Firsts are so fun...

Corbin Moss will be 1 on August 5th and there have been many firsts over the past few weeks, in preparation for the big birthday. He has had his first bruises, taken his first steps (with help), eaten his first strawberries, yogurt, and ice cream, helped load the dishwasher, emptied the cupboard, climbed the stairs- alone, played in the rain, received his first official haircut and played the piano! He absolutely loves keeping us busy and it seems we are snapping pictures left and right and can't record the events fast enough. We can't believe we are already planning a 1st birthday party and baking his 1st cake. It makes us feel older already! It's true that children grow up right before your eyes and if you're not careful, you literally miss it. In 2 weeks we will turn his carseat around to face forward and our baby has become a toddler literally overnight, it seems. We're sure there will be many more firsts in the world of toddler-land, but for now we're relishing in the sweet joys of almost-one year old. It's so fun to expose him to so many firsts!

Jeff's Graduation Weekend

Well, Jeff has made it over half of the way to earning his college degree! On July 6th Jeff graduated with his Associates Degree in Business Management--the first class to do so in the new University of Phoenix Cardinals Stadium. He will be the first person to earn his Bachelors degree (in 1 year) in his immediate family. We are so proud of him! His mom, step-dad, brother, and grandmother all drove down from Utah to support Jeff in this big event. We were lucky to have them all to ourselves for a few days. It was so fun. We enjoyed relaxing in the pool, going out to eat, and driving race cars at the Speedway. We also enjoyed a nice BBQ at my mom's house and my little brother Jesse and Jeff's sister Jessica and her daughter Samantha were able to join us that day.

Unfortunately that same weekend grandmother had a mini-stroke and the specialized doctors found she has been living with 2 holes in her heart that have been allowing blood clots to escape to her brain. She is in perfect health otherwise and has a wonderful memory. In short, her stay was lengthened a little and we got to see more of her than originally planned. It was fun to spend time with her and Corbin enjoyed getting to know his great-grandmother a little better. She'll be back in a few weeks to visit the doctors again! Overall, it was a blessing in disguise that she came for the graduation festivities.

Cousin's Camp 2007

Cousin's Camp at the cabin in Pine, AZ! This is one of my favorite family traditions. Every summer my grandma- Ione would invite all the potty-trained cousins to come to their cabin. We would all stay for an entire week to play and get to know each other better since we all lived in different places. We enjoyed treasure hunts, water fights, crafts, wood-burning, archery, hikes, fires, ghost stories, talent shows, game nights, movie nights, puzzles with our papa, yummy meals, spiritual thoughts, tire swinging, tree-house hideouts, chores, "panty parties" in the creek, catching wild animals, motorcylce rides, berry-picking, smores, trophy time, and much more! It was a blast and some of the best memories I have of my cousins and grandparents came from those weeks at the cabin in the summer. Well, Ione has passed the baton on to the next generation and now MY MOM has begun cousins camp with her grandkids. This summer was Corbin's first opportunity to go (with his mom of course, since he's not potty-trained yet). We were blessed with a special treat because Ione was able to make it to the cabin for one day despite her questionable health. It was so fun to see her in the cabin again and so fun to take Corbin to one of my favorite places and times.

Corbin's Play Pool

Every time Corbin and I would grocery shop at Fry's we would see these fun baby pools in the seasonal section and we'd look at them and walk by. A few weeks ago I finally realized Corbin really is old enough for a play pool and both he and I could get some good use out of it. So, we brought one home, filled it up and put up the "la-la" (Corbin's word for umbrella) and wha-la, we now have a backyard swimming paradise for our little fish. He absolutely loves his the new edition to the backyard! His favorite thing to do is spash in it as hard as he can and then stop to see how wet he got everything around him. Of course he also loves to swim with his ball and car, but he mostly loves to throw them across the yard and watch mom run all around to fetch them for him.

Yoda loves the new pool as well. One day Corbin was splashing so hard and so much that Yoda couldn't stand it anymore so he jumped right into the pool and played tug-o-war with Corbin for the sunglasses. They are good buddies and they both love the water!