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,

Back To School 2012

Jaxon is on the flag football team and is loving it. He grew 9" last year and gained 25 lbs. No wonder he was passing out and having problems due to fast growth.

I felt better knowing Sophia had her big brother Kade to help her get to school and do the whole bus thing. They are too cute. Kade's in 5th grade...can't believe it.

After a week and a half of loving school, loving the bus, loving her teacher and saying she "wasn't doing weekends anymore because school is so fun", Sophia refused to get on the bus or go to school for about four days. Let's just say it was dramatic...there was a lot of yelling tears. She's a stubborn little thing.

After a week of this nonsense, I came up with the idea that she could bring the puppy to the bus stop. She totally went for it and has been fine ever since.

 

Last Day of School 2012

Originally this year Sophia was just going to do preschool at home, but after a few months, I could tell she was totally bored and needed some kids her own age to play with. Luckily Soph's little buddy asked if we wanted to carpool with them, his teacher happened to have an opening. I'm glad we took up on it because Soph (for once in her life) went willingly and loved every second of it.

Sophia was so excited to graduate from preschool, I on the other hand cried like a baby. Seriously, sitting at her graduation I over heard some moms next to me saying how excited they are that their kid would be moving on to all day kindergarten. I spoke up and said I was "totally sad"...followed by teary eyes and then got so embarrassed. So I sat there biting my lip and trying not to lose it. After the ceremony we went out front to take pictures with her teacher and it hit me that we wouldn't be seeing her wonderful sweet teacher any more. As soon as I turned and walked away I totally lost it. Yeah, so crazy...I was kind of emotional for a few days. Sophia's my youngest...the last one. It seems like just yesterday we were rushing to Vegas to pick her up. Our little 'Bundle of Joy'.

As for the boys, they were looking forward to sleeping in, but loved school and knew they'd miss seeing their friends every day. American Leadership Academy was a great school for them as far as friends and standards/morals go, but as for the quality of teachers and academics...not so much. The teachers were all nice and they bought quality curriculum, they just need to have higher standards for hiring teachers. I know some of them were pulled right out of the PTO to teach 7th graders. Or after only teaching a few years were made vice principal. Eeek! I don't say this to bash them, I actually like the administration and teachers, but I am always asked what I think of ALA from friends looking for a school for their kids and I have to be honest. We  gave them three years to get their crap together and it just never happened.  I really regret not pulling them out sooner. Beautiful new building, across from the new Gilbert temple and all that hype, but rather than putting all their money into four new locations, they should focus on the original school in Gilbert and get it up to par before they try growing fast. They also seemed to have no loyalty to their teachers or their parents. Time and time again I heard of teachers quiting due to being under paid and over worked. Kade had three teachers in a five month period. Sad. Seriously disappointed.


On a brighter note, this video is at Sophia's graduation with her class singing songs. She got SO shy as soon as she came in. I couldn't get her to smile or even sing for that matter. Poor girl was SO excited to perform all her songs and then just got too nervous. :)

Summer Happenings - Baseball Fashion & Puppy's

Movie day/play/diamand backs/library/camps/visit from texans/Utah trip

Unfortunately since I took a blog break all summer I rarely thought of taking pictures. I guess I just needed a break from my photographer/family historian job for a bit. I managed to get a few so are you ready for total randomness?

Just an ordinary day where Sophia tries to pull a Punky Brewster and then go out in public.

It's summer time here in Gilbert, Arizona and we are having a good time. I am enjoying the kids at home. As always, we made a list of fun things to do this summer. Last week we went to a Diamond Backs baseball game, actually, it was just Kimball, Kade and I. Soph got in a lot of trouble and Jaxon didn't want to go so I had him babysit her. I feel that sometimes the punishment has to be harsh in order for them to really get it, so even though we all really wanted her to go, I think it worked! She is being good to Cash finally and doing a lot better at telling the truth.

