The Parentals

I've done a few updates on the boys but I thought I'd take a post to do an update on Trent and I.

Trent has been busy busy busy! Trent's always busy but the past few months have been crazy for him. Trent is a superintendent for the local walter plant out here in Maricopa. The work is stressful and seemingly never ending! He's on call pretty much all the time and will even get called into work in the middle of the night sometimes. Water needs never sleep! It's been a great opportunity though and he's learned so much! It's opening a lot of doors for us. When he has a little extra time he's in the garage tinkering around on his baja. He finally has it running! We sold the Malibu (his car) and now that's his only mode of transportation so he's constantly making sure it runs the way it should. It still needs a lot of work but that comes a little at a time. He really loves it and I'm just glad he finally has it running! One huge hurtle crossed! He's starting to get back on the mountain a little more too. He's really missed mountain biking as often as he used to since we moved to Maricopa. He would still make the time to go when he could with his mountain biking buddy, Thomas. But, since they moved last year it's been harder to motivate himself to get out there. He's been making it happen though! Even when it's blazing hot outside! I think he's nuts but he loves it. He'd rather ride in the triple digit heat than the cold of the winter. Crazy boy! He's awesome to make plenty of time for us too. They boys love when Dad comes home. Especially Levi. He'll follow him all over the house! We're all looking forward to when things can slow down a little more. Whenever that will be!                                

 I'm keeping things under control (as best i can) here at home. The boys definitely keep me going everyday whether I have the energy for it or not! We've been spending more time indoors now that the summer heat is already hitting us in AZ. We were taking walks and spending time at the park a lot before then. It was nice to get the boys and I out of the house! I think we'll need to start going to the pool and splash pad here in our neighborhood so we don't go stir crazy. My photography time is picking up and I'm loving it! It's been so much fun to get out and capture families and individuals and I've learned so much! I wasn't really expecting it so I've been trying to pick up my game a little more. I'm glad things are taking off and I will hopefully be getting a new camera in the next couple months! (I can't wait!) It's nice to have something I can do that's just for me. It's a good outlet for me to get out for an hour or two once or twice a week. Things are going at a good pace for us and I'm as busy as I want to be right now. I've written a couple of times in the past about how I really want to loose some weight! I wasn't happy at the weight I was when I got pregnant with Luke and I was still carrying a few lbs of baby weight when I got pregnant with Levi. It's been an uphill battle and I feel like I'm finally gaining some ground! I have a ways to go still but as of today I've lost 11 lbs. I'm so excited! Each week I see the number go down is more motivation to keep going. I haven't given myself a time frame or anything to reach my goal. I have an ultimate goal in mind and if I give myself a date I get stressed out and don't loose anything! I'd be thrilled to be at my goal at the end of the summer and I guess if I had a time frame that might be it. Yay!!!

We're still serving in the Spanish Branch and Trent is still the young men president there. I've always been in the primary in the branch. I started as a teacher and then was quickly called to be the 2nd counselor and for the last few months I've been the 1st counselor. Sundays are crazy busy! Especially since there are so many holes to fill. Sometimes I'm wearing 3 hats at once but that's what most of us in the branch do. We all pull our own weight plus some to get the jobs done. I think I can speak for both of us when I say that this has been a huge learning opportunity for us as individuals, as a couple and as a family. We've definitely grown closer together through all this. When we were first called (over a year ago) we knew the branch would be different but we're constantly amazed at exactly how different! It was a bit of a culture shock at first.The people are the most warm hearted and loving people I've ever been surrounded by. I love them! We were brought in and welcomed into their "family" immediately and it's been a family feel ever since. It's a small branch but we're the busiest we've ever been in our time serving in the church. Lots to do! It certainly comes with plenty of challenges and I can say that I'm looking forward to being in a ward again but will be broken hearted when it's time to leave the branch next January.

Last month we gave away of our dog Brody. We got him last summer from my cousin Julianne and her husband. They  only had him for a couple months and were being deployed to Germany and couldn't bring him. I saw him when we went to UT for my grandma's funeral and thought he was such a cutie! We offered to take him and really took to him quickly. The boys loved him and he was pretty sweet with them too. The most difficult issue with him was his hyperness! I just assumed when we brought him home it was just his puppy stage and he'd calm down eventually. I did some research on his breed and I learned that's just his breed. They're hyper their whole lives. I tried to work with him but it just got to be too much with the boys and the dog. I started feeling super guilty because I couldn't take care of his needs like he deserved and made the difficult decision to find a better home for him. He's super spoiled where he is now so I'm sure he's thanking us! I still miss him though. He was a sweet dog and really loved me. He was my little shadow. Trent wants to get another dog right away but I'm quite gun shy after our experience with Brody. I will not get rid of another dog! Period. The next dog we get we'll have forever so I want to make sure it's at the right time in our families life. We know we want a chocolate lab (that's what we've wanted forever). I know labs are active while they're puppies and need attention and I want to make sure we can provide that for him. We'll see what happens in the future.

That's a little update on us. Probably do another one in a year or so :)