The Big Move

This is the biggest move we've ever had! How can us college kids accumulate so much stuff?...Oh yeah, we had a baby ;)

Arizona is beautiful in it's own way. Yeah, it's dry, hot, desert looking, and cacti count as trees, but the sunsets are to die for. Each evening is filled with vibrant color in the sky that makes me so happy.

We first moved into my Grandma and Grandpa's house while we waited for our house to be available. For a couple months we enjoyed life in a retirement community. In this 65+ community, we REALLY enjoyed all the perks:

Swimming in this beautiful pool.

Cruising around in golf carts.

Playing with rocks.

Enjoying all the palm trees.

Running around in swimsuits.

And playing with cars in the water.

Calvin is always too cool for his parents...

...But one day, I noticed Calvin acting like the elderly neighbors, and I knew we had been in the retirement community long enough!

In November, we finally moved in to our own place! My boys are so excited to have more space to run around&wrestle, play in the backyard, and work in the garage.

Currently, the LDS Mesa Temple is the closest temple to us. However...

...we have a new temple being built closer: the LDS Gilbert Temple! The Open House (where ANYONE can go take a tour inside) is going on from January 18th-February 15th 2014 Click here to reserve free tickets! After the Open House, the temple will be dedicated where only baptized members who are qualified and prepared are allowed to enter the temple. So if you can, go take a tour and see what's inside!

Overall, Arizona is treating us well :) We are loving the warm winter weather and we're fitting right in. This Arizona desert has become our home and we are taking everything in stride. We've even become DiamondBack fans!

Summer all-year-round is the best!

Calvin thinks he's done with naps...

Every day I fight with Calvin to take a nap. He definitely still needs still needs one a day so that he's happy the entire day. Otherwise, he becomes a crying, unreasonable monster. I mean, c'mon. How cool is his bed?! Why doesn't he want to sleep in this awesomeness?

After a couple hours of fighting his fatigue and playing (aka destroying the room) by himself, he finally crashes in the only clean space left...his closet!

I love my little munchito (little munchkin with a spanish twist). But man, he can be so stubborn! I'm sure there will be many more stubborn moments to come. Yay for the terrible-twos!

New Years Resolution

What's are my New Years Resolutions?

Make more videos of Calvin

I absolutely LOVE taking photos of Calvin. Jake bought me my Canon Camera as my "baby present." I've always wanted a nice camera. And Jake completely surprised me. Luckily at the time, Jake worked at Best Buy where he got a pretty good discount on the camera. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have been able to buy it before Calvin was born. Now that I'm getting comfortable with adjusting the settings for photos, I want to get more comfortable with using the camera for videos.

Photos are always valuable to me because they capture moments in time that will help me remember the moment. I'm realizing the older I get, the more hazy my memories are becoming. Videos, on the other hand, are extremely valuable to me because I feel like I am taken back and immersed into to the the very moment.

My goal: is to make at least one video per month. That way, by the end of the year, I'll have at least 12 videos of Calvin during his toddler years.

Make time to re-read the Book of Mormon
I love studying and learning. I think that's what I miss most about school. Constantly learning. For so many years I spent TONS of time devoting myself to secular knowledge. This year, I want to read the Book of Mormon as if it was one of my text books in college: carefully and meaningfully. I want to understand each verse. If I don't understand something...look it up!

Instead of reading before I fall asleep, I'm going to read in the morning to help jump-start my day. Since I'm home a lot, I need that extra push to get me going.

My goal: is to study the Book of Mormon each morning for at least 30 minutes.