Beating the Heat

Playing at Splash Pads still-- trying to combat the 100 + degree weather

Playing in our garage during the day is the only way for us to play outside.

It only last about 15 min. before the kids are too sweaty,

(They are also breaking all of Roberts tools.)

Some Clarification

Just so you know-- Arizona is hot!!! I am sure it will be nice in the Winter but I miss fall and canning and jackets. It is still 108 degrees today. So when the winter comes and you feel jealous- DON'T BE! There are almost 6 months of 100 degree weather here. I'm no better off then those who live in snow-- trust me!!!

Also, I am not going vegan. I hope that was clear. We do eat too much meat and too much saturated fat/cholesterol. I do want to do more substitutes with plant based food. I want to feel that my body is clean. I do want to buy grass fed animal products too. (I have seen Food Inc. I wanted to cry!) But Grass Fed is expensive. So when I can't afford it- I'll eat beans and veggies.

Also, I never share my opinions I just put pictures of kids up!! So it is great to see what kind of response I got. I love all your thoughts. With all the people in the world who eat junk- it looks like I do have a great circle of people who are thoughtful about what they eat. I love what I can learn from you. Pass on your recipes and I will pass on mine!

Also, the real estate here is cheap. Every one is prodding us to buy something. We looked, we got excited. We can buy a lot of a house- with the works! ( Ive always wanted a pool!) But now that it is here and I have had the option to have what I want, I realize it is not what I want. I would rather choose a shack by the beach. I miss my old and charming house in midvale. We wont be buying anything any time soon. So just for the clarification- the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. Now back to posting pictures of kids!!

Thought from around here...

It was so fun to see an old friend from the neighborhood this last week. She grew up vegetarian and now is full vegan. Her whole family- meaning her whole extended family- is too!! She is so inspiring. I thought I was eating healthy but just in an hour of conversation I realized I need to make some changes. Am I ready to give up meat??!! I don't think so yet- considering the bacon cheeseburger I had last night in a moment of weakness!! Do I want to use less cheese, milk products in general, more plant based everything, and yes- probably cut out red meat??!!(Im not sure!) More like all Saturated fat. I eat too much butter. I eat too much cheese. Oh my Sour Cream! Even my beloved Dr. Oz says "no saturated fat!!" and I haven't been able to follow that rule.

Don't I care about my Heart? Longevity? Cancer?

Yes- this is why I cut out all that processed crap years ago- HFCS, Hyd Oils, anything with a chemical name too long to prounounce. Most sugar. We eat oatmeal. we eat Fruit - not pretend fruit snacks- I make homemade- lots of things- most everything. But did I use 2 sticks of butter in my homemade pot pie last week- yes!! Do I use it in my breads and rolls- yes!- well there is a higher way and I tasted it. I've made bread before with oil and yuck- but I had Elizas and yum! She only uses drops of oil compared to what I've used.

You need to check out her blog- there are tons of recipes. http://www.greenereating.com/

I tasted the homemade cheese- so good! (Sesame, Miso stuff like that!) Im going to the store today and Im going to make it. Im also going to buy enough Spinach to fill my whole fridge. I have made spinach smoothies before- actually pretty regularly. But Im going to eat Spinach for breakfast lunch and dinner!!!

I also just watched a documentary "SURFWISE" via netflix. (You can judge me if you want!! The language is terrible!!!! But the story was thought provoking! Robert made me watch it!! I really do have stringent rules about what I watch! I obviously have some guilt about listening to the vulgar language the family uses)

It was about clean living and clean eating- I was so inspired. It is about a family who lived in a camper and surfed everywhere. There are lots of weird quirky things I might not agree with.... But I did get some insight out of the movie-- live your life with passion!!!

One of the great quotes of the movie was:

"If you are living a life of excess (excess pounds, money, things) then you are taking from others who will end up with less. Americans push forward to gain and take and have excess. Are we becoming anti-human by taking as much as we can in the shortest time that we can? In the past people used to fight to not be hungry. We fight everyday to be hungry. We are dying from over eating. It is a struggle. We have to think every time we put something in our mouths, we have to be proactive. We cant eat without thought. Do we just take the steak and start the hummer?!"

Do we want to have a superior state of well being? Be Clean, Eat Clean, Respect our bodies. I know I do.

Now I'm recharged again.

We will officially be out numbered

Guess its time to let out the news....

We are only 9 weeks! This is the earliest I have

ever announced it but I am feeling good and

the ultra sound looks good....

And Yes we will definitely be finding out if it is a boy or not!

Im a school bus driver!!

James started Pre-School two weeks ago!! I get to drive him three days a week. He loves it. He goes to Small Fry Pre-School with Mrs. Barb. Max is sad and always wants to go. I love it because Max falls asleep on the way home- can we say Free Time??!! Wow. I've mostly been doing absolutely nothing!!

(Look at the killer Arizona landscaping--sarcastic)

We are proud of you James- keep up the good work!

Max- you can keep sleeping!

A few things....

Finally I am able to download pics because we finally have a working computer!!! So you finally get to see a little bit of what we have been doing!!

