My mom has reminded me a few times to update. I will try to remember all the fun we have had but it's late, no guarantee.
Today we went to Noah Merrell's birthday party. It was a blast. I was totally impressed at Vonessa's party hostessing skills.
Yesterday was the first official day of summer for the boys. They have been so patient. Sam can't wait for the summer to be over so that he can go to kindergarten and be at Keaton's school. They got to play with Avery and Laynie Brown most of the day. I was able to go to the Prescott mall to train for my new job. It was worth the trip to learn what I needed to know. I could not have learned it without seeing it. However Prescott was not as close as I pictured. 204 miles round trip.
Thursday to celebrate the last day of school for Keaton we went and saw Shrek the Third. It was a very cute movie. We were some of the last people there so we got to sit in the very front row. It worked out well for Nellie who liked to walk around and dance. The rest of us? Not so much fun.
Tuesday Keaton's class was going on a field trip to the bowling alley. Sam, Nellie and I grabbed the stroller and went with. We walked from the school to the bowling alley. Played a round (Sam did an awesome job with the 7 pound ball. He his most of the pins every time.) then walked to our neighborhood park for lunch and to play. It was a fun day and worth it to come back to school after a 4 day weekend.
Last week was Sam's special week. He graduated from Head Start. There was a wonderful ceremony were the children said their names and their parents names and then what they wanted to be when they grew up. Sam was very well composed and spoke well. He would like to be a firefighter. Some of the other kids wanted to be princesses, a mailbox, and a monkey. There are quite ambitious children in that class. The parents were invited to stay for a little reception afterwards. There was snack and wonderful company of the children.
The next day the school provided a BBQ at the park. It was fun too. The staff of Sam's school really care about the children and the families. It has been a hard year for them, with quite a bit of turn-over. They have excelled and made a huge difference in more than 87 children's lives.
Justin and I have been married for 10 years. Yea us!
Nellie is officially 2. On her birthday we went to Sam's class and Keaton's class to share gifts with all the children. It was a foam smiley face glued on a craft stick. She loves to play at each class. As each of the classes sang "Happy Birthday" to her she found the nearest table and ran around it. I guess she was dancing and thought every one should conga with her. Oh well. The big kids thought she was adorable. That night we went out and got her a new bike so she can be big like her brothers. (ok it isn't really a bike, I don't think it is even in the same category but that is what she calls it and that makes it ok. It is a little Dora singing ride along toy) She also got an ice cream cake with her name on it. What fun!
Mom came to visit. Our first official long stay visitor. I think my family ate better and was treated better than any other time while my mom was here. I wanted her to think life was always like that. I think I had her fooled with all the good cheer and dinners that consisted of more than one food group. We loved having her visit.
Justin turned 32 years old. He is one year older and wiser too. Happy Birthday to you.
32. He has nice hair
31. He sings very well
30. He writes wonderful poetry
29. He is dedicated
28. When he loves it is with his whole heart
27. He likes U2
26. He likes music
25. He is an awesome reader (he reads books I would never attempt)
24. He loves his children
23. He is an awesome cleaner (he cleans things I would never attempt)
22. He is a great cook
21. He loves garlic
20 He is 1/4 Italian
19. He looks like his dad
18. He speaks Russian
17. He likes to drive
16. I like the way he walks
15. He has a distinct cough
14. He cares for others
13. He wants to make a difference in the world
12. He hates traffic
11. He knows all the short-cuts
10. He likes to talk (more than I do)
9. He likes fashion
8. He likes big breakfast's with lots of meats
7. I think he is cute
6. He is not very patient when he wants something
5. He writes in only capital letters
4. He likes a clean house
3. He works hard
2. His children love him
1. I love Justin
The CURSE has lifted
Yes bread. It has been 11 months living at a high altitude. These are the first loaves to turn out this beautiful, under 20 lbs, and edible. Mom helped me figure out a few of my issues last time she was here. Like pre-heating really does make a difference, and pan size, and rising time, and yeast temperature, and quantity of dough. I can now rest with a sense of satisfaction.
Yes it looks like the children in the neighborhood are bad examples. Or my son is the dealer. Either way this is pure stuff.
My brakes that is, not the whole car. Every time we would drive down to Mesa we would have our brakes checked and we would ask them if we had another trip to Mesa on them. We did. This last trip the brakes started to intermittently scrape. I decided it needed done. The hardest part was taking the tire off and then putting it back on. Totally worth the savings. Those illustrious savings are going toward the real fix it guy who will figure out why it is stalling as I drive. I think it is about time to say good bye to our wonderful friend the Dodge Caravan (96) and look into something a little newer.
After a hard day working on the car, taking care of (yelling at) the kids, yard work, cleaning house... I fixed dinner. Yes very monochromatic, but what can I say it got cooked then eaten. I was not in the mood for presentation.
