Our Last Hurrah - Bernie In Sedona

This is kind of a sad one for me to post. Last spring I took my parents and the kids to Sedona. Kimball stayed behind for school, he wasn't too thrilled that he had to stay home, but looking back I'm so glad we made the choice to go anyway. My parents were here for almost three weeks, and I thought an overnight trip would break it up a bit and that they'd enjoy the beautiful scenery in Sedona. 

We also took a drive about ten miles to Slide Rock. It was SO beautiful and fun. The water was FREEZING, but Kade was brave enough to jump in and jump back out.

We went shopping for a split second on the main street of Sedona. My mom got tired after two or three stores and had to sit on a bench, so we just called it quits and went to lunch. It makes sense now, she passed away just a few months later. Who knew she had pancreatic cancer, and advanced Alzheimer's (OK, that one was pretty obvious) but still...I wish I'd known how sick she was.

My mom displayed some other strange behavior on the trip, barking at my dad over Diet Coke, shot gun and then there was the whole two a.m. incident. Strange. Poor mom.

The park was covered with beautiful apple blossoms. I'm so glad I stopped and took a moment to capture their beauty. It is a great reminder of what a lovely trip we had with my parents. The last one I'd ever take with my sweet mom.

I remember when my parents left to go back home, I cried and cried when I'd hang up from talking to my mom. She didn't seem to remember me even though she'd just been here for three weeks. It was so sad. :( Each year she was forgetting more and more and having a harder time trying to hide it. By now it was to the point she was totally confused when I'd call. She was embarrassed. I kept trying to convince her to come back to Arizona so I could take care of her and spend more time with her, but she didn't have the confidence to leave without my dad. Clearly she wasn't feeling well either, we just didn't know it yet. 

Heavy topics like this make me want to curl up in the covers and sob...but I suppose it's time I get it out. 

Miss you mom.

xo,

Jaxon's Sports - Eighth Grade

WOW. Do I have a lot to catch up on. I'm not even sure how I'm going to go about this....it's been so long, but I want to add family pics that will otherwise get lost by the wayside.

Eighth grade was an awesome year for Jaxon. He started at an academically rigorous school called Arizona College Prep. Best thing I ever did for him! I only wish I'd signed him up a year prior when I first toured it. ACP is such a good match for him, he's challenged and surrounded by peers who take their studies as serious as he does. 

While it was a great year for him, it was also extremely challenging not just the academics, but he grew in many areas, and really pushed himself in athletics and socially. He quickly built a good name for himself and was recognized by teachers and coaches as being 'that kid you want to be like'. I know this sounds arrogant, but I'm very pleased with the way he conducted himself in several situations, and what started out as a rough couple of weeks with no friends and a lot of anxiety (for both of us), turned out to be his best year yet.

Besides doing wrestling, he also did cross-country and flag football. My parents made it to several of his cross-country meets which was fun, especially since Kimball was busy with school. 

 The temperature for fall sports was CRAZY as in, flag football in August was 110 + degrees and he handled it like a champ. 

Jaxon didn't make the team at first, but worked his tail off so much during practices, the coaches ended up playing him quite a bit and using him as an example time and time again. It was pretty cool to see. I can't tell you how much my heart sank that first game when I showed up and saw he didn't get to dress. I felt so bad for him, but because of his hard work and determination, he changed all of that! I'm so proud of him!! It is truly a privilege to be his mom.

xo,

He Did It

Our sweet little Kade scored his first goal ever!! He's played soccer on and off since he was 3 yrs. old, I'm usually the one pushing him to do it but this season he's totally blossoming. He loves his team, practice, games...all of it. I don't know what the difference is, he says it's just a fun group of boys, he's loved it since his first practice. I'm SO SO happy he's finally enjoying it, and even better that he surprised us yet again and scored his second goal the next week! Wow. So proud of you Kade. You couldn't be sweeter and I love your work ethic. I couldn't ask for a better son.
xo,