Aaron's Jedi Training Camp Party

Despite the fact that Aaron has never actually seen any of the Star Wars movies, when I asked him what kind of party he wanted for his 5th birthday, without hesitation he said, "Star Wars!" It never ceases to amaze me how every boy age 3 and up seems to instictively know who Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and even Princess Leia are, despite having never actually seen the movies. I credit various Lego tie-ins and video games for the obvious familiarity, although ironically, Aaron really doesn't have any of those things, either. However, the 4 best friends that Aaron had at his party today certainly know all about Legos and video games and have generously shared their wisdom with their less-experienced friend. So, a Star Wars-themed party it was--and our Jedi Training Camp was a huge success!

After arriving at the Training Camp, Jedi Master Coombs introduced them to the first of their training missions--finding their Light Sabers. Following a trail of carefully placed clues throughout the house, the 5 Padawans soon found their weapons and were thrilled to try them out on one another. Jedi Master Coombs had his hands full trying to teach them the "Jedi Rules of Conduct," such as "Only hit the light saber, not the person," and "No head shots!" Luckily, we started with 5 boys and ended with 5 boys, so no young Jedis were harmed too much in the exercise.

The Jedis-in-training were then taken outside for some target practice with captured Storm Trooper pistols (aka Jon's airsoft guns)--the 5 boys did remarkably well, and since the goal was hitting a target and not each other, this activity seemed slightly less likely to inflict any harm on anyone.

Following all of this training, it was time to see how well they could use the Force by playing a "Pin the Tail On the Donkey"-like game where the object was hitting various Imperial ships while blindfolded. While all managed to hit at least one target, Colton was the final winner, having managed to secure the most points in the exercise. Way to use the force, Colton!

Finally, all their training for the day was put to good use as they battled it out against the Death Star--a candy-filled pinata that succumbed to the obvious skills of the newest Jedi Masters.

Once the Death Star was eliminated, the young Jedis headed to base camp to fill up on pizza, grapes, and chocolate cupcakes--favorite foods of all newly-trained Jedi.

The party turned out great and everyone had a wonderful time. I have to admit, though, that throwing a party for boys is MUCH different than throwing a girl party. Despite the fact that Aaron's party only had 5 boys in attendance, it was 10 times crazier than Sarah's Princess party last April, where 9 little girls and Aaron attended. But despite the overabundance of Jedi energy, we all survived our day of Jedi training and loved every minute of it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AARON!!!

A Sarah Gem

I just had to share a cute Sarah-ism with you all. Even though she's always saying darling things, I rarely get around to sharing them with you. (I know, that's just so selfish of me.)

So, in humble penitence, I send you this gem.

Anyway, Princess Sarah Coombs (as she prefers to be known) loves playing imaginatively with her Little People and other "people" toys (Barbie, etc.) On Friday, she was playing by herself with her King, Barbie, and a little Noah figure. They were all going to a party, apparently on Noah's boat.

The following conversation ensued:
King (to Barbie): So, where is Tiger Lily?
Barbie: Tiger Lily? Oh, she can't make it?
King: Why not? Where is she?
Barbie: Oh, she's far away. Far across the sea...Given this land...if she lives....righteously.

Sarah never skipped a beat. I, on the other hand, watching from across the room, almost fell out of my chair giggling. I hope you enjoyed!

Aaron--the BIG Kindergartner!

So much to blog, and so little time! I guess I'll have to catch you all up on our fun summer vacation/family reunion stuff a little later, because the big news this week has been Aaron's starting kindergarten!

Last Thursday, July 30th, Aaron started his first day of Kindergarten at Cambridge Academy, a new charter school that just opened up this year, and we couldn't be more thrilled. His teacher, Mrs. Romm, seems great and Aaron has loved his first few days at school. Aaron is also lucky to be starting school with a lot of his friends from church, too, including one of his best friends, Matthew Rose, who ended up in his same class. I'm looking forward to getting involved as a parent volunteer at the school, as well--sometimes I don't know who is more excited, him or me! Anyway, I've been loving seeing my big boy grow up, and unlike some of my sappier friends, I haven't shed any tears--I've just been having too much fun!

It's a Date!

