Thankful

This year I'm thankful that my family was together for the holiday once again. I'm thankful to have a wonderful husband and 2 amazing children, they make my life whole. I'm thankful to have my health (colds don't count as bad health!). I'm thankful to have the most beautiful, inside and out, friends a girl could ask for. They lift me up when I need it and always have an ear & shoulder for me. I'm thankful to have a beautiful home and food in our bellies. I'm thankful we can give to others. I'm thankful to have been raised by 2 parents that balanced each other out just as Mark and I do. I know because of this Sierra and Andon will have a good upbringing. I'm thankful to have found faith in myself in who I am and who I will be.

October 31st

We had a fun Halloween this year. We carved pumpkins the night before. Andon had a good time throwing pumpkin seeds on the ground.

Halloween morning we got up and went to the Arizona State Fair with my dad, Mark's parents, brother & sister-in-law. We had such a great time going on rides and eating fair food.

This slide was Sierra's favorite. I think they went on it 4 times. We need one for the backyard!

Here are Sierra, Mark and my dad after the first little drop on the log ride.

And here they are after the big drop! Sierra may not look happy, but she wanted to do it again. I think she just didn't want photographic evidence.

After 5 1/2 hours of fun we headed home to relax and get ready to trick or treat. Sierra decided she wanted to be a butterfly princess this year. Mark wanted to pick out Andon's and bought him a Captain Kirk costume.

Seriously so sassy with the posing.

Andon could have cared less as long as he could have a sucker.

Happy Halloween!!

Fall Fun

We took the kids to the zoo last weekend. It was warmer than we had thought it would be so we decided to let the kids get wet. I don't think they minded wearing wet clothes the rest of the day.

Then Andon and I went to the Pumpkin Patch with my MOM's group while dad was at work and Sierra was in school.

The weather was beautiful. For a while. Now we are hitting 90 again and this does not make me happy. It's NOVEMBER!!

Our life in pictures

Birthday trucks and cupcake

Basketball with daddy

First day of 1st grade His new favorite thing!

Sprinkler fun!

First soccer game

Sierra is number 3

Rainy day puddles

Are you still there?

Does anyone still read this thing? Yet another 2 months has gone by without a single blog. I see it everyday and say to myself today's the day and it doesn't happen.

We are finally getting a taste of fall here in the Valley. It rained like crazy yesterday and I loved every minute of it. The kiddos played in the puddles while I made dinner. They were soaked and very smiley. I'll post some pictures of that as soon as I get them off the camera.

Sierra started soccer a couple of weeks ago. I think she loves it. She is not an aggressive girl so we were a little unsure she would do it. She is trying to decide if she wants to do soccer or cheerleading in January. I vote for soccer so we get our money's worth out of the cleats & shin guards!

Andon is speaking more and more. I love nap times! His favorite thing to say is "Apple, please." And of course "mama, mama, mama, mommy, mommy, mommy" just like that if I don't answer him right away. He does not appreciate it if I say Andon, Andon, Andon right back to him. Time out will be his BFF in the coming months. He has a temper. Not sure where he gets that from. :)

So fast

Andon is officially 2 years old. These past two years have gone so fast. Our little man came along at just the right time for mama. Having to take care of a newborn & Sierra was the right way, for me, to get through losing mom. He is obsessed with all things with wheels. Finally saying please when he wants something (usually suckers) and plays so well with his sister it is scary. I hope that lasts for a while. It rocks having them entertain each other sometimes.

Andon has acclimated to the new house. He has trucks all over the place. And wants to go "ow-side" ALL day. Not so fun in this heat! At his well check today he was 26.8 lbs and 35.5 inches. Just 1/2 an inch shorter than his sister was at two. I'm not sure how accurate that measurement is though. He was screaming, kicking and wiggling as they were trying to measure him. Not a fan of the pediatrician.

Summer has gone so fast as well. School starts next Monday. We meet Sierra's teacher on Thursday night. She is extremely nervous about starting at a new school with new kids. But, I think she would be almost as nervous going back to her old school. Dad took her shopping today for her much wanted messenger bag and shoes while Andon and I hit the doctor. They had much more fun than we did for sure!

We have been home for a week now and have zero regrets. Mark is getting the scorpion problem under control and I am finally cooking again. Almost all of the boxes are unpacked. That is simply amazing! We are a happy happy family to finally have some space to move in.

2

2 years since we lost mom.

Nearly 2 years since Andon was born.

We are officially homeowners of our 2nd (and probably last) home.

July continues to be a roller coaster of emotions for me. I don't think that will ever change. This year was harder than the first year. I didn't have a baby to take care of so I found myself thinking of mom more often. What she missed, what she would do, what the kids were missing out on. It's been tough.

I firmly believe that things happen for a reason. I reconnected with old friends just months before we found out mom was sick. I truly believe that was to give me support and girlfriends since I was going to lose my best girlfriend soon. I have an amazing group of friends that I am blessed to be a part of. Unbelievably supportive in all my endeavors, just as mom was.

I also believe I got pregnant with Andon at the time I did for a specific reason. Mark won't like this, but I truly believe God had this planned out perfectly to give me something to hold onto and nurture at a time when I was hurting the most. It gave me an "escape" from the pain for a little while since I had a baby and a little girl to take care of. A little girl who to this day misses Nana and loves her.

