Leonard Party of 6

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year :)

2011-12-31T18:49:00.000-07:00

WE had a fantastic Christmas!

We spent a wonderful Xmas Eve at my in-laws' house. Shane's brother/wife/family were there too. We exchanged gifts, hung out, had dinner and a wonderful time! The weather was cold and beautiful. We went to 5:00 pm mass and I saw many people I had not seen for awhile. Between my illness in November and the kids' illness and our trip to Vegas, etc we had not been to church (or much of anywhere like THE GYM but that's a different post, LOL!)

I love the 5:00 pm service (aka the family service) because the kids are able to get pieces of the nativity and as certain Xmas carols are played, each piece of the nativity is brought up and assembled as the Xmas story is told. It is really neat and keeps the kids engaged in the service. That is also the one time of year our (brave) Father John invites ALL kids to the altar as he does the blessing, etc. EVERY kid....with lit candles, all sorts of stuff everywhere and he looks so calm. Well, this year all 4 of mine went up. Griffin was right next to Father John and got to hold a plate during the blessing. He thought he was pretty hot stuff getting that job ;) On the way home we stopped in and picked up our haul from Papa and Grandma's house and came home to get ready for Santa.

We put out peppermint bark and carrots for Santa and the reindeer :) He must have been pleased because he left A LOT of stuff for our family! After the dust settled and we were all cleaned up, we headed to Mimi and Gumpy's house for MORE! We had a great time with gifts, a delicious dinner and wrapped it all up with a trip to the park near their new house :)

at papa and grandma's waiting to open gifts

my niece, allie and alyssa

still waiting! savannah and alyssa

FINALLY the frenzy starts!

the back of my nephew Brandon opening his batcave!

Alyssa's new princess 3 wheel scooter ;)

black cows after church

me and my Shane at Mike and Nancy's

Santa came to our house!

Alyssa's pile

left to right, cassandra, savannah, griffin and alyssa

family gifts :)

note from Santa!

"OK mom! we are tired of waiting!"

Monster High!

Pokemon White

Voodoo dolls!

Rapunzel Tower!

laptop!!!!!!!

Daddy's Cowboys haul <3

Griffin's Rock Crawler

Scooter!

At Mimi's new house :)

Books!

Legos!

Wii games!

Skylander for the Wii, amazing game!

Alyssa's Nemo book for her Tag Reader

yay! I got 2 pairs of sketchers!!!

Mimi and Savannah

Daddy, Brittany and Griffin

my wonderful family <3

It's almost here!

2011-12-21T22:52:00.001-07:00

Just touching base! I'm neck deep in finishing my Christmas shopping, baking and craziness! Stay safe out there :) I'll check in on Christmas Eve for my usual sappy post and pics.

XO

The Tree is UP!

2011-12-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

What a great day! We had Cassandra's bday sleep over last night! She had a great time, great friends over :) Today I had a lovely visit from my friend Kirsten, our neighbors came over with their 5 kids and decorated glittery pinecones with us and my niece, nephew. My niece and nephew are having a sleepover tonight. We watched sappy holiday movies on the Hallmark channel and put the tree up! All that AND it was 45 degrees and RAINING all day. I don't think it gets any better than that for me :)

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving! Shane did the turkeys this year..he had tried out the brine from an Alton Brown recipe last year after Thanksgiving and we loved it! It was just as delicious this go around too :) My mom, dad, sis and Elijah came over. Shane's Dad and step-Mom did too! Everyone seemed to have a good time, we ate, played Wii, Mike and Nancy took the kids on a long walk (or two) after dinner. We relaxed, Shane got to watch the Cowboys' game (they even won!) and lay in his recliner after a long day cooking.

After everyone went home we zipped up to visit Shane's brother and his wife, family. They do a huge Tgiving feast for 30+ people. She's braver than I am! LOL! We visited with them for a short bit and came back home, passed out in our turkey coma!

Today was busy, we kept with our tradition of decorating the house inside and out for Christmas. Shane does a great job with the outside lights :) I worked for about 6 hours inside decorating everything including the kids' bedrooms, bathrooms, playroom. We still have to put up the "Mamaw Tree" in the playroom but I was just too pooped out to mess around with assembling the tree. I figure it will be nice to do that Saturday or Sunday. The kids played outside and helped Shane a bit with lights, helped me greatly inside too. They are enjoying their days off, for sure.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with those you love :) I can get all mushy I guess, tell you all I'm grateful for. Shane, the kids, my parents, my sister and Elijah, Shane's family, my sister in law..Julie, my friends new and old who love me through thick and thin...who overlook my faults and always compliment my accomplishments. I am thankful for Bo and Lena even though they drive me bonkers most of the time. I'm thankful for my health and the fact I take it more seriously now. I'm thankful that my husband still looks at me the way he does and that he puts up with all my craziness with a smile the majority of the time. I am thankful for our home, even though we pay more than I wish we did..at least we can and we still do. Every corner of this house is "us" because we made it..picked out everything in it and watched it put together board by board. I'll admit, I am thankful for WoW and the friends it has given me. I know..some of you are shaking your head but it's true.

I am thankful every day I wake up..I'm still here and that in itself is a blessing.

Without further delay..pics from T-giving and most of the new decorations :)

Love to all...

On the mend :) Finally!

2011-11-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

Well after a rough road of sickies it appears as though we have turned a corner! Savannah went back to school Monday. Cassandra got knocked down with a 24 hour tummy bug with a high fever. She's better tonight! Alyssa is good, sinus infection seems to be all gone. Griffin had a flare up but his isn't bad, he's on antibiotics and going strong. I went to the doctor and got stronger meds and steroids because I've been sick so long. We're all doing better and I keep telling myself that as sick as we were has got to buy us some good healthy karma for closer to Christmas, LOL!

We are gearing up for Cassandra's bday this weekend. Her friend party was to be a sleep over on Friday night but given all she's been through, we are moving it to the weeked after T-giving weekend. She seems fine with that :) We are still having her family party on Saturday! I have to make my T-giving shopping list and get caught up on a LOT of PTO stuff. I'm behind :(

Other than that, Shane has stayed healthy (big sigh of relief) and he has to leave for a work conference tomorrow. He comes back Friday.
The weather has been good...could be colder but at least it's not hotter ;) Gotta look at the bright side, right?

XO

Hello November!

2011-11-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Fall!!!
I hope everyone had a great Halloween! I know we did! We had Savannah's 10th bday party on Oct. 29th (her actual bday) and it was Halloween themed :) The kids had a great time doing crafts and painting pumpkins! My In-laws had a big Halloween party at their house complete with pumpkin carving, hay wagon rides and a little haunted house!

We had a nice weekend and great Halloween parties at school on Monday. Trick or Treating went great, my in-laws and my mom went with us while Shane handed out candy. Since Halloween is Bo's birthday, I took him with us to trick or treat. He was such a good puppy! He was nice to every kid and dog he saw.

Shane's birthday was Nov. 2nd. He had a nice at home party with family over. He got some great gifts, had a cookout and his traditional spice cake with cream cheese frosting, lol! AT least he's consistant ;)

Other than the birthday rush (Cassandra is 12 on Nov. 20th) we are gearing up for the holidays. We are cooking Thanksgiving at our house again this year. My mom, dad, sis and Elijah are coming over and so are my in laws! We are pretty excited to have such a full house this year ;) Shane is going to brine the turkeys since his test run of that went so well last year. I can't wait, I can already taste the candied yams...

We (the kids and I) have been sick for about three weeks now. I finally got to the doctor yesterday and we got some antibiotics. I guess I shouldn't wait so long next time but there isn't much incentive to go in early when all you hear is "it's allergies" or "it's viral" but all that turned into sinus infections, upper respitory infections and ear infections. :( Not a fun way to spend the last few weeks! Now I know we are on the mend and I hope and pray that being sick now may exempt us for later, LMAO!

I am anxious for Christmas shopping and decorating. I want to have my mom, sister, sister in law, mother in law over to do some crafts and baking before the holidays. I'm really blessed that we all are close and get along so well. It gives some special memories when I can look back at the things we were able to do together. I wish my grandma could be here for all this, I think she'd love it.

Well perhaps I will close with a plethora of pictures for you all....

alyssa's face paint from Fall Carnival at school! Thank you Aunt Julie for getting it for her!

Savannahs Bday party crafts!

Mom, Diane, Nancy and Papa at Savannah's bday

Finished craft!

Friends from school!

me and daddy

mom and julie

papa and alyssa

PRESENTS

her spider "mancake"

halloween 2011

trick or treating with grandma and papa

my birthday Bo, 1 year old

Mike and Nancy's halloween party 2011, Mom, Dad and Julie

Dad, me and Julie

Alyssa the cheetah

scoopin pumpkin guts

mom and nancy, the zombie bride

daddy and his Lyssie with her pumpkin

Me and my baby

Happy 37th bday Shane

The family (Julie was home sick, Alyssa refused picture and I'm holding the camera, LOL)

me and my birthday boy

my big mook sleeping on the couch! <3

October 2011

2011-10-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

Happy October!

What a whirlwind it has been this fall! I know I always say that but it is TRUE! September went very smoothly, Griffin had an awesome birthday party! He did an outdoor water sports party and had a great time with his friends :) He got some great gifts too.

October is no less busy. We have been on Fall Break since October 3rd. The kids go back Monday :( We did keep busy going to the gym and we went camping for 4 days. It was heavenly! The temp on the mountain was 65 during the day and around 40 at night. Very nice! We were up in the Sitgreave Forest between Payson and Heber. The Aspens were changing colors and everything was just beautiful. We had a full moon while there and you could hear the coyotes at night.

We had a lovely fall weather spell here for about 2 weeks. Windows were open, breezes were blowing. We wore PANTS!!!!!!!!!!!! Now we have been slapped in the face with the reality of the desert....what you get isn't always what you gt to keep and we're back to the mid to upper 90's. At least it's cool at night and for now, we'll take what we can get!

We are having a big Fall Carnival at school on Oct. 21st. I am super excited! This will be a busy week as I have gym, PTO meeting on Wednesday, shopping for the fall carnival and then set up all day Friday for the event. I hope it goes smoothly!

Savannah turns 10 on October 29th. She is doing a Halloween themed birthday party again this year. She really loves it and I figure why not ;) My In-Law's are throwing a Halloween party that same night so we will have our fair share of Halloween for 2011!

I will wrap up the post with some pics from Griffin's Bday (Sept 24th) and the camp trip.

XO

new bike!

Shane and Mike

Alyssa and Big Red

Alyssa and Nancy

Mike and Alyssa on Big Red, taking Gracie and Roscoe for a stroll

Allison and Alyssa with acorn from hike :)

me and my silly husband!

Me and Julie, day 3 ;)

Griffin and Brandon

Griffin and the elk skull

Julie on her first mountain ride! Riding Roscoe

my favorite tree in camp

September !!!

2011-09-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

Happy September!

