The Dawes Invade London!

What an amazing time we had in London!  We saw everything and more (even a bar brawl fight that my kids will never forget!).  Our favorite things to see was the Westminister Abby, the Tower Bridge, Big Ben, the London Eye, and of course Buckingham Palace just to name a few!  We loved seeing the city by double decker bus and escaping to the town of Windsor to see the summer home of the Royals!  So much fun!

Roma, Italy

We absolutely loved Italy!  Some of the highlights were the Trevi Fountain, The Coliseum, the Castello Odescalchi di Bracciano, and the Vatican.  But the best part of Italy was definitely the FOOD!  Heavens it was to die for!  Especially the Gelato!  We had an amazing time as a family!  When in Rome...do as the Dawes do!

Tatum gets her braces off!

 Before...

Tatum at age 11.
October 2009


















During....

Tatum on her 12th birthday (June 2010)

Tatum right before she got her braces off.
 (May 2011)

and After....!!!
June 2011 (almost 13)
What a Beautiful Smile!

Punta Cana, DR

For our 14th anniversary we went to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  We had such a wonderful relaxing time.  We snorkled and swam with sharks and stingrays, hung at the pool and the beach and of course dined until we were stuffed!  It was really fun and the weather was perfect!

Easter 2011

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D-Backs game

It's tradition in our family to always go to "Magnet Night" at the Diamondbacks game.  It is also the first game for us for the season.  We love spending time at the ball field cheering on our D-Backs.  Tatum also brought along her bestie, "Annie B."  It was such a fun night being together as a family!

Weekend in Sedona

When we go to Sedona, we always go for a hike.  One of our favorites is "hidden canyon".  It's an easy hike with beautiful views. A snake even crossed our path.  The kids thought that was pretty cool.  Mom didn't!

Tatum's talk

Tatum gave a cute talk on baptism.  Because she has a super soft and sweet voice and there wasn't a microphone, not too many people could here her.  So I've included it here so you can read!

We all know how much Trevin loves the game of baseball and I know the Richie family has baseball players in their family too. So today I would like to explain baptism in terms that Trevin would best understand. Baseball terms.

Our Heavenly Father gave us a beautiful plan, a plan to make us very happy while we are on Earth. Itʼs kind of like a baseball game. He sent us to live with our family-our family is our team. With parents to guide us the way-they are known as our coaches. We also have the rule book which are our scriptures. We have so much to help us be successful. Our Heavenly Father is like our umpire, he wants us to have a successful game here on Earth. Our goal in this life is to return to “home” to live with our families with our Heavenly Father. Just like in baseball our goal is to touch all the bases and return to home base.

Later in your life you will go to the temple and receive ordinances and be sealed to your wife. That would be second and third bases but that is not what we are learning about today.

Today is all about reaching first base. Baptism is our first base. The baptism covenant is the first gospel-ordinance covenant you make with Heavenly Father. When you make this sacred covenant, you show your love for Him. You also promise, or covenant, to take the name of Jesus Christ upon you, to always remember Him, and to keep His commandments. You should also be willing to bear testimony of Him, and to love and serve Him by loving and serving others.

Our Savior Jesus Christ was our perfect example of how the game should be played. You can think of him as an all-star. Jesus has given us guidelines to help us follow Him. He expects us to love each other, to bear one another’s burdens, to mourn with those who are sad, and to comfort those who need comfort. That’s what He did when He was on the earth. If we want to be called by His name, we will try to do these things, too.

What do you think it means to take His name upon us? Most of us already have two names. Itʼs like our team name. We have a given name, like Trevin, or Jessica; and we have a family name, like Dawe, or Ritchie. When we take the name of Jesus Christ upon ourselves, it means we are part of His family. We are ready to be known as Christians. We are willing to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places”. We want to act like Christ and follow Him.

Each week in sacrament meeting we take the sacrament and that renews our baptismal covenant. You’ve been taking the sacrament ever since you were babies, but up until now that was practice. You’ve been learning to think about Jesus and all that he has given us through his atonement. From now on each time you take the bread and water you are renewing your promise to do as the Savior did, to be obedient to the Father and always keep His commandments. The blessing we receive in return is to always have His Spirit to be with us.This beautiful plan our Heavenly Father has provided for us is so that we can be happy. When we get baptized we are showing our love for him and keeping his commandments. We have many fans waiting on the other side to shout hooray when we return home. If we keep the commandments or the rules of the game, we will be forever with our family, our eternal team.

Trevin's Special Day

Trevin was baptized on Saturday, March 26, 2011.  It was such a special day to share with family and friends.  It was truly special that his dad got to baptize him.  It was a wonderful day to remember.

Happy Birthday Trevin!

Trevin turns 8 yrs. old!  He had a great birthday with friends and family!

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Trevin's Baptism pictures

These are a few pictures I took of Trevin for his Baptism invitation.  He looks like a little stud in that suit.

