Trip to Art museum for Youth in Mesa. It was fun, cutesy and geared for kids. It is surely a place you should go at least once, Tim felt it was a bit of an "Ikea" museum because all the furniture and displays were from Ikea, but it worked. It was a fun escape from the heat. Then, we had a gift card for Chevy's restaurant so we used it for lunch. The girls did great and the food was good too. Tim and I are trying to venture out more with the girls to let them practice their public behavior more often, and it is of course a work in progress. It was fun for me to spend the day with the kids. I've been blessed with being scheduled with work so my days at home are much more limited.

Camping...or bust?

Well, we expected to go up to Fools Hollow lake for camping last weekend, but *SNAP* the rest of everyone else was there on Wednesday and therefore the facility was full and what kind of freakin'g world do we live in where you can't just "go camping" without reservations for a spot that will put you back $20-$30 per night!!! Breathe... Okay, I'll admit, there should be some planning involved with a vacation, even camping, but it was over the top crazy crowded up north out of the valley. I will admit we were so lucky as to find a spot that wasn't reserved for Friday night, and the campground host was kind enough to allow us to stay at a site until Saturday but then we had to be out by 1 to let the reserved group come in. After all the work Tim put in getting everything ready, it was so stressful wondering if we would even find a spot. For that one night, we did enjoy the cool air, letting the kids wander around, get dirty, eat camp food, and break in our new (to us) camptrailer we got a few months ago. So the lesson learned is... you gotta camp for a week, or else we need to move to a state where we can be more spontaneous with our planning and not have to compete with half a million (or 1.4 million to be more precise) phoenicians who want to escape the summer heat for a weekend. We'll see. Until then we'll take what we can get whenever we can get it I guess. And if anyone has tips on how to get around the crowds, please send them my way!!

Kennedy and Mom

Tim and his Girls

Cheeser!!

Audrey pickin' flowers

Marshmallows! Yummm

Number next...!!!

So, a while ago I wrote about all the cars Tim and I have had since we've been married, and of course the list continues to lengthen, and also his interests have turned to vintage Brittish bikes like the BSA he got when he bought the Truck that now pulls our camp trailer etc. etc. etc... The BSA has gone the way of most of the cars/trucks/bikes we've had and in it's place (because there is just something wrong with an empty garage) is this beauty. I joked about when Tim would surprise me with a "treat" in the garage, and considering the circumstances in which we all find ourselves financially, I was super surprised to get this. Tim is fult tilt in school and still is able to keep up with 3 kiddos (girls none-the-less) and manage to make money on everything he buys and sells on Craigslist. So I continue to be the lucky beneficiary of his awesome deals and skills. It is one of those things in life where you can have your cake (or little red sports car) and eat (drive) it too!!

This is a 1968 MG-B. It is all that it appears to be.

looking forwad

We're headed out of the blistering heat to camp in ShowLow, and when we come back I will be ready to post all the fun we've been having this summer so far. Hope everyone had a great 4th!

!!!HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY EMMA!!!

Emma is thoughtful, heartfelt, caring, sensitive, shy, tender, creative, imaginative, inventive, and the best first child anyone could hope for. She helps out with her sisters and because of her personality, I learn so much from her. She is exactly like me.

I am so thankful for my sweet Emma. I was remembering the night before her birthday how I was so unprepared for a quiz I had in school the next morning and whether my patient would show up. Those are the things people without kids worry about. Little did I know how wonderful it would be to be a mommy. Emma is my only child with whom I went into labor on my own. I was doing my best to try to induce labor day (walking to church in 105 degree heat, sitting through stake conference on hard metal folding chairs, walking home) and trying to just be comfortable between contractions. After dinner at my folks' house we went home and I was so bummed I had to go to school the next morning. I went to get into bed when I had a contraction that broke my water! I said, "Tim, I think something just happened?" and he jumped out of bed like he should do something, but we were both clueless. It was 10:30pm and I called the hospital to ask them if my water broke. They told me to come down for a check. I knew I didn't want to be turned away, and at 12:30am they admitted me, I was at 2 cm. I labored all night trying to be heroic without an epidural until about 6am when I got the epidural. I hadn't really progressed in my labor (only 3 cm) until 8am when my doctor came in and broke my water. Everything went into motion after that. Emma was born around 11:15 am on Monday, June 16, 2003. She was as sweet as they come, the nurses all loved styling her dark shoulder length hair and she was such an easy baby. She brings us so much joy every day and is a wonderful daughter. I love you so much Emma. Happy birthday

Brand new

about 4 weeks old

about 6 weeks old

1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

4 years old

5 years old

Amazing 6 year old Girl!!!

Breathe!!! Tim may be testing with his job he's working towards next month!!! I admit, when he told me, I saw a light. Not the proverbial "go towards the light" light, but "light at the end of the tunnel" light. Even if it doesn't change anything right now, it tells me it will. Can I get a ho-rah, ho-raaaaaaah! Yeah!

overdue update

Emma is out of school now and she is reading like a first grader! I am amazed at how much she has progressed in the last quarter of school. We made a cool sticker board for her and set a goal for her to read 100 books this summer. It is good because it gets me to the library with her and it is good for her because it fuels her "A-type" mode of her personality to check it off the list. I am so proud of her.

Audrey is doing front hand springs. One day she said, "Mom, watch my hand-stand." and proceeded to put her hands on the floor then flip over to her feet and say, "ta-da!" I was amazed. I used to do that, maybe one day again...

Kennedy is toddling all over. She is awesome at picking up something, taking it to another room, putting it down for something else, and continuing this until nearly the entire house is reorganized. If she can lift it, it has been relocated. I always wanted a personal organizer!

Tim is in school at Rio, plugging along, after much stinkin' ado trying to get sallie mae to fund our future, he has been able to maintain his classes without getting dropped, so hopefully full steam ahead. He has 2 classes left at rio then GCU online where we are hoping to get finished in 9-12 months. Hallelujia!!

I believe that May was the longest and most stressful month for me. I did a bit of growing up this month (yes even I can do that at 30, sad though that it is so needed). Soul searching is hard work, and rearranging priorities is even harder and then waiting for all of it to settle to see if it "feels" right is the icing on the cake of adversity. That is what life is about right? I am learning I can do hard things and after it's done I am grateful for the challenge. Until then, crying helps, kicking things usually doesn't and my kids make me laugh more than yell. That is good. I think.

On to Summer!

It's finished!

Yeah! the laundry is done. Tim did it. Thank you! Wahoo.  You have to get excited about little things (in this case a big thing), because Tim did it. Now to fold it.... ugh.