I swear to myself every week that I am going to sit down and update the blog but I never seem to get here! Honestly, Facebook is fast and easy so I do neglect this poor little blog too much. However, I don't pour my heart out on Facebook so I still keep the blog around ;)

We've had a good but busy month so far. The kids are doing well, we had progress reports come home about a week or so ago. Everyone is doing fantastic! Griffin and Savannah were both Student of the Month for August! Savannah made her AR goal 2 weeks early and went over her goal so she earned herself 2 new books :) Griffin is almost to his goal. Cassandra doesn't have AR in 6th grade which is sort of a bummer, it really kept her reading. She does like to read but she doesn't have the challenge to do so to meat a goal. Cassandra is playing the violin and she's working hard at it! She's picking it up pretty fast! They don't learn how to use the bow right away so I'll be anxious to hear her when they do ;) right now it's just "picking" the strings.

Shane is great, he applied for an empty seat on the Queen Creek School Board. He's in the top 3 applicants. I hope he gets it, I think he'd do a great job!

The dogs are good for the most part. Just some little behavioral things here and there. We plan to take my Bo to some training at Petsmart when there is some extra money laying around for it but with birthday-palooza and holidays there isn't much extra this time of year!

My dad had surgery right after labor day, he's doing great. He had 2 weeks off work but he's got clearance now to ride the motorcycle and resume most activity. Just no gym or heavy lifting for awhile longer. His birthday was the 15th. We are going out to celebrate tonight!

Griffin's Birthday is Sept. 24th. We are having a water sports party at home this year. He's pretty excited ;) The weather has finally broke, we are in the upper 60's to low 70's at night which is a HUGE drop from the low of 90 we had for sooooo long. THe days are in the 90's. Once in awhile we touch 100 but not often, thankfully! I got out all my fall decorations since it was TIME!

:)

August 2011 update

2011-08-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

We've kept nice and busy since school started. The kids are doing well in their classes. Cassandra is in 6th grade and changes classes for Language Arts, Science, Math and Social Studies. It just so happens that her homeroom teacher is also her Math and Social Studies teacher. She had a bumpy first couple of weeks as she learned to juggle different teachers, due dates, etc. She's doing well now. She is also learning the violin. So far she is really enjoying it but she hasn't gotten in to anything too deep with it yet, she's mostly learning the strings and notes. I still giggle when she says "mom, this is the G-String!" yes, I am fully aware how ridiculous my sense of humor is!

Cassandra and Malerie

Savannah is in 4th grade, I adore her teacher. She is super positive and very upbeat. She gives those kids a lot of love and I think Savannah is really thriving in there. She was Student of the Month for August. The character pillar for August was Respect and her teacher said that when she heard Respect Savannah was her only choice for student of the month. She was SO surprised! I loved the look on her face when they read her name <3 Last year Savannah was co-president for Student Council. This year rather than running for that she decided she'd like to participate in CCLP which is Character Counts Leadership Program. They do a lot of community service projects, learn to have respect for those with differences, disabilities, special needs, etc. I think she'll do great in it :)

Blurry but here is Griffin getting his SoM award for Music

Savannah's teacher, Mrs. Bernier, reading wonderful things about Savannah for her SoM award.

Griffin is doing awesome in 2nd grade! He really blossomed over the summer. He is in the highest reading and math groups. Mr. Jeffers tells me Griffin is a strong student but he likes to talk. A lot. Like ..... a lot. He had to move Griffin's seat away from the group for about a week but it seems Griffin is getting the hang of knowing when to keep quiet. We'll see if it sticks! Griffin was selected to be Student of the Month for Music. His music teacher absolutely shocked us with her call letting us know he was her pick. Griffin sure was shocked too, LOL!

Alyssa is a riot. Still ;) I may be biased, I now it's possible. She is quite the little PTO helper. We also go in every Wednesday to volunteer in Griffin and Savannah's classroom. She fits right in with both classes. I even catch her raising her hand to answer questions...even in 4th grade. I don't know, she may be smarter than me by this point! She goes to the gym with me 3 days a week. She's not always thrilled with being dropped off a the child care center but she's trying hard to be good about it. She's now sharing a room with Savannah. She loves it, loves the closeness she is gaining with Savannah. She and Cassandra have a very special, close relationship so I think it's really neat that she and Savannah are becoming closer.

Alyssa and Bo

Shane is good, keeping outta trouble for the most part! Work is busy but he seems to be keeping up just fine. I think he's pretty ready for summer to be done, we've had 2 really hot weeks with most days over 110. He's also keeping me on track at the gym. We do weights together and oh my, some days he really kicks my ass! I like it though ;) Yes, I am still doing Weight Watchers. I have 19 lbs to go to my goal weight. Damn, the last 30 lbs has been SLOW! I'm still playing WoW..that's all I have to say about that!

The dogs are getting BIG and some days they don't drive me crazy :P Bo will be a year on Halloween. Lena will be one in late November.

We are approaching the birthday rush season. My dad's is Sept 15th, Griffin is Sept 24th. We are getting prepared for Griffin. He keeps changing his mind and I sure wish my money tree would start producing so I can keep up! I think that for now he has decided that he wants a "water day" with a slip and slide, water balloon fight, water gun fight, you get the idea. I hope it sticks, I've got plans to make for it!

Ok, I think I've rambled long enough....

XO

First Day of School 2011/2012

2011-08-19T22:06:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize I was so behind on the blog! The first day of school was July 27th. Everything went rather smoothly :) aside from a long, hot and delayed bus ride home. Griffin is in Mr. Jeffers' 2nd grade, Savannah is in Mrs. Bernier's 4th grade, Cassandra is in Mrs. Berkel's 6th grade. Here are pics from that day....

Alyssa didn't appreciate having to get up either until I mentioned that there would be donuts involved!

Cannon Beach, Oregon

2011-07-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic vacation! We left for Cannon Beach on July 1st. It was our first time in about 9 years visiting there. My parents lived about 45 min from the beach when they lived in Oregon. It is, without a doubt, one of my favorite places to be. We decided that since it had been so long since we had been there we would take the scenic route up :) We took the coast highway and saw the Redwoods and lots of forest and ocean on the way up. We had a wonderful comfy motel suite right on the beach. The weather was beautiful, most days 65ish. We did have one really warm day, the day we went to the Portland Rose Gardens and Camp 18. It was in the 80's. Most days at the beach where 60's and low 70's. A welcome temp compared to the 114 degrees we had back home!!

The kids had a great time playing in the sand, playing in the ocean, looking for sea critters, visiting the Haystack Rock tidepools, exploring the town, visiting the park and our nightly bonfire on the beach! We did s'mores and sometimes we just had the fire and talked about the day. My parents, sis and her boyfriend went too. We also visted Ecola Park which had beautiful views of Cannon Beach but from a location/perspective I've never been to before.

Here are some pics of the trip...

First day on the road

The girls at Crescent City, California

Shane and Savannah at Crescent City

Alyssa lovin' the beach

Griffin doesn't like the light, LOL

Serious beach work at Cannon Beach

Mom, Dad and Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach

Alyssa is giving Shane a beach pedicure

Building the nightly fire pit

Mom, Dad, Shane, Alyssa at Camp 18 .. headed to the Portland Rose Gardens

Haystack Rock and some fog

Pizza on the beach!

Haystack Rock Tidepools

Tillamook Lighthouse

Walkin' to Haystack

View of Cannon Beach from the Ecola Park

Ecola Park hike :)

my little forest adventurers! we saw the biggest slug on the trail!

Our beautiful trail guide ;) I liked him so much, I brought him home with me!

Alyssa's 4th Bday Party~

2011-06-25T14:07:00.001-07:00

We had a great horse themed birthday party for Miss Alyssa! Here are the pics from the celebration :)

Happy 4th Birthday Alyssa M.

2011-06-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my baby Alyssa :)

So many times you hear how fast life goes by or time flies. I never fully understood the validity to that statement until I had kids. Time has flown. Without a doubt, I feel that it's a blur most days. It seems like yesterday that we went to the hospital to have Alyssa but here we are, celebrating her 4th birthday. How is this possible?

Alyssa is quite a character. Did she have any other choice? Doubtful ;) I'm glad she is who she is even though, at times, she's hard to keep up with. I love that she has so much to tell, so much to contribute to our family. She keeps us laughing, keeps us on our toes without a doubt. She loves her sisters and brother deeply. They tolerate a lot. They play with her, put up with her crazy demands, snuggle and love her, treat her like a friend. I can't ask for any more than that. I only pray that it stays this way for them. I hope that they are as good to each other later in life as they are now.

Alyssa loves horses, dogs, dancing, music, World of Warcraft, Team Umizoomi, Max and Ruby, Bubble Guppies, talking to Kaden on the phone, her cousins, the movie Spirit, anything Disney, vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles, buttered pasta, bacon and eggs, Monster High, swimming at Mimi's house, looking at old family pictures, riding Big Red, camping, taking a bath (but not washing her hair), Disneyland, wearing PJs all day long, rubbing noses, playing hide and seek and having her friends over to play. She can quote movies as well as Savannah can. She's quick to tell you when you're cranky that Santa is watching. She's also quick to tell you when you compliment he that "I am who I am, God made me this way."

I love being able to be home with Alyssa. She's my shadow, my best friend most days. She listens to all my rambling. Most of the time I forget she's 4. She's quick to tell you she loves you or to pick you up when you're feeling blue. She knows just what to say and WHEN to say it too. I'm lucky to have her as my daughter :)

So happy birthday Alyssa Melissa Myra...thank you for 4 wonderful years. I can't wait to see what you have in store for the world as you grow <3

Kids Meeting Alyssa for the first time

1 week old :)

1 Month old

2 months old

4 months old

6 months old

1 year

18 months

2 years old

2nd birthday

2.5, Xmas at Disneyland

3rd birthday

Today, 4 yrs old

Random pictures :)

2011-06-07T22:55:00.000-07:00

My sweet Lyssie Belle

New outfit

Griffin's 1st grade class..he's the one in the motorcycle helmet ;)

Alyssa helping Daddy outside

Shane and our niece, Allison, at her birthday party

Lyssie and her Easter Pillow Pet

Cassandra (in the jeans and plaid shirt, holding star) at her musical performance

Julie, Mike and Nancy at Allison's birthday party :)

Summer Break is here!

2011-05-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

The last day of school was May 26th and we celebrated big! The kids had a great last day. I was able to attend the awards ceremony at Cassandra's school. She received an award for her AR goal and high honors. I was mighty proud of her ;) Savannah received a citizenship award and high honors also! Everyone had a great report card. Sadly, they don't do honor roll participation for 1st grade so Griffin didn't receive anything like that. To celebrate we went to see Kung Fu Panda 2! It was a great movie! We took Cassandra's friend Malorie and my niece Allison. We also had a sleepover that night. My nephew Brandon joined us for that :) All in all, a great kick off to summer!

We started out with a bang and haven't stopped yet. My dad got a tattoo on the 26th also. His first one and it is just beautiful! I'll have to post pictures soon. He went to the same tattoo artist I went to for my first. We went to my in law's Memorial Day party on Saturday. The kids rode horses and swam in the redneck pool (a horse trough...a never used by an animal horse trough) and did the slip n slide. We partied late at home and then Sunday Cassandra had a little dinner party for my parents. She made homemade pizza and some delicious Weight Watchers Chocolate Espresso cupcakes! OMG, so good! We grocery shopped together and she did almost all the cooking. She loved it and did a great job!