The BIG Disclaimer is that in moving we lost our camera cord so all our photos come from our phones!!! The quality is not so great!! Hope you enjoy any way. Seriously something is better than nothing?!

In backward fashion:

We are enjoying AZ!! In all the chaos we have managed to do this:

Illegal Fireworks on Labor Day with our smores

Enjoying the children's museum--of course with the thumb...

Learning about splash pads and getting cooled off. They are everywhere

The Drive in to see Nanny McPhee and Toy Story 3. Yes they stayed

up the whole time. And Yes it was 103 degrees even at midnight!!

Maxies 2nd Birthday--Mickey inspired!!

Exploring White Tank Mountain National Park

Robert likes working where people bring these to work

(no hes not ours!)

Playing at Tortilla Flats (not the cali restaurant)

Just in time to meet new cousin baby Ezra

Before we got to arizona we spent sometime with this guy

at the most magical place on earth

Hanging out with California family

Our first family hike at Pluto's Cave in Mount Shasta

The kids were so brave and more adventurous than me.

We stayed at Grandma Janness's House in Nor Cal for almost a month

Anniversary trip in Santa Cruz

Robert with friends hiking Quintet

Before Cali came Circus Circus in Reno

Now a Harris Family White Trash Tradition (2nd Annual)

Traveling in a car almost three months ago!! Crazy how time flies!

So there is our backward time line. Basic and short! We love and miss all of you-- Really!!

You all have a place down here whenever you want to visit- especially those who have to go through long cold winters.

We'll be in touch more

Love:us

so we made it...kind of

For the update, We found a great renter!! It is so amazing how the Lord works in our lives to give us just what we want and therefore bring us the most happiness. I have had some hard lessons in not listening to the Spirit but I knew that renting our house out needed to be a process and choice that was heavily dependant upon the Lord. We kept finding people that seemed amazing but my gut deep down inside didn't feel right. It took a lot of faith to say no and keep looking. Then of course we found the perfect person for our home! How am I amazed everytime that the Spirit is right??!! I always think of it like exercise. It has always made us feel good so why dont we want to do it??!! The Same is with the Spirit- why is it that I tend to not want to follow it and do what I want to do. This has been a good lesson for me and for our family of being Patient and making Good Choices.

Anyway, How is that for a Sunday school lesson??!!

We packed up our things in a week!! We drove out to Cali and had U-Box (Like the PODS) deliver our stuff to Phoenix. We dropped off our kids for Grandkid camp, celebrated Kamie's B-day, and then we were off to Santa Cruz for a week of kid free relaxation and anniversary celebrating. I dont think I have had such a relaxing vacation since I have had kids. I was actually able to let-go in my mind and just enjoy the week.

We still haven't picked the kids up yet. We are going to drive up this next week to Rob's Moms and visit with her and her parents for a week. Then Rob will fly out to Salt Lake and drive his car down to Phoenix and start work there the 6th of July. I will stay in Cali until the 19th of July or so and Janness (Robs Mom) will drive down to Phoenix with me just in time for Myrna (Sis-in-law) to deliver her baby. It will be a fun summer but I can sense I will be anxious to find a place of my own.

What an adventure. When we lived in Sacramento before Rob always wanted to live in Phoenix- I thought it would be too hot. Now we are going and I am so excited. I think I could live in Sac too. being back here feels like home- there are so many good people here and I love the weather... but for now-- I do not want to move again!! It is terrible- the packing the cleaning it is endless. We will miss all our Utah neighbors and family- of course. But there are no goodbyes- only -"I'll see you later!!!"

We are alive

Every time I run into someone or give them a way too over due phone call back they say-- "Wow are you alive??!!"

So I thought I'd post to let you know that we are still here in Utah! We are trying to muddle through all the moving stuff-- We've had our house for sale for 5 months. 1 1/2 months For Sale By Owner and then with a realtor. We have showed it A TON and had 1 broken contract.

So now we are trying to rent it out and have had good response. We jsut are so Naive about the process we feel a little stressed. We want to make sure we are taking the right steps and covering everything we need to.

So we were ready to sign a contract today and I get an email from a girl who says her credit is excellent and her and her husband are looking to rent it for 4 years while they are in school. What??!! So now I want to hold out. We have only had the house listed for 4 days as a rental so maybe we should just slow down a bit and wait....

Also I cant believe how many renters have bankruptcies!! Maybe I shouldn't be suprised in this economy-you never know what obstacles you will face. I am just glad for the Gospel that teaches us to live frugally and save save save- live within your means. The Prophet truely is a seer that can see our day.

Anyway, our goal is to make a decision by the end of summer and finally get to AZ.

We won't know what to talk about after all this is settled- all we talk about is the HOUSE!! ARghh.

Robert loves his new position- he is doing in-house workers-comp insurance for Corporate Pet'sMart with the same company he is at now. They have been extremely patient with him and we are so grateful to his boss and Pet'sMart for being so cool.

We will post pics someday and get back to normal blogging and living, but as for now....

Its all about the house!