Still here!

Yes we are still alive...sorry I haven't blogged in so long. It's kind of hard when you don't have internet at home. On the rare occasion that we need to use it we jump in the car and go across the complex to see if we can pick up a signal. Stealing internet...hmm...probably not the most honest thing to do but it's expensive! Since we've been home we've been working hard and just trying to get settled in. We love our new ward and even had the opportunity to speak this past Sunday. The pictures below are from our recent ward service project called "Making Chandler Greater". I believe this is the second year that they've done it. They arrange with the city to block off about six blocks and then the ward goes to work helping some of the lower income families to improve their properties. The ward was split into about six teams and each team was assigned to six homes. The project goes from 6:00 am to about 4:00 pm. We showed up around 6:30 and joined the gray team. Lucky for us we had one of the biggest projects. We clearned the entire front yard of cactus, bushes full of huge thorns, stumps and weeds. Others taped and painted the home. We were there untill about 11:00 am and after about 4 and 1/2 hours we were so stiff we could barely move. We were so tired that we didn't even stay for the catered lunch. Bud did a lot of digging last week for work and so he was already really sore and we knew there was no way we could stay all day. Fortunately the members were coming in shifts and so they were able to finish all of the projects. We drove by the property we worked on around 5:00 pm that evening and there were still people working. What a dedicated team! We haven't had the opportunity to drive by and get a final picture but we will.

Sign in table

The home before we started

Bud showing off his cactus moving skills with a rake

Still raking

This is a tree we trimmed and it had needle size thorns. Ouch!

The left side of the house after we spread the gravel. Starting to look good!

The T-shirts for the project

Outside our house after the project. We were SO ready for a shower and some food!

I will try to be better at posting and maybe soon I'll take some pictures of our little place so that you can all see. I guess I better actually hang some stuff up before I do that though. ;)