High School here we come...

Oh boy! It has been non stop since we got home. Life has been great, but oh so busy! We are getting Jake, Nate, and Sarah ready to start school. Sarah has her back to school night this evening. I sure have been emotional about that. I feel very blessed that all of my kids are progressing, and doing good. I do struggle with them growing up. She is the baby, and the fact that she will be in the big old high school, is hard for me to accept. I struggled with the boys going to high school too. I am not some nutty Mom that can't handle it. It is just hard putting them into a situation that, there are soooo many people, and such worldly things. This is the part of being a Mom that I wish someone would have prepared me for. :) I do feel so blessed that I have 4 kiddos that make me proud. Not that we have escaped struggles. For the most part though, I have had it pretty easy, with them. I am thinking about what I might do with my free time, once they are in school. I also wonder if, I really will have much free time. We shall see. I will let you know how I handled tonight. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the tears are minimal. :)

Home Sweet Home...

We made it home last night. The drive went really well. It felt good to be home, and in my own bed last night. It was SOOO good to see Nate!!! He wasn't able to go with us. I sure did miss that boy of mine! Today I have a list of To Do's! I am headed to the grocery store first thing. Then time to start the laundry. I do have quite a bit of it. I will post pictures later tonight. Have a happy day! :)

heading back home... :)

I really thought I would have time to blog since I have been here. The time has flown by. We are going to head home in the morning. We decided to come home a few days early to get Jake registered for college, and make it to Sarah's back to school night. We will fly back up, and attend a wedding in Idaho this next weeekend. Rather than that our summer is coming to a close. School beings August 6th! We have had lot's of fun! The best part of the trip is making memories with all of Steve's family. I think at one point we had about 30 people staying here. Funtimes! :)

Here we go...

This morning some of us are leaving for Utah! One of my most favorite places, to spend time, is in Midway/Park City. I will be gone until the 3rd of August. I am looking forward to having some family fun! I will have plenty of free time, so plan on blogging from there. Well, I am off to finish the packing, and be on the road by 10:00 a.m. :)

Nate...

Nate, and I


Good job!

Nate, and Sarah

Jake, Sarah, Steve, and Nate


I am proud of my boy! He just finished up a 5 month cadet program for Chandler Fire. He loved every minute of it!!! It was no easy task. Miles of running, sit ups, pull ups, tests, stairs...many stairs, burning building, etc. He graduated a week ago today, 5/09/08. It was so fun to see him in an environment he has grown to love. Here are a few pictures of his special night.

uggh! :)

Well, it happened! I got pulled over today! For anyone that really knows me, they know that I have always had a fear of cops pulling me over. If there is one behind me while traveling down the road, I usually turn on the nearest street. Weird, but I have been this way since I began driving. Today I was headed to Target this morning. I was minding my own business. I looked in the review mirror, and there he/they were! I only had about a half of a mile left to get to Target. The police car continued to stay behind me. I turned my blinker on, to get into the parking lot, and right then...his lights went on! YIKES! I pulled over in the parking lot. I had NO clue as to why I was pulled over. The policeman came to the window, and asked me if I knew why I was pulled over. I let him know I had no idea. He told me my tags had expired. Right then I was not happy! Steve is in charge of the tags! ugghhh! I still am not sure how Steve over looked getting new tags. I think he has been so busy that he over looked it. Now I am in charge of tags! I took the yearly job over as of today! :) The policeman told me there was nothing to be nervous about. I let him know I wasn't nervous, just a little mad at a certain someone...Steve! The policeman didn't give me a ticket, and actually was pretty nice about it. I am headed down to DMV this afternoon. Steve is driving the Suburban, because I am afraid I'll be pulled over again! :) Thanks Steve! :)

Friends...

Friday Sarah, and I spent the day with two of our favorite people...Janae, and Chloe! We decided to meet at the movie theater, and see Kitt Kittredge: In American Girl. The movie was one of the best I have seen this year! DARLING! I loved watching the way life used to be. I love the way life used to be simpler. I also enjoyed seeing the cute clothes that were worn back then. I think I would have fit in, back in the day! :) After the movie we stopped at Poppy's for lunch. Then off to see Janae's new house!!! I couldn't wait to see it. It is beautiful!!! I just realized that they now live about 1/2 mile closer! :) Janae, and Chloe thanks for a fun day P.S. Rosie is a cutie pie! :)

more pictures...

headed to the airport to return to Arizona!

Sarah, and Jake

Jake, and Steve in downtown Chicago.

My sister Julie, and I

more pictures :)

The pier in Chicago

most of the group

Chelle, and my Mom

Chelle, and her Dad...my step Dad

Sarah curling Chelle's pretty hai. before the wedding



We are now getting back into the swing of things, here at home. This trip blessed us with wonderful memories. Most importantly it was about love, and family.

memories

beautiful


Well, since I haven't downloaded all of the pictures from both cameras yet, here are a few pictures from the first camera. I still can't quite thinking about how beautiful the land is in Illinois, and Indiana. The one other thing that keeps coming back to my mind is SIMPLICITY. I have been working on this particular word fro some time now. I have written about it before. I have to say on this trip I saw it, witnessed it, and loved it! The people that I shared the week with are the real deal! Happy, funny, loving, good hearted, kicked back, enjoying life, and the type that I adore! There is something to be said about "keeping it real." I have to thank them for the gentle reminder. The other thing that is of #1 importance to me is my step sister Chelle. She looked happier than I have ever seen her. Don't get me wrong she is happy, but she was glowing this week! She has met a man that adores her! Jim is one of those guys that you can't help but love. They met probably a good 20 years or so ago. Finally they are together! I want to thank both of them for allowing us to spend this special time with them. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!


There are a few typos, blogger won't let me fix them!

Home Sweet Home...

We are home, and the first load of laundry has been put in the wash! We had a wonderful time in Chicago,and Indiana! Chelle's wedding was wonderful! I have many pictures to post. I also have much to write about. I am headed to the store shortly. The kids are going to wake up hungry! There is very little on the fridge. I will post again later today. I hope everyone had a wonderful 4Th!