Catching up...

So I've got some major catching up to do... Its been several months since my last update. I would like to be able to blame it all on Facebook, but I really have no excuse. Sorry dad for not updating more often than I have but I'm going to be better about it and hopefully be able to keep you more up to date on the comings and going of our little family!

Barrel swimming...

So we had this really big hole in our back yard that Kenny dug when we first moved to Alabama 5 years ago and we also had an enormous amount of newspaper that Arnold wanted to turn into mulch for the garden we were wanting to plant this year. I'm not quite sure exactly how this happened but one of the metal barrels we have for burning trash was filled up with water and the kids were put in there by their dad for a little Schloemer style swimming! The water was cold and they were in nothing but their underwear but it was fun and something they will remember for a very long time! (July 2010)

Youth Conference 2010

Lisa attended Youth Conference at Troy State University again this year with the members of our Theodore Ward and Mobile Alabama Stake. There were six Gulf Coast stakes involved with the event and Dothan Alabama Stake was in charge. Lisa says the highlight of the event this year was being able to hear Alex Boye sing and speak to the youth! (Rob Leonard, Allison and Jessica Strickland, Kendal and Susan Ottinger, Lauryn McCollough)(July 2010)

Lisa's First Job...

Lisa landed her first part time job this summer after she returned home from Utah where she attended SOAR at BYU Provo and Youth Conference at Utah State University! She was hired as an office assistant for the law offices of Peggy R. Nikolakis where she worked for two Mobile County lawyers. What a great way to gain some experience! Not to mention the fun paycheck in the end!!! July 2010 (Nick the lawyer)

Greek Fest in Mobile, AL 2010

Each year in Mobile there is a Greek Fest held at a local Orthodox church. We had heard about it before but had never been until this year! It was fantastic! The food, the entertainment, the shopping, and the fun!!! We ate bbq meat, calamari, hummus, and lots of yummy desserts! Our favorite find at the Greek fest? Spanakopita! A spinach and Feta cheese filled triangle made from Phyllo dough! Yummy!!!! (Nov. 2010)

Halloween Murder Mystery Party...

The Champagne family invited Kenny and Lisa to a Murder Mystery Party for Halloween this year! They were given characters in which to come dressed up as and then had to play a Who Dunnit game with their partners in crime! Lisa was asked to come as Annette Funicello and Kenny was asked to come as Time Conway's character from the Carol Burnett Show - The Dentist!) There was lots of yummy food and great fun with the youth who attended! What a great way to celebrate Halloween! (Oct. 2010 - Steven Champagne, Cody Dagley, Justin Ottinger. Allison and Jessica Strickland. Bro. Denver Damron - the butler.)

A rose is a rose is a rose...

Sometimes a rose is just a rose... but when Arnold brought me home this rose after work one day it brought a smile to my face! You have to understand that I worked in my mother's flower shop in Hawaii for years... And as a florist knows... you are the one always giving the flowers not getting them. And when I first started dating Arnold I told him not to buy me flowers because I knew how much it cost and what the mark up was... I have since told my two daughters to never ever offer that type of advice to their future spouses... In all the years we've been married this was the first time Arnold bought me flowers... So this was a very welcomed surprise... (July 10, 2010) (Updated photo of Jessica's puppy Tux - short for Tuxedo - 18 months old)

Fourth of July 2010 & Turtle Burgers

Fireworks, lots of food, and fun with the missionaries for the Fourth of July! This year Arnold sent me a recipe he found for Turtle Burgers. They are made by placing cheddar cheese inside a 1/4 lb ground beef patty. Wrapped in six slices of bacon, and beef hotdogs are inserted to resemble the turtle's head tail and feet. Then the Turtle Burgers are baked in an oven until crisp and brown! They were yummy!!!! (Elders Fetokai, Tolley, Chidester, and Metcalf. Spanish Elders Adams and Shirley. Linda and Johnny Dunn. Sarah Dunham)

We love our Utah cousins...

Visiting Sanford, Co and Austin, Tx...

On the way home this summer we stopped in at the farm and visited with Arnold's parents. There were tractors, goats, a rottweiler, and lots and lots of rabbits! Then we stopped in Austin, TX and visited with Arnold's older sister Sooz!

Our personal tour of BYU...

While in Utah this summer we arranged for our family to take a private tour of the Brigham Young University Provo Campus! We loved our tour guides and the information we received on the tour was more than enough to get us all excited about sending Lisa here for her freshman year! And if Lisa wasn't a true BYU fan before... She sure was after this tour! Fall 2011 here she comes!!!

Visiting with good friends in Utah...

While in Utah this summer we visited with several good friends! Elder Cockrell's family in Salt Lake. Doris Garner and Logan and Mason in Woods Cross. And the Hacking's in Lindon. Oh how we miss our Utah friends!

Visiting our Colorado cousins...

Visiting Littleton, Colorado was a fun part of our trip this summer.