We had been planning to get the kids a new tv for the playroom after the old one died over a year ago. We decided that with all the good grades and good attitudes going on that it was time to do it. Shane brought them home a 40" tv and blu ray player yesterday. They were just in shock :) It looks great in our freshly painted playroom! They had a great time in the watching movies and Netflix stuff ;) Some of them even camped out in there last night.

Today we are going to my mom's for ribs and all sorts of goodies plus swimming. I hope that you all are having a great memorial day weekend!

May Continued...

2011-05-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

Well after much back and forth on the weather it would seem we've settled into our "norm" for May. We've been in the low 100's for a few days now. I talk to so many people who say the same thing..."wow, it just all of a sudden got HOT!" and we laugh like it's a surprise but it shouldn't be.

Our elementary school did it's field day on Friday. I went in the morning and watched the kids, got some pictures. They do their events in the morning and then water activities in the afternoon. The QCFD showed up and hosed them down. I didn't get to see that part :P I went to the middle school to see Cassandra do her "wax museum" for her project. Her class did bio reports on sports figures. She chose Nancy Lieberman who was one of the first female basketball players. She did a poster, made a basketball out of styrofoam and decorated a shirt with that player's first team logo (Dallas Diamonds). At the "wax museum" the kids stand there like a statue and when you walk up they come to life and give you facts about their person. It was really cute.

We have 9 school days left...to celebrate I am taking the kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2 on the last day of school (it's a half day) and they are so excited! Their cousin, Allison, gets out that day too so we are all meeting at the theater to go together.

The dogs are doing well, getting big. I had Bo at the vet to be neutered and since February he went from 60 lbs to 84.6 lbs. He is a big old mook! He has learned sit and we're working on lay down and stay. Lena is getting big too :) she's doing better about not jumping but it is a constant task reminding her not to. She pees when she's excited, nervous, scared, happy, breathing....that has gotten a little bit better too. Thankfully because I have to admit, I was about ready to put a clamp on her hoo-ha!

The kids are excited for summer break. Believe it or not, they are super excited that I am adding them to my gym membership. They have an awesome childcare center with computers, kid size gym, obstacle crawly things, outside play equip, activities, etc. They also have an outdoor and an indoor pool. I think if I get my act together we'll make it to the gym 3 times a week and that will keep me on track as well as getting them out of the house, keeping busy! We also are doing a couple of camping trips which they are super excited about. We have our big trip to Cannon Beach Oregon over July 4th.

Shane is great, work is busy. He has made tremendous progress on the backyard. He finished all the rock, finished all the bedding under the playset, planted 5 trees and is now ready to rip up and start planting grass seed. I am both excited and terrified. Excited to have grass, terrified at having to keep the dogs in a lot during irrigation and such. It is so nice to open the back door and let them out to run and play and exhaust themselves. However, I want grass bad enough that we'll make it work!

Our 13 year wedding anniversary is coming up on June 6th. We haven't decided yet what we are doing, if anything much. We both know we want another tattoo so we may hold off and do that for our anniversary after summer because you can't swim for 6 weeks after getting a tattoo so that would pretty much be for almost the kids' whole break :( Alyssa turns 4 on June 14th. I am checking out birthday party places vs. having it at home. We'll see how it pans out. It's been my experience that either way ends up being about the same price.

That's it for us, I hope you all are doing well!

xo

Brittany's Graduation!

2011-05-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else besides me shocked that my sister is old enough to be a college graduate? She had her beautiful graduation ceremony on April 29th at the Mesa Arts Center. It was a beautiful facility and she even graduated with honors! Here are some pictures from that day....

Griffin's First Big Motorcycle Ride

2011-04-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

Griffin and Gumpy have had a few motorcycle rides around the neighborhood in the past. Last Saturday was his first ride out on the open road :) Here are some pictures of their first (of many, I'm sure) adventures on 2 wheels...

Easter Eggs at Papa and Nancy's House 2011

2011-04-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

This is our annual Easter tradition with Shane's dad and step-mom.

master egg decorators!

Cassandra :)

waiting patiently (or not so)

Nancy, Allison and Brandon

it's getting really pink!

Griffin

Julie and Brandon

Alyssa moved on to green ;)

Time for baskets!

Griffin got mini-transformers and a ton of candy

cute little creepy skeletons dressed up in easter outfits

Everyone had a great time coloring eggs and riding the quad, playing in the yard and getting their easter basket. Nancy made us delicious shredded chicken tacos and all sorts of snacks too.

Weight

2011-04-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

I debated with myself for a long time about blogging about weight. it's such a touchy subject for most of us. I didn't want anyone to feel bad or weird with anything I had to say about weight but I figure that in the long run, if something I say helps someone than that is more important to me than the possible discomfort I may cause someone else.

We are measured by so many things in life. our age, our IQ and sadly...our weight. I have never felt that a person's worth is measured by their weight but I know that when we are overweight we (meaning I) measure our own self worth by the number on the scale. as my number went up...my worth went down. in my eyes anyway. I gave up on myself in many ways for all the wrong reasons.

In august 2009 I took a big step. I joined Weight Watchers (ww) because I had to do something. there were yo yo diets prior to that but I didn't keep it off. I can make excuses but the long and the short of it was that I had residual baby weight on x4 plus, after much soul searching, I came to grips with the fact I am an emotional eater. WW opened my eyes to that through one of the best meetings ever. You can't successfully lose weight and keep it off if you don't know how you got there in the first place.

What I decided in august 09 was that I had reached the limit of what I could take. Shane had been in the hospital in April 09 with the blood clots in his lungs, legs and was diagnosed with a form of lupus. A few months later I realized I needed to do something to help myself be healthier. I had finally hit rock bottom at a weight I had not been before. I was tired of being tired, having foot and knee pain, feeling blobby and ugly and a terrible mom. I joined ww and I have not looked back. 90 lbs have gone and not only did I lose 90 lbs of fat...I lost 90 lbs of baggage in my head. I used to eat when I was sad, when I was stressed, I ate to be complacent and not be bitchy. I ate to subdue something I didn't want to feel. now don't get me wrong, I have a great life. I always have. I have the man I always wanted, the kids I always wanted, the house I always wanted, the friends I always wanted and the family I always wanted. I just didn't have the me I always wanted. Somewhere along the way I decided that everyone else was more important. I don't think that was wrong, I just needed to make myself important too. I didn't want to be selfish or vain. I didn't want to be self absorbed. I wanted to be the best mom, the best wife, the best daughter, the best friend, the best sister, the best everything to everyone and I believed if I could accomplish all of that...I would be happy with myself.

Wow. That's a lot of pressure. Self induced pressure, but still!
So when I felt I wasn't any of those things to anyone..I ate.

My mom tried to help me. Shane tried to help me. Some brands of help made me feel worse. Some didn't. The problem was I didn't try to help me. Until I went to ww.

So I realized why I ate. For starters, I realized that I didn't feel full until the plate was empty. I learned why I felt that way. I wrote a lot about what I ate. I read stuff online. I realized that it is ok to feel what you feel even if it isn't popular with everyone around you. I had to learn to cope with my feelings without digging into a 3 lb box of cheez its and eating my way out. It was hard, I was an emotional roller coaster but I wouldn't go back or give up. poor Shane heard me cry and yell and be a complete and utter bitch. That was something, I am pleased so say, he wasn't used to. But I had to learn to feel things and express them rather than eating them away. He was patient. The kids were patient. Everyone was patient. And then great things happened. It started coming off 3, 4, even 5 lbs at a time.

I learned a lot on the way. I had a lot of support. I even started exercising. Thanks to those Sookie Stackhouse novels, I rode that exercise bike like it was a rocket ;) thanks to all the encouragement I kept going. 30 lbs down, 50 lbs down, 75, 86....90. gone. I can't believe how it has gone and where I still need to be. almost 30 lbs left to go but I can do it. I will do it. because I am worth it and because I know I don't have to be perfect. I just have to be me and do my best and everyone will love me the way I am. like they always have but I didn't love myself. there is no catch. there are no strings. nobody here who truly matters will scoff if my house isn't spotless like it was (hey, it's not dirty either!) or if I forget little things because I went to the gym or I was looking up healthy recipes online. there are other measureable things that mean more to my family like the fact I can go down the slides at the park with my kids. I can run. I will never forget my first "ah-ha!" moment at Disneyland in December 09, only 35-40 lbs gone but I could fit into the rides with 2 of my kids. TWO! I sat in the rocket ride in tomorrowland with tears flowing because I had savannah and griffin in the rocket with me. I didn't have to turn sideways to go through the turnstiles anymore. Things have only gotten better and better along the way.

I am very lucky because all along..no matter what the scale said I had a husband who loved me. he told me I was beautiful and he wanted me every day. he never once said an unkind word to me no matter what I told myself. I'm not saying he's not enjoying the new me ;) but I know in the deepest parts of my heart that he loves me no matter what. That is pretty amazing to me considering all the changes I went through with myself. Shane stayed steady and constant while I was (at times) a hot mess.

So yes, I've made big changes but they are positive ones. I could not have done it without the love, support and encouragement of my family. The weight comes off slower now. I have to try harder. I had to start exercising more. I do have days were I am frustrated because I want to be "done" with the loss and focus on maintaining. I will get there and when I do all the frustration will have been worth it. I am truly blessed :)

April

2011-04-05T18:48:00.000-07:00

Hello!
We had such a great spring break! The kids have been back to school for 2 weeks now. We are doing fine, back into the swing of things and counting down to summer break! Approximately 52 days in case you are wondering :)

So a lot has gone on, I have some pics to load up. A few are from our day in Tombstone.

Next are just a few random kid pics :)

The next couple are from Alyssa's playdate with her BFF and BFF's lil sister :)

Alyssa was dressed up as Hannah Montana, T was a ballerina and H was a cowgirl ;)

Take that peeps!

Next is a couple of shots of my first tattoo :) yes, i got a tattoo. I've wanted one for years now so Shane told me for my birthday he was getting me one. Now, poor man has offered to do this 2 years in a row and I chicken out. This year I did not! I found a great tattoo shop, loved my tattoo artist :) and can't wait to get another one! Yes, seriously! Shane got one too, pics will follow soon!

The light was not great in the computer room but it's a Griffin. He's blue with purple, yellow, green and a bit of red.

Spring Break!

2011-03-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hello!
We have had a glorious spring break! Two weeks of fun and NO SCHOOL! Our break started March 14th and we go back the 28th. Our first week we spent 3 nights in Tucson. We took the kids to Tombstone where we had a blast! We saw the gunfight at the OK Corral, shopped, saw stagecoach and buggies everywhere! We also went to Colossal Caves, Pima Air Museum and lots of gooood places to eat. We swam every day we were there too :)

We had a nice weekend, outside a lot and playing with the puppies. This week I got passes for the 3 big kids to join me and Alyssa at the gym. We swam there also. Today we went to the park and had a great time. Tomorrow we are back at the gym for the kids zone play place and swim.

Friday night the kids are going to Mimi and Gumpy's to make homemade beef jerky :)

Laundry Multiplies

2011-02-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

I am realizing something lately. In my house, laundry multiplies. Now, some of you who know me well will snicker at that comment. Your potential lack of surprise that I accuse my laundry of having sex and multiplying is adorable. Now, let's move on...

