This past weekend we drove to Show Low to pick our Christmas tree.  On Saturday we drove to near Green’s Peak to seclect our tree, it was a perfect day!   The only downfall was that it had snowed the two previous days and all the tree’s were covered in snow.   This made finding a really nice tree difficult as all the tree’s look the same.  Our Dodge Durango got its yearly time in 4 wheel drive and we only got close to being stuck once :).  The kids loved playing in the snow and wondered when it would snow at our house, they just couldn’t accept never.

On the way home we stoped at the bottom of the Salt River Canyon for some sight seeing and photo ops, then I reminded Sonya why she doesn’t like when I drive up the canyon.  YEE HAW!   Check out all the picture’s in the photo section or click the picture below!

Categories: Alex, Craig, Deines, Grace, Luke, Quinton, Sonya, Triplets
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Sonya and I have always enjoyed spontaneous mini trips.  Around the the time we were married it was spur of the moment trips to Vegas.  With Quinton it was weekend trips to San Diego or LA.  In a sign the Triplets are getting older we did with them for the first time!

We left Sunday around noon for an afternoon visit to the Vulture Gold Mine near Wickenburg.  We had driven past this “ghost” town several times and decided to take it in.

Vulture Gold Mine was alright, a nice hike on a perfect day.  The buildings were interesting enough, however very little history or other insight was provided.  The few signs telling the tales of history were so worn by the elements they were unreadable.  In fact this site http://www.jpc-training.com/vulture.htm has significantly more history than the “museum” itself.   It’s makes touring the mine worth while and is an interesting read.

We decided to continue on to Wickenburg, then Yarnell and finally Prescott.  We stayed overnight in Prescott even though we had no overnight intentions. The next day we went to Jerome, AZ and visited the Jerome State Historic Park. This museum was very interesting and included a brief video history with an amusing “ghost” narrator.  It was well worth the admission fee’s.

We could have called it a trip yet we decided to venture through Sedona, AZ to take in some beautiful Arizona scenery.   This was a pretty good step for us!  It seems like just yesterday it required 3 hours preparations to take the Triplets to church let alone anything like this!

Click on the Photo page for more pictures of our trip! (and some bonus dry humor!)

Categories: Alex, Craig, Deines, Grace, Luke, Quinton, Sonya, Triplets
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Sonya, Quinton and I would like to thank everyone who supported us during our fundraising for Relay For Life! As a Family we raised $515.00! As a churched we raised  $7,265.53! Through a matching grant (up to $10,000) from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans our church and another local Lutheran church were able to contribute a total of $21,038.53.

We had a great time and all of us stayed up the entire night and spent a great deal of that walking for our team!  It was a great experince full of stories of sadness and stories of hope.  We won a silent auction and will be attending the NASCAR race in a few weeks.  I posted a few picture’s you can click on the picture below to see more!

Categories: Craig, Deines, Quinton, Sonya
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When our church decided to actively participate in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life as part of its Love Movement, Sonya and I thought that it wasn’t something that would work too well for us.  We brushed it off as one of the activities we wouldn’t participate in.  After all, walking/running around a track for 12 hours seemed like more than we could do.  Quinton however didn’t give up that easily; he convinced us that it is definitely something we can do.

Cancer is nasty,  it’s devastating, and sadly it’s wide spread.  Did you know that more than 1.3 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in the United States this year?  I would be amazed if you or a loved one was not effected by cancer already.  Sadly, if the answer is no, odds are not on your side.  That is why this is such an important cause.

Now that I am involved, I see just how disappointing my initial attitude was.  With little effort, we’ll make arrangements for the little ones to spend the night with someone. With a little dedication, we can make a difference.  With a little help, we can make this a success!  This is a great opportunity to help a wonderful cause!  Please visit our personalized site on the American Cancer Society website to make a donation and sponsor us as we circle the track!

Click here for our Relay For Life Site <–  Click here to Donate

The above link is also a great place to learn more about Relay for Life.  It has a lot of other information even if you can’t donate.  So please check it out!

When you make a donation you can make it in honor of, or in memory of any person of your choosing if you desire.   As Quinton, Sonya and I make laps, we will keep these people close in our hearts, thoughts and prayers.

Your personal testimony, thoughts or words of encouragement are welcomed below.

Tags: acs,cancer,Craig,Deines,Quinton,relay for life,Sonya
Categories: Craig, Sonya, Triplets, Uncategorized
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Proof that four kids are easy enough to manage, Sonya and I can still lift all four kids. I figure it’s a little more than 200 lbs of kid. Here is Sonya, Quinton hanging on back, Grace, Luke and Alex just dangling on by a thread. Go Mom!

Here I am, Alex on the left, Quinton on the top middle, Luke on the bottom middle and Grace on the far right.

I don’t know how much longer we will be able to do this, but it sure was fun trying. And something to remember for next time, turn off the ceiling fan first. Stay tuned for my next post, Sonya and my recent back troubles….

Categories: Alex, Craig, Deines, Grace, Luke, Quinton, Sonya, Triplets
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