Completing Devin's Eagle

I am sorry that I have neglected the blog lately. Life during the holidays has hit!

Devin completed the last part of his Eagle Project. We raised the flag pole and had a nice flag ceremony. Devin asked the Cub Scouts to come and do the flag ceremony. The guy who sold us the flag pole came and helped and gave a great talk on patriotism. It was pretty cool because you could hear the artillary going off at Camp Williams during the raising of the flag. Steve said we had the "Rockets bursting in air". Now we need to get the write up done and then schedule the court of honor. Hopefully it will be soon after the first of the year.

Happy 50th Birthday Sherri

Steve and all the kids threw a surprise birthday party for Sherri's 50th birthday. It is hard to pick which pictures so I picked quite a few. I was surprised but also taken back by how many people showed up. It was a fun evening and I enjoyed all the friends and family making an effort to support me on this milestone of a birthday. No, I do not feel like I am 50! Thanks to all my family for working so hard to make it such a great party!

Halloween Party

Shauna had a Halloween Party last Saturday and I am just getting around to posting some pictures. We had fun! She had tons of great food. We played games and enjoyed each others company. It was great! Thanks Shauna!

Devin's Eagle Project

We spent most of the day working on Devin's Eagle Project. He has been ready to do the project since we moved here but things have been at stand still until now. He is putting a flag pole in at the church that we attend. Daniel did the same project in Vegas and so did Uncle Kerry. It is becoming the Davis trademark for Eagle Projects.

He has been working on the first phase of the project, paper work and the fund raiser. Today we did the second phase of the project. We dug the hole, put the sleeve into the ground, and cemented it all in so that the flag pole will be secure. We had lots of help from the family and our great Home Teachers. It was a success!

Snowing in October

It snowed all day yesterday and most of the night. Last week Devin played soccer in the rain and this week he played soccer in the snow. It is too cold for October. This is what we woke up to this morning. It still hasn't melted all the way yet. This is CRAZY! It is fall not winter. I am not ready for the cold yet. I will deal with it!!! That's what we get for living on a mountain. Daniel said it didn't even snow in Provo and Devin's friends said it barely snowed down in Lehi.

Soccer in the rain

Today was a great soccer playing day! This was our first real game in the cold and rainy weather. The highlight of today was that Devin, who is a defender, scored the first goal of the game. He was so stoked! It was wet, slippery, and cold for the boys but we played a good game. I have learned that they don't cancel a soccer game here in Utah for anything except lightening. We have played in rain, snow, and hail and anything else you can imagine. Devin always says they play better in the cold. It is always fun as a parent to sit in that kind of weather. (And I thought the heat in Vegas was bad!)

Scout Falls

Last Saturday Shauna, Sam, Steve and I went on a hike up American Fork Canyon. It was only about a mile and half up to a nice waterfall. We had a great time and enjoyed the scenery. Sam was our photographer. It is nice to live so close to places we can enjoy. There were lots of hikers on the trail but they were all coming down. We started late in the day and they kept asking us if we going all the way to the Summit. We only hiked to the waterfall but enjoyed the day. It was a nice day!

Relief Society Party

Okay, so we just recently did a Relief Society party at my house. We had a Hawaiian Luau and were planning to have it outside but because of the wonderful Utah weather we had to move it inside. We had planned to have this cool "Tiki Bar" set up in the backyard and when we moved it inside we put it up in the kitchen. It turned out pretty cool. Just thought I would share a few pictures to show how cute it all turned out. Everyone had a good time and we got almost everyone there. Thanks to everyone who helped!

Devin's Senior Pictures

We just got Devin's senior pictures back and thought I would post a few on here. He is a Senior at Lehi High School. He is doing well in school and we are very proud of him. Last year he had a 4.0 all year long. He is taking 2 AP classes this year and a concurrent enrollment class at UVU. He loves soccer and is playing for the Lehi Arsenal Soccer Club right now. He plays all year long if he can. He also will play for the High School team in the spring. He works at the Firehouse Carwash in American Fork and still manages to have a social life. We hardly ever see him because he is always so busy with school, church, soccer, work, and friends.

Past Vacations!

