School Picture Day!

We are raising two very different kids. Guess which one gives us a run for our money? Man, this photographer should be promoted - he captured it.

PB&J Brigade!

Well, things come full circle. When I (Ryan writing here) was in high school my good friend set up a weekly meeting after school where we would make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and deliver them to the homeless in Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City. It is one of those memories that stuck with me - an outstanding experience for a 17 year old and his group of friends.

Recently I connected with an organization based in Tempe that provides countless services for the homeless in a city where homelessness is not addressed, nor are facilities available. I was asked to serve on their board of directors. I'm thrilled for this opportunity especially because there's an opportunity to bring my young kids into this project by...well, you guessed it...by making PB&Js.

Since Urban Outreach is headquartered in a local Methodist church sufficient kitchens to serve meals do not exist. As a result, our family decided to make sack lunches and deliver them to the church for distribution. Nothing major, but an OUTSTANDING opportunity for our family to serve whereas we wouldn't be able to do much in a soup kitchen with young children. And yes, jelly was flying last night, but we got the job done and delivered.

So it appears the PB&J Brigade from Davis High School lives on in Arizona!

HAPPY EASTER 2008!

Happy Easter 2007 from Team Secrist! We enjoyed a morning of mountain biking and an Easter Egg Hunt at our neighborhood park with good friends. A few friends organized this a few years ago and we all decided to do it again. It is a lot of fun - breakfast, games and an egg hunt. Hattie and Neeley filled their baskets. See our egg hunt and games videos below!

Go Neeley Go! Ok, so she is our "all things chocolate" kid. A little slow at the gun, but once she realized each egg was filled with candy she was running as fast as she could. Each family was responsible to bring 12 eggs for each child attending. The Moms met early and hid the eggs. Great fun.

Wow, when did we get so old to hang with a group with all these kids? Wow! Notice some are screaming, some don't care, some are focusing hard for the picture and some are COVERING UP MY KIDS! Too funny.

Taani was so smart to grab this shot. Here are all the parents taking pictures of the kids (the opposite view from the picture above). Wow, life has changed. We are camcorder/camera geeks now...all of us.

Hattie during the egg relay.

The fast and furious egg hunt. No one had a chance!

Let Them Eat Radishes!

Well, our very small, rocky, sun burnt garden yielded some amazing radishes. Kinda odd to harvest in February, but with an 80 degree day what could be better! We are so glad to be out of freezing 60 degree weather (sorry all friends from Chicago and cold climes, but we are now wimps) and finally in the upper 70s and 80s! Wow, look at the front radish, that is county fair quality!!! Its amazing we grew something in this soil. Our kids were amazed to "learn that Radishes don't come from Safeway." Lettuce, onions, peas are all next.

We stole away last weekend and spent the day hiking in Papago Park. This park is located off downtown and has some very interesting rock formations. Located right in the middle of the city it is great place to explore. Loads of mountain biking, hiking, trail running, the Zoo, botanical gardens and more. Fun day.

More at Papago. I love this pictures because it is "Secrists in Real Life." And yes, PHX is green right now!!!! Ok, that may not look very green to the rest of the world, but warm temps and loads of rain has the desert blooming. It is an amazing time of year - wild flowers everywhere and the wide open spaces are covered in grass.

More hiking in Papago. One of the cool caves the girls hiked into.

Neeley Turns 3!

Queen Neeley turned three! She celebrated with her class at School (hence the crown), had a little party with two friends and her sister at Peter Piper Pizza (hence the glam purse) and then the AZ Family had a little cupcake party for her at Pecos Park (hence the grin!). If you could see her sporting the new princess shoes from Buffy, Casey, Jack-Jack & Hailey.

She's three. Somehow we found time from hectic schedules and non-stop running to make cupcakes and sing happy birthday (go Taani).

A few of Neeley's friends. Sophie Seeley (cousin) and Emi Ito (a friend).

Hattie got in a fight with a cupcake and lost.

Christmas in Utah 2007. Our escape to SLC.

Prior to leaving for SLC, we held a small family party with my sister and her family. Here the cousins are enjoying the blankets Taani made for each one of them. Pictured: Sophie Seeley, Hattie, Ellie Seeley and Neeley.

We stole away to SLC to take our first real vacation this year. It was worth every minute and was a wonderful time to see all of the wonderful things there are see in Salt Lake. It snowed almost every day - and very heavy on Christmas Eve. This PHX family couldn't have asked for more!

Ice skating downtown in Salt Lake on Christmas Eve. We then rode the train to Temple Square to see all the Christmas lights. We didn't take many pictures because we were FREEZING! Notice the look on Neeley's face ice skating - it literally took her almost an hour before she would step on the ice. She would sit and watch from her stroller on the side. Sure-Footed-Neeley...she has to make sure of something before she joins the fun. Eventually she was smiling and loving the ice.

We were able to go a few times and visit my grandma Blanche in the nursing home. This was the first time in my life I saw Grandma without red hair. That was strange. This is a life well lived and even though she has had a handful of strokes and cannot speak, we found it a miracle when she called me by name, said she missed us "so bad it hurts" and looked at the girls and said "cute, cute, cute." The girls sang primary songs and we felt the strength of her outstanding life.

Sunglasses from Santa. These were a hit. Goes to show you Santa doesn't have to spend a lot of money to have a hit. At least at this age.

Christmas morning. Lincoln Logs! And yes, Hattie is wearing eye shadow that was in her stocking. B-A-U-tiful. Fun time and our hotel was perfect.

Hattie Rides a Bike!

On January 3rd we went to the park afer work and took Hattie's training wheels off. She was a quick learn and we've been riding strong since. Yahoo! Bikes are a big deal in our family...