I don't hate most house chores. Honestly, I find cleaning the house theraputic. I always feel very accomplished when the job is done. I also get a lot of thinking done while I am doing it...I think I could find a way for world peace when I do my spring cleaning in March. I don't mind organizing things, scrubbing floors or purging clutter. What I DO mind is laundry.

Laundry makes me want to barf!

Sadly, I found a large jump in the amount of laundry after the 3rd child. Now, in a family of 6, it is getting uglier day by day. I used to do laundry on weekends. Now I do it at least mid week and weekend. Here is what I don't understand, Cassandra will wear the same pair of jeans 7 days a week if you let her but she changes her shirt 3 times a day if you let her. Why? I just don't get it. Of all the people in this family, Cassandra has the most clothes!

Savannah will wear the same jeans and top to school every day if you let her. I like Savannah ;) I don't LET her wear it every day but I like her way of thinking!

Griffin will only wear certain things in a certain rotation BUT if he pulls something off a hanger and changes his mind it doesn't go back on the hanger. Oh no, it goes into the hamper. I have done his mid week laundry on Wednesday. Hung it all up on Thursday. Walk in to a 3/4 full hamper on Friday. Really. Most of what is in the hamper hasn't touched his skin (in the wearable sense) but merely went from hanger to floor to hamper. I ask hime "why?" "HOW?" and get a shrug usually followed by "I didn't know how to put it back on the hanger."

Alyssa wants to wear pj's 24/7. I like her too!

Shane respects my dislike of laundry so much that he has a system in the closet. There are piles of clothes in varying stages of dirty. There is the "I wear this out back to do work" outfit that stays all week. Followed by the "I wear this when I come home from work" outfit. Next is the "Jeans for some of the week" followed by "Work shirts that didn't get food on them" and then the rest that is hanging up.

So while I know none of this is earthshattering and I know the world has bigger problems, I still find it odd that I can wash the hamper full of clothes and return the next day to more. I swear..when the lights go on in the closet you can cue the bow-chicka-wow-wow music and viola.....the hamper is full 8 hours later.

Thanks for listening.

Pictures!

2011-02-26T09:44:00.001-07:00

Wahoo! I restarted the computer and now the downloader works. Go figure! So without further delay, here are the pics....

Alyssa and her new sparkly cast

Cast with signatures!

Daddy and Alyssa

My New Dining Room Table!

Mommy's Puppy, Bo (Great Pyrneese)

Miss Lena (Queensland Heeler)

This is how they sleep

Here is my pretty, fluffy boy

Cassandra using my headphones for Itunes :)

Savannah's Sunflower Project!

Hello!

2011-02-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I have no idea what is up with my computer but I can't get my photo card to load :( so unless you have Facebook, I can't show you pics of the puppies.

Things are rolling along here, keeping busy as usual! Alyssa gets her cast off on Wednesday. I am both excited and petrified. Right now she is safe, contained in a fiberglass cast of protection. We are supposed to be "really careful" for 3 weeks after the cast comes off and I'm not sure how I do that. I mean, ideally, I want to wrap her in bubble wrap and put her in a box but Shane says that's frowned upon. I just hope I can keep her safe and in tact so she can go back to being her old self.

Monday night Griffin has a 1st grade performance at the QC Performing Arts Center. They are doing all Disney songs, we are so excited! He's got his dress shirt, tie and pants all picked out and ready to go! He has a field trip to the Phoenix Zoo on Tuesday.

Savannah and Cassandra are doing well, not much to report really. They are just chugging along at school. Cassandra has a performance on March 11th but she says she doesn't want to go. I will have to dig a little deeper for that one, I love performances! I'm not sure what is holding her back on wanting to go other than embarassment ;)

Our school Spring Fling is Saturday. I am getting a little nuts finishing up last minute preparations. I hope it goes smoothly. I have a great team to work with but I admit I have anxiety that it will flop. I hope I am wrong!

Shane is good, keeping busy at work. He's been downtown a lot as he usually is this time of year. We are all looking forward to Spring Break in March. We are going to try to get the kids out for some day trips to Tombstone or Old Tucson. We also promised Alyssa a trip to Amazing Jakes (indoor carnival rides) when she gets her cast off. So, good things on the horizon!

The puppies are doing great. Potty training is going pretty well. Since Shane finished the backyard fencing and I can just let them out progress has been much faster. We had rain last weekend and with the mud we were back to going out on a leash which equated to many accidents in the house. Once we dried up they snapped right back into shape! They do great at night, no more getting up to take or let them out in the middle of the night.

My Mom's birthday was 2/25. She is on Coronado Island with her honey right now! What a great way to spend your birthday :)

Happy February!

2011-02-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Hopefully you had a great Valentine's Day :) I did! Well, I suppose I should back up and start at the beginning since my last blog entry.

You know how I kept saying not much was going on? We changed that! Not in the way I intended but we did. February 3rd Alyssa fell off our play pony in the toy room and broke her arm, just above the elbow. She is the first of the 4 kids to break anything so this has all been new to me. She did amazingly well aside from the xrays (positioning hurt her) and the actual casting the next day (again, bending into place). She doesn't cry about pain and she's adjusting. I admit I have a hell of a time. I want to wrap her in a bubble and keep her safe. She does have a fantastic doctor though, he went through all my questions and concerns so I'm feeling much better.

There is a terrible upper respitory virus going around both schools (elem and middle school). Cassandra is home sick, she hasn't been this sick in about 5 years. Fever, coughing, sore throat, etc. She's been in bed every day that she's been home. So far the other kids don't have it *knock on wood* and I'm trying to keep things clean/disinfected.

Griffin is doing great, he has a Disney Musical performance on 2/28. I am so excited! He also has a speaking part so I can't wait to see how he does. He's so brave, I never would have wanted to stand on a stage and speak in front of hundreds LOL.

Shane is good, keeping very busy. He got the backyard fenced, all the rest of our rock in place. Now he's waiting for the weather change to rip up the dirt and try grass seed again. I am thinking 3rd time is a charm! ;)

Our other big news is we got two puppies! OMG! We went on Jan 30th to look at a Queensland Heeler pup for the kids and when we arrived the breeder had a beautiful Great Pyrneese pup (3 months old, 45ish lbs) in with these 7 week old Queensland pups! So when Shane asked the kids "which one do you like?" after a few min of playing with the pups, the kids had theirs picked out and I said "I like this one." (the pyrneese) Now, I never in a million years thought we'd leave with 2 dogs but Shane just smiled and said "Ok, Mommy gets that one, kids pick out a Queensland" and that was it. The Queensland is a little girl, we named her Lena after a book series Cassandra and I are reading. She is SO cute (and that says a lot from me because I do not find Queenslands to be attractive dogs usually LOL). I named my boy Bo. His name was Bear but that just wasn't sitting well for me so I changed it :) They are doing great, potty training is much better now that we can just open the backdoor and let them out in the yard. We were up every 3 hours to walk them in the front yard but dang, it was cold at night! Anyway, they are great and I'm so thankful we got them.

I'll post pics later, I have to run and wake up Savannah and Griffin for school.

XO

Family :)

2011-01-30T22:41:00.000-07:00

I do not know where January has gone. I swear I JUST did a blog entry on my birthday!

We have had a good month, keeping busy and out of trouble for the most part! I'm getting used to the new Weight Watchers program. They changed a lot of things and I guess what I miss the most is instantly knowing the points for most everything I eat. It's all new and I am back to looking everything up. It will take some getting used to. I joined Lifetime Fitness (Shane goes there too) and made it twice last week. I set out a goal for 2 x a week to start out with. I figure with the kids and PTO and life in general, 2 x a week is good!

We did a yard sale over the weekend, it went well and we cleared out a lot of clutter. I have some stuff left over that was worth too much to donate so I think I'll try the Ebay/Craigslist route and see where it gets me!

The kids are good, looking forward to Spring Break starting on March 14th. We get 2 weeks :) The weather has been warmer than I like (mid 70's) for January but I see the forecast has us back to the upper 50's to low 60's for a few days. I'll take it! Shane is good, keeping the water flowing at work ;) and all good at home!

Our big news is we got two puppies. We set out to get the kids a puppy and ended up with one for me too. We got the kids a cute little 7 week old Queensland Heeler we named Lena. She is super cute! Very quiet so far. I got a Great Pyraneese we named Bo. He was born on Halloween and he's a big goof! I will post pics as soon as I can ;)

My birthday

2011-01-17T21:58:00.000-07:00

I had a great birthday this year :) I usually exercise my right not "not" celebrate my birthday because by the time we GET to my birthday I am all celebrated out. However this year, I went with the flow and had a great time. The kids started back to school on Jan. 3rd. I hate when they have to go back :( Griffin wasn't in long ( a week) and was out sick. There is a nasty little bug going through his classroom. He was home with a high fever for 3 days and body aches, etc. The doc ordered blood work which we were never able to successfully get. They turned my baby boy into a pincushion for 2 days/3 appts and we gave up. Thankfully, by that time he was well, no longer symptomatic so the doc said we could skip the blood work!

Cassandra is in an after school cooking class two times a week. She loves it so far! Last week was their first class, they went over menu and rules/safety. Savannah joined the homework club for the quarter. She's pretty excited. She is still the Co-president for student council. They get to go to a Phoenix Suns game on Feb. 2nd. She is totally excited and asked her dad to go as a chaperone :) Alyssa is good, she is still sorta getting used to the kids being back at school. She was really thrown a loop when Griffin was home and so sick. She is excited to be having a playdate with her friend Tailynn this Friday!

The weather is warmer than I like for January but I am still hopeful that we'll turn back and be in the 60's for awhile longer :)

Well it's getting late so I think I'll scoot,

xo

Pics of us ;)

2011-01-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

As if I haven't poste ENOUGH pictures of all of us! Here are a few we did just before Christmas :)

Happy New Year! 2011

2011-01-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

We decided to do a last minute New Years Eve party this year. We invited family to join us, Mike, Nancy, Mom, Dad, Brittany and Elijah came over. We ate, drank, played Wii and Scatergories (did I spell that right?) and had a great time! Everyone left around 9:30, Shane and I got the kids in bed around 10:00. We stayed up until almost 2:00. It was a wonderful New Years Eve, probably one of the best ones I can remember.

We had perfect weather the last few days, rain, SNOW, I am in heaven! It was 40 degrees for the high on New Year's Eve :) I took the kids outside to play, we had a great time!

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe, happy and HEALTHY 2011!

Christmas Day 2010

2011-01-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

We had a great Christmas morning! The big girls woke up at 7:00 and waited patiently for us to get up, dressed, wake Alyssa, flip on coffee, light candles and put on the Christmas music. YES, I have to have all those things going to open presents ;) After Christmas at our house we went to my mom's and opened gifts and had a fantastic ham dinner!

Santa Came! He wraps all in red/green paper ;)

This was before Santa came, just mom and dad's gifts to kids under here

More Santa loot!

Webkinz pinto in a purse!

Star wars stuff...

