Daddy Day Care

Boys need to be busy!

Clark and Bennett are usually home from football and swim by 10am each morning.

Their afternoons were just begging to be filled with some hard work!

Curt has been having them come down to his office/yard and he has kept them busy!

The best part of it is....they aren't getting paid and they LOVE IT!

They are both intrigued with the way a business runs and have learned a lot.

They have gone through the office attic, 

cleaned out repossessed vehicles,

sorted through scrap metal, listed items on Ebay and Craigslist and

Clark will often help drive vehicles to the auctions.

The deal is...whatever junk they can sell, the money is theirs!  And guess what?

They are making just enough to keep them happy!

Clark spends his money on food...his latest obsession is ribs from Charleston's

and Bennett spends his on more junk.  He bought a go-ped off of Craigslist.

They are a "chip off the old block" (more Curt than me!) 

and it has been great for them to spend time with their Dad!

July Fourth

Wow!  I am so far behind...

To celebrate the Fourth of July,

 Haley and some friends decided to go up to Show Low to spend the holiday.  

When we received a call at 10:30pm the night of July 3rd,

we knew it wasn't good.

Haley informed us that they had been in an accident several miles outside of Payson.

 Everyone was fine, but the car was not.

All we knew was that they had hit a deer, and narrowly missed a pole.

Curt asked if they needed his help and within minutes he was on his way to Payson in the tow truck.

When he reached the scene of the accident, we realized how blessed all these kids had been.

It was an elk, not a deer.

The car was suspended in the dirt median in the middle of the divided highway

 and had just missed hitting a big pole.

The elk hit the passenger side window and the side of the car.

Thankfully it was not head on, or the results would have been much different.

The young man sitting in the passenger seat was covered in shattered glass and elk hair,

but was not cut or hurt.

We are so grateful that they had offered a prayer before their trip, 

praying to arrive safely.

As the other kids continued on to their destination (still shocked they didn't stay to help!),

Curt, Haley and two strangers who had stopped, helped Curt get the car ready to tow.

It was a huge job, considering the way the car was positioned.

A lot of lessons were learned:

ALWAYS wear a seatbelt

Prayers are answered

Curt is THE BEST DAD EVER!  and Haley knows it!

(It wasn't even Haley's car, but she knew her Dad would be there to help,

 no matter what because it is not the first time Curt has rescued her

 and her friends in the middle of the night with car issues!)

At 4am they arrived home, safe and tired.

The next morning, bright and early was the flag route.

It was awesome that Clark and Bennett did it on their own and let Curt sleep.

 Clark multi-tasking and not too happy about my pictures!

 Getting ready to take down the 32 flags on their route!

Echo showing a little love!

Special Blessings

 Clark received his Patriarchal Blessing on July 1st.

It was a special day, one that we will all remember.

There was a wonderful spirit present during this sacred occasion.

We are SO BLESSED that we have a Grandfather that is an ordained Patriarch,

and who is worthy and willing to give his grandchildren their blessings.

 We love that Grandma is also a part of this special experience.

She has the job of typing up each of the blessings that Grandpa gives.

We sure love this guy and look forward to watching his life unfold!

Summer Sports

Our summer schedule is largely determined by the different sports the boys are involved in.

At times it is difficult to be held hostage by football, basketball and swim,

but on the upside it gives the boys a lot to do and they are beyond tired at night.

They are in bed WAY EARLIER in the summer than during the school year.

Clark is up at 5am each morning and off to weight training and football.

He is home by 9am and then eats, sleeps for awhile and is off to basketball from 4-6pm.

I love seeing them active, happy and working hard.

Bennett starts swim team at 7am and then stays for two extra hours

for junior guard to help with swim lessons or swim team for the younger kids.

He is hoping to be a lifeguard for the City of Mesa in the next couple of years

 and possibly teach swim lessons in the future.

   

Each weekend in June, the varsity football team

 participated in passing leagues around the state.

These pictures were taken at NAU in Flagstaff.

Bennett is my only child to openly admit that he likes swim team

(although he doesn't look to happy here!)

The butterfly is his favorite stroke and he is good at it!

One of the summer highlights is basketball camp 

in Prescott at Embry Riddle Aeronautical College.

What is better than a week of basketball, cooler weather, all you can eat food,

and bunking in the dorms with all your friends?!

Bennett's best friends and roommates

116 boys attended camp and Bennett's team won the 3 on 3 championship for their age division.

These boys were each in a different age bracket
and even though they didn't see each other much,

it was fun to know that they were all there together!

Until next year....which unfortunately will be Bennett's last!