Tye's Big Events

What a great few weeks we have had with our oldest son, Tye. Of most importance, Tye was baptized a member of our Church in January and we are so proud of his decision to do so. This wonderful experience was made even better by the participation of so many family members on both his Buckley and Decker sides! We had 40+ family members travel down from the Phoenix area to spend the day with us and I was very touched & thankful for their sacrifice and show of love---thanks to you all! The meeting was wonderful and both of Tye's Grandpas, MyPa Decker & Gramps Buckley, bore testimony of the importance of Baptism. It was a beautiful service.

Our little family with both sets of Tye's grandparents.

The Decker Family

The Buckley Family

Summer and Cory we nice enough to host our luncheon since their house & backyard are the perfect set-up for hosting big events...thanks Driggs family! Summer made the prettiest centerpieces for all 5 tables with arrangements of fresh red, yellow, & green flowers in clear vases whose bases were filled with orange, lemon, & lime slices. I wish we had better pictures of them because they really were so beautiful! We ate the yummy food spread (I love Costco catering!) and enjoyed the great company of family.

After the luncheon, the Buckleys all returned to Mesa, but the Deckers stayed to celebrate Summer's favorite "holiday," Groundhogs Day! Okay, most of you are thinking, celebrate Groundhogs Day, what are you talking about?!? Well, this all began 10 years ago when my sisters, going through a Christmas season withdrawal, were looking for a reason to celebrate. They noticed Groundhogs Day was fast approaching and a tradition was born! Now each February 2nd, Summer invites all Deckers who can attend over for a Mexican food dinner, chocolate molten lava cakes, and of course, the watching of Bill Murray's classic movie "Groundhogs Day." It is so much silly fun and since Summer is an amazing cook, it is also a delicious evening!

To work off those upcoming dinner calories, everyone went on an afternoon hike at a nearby trail.

During the hike, my Dad (aka MyPa) sat the kids down and told them the story of the "Mogollon Monster" (a family tradition)! My Dad gets very animated when he tells this story...

Adam joining in and mimicking my Dad. The kids thought this was hilarious!

Cute cousins!

The kids with their own "Dirt Dessert": chocolate pudding, Cool-whip, crushed Oreos, and gummy worms. They each colored a groundhog pic, attached it to a spoon, and then stuck their "groundhog spoon" into the dessert as if the Groundhog Phil were coming out of the ground to look for his shadow. Cute, cute, cute.

Anyone still reading?

If so, you may remember that I titled this post "Tye's Big Events"... yes, that's plural. The other event of the month was Tye (and Eric) winning the Pinewood Derby!!! In case you don't have boys in scouting, let me explain that this is a HUGE HUGE HUGE deal!

Tye's car beat 26 others to win the coveted scouting race!

Look at these faces! I have never seen a happier boy...
and Tye was thrilled, too! :D

Seriously, Eric & Tye spent hours making this car until they got it right and it paid off in the end. There were other fancier looking cars, but Tye's was fastest, baby!

Tye's 1st place winning racer next to the 2nd place car.

Congratulations, Tye and Eric!