2011 The First Half

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly allows you to customize your photo book just the way you want.

September 2012

It seems the more active my little boys become, the less I pull out the camera!

Coolest things:
JT turned 13 and even though we had 2 bday parties, I didn't get a single picture!

Shane baptized a new investigator, Yareli Lopez, and we have stayed close to them. Her mom was baptized
when she was 8, but doesn't remember it and was never active, but has found great peace in the gospel and is trying to align her life with gospel teachings. She keeps saying “I just don't want Him to let go of me now that I've found Him!”

The baptism was a little scary. When we got there Yareli was scared to death and in tears and didn't want to
do it. So, I told her we would have the talk and musical number and then she would tell me if she wanted to go through with it. The week before, they had come over to choose the opening and closing songs and we played through a few hymns. She ended up choosing the hymn “When Faith Endures.”

I will not doubt, I will not fear; God’s love and strength are always near.
His promised gift helps me to find An inner strength and peace of mind.
I give the Father willingly My trust, my prayers, humility.
His Spirit guides; his love assures That fear departs when faith endures.

Wow! After we sang that song, she gave me a nod and got into the water! Whew! But, no pics.

Louis is JT's new friend that lives just down the road. We've had them over for dinner and FHE and Louis has been coming to scouts with us for about a month now. Their family is coming to church with us this Sunday.  We're very excited!

Canning peaches and pears – These AZ people know the best peaches come from Brigham City and they have truck loads shipped down every year. I'm always in on it. Just wish I could grow my own! No pics.

JT public school – JT is going to Desert Shadows Middle School, 7th grade. He's learning a lot of interesting
things. It is the right place for him right now. His main reason for going was to make some friends. There has
been no one around his age for quite a while and a boy needs some buddies! No pics.

Father's blessings – the sweet gift of a Father's blessing is always a comfort in our home. No pics.

Cleaned the church, fed the missionaries, (there are 3 sets of Elders and 1 set of Sisters), dentist/ortho, seminary (I get to exercise during this hour! Dropping the poundage, baby!), rained out at the lake, attended an education seminar on Mormons in Mexico, and the AZ Homeschool Convention. (It was refreshing!) No pics.

Things that Shane was at and so got a quick couple pictures with his phone:

Backpacking – Our family has begun a new hobby of backpacking. Our goal is to be able to go out on a 72 hour hike. I've been taking the baby with me in the morning and walking around the church with him in my backpack.  He's one heavy little dude! But the training is a blast. The hash brown containers at Costco were the biggest hit!  Just add hot water! They were delicious! Got a couple pics of this outing.

Shane killed our first rattle snake. Scary! We went to the Biosphere. Cool! Hit one fair with snakes and tractors.  And, Kayla is looking into dairy goats. We'll see!

Love ya!

There and Back Again, A Dille Family Tale

July

Malad Fireworks!  THE BEST.  Saying goodbye and heading for home.  Annual pilgrimage to the “Y” and a stop at Pete & Colleen's.  Plus an exciting PG-13 Hawaiian party at Nathan and Heather's.  But it was worth it for Thomas and Zach to finally make friends!  We also took Trent & Kayla to BYU Idaho.  Wow!  Lot's of change over the last 15 years.  But somehow the spirit of Ricks College still remains!

Back at home we've had almost daily showers.  Some major down pooring and it looks like Ireland with Ocotillo.  Weird, but a nice change from the constant look of death. We are surrounded by Mesquite trees, and they are BLACK.  We live in an area called Sleepy Hollow and it is rightly named because it looks like the old Disney movie by the same name with the pumpkin headed guy with dark, spooky looking trees.  Then, every July - green leaves pop out on all the black trees.  It's so strange.  I still miss Oregon.

ACMA - Every year we have the great priviledge of attending Shane's Arizona City Manager Association Conference.  But this year was a special treat because Shane, JT and Thomas got SICK!  If you have not been cooped up in a hotel room with three sick people, you have not lived!  The best part was that I got to go to Shane's banquet for him and eat the most delicious food and visit with the wives of the CM's that I've known for 12 years now, since the beginning of Shane's career.

EFY - Kayla's report:  This month I went to EFY, Especially For Youth.  It was so much fun to be able to hang with a bunch of other teens and share fun and clean jokes! What a nice break from everything worldly!  We all were put into companies, with about 12 girls and 12 boys.  Every company had a scripture to base their chant and their flag off of, and ours was John 10:16.  Our flag was a bunch of sheep being held in one hand, and our company name was 'Hold to the Fold'.  In the course of the week we had activities, such as the Variety show (like a talent show) and the Music Program.  Four girls and I tried out for the Variety show, and we got in!  I also participated in the Music Program. It was so spiritual and so much fun to be able to sing as pretty as we could!  We sang things like, "As Zion's Youth In Latter Days," and "Arise and Shine Forth,".  Every song was so pretty, and we all had really good voices, even the boys!  Over all, EFY was amazing, and I can't wait for next year!!

Thomas is becoming quite the toilet-time story teller.  Here's the latest: A farmer came in the house and gave him a camel to ride on.  But the camel had two (or maybe "too") poky ears.  So he had to hold his tail for a ride.  But then he could not hold his tail because there was poo-poo on it and so he held his tusks.  Then the camel fell into a big pit and he had to fill it with water to get the camel out.  Then the farmer said he could look in his door and he saw whole bunches of apples and carrots and he ate ALL the carrots and they were so yummy.  But then the farmer was sad that he ate all the carrots.  

Quite a plot, with a moral to boot - don't eat all the farmer's carrots.  

Baby Go Fish is trying to get "big tooth on top" number two.  But also talking!  Mamma, Dadda, Num Num, Uh Oh!, Tat Tat Tat, (Kitty cat), and I LOVE YOU!  It's so cute!  He is like a little puppy just crawling around the house.  And if we roll a ball he runs after it, throws it and runs after it, throws it and runs after it some more.  He's quite good at entertaining himself.  It's lovely!

The "Y" on the mountain! 

Love you all!