Kade on a date night with just Kimall and I. He LOVED having one on one time and being spoiled for a night. He had been wanting to go to a Diamond Backs game for a long time...it was a blast.

We rode the Tram into Phoenix. It was kind of fun until you remember it stops a zillion times and you could have just driven there and actually seen the first pitch. Oh well. :)

I'm really going to miss living in Arizona. I love having a professional baseball, basketball & football team. Games or so fun.

It was an incredible game. After like three or so over times, we got a home run. It was the hot guy with the tattoos is all I remember. :) They followed it up with a fabulous firework show with Star Wars music playing in the back ground. Kade. could. have. died.

Of course we logged a lot of hours in the pool. Sophia couldn't get enough, the boys had to be forced most times...I don't get it. I spent my summers at Super Sliders from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. every day that I could as a kid and loved every second of it.

Kade snuggled with Johnny Cash to no end. One day he even took a full on bath with him. It was disgusting...the water was totally merky and Kade came out smelling like a wet puppy, but they are soul mates. Lol. Cash also sleeps with Kade every night. They are both major snugglers so they're perfect for each other.

xo,

Punch

The Adventure's of Pinocchio is over, done with...no more. I am relieved, but Punch a.k.a. Kade is rather sad about it. He made so many great friends and loved every second of it. He did a great job, it was super fun and I'm so proud of him for making it through another play without even so much as a complaint. He's a champ!

Drama Mama & Tween Talk

Don't let Little Mama's Sunday dress and smile fool you, she's all drama. She had ballet a few weeks back when we were moving. Between my trips back and forth I didn't have time to go back to the old house for her ballet clothes, so I thought she'd be fine in her cotton tank and shorts. Oh geez was I wrong! Seriously, she cried and cried about it. Who knew she was such a diva!?!? I've created a monster. :)

Then on this particular day, I pulled out her new ballet clothes thinking she'd be all smiles,

and she was until I told her she couldn't wear it with the straps in the front!! This having a daughter thing is kickin' my butt I tell ya! I've changed her nickname to 'Little Drama Mama'.

As for my tween, he had a blast throwing a surprise party for his best friend Thomas. Such a great group of kids...so sad Thomas has to move. :(

That brings us to Kade, he's about half way through his rehearsals for The Adventures of Pinocchio. It will be fun to see him on stage again, he absolutely loves doing plays. He's having a great time dancing, singing and making friends. Today he told me he should just get permanent make-up so he didn't have to bother with it every night. LOL. He has me laughing on a regular basis!

Other summer happenings: The boys and I are reading aloud The Hiding Place, hopefully it will be a good read. I'm also making a list of goals and things we can do to stay busy this summer.

What are you reading this summer?

xoxo,

High Speeds

Kimball and Kade worked hard for three days on his Pinewood Derby car. It paid off because Kade took home the first place trophy (in his age group)!!!!

His buddy Mikey was there to witness it which made it even that much more fun.

Kade didn't realize his trophy said 1st place until we got to the parking lot, he can be a little non observant sometimes...which leads me to my next story.

A few weeks ago I did a bad thing.

I got a $450 speeding ticket!

Yip, I sure did.

It sucked.

I was mad, at the officer and at myself for not noticing the 'reduced speed sign'.

I was almost home from a ninety minute drive...

so close.

Needless to say, I spent my Saturday here...

The first stage was denial then anger, denial then more anger.

I think now I'm at remorse and possibly having an

epiphany that I need to slow down, not be in such a hurry to get places

 and most of all...

be more observant.

It's unfortunately one of my downfalls.

xoxo,

What I Love Wednesday #7

I decided to write a post showing some new Things I'm Loving and join the linky party.

Earrings: Alora Handmade (given to me at Blissdom...thanks!!)

Camera Strap: Eclectic Whatnot (met Ruthanne at Blissdom, love her!!)

Peacock Socks: Target

Scarf: Paperlili (another V-Day gift from Big Papa, softest scarf ever!!)

