Primerica in Palm Springs!

This last weekend Chris and I took a very much needed vacation! We went to Palm Springs for a Primerica Weekend Retreat and it was AWESOME! The 5 Star resort we stayed at was just incredible and the education and motivation we got was priceless. We have now returned with a whole new outlook and are ready to grow our business like never before! We've set some big goals for ourselves so it is going to be a great next couple months! I am so excited and so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and partner. I know he is going to do great things and we are going to be able to provide an incredible life for our family in the process!

Here are some of the pics that we took over the weekend!
We had fun going around the grounds and taking all kinds of pictures...

In the lobby of the hotel they had these parrots. They were pretty and fun to look at!

These are the views from our room...

This is after one of the sessions Saturday morning. The resort was so neat! Definitely a place I want to go more often when we are rich some day! haha! In the middle of the resort was this little lake! And you can see it very well behind us, but in the lobby there was this dock that had boats and you could get on the little boats and they took you across the small lake to the restaurant! It was a pretty snazzy place!
This is at dinner Saturday night. It was supposed to be a sailor/pirate/ aquatic costume themed party but we didn't dress up... It was fun to see the creative costumes some people came up with though!

We car pooled with some friends of ours that actually introduced us to this business last year. Brett and Malori Kartchner. We have become great friends with them so we all had a good time hanging out for the weekend! We owe them a lot for introducing us to this incredible opportunity! THANKS BRETT AND MALORI!!

Hard Work Weekend

Well, I don't have any pics to show, but yesterday Chris and I went and finished landscaping the back yard at my parents rental house over in Queen Creek. And we didn't bother to ask any one for help because we had done most of it a couple months ago but we ran out of rock. So the trees and plants were all done, we just had to spread the remainder of the gravel which was about 5 tons. Anyways, boy did we learn our lesson! Never under estimate how long it takes to move 5 tons of gravel... ugh! Needless to say, instead of it taking the two hours we thought it'd take, it ended up taking us about 5 to get it all done. So we are definitely feeling it today! In fact, I'm so sore that I swear trying to pick Ava up this morning it felt like she weighed ten pounds heavier than usual! haha... so we won't be volunteering to do any more landscaping any time soon... But it was still a great weekend! It is nice to work hard like that every once in while. It definitely gives you a feeling of great accomplishment when you push yourself to your limits! Never thought I'd say this, but I am grateful that my parents taught me to work!

Little bits from Last week...

Here are just a few pics from last week! Nothin too exciting, but we are just keepin it real! haha!

--Ava and Mommy wasting time at McDonalds on Thurs while our truck was being fixed across the street.

--Well, I am getting old... Friday was my 22nd birthday and although I didn't take any pics, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone! And Thanks Chris for taking me out to dinner! I had a good time! Love you!

--Saturday Chris and I decided that it is coming down to the last wire and so we packed up our puppies in the truck and camped out on the side of the road to sell our puppies! I know... pretty red neck right? Well, it was kind of the last resort option! This is also a pretty popular place to sell puppies, every weekend there are always people on this particular corner in Queen Creek trying to sell random stuff... So we thought it was worth the try! And surprisingly a lot of people stopped to come and see the puppies! We only sold two, but it was better than sitting at home all day and not selling any! And we gave out our number to lots of potential puppy buyers! So hopefully the puppy selling will pick up!

Can't believe we've had these puppies for 10 1/2 weeks now! Boy, how time flies!

I was out in the yard trying to get some decent pictures of the pups to post another ad in the paper and Ava just insisted on getting her picture taken too! Silly girl....

End of July Already?!

(I know, I've been slacking on the posts lately, but here is a little update on the Rice's!)

Wow! I can't believe how fast this year is flying by and here it is, already the end of July! Crazy! It will be Christmas time again before we know it! haha! Okay, well since summer is almost over lots has been happening around our house. We have had numerous friends and family come to visit. In fact it seems like almost every weekend for the past two months we have had company! Which, I love, of course! I have always loved entertaining, so it's been fun!

I also got my wisdom teeth pulled a couple weeks ago which was an interesting process since I've never had any surgery or done anything where I had to take any kind of pain killers or anything. But all in all it wasn't bad and it only really took a few days to get back into the swing of things. Thanks again to all the people who helped me out taking care of Ava for a couple days! And thanks to Chris for helping me out around the house keeping things from getting too out of hand!

