Family split in two.....

Well, August brought on a new experience for our family. Mandi and Cassi moved to Gilbert to live with their dad and attend college down in the Valley. That leaves Koby, Ma$e, Shaant and I left at home. I am excited for this new adventure for Cassi and Mandi but I sure miss them at home and our house is definately a lot quieter. I'm sure Koby and I will figure it out but for a while it's just going to seem a little empty around here.......

CatWalk

We had the chance to go to The Catwalk in New Mexico this past week with my mom, my sister Krista and her two sons, Trey and Crew. I have fond childhood memories of this place when I was young, we used to stop on our way to visit my aunt and uncle in Luna, NM. Krista said she wanted to take her boys there and so we jumped on board and went along. The Catwalk is now a National Park so it has really been fixed up a lot since I was there last.

It was a beautiful day and we hiked to the very top. The rivers and waterfalls were great because of all of the monsoon rains we have been having lately. It was a GREAT experience and I'm so glad we could go. Koby had to stay behind and work... :( But it was fun to spend a little time with Mandi and Cassi before they headed off to Gilbert to go to college. Things are changing at our house....stay tuned.....

WARPED TOUR 2010!!!!

So call us CRAZY (believe me it wouldn't be the first time)!!! But a summer tradition for the Alva Family is to attend the ALL day, outside music festival called Warped Tour! Yes, they call it that because you have to be warped in the mind to go to this tour, in the sun, in the Arizona/New Mexico summer just to see TONS of your favorite bands play at the same place. We usually do one date each year in Las Cruces, New Mexico because it is usually a little cooler than the Phoenix date. But this year we went a little crazy and attended Phoenix and then drove 6 hours that night to Las Cruces to do it all over again the very next day! Why 2 dates this year?

BECAUSE...this year our friends, THE CAB were playing Warped and we couldn't pass up an opportunity to see them play more than once. It was awesome to see them rock out for so many kids each day and to spend a little time with our favorite rock star. So, it was well worth the heat and sunburns. Also, Cassi had the chance to meet one of her all time favorite lead singers, Tyson Ritter of the All American Rejects. She was just a little bit excited (she was shaking but don't tell her I said that, haha) !!

Kris Allen in concert

So the 2009 American Idol, Kris Allen came to Tucson on June 23rd. Anyone who knows our family will know that we are HUGE Adam Lambert fans, so why would be going to see the guy who beat Adam? Because he is the cutest thing ever and is really talented as well. That was such a great year on American Idol, so much talent in the Top 10. Anyways, so Mandi helped us win 6 free tickets to the concert and since it was in Tucson and my neice Hailee was always in love with Kris, we decided to invite the Howell family to go with us. My sister-in-law Lauren also came down from Queen Creek with a couple of her friends. It was a good time....

Happy Michael Jackson Day!

Well, it's been one year today! If you know me, you know how much I love The King of Pop!! Our family has declared June 25th Michael Jackson Day for the rest of all time! :) Wherever Michael is right now, I hope he is happy and at peace. I think we all deserve that.

Elder Blaine Risher Taylor, Called to Serve in the Portand Oregon Mission leaving on September 1, 2010. I am so proud of this boy, he is one of my other children and has been a honorary member of our family for quite a long time now. He joined the church last summer and I thought that was such a special day. Well, now I am even more proud of him as he takes the step of becoming a missionary. He is setting such a good example for everyone around him and he is going to be able to touch so many peoples lives as he serves the people in Portland! YAY! Today is a good day....We LOVE you Blaine!!!

Blue Ridge Tournament Champs!!

Last weekend we had the chance to go to Blue Ridge to watch Koby and the Thatcher High School basketball team play in a tournament. My brother Camron has a cabin in ShowLow and so the girls and I were able to meet Cam and his girls Grace and Audrey up there and stay for a couple of days. We had a great time hanging out, watching a lot of basketball, eating out and just relaxing. To top of the end of a great weekend...the Thatcher boys WON the tournament. It was so cool, they beat a lot of really good teams and it was a wonderful weekend. This upcoming season is going to be special!!