A weekend away

Since the temperatures in the valley were supposed to soar close to 120 degrees this weekend, we had the bright idea of escaping to the mountains to get out of the heat.  It was cooler... by about 20 degrees.  It was still 100 degrees above the Mogollon Rim!  But it seemed cooler because we were in the pines, and there was a nice breeze.

While we were there we decided to let Ember and Ben celebrate their birthdays early and open all their presents.  Ember's birthday is July 7th, and Ben's is the 19th.  We had a great time, but it's nice to be home, heat and all.

Ember using her new camera

Birthday Celebration time!

A day at the park

Baptism Day

Our youngest child Grace was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints this afternoon.  We are so very proud of her decision, and the service was beautiful and filled with the spirit.  Thanks to everyone who came and supported her on her special day.

Just the girls

All the family who came for the baptism.  Thanks everyone!

Our sweet family

 The priesthood; Dad baptized her, and her two Grandfathers acted as witnesses.

Grandma and Grandpa Lawlor

Our beautiful girl

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 16th Anniversary to my best friend in the whole world.  We spent the afternoon yesterday driving home from California and we played a game we found on Pinterest, asking each other questions about our past and current lives.  We can still discover new things about each other after all this time, and we could answer each others questions more than half the time.  It was a great game, and a great reminder of how perfect we are for each other.  Austin goes out of his way to serve me every day, doing things that he knows will give me some rest, such as dishes and laundry.  I didn't have to "train him" to be this way, he just loves his wife and wants to make her happy in any way that he can.  I hope I make him as happy as he makes me.

California Adventure

Since Austin was temporarily jobless this month (he's since found a permanent job, yay and happy dance!) we had the opportunity to take some time off together and visit my family in California.  We stayed with my parents, we visited my Grandma, and we went to Knott's Berry Farm.  It was a lot of fun and I'm so glad Austin was able to take this time off to be with his family before his new job starts.

The coolest part of the visit was hanging out with four generations of our family.

 Great-Grandma gave Grace a special plaque about her baptism for her birthday, it was really beautiful and very special that Grandma could share this with her.

Knotts Berry Farm was sooo much fun!

I have made a discovery.

I am too old for theme parks. 

ugh.

We also spent some time at the pool.

What a great vacation, thanks Mom & Dad for hosting us!