I'm also loving the extra hour and a half I have each day now that the boys ride the bus and I ditched Facebook. Kade working hard to advance to swim club, (nice work Kade) and the fat tax return we are getting this year! I'd love to take that European vacation I've been wanting but with age comes wisdom, so we'll keep saving away.

Click HERE for more What I Love Wednesday.

xoxo,

Cub Scout Cake Contest

It was the Blue & Gold Banquet for my little Kade tonight. We had a lot of fun working together on our cupcakes for the contest.

I'm loving these gold cups & sprinkles (hmmm, I feel an Oscar party coming on). Oh and the spray food dye is the bomb! I'm going to be buying it in bulk I think. If you have a Cub Scout and a cake contest coming up, we used these Scout themed stickers. I just took the little cupcake sticks and stuck one in between two stickers...so buy two sets. Honestly though, I got them at Hobby Lobby for about half the price, but if you don't live near one your could get them here on Amazon.

The hamburger cake was my favorite (I'm imagining if it were real it would be a Veggie Boca of course!) it looked incredible. Kade was  awarded the BEST BLUE & GOLD THEME! Woo hoo Kade!!

A good time was had by all and Kade LOVED having the support. Next up...Pinewood Derby, consider yourself warned that Kimball knows all the tricks to make a fast car so I hope the other dad's bring their 'A' game! Ha! :)

Love you Kade!!

xoxo,

Mommy

Winter Woes & Little Things

Kade's had a rough week...a really rough week. Monday started off at a 10 and by Tuesday he'd gone to a 1, maaayyybbbee 2.

He was SO excited to get his expander off and braces on....

he thought it'd be glorious.

All the attention,

the instant 'i'm a big kid' factor....

not.so.

Instead he had a LONG appointment and a LOT of pain.

This kid's mouth is so jacked up it requires all kinds of gear.

My favorite Kade quote this week was when he climbed into the car

after his appointment and threw 'said gear' into the car saying...

"Now I've gotta do all this crap!!!"

To make matters worse, he hates school.

Notsomuch hates school but he loves to homeschool.

For those of you that missed it,

as of 2011 the boys are back at their old school.

What's that? I never told you? Well, that's because I'm totally embarrassed that my tween

gets my panties in such a bunch that I refuse to teach him any longer. 

It's all I can do to mother this strong willed child.

Love him to death but paybacks are a (you know what)! :)

Anyhow, it wasn't easy for me to make the decision of sending Kade back too because,

1. He wants to homeschool

and 

2. I want him to homeschool

but after him going it alone last year,

I know how lonely he gets.

It was rough on him especially when we would dropoff/pickup Jaxon

and Kade would see his bff or "only the best aide in the whole entire

WORLD!"

So I sent him back,

against his will.

He's sad about it and I'm sad about it...

so I'm just praying I made the right decision

because I'm well aware this bouncing back and forth

is no good.

Being a parent seems to be kicking my butt this week.

Jaxon tested up 2 levels in math to Algebra.

How that happened I'll never know,

he's super smart but math's never been his best subject.

Anyway, his homework's a beast and he's struggling,

 yet the teacher insists he stay at that level.

Thanks to Big Papa for tutoring him

every.night.

So even with the tears this week,

and the power struggles (with every kid),

I'm reading this

and learning to find joy and happiness in the little things like

family scripture study and

Miss Sophia learning to tie her own robe....

saving me from doing it fifty-seven times a day.

Feel free to give me  a tongue lashing some advice

on how to parent because frankly, I'm not feeling so hot about it!!

Twenty-Ten...A Year In Pictures

Twenty-Ten was a big year for us,

we moved, we traveled, we home schooled, we read a lot of great books together, 

went on many fun hikes and made great memories with family and friends.

We experienced growth...both physical and spiritual.

Sophia was potty trained, learned to write her name, ABC'S, numbers and peddle her bike. She saw the ocean for the first time and survived being away from mom and dad for a whole week.