Cassandra got a lot of clothes from her fav store, Justice

Star Wars At At

Savannah and her cookbook!

Star Wars was sorta the theme for the year for Griffin

Alyssa got some really nice princess dolls and stuffed toys

Justice Jammies!

Halo figures

ta da! more clothes

Indiana Jones DS game

The kids painted a Merry Christmas Dad JUMBO coffee mug for Shane

Alyssa's big gift from mom and dad....a Grand Dollhouse!

Daddy put it together for her right away

that's the fastest move in I've ever seen!

Shane and the kids watching "A Christmas Story" while he assembles Griffin's Space Shuttle!

Christmas Eve 2010

2011-01-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic Christmas Eve and Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve at my in law's house, Shane's brother/wife/kids were there also. We had a fantastic brunch and opened gifts :) We went out for mexican food afterwards. Delish!

Mike, Griffin and Casey

Hubba Hubba, my sweet baby

The tree at Mike and Nancy's .... before the chaos begins!

Savannah, Cassandra, Alyssa

Cassandra in her shirt we brought her from Vegas

Hammin' it up!

Alyssa, Brandon, Cassandra

Mike, Nancy and the girls

Waiting for SOMEONE to start handing out gifts!

They started out so slow and calm....

First gifts opened

Alyssa and her mouse dollhouse!

Webkins for the win!

OHHHHH yes! Aunt Julie and Uncle Andy got Savannah the "Ghoulia Yelps" doll she was "dying" to get LOL

Race track fun!

Cassandra and her Monster High pillow, Griffin got Star Wars stuff

Alyssa and more mouse house stuff

Shane and his new surround sound system!

Getting ready for Christmas!

2010-12-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I have not updated since Thanksgiving! My dear friend Kirsten told me today that she would look forward to Christmas pics after the holidays and I realized I better get in gear and get the pre-Christmas stuff on here!

So without further delay, here we go! We decorated the toyroom and the kids' bedrooms/bathrooms also but I didn't get pics of those yet ;)

My snowman bathroom

Cassandra made the gingerbread house!

lights off

lights on

my grandma's blue snowmen :)

my sweet honey climbed the ladder to hang the candy ornaments from the chandelier ;)

this turned out well i think, i made the garland myself ;)

the tree with gifts for everyone but kids because kids are nosey!

top of the kitchen cabinets. my friend Liz made the reindeer candle holder

more kitchen cabinets

the reindeer table! complete with cinnamon pinecones

santa, snowmen and light up gingerbread house

Thanksgiving

2010-12-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving here at our house! We had Mom, Dad and Brittany over for the big feast. Elijah was working that day and didn't get off work until 4:30.

Not too many details to share, just had a great day, great food, many things to be thankful for.

Elf Style!

2010-11-17T14:37:00.003-07:00

you will want to hit the PAUSE button on the sidebar christmas music to listen to this elf yourself :)

San Diego Pictures

2010-11-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

Alyssa at breakfast at the Sheerwater in our hotel

Shane at breakfast, at least it's not his Blackberry this time ;)

Me, my kiddos and Allison with OP Otter at Sea World

Shane, Cassandra and visiting bird ;)

Jaws!

Julie and Brandon at the Shamu Show

Shane, Alyssa, Julie and Brandon

Shane and Cassandra (up front) and Julie, Griffin (row behind them) on the Atlantis ride

Allison, Griffin and Alyssa watching Shane and Julie take Cassandra for a 2nd ride

Alyssa's beach pedicure

camera shy or ostrich in training?

me, Andy, kids ;)

Savannah after her long day at the beach, boogie boarding

Alyssa and Griffin fell asleep holding hands :)

Hello from the Hotel Del Coronado

2010-11-11T23:10:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the Del on Tuesday, late afternoon. We had a great trip over, the kids did amazingly well! It did help that we had two new movies to watch on the way over and the big kids had some homework to work on ;) but we were happily amazed at how well Alyssa did too!

We love coming to the Hotel Del Coronado every other year for Shane's water conference :) Our first night we just walked around the grounds, enjoying the beach and all the sights. On Wednesday we were up bright and early for Sea World! We arrive shortly after it opened, perfect weather, hardly anyone at the park. One of the gate guys told us there would be maybe 2000 people in the park for the day. The downside was the clydesdales weren't there...I don't know if they've removed the attraction or if it was under renovations or what but I was very disappointed. Anyway, we fed the dolphins, saw the sharks, the Shamu show (Cassandra, Griffin, Brandon and Savannah sat in the 1st row of the soak zone with my BIL, Andy.) We also saw the sting rays, one took a particular shine to Alyssa and popped his head and most of his body out of the water and doused her with water. That resulted in a cute new shirt with Sea Turtles on it for her ;) We saw Seals, sea lions, all the usual suspects.

Thursday Shane was in conferences almost all day. So Julie, Andy and I took the kids to the beach. What a day! The weather was gorgeous, in the 70's. We rented boogie boards and Julie brought sand toys. We were there until about 1:00pm. We had 6 very tired, very waterlogged and sore kids. We got everyone cleaned up, fed and rested up. Shane and I went to a work dinner and it was nice to get dressed up. Andy and Julie watched the kids for us ;) I write this now in the dark as everyone is snoozing away! All in all, another great day! Tomorrow we are off to Seaport VIllage and downtown Coronado. I will upload pics when I get home!

XO

Shane's Birthday Party

2010-11-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

We had a really nice Saturday! I started out early making hashbrown casserole (Nancy's recipe) and peppermint flavored coffee. OMG! Yum ;) I baked Shane a spice cake with cream cheese icing and pumpkin bread for his bday party. Dee and I went to the Pussycat Boutique and I got to shop ;) I came home with 3 interesting tops, at least Shane liked them ;)

We took Dee to Phoenix to see some of the downtown area. We went to the memorial park and walked around, went to the Capitol building. Even though it was closed, there were good photo opportunities. We headed to the Mining Camp Restaurant for dinner. Shane's brother, wife, kids, my parents, Shane's parents all met us there. Dee loves that place so it worked out great!

Shane got some great birthday presents but I sadly admit, they are all XBOX games which means he won't be playing much World of Warcraft with me :( I'm trying NOT to have a complex about the fact that I start playing WOW finally and then everyone who did play (mom, dad, sister, elijah, andy, traci....shane) desert me! At least my dear friend Shari is still playing <3

Here we go with some pics....Happy 36th Birthday to my sweet sweet husband....

Shane and Alyssa out front of the Mining Camp

Alyssa and Brandon, hamming it up!

Julie giving me a smile <3

SO much food

Birthday boy XOXOXOXO

Brothers

Mom, deep in thought apparently

Mom, Dad, Mike

Nancy and Griffin

Savannah and Allison

Savannah and Uncle Andy

Best Friends

Two of my most favorite people

Holy hell...more games ;)

Auntie and Elijah

me and Julie <3 the peppermint coffee

Civil War books!

Shane, Dee and the kids in Phoenix

Kids and the petrified wood outside the Capitol building

One of the plaques on the K9 Police Memorial

Native American Code Talkers Memorial

Pioneer women memorial

Happy 9th Birthday Savannah Michelle

2010-10-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

Savannah has always been good at making an entrance. She was due November 17, 2001. We were moving into our new home the weekend of October 27th and had worked rather hard moving smaller stuff. The movers were coming the 29th with the big furniture and storage unit stuff. I guess all that lifting and such helped Savannah decide she'd like to come out early and see what all the hulabaloo was about! So on October 29th she came into our life. Savannah was 3 weeks early, weighing in at 8 lbs 7 oz. She had beautiful black hair and big blue eyes. She was a beautiful baby and she is a beautiful girl now. She traded in her black hair for blonde waves but the big blue eyes are still just as pretty as they were the day she was born. She's got freckles on her nose and cheeks ;) and I tell her those are kisses from her Mamaw since she had them too.

Savannah loves to write stories and draw different clothing designs. She loves movies and can quote them almost as well as I can ;) She loves to ride horses and cook. She's a good reader, excellent in math, sings in the school choir and is a wonderful daughter. Nobody hugs like Savannah does, she hugs you with everything she's got.

Happy 9th Birthday to our Cubby Bear

Disneyland 2007 , 6 yrs old

Losing her first 2 teeth! 5 yrs old

Butterfly project, 1st grade

holding baby Alyssa, 6 years old

1st day of kindergarten

Savannah and Tigger, 6 years old

Savannah now :)

Someone got a big girl bed!

2010-10-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

Well after months (ok, maybe a year) of holding off, Miss Alyssa finally got her big girl bed! She wasn't too sure of it tonight but she looked mighty cozy when she drifted off to sleep! All she needs now is a lamp, nightlight and maybe a lil somethin' for her dresser to spruce things up. Here she is....

Here the sisters are, chillin' in Alyssa's new big girl pad

Cassandra let Alyssa "borrow" her Pooh bear "cuties" since Alyssa has an Eeyore comforter

comforter up close. the reverse side is a very pretty floral print

tiny girl on a big queen sized bed!

Pumpkin Carving October 2010

2010-10-17T20:10:00.001-07:00

We had a fabulous time at my in laws' house on Saturday! Nancy loves Halloween so much, she has a pumpkin carving party for all the family to come join in. My mom and sister went too this year! My dad was on a plane to Ireland so he missed out but maybe next year he can make it!

We had delicious food. OMG Nancy sure can cook up some good appetizers! We carved pumpkins, fiddled in the backyard, the kids rode the quad with Papa, we had pizza and salad and a fantastic dessert too. We rolled out the front door and home with our elastic pants good and stretched ;) Here are some of the pics, I have more coming but I figured this would get us all started! My mom took all these, she's such the photographer!

Alyssa playing inside before we head out to gut the pumpkins

Party guest, not sure who invited ths guy ;)

Forster/Blue

Alyssa and Brandon playing ball in the backyard

This guy was giving weird looks all night!?

The kids and Brittany picking out their patterns

Waiting on someone with a big knife to get things started!

My niece, Allison waiting on a pumpkin

Shane and Griffin working on his pumpkin <3

My sister hard at work making something creepy!

Two Sweet little pumpkins!

My father in law, Mike, showing Griffin how real men carve pumpkins. Griffin is totally impressed!

Looking good!

Me, Brandon and Alyssa

Mike and Tater

Me and Julie

Allison out by the horse pasture

Alyssa and Brandon exploring the tortoise habitat

Brandon

October Pictures 2010

2010-10-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

here are some pictures from October so far!

Savannah got a new haircut!

Griffin's haircut, no more chia-pet look

he's a ham

Savannah and her friend Sammy trying to steal the brownie cookie bars we baked together

They have been friends since kinder, they live on our street even!

Alyssa having her morning coffee. She's a lightweight, she needs an ice cube in hers ;)

Feeling the buzz already, I couldn't get a steady shot of her

Me and Shane on our way to the zoo fundraiser

Fall Break

2010-10-08T09:20:00.001-07:00

Happy Fall Break!
Well for us anyway! So far it has been pretty low-key here. The weather is getting better (cooler) and we actually had some rain! Some of you may have heard about the tornados in nothern Arizona. We didn't get any of that down where we are. We did have heavy rain, hail, flooding. My mom has hail damage on her car from when she was at work. :( Our backyard is still standing in water but we've definitely had worse before.