As for these dang puppies, yes, we've still got SEVEN of them left! They are now almost ten weeks old and I have to admit, it has been sort of a frustrating journey with these guys. We've had numerous people say they want one and then not ever follow through. So we've lowered the price and are getting pretty desperate to get them into good homes asap. Unfortunately they are very smart dogs, haha, so they are starting to make a mess of my newly landscaped backyard! I still love them, and wouldn't mind if we only had a few left, but 7 is getting to be quite the handful. I doubt that we will be breeding our dogs any more. But you live and you learn right?! So this was definitely a good learning experience for our family!


Other than all that we are all doing good out here in Florence! Can't wait til it starts to cool down a bit in a couple months! Chris is still working for the University of Phoenix and is realizing that the drive to Phoenix everyday is not all that great! Ava is getting to be quite the little talker and loves everything that has to do with Disney Princesses! As for me, I keep pretty busy cleaning house and trying to keep up with Ava! Hope all is well with all of you!

Day at the Waterpark

Last Monday, the 21st, my mom brought my brother and sister and niece and nephew down and stayed for a couple days. So since it was so hot out, we found out that there is a new little water park just half an hour away from my house on Riggs and Val Vista! It was a perfect little water park for the little kids to run and play. We all had a great time and now we have a new park we can to go! Thanks for coming down to visit us mom! We loved having you all here!

Thanks Honey!

I just wanted to post a great big THANK YOU to my wonderful husband! Chris, you have been so good about helping me out around the house lately and taking care of Ava for me and stuff. I know things have kinda been hectic having lots of friends and family come and go for the last few weeks, but you have done such a good job keeping me sane and helping me get things done! I just want you to know that I do notice and very much appreciate all that you do for me and Ava! I am so proud of you and the hard work you do for our family! I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for being blessed with the perfect husband and father to our daughter! I can't wait to spend the rest of Eternity with you! Keep up the great work babe! You are awesome! I LOVE YOU!!!

Another Puppy Update... yet again!

Puppies are now 7 weeks old! We went to the vet today and got all their first shots out of the way! They are now ready to start going to their new homes!! (Thank goodness!) I just re-posted our puppy ad in the AZ Republic so hopefully the inquiries will pick up a little more!

My favorite is the puppy with the curly hair! She is a keeper! hehe

~Ava's Funny Face~

We were sitting around watching tv the other night and Ava and Chris were just messing around with each other making faces... anyways I was laughing hysterically at Ava's funny faces she was making. I don't know where she comes up with these things! So now if you ask her to make a funny face, this is what she will show you! I just had to share... silly girl! She makes me laugh at new things she does every day! I love it! Everyday I get to spend with these two monkeys is priceless!

Tim McGraw Concert

I know I'm a little late posting it... But I just found these pictures of Chris and I at the Tim McGraw Concert a few weeks ago so I thought I'd share!

Chris surprised me Friday night, June 20th, with tickets to see Tim McGraw in concert at the Cricket Pavilion! He got the tickets free from Cory, a friend, that had gotten them and couldn't attend. (THANKS AGAIN CORY!!) Well there were four tickets so Chris' sister and Mom drove down to go with us! Aside from the heat... It was a good time! We brought a blanket and some snacks and sat and relaxed in the grass listening to the live music! We also got to see Jason Aldean cuz he was the opening act! So needless to say it was an awesome night! Thanks honey! Your the best! Love you!!

Independence Day!

Eatin' Watermelon!

Ava with her Aunt Alyssa! haha

My Girl!
Ava playing w/ Aunt Terrin
Sisters!Grandma was nice enough to buy all the kids these fun glow-in-the-dark toys! They had a blast with them!

Ava "surfing" on Uncle Chandry

We had my in-laws in town for the weekend, and will for the next few days! They are stayin to do some school shopping and stuff. So for our Independence day celebration we went to the Florence 4th of July Festival! It was kinda risky since we didn't really know what to expect but it turned out to be a great time! they had live music and multiple big bouncers and slides and water activities for the kids! ( although we tried to avoid the water slides cuz by the time we got there they looked more like mud slides... egh!) Then a little parade and a playground! So the kids had a great time and the fireworks show was spectacular too! (Except that Ava hates fireworks... She is terrified of them. Probably one of the very few things that we've found she is scared of...haha) The only thing we decided that we'd do different is maybe bringing our own grill and cookin our own dinner next year instead of buying the piddly little $3 hot dogs that we had... but you live and you learn right? So all in all it was a great Independence day for us Rice's!! haha....