Easter 2011

Chase "reverently" coming to see his Easter basket on Easter morning

Everyone got a treat in their basket.

A cute little bunny for Audrey.

smile for the usual Easter Family Picture

Blake said, "hey mom, do you remember this face?" and then did this.  I couldn't believe it,  he looked just like he did when he was little. Cute little guy.

Audrey looking lovely as ever.

Chase looking.... well, like Chase!

1- got my basket

2- finding the egg

3- lifting the egg for all to see

4- screaming, "YEAAAH!  I found the egg"
(there's more than one egg Chase)

Jackson quietly gathering his loot.

"I want the money egg!  Where is it?"

Looking and looking, but still no money egg.

Then Chase who knows nothing about the money egg, starts swinging around the tetherball pole and down from the sky flies a golden egg.

"Hey look, there's monies inside!"  Blake was so mad.

We love having the Cannon's close by to celebrate with.

Looks like Matt won the egg smash contest this year!

Easter Pageant 2011

 First we got to attend the Haymore Family Easter Event.  What a great family they have we just tagged along and got to do all the fun stuff.

 Then we headed to the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant.  We played games and ate cookies as we waited for it to start.

 The characters from the pageant were walking around so we shot some pictures with them

The kids loved watching the story of Jesus.  It was a long drive home that night but well worth it.

3rd Annual T-Bird Trot

 3rd times a charm.  We had a great turn out for the T-Bird Trot this year.  BYU Alumni wanted me to put on a fun run for them and instead we just combined them.  BYU Alumni became one of our sponsors so we got a lot more runners (about 400).  The Young Women made all the signs, ward members were checking people in and the missionaries were passing out water along the route. That's what happens when Mormons get involved.  It's great to see kids running around with BYU on the back of their shirt :)

 Jackson ran the 5K all by himself because Matt and I were both busy running the show.  He came in 1st place for his age group with a time of exactly 38:00.   It's a tough 3 miles with a pretty big hill climb, so we were proud of him.  I had sidewalk chalked the route and circled letters in his name for him to find along the way.  He just kept looking for his letters until he made it to the finish!  Way to go Jackson.

 Me and my Co- Chair, Anne Knight.  Phew!

On your mark get set, GO!  Chase was in the back of that crowd somewhere.  He finished the kids race.

Grand Canyon

I don't really have a bucket list, but if I did, hiking the Grand Canyon would be near the top.  It's a little embarrassing that I've lived in Arizona... "The Grand Canyon State" for about 12 years and still haven't done it. 

Well, we finally made it happen.  Matt and I along with a group of friends, planned a trip to hike to the bottom and back up.  We stayed in Flagstaff the first night and visited the Reeses for dinner.  Then we went on to Tusayan.  We watched the Grand Canyon movie and went to the edge the night before.  It's breathtaking.

 I made everyone a "Grand Canyon" BeSAC bracelet to wear on the hike.  Luckily, we didn't need to use them for survival purposes, but they did give us a little encouragement to stay strong!

 When we first started down, I couldn't even walk two feet with out wanting to stop and take a picture.  It was a beautiful day!

 Going down was the hardest part for me.  We went down the 'South Kaibab' trail and I took my ol' sweet time. This is us crossing the bridge at the bottom.

 We had lunch at Phantom Ranch, took off our shoes and took a little break in the shade.  Then it was time to head back up!!

 Matt lead us out up 'Bright Angel' Trail and was going quick, we stopped a little bit to dip our hats in the creek but didn't really stop until we hit Indian Gardens.

 The shade on this section was so cool and refreshing.  I felt amazing and towards the end got a huge burst of energy and wanted to finish strong.  

 When I got to the top, I was overwhelmed with gratitude that I was able to do the hike with my recent cartilage tear in my knee.  I felt great!  I was able to head back down with extra supplies to meet up with another couple.

 I immediately told Matt that I wanted to do that again, but Matt wasn't as enthusiastic as I was.  Maybe if I wait a little while I can talk him in to it.  We started around 7:30am and finished about 4:30pm.  It was about 17- 18 miles.

 When I took my shoes off at the top, we all laughed to see how much red dirt I had gathered on my legs.  Did I mention that I love duct tape!  No blisters.

 The next day we stopped by the Mesa Temple and did a session before we headed back home.  What a great trip!!!