Z life

Zade is FINALLY starting to get interested in books. Whenever we tried reading with him in the past he would grab the pages and flip through them as fast as he could. He likes to be in charge. Here he is at 5am reading with mom (while dad was away at an academic conference at Lake Tahoe.)


Here's Z playing with his favorite toy... the vegetable cooker. (He's got a think for kitchen stuff).


At his regular checkup with the doctor, they identified Zade in the 70th percentile for height, but only the 10th percentile for weight. Zade decided to take matters into his own hands by starting a weight lifting program, with our scriptures as his weights of choice.

Little Dictator

As you can see here, Aria is becoming a little bit bossy. We think she's got what it takes to be a good dictator someday. She has strong opinions about almost everything (and has no problem letting anyone know the way things "should" be), she's quick to scream if things aren't going her way, and is willing to resort to violence if necessary. May we have the patience to help her build "compromise" into her repetoire. :)

Look who's walking

Back in May Zade starting taking his first steps alone, and now he's off:


Aside from walking around like little Frankenstein (just like his father did at that age), Zade's favorite hobby right now is being a detective. This primarily includes emptying EVERYTHING out of the cubboards in search of clues.

Bath time

Now that it's getting hot again, the kids are taking baths outside. Nothing beats bath time with Popsicles. :) You can tell from the look on Aria's face that she still doesn't like having her hair washed.


After the bath, Zade loves to cuddle up with Tara.


In this picture Aria is dressed up like a fairy and is trying to turn us all into fairies with her magical wand.


We celebrated yet another year that I've logged on earth. Tara made my favorite Thai food and bought me licorice and Cheetos, and for dessert, we had a delicious fruit tart. And no, the place mat in the picture isn't mine. :)


Here are a couple more cute pictures from the past little while.

Girls Camp

I went up to Mt. Lemmon with the Young Women from church for girls camp around a week ago. While the temperatures here in the valley were getting into the 100's, it was a cozy 70 degrees up on the mountain (although it got pretty cold at night). It was fun to be able to relax with the girls, sing crazy songs, make fun crafts, listen to inspiring testimonies and lessons, eat delicious food that I didn't have to cook, and enjoy the beauty of the mountains. Here's Emily Sakievich, who helped me organize girl's camp this year for our ward, and myself.


Here's me with some of the girls: Renee Hodge, Caitlyn Law and Madison Hogan (from left to right).


Alma, Lorena, and Renee.


Joy and Renee.


Caitlyn Law, her mother (Sis. Law), and Joy.

Little Dancer

Aria loves to dance at home, and somehow manages to avoid the mine field strewn around the kitchen by little Zade.