Winter in Arizona???

Today we got the closest thing Arizona gets to a winter at about 11:30 today sleet started falling from the sky. A few minutes later we hear laughing and shouting coming from the back yard. Joy and Lucy put on a sweat shirt and their water shoes and were outside jumping on the trampoline that they got for Christmas having the time of their lives jumping in the "snow". The trampoline was slippery which only added to the fun. These two jumped for 20 minutes with the sleet coming down before we had them come in.

Dear Family and Friends,

Another year has come and gone. We’ve had a very busy year and time has flown by. As the Holidays approach, it is time once again for us to share the happenings of our family and to reflect upon the blessings we have received this past year.

Dale is still working as an assistant manager for Home Depot and still enjoys his career and all the challenges that it brings. Dale recently completed training and testing to become a Store manager and is preparing to further his career. Dale is an assistant scout master and enjoys being with the young men. He spent seven nights camping with the scouts this past year and it is rumored that he has prepared some great meals and fed his scouts very well.

Amanda is enjoying her Home. This year she planted and raised a nice vegetable garden and grew flowers and grass. Amanda has been babysitting a two year old boy 2 days a week and spends a lot of time chasing him and Eli around the house, yard, and neighborhood. Amanda has a glimpse of what DeAnn gets to do all the time with her twins. Amanda is the Sunbeam teacher and has had the privilege of having Lucy in her class this year. Amanda is also the Wolf Cub Scout leader and has enjoyed working with these boys.

Joy is in first grade and loves Math and Reading. Joy played soccer this last fall and enjoyed having her Daddy as her coach. Joy is still dancing at her Aunt Jenny’s dance studio and is preparing for her Christmas recital. Joy spent a week this summer with her grandparents and attended a Karate camp.

Lucy is now four years old and has begun preschool. Lucy attends preschool with 6 other children and preschool rotates each week to a different home. Lucy enjoys when preschool is at her house. Lucy is also dancing and is preparing for her upcoming recital. Lucy is a thinker and she often amazes us with some of her great ideas that she comes up with. One of her not so good ideas was when she gave herself a haircut. The first thing she said when I discovered her was, “Daddy says I have too much monkey hair, so I cut it off.”

Eli is now 20 months old and he goes a hundred miles an hour every minute he is awake. Eli is often found climbing onto the table, bunk beds, stools, counter and anything he can get to. Needless to say, the kitchen knives are on top of the refrigerator! Eli’s vocabulary is growing every day but his favorite words are animal sounds. Eli started nursery a few months back and enjoys the time he spends there, but not as much as his parents enjoy the break from him.

This past year we had the opportunity to travel to Colorado and New Mexico for a family vacation and a family reunion. The kids loved the time they had with cousins and we all had a great time being together.

In closing, we would like to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas. This time is special to our family as we reflect upon our Savior and all the blessings that he has afforded us this past year. We love you and are so grateful for your friendship and love.

Love,
Dale, Amanda, Joy, Lucy, and Eli Rogers

Colorado part 2

Isaac and Jenny talking to Uncle Clarence. He worked at a trading post on the reservation for several years and speaks fluent Navajo. He's a way cool guy.

Yes, that would be mine who's trying to escape! Some of the Jack babies. So cute!

We LOVE Aunt Florence's house. She has the neatest toys and a great big yard to play in.

I love how these cousins and brothers have so much fun together. Good times.

Cowgirl Callie and her pony.

Now who puts a 4 way stop sign in the middle of the road?! Silverton, Colorado!

No, Bodie isn't going to the bathroom! The kids loved the snow. Lucy especially talked a lot about it. This is up a high mountain pass by Silverton. Thanks Isaac, for showing us around. We had a blast!

Eli happy to be out of the car. We were freezing at the top of the pass.

While we were driving up the pass, we passed a marmot. We were trying to get a good pic of it. Dale had Lucy on his lap so she could see it better. She leaned out the window and hollered, "Hey you! You look at my daddy!"

The little guy then posed like a trooper before running off.

The mountains were sooo green and beautiful! We loved Colorado and New Mexico. Ever since the trip, I've gotten several requests from Joy and Lucy to go back there...today! Lucy's asked several times, "Mom, can I go swimming in the pool at Colorado with Minnie today?" Joy's asked, "Mom, can we go back to Colorado or New Mexico tomorrow? It's too hot here!"

Rogers Family Vacation: July 2010: Colorado Part 1

To sum up our vacation: good food, good fun, nice weather, and great company!


Joy climbing the rock wall at the Durango Rec. Center. It's a pretty nice place.

Dale's grandparents; the ones this family reunion is named after.

Can you guess which one is ours???

When we pulled in, the owner of the RV park expected us to have something a little bigger than this. He joked that if it rained, maybe it would grow. I think it was the smallest pop up in the whole place. Dale's cousins were proud of it though, and it works fine.

We had a couple of bar-b-q's with the cousins at Aunt Gail and Uncle Ted's house the first weekend in Colorado. It was fun to see Derek and Alexys's new baby. So cute!

Eli had a couple of buddies his age to run around with. This is Tony and Eli at Serious Texas BBQ. YUM! We had fun watching the river rafters below.

Hanging with the cousins in Durango.

Joy, Lucy, and Callie riding in the side car with Jeremiah. He was definitely one of the kids' favorites!

Willy taking Lucy for a ride. Yes, Lucy really is happy. She LOVED riding the motorcycles.

Busy busy June

This month we went to Phoenix to visit my parents and brothers and their families. The kids had a blast in the pool!My little beach bum.

"Daddy says I have too much monkey hair, so I cut it off!" Those are the first words that came out of her mouth when I discovered her. You can guess who got in trouble!

Her hair was so long and pretty. She's happy that it only takes 30 seconds to comb it out now.