We had planned to take the kids camping in Clear Creek up north but those plans got "washed away" with the storms. We are trying to come up with some fun alternative but so far we're not coming up with much. We have been going outside a lot which is good. I think we will plan some play dates and just enjoy the outdoors as much as we can!

Shane and I got to go to a really neat event at the zoo, it was called Rende~Zoo and they do it to raise money for the Phoenix Zoo. So we got to get all dressed up (thankfully Mom had a nice cocktail dress I borrowed) and go have free food and drinks. The weather was gorgeous, they had some of the zoo lights areas lit up for the event and it was just beautiful. Our friends Rusty and Annie invited us and it was fun to go with them. We went back to their house afterwards and didn't get home until 2:00 am! I haven't seen that time of night in years! My parents kept the kids overnight but sadly I had to teach Sunday School the next day so cruising on 5 hours of sleep wasn't fun BUT it was worth it! Mom took pics so I'll post those when she gets them downloaded.

Happy Birthday Griffin 9-24

2010-09-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

Griffin had an amazing birthday party on Saturday! He had a Star Wars theme, snacks to share and a double decker chocolate chip cookie cake with ice cream! His friends and family were there with him, Porter, Philip, Gaetano, Ally, Ella, Allison, Brandon, Cassandra, Savannah and Alyssa. Mimi, Gumpy, Papa, Nancy, Miss Amy, Aunt Julie, Uncle Andy, Uncle Doug and Baby Jake came too :)

We played some games like "pin the light saber on Yoda" and an asteroid scavenger hunt (candy wrapped in alum foil) and some Star Wars coloring pages. Aside from activities and food, they ran around like cray people! ;)

Here are some pics that I took. My mom got a lot of kid action pictures so I'm sure those will follow soon, she hasn't sent them to me yet.

Savannah and Yoda "feeling the force"

Alyssa, Griffin, Cassandra, Cousin Allison, Savannah

Indiana Jones DS Game from us

Star Wars action figure from us

Nerf gun and candy from friend Porter

More Star Wars from Andy and Julie! (he got shirts too)

Cool card

Bedding from Mimi and Gumpy

cool dancin' monkey paper from Papa and Nancy

oh ya Nancy...way to go on the cool Nerf Gun!!!!

R/C Iron Man from Papa and Nancy

Me and Griffin

New Bedding on :)

More September Fun

2010-09-21T07:20:00.001-07:00

Hello!

Well we are keeping ourselves busy and out of trouble (for the most part) around here! School is going well, we only have two weeks until our fall break! I can't wait! Oh, and the kids are really excited too. This is a super busy week, I had Sam's Club shopping yesterday. That is MY first shopping since doctor clearance on Friday. I am sore today from putting everything away. Today is cleaning day. Shane did all the laundry this weekend for me so that was a big help. Wednesday is haircut for me, back to Sam's Club for what I didn't fit on the flatbed cart and shop for our PTO ice cream social! That day is a half day at school so I'll be rushing home, getting kids and then getting homework done and showers before we go to the Family Game/Craft Night, Ice Cream Social at school from 5-7. It should be a lot of fun!

Thursday I have to shop for Griffin's birthday party. His party is Saturday, Star Wars theme. He is pretty excited :) I can't believe he is turning 7. I admit, there were many days I wondered if he'd live to see 5 with a sassy as he is. So, he has surpassed my expectations ;)

Cassandra's class did a big project on Geneology. It was really fun, she wrote stories about her heritage and family recipes, traditions. She made a 3D Family Tree with shamrocks hanging in it with the family names on it. I went to her class for the presentations and brought along the geneology stuff my Great Uncle Joe Frazier had given to me along with some early 1800's pictures. I made my Grandma's pumpkin bread for the class. Mike and Nancy went too, shared some stories as well. Nancy made her family recipe for snickerdoodles :)

Savannah and Griffin are working hard too, we're coming up on parent/teacher conferences soon. Savannah joined school choir and she loves it! The kids are currently in their Percy Jackson and the Olympians phase so they play that ... a lot. It's fun to listen to them though ;)

Shane is good, I think he's glad to have the break from being "me" now. He's still being a big helper though so that is nice. I'm not allowed to lift anything over 15 lbs for 6 weeks so he's got a lot of that duty.

We celebrated my Dad's birthday at Benihana's on Saturday! What a great time :) The kids LOVE that place and our chef was excellent! and so begins the birthday rush....................

Well I have rambled long enough. I will try to get some pictures up soon too.

OXO
wow, I just reread the post and realized how much I repeated from the earlier post :( I'll blame it on post-surgery memory loss LOL

September Randomness!

2010-09-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

First of all, Happy Birthday to my dad! I think he is the big 51 today! :)

September kicks off what we affectionately call "the birthday rush" at our house. We have 2 birthdays (minimum) PER month of either our family or immediate family until March. What does this mean? This means lots of fun celebrations to host or go to and lots of saving up earlier in the year to pay for the kids birthday parties. We don't do extravagant parties but we do nice parties with their friends and family :) We are all looking forward to our San Diego trip in November! I am wondering if we'll have the 80 degree temps we had last time we were there or the 50-60 degree temps we had the previous times? I guess not knowing is part of the fun LOL!

Things are rolling along, we had such a nice week of temps below 100. It spoiled me terribly! Now we are back up to 105, 106. I hope it breaks again soon. September is an odd month that way, back and forth with the temps.

I am healing up from surgery pretty well. I feel better a little every day. I graduated from sleeping in the recliner to sleeping in the bed. That was awesome. I still don't comfortably sleep on my side yet but at least the bed is more comfy and cozy than the recliner was. And the funny thing is the recliner was leaps and bounds better than the hospital bed LOL! I see the doctor on Friday for my clearance to drive, etc. I think they also will check my blood to see if the pancreas and liver enzymes are back where they belong with the stones out now.

The kids are good, busy. Savannah joined school choir. She has practice 3 afternoons each week. They are gearing up to perform at the Grandparent's Day Celebration on Sept 24th. That is also Griffin's actual birthday. It will be a busy day! Cassanda is working on a Geneology project at school. Tonight and Thursday we work on her 3D family tree. On Friday she does a presentation and I'm taking in a family recipe she chose (Pumpkin Bread) and some old family photos that my Great Uncle Joe sent me years ago. He worked on the Frazier side heritage back before it was the cool thing to do. He traced the Fraziers back to the early 1700's and some really neat photos to go with it. Griffin is good, he has had a bad bout with allergies but he's on a nasal spray and an oral med so he's doing better. Tis the season I guess.

Shane is good, he did very well being "mom" for the week I got home from the hospital! He is back for 1/2 to 3/4 days now since I still can't drive. Work is busy, it's budget time :(

So I have a couple of videos to share if they will upload. One is of Alyssa doing "Piggy to market" on my toes. The other is of her doing her "Fudderwhacken" dance she learned from the Alice in Wonderland movie! I hope you like them.

Gall Bladder Surgery :(

2010-09-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

Well this isn't the way I planned to kick off my September. I'll keep this brief because I just got home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. Shane took me to the ER on Friday and I was admitted for my Gall Bladder and gall stones in my bile ducts. Thankfully they were able to do the surgery by scope and the ducts were taken care of by a tube down my throat. Even better was the doc who suggested that they do both procedures while i was under rather than doing them separately. You gotta love a doc who thinks :) plus he gave me good drugs LOL

so that is all I have to say for now...I will be back later with other details!

xo

On the eve of September!

2010-08-31T19:59:00.002-07:00

Happy Tuesday Night!

Things are moving along here :) I can't tell you how thrilled I am that fall is approaching! We were lucky enough to have a few days in the 90's (one day with rain it was 78!) and cooler evenings this past week or so. Sadly, it will be 107 by Friday but let's not worry about that yet!

Today started out with a bang, I got a call from my mom at 7:37 am that my dad had been in a motorcycle accident. She said she was on her way to him, he had called and was "fine" but that she needed to come there. She got there only to be called by the ambulance driver, letting her know they were headed to the ER. Long story short, in a heavy construction area he took his eyes off the road for a minute to look at a car darting off the road and looked back to the car in front at a complete stand still. He threw on his brakes, hit the back of that car, flipped himself over the front of his motorcycle, breaking off the windshield and landing on the car's trunk in front of him. The lady behind him was unable to stop in time and her car hit his Harley. By a miracle or fast flying guardian angels...he only had stitches on his right hand and road rash on his left arm. Nothing broken, nothing internally bleeding. Helmet was on but not a scratch on it. Shane looked at me and said "They rode all the way to Sturgis without a hitch and then 10 min from home this happens" and he is so right. So we are all very lucky to have him with us, all in one piece. Thank you to everyone who called and texted to check on him. Your support and your prayers are so appreciated!

Please also remember to say I love you when people are walking out the door. We all get so busy, so rushed and sometimes mad about ridiculous, meaningless stuff and we don't say it. None of us ever knows what will happen when we step foot out that door so remember to say I love you, even if it is through clenched teeth and a frown. I would hate to ever have to say to myself "I didn't say I love you and now they are gone."

The kids are good, keeping busy, keeping out of trouble! Savannah did a wonderful Greek Mythology Report/project on Helios, the God of the Sun. I will take pics of her with her poster board and report. Her presentation is tomorrow! I know she's going to do great, she was VERY into the whole story/project. I loved seeing her so excited. Griffin is doing well, reading a lot at school, really into his math. He has picked it up rather effortlessly which gives me hope ;) Cassandra is good, she had a slumber party last weekend on Friday night, came home for 2 hours and was off again to an "End of Summer" party at her other friend's house. Then they went to Mimi and Gumpy's house while Shane and I had date night! Busy and fun :)

Sunday School is going great, we have great kids and the activities have been so hilarious so far! I have 2 weeks off as there is no Sunday School on Labor Day and the following week we are going camping back up at Clear Creek. It is 75 there right now and holy hell, those temps better hold!!!!!!!!!

PTO is going great, we just wrapped up our cookie dough fundraiser. It was very successful and very worth all the effort put into it! Our next event is Family Game and Craft night in September.

My Dad's bday is Sept 15th, Griffin's is Sept 24th. I'm not sure yet what my Dad has planned but I know Griffin wants to have a Star Wars theme party. That should be fun!

Well that's about it for now. World of Warcraft calls to me so I am gonna scoot!
XO

August Update!

2010-08-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

Helloooo!

I can't believe how hot and humid it has been here! I know those of you not from Arizona will say "but it's always hot there in the summer" and while that is true...we've been very hot and humid which is rare. We are usually a bit cooler (105 or less when it's humid) but we are 109-111 and humid which just about makes you want to lay down and die! We are in a heat advisory for the first part of this week. I hope things subside soon. One the positive note, it IS the end of August so fall is right around the corner!

