!

The Gila Valley Temple is doing their open house, the temple is about 3 1/2 to 4 hours away, my parents decided they wanted to go with my brother and sister, so Marc and I tagged along. We left about 7am and were home about 6pm, it was a pretty quick trip! We have some good family friends that live in Thatcher, the city where the temple is, so we used their house to change into our Sunday clothes. These friends wrote, choreographed, and organized the Temple Cultural Celebration that will be held before the Temple Dedication. They had all day rehearsals and since we had to run get the key to their house, we got to watch some of it! It was amazing!

There were a lot of people going through that day so we didn't really get to stop and talk too much. We were in and out in about 10 minutes, not including the 12 minute video before and our pit stop for cookies after! It was so beautiful! It will be a huge blessing to the people in the area to have a temple so close to them! Here are a few pictures outside the Temple. My dad took some of the family, minus himself, I'll post some of those as soon as I get them! Sorry about our squinted eyes, the sun was so bright!

I Need Ideas!

I love our ward. It is small. Everyone is so friendly! We know this is the ward we were supposed to be in. We didn't really like the apartments we moved into, but something was telling us to do it. We found out that the ward had been fasting for new people to move in. So here we are! I was pulled into primary within the first few weeks, so I don't really know too many of the women. Some how Marc and I keep getting asked to do things. For example, a few weeks ago we were asked to speak to the Young Women about preparing for the Temple, I used to be in Young Women, but I was TERRIFIED! We did really well, and had parents come up and say how their daughters talked about it after. Well, Sunday the Relief Society President called and asked if I would speak at the Visiting Teaching Conference on Sunday. Again I am TERRIFIED, but this time for very different reasons! I have been to the temple, I remember preparing to go through, I could relate to the subject. This time I can't. The topic they want us to speak on is from Elder Aoyagi's General Conference talk "Helping Hands, Saving Hands". I have only been able to have Visiting Teachers for 5 or 6 years, but my experience has not been anything to model after. I will admit, I have had times where I don't go, I have had companions who won't go and leave me to go alone, but I have never had Visiting Teachers that come like they should. I have always been under the impression that if other sisters take time to visit you, you should do the same. I do my part, but the other half is rarely fulfilled. I don't know how to talk on how Visiting Teaching has helped me in my life other than serving others, I have to talk on both. So, If any of you have stories of how your life has been blessed by Visiting Teaching can you share?! I promise I will not claim your stories as mine, and I also will confirm with you if I can use your story if it is something I feel I should share with these sisters. I know that some of your experiences may be personal and you may not want to share, I totally understand, feel free to share your comments on here, or if you would rather e-mail me at mliving at hotmail dot com. Thanks so much!

Return of my Malagasy Brother

My brother has been serving his mission in Madagascar for the last two years and came home on March 24th! We have been so excited for him to come home. The Sunday before he came home my sister and I made signs to have at the air port. He was scheduled to come in around 8pm, but a few days before he was supposed to come home British Airways went on strike. We were all a little worried about how that would effect his coming home. Well, they redid his flight plan and he came home about 8 hours earlier. Unfortunately, there were people that couldn't be at the airport with us, but our whole family was there. We have loved having him home and hearing about the life he lived with so many amazing people for the last two years! Here is the one picture I took at the airport, I was too excited and just wanted to hug him.

He has super white hair and has always been easy to spot, except when there were a ton of blondes getting off planes. We have so much fun with him! We will all be sad when he leaves to go back to school! I will post more pictures when I get them!

Babysitting & 100th Post

Finally after way too long this is my 100th post!

Marcs brother Ben and his wife Danielle went to the temple and asked us to watch Tyler. Tyler LOVES Marc! They dropped him off at our office after work and we took him to our apartment to eat dinner. Marc drove him in their car, they whole way he was pointing out cars and getting so excited. He calls Marc "ma" and would say it over and over until Marc acknowledged him. He immediately found Marcs stash of Sunday School treats and was too distracted by everything to really eat. We watched a little bit of Bolt, he would laugh so hard when when Bolt would do anything. Marc laid down on the couch for a little bit to watch the movie and his little buddy was right there with him.

He was so cute cuddled up to him. They are best friends! We love watching him and playing with him! Hopefully we can play with him again soon!

My Valentines Present!

I have been trying to be really crafty and make cute things. So for Valentines Marc got me a sewing machine. I really want to learn to sew, I am not that good at all so if you want to give me lessons, I am willing to take them. I decided to make pillows for our couch. Marc helped me pick out some super cute fabric to use. I think they turned out really cute, I am working one a few other projects, but I am having a few problems with elastic! Anyway, here is a picture of one of the pillows, sorry it isn't a great picture. The fabric is a dark brown with tiny white polka dots!

Dining Table

For Christmas, Marcs Parents got us a gift card to Ikea. We have been needing a dining room table really bad, we sold our last one to my cousin before moving out here and our card table wasn't cutting it any more! Marc wasn't too excited to make the trip and he wanted me to get a table I liked so he stayed home while my mom, sister and I went. We enjoyed a delicious lunch before hunting for the perfect table.

There was a big sale going on that day, unfortunately, the table I picked was not on sale. It has a leaf that pops up from the middle, that makes for a HEAVY table. Luckily there was a nice man at the store that took care of loading it for us! The box was a giant octagon, and super heavy. Marc and I had to lay it on the railing and slide it up the stairs, I was so scared it was going to fall over the edge! It made it, and it was pretty easy to put together, so were the chairs! Here are a few pictures, they aren't great, but tell me what you think! Ignore the pile in the corner, we are still trying to figure out where to put things!