The summer continued...

(Thanks to all those who posted comments on my last and first post. It gives me encouragement to keep this up.) And I apologize in advance for all the pictures. I just have so many to choose from.

Well, the waiting continued. We thought we would know where Jonathan would be teaching seminary by May 20th at his New Personnel Orientation. No such luck. But at that point we were just happy to be hired.

So around the 5th of June we recieved the call and were told that we would be in the Phoenix Valley area in Mesa or Gilbert, Arizona. We were elated, though we were sad to leave Provo, my job, and all our friends there. I immediately thought of Brother Ringer, the HR rep, asking us in our interview if we could handle the heat of Arizona. Maybe he knew something we didn't.

We traveled down to Arizona to find a place to live. This happened to be Jonathan's first trip to Arizona. Because we didn't know where Jonathan would be teaching yet since there are many seminaries in this area, we decided to rent for a while. We decided on a townhome community in Mesa in a central location. He is now teaching at Red Mountain High School Seminary which is less than four miles away. We are planning on buying a house in Queen Creek, AZ, a smaller outlying town, in December. We decided that we are extremely blessed to be placed in this area. We really like Arizona even though it is so hot. While in Utah in June it snowed on the mountains. Then we came here to visit that same month it was 113 degrees. Thank goodness for AC.

Well, our last big hurrah in Provo was the 4th of July. Here are a few pictures.

Leighton was scared to death of the fireworks. He kept burying his head into our chests as we held him. But at the end he got really excited and clapped his hands. I love the 4th, the wearing of patriotic colors, the flag-waving, the parades, and especially the fireworks.

Right before we left we celebrated my sister's 18th birthday because we were moving away from her 10 days before. We made Blair a turtle cheesecake, a family favorite. Leighton was covered in caramel. Leighton misses his "Aunt Bear" very much. He often pretends that he is talking to her on the phone.

The kids are growing fast. Here are a few pictures of them. Savannah is rolling over and loves to "talk" to us. She definetely knows when she doesn't recognize someone. She happens to be one of the most relaxed children I have ever seen. She is happy and loving and especially loves her brother. Leighton now knows his colors, the concept of "2", and is talking in sentences. He is full of energy, and I find that my hands are as full as ever. And he is very sweet. He is learning to pray and he loves to have group hugs. We live somewhat near the Phoenix airport, and we always see planes going in and out. He can spot them so far away. He is pure boy. He loves planes, bulldozers, trucks, and buses.

I love this picture. Leighton is "reading" his little Book of Mormon to Savannah. She looks to be thinking hard about it.