Rainbow Falls

Here's the first of many Hawaii shots. I'm going to bed...I'm exhausted. I figure I caught up with a couple major events and I'll have to leave the adventures of Hawaii for another day. Happy New Year!

Holly, Jolly Christmas

Well, this Christmas was quite different than any other one we've ever had. It was our first Christmas at Home! It's Heath's family's year for Christmas but they only had a Christmas lunch with the family on th east side of Mesa Christmas day, so we were on our own for Christmas eve and morning. I decided to make a yummy fiesta dinner with fajitas and salsa and don't forget the bubbly! That's Jace and daddy doing "cheers" Not sure where he got that, but it's one of his favorite things to do when drinking something and we must hit glasses or it doesn't count. :) We then made sugar cookies together, got pretty messy and even had a visit from a neighbor dressed up as Santa Clause....Jace is still a little aprehensive about the Clause. Maybe next year. Christmas morning was oh so fun....and can you believe it, I was so wrapped up in watching Jace devour every present and enjoying every sqeak and squeel that I forgot to take hardly any pictures!!! I know, what a mom! But I guarantee this Christmas was by far the best. I could care less about what I got....I loved watching Jace and the joy on his face as he tore through the wrapping paper and yelled, yes, wow, awesome....when he got his books, trucks, tool set, new kitchen stuff, movies and more. He was thrilled.

5 Years and Counting....

Nov. 30, 2007--I can hardly believe that it's been 5 years since we've been married!! Heath surprised me with a beautiful display of red roses and I took him to the Suns game!!! We had a great time. We started the night off @ Stoudemire's restaurant and the food was mmm mmm. good. (plus, it was raining outside...so that added to the great day). We then enjoyed the game, which got pretty exciting near the end but the Suns pulled off a win. We've been so lucky to have so many awesome experiences just from the generosity of others. Thanks FOX10!

The 10 best things about being married:
1) Knowing you'll be by eachother through everything-good and bad
2) Having someone that knows you better than yourself sometimes
3) Always having someone to laugh with, cry with, talk with and snuggle with
4) Being able to learn about true service and sacrifice
5) LOVE---need I say more?
6) Learning to get over the quirky things and hoping to someday find them endearing
7) Having a FAMILY! Jace is the best part of us
8) Discovering eachother's hidden strengths every day
9) Bein able to kiss anytime we want
10) Having a best friend in eachother

Wow, lots of catch up!!

I guess the first event to start off with would be THANKSGIVING! We had a great time spending time with my family, my 89 yr. old grandpa and extended family. There certainly were some highlights of the weekend. We had a traditional Thanksgiving feast and the church cultural hall, playing Guitar Hero--in fact all the men decided to create an actual bracket for a guitar hero contest, which turned out to be quite fun and exhausting. Jace loved it but was definitely over stimulated because when we got home a couple days later he didn't stop singing and playing his guitar for 3 hours straight....no joke. I was losing my mind. Going to Vegas is never what everyone else thinks it is...for me it means, good food, family, house full of memories, and making more.

Merry Christmas

Dear friends and family,

I was hoping to send out Christmas cards, but I just didn't get to this year. So, here's our electronic version! Thanks to all that sent us yours this year! We love to see what's going on with your family and see your family pictures!

So, a quick update, Heath will be graduating from ASU this upcoming May 2008 with a bachelors degree in Urban Planning and Development. And we're up to our ears in graduate school applications as of now. We're applying to ASU, Portland State, Univ. of Colorado Denver, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. With the deadlines quickly approaching, we hope to find out by March where life will be taking us.

Arizona has been good to us. We've made some good friends, love our ward and have had some amazing opportunities through both of our jobs. Heath is still working for West Mesa Community Development and enjoying it. However, we are closing a new chapter in our lives this week, as this Thursday will be my last day with my employer, Sport Court of Arizona. We both feel good about this decision and know it will be a financial hardship, but also know that the Lord will open up windows where doors have closed. I can finally stay home and be with Jace full-time, while also doing freelance work for the Pat Tillman Foundation.

In a few days, Heath and I will be off to Hawaii! My company is sending us there as a big going away present. Needless to say, I was shocked and so excited! We leave in less than a week. Jace has made so many good friends this year through his great preschool group twice a week! He's so sweet, when he says his prayers, he blesses each of his friends by name. He already is an example to me. He has more energy than I can muster! He loves trucks, trains, cooking, playing his guitar and drums, and going outside! He's constantly on the go and I'm constantly trying to find fun things for us to do! I feel so blessed to have this wonderful little boy in my life! Being a mom is the best job and his great big hugs are worth everything! Jace will be 3 years old in May. I can hardly believe how fast time goes. So, who knows where we'll be next year, but we'll keep in touch. We love you all. Hope this holiday season finds you and your family well.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

love, Stacey, Heath and Jace

Shake Your Bootie!

I haven't had much time to blog, but I thought I'd post some cute videos. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween

This year the weekend before HALLOWEEN, we were at my parent's house. We were so sad that we missed our Arizona ward's annual block party, but Jace had lots of fun at the chili cook-off/trunk or treat in California! We had so much fun and it's funny how quick kids catch on to getting candy!!!! He was our little MVP this year. I was quite thrilled to find a costume that he happily wore. I suppose this was all preparation for Halloween night, which he loved! He and his friend Elliot, had fun going together but...not at first. Jace was scared of Elliot's Spiderman mask and it took him a while to realize it was his friend behind the mask!