Mark Isaac Crosby- Happy Birthday to YOU!

This post is for YOU! Today, 36 years ago, you, Mark Isaac Crosby were born! I thought I'd share a few pictures of YOU! Back in the 'old days', we didn't know ahead of time what we'd be getting, until the baby was born. We were very happy to get a son! I always loved the name "Mark" and we chose "Isaac" because I read in a baby name book that it meant "son of my rejoicing", which you have always been!

Mark you were due Feb. 28th, but you came almost 4 

weeks late!! I think you really liked all the chocolate

I fed you and when your eyes were the color of chocolate 

chips, I knew it was true!

 FINALLY- you arrived weighing in at 7 lb 6oz. 

We thought you were the most wonderful baby,

everything you did was just amazing!

 My swiss Gma wanted you to have something special for

your blessing and so she crocheted this whole outfit for you, 

including the blanket. You were to little to know that maybe it wasn't the coolest outfit to be wearing, but you were a good sport!

 You and your Dad- so proud to have a son!

 My Mom and Aunt Sherry came from California and spend a week with us. We were living in Spanish Fork at the time.

 Here you are with your Gma Jo and your cousin Michael

Crosby, born about a month before you.

 Your Dawes grandparents, better known as Nanna & Pompa!

 I'm sure you were thinking- "Uhh Mom, is Pompa supposed to be watching me, because I think he fell asleep!"

 Your Dad had big plans for you and this old car.

 Here you are with your Gpa Melvin Crosby. We were up at Greer Lakes and he was telling you all about your great Gpa that helped design and build the lakes for the irrigation system for Eagar.

Here you are with 4 generations of Crosby's - Albert Wyatt (AW)
Melvin, your Dad & YOU

And 4 generations of Dawes' - Guy Herman, Don Evertt, your mom, and YOU

 You and your Aunt Sherry have always had a special bond!

Then here you are with 4 generations of Pegues'.  Perry Purcell, Martha Jo, your Dad and YOU!

Mark, I hope these pictures help remind you of how LOVED you are and that you have a great legacy of wonderful people who want you to carry on the great family names. Being the oldest of 7, you have always been a wonderful big brother, always a great example for them to look up to, and we couldn't have asked for a better son than YOU. We think you are pretty special and we LOVE YOU LOTS!    Happy Birthday! 

More fishing....I mean CATCHING!

It seems like all I take pictures of lately are of FISH! Your Dad has turned into a real fisherman and has been doing A LOT of catching! He loves to go with his buddies, Bro Hoopes and Bro Carpenter. We got a little snow last week, but that didn't stop these guys from going fishing!

  Brother Hoopes

 I just found out taking a picture of yourself and posting it is called a "selfy".  I'm sure you kids already know the lingo!

Bro. Carpenter-  Hmmm...fishing or sleeping? 

 Bro Carpenters fish were still in the truck I guess.

And this is what they are hoping to find inside!!  This was a good day, to get this much 'roe' !!

Working and playing...

Dad's been working hard getting his wind generator back up and running. Its been 'froze up' for over a year now and not producing any power. He had his friend, George Boone and his Dad come with his big crane to lower it down. Then he had to get the bearings out that were bad, so he made his own bearing puller thing, it was pretty ingenious. 

 Dad putting it all back together.

 Now that its fixed, he needs to figure out how to get it back up !

Note Dad's stickers!  'Go Cougars!'

 Then Dad's friend, Ron Cole told him that he was catching fish at Big Lake again. The ice is gone, but the fishing is good. 

 Look at those HUGE fish!!

 Dad of course was bragging to his other friends, so they came fishing today and they all caught their limit!!

 Ross Carpenter and Larry Hoopes

 They caught Rainbow trout, Cutthroats and this other kind... 

 ....maybe a Brown or a Brookie??

So a little work and a little play makes Dad a happy boy. We have been enjoying some great fish dinners!!

Crosby Sibling FUN in Tucson!

It was about time for another Crosby sibling family get-together and Valentines Day was a perfect weekend for everyone. We met in Tucson, Dave & Mary flew in, the rest of us drove. LaVerl & I had the longest drive, almost 5 hours, but it was well worth it. We did lots of eating, visiting, playing games, learning each others health & other ideas and did I say eating?