Our First Cruise

Last summer we celebrated my mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary. We had everyone up here to Utah for a celebration and then we all went on a cruise together. My parents love cruising and it was the first cruise for all of us except them. We had a great time. We did the short California to Mexico cruise. We went to San Diego first and took a tour of the Midway Aircraft Carrier. My dad was in the Navy so we loved going on the Navy ship. We, then went to Catalina Island where we did Kayaking and snorkeling and then walked around and enjoyed the cute, quaint little town there. We went to Ensenada next and there we had so much fun bargaining and shopping on the main drag there. I loved the cruise and would love to go on many more cruises. We had Daniel, Nicole, Devin, Steve and I there from our family.

Alaska

Also, last summer Shauna and I went on a cruise to Alaska. I flew to Seattle to meet her and spent a few days there while she was working. I love Seattle. Then, we drove to Vancouver, Canada to catch our boat. We went to Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchican. We had a great time and with Shauna, every day was an adventure. She had me riding bikes on the Klondike trail, zip-lining through the rain forest, and hiking all over the place. We rode the train that followed the Klondike trail too. On our zip-lining adventure we saw lots of wildlife including a bear and some eagles. We had fun shopping and eating all the yummy food on the ship. Our favorite night was lobster night. We each had three lobster tails and probably could have had more but decided we better stop. It was a wonderful time and a good chance for Shauna and I to have some time together. The highlight of trip was cruising through the Hubbard Glacier. It was one of the most spectacular sites I have ever seen. Going through the ice was a little eerie as you could hear the ice cracking as we cruised through. Watching the glacier calve was amazing. We thought we would only get to see it happen once if we were lucky but we got to see it happen over a dozen times and it was so cool.

China

The past April I got the chance to go China with Shauna and my sister, Linda. Shauna had to do some more work in Shanghai and so she invited me to come along and Linda tagged along too. We had such a great time!

We first flew to Hong Kong and spent two days there. The first day we took the ferry to Victoria Peak. It was very foggy and so the view was not too great until a little later. We waited around for the fog to lift and then were able to see the great view of Hong Kong. We went to the little fishing village of Aberdeen and got to see the fish market. The fish were all around in buckets and tanks. It was pretty cool. We also rode a SamPan and ate Dim Sum on a floating restaurant. We went to visit a temple and then the clock tower. We saw some great Olympic stuff too. The highlight of Hong Kong was attending the temple the next day. We got to wear the head phones and even took a family name through the temple for a sweet little Chinese sister that we met there. We took the cable car up the Big Buddah and then had to head to the airport.

Our next stop was Guillen. A quaint little town of 700,00 people. It was my first experience of the crazy driving in China. Horns honking, cars, bikes, motorcycle, and buses all going every which way. The next morning we took the river ride up the Li River to a little town called Yangsho. The trip down the river was beautiful. Mountains like I have never seen before. One of my favorite parts of the trip was this river ride and the time in Yangsho. We saw a show on the river that night that was directed by the same guy that did the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics. We rented bikes and rode to this bridge to watch the sunrise. It was a little overcast but it was still a beautiful site. We rode bikes all around this little town and hiked Moon Hill, spectacular view. We ate rice noodles at a little hole in the wall and went to this really cool water cave. We could touch all the stalactites and stalagmites. They had a big mud pool and Shauna was the bravest of us all and got in. It was cold and so I was not too thrilled about it. It was a fun experience.

Linda and I were on to Xi'an to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. The warriors are a fairly recent discovery and they were very interesting to see. We loved it but it was fast. We we there only one day and then on to Beijing. We saw the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square, and the Summer Palace all in one day. It was raining the whole day so we were drenched when we got back to our hostel but we loved it. All the history was fascinating. The next day we went to the Great Wall. What a spectacular site. We walked for two and half hours and seemed to go nowhere. I learned a lot about myself the three days we were not with Shauna. I learned that I can survive in a country where there is huge language barrier and that I can manage to get myself around. It was out of my comfort zone and we went in circles a few times but we did get to go everywhere we wanted to.

Then we were onto Tunxi. Shauna was supposed to meet up with us again but had flight troubles. Her blog tells you about her adventures when she wasn't with us. Linda and I went on to Tunxi by ourselves. We were getting better at getting around by ourselves. We booked our transportation up to Huanghan Mountain (Yellow Mountain) and hoped Shauna would catch up with the next day. We rode the Cable Car up the mountain the next morning. It was beautiful as we ascended up the mountain and got into the fog. We checked into our hotel and hiked around. It was amazing as we would stand in one place and watch the fog move. It was beautiful! Shauna was able to join us the next morning and we hiked the remainder of the day all up and down the mountain and then took a different Cable Car down the mountain. I would love to go back when it is not raining and foggy.

