Parades and Pirates

So I know that I've been SO BAD at updating our blog. Here's a little of what we've been up to lately. Last week we went up to Show Low and Snowflake so that Keith could play in the Pioneer Day Golf Tournament with our Bro-in-law Jason, and his cousin-in-law Mike. They had fun and came home with LOTS of tomatoes (since the tomato place up there was sponsoring the event). We enjoyed hanging out in the cool weather with Jason's family. It's so nice to be able to go outside and sit in the grass and enjoy a BBQ in the evening without dieing of the heat!

This is one of the coolest things that we saw in Snowflake's Pioneer Day parade. It really is cool! When we came back we had a pirate party for my parents birthday. They were born on the same day of the same year. How weird is that? So we surprised my Dad with a pirate theme. It was fun. He even had to follow a treasure map to get the treasure chest. Being back in the sweltering heat, we were glad to jump in the pool after dinner. NOTE: yes, my mom is wearing a pirate wig below.
This is the fun pirate hat cake my Mom made out of chocolate zucchini cake.

Bates Family Reunion

We had a fun 5 days in Utah last week. We went up there for Keith's Mom's family reunion. All of Keith's immediate family stayed at his sister's house. We had lots of fun swimming, shopping, and playing during the days before the reunion. We went to the Bees Minor League Baseball game for the 4th of July with the whole Bates family. The fireworks after the game were great! On Saturday morning we got to go to Hannah's (our niece) baptism. It was wonderful. That afternoon we met at a big park next to a church building with all the Bates and had fun on a giant slip 'n slide, and enjoyed crafts, food, games, and visiting.

My sister, Amber, and her husband, Michael, were up in the Salt Lake area for the 4th of July also. They live in Wyoming so we were very excited to be able to pick them up on Sunday night and drive down a little ways to Cedar Hills to visit my Uncle Mark's family. His daughter, Katherine, is getting married this weekend and so we brought them wedding presents and had a fun little visit.

San Diego

We had a great trip to San Diego last weekend. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and went to 3 different appointments for Keith for his work. The last appointment landed us in Newport where we met with Augie in his beautiful home on the beach. That was a neat visit. He has ALS, but is still so busy and active in life. He's raised over 14 million dollars for ALS. We were also able to see the temple there in Newport. It's a new favorite for me now.

We were able to go to the US Golf Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course on Thursday. It's the same golf course that we played on our honeymoon, and for our 1st anniversary. It was very busy, but we were able to follow Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson for their last half of that day. This was a dream come true for Keith. He kept telling me all throughout the day that it was the perfect day and he couldn't have asked for anything more (except a better view of the 18th green!).

On Friday we were able to go to Sea World. It was fun to see all the different shows. We went on the Rage'n Rapids ride and got totally soaked! It was cold and windy that day and we were freezing! We quickly ate lunch and went out to change and then came back to enjoy the rest of the day. It was soooooooooooo nice to be dry!

Saturday morning we went to the beach at Mission Bay before driving home. It was a such a great trip. It was so nice to get away from the Arizona heat and enjoy time together. We should have brought a pedometer; it would have been interesting to see how far we walked.

Birthday Weekend

For my birthday, Keith took me to one of my favorite restaurants, My Florist, in Phoenix. I love this place. They have the best food, and the best entertainment. We had a great time together and we ate A LOT of food! They even brought back our favorite dessert.

We rolled home after that one. My parents threw a fun birthday swim & BBQ party for my cousin Michael and me on Saturday night. Phil did a great job grilling the kabobs and Mom did a great job making everything else!
Kylie really enjoyed her icecream dessert!I got to hang out with my sister on my birthday day after going out to breakfast with a couple friends from our ward. (Thank you ladies!) We worked out and went swimming. It was so nice and relaxing. Then my friend Shari and her two girls came over to wish me a happy birthday. It was a great day!

WE'VE GOT TALENT!!!!

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Northern AZ

This past weekend we enjoyed being in northern Arizona. We couldn't believe that it's almost June and we were driving through a snow storm on the way there! Keith was invited to play on our brother-in-law's (Kevin) softball team in the Show Low tournament. He had a few really good hits, and mostly had a blast being able to play with such a great team.

This bridge into Pinedale is so cool! It reminds me of a bridge back east near Liberty Bell.


We stayed at Mom & Dad Jackson's cabin in Heber. They came with us to lunch on Sunday at the White's cabin (more like a beautiful house!). The White's work with Keith as ward missionaries in our ward. We enjoyed a yummy BBQ with them.


Isn't this chair so cool? Keith saw it and pulled over right away. It's just off the road in Pinetop.

On Monday we went to watch our brother-in-law, Skyler, play in one of his softball games in Pinetop. The fields were in such a beautiful area. There was this great lake that we walked around.

Check out this cool bird! I don't know what kind it is, but it is so amazingly beautiful!