Looks like a mullet!

The new hairdo.

I decided it was time I learned how to bottle. Peaches or apricots anyone? These aren't going to last long in this house! I've bottled 7 pints of each.

Way exciting weekend!

As many of you know, there is a new temple in the Gila Valley. It is just 5 minutes from my house! The youth in the temple district put on a program titled "The Place Which God for us Prepared." It was awesome. A bit of history about this area was given and the lyrics to the songs went right along with whatever historical facts were given. Pima Stake, the one I'm in, did a song called "Cotton Stomp." The kids and I went to the Friday night dress rehearsal. Wow! What a good show.

Ever wonder what the plane looks like that the prophet flies around in?

This is it! My friend, Joanna Hardy, and her husband and his family run the airport here, in Safford. She invited us to be at the airport with her family when the prophet flew in. I was thankful for this because Joy couldn't understand why she wouldn't get to see him, even though he would be here.

At the airport, we were told by the bodyguards (there were about 10 of them) that we were allowed to take pictures, but that we couldn't yell or make a huge fuss. There were about 10 adults and 10 children in our party. Elders Walker and Costa of the 70, Elder Holland of the 12, and President Eyring and Monson were all there. I wanted to enjoy the moment, so I didn't get very many pictures. Only Presidents Monson and Eyring came over to say "hello," and all of the other guys and ladies got into the awaiting cars, so I didn't get any pics of them. President Monson was so funny and acted like a typical grandparent, "Let's see these kids," he said as he walked over. He gave the kids high 5 and shook hands with them. To Joy, who didn't say a word and was acting bashful, he said, "A shy one! That'll be a good trait to have in 10 years!" If only he knew! Joy is a very outgoing, boycrazy kindergartener.

After about 5 minutes or so, President Eyring started tugging on President Monson's suitcoat and said, "We need to go. You're going to get hot out here." Motioning to the terminal, President Monson replied, "Why don't we go in there where it is cool and visit then!" The exasperated, but patient Elder Eyring said, "Because we have things we need to do." After visiting, mostly with the kids, a few moments longer, they left. Wow! To stand just 3 feet from the prophet and be with him for 5 minutes! What a privilege! Joy was thrilled...and so were Dale and I!

A couple of miles from the airport, when Dale and I were driving home, we saw a huge bunch of cars and a sign "We love you President Monson." One of the bodyguards came to our cars and told us to drive slowly and that President Monson stopped to say hello. Sure enough, Presidents Monson and Eyring were on the side of the road shaking hands with a small crowd. By the way, there were about 6 cars for the group that was here with President Monson.

At the cultural celebration that night Dale, my sister-in-law Jenny, and nephew Bodie got to see the prophet and everyone with them (Dale and Jenny had to help with it since they were youth leaders). Bodie got to shake President Eyring's hand.

The temple dedication was wonderful and full of laughter and tears. There has been so much excitement in this valley ever since the announcement that there would be a temple here. Finally, we don't have to make a 3 hour trip any more! What an unforgettable weekend!

My friend, Joanna, is holding the little boy on the left. President Monson gave her a hug!

President Eyring.

OH BOY!!!

Gone a fishin' instead of just a wishin'!

It isn't a normal day unless Eli gets his hands in the toilet at least once. Yuck!

Pucker up, baby! I LOVE yogurt!

Another Tonka truck picture. All 3 kids get a kick out of this game. The girls take turns

pushing and playing chicken, while Eli squeals and laughs.

Happy first Birthday little guy! Eli turned 1 last April. He knew just what to do with his cake. He's great at eating and sleeping and playing. He's a very happy boy and so fun to have around.

Eli has 4 teeth now and is walking everywhere. He loves to play "This little piggy" and "If you're happy and you know it." I admit, we haven't taken many pics of anyone else, but with the dance recital coming up, I'll get some of the girls put up.

More pics

Our several attempts at getting a good Easter pic of the kids. These are only half of them!

Finally, the best one we got!

Eli absolutely refused to sit for a picture, and Lucy had to have her sucker or she would have been "Stoneface Lucy" and not look at the camera; the first pic is a good example of this. Yesterday, Eli finally got his 3rd tooth in and is working on #4. They are his top fromt 2 teeth. He also began walking between Dale and me yesterday. He is the noisiest little walker you've ever seen, and he had a lot of fun with all the attention from mommy and daddy. He loved giving and getting hugs every time he got to one of us. He's been taking a few steps here or there, but yesterday was the first day he really got going.

Happy Easter!

And a happy 30th anniversary to mom and dad. We'll be married for only 9 years next month. I guess that means we're still newlyweds. Here are some pics from last year's Easter:






I'll post pics of this year's Easter later. Here's a funny story about Joy. Enjoy!

Dale and I don't do the Easter Bunny thing. Dale's parents didn't do it when he was a kid, so he didn't really want to do it. I was fine with that because the whole Santa Claus thing detracts from the real meaning of Christmas anyways, so we don't need the Easter Bunny to become an important part of Easter. Well, everyone asks Joy what she got for Easter and she says, "My dad says the Easter Bunny doesn't come to our house." While she was talking to my dad on the phone today, she told him that next year, she was going to sneak out of bed and get out an Easter basket for the Easter Bunny to put candy in. She also told my dad to put out an Easter basket next year so the Easter Bunny could put candy in it and then he could come to Pima and give it to her. Hilarious!

Meet Mini ME

Dale's younger brother, Sam, decided to have a little fun and put this together. I thought you all might like to see this:

You know those age progression pictures police do to find children who have been missing for years. Well I had to do an age regression for Dale incase he gets lost and pulls a Benjamin Button on us (grow young instead of old).




************************* “Meet mini me” Ha ha. I couldn’t help it.