Things are busy as usual. Right now we all have or had colds. I had mine last week, felt like hammered poo for 3 days and then I'm back on track. Griffin had it last week and still a big gunky in the nose but nothing serious. Cassandra and Alyssa sound the most yucky at this point. Everyone stayed home today because they woke up sounding horrible but have progressively sounded better as the morning has rolled on. I hope that means this is the end of it...I'll have to send them back to school tomorrow :(

Savannah was running for Student Council Co-President. At our elementary school 4th grade students are the acting Prez, VP, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian but 3rd graders can run for Co positions and learn the ropes. So the voting was last week on Thursday and on Friday they announced the winners! I was so excited for Savannah!!!!!!!!!! I wonder if this house can handle two Presidents? !

Cassandra had "Shadow a 5th grader" last week at school. Shane went with her and just did everything with her at school that day. They had a good time and I know Cassandra was thrilled that her Dad came with her! She sure works hard in 5th grade. I'm glad I don't have to go ;)

Griffin is good, his teacher told me last week that he's in the high-reading group in his class. THat made me feel good since he struggled in Kinder. All that reading paid off ;) As did his Title One reading aide at school!

Alyssa is fine other than the cold. She seems to be enjoying PTO more this year since we actually set up some stuff in the room for the kids who come with their moms. We have a little table/chairs/coloring stuff, etc. She takes a backpack of toys and she plays with her friends Ella and Jager so it's like a mini playgroup every week! Whew!

Shane is good, he did Physical Therapy for his hip and is back to normal pretty much. Work is busy and he's still doing the Foster Care Review Board once a month. Other than that he's tired of the heat and ready for winter.

I'm good, got back to riding the exercise bike after months of saying "I need to do this" and now I am. It showed because I lost 2lbs last week at my WW weigh in! I hope I keep up the momentum :) PTO is going great, we had our first meeting last week and had probably 15 or so people show up. That is monumental for a PTO meeting. Everyone seemed interested and supportive so I am hopeful for good things this year! Sunday was the first day of Sunday School and it went GREAT! We have 16 kids in class total. It's going to be busy but they are good, fun kids. I know we won't always have 16 but at least we've got a shot at having at least 5 show up each week by mid year LOL!

I think that's it for here, I'm off to clean. I feel the urge to do so after my toy room purging on Saturday and my start of deep cleaning last week.

I hope you all have a great week!
XO

FYI~Blog Songs

2010-08-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me that I should probably mention the music player that automatically starts when you log into the blog.

Yes, I know it's been there all along but I have added some new songs to it.

In light of the fact I have added an Eminem song that uses the "F" word I thought I would 1. warn you and 2. let you know that if that song (or any other song you don't like) you can either hit the pause button or just click ONE time on another song and it will automatically start playing.

August 9th

2010-08-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

Well hello!

I can't believe it's already the 2nd week of August! All I can say now is THANKFULLY we are on the downward slope of summer! It has been dang hot again this week. We got a little spoiled from the rain and cooler (but more humid) temps we had awhile ago. We have been back to 108-110ish and I'm not enjoying it!

The kids have started their 3rd week of school. So far, so good. They all like their teachers and their classmates (for the most part) are good. It is crazy in the afternoon/evening with homework for all 3 which is due daily rather than weekly (for Savannah and Griffin) plus AR Reading and such. We're starting to get a better routine but it's just such a short amount of time from when they get home (Savannah and Griffin at 3:00, Cassandra at 4:00) and bed (in bed at 7 to read for about an hour and then some TV before lights out). We're getting the groove back though.

Alyssa is doing ok, she had a rough first week with them all gone. She would just ask me "where is everyone? why is our car empty? why is the house empty?" and now she's doing better. We are back to full steam ahead PTO and playdates, etc. She took me to the chiropractor today ;) and then we had lunch with daddy. THOSE moments she is happy not to share, LOL!

Shane is doing better, he had some serious sciatica (spelling?) issues going on and ended up getting physical therapy assigned to him for 3 weeks, 3x a week. He is doing SO much better! It was just awful to see him in the pain he was in 2 weeks ago. I am glad he got to the doc so fast and the PT is wonderful!

Other than that, we are just waiting for birthday rush to hit (Griffin and my dad in Sept) and then Savannah October 29, a visit from my friend Dee (from Australia) for Halloween, Shane's bday Nov 2nd, trip to San Diego Nov 9-13, Cassandra's bday Nov 20th, Thanksgiving, December.....you don't even want to know. We have 4 bdays plus Shane and I are going to his water conference in Vegas and the holidays...it's gonna get hairy! But it will be wonderful!

PTO is going well and I had my Sunday School teacher's dinner/ meeting and I am all pumped for another year of teaching! Should be fun, we just got the class roster today. We have a lot of new kids in the PreK/K class I teach :) and some of my returning favorites (shhh, don't tell!) I've had Griffin in my class for 3 years so it's weird to not have him now as he moved on to the 1st/2nd grade class.

Well it's late and I'm tuckered out so I hope everyone is well! I'll try to get some pics posted again soon!

XO

First Day of School

2010-08-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Well the first day of school (Wednesday, July 28th) went pretty well! All the kids promptly jumped outta bed the FIRST time I went down to wake them up and everyone was dressed, brushed, beds made, fed and pics had been taken by 7:37 a.m.! I know that rarely happens but on the first day, you take what you can get!

Savannah and Griffin had a good day despite the teary exit from the car when Griffin looked at Cassandra and said "I'm going to miss you today Cassandra" and I looked back to see him full of tears. She gave big huts and watched them go out to the playground.

I got Cassandra to the Middle School and we had about 10 min to kill so we talked about a lot of stuff and off she went. She said she had a great day, her teacher is wonderful and she's right next door to one of our favorite teachers from the elementary school (who switched schools, now teaches 5th grade). Overall, everyone had a super day!

Alyssa did ok, we kept busy. She asked about the kids a lot. I could tell she missed them but we have already started to settle back into our old "mommy and Alyssa" routine. She sure does make a fuss over them all when they get home every day!

SO here are some pics, Alyssa insisted in being included in the "back to school" pics, complete with her own backpack ;)

Some people are more excited than others for pictures ;)

Smiles starting!

Goofballs

Please, I want to go!

Savannah Banana

Cassandra, unimpressed by it all

Typical Griffin

New Shoes, Griffin Pics and Back to school update

2010-07-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that tomorrow (Wednesday, July 28th) is the first day of school already. It goes so fast and yes, I realize I say that every year but it's true! Last night was the elementary school "Meet the teacher night" and PTO worked a booth for most of it and then we went to see Savannah and Griffin's teachers. Griffin was lucky enough that his teacher from kinder (Ms. C) got bumped up to 1st grade and he has her again! She is amazing and I just adore her (as does he!) Savannah got very lucky too, her teacher Ms. M is super enthusiastic and very good with the kids. I feel like this will be a good fit for Savannah. Although I miss having Mr. J and Mr. K as teachers this year, I do get to see them a lot because of PTO. Cassandra's Middle School (5th grade) meet the teacher night is tonight and I also volunteered to work 30 min of their Ice Cream Social event. I know what some of you are thinking....PTO president at QCE, slinging ice cream for PTO at the MS. Don't get any funny ideas, I'm just helping out where I can :P

So the kids got new shoes (even the one who doesn't GO to school yet!) so I have some pics. Only Savannah didn't get her pic done as she was busy but I'll get hers in for the 1st day of school blog entry!

Miss Alyssa's Stylin' "Sporty Shorties" By Skechers

She does love her some shoes!

Cassandra's very cool eko reds by skechers too :)

Cassandra's Super cool "I love werewolves" shirt from Justice. Sadly this shirt did not come in my size

Griffin picked these leather skechers. Very different than all his other shoes before. He insisted on laces. We'll have to get busy teaching him to tie his shoes!

Sportin' some new school clothes :)

So I'll be sure to have extras of Savannah for tomorrow since she opted out of this photo session :)

random updates!

2010-07-14T10:36:00.001-07:00

well....i have 2 updates to share.
first, i made a kick ass blueberry/peach cobbler last night and i actually took pictures of it!

next, i colored my hair black so i had to share a pic because people are saying "i can't believe you did it black!" so here it is....

Camping

2010-07-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

here we are camping in Clear Creek, AZ. shane set up our canopies

Mike and Griffin and Casey and Tater

The big kids' tent

Alyssa slept in the horse trailer living quarters with me and Shane

Shane!

Cassandra and two webkinz stowaways

Nancy and the big kids. Griffin was obsessed with the rubber hammer. sigh.

The girls helping Papa with chores

Alyssa on Big Red

Mike and Alyssa on Rosie the mule

Nancy and some hams!

view from camp

Anyone else hear "the hills are alive with the sound of music" when they see this?

Griffin and the kids fishing with Shane at Long Lake

Cue the Bonanza theme music!

Alyssa's 3rd birthday party!

2010-07-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

holy cow am I this behind? I think it's because I update Facebook and so I feel like I've done these pictures before! Yikes,

So here is Alyssa's 3rd Birthday party pics!

The kid party table!

Much to Daddy's thrill...it was an Ariel themed party ;)

Yes, I did indeed find Alyssa confetti :) and yes, i made sure every piece of confetti was turned the right way to say Alyssa

Food!

Papa and the kids playing

two of my bestest friends ever, Mom and Julie

Diane (Nancy's sister), Nancy, Elijah, Brittany and Dad

Alyssa won the "pin the tiara on Ariel" game!

Alyssa, my niece Allison, Cassandra, Savannah, nephew Brandon and Griffin

Presents!

mmmmmmmmm

The birthday girl! Alyssa Melissa Myra Leonard!

July Update! and some of June too ;)

2010-07-04T11:41:00.000-07:00

Mom did some great pictures of the kids just before Father's Day! The kids did pretty well considering it was 105 degrees outside when she did them!

Cassanda and Savannah

Griffin

Alyssa wink

cutie!

me and kiddos!

Father's day went well...for the most part ;) we went to church and out to lunch. Shane wanted to go camping with his dad for a gift so the following week we went camping. The kids made Shane a gorgeous plate with all their handprints on it. They had so much fun making it!

Happy 3rd Birthday Alyssa!

2010-06-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

Today is Alyssa's 3rd birthday!

I can't believe Alyssa is 3 already. How fast the time goes by! Alyssa is a funny, outgoing, sassy little girl. She talks so much and so grown up-ish that sometimes I forget I'm talking to a 3 year old. Alyssa loves to color and paint with watercolors. She loves to draw "happies" which are smiley faces with big eyes, donnies in their mouth and "strong legs" and arms. I have a huge stack of "happies" that Alyssa has made for me since school got out on May 27th!

Alyssa loves to watch Toy Story, Racing Stripes, Ice Age (1,2,3) and Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus. She loves to dance and sing. She loves to have her big sister Cassandra put lip gloss on her and "sparkles" on her cheecks. She LOVES to wear pajamas. All day long. We get dressed to go somewhere and as soon as we get home she says "I put jammies back on when we get home?" and I usually say yes ;) because I am a pushover for cuties with blue eyes and blonde curls.

Alyssa also likes to pretend she is the boss. Sometimes I even go along with it ;) She loves to be given choices (what to wear, what to eat, what to watch, what to read) and it's funny to watch her tap her finger against her lips as she says "hmmmmmmm, what do I want to wear?" (or eat, watch, whatever) She loves animals, dogs seem to be her favorite. She's a little leery of the smaller ones but no fear of the big ones (oddly enough). She will ride horses too and 4 wheelers. She likes to ride the lawn mower with Daddy when she gets the chance.