Kade was baptized, became a scout, a better swimmer and a great reader.

 He played flag football, learned to ride his bike and discovered he loves to hike and cook, Kade excelled in

his studies and completed his second year of home schooling.

Jaxon had a big year too; he turned twelve and became a deacon, read a ton of books on

'how to become an author', worked hard on his math skills, he played flag football, got braces,

was elected mayor at school and along with Kade,  acted in his first play 

The Best Christmas Pagent Ever.

I'm so grateful for all that we've learned and accomplished this year,

I'm off to write down my goals and resolutions for

2011

Still Alive

We're still alive...

just pluggin' away and chugging along.

Fall break went way to fast!!

I have so much to catch up on...

stay tuned.

In Our Darkest Hour...

Who knew I'd love reading Robinson Crusoe so much!?! Kade and I have been reading this fabulous classic by Daniel Defoe. Most of you probably read it in high school or college, but I didn't. I had a one track mind back then and it wasn't studying. I'm so grateful as an adult I learned the joy and satisfaction that comes by reading good books.

Robinson Crusoe has such rich language and  invaluable lessons on faith, our relationship with God, our desperate need for Him, gratitude, and making the best of whatever our circumstance. Its caused me to reflect back on the trials I've had in my life, and how I reacted to them; what struggles may lie ahead; and do I have the faith to endure all things in my darkest hour? 

As humans we become so busy and independent, wrapped up in our lives that we become slow to ask for God's help, waiting until our situation is dire, only to then plead and bargain if only He will deliver us from this trial. The storm clears, our 'resolutions' slowly fade away...a distant memory; we return to our old ways. 

Hopefully it doesn't take being stranded on an island all alone before we find ourselves on our knees, however for Robinson Crusoe, it did but once he let God in, great things happened and he was transformed.
I loved that the more he read his Bible and prayed, the more he realized the need for gratitude in all things, including the very lonely place that became his home for twenty-four years.

We so often think of the things we don't have, rather than basking in the blessings that surround us. Here is a passage that struck me:

      "I learned to look more upon the bright side of my condition and less upon the dark side; and to

       consider what I enjoyed rather than what I wanted; and this gave me sometimes such secret

       comforts that I cannot express them; and which I take notice of here, to put those discontented

       people in my mind of it who cannot enjoy comfortably what God has given them because they

       see and covet something that He has not given them. All our discontents about what we want

       appeared to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have."

We're not finished with the book yet, but obviously I'm a big fan.

Through our history studies the past three years, I'm so fascinated and humbled as I learn about the struggles of those who have come before us and I'm grateful for the many blessings, luxuries and conveniences we have in this modern day beause of them. The courageous people who lost their lives exploring, fighting, inventing and risking all they had to make this land what it is today. One can't help but see God's hand in all things.


Visit Tuesday's Unwrapped for more posts on gratitude.

Kade's Baptism

Last month Kade got baptized while we were on vacation in Utah. We were blessed to have so many family there, people from Texas, Washington, Idaho and Colorado. It was a very special day for Kade and he enjoyed every minute of it.

My awesome brother Joe and his wife Amy hosted a luncheon at their gorgeous home. It was a hot July day, but the scenery was great and there was plenty of shade and good food. Thanks SO much Joe and Amy...once again, I owe you big!

Thanks so much to everyone who came, we love you all and appreciate the efforts you made to come. We missed those that couldn't make it and wish we could have invited all our family and friends.  

Kade loved all the gifts, he got his own set of personalized scriptures, a journal and hymn book. A tie, gospel art picture book and a few pictures. On the way home from the church, Kade said "Sophia, I hope I have been a good example to you today." He's such a sweet little guy!

Sorry if I didn't get your picture. I was busy running around and took as many as I could. I notice there's none of our lovely hostess Amy, I guess it's because she was working her 7 months pregnant tush off! Love ya Amy!