Our next and last stop was Shanghai. Shauna had to work while Linda and I explore Shanghai. By this time we were getting pretty good at finding our way around. We went to the Aquarium, the museum, walked on The Bund, rode to the top of Pearl Tower, went to the Urban Planning Center and went to a really cool Circus show. We rode the subway everywhere. We ate all kinds of different foods but my favorite was all the seafood. On our last day we went Yi Yuan Gardens and then we went shopping. Shopping was an adventure because you can bargain with the people just like you do in Mexico. I had a cashmere coat tailor made and so we had to pick up my coat too. We bought all kind of souvenirs. We rode the Magluv train back to the airport for our return trip home. Shauna had to stay a few weeks longer to work. It was such a great trip I am ready to go again. I love to travel and Shauna is a great tour guide.

Getting Started

I decided to try out this blogging thing that everyone is so crazy about. I am not very computer savy but, will see if I can figure out how this works. It will be an adventure to try to figure it all out.

We, the Davis Family have all migrated to Utah. We miss our home in Las Vegas but are all glad to be in the same place. We feel lucky that we are able to spend so much time together.

Steve, Devin and I are in Lehi and are loving our new home and our ward. Steve is one of the Gospel Doctrine Teachers, I am the Relief Society President, and Devin is the First Assistant in the Priest Quorum in our ward. These callings keep us busy but we love serving the Lord. Devin is entering his Senior year of High School at Lehi High and is taking two AP classes and a concurrent enrollment class at UVU. He is doing well and has made some great friends since we have moved up here. He is one of the captains on his club soccer team and is gearing up for High School soccer again too. He is a defender now and just eats, sleeps and breathes soccer. He is a good kid and we enjoy having him around when he is home. He is also working at Firehouse Car wash in American Fork and is doing so well. He was employee of the month after only having been there a few months and is now being considered for an afternoon supervisor position.
Steve is still at Zions Bank and seems to enjoy his job there. He has started running every morning and has worked hard at losing weight and trying to get in shape. He has lost 50 lbs and is keeping it off. We are all proud of him and his efforts. He loves to hike and enjoy the beautiful mountains we have around us but we don't get to go as often as he would like. As for me, I am kept extremely busy with Relief Society and I am doing preschool again up here. My love for the children has motivated me to get started again. This year I am only doing two classes which I think is where I will try to stay. It allows me to spend time with the children and enjoy their enthusiasm but still have plenty of freedom to do what I want to in the afternoons. I have enjoyed making new friends and re-connecting with some old friends since we have moved up here.

Shauna and Sam have just recently re-located to Utah. Sam got a new job working in Salt Lake and so they made the decision to move here. I am thrilled to have them here. It was a struggle to get from Texas to here but they are finally getting settled. They just bought a house in Highland and are attempting to get settled. Shauna is still working for Microsoft and is still able to work from home. Sam is liking his new job. They are still trying to get everything organized and get settled in their new home but seem to be adjusting OK. Shauna is also coaching gymnastics at a gym that she coached at when she was at BYU.

Daniel and Nicole are still living in Provo and are going to school at BYU. Daniel is working towards a Computer Science degree and Nicole is working toward an Elementary Education degree. Nicole is doing her student teaching this semester and will be done in December. Daniel still has another year and a half left. They are both working, as well. Daniel is working at Convergys and Nicole is working at the library at BYU.

Krista and Chris bought a town home in Eagle Mountain and are liking it out there. Krista graduated from Bon Losee and is now working in a really nice salon in West Jordan. It is called Kellie and Company and she is doing really well. She loves doing hair and we all benefit greatly from her talent. She is enjoying fixing up her new home and has a talent for that as well. She likes to help me update and fix up my home too. Chris is at UVU as a business major and also works full-time at Stewart's Pest Control. He is a hard worker and is getting close to finishing school. Chris recently finished the basement in their new home and did most of the work himself. He did a great job and it has added to the value of their home. He and Krista learned a lot in the process and they are happy to have the extra space.

We are lucky to be able to spend so much time together as a family and feel extremely blessed to be so close to each other right now. As you can tell, we are blessed with wonderful children and those that are married have chosen wonderful spouses. It's great to see your children grow up and become such wonderful adults.