Jon and I decided to start our first official day of vacation with special Father/Son and Mommy/Daughter Dates! Jon took Aaron to see Up!, his first offical movie in the theater--so exciting!--while I took Sarah over to Build-a-Bear so she could create her very own teddy bear. Sarah, being the ultimate girly-girl that she is, picked a white bear covered in rainbows and decided to dress her bear in a frilly pink ballerina outfit. Of course, just as we were checking out, Sarah became quite adament that her bear also needed a purse, so she got a cute "make-up bag" purse with all sorts of teddy-bear appropriate make-up. Sarah was in heaven and spent the rest of our time at the mall applying her pretend makeup to "Rainbow" (her bear's name). In fact, she really hasn't stopped all day. =) It was such a fun day for us all, we'll have to make sure to make a tradition of these date-days! It's a date!

Summer Kickoff--Memorial Day!

Summer is here! Yaayy!! Jon finished his last day of school on Thursday, so we are officially "on vacation" now.

Summer really kicked off, however, on Memorial Day, the official starting day of Summer. Jon started the day by helping the Scouts put up flags for their fundraiser project throughout the neighborhood--it helped us all remember why we celebrate and all the extraordinary service men who sacrificed so much for us to have the freedoms and blessings we enjoy. Thank you to you all. Later, we celebrated with our friends at a pool party/BBQ at the Roses. It was a great relaxing day that reminded us that summer had officially begun!


Hilari, Rebekah, me, Kristen (Rebekah's sister from California), and Tami--just relaxing in the shade.


Jon enjoyed the pool as much as the kids.


Sarah and Aaron wax patriotic as they admire the flag in our front yard for Memorial Day.


The weather was so nice, we finished the night with a nice long walk through the neighborhood, admiring all the flags.

High Priest Jon

Yesterday, Jon was ordained a high priest in our church as he was called to be the Second Assistant in the High Priest Group Leadership. It was kind of an unexpected and weighty calling, but Jon has a willing and faithful heart eager to serve. Jon's dad came down from Utah to perform the ordination, and it was one of the most special blessings I have ever heard. Now that Jon is officially a high priest, though, I have loved teasing him about being so "old" and how he can now start sleeping in Sacrament Meeting. (Joking, of course!)

One of the things Jon was asked to do because of his leadership role within high priests was to shave off his goatie. I had to make sure I got one last picture right before he went to shave it off. While I was in mourning at first, I have to admit, I really like the new clean-shaven Jon!

Peach Pickin' at Schnepf Farms!

One of the best highlights about living out here in Queen Creek is our proximity to Schnepf Farms (think a 1950's pre-amusement park version of Knott's Berry Farm), especially during late Spring/early Summer, because that is when their peach trees start weighing down under the weight of the juiciest peaches ever and we get to go enjoy a morning picking our own peaches to take home and create various culinary delights.

So, Saturday we decided to go pick our annual peaches with the Roses, but when we got there, the place was PACKED. That's when we realized that it wasn't just pick-your-own peaches time, it was their annual Peach Festival, complete with hay rides to the peach orchards, a petting zoo, fun vendors, and yummy samples. Although the cost was $2.00 per person to get in (we hadn't planned on spending any admissions fees to pick our peaches), we decided to make a full morning of it and had a blast. Two hours later, with sticky faces and fingers and borderline sunburns, we left the farm with a huge box of delicious hand-picked peaches that later became an amazingly tasty peach cobbler that we shared with the Roses and Howards Sunday night.

Happy Birthday, Sarah!!

The end of April brought our last great event for the month--Sarah's 3rd Birthday! Sarah LOVES her birthday and couldn't wait to have a real birthday party this year, so we threw Sarah her very own Princess Party. Sarah invited 8 little girls (two came a little late, so they weren't in the pic above), who all came dressed up as their favorite princess. Not to be excluded, Aaron came dressed as a knight and I came dressed as the Queen, of course. We had a perfectly girly-girl party with princess games and crown-decorating and a flower-shaped pinata. Sarah specifically requested chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting, so I made sure she got them. All the girls got to leave with goody-bags filled with princess jewelery and their loot from the pinata. There were so many cute pictures I decided to post a slide show along with a few pics here. Overall, the party was a HUGE success and all the girls (myself included) had a great time. Sarah is still wondering why it's taking so long for her birthday to come around again!