Buying this house was a long, frustrating process. But closing on it and receiving our keys on July 16th has to be for a purpose as well. I need something to focus on and a place to grow as a mom and individual. It turns July 17th into, not a happy day, but a day with a positive outcome. We worked on the house today to prepare it for our move. I think about mom in nearly every move I make. She would love this house, but hate the backyard fence because it isn't private enough. That was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the yard. But she would have been as excited as the rest of us and pitched in to get it ready.

July is always going to be tough. But it ends on the 31st and, this year, with Andon turning 2. I'll always ask myself what would mom do throughout the year. But in July I will treasure her memory and keep pushing forward because I know that is how she would want it.

Big news

We are on the move. Literally. Mark and I are buying a new house. It is much bigger than the townhome and has a fabulous backyard for the kids. I can envision many nights out on the patio and watching the kids ride their bikes in the cul-de-sac. We are beyond excited! Well for the new house part, but yikes the packing. This bites. I mean really bites. We have been packing for 3 weeks and it feels like months already. Our new house has been empty for a good 4 months and the landscaping is a mess. It's going to take some time to get that back in shape, but it will be so worth it. We should be in the new place by the end of July. I'll send out an email to all with the new address when we are actually there.

6

This summer has been a blur so far. Hard to believe Sierra has been out of school for nearly a month. We have been busy, busy, busy.

We started out with Sierra's dance recital. She says she is done with dance, so I volunteered to be backstage with the kids for her last one. Never again. We are so blessed to have a well behaved child. What 6 year old needs a freaking cell phone? It was ridiculous.

Sierra turned 6 and I completely slacked and didn't post a thing for her birthday. Not from lack of love, but we just were busy celebrating that day. The birthday girl requested breakfast out and Shrek Forever After just as a family. So that's what we did. Andon is NOT a good movie kid right now, but we figure out how to get him to sit still. It involved sticky, sticky suckers. But it worked. We had a great day. But it is so hard to believe our little chick is 6 already. She's growing up to fast. She also had an outing with her BFF from school this past week. We went to Build A Bear and Red Robin then back here for a playdate. So she got to celebrate her big day for 3 weeks. Lucky girl!

Mama ran to the store on Saturday evening and was gone a whole 15 minutes. I came back and was greeted at the front door to a missing top tooth. It seems she and Gunner had a little facial contact and out popped her tooth. She was pretty upset for a bit but she dug that she woke up to money from the tooth fairy. I was not prepared for this at all. Her teeth are not really that loose, so now I have to adjust to a toothless smile. I have to admit she's pretty darn cute!

Look for another post very soon. I can finally talk about our big news!

Congrats Grad!

Sierra "graduated" from kindergarten yesterday. They wore caps and got "diplomas." Even walked in during Pomp and Circumstance. Mama cried of course. It's been a busy, fast, lots of sick days filled year. She missed a lot of school and I can only hope her immune system is better in 1st grade. She even missed 2 days this week. We did manage to make it back Wednesday for their water day. Andon even got in on the fun.

Sierra is in the white hat.

We had early birthday treats for Sierra when we were all done in the water. Andon was more than happy to be one of the big kids.

First day of Kindergarten

Last day of Kindergarten

She leaves Kindergarten a little taller, with a little more confidence, lots of blisters from the monkey bars, and a great foundation for 1st grade and beyond. We are so proud of our chick!

Time flies

It's almost May, seriously!? Where has this year gone? Didn't Sierra just start school? Life is just moving and I'm trying so hard to slow down and enjoy the moment. So sorry this doesn't get updated often. I'm trying! Here's a few updates on our household:

Sierra is reading, adding & subtracting (in her head!), getting tired of dance and wants to play soccer instead. She got her ears pierced 6 weeks ago (per her request). She got glasses about a month ago. Turns out she wasn't faking all those headaches. She was just in her first school musical and played the librarian. So proud of her for getting up there and singing and saying her line. She remains such a bright, sweet, happy kiddo who loves her family dearly.

Andon has cut his final molar, but he still has holes all over his mouth. I assume they'll fill in at some point. He (and Sierra & Mark) have what must be the 200th cold this winter. Allergies my foot! He is newly obsessed with cars. Like, will not go anywhere without one obsessed. He yells at construction sites and emergency vehicles. He is 100% boy! He has learned to feed himself with a spoon, still working on poking our food with forks. He is trying to figure out how to jump off things which makes daddy very nervous.

Mark is back to his normal schedule after working nights and extra days for a month. That was awful and I am so happy things are back to normal. He was not very fun to live with during those night shifts. He said it was prep for re-enlisting, I told him to keep dreaming.

I just finished a pilates class after I did a boot camp. I signed up for another boot camp that starts in May. It's tough, but I really love it. Yes it's me, no one has hijacked the blog. Things have gotten out of control and this is just one step I'm taking to get back on track. I joined the gym with some girlfriends and am extremely blessed to have their support!

We have big news in the works, but I'll update about that later when things are more certain. And no it is absolutely NOT another baby. Pretty sure Mark would leave me if that happened!