I have always been a procrastinator but not posting anything for 8 months is unacceptable! I apologize to
my readers
Marina for not keep you posted about the details of our existence! I
know it's always so fascinating :) I also apologize to Aiden and Anna
for not recording every amazing thing they have said and done for the
past 8 months! I have not been MY very best! But because it would take a
billion years for me to write about every event that has taken place
since November I am going to do my best to summarize! Here it goes:
New Years in Springerville
After Christmas we
had the opportunity to spend a few days with Grandpa Dan, Kyle, Ashley
and the twins in Springerville. It was a fun filled and busy few days!
There were several highlights but one of the faves was shopping at
Western Drug which should be considered a tourist attraction. Its the
only drug store that I have ever been to that sells guns and
prescriptions! Oh and you can buy fabric there too! Gotta love a small
town! If you asked the kids they would say their highlight was sledding
down a massive hill near Sunrise! Trent nearly broke his tailbone when
attempting to sled off a cliff and Aiden almost had a TBI after a pretty
rough fall but all in all it was good times in the snow. I think the
highlight for Ashley and I was target practice! I have never been a fan
of guns...until now! I enjoyed myself a little too much and found out
that Ashley and I are a pretty good shot. We saw a little fear in our
husbands eyes :) It was a great weekend and we loved being with Grandpa
Dan in his cute house! I know he liked having us there but man did we
take over his space! It probably made watching us leave a little easier!
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| Trent after his sledding accident. |
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| Aiden after
his accident! He did not move for what seemed like forever! I totally
freaked out. As you can see in the next pic he was fine! |
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| Best photo ever! Nothing better than snuggling with Grandpa. Well for everyone but Jackson. He would rather watch TV! |
Helping Hands
Anna's
darling friend Maddie was so moved by the children at Cardon Children's
Hospital when they performed a choir concert there that she came up
with the brilliant idea to start a "service" club.
The plan was
to organize charity events that would raise money for the children at
the hospital or other people in need. At their first meeting each of the
members picked an event they would like to host. Anna was first and she
chose to hold a bake sale. It was a great event and the girls raised
over $300! I am so proud of these girls and their willingness to help
others! The club has been on hold over the summer but I believe the next
event will be a fashion show! I'll keep you posted!
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| The Bishop was one of their best customers! |
Field Trip
Anna FINALLY had
an opportunity to go on a field trip in May. I say finally because she
literally thought it was never going to happen. There are not a lot of
FUN
moments at Franklin and to Anna school is pure torture! She was
thrilled to be getting out of that place for a day! I was fortunate to
be able to take the day off and chaperone. The field trip was at the
Wells Fargo Museum in Phoenix. Ya I know what you are thinking I had
never heard of it either! This was not a place on my bucket list and I
think everyone agreed that it was boring but I will admit I learned a
few things. The old stagecoach inside the museum is cool and the history
was interesting, but you could walk through this place in 15 minutes
and we were there for 3 hours! The highlight of the trip for Anna was
riding on the bus and lunch :)
Baseball, Baseball, Baseball
It's
odd to think that just 1 year ago Aiden was playing little league for
the first time and was one of the worst players on the team! I'm not
being cruel it's a fact. He played on a team with some seasoned kids and
he had a lot to learn. To see where he is now is AWESOME! He has been
incredibly lucky to have amazing coaches that encourage him and teach
him great skills as well as buddies that make playing fun! The team he
played on in the spring was not the best but Aiden had a great season
and was able to be one of their star pitchers (who knew???). I had
decided to keep Aiden in the minor leagues this year although most of
the boys he had been playing with moved up because 1. I wanted him to
play with our favorite coach, Ron, and 2. I wanted him to have lots of
opportunities... he was able to stay in the entire game and either
pitched, played 2nd or short stop.
The boys that moved up to
majors were the youngest on their team and didn't have the same
opportunities. It was a great expeirence and increased Aiden's love of
the game. I will admit I am a crazy baseball mom! I wouldn't miss a
game for anything! I do need to be careful about what comes out of my
mouth sometimes! I know this is little league but it gets very
competitive! I am in huge trouble when he plays in high school!
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| Detroit Tigers |
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| Some of his "oldest" and best fans! (Sorry I didn't mean you mom!) |
4th of July
This year we
were lucky to be able to go to Pinetop to celebrate the 4th of July. It
was just Anna and I because Aiden had to stay home for baseball and
Trent had to work :( We went up with Lisa, Chandler and Hayley. It was
such an awesome week and we had a blast! We spent most of our time over
at the Woods cabin and we loved spending so much time with our family.
