Some more pics from swimming last Wednesday - Toby is showing his "muscles"
As a reward for "eating" (they pick at their dinners that Susan makes unless it is mac and cheese, cheese pizza, or dino chicken nuggets) their Sunday dinner I told them we would hang out on the balcony. They all got their binoculars and were looking at the mountains and the birds and each other close up. They also like to say hi to EVERYBODY as they walk by the park behind the house. Again, the weather and sunsets are beautiful!
I was on the hammock trying to read. I'm reading a few books right now, but on the hammock I was attempting to read "Men of Valor - The Powerful Impact of a Righteous Man" by Robert L Millet. My dad gave it to me for Easter. It seems to be his testimony/general thoughts about men, the priesthood, duties, and the times in which we live. The part I read in the hammock was about home teaching and so was the lesson today in Elder's Quorum. Even though we visit all 4 of our families every month, I've realized that there is SO much more we can and need to do for our families - both to bless and care for them as well as in order to bless and be an example for our own families. So - I need to start praying for them, be willing to help with visible needs without asking, and involve myself more in their lives besides just hanging out at their homes once per month.
I also taught Gospel Doctrine again today - the "3rd in rotation" teacher didn't show up (again), so instead of the bishop teaching (like he did last time because we were in San Diego) - I did! Luckily, I knew which lesson we were on and could get the teacher's manual from the church website on my cell phone. I read the lesson plan and the scriptures (John 9, 10) during sacrament meeting. I think it went well - it is better when you don't have as much time to get anxious about getting anxious before teaching. I really do feel comfortable - and was shocked when reviewing the lesson plan after the class how much of the material we really did cover (since I didn't have anything more than a small cell phone screen to read from, we ended up talking naturally as a group about the chapters and how they relate to our lives). Anyways, it was fun, and most importantly, I grew from teaching and got a lot more out of the scriptures than if I had been doing hall duty and ringing the bells.
This is the view from my mini as I drove home from Cottonwood after listing a practice for sale there. It was a blast to drive at 80+ mph with the top down!
TJ at his awards assembly - he received the citizenship award! He's a great kid. His friend, Walker, is also in this shot two kids to the right of TJ. Walker cleaned up with awards in math, reading, and citizenship!
Toby liked watching the awards assembly - but he really stunk up the place with something in his diaper - so Susan changed him and watched mostly from the back of the cafeteria
Toby loves whistles - he got this from Grandma and Grandpa after their trip back East - either from Williamsburg or DC or somewhere.
and cool off. Since it was to be my first official jump into the BIG pool this season, I expected to be "chilled" a little bit. Well, it felt like a big bathtub as soon as I hit the water. Now sometimes, the water nearer the surface is very warm. That's what I started rationalizing, anyways. Then - I wiggled my feet down below to try and find the cool water - there was none. Before I could keep thinking about it I noticed there was a (still alive) bird in the pool. So I hopped out to get the long pole with the net on the end to scoop it out. When I came back it swam/flopped/flew right into the skimmer on the side of the pool. So, I went to open the lid where the catch basket is to try and get the bird out because I didn't want to have to scoop a dead bird out later. It hopped right out. Then my mind went back to the water issue. I realized right away what had happened and now I happened to be standing right next to the heater. I turned around, opened the control panel lid and saw it - the light next to "spa" was on and the thermostat was set to 94 degrees (no wonder the bird was going swimming). 
I need everyone's help. Susan and I spent Friday evening staying up WAY too late working on a problem. The mini is due for registeration renewal and that is the time when I can submit and get customized (vanity) license plates. I've already decided I want to get the AZ Diamondbacks plates instead of the generic AZ one (even though it is pretty). But, most importantly, I need to decide what to put on the plate. So, as a test to see who actually reads my blog, PLEASE post your thoughts on the following possibilities: 
Some more pics from swimming last Wednesday - Toby is showing his "muscles"
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