Today has been a hard day for our family. Our dog, Lizzie, who has been with us for almost 14 years had to be put down. For the last monthe, she's been very sick and just this past week lost all use of her right back leg because of arthritis in her back. On carpet, she could hop around, but our floor upstairs was too slippery for her and she could not walk on it at all. She became

emaciated because she couldn't get to her food, so we had to put a little bit of it right in front of her so she could eat. She had no way of telling us when she had to go to the bathroom--if she even knew--so, she just went where she was and had to lay in it until someone came and cleaned it up.

Well, enough of the sad part, lets think about happy memories of Lizzie. She was the best dog anyone could have asked for. She never thought to bite anyone, she avoided little kids who

wanted to pet her the wrong way instead of barking or biting. She didn't ever bark when someone came to the door or called on the phone.

Here is a list of memories we have of her:

"I remember when her and dad would fight over a rope downstairs. She was very pla

yful back when she had the energy. Although, I never remember her chasing a stick very much because she's too smart for that--she didn't see the point in you throwing a stick and her running to get it and bringing it back to you just so you could throw it again. She did chase the rope, though... :)"

--Rebekah

"I remember when Lizzie would come down to my house and I would tell her to go home and she would just stand there and give me weird looks until Rebekah or Ben would come down to my house and get her. She was a very good dog from what I knew of her. She was the only spotted dog I knew. She was a good dog."

--Heidi Peterson

"Ours was a love/hate relationship."

--Mom

"The memory that I have of Lizzie is that she was happy."

--Ben

We all miss our dog and know that we will one day see her again.

(Left) Lizzie's favorite place to lay because the water ran through the pipes there and it was warm.

Merry Christmas, Lizzie!

We loved our dog!

GRADUATION

DALLAS CHRISTIAN GRADUATED FROM SALEM HILLS HIGH SCHOOL MAY 25, 2011!!

Paula, Dallas, Bill and Rebekah at graduation.

The Seniors of the Salem Hills Skyhawk Band

Dallas with his favorite teacher and brother-in-law, Mike.

A Proud Graduate

the medal around his neck says: "The Last of the First" because they are the last ones that started at

Salem Hills the first year it opened

Driving!!??!!

Okay, I know I am not really a control freak, but when I have a teen-ager behind the wheel learning how to drive whith other cars going about their business on the road, oblivious to the fact, then I just want to be the one in control! Not only do we now have a teen-age driver with a learner's permit--we have two!
Christian and Rebekah are both getting their time behind the wheel and getting up at 5 am to go to driver's ed. (One of the pleasures I get from this is that Bill has to get up and help get the kids to their class since one is in SF and the other in Salem.;) It is amazing that anyone can learn anything at that time of the morning. Just one more week of class and then they hit the road with the instructor.
They are both getting pretty good at driving. Rebekah even drove up to Temple Square this week. She didn't realize how tense she was until we were walking by the Conference Center and she said her jaw hurt. I drove home so she could relax and rest for her band concert that night.
I think that God has special guardian angels assigned to learning driver's to keep them from harm. It seems that the problems come after they get their license and are on their own.
I need to remind myself to be calm and let the angels watch over them.

Davis Boys

When Scott was a baby Marianne took a picture of the boys and Bill in a 'totem pole'. She also took one the day Dallas was blessed, and one while William was on his mission. We wanted to take one at Spencer's wedding, but since they have all grown up so much it turned out to be a staggered totem pole.

They sure are handsome!

Long Time....

It has been a long time since I last wrote anything on our family blog. Sorry:(
In the last year:

Alene-- gave birth to Jack in June---I tend him during the day while Alene and Mike teach school--(spoiled Grandma)--He is the cutest!

William-- still going to school at the UofU-- he is now on a new med. for his psoriasis and it seems to be working well.

Spencer-- returned home from his mission to Germany in April--- Married his sweetheart, Miranda Wilson, in the Provo temple in August---
they are now expecting their first child this November:)

Scott-- Graduated from Spanish Fork High School and LDS seminary in May-- now he is a "Super Senior" and still loves riding the bus to school. Rebekah gets to eat lunch with him at school now.

Christian-- participated in the award winning Salem Hills High School Marching band-- Is a senior this year and will graduate in May (can't we keep him in school longer?)I'm not ready for him to grow up.

Rebekah-- Started at SFHS as a sophomore-- the only piccolo in the marching band-- has fun having Scott in the same school with her.
Jonathan-- Is finally in Jr. High school-- he plays the trombone (a perfect instrument for a tall, skinny kid).

Benjamin-- Left the Cub Scouts and is now in the Boy Scouts and is loving it. He is working on his first merit badges now.

Bill-- keeping busy as bishop of our ward. He has conducted seven funerals in the last six months-- too many.

None of us can seem to get enough of Jack. He is so much fun. He now knows that he is cute and smiles with his nose wrinkled and gets everyone to smile back at him. He has seven teeth and is working on the eighth. Alene has kept up her blog with his progress each month and it is fun to read.

This is my first posting for our very own blog. I thought that with everyone else in the world being on facebook or blogging that I should get us in the act, too.

Our Family just enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and a great new year. We are looking forward to the year ahead with everyone growing up so much and changes taking place in our family.
Benjamin just had his 10th birthday which means that he is not a little kid anymore, but a big kid now. He will be getting his Bear badge in cub scouts and moving on to Webelos.
Jonathan turned 12 in November and is very happy to be out of primary and going to sunday school and priesthood now. Even though he is the youngest deacon, he is not the shortest.
Rebekah has been enjoying all the fun things that are going on with band and choir. She will be very busy this summer with tour and marching band.
Christian (or Dallas, as many people call him) is doing great in high school. He really is excelling in his medical anatomy class. Maybe he will decide to go into the medical field someday? Still no desire for a driver's license yet, though.
Scott is loving school. He is a senior this year and will be graduating in May. It is a good thing that he gets to keep going to school until he is 21 because he loves it so much. After the Christmas break he couldn't wait to "go to school tomorrow".
Spencer is doing great in the Hamburg, Germany mission. He will be released April 2nd. That is really not very far away at all! Bill, Dallas and I will be going to pick him up and spend about a week there with him.
William and Lisa are doing well. William is working hard at school at the UofU and a part time job at their apartment complex. Lisa is working in a kindergarten and preschool with handicapped kids. She enjoys it, but it is a lot of work!
Alene and Mike, if you haven't heard, are expecting their first child in June! We are soooooo excited to be grandparents!!! Check out their blog to keep up dated on all that is happening with them. They are great school teachers and I know their students all love them. (kindergarten and high school)
Bill and I are keeping busy trying to take care of the many different things that having a home and family consists of. Bill has been serving as bishop of our ward for two years now and it seems that the time has flown by. I have been teaching the five and six year olds in primary for that same amount of time and I love it! One of my first primary kids just turned eight and it is great to see how those kids have grown up in the last two years.

That's it for my first post. You are now all acquainted with our family. Hope you check back once in a while.
Tchuss!
Paula