Oh Happy Day!

We are back from our very short trip to Utah for Dad's surgery and we have good news! In the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, "It's not a tumor!" I'm going to post some AMAZING pictures from our little adventure and give you a little more of the story, but I did want to let you know that my dad is doing well.

He still had to have brain surgery because they didn't know it wasn't a tumor until they got inside. What they did find was something called a Venous Varix. I'm still trying to find a good definition for it, but it's basically an enlarged blood vessel in his brain. His veins were attaching to it and feeding it which caused two things 1) made it grow and 2) blocked blood flow to other parts of his brain. It has been removed and sent to a lab for testing, but the doc said he should be good.

For just having brain surgery he is doing amazingly well. Everything works perfectly and he's back to cracking his jokes and giving his nurses a hard time. Like I said before, he is a strong man and we knew things would go well.

I did want to thank all of you who prayed and fasted on my dad's behalf. I really, truly believe that all the love and support is what helped things go so well. I've got lots of thoughts on that that maybe I'll share later. Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU so much again. My family thanks you as well and are amazed that so many people have contacted us. We love you guys!

Albuquerque Aloft

Just as a quick reminder to our family and friends, OCTOBER is coming up in a month and a half! That means the International Balloon Festival is rapidly approaching. Here's a little preview as to what we've been waking up to every morning. It was launched at the park right next to our house:

I have also convienently placed links to Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Expedia, CheapTickets, and Hotwire here so that you can book your flights as soon as possible. Remember, you'll be flying into the Albquerque Airport during October 4-12.

Eli and I have toyed with the idea of being balloon chasers sometime during the week of the fiesta. We've heard it's the best way to get free rides in the balloons. Let us know if you want to come visit. Our place is perfect for the two of us, but we do have an extra guest room with a nice full bed, as well as room for the two air mattresses that we own. It'll be great fun!

Let us know when your flight is booked so we can put it on our calendars! We don't want to forget to pick you up (unless you've rented a car!).

Tag! You're It!

Here's a fun little tag game I found on my friend Jen's blog:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together (or a memory with Eli). It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

A Belated 4th Posting

I apologize for being a little behind on updating our blog, we've been a little busy with the move and all. Not to fear though, things are going extremely well for us in New Mexico. We've been having quite the adventure here in Albuquerque. It's unbelievable how much there is to do here! We'll keep you posted of all of our excursions.

I'll start with the 4th of July. It was so much fun! We went to the Rio Rancho Parade we our puppies and our friends, the Smith's. There weren't any huge floats or anything, but they had some awesome cars and it was still fun to get out and see all the new people.

After the parade Eli and I and the Smith's went to Old Town Albuquerque where they have so many museums and little shops. It was pretty cool. Our first stop was The Rattlesnake Museum which boasts the largest collection of different species of live rattlesnakes in the world! It was neat to see all the snakes, but also to see all the different memorabilia from cultures all over the world that have been influenced by snakes.

After we wrestled with the Rattlesnake Museum, we made our way to the Museum of Natural History. We didn't stay too long, but are consdiering a membership there, if only to see the dinosaur and living sea exhibits!

As we made our way back to the car we found the National Atomic Museum. It was a small, inviting museum that followed the timeline of WWII. They also had a Children's science lab that kept Eli and Todd busy for most of our visit. Pretty interesting stuff.

We finally made it home to where our sweet pork burritos, mexican rice, and Eli's amazing refried beans were waiting for us. It was the quietest dinner we've ever had because the food was so good!

After dinner we all piled (including the puppies) into the Smith's expedition and found a perfect place for fireworks. We took out the back seat of the car and set it on the sidewalk so we could kick back and enjoy the show. It was a nice production, a little on the long side, but still entertaining! Eli and I were amazed the Lima and Chorizo handled the event so well. To be more honest, Lima spent the time digging a hole to lay in and Chorizo cuddled up to Bonnie the whole time being the pansy that he is. After the city fireworks we went home and lit a few of our own fireworks.

All in all, it was a great day! It was well spent with friends and our little family and I think that we are really going to enjoy our lives in New Mexico!

An Adventuresome Weekend

It was a long, exciting, and eventful weekend. We had a company convention up in Draper at Juan Diego High School. It was insane! There were so many representatives there. A friend of ours made it up on Friday. He was able to see what we're able to do as a company and he was there to see our Division Manager promotion! Yeah! Saturday morning we went for a training with Chris Koob, who is a top leader in the company. It's always amazing to hear people share their experiences and teach us so much. We also got surprise recognition! We were one of the top base builders in the heirarchy.

After the training on Saturday, Eli and I met up with Miranda at her gymnastics meet in Midvale. I haven't been to a meet in forever and Eli's never been, but we were both impressed. She took 2nd place all-around for her age catergory. She did awesome on the floor excersice! It's crazy to see her do all of the events because she is sooo long and lanky! The girl is a stick and to see her flip her body around is almost comical. she does, however, have a certain grace when she moves. We're so proud of Panda!

We spent that night at my parents' house that evening. We were supposed to drive home back to St. George Saturday night, but we were able to change plans and stay Monday. My mom had no idea though. We spent the night playing rock band. I don't know how many of you have ever played rock band, but it is so much fun! It's like guitar hero times ten. You not only have a guitar, but you also have a bass guitar, drums, and a singer. Let's just we had oddles of fun. My cousin Landon and his fiance, Becky, came over that night too. We tried all sorts of different things, including an all girls band. We totally rocked! It's pretty funny to watch us non-musical people try and sing and keep rhythm on the drums. Eli and I are set on investing in the game one day. We think it's an excellent invention. It can be used to teach pitch, rhythm, hand/eye coordination, etc. Not to mention, it's just a blast for the fam to do together.

Sunday morning was an amazing day. We spent a little time with my mom being mother's day and all. Then we went to church (it was a little early at 11; we're used to going at 2!). My grandparents came down because Jake was being ordained an elder. It was so cool to my pop, Jake, and Josh bless the sacrament. After church, my brother had some friends and family come over and to ordaniation. It was beautiful. We're so happy for my brother; he's such an amazing YSA!

After that we grubbed on my dad's FABULOUS mother's day lunch. He spent 2 days preparing for this lunch. He marinated steak and chicken, and shrimp (he even de-terded it himself). We had fresh veggies like squash, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, and mushrooms. It was such a delicious meal and it was great spending time with our grandparents, my aunt and uncle, and my cousin and soon to be cousin-in-law.

Eli and I headed back down soon after that with Kenneth, Tawnya, and Sean in tow (they drove up with us for the convention). I fell asleep in the car after about 10 minutes, but woke up at the perfect time. I woke up right when we pulled into the Scipio house. We stopped to visit with Eli's parents (my favorite in-laws!). We wished Tonia happy mother's day and hung out for a little bit. We also raided the kitchen a little bit. I love the Adams' home...it's always stocked!

As I was thinking about it, Eli and I are so blessed. Not only are we best friends, but we have the best families. We get along so well with each others' family. It's always so much fun to spend our time with them. We love our brothers and sisters and nieces and nephew. We are so truly blessed for everything we have!