They are so fun and it's impossible not to have the best time when you
are with them. Every year Jim and Sandy host a huge party on the 4th,
with great food and of course darling decorations. There was also a
carnival down at the clubhouse and Anna was thrilled to win a fish
(which did not make it home to Mesa). There was also impromptu baseball
games (in which I showed everyone where Aiden gets his talent) and even a
hike to find some treasure! We had a great time and I can't wait to go
back next year (yes, I just invited myself)!!
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| Miss B, Chandler, Presley & Hayley |
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| Anna and Ella had such a blast playing together all week! I sure wish she lived closer! |
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| Anna, Ella, Brooklyn & Presley-Getting ready to go Geo Caching |
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| H, Cave, Ella, Kendall, Brooklyn, Anna & Presley |
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| Treasure Hunters! |
NEW EVERYTHING
2013 has been the year of NEW! There are so many NEW things I will use bullet points:
- Trent's new job with SRP!!!! NO MORE GYPSY LIFE FOR TRENT! I know it
was a huge adjustment (both for our bank and Trent's lifestyle) but it
has been amazing! We love having him home every night and best of all he
can participate in all the kids activities! This has been such a
blessing for our family! I think he is a little bummed at times when he
talks to his buddies that are still traveling but I just have to remind
him that we can be gypsies again when the kids move out (9 years and
counting)....
- New address! We are in our own home again! While I LOVED living
around the corner from my mom it is so awesome to be homeowners again.
It would not have been possible without Trent's dad, as he sold us his
house! Yep, Trent is living in the house he grew up in :) It's changed a
bit since then and we are very happy here. It's a beautiful home that
fits us perfectly and we have settled in nicely!
- New car! I am not putting this in here to be superficial but because
it's a noteworthy...no more minivan! I really thought I could do the
mini van thing! I put in a good effort...really tried to suppress my
feelings about mini vans but I just couldn't get used to it! I felt like
it aged me and changed my personality! So I am back in a Tahoe and
feeling a little bit cooler!
- My new job! This one was a shocker! I loved Gilbert and the school
where I worked! I really had no intention of going elsewhere, but when
my INCREDIBLE principal, Mr. Chomokos announced his retirement, and the
Gilbert Board of Directors started showing their crazy side I started to
consider my options! Then my neighbor across the street told me the SLP
at our neighborhood school, Entz, was retiring and although I thought
it was long shot I decided to look into it. I was dumbfounded when I was
actually offered the job! It was literally the hardest decision I have
made in a long time but after several sleepless nights and tears (both
from me and my co-worker Annette) I decided to accept the job in Mesa.
It's still pretty new to me but so far so good!
- New kid....we have temporarily adopted a 14 year old! Really she is
just an exchange student that is here until May but I do feel like she
is a member of this family. I love her and I will dedicate a whole post
to her very soon!
- New home addition...because of the new kid I needed a new craft room
so she could have a bedroom! My awesome husband spent 6 very HOT weeks
enclosing the AZ room just so I could have a creative space (really it's
because I am a hoarder and I need an entire room to store all my crap).
He is such a hard worker and never ceases to surprise me with his
talents! The room was done very well considering he has never done
anything like it! I am sitting in it right now as I type this because
it's my favorite place in the house :)
- New school....after LONG deliberation we decided to have the kids go
to their neighborhood school. I love Franklin and I don't think you can
beat their curriculum and the level of responsibility they instill in
their students! We had a wonderful expeirence there (the kids would
disagree but they learned SO much there) and it served it's purpose
which was to build a strong foundation. But it has been hard to have
them go to a different school than the neighborhood kids and
transportation was always a problem(I couldn't have done it with out my
mom being their personal bus). When I accepted the job at Entz I knew it
was going to be impossible to tell them that I was going to be at their
home school but they weren't! Fortunately, it's a great school too and I
am confident with our decision. I love having them on my campus! I can
help in their classroom and eat lunch with them...although Aiden is
getting a little to cool to have his mom sit next to him in the
cafeteria.
So yes that's a lot of new but it's not over yet...we are going
to have a new niece or nephew....but not until next year! Ashley and
Kyle were shocked to found out about their little surprise and I am just
glad the new Bevier is theirs and not ours!