Disneyland 2011

We went to Disneyland for Spring Break this year.  We had a blast for three days straight!  We were exhausted but the memories are worth it!  We love the happiest place on Earth!

Pinewood Derby 2011

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Trevin's Baptism Invitation

Trevin's Baptism Day is coming!  We'd love for everyone to join us for Trevin's special day!

Dinner at our home immediately following the baptism!

Oregano's Pizza Bistro

Our favorite family restaurant is Oregano's!  We love to be together as a family and Oregano's seems to be "our spot"!  You know what they say, "A family who eats pizza together.....is a forever family!" I think that's how it goes!

Valentine's Day 2011

The kids woke up to heart-shaped, chocolate chip, red velvet pancakes!  Hardly a breakfast!  More like dessert!

For Family Home Evening, we frosted and decorated cookies and then shared them with our neighbors!
We had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Merry Christmas to all....

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Gingerbread Houses

With a little help from Nana and dad, the kids make masterful gingerbread houses.  We love this Christmas tradition.

Christmas Outfits

Dressed in their Sunday Best for church.

Merry Christmas!

Let it Snow....

We stayed in Sedona, AZ for Thanksgiving.  On our way home we decided to take a detour to Flagstaff (30 minutes north) to try and find snow.  Kevin of course obliged because any chance to take the truck 4-wheelin' is ok by him!  So we looked and lo and behold....we found snow!  Yea!

Thanksgiving in Sedona, AZ

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New York City

Our trip to Dominican Republic was postponed because of a hurricane ready to hit the same weekend we were going to be there, so because we had everything lined up with the kids and the fact that we still wanted to get away together, we decided to escape to New York City!  It was the first time we had gone together.  It was so much fun!  We walked everywhere and saw just about everything. 

New York City

Halloween Time!

Tatum was a 60's go-go girl.  (So good to be able to recycle those dance costumes!) She loved the boots and is thinking of ways to incorporate them into her daily wardrobe!

Trent was a secret agent guy.  He must have gotten his inspiration from his love of the "Pink Panther" movies.

Trevin wanted to be Luke Skywalker-of course!  (So when do they finally quit the Star Wars phase??)  Have to admit, he makes a cute Luke, and we know who his father is.....! :)  Darth Kevin!

Trent had a fantastic birthday.  He spent his birthday with his best buddies at fiddlesticks!  He got breakfast in bed,(dad's egg's benedict-of course) and was surprised by getting an ipod touch!  It was a great birthday indeed!

New England Trip

For Fall break the kids and I went to New England to visit Family.  The kids had a blast seeing the leaves, pickin' apples and hangin' with Auntie Roro, Uncle Billy and all their cousins.  We went to Boston and did the freedom trail, drove to Vermont to the teddy bear factory and Ben and Jerry's factory.  It was an exhausting trip but one my kids will never forget!

Fall in New England

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OCTOBER IS HERE!

October, is my favorite month of the year! I love it! First of all the weather starts to finally cool off a little, ...ok so it's over 100 degrees outside as of today-but I'm optimistic that it will change soon! I love Halloween, the decorations, the costumes, the look of pure joy from my kids! It's also fall break. We can take a breather from our busy schedules and go enjoy being together as a family. It's also my birthday month-which use to be awesome, but let's face it, I'm in my 40's now and birthdays aren't as much fun anymore. However, I do get spoiled on that day so I guess it makes it ok!

It's also my sweet Trent's birthday month. So in honor of Trent who sometimes gets overlooked because he is the middle child and because he's such a great kid that sometimes we tend to not give him as much attention, I decided to spotlight the greatest kid ever! So, here's to Trent turning 10....These are 10 things I absolutely love about Trent! Happy Birthday Trent!

# 1 He is an amazing student!

So, we had parent/teacher conference last night. As we were going to meet with Trent's teacher, Kevin makes a funny comment like, "Let's see if he's cured cancer yet". We always know every year that the teachers Trent has absolutely believe he pretty much walks on water. I love that he always tries his hardest and never settles for less than an A+!

#2 Trent is an amazing athlete!

Trent is an amazing athlete. It doesn't matter what sport Trent plays, whether it's basketball, baseball, soccer, or football, he always tries is hardest. He always does everything his coaches teach him (coach dad too)to the best of his ability. He may not always be the best kid on the team however he is the one that gets the job done! Coaches love him because he gives 100% every time.

#3 Trent is a friend to all and a stranger to none!

Wherever we go, to a baseball game or to the beach, it never fails, Trent always ends up with new best friends. He is so friendly and never shy. Kids at school always want to be his friend because he's just so loyal!

#4 He's so caring and nurturing

He always has other's interests at heart. Whether it be helping another student in his class or making sure his brother or sister is happy. He has the hugest heart and would never ever want to hurt anyone's feelings. He also takes the blame for some things if he thinks his friends or siblings would get in trouble.