 J'net & Bryan had heard about this Mexican place where Bill Clinton ate when he was in Tucson. Thats not why we ate there, it was because the food was GOOD. Rick & Paula had not arrived yet, Rick had to work until 9am, but they got there before we were done, so they enjoyed the good food too.

Here's the name, just in case you ever want to check it out.

 Lucky us, they sat us right at the same table the President sat at when he was there! The girls....

 ...and the guys.

 After lunch we went back to the motel for games and visiting.

The 4 Crosby siblings 

  About 4pm we headed to Trail Dust Town, which has lots of 'Old West' things to see and do. It was also where we ate at the famous Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse.

Yes, eating again!

 While waiting for the 'Wild West Stunt Show', (it cost 2 wooden nickels to get in) we played around. LaVerl was supposed to be making a funny face!

 We all rode this old train around the town, pretty fun! The stunt show was really good, -3 cowboys have fist fights, shoot at each other, blow up something, jump off buildings and do things to make everyone laugh. Good times. It was over in time for us to head to the GasLight Theatre. 

 We went to the 8:30pm show (the 6:30 was sold out) to see "The Belle of Tombstone". We had great seats, right in the middle on the main floor. They have all the free popcorn you can eat on the tables, plus you can order pizza or food from the soda fountain.

 The show was a hoot, lots of laughs, and very entertaining. Such talented people, the actors, the piano player and her band, it was all GREAT! We will go back again.

Saturday, LaVerl & I got up and worked out for 30 min. in the exercise room at the motel, then had the free breakfast. Then we had a meeting of sorts where Dave had asked all of us to tell about what we are doing to stay healthy and other things.  It was kind of like 'Show & Tell'. I made handouts about all the stuff we are doing like, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon & honey, diatomaceous earth, Pro-Argi-9, and Dad's latest-homemade deodorant. I made everyone some to take home with them. Dave shared his ideas about having interviews with our kids to see how they are doing, his goal charts, and how to eat healthy. J'net had a handout on how bad soda pop is and Rick shared too. His was "Don't eat yellow snow"! It was all good stuff.

Then we played cards and games and visited, until it was time to eat AGAIN!

 We ended up at Texas Roadhouse. We all chose healthy food, of course and didn't over eat!!

 It was a fun, short couple of days, but well worth the effort it took for us to spend some time with each other. 

FAMILIES ARE IMPORTANT!

The rest of the weekend...(part two)

I forgot to post about the rest of the time we were in Mesa last week. After we blessed Ivory on Sunday we stayed until Wed. so we could go to the Gilbert Temple open house. We wanted to spend some time with my folks and our kids that are there. Monday was fun, we met up with Lisa at Red Robin for lunch and then she helped me get a Family Home Evening lesson ready for Bret's family. 

 On Sat. we all went over to Mark & Holly's condo to see all the work they've been doing on their place. New flooring, new carpet,  new appliances, and new paint really make a difference. They stay there when they come to Mesa to visit.

 Gpa and Tami's baby, Colter. Such a cute picture, I

had to put it in!!

 Mark's family 

LaVerl & I went to the Mesa Temple on Tues. It's still 

a beautiful temple even though it older. 

Wed. morning, Sherry & Curt went with us to the new Gilbert Temple open house. Wow, what a beautiful place! The designers used the 'agave' plant as the theme in the decorating. They are in the stained glass, the light fixtures, the woodwork, everywhere. If I hadn't been told to look, I wouldn't have noticed, but I think its neat how they incorporate scenes from the area into the temple design. I was so happy my brother Curt came with us!

 So glad my folks are doing so well!

 This fountain was really unique

 Mom & I made breakfast for everyone, she's still a whiz in the kitchen

We went over to see J'net & Bryan. They gave

us lots of oranges, and some broccoli and sweet

potatoes from their garden.

My brother gave us lots of lemons too. His

tree had so many, it broke a big branch off.

So that was a recap of the great time we had in Mesa. Its great having Mark's family in El Paso so they can come to events. It was wonderful to spend some time with Mom & Dad, and my sister and brother. Also with our kids that are there, Bret's family & Lisa and Barry. Its always fun when we can spend time together.