Alyssa is the unofficial PTO mascot at our school. The office staff calls her "Little Miss PTO" and she gets included on a lot of PTO perks ;) Everyone knows her and she knows most everyone there.

We had to postpone Alyssa's birthday party but her Mimi and Gumpy brought over her present so she'd have something on her actual bday....here it is

Happy Anniversary

2010-06-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

June 6, 1998 was our wedding day.

Little did I know when we picked the date it was "D Day" in history. At the rehersal two days before the wedding, Shane finally let that tidbit out and I panicked for a moment. I wondered if I picked a cursed date? Thankfully, over the last 12 years we have proved that it was a wonderful date to have.

Shane and I met in August 1991 in Mr. Bushong's class at Gilbert High School. I was a senior, he was a junior. I knew from the first real converstaion we had that he was someone special. We dated from January 1992, got engaged in 1996, married in 1998. We survived seperate college, work, the regular ups and downs. Things that may have made other couples crumble only seemed to bring us closer.

It's not to say we are perfect but we are perfect for each other. We have made a great life, kept dear friends, survived some ups and downs and even when the road got steep we found that if we helped each other up the slope it was easier in the long run. Maybe we didn't always say the right things or we said the right things but the wrong way but we stuck together.

Last day of school

2010-06-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

Griffin's Kinder class! We were doing freeze dance to Ms. Cummins' golden oldies!

Griffin and his buddies Christian and Shane

Ms. C and Griffin

Griffin and Ashton

Griffin and friend

Grifffin, Madison and Ashli

Griffin and friends at lunch

Griffin and Alyssa enjoying lunch :)

Griffin and Mrs. Landon, music director

Griffin and Coach Stowers!

Griffin and Joe!

Savannah and friends

My PTO BFF Angela and Mrs. Bernier

Cassandra's class, Mr. Kaesler

Griffin's Kinder Graduation Picture

Kinder Graduation!

2010-06-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Our totally cute crew! Outside the QC Performing Arts Center for Kinder Grad

Daddy and the kiddos

Me and my sweet loves

Typical Griffin

Daddy and Griffin...Alyssa crashed the pic LOL

Savannah

Cassandra

Griffin and his buddy Philip

The family there to see Griffin perform

Auntie

Ms. Cummins is the 3rd from your left

Griffin and Ms. Cummins

Mrs. Landon (music director) and Griffin

Griffin and Alyssa and his new XBOX Game

Griffin, Alyssa and his Cupcake Cake!

We had a wonderful time at Griffin's Kinder graduation! He performed beautiful songs and had a great time with his family partying at Serrano's afterwards! I am so proud of him and all is accomplishments!

More Marvelous May!

2010-05-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I figured time for an update! Everyone is doing great, ready for school to be DONE! The kids are good but getting up in the morning is dragging. I am constantly met with "is today school? again? when is it done????" and that gets a little tiring day after day. Still, we keep plugging ahead! There are enough cool things going on for end of the year that it keeps them in check. We had field day on the 11th. We had good weather! You never know what will be in May. It could be 75, it could be 105. Luckily, we were 78 but pretty windy. I was at school from 8am to 2:30pm. I had a one hour lunch break! The day was very fun. I worked the 50 yard dash with my two other PTO Friends and the phenomenal music teacher! The kids did great :) Coach Stowers put together a wonderful day and had water slides for in the afternoon. PLUS the QC Fire Dept showed up and drenched the kids (and many teachers) with hoses at the end of the day! PTO handed out 700 otter pops to the kids as well. I had a great day!

We had Cassandra's 5th grade orientation on the 11th as well. In our school district, 5th and 6th grade go to the middle school. So we did the tour, listened to presentations, Cassandra visited the club tables for Battle of the Books, Video club, etc. She seemed less down about the whole thing after we left that night. I am glad. It's a big step for her and some days are definitely better than others when we talk about it!

Mother's Day weekend was great! We had a wonderful breakfast with my Mom, Dad, Brittany and Elijah on that Saturday! We did shopping afterwards and then my niece's bday part was at Peter Piper Pizza at noon. We partied for about 3 hours there! Sunday I taught Sunday School and we did crafts for our moms. The service that day was "youth Sunday" and everything was led by the kids in the youth groups. It was really good! Shane and the kids took me to lunch at Blue Adobe afterwards and then I got to play World of Warcraft sorta uninterrupted for about 3 hours :) Shane got me my Sookie Stackhouse book 10 and gave it to me early. I finished it in 2 days because I forced myself not to do it all in one day. I loved it but the bummer is I have a whole year to wait for book 11 LOL! The good news is that True Blood is back on HBO on June 13th so you know where I'll be every Sunday night ;)

I think that is everything for now. We have Griffin's Kindergarten Graduation at the QC PAC on May 24th. I am so excited and proud of him. I can't wait to see what songs they will be doing! We usually take them out to dinner after and then he doesn't know it but I'm getting him a cake to have after dinner. It should be a fun evening. Our last day of school is a 1/2 day on May 27th.

PTO is great, we are winding down! WOW is great, I'm level 65 now. My friend Shari plays with me a lot and she keeps me going :) The weight loss is still good, slowing down a bit but still coming off. I need to mix things up a bit to get it back up where it was on the weekly loss. I am hoping that with swimming, no PTO and no school schedules I am able to get more exercise in than I had been doing since after Christmas!

I hope you are all doing well,
XO
Susan

Cassandra's 4th grade performance!

2010-05-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

Savannah and Griffin waiting "sorta" patiently at the QC Performing Arts Center

Shane and Alyssa

The 3rd and 4th Grade Teachers. Cassandra's teacher is the one with the shaved head and has a beard

The 3rd and 4th graders!

The kids did a great performance on careers, growing up and goals. They sang for about 45 min and did a great job!

May!

2010-05-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

May already? Seriously?

We have been blessed with a cold front here in the valley :) We were in the mid to upper 90's and boom, a little cold front moves through and we're down to the upper 60's for a day, 75 yesterday, 80 today. Those pesky 90's will be back next week but for now, we're enjoying what we've got!

The kids are doing well. School gets out May 27th and I CAN'T WAIT! This coming week is very busy with teacher appreciation week. PTO is doing a lot for our teachers every day so I'll be busy with that. I also have 2 doctor appts and it's "family movie night" on Friday night. Those are so fun!

Everyone is doing great in school, all A's for all 3 kiddos. Cassandra met her 4th quarter AR goal in the first week of the quarter so her teacher doubled her goal and she's been a reading fool ever since.

Alyssa is good, she is still our PTO mascot of sorts. She is having fun doing big girl stuff :) She loves riding her trike outside. When it's too hot I bring it inside for her to ride too. She has a birthday coming up in June. She wants to do a Toy Story theme. She loves the 2 Toy Story movies and Bolt. We watch those...A LOT! She is also very into reading and being read to right now. THat has been fun! Cassandra grabs a big pile of books and reads to her. Savannah plays school with her. It's nice to see them doing stuff together despite the age differences.

Allergies have been bad here this spring. I guess that's the price you pay for all the rain we got in February and parts of March. Savannah has had 2 sinus infections in the past 2 months. Griffin has had one. Savannah actually has a ruptured ear drum right now. She's been out of school for a week and 3 days. We have a follow up appt with the ENT on Friday. I hope all is clear. She was an absolute mess. Her allergies were so bad that her eyelids swelled almost shut. Pitiful!

Shane is good, he is has been doing a lot of yard work. We had more rock delivered and spruced up the front yard. Now he's onto the backyard. I am so hoping we end up with some grass planted this summer. It's been 4.5 years in this house. I'm ready to have a completed backyard. We've tried grass seed 3 times and it is just so sparse. One half of the yard seems to be cursed. Grass won't grow, the trees won't grow. Maybe I need to have Father John come out and do an exorcism? We'll see.

So that's it for now, I'll try to do better on updates! Good grief, time sure does slip by me fast!

XO
Susan

2010-04-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

More Easter pics!

2010-04-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

Alyssa and Brandon

Griffin

Alyssa and Casey

Savannah and her new Webkinz "sugarcube"

Cassandra and her Webkinz Kitty "Tara"

Alyssa and her Webkinz pony "Brownie"

Griffin and his first Bakugan Dragon

Basket aftermath!

Easter Pics

2010-04-15T20:36:00.001-07:00

We went to Mike and Nancy's house the day before Easter to color eggs :) Here are the kids and their cousins having fun!

nancy and the kids

my niece allison and cassandra and griffin

nancy checking it out!

alyssa is totally ready!

awww, pretty egg!

my sister in law, julie and my nephew, brandon

Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! I know I'm a day early but you never know where the day will take you so I figure I'll say it now in case I don't get back on here tomorrow.

Arizona sure has been having some gorgeous weather! We dropped back down into the upper 60's and low 70's for 4 or so days now. Perfect! We are supposed to get back up in the 80's this week but I won't think about that for now. I just got done boiling our 3 dozen easter eggs. They are all set to color. We are going to my in law's house today to color eggs, ride horses, bikes, etc. Perfect outdoor weather for all that!

Tomorrow we are going to my Mom's house for a ham dinner and I CAN'T WAIT! We are hoping to make it to church in the morning after the Easter bunny comes. We have yet to make it to an Easter service at our church and I'd like to. I guess we'll see how fast we are all up and moving.

The kids are great, they had a wonderful spring break! We spent the first week outside, riding bikes, playing on the swingset, going to the park and having lots of fun! The second week I had surgery on the 23rd. For those who don't know, I finally got the boob job I've wanted since I was about 16 years old. Now, for someone who has never even had a tooth pulled, this was a big experience! I know Shane has had 5 surgeries and just sorta skated through all of them like they were "no big deal" but I was a wreck. As much as I wanted to do it, I was scared. I have to admit, Shane was not as excited as I had hoped for most of the "pre surgery" months. I went to the doctor back in January for my consult. After a few appointments I realized maybe Shane just didn't want me to do this and he finally said he thought I was perfect the way I was but that if it was what I wanted to do, he supported me. Once we went to the doctor together for a "try them on" appointment, he was finally excited for the whole thing!

So surgery went great and I had my mom and Shane there. My mother in law watched the kids for most of the day, my mom took over 2nd shift until Shane and I got home. I don't honestly remember much. I do know, however, that my mom helped so much by taking the kids to her house to do fun stuff so they didn't have to sit around and see their mom in pain (and out of it from medication). That helped save their second week of spring break :) Shane was wonderful too, he took good care of me and good care of the kids when they were home. He worked hard. My mom has driven me everywhere, listened to me moan and groan and cry because my new boobs are in my throat still rather than where they will eventually be ;) Everyone has been wonderful. I know that recovery isn't supposed to be easy and I have to remind myself of that. However, I am not good at being helpless so I have moments that aren't so pretty still. Hopefully, everyone will agree the moments are fewer than before! So no pictures until the "twins" are where they should be (3 more weeks) and then I'll gladly show off a clothed pic (because sadly, my husband isn't one for the nudie ones! HA!)

So, that is the excitement for us. We are getting back into a routine of sorts and enjoying being together :)

Happy Easter!
Susan