Camping in Payson

Lolly and I went up to Payson a week and a half ago with friends to do some camping and a ward service project at Camp Lomia. We camped off of some dirt road in a nice secluded area. It was gorgeous. The weather was nice, the fire roaring, and the food tasty. We had a great time.
Here are our good friends/home teachers Matt and Holly.
Here are the ladies and children chillin' next to the fire. (Can you chill by a fire?). In the far background is Teri and McKay.
Matt talked up his fire making skills on the car ride up to Payson, saying that he could start a fire from scratch--no matches, lighters, etc. Although he didn't quite succeed, he made a lot of smoke...and even more sweat! We look forward to the next trip. Matt has been doing some homework to figure out what he did wrong.

A Special Mother's Day

This Mother's Day was particularly special. Not only were both Lolly and I's parents in town, but I had the opportunity to bless Sadie and the two of us had the opportunity to speak in church. Lolly gave a very spiritual and moving talk. After her talk and a few musical numbers, I was only left with about 7 minutes to squeeze in my 20 minute talk. All I can say for my talk was that it was a privilege to express my gratitude before the congregation for the wonderful women in my life, especially my mother, wife, and daughter.

After church, we all went to my grandparents and had a feast of ham and turkey breast with all sorts of delicious side dishes. This entire weekend has truly been one of the best I've had. I wish my family all lived closer so that we could have more experiences like these.

Sadie couldn't have looked any cuter in that blessing dress!

Isn't my wife gorgeous?

Brian, Dalene, and my grandparents.

My parents and grandparents.

My niece Rylee--she's also a cutie.

Lolly's parents.

Saturday Fun with the Davis's!

Heather's husband Scott has a brother Tad and sister-in-law Teri who live here in Phoenix with their son McKay. Tad and his family have been our friends for the last three years because Tad also was an ASU law student. Needless to say, with Scott and Heather in town, the Davis's came over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to spend some time with all of us.

Tad and McKay!

Scott--lookin' good!

Teri and Rylee

Graduation

I graduated on Friday afternoon from law school, or at least I think I did. I don't actually get my diploma for another 8 to 10 weeks. It was a hot day on Friday--somewhere around 105. That made taking pictures outside a bit too uncomfortable. Overall though, it was a great experience. Lolly's parents travelled down from Utah, as did my sister Heather and her husband Scott and daughter Rylee. My parents and my brother Brian and his wife Dalene travelled all the way from Pennsylvania. It was a real blessing to have all of them here to celebrate with us.

My parents and me--or is that Columbus--wow! What a hat!.
Brian, Heather, and Me.
My beautiful wife, Sadie, and me.
Lolly, Sadie, Lolly's parents Gary and Keri, and Me.
Dalene, Brian, and Me.

Sadie & her cousin Rylee after graduation.
To top everything off, we celebrated with some tasty Mexican food at Matta's.

Becoming More Independent

Any Resemblance?

We're taking a poll. Does Sadie look more like her mom or her dad?

Dad---Sadie

Sadie---Mom

Chris & Lolly--The Neighborhood Police

It's nice to know that we live in such a nice neighborhood. Last night Lolly and I were watching Freedom Writers--great movie--when we hit pause. "Do you here that crying?" "Yeah, its been going on for 10-20 minutes." "Where's it coming from?" "Not sure." I went outside and found two little kids left in a car by themselves. One was probably under four and the other under two. I tried asking them where their mommy was, but they just kept crying. (I would too if some strange man was looking into my car and my parents were nowhere to be found). After a couple of minutes of keeping an eye on them from the deck of our apartment, we decided to call the police. As we were on the phone I stepped outside my apartment; I could hear my neighbor downstairs open his door, look out to see that the kids were still in the car, and then go back in to his party or whatever was going on inside. A couple of minutes later, we had two police cars and a fire truck outside our building. Our neighbor tried to play down the fact that he had left his toddlers alone to fend for themselves while the cops threatened to call Child Protective Services. I know that children can be frustrating sometimes, but how do you justify leaving them in a car late at night so that you can hang out with your friends. The car doors were unlocked and someone could have snatched their kids up, or the kids could have gotten hurt. We also have another set of neighbors that get into loud screaming fights. Every time I listen and wait for any evidence of physical abuse. So far none; let's hope it stays that way. Can't wait until we can afford to buy a house!

Say Cheese!

Everyone loves picture day...

well ... almost everyone!