The 4th of July

We celebrated the 4th of July in Grandview, Washington. It is a cute little agricultural farming community. We enjoyed BBQ and of course fireworks. Grandpa played pyro and we all had fun! I believe Tiffany lit off about 50 sparklers (or as she calls them sprinklers!).

Yes, I was wearing a sweatshirt! It was cool outside to me and it was a GREAT feeling to need a light sweater in JULY!

Caitlin & Courtney Celebrate with the Avery's

The twins celebrated their 3rd and final birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa Avery's. (This is where we have been staying for weeks now. Thanks Carol & Gary! :)

New Camera = Need a Bigger Hard Drive!

Before we left for church, the twins decided to take some photos of Brianne.

This is the Columbia River Temple.  Our new church building (a stake center) is located just next door to the temple. It is so neat to walk in and out of church seeing the temple next door in an adjoining parking lot.  This temple is about 5 min or less from our rental.  And, if we get the property we want, the temple will be about 3 minutes away from our new home and we will be able to see the temple from our back deck.  I love this temple, the windows look almost identical to the Houston Temple! :)

This is the typical landscape around Eastern Washington.  Desert mixed with farm lands and always sunny skies with warm temps, NO HUMIDITY! 

Tori :)

The view form our Grandparents back yard. Vineyards, orchards, hay field, farm land and hills.

Tiffany sporting her Texas Shirt on the 4th of July!

Caitlin & Courtney's 15th Birthday!

Seems like yesterday these two little ones were born.  I can't believe they are 15 years old. They ended up having 3 celebrations. Lucky girls!  Happy Birthday my sweet girls!

Here are the highlights from their parties with their Grandparents....

 They share a birthday with their Grandfather. :)

Hanging out with Aunt Pam, Ron's sister.

The twins got their wish...a new camera for their birthday! Canon EOS Rebel T3i

Life In Eastern Washington

Behind Grandma and Grandpa's home and all around the subdivision, there are vineyards, hay fields and cherry orchards.  It is quite peaceful and quiet out here.  In the mornings we are awakened bright and early to a chorus of roosters.  It is so loud, that we eventually need to get up and close the windows.  Yes, we sleep with the windows open, it is so nice and cool here.  I LOVE the hot days, then it cools off at night.  It is even very pleasant during the day sitting in the shade...you actually get cooled off in the shade here.  The weather is so nice compared to hot humid Houston.  I am so glad we moved away from that terrible weather.  I survived 15 summers in Houston. I am so happy to bask in such nice weather in our new home state of Washington!

Here are a few pics of things we have been up to while visiting Grandparents...

Caitlin keeping in touch with friends...Skype on the back porch, enjoying the moon rising.

Flyin' Away...Goodbye Texas, Hello Washington!

 The older girls barley remember flying on an airplane and for Tiffany it was her "real" first time to fly. Meaning the last time she flew, she was about 6 months old. She was so excited and I was excited for her to have this new experience. We flew into Salt Lake City and had a brief stopover, then we were left for Washington. As we approached the Washington airport, all we could see for miles was farm land. The crops, orchards, and vineyards and the Columbia River were gorgeous! When we landed, we were the only airplane at the airport! No kidding, the airport was that tiny! We came out of the gate area and were immediatley in baggage claim. We quickly gathered our bags (there was no waiting and no crowds) and walked about 20 steps and we were out the front door. Another 50 steps and we were at our vehicle. There is such a HUGE difference between this little town and Houston. I will admit, I do enjoy the small town country life. It is so quiet here, and there is no traffic. There is even a pretty good Mall, Walmart, Target(s), Costco, and an airport that major airlines come in and out of...so I am content!

They look happy here, but really they cried and complained most of the trip.

Here the twins smile, but really I found a picture on their camera that they took during the flight.  The photo was of a hand drawn picture that said, "Washington- BOO-HOO!"

The twins took this picture. They didn't know it at the time, but this is a photo of BYU Provo! :)

Caitlin didn't do so well on landings.