Surviving The Chaos

First Quarter A's

We got Lincoln's first quarter report card at fall break in October and he had done so well, (all A's and one B) so we took him to Hayashi as a reward. We had gone as a family previously and they wanted to go again so we said they need to have good grades. Logan also did very well, even though they don't do actual grades in kindergarten.

Cousin Erica sent us Flat Stanley for the week so we took him with us.

The boys love this place and enjoy watching the chef cook and do his tricks right in front of us. Lincoln loves the mushroom soup and Logan likes the rice and veggies.

We sat at the teppanyaki table with two other couples and the boys were the only kids. They both were very well behaved. The lady next to Lincoln was impressed with his good grades and good manners so at the end of the dinner she handed him two dollars and told him it was for doing well in school because that's important. He was ecstatic and shocked that a stranger gave him money. It was a good lesson and good night all around. Until next report card!

Vegas Getaway

To celebrate the birthday's of Kareth and Bam Bam's mom, Anna, five of us headed to Las Vegas for what was sure to be a fun weekend. I drove us up in the truck and we stayed at the Monte Carlo Hotel, on the strip. It took us seven hours to get from Surprise to Vegas because when you travel with four girls, you end up making a lot of stops. That evening we saw the Celine Dion show - something Anna had on her bucket list and wanted to do. I really enjoyed it. It wasn't as theatrical as her first run in Vegas but it was very down to earth and entertaining. We spent the next day walking the strip, at the slot machines, celebrating birthdays with a delicious dinner, and some of us saw Menopause the Musical. As I planned, it was a ton of fun, lots of laughs and wonderful memories. Going anywhere with this bunch is sure to be entertaining.

Since Kristy wasn't going with us, we stopped at her house to say goodbye. (Left: Me, Kareth, Bam Bam, Kristy, Debbie, Anna)

Lunch in Kingman at Cracker Barrel

Vegas Girls

Celine Dion at the Colosseum

Dinner at Serendipity

Water show at Bellagio

Slots in Paris

Birthday dinner at Ruth's Chris

Menopause the Musical

Soccer Star

Logan did a great job for his first season of playing. He scored a goal in almost every game. He loves playing the game but more than that he loves being on the field with his friends. Five of the boys on his team are also in his kindergarten class. Even though at this age they don't use a goalie, he has discovered the role of goalie and asks every game to play "go-wee". He gets to stand just from the goal and block. He's naturally a defensive player so we are working on being more of an offensive player next season. Yes, we've already signed him up for Spring!

What a stud!

Back: Coach Dave, Marshall, Logan, Grayson, Parker, Coach Preston. Front: Noah, DJ, Lucci, Cooper

Proud big brother

Around the House

There is always something going on at our place. Even if it's the little day to day things, it keeps us busy. Here is a few snapshots of everyday activities happening in September.

We are planning the completion of the backyard. Rick and Logan moved all the rocks around to show an outline of the future pool, patio and basketball court. That gave us a great visual of what we wanted. Since then we've met with the contractor, pool guy and landscaper so there's more to come!

Lincoln completed a school project using the Baby Banana Brush as his topic. He got 100%.

Lincoln really took to the Frog and Toad book. He read the entire thing in just a few days - finding time after school and and whenever he could.

I had to complete a project for school. It was taking a picture of the food our family consumes in a week and writing a paper on it. It was a bit ridiculous in my opinion but it worked out and I got an A with an A in the class.

Logan got to bring him Bananas (the class monkey) for the night. He played trains and read him a book. Then he had to write about it and draw a picture of it in Bananas' journal to read to the class the next day.

Cardinals vs. 49ers

On September 27th, Lincoln and I attended our first ever NFL game. Since we are so close to the stadium, we made a point to get to a game this year. Since it was the 49ers, Calee and Tony came out from CA and Michaela and Jared also joined us.

Lincoln was so excited and we had awesome seats. We tried to experience it all by eating typical concession stand food, standing to cheer, holding a D-Fence sign that another fan gave us and wearing our cardinals colors. We had a great time and the Cardinals creamed the 49ers pretty good.

Lincoln has already asked when we are going to the next game. I think he has no idea yet just how lucky of a kid he is. I do try to ensure that my boys get to have special experiences and try new things. Sometimes they are expensive but it's worth it to me to create the opportunity, experience and memory for them. We see the Cardinal stadium every day from our front yard. I thought it was important for Lincoln to see what it was built for. This season he has had an increased interest in football and loves watching it or playing it on his DS. Maybe next time Daddy and Logan will get to join us.

The gang (left: Jared, Michaela, Calee, Tony, Lincoln, Eden)

Outside before the game

We rode a bus from the parking lot to the stadium and figured it was a good time for a selfie.

View from the isle by our seats. Pre-game warm ups.

View from our seats. Cardinals entering the stadium.

#1 Fan.

Sister selfie with Calee

After the game we all went out for a casual dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

My Friend Sandy

The early morning of September 25th I was woken up by a phone call. It was my friend Heather and she knows I'm not a morning person so I figured something was up. It was the phone call I knew would eventually come but I had been dreading. My friend Sandy had passes away the night before. At first I was speechless, then in a bit of denial and then I just cried.

I posted this to my Facebook page: "My heart is broken today. Heaven gained a beautiful spirit in my wonderful friend, Sandy. She put up a good fight but now she's been released from her constant pain and can be in peace. I don't think one can ever be mentally or emotionally prepared for the pain and hurt of losing a loved one. She touched many peoples lives in a positive way and we are all better for knowing her. I pray for strength in healing and for long lasting sweet memories for her family, friends and her two little boys."

Sandy had been battling ALS for about 10 months and lost the fight. She is someone I worked with for 10 years. There were times when we worked together that I would talk to her every day and sometimes for an hour or more. She and I had a lot of things in common. We both played tennis, she has two little boys that are the same age as my little boys. We supported the same businesses at work. We bonded over the movie Pitch Perfect and we even took her to the theater to watch Pitch Perfect 2 when it came out even when she was in her wheelchair and breathing mask. She is someone I considered one of my closest friends even though we had never met in person until after her diagnosis. I wish I had more time with her. She was so young. It was tragic....and rough to recover from. I still have moments that make me cry when I remember her, miss her or think about how sometimes life just isn't fair. Now I can just count my blessings, squeeze my kids a little harder, try to be more patient, and be thankful for the time I had with her.