Oh, and a little note to go along with my super-big girl--Sarah also was potty-trained back in March! No more diapers for me!! Yes, that's two for two. Life sure is good! =)

Master Jon!

Congratulations, Jon!! On Friday, April 17, Jon officially graduated with his Masters in Educational Counseling from Ottawa University. It was an amazing graduation ceremony and even Dad Coombs, who was very hesitant about going to a non-BYU graduation ceremony since he expected it to be a raucous and irreverant affair, was very impressed with the wise words of wisdom proffered by their University President. I was especially affected by his comments that we should all strive for a life of significance, not just success. I actually left feeling very inspired by some of the insightful comments made that night.

Anyway, we were all very proud of Master Jon. We even made up a cheer--"S-M-R-T--you are smart!" Okay, so the rest of us don't have our Masters, yet. =) The Roses, Howards, Browns, and Mom and Dad Coombs all came to celebrate the occasion with us, making the event even more special. After the ceremony we headed to Claim Jumper, where Jon and I got to share our favorite dessert--the chocolate chip calzone. That's when we knew it was a true event!

I included the first picture below, even though you really can't see Jon (he's in it, though!), just to give you an idea of what the ceremony looked like. I still get teary every time I hear Pomp and Circumstance play!

Grandma and Grandpa at the Zoo

Mom and Dad Coombs came down from St. George to help celebrate Jon's graduation, so we decided to enjoy a day at the Phoenix Zoo with them while they were here! The kids LOVED being with their grandparents, and the weather was perfect for a fun trip to the zoo. Grandpa had a great time stopping at every snack stand he saw buying a new treat every 25 minutes--from sno cones to churros, our kids were quite happy during the trip. I think Grandma and Grandpa were quite happy, too, since being "on vacation" gave them a few more cheats from their normal uber-strict diet restrictions.

The only damper to the day was that we broke our beloved camera, so these were the last pics with our old camera. In fact, the last pic I posted (the really dark one) was the very last picture our camera ever took. Word to the wise--be VERY careful when handing your camera to someone else, especially when the camera is on. Open lenses are not very forgiving when dropped on hard cement. (Don't worry, we have since that time replaced our camera, so the pics will still keep coming!)

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter! I know it's already May, but I'm just trying to catch you all up on some of the exciting things that happened in April. It was a very busy month for us, but lots and lots of fun. Easter was a great this year--it was the first year our kids actually received a visit from the Easter Bunny, although I have to admit, I'm not sure I approve of all the treats he bought. I've often wondered if the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy have any kind of shady deals worked out for getting the kids teeth to fall out faster. Hmmm....

Anyway, we all had a wonderful time dying Easter eggs, having a wonderful Easter dinner with the Roses (man, we know how to plan a good meal!), and having a great Easter Egg Hunt and dessert at the Howard's home. We certainly love holidays!

Brian Head was AWESOME!

Here we are Sunday night enjoying our hot chocolate and a fun game of Settlers. Jon and I won, by the way!


Monday we all went tubing in the snow storm. It was cold, but so much fun!


Aahhh, aren't we cute? Tuesday was perfect ski conditions--look at that blue sky!


The whole group getting ready to conquer the mountain! Okay, Darice and I were heading to ski lessons on the bunny slope, but the rest of the group did a pretty good job conquering anyway.

This Trip was AWESOME!!

Okay, according to our new resort friend, Bob, everything in Brian Head is AWESOME, but, ya know, he was right! Our 4 day/3 night adventure with the Roses and the Bosleys couldn't have been more perfect! Thanks to some great grandparents all around (and Darice's sister, Vanessa), we enjoyed a kids-free vacation filled with lots of games (where everyone won enough to make sure no one felt too jilted), great food (we brought most of our own food and made meals together, including delicious spaghetti and pot roast with Ranch mashed potatoes, yum!!!), and absolutely perfect ski conditions!

Monday morning we took a resort tour (with Bob) that gave all three couples $100 vouchers for the ski resort (nice!), and then we headed off to do some tubing. It was pretty cold and snowy, but the conditions certainly didn't diminish our great time racing down the hill, narrowly avoiding being launched over the barrier below. We actually did see one man catch some serious air and disappear in the snow drift behind the barrier, but since such antics got him kicked out of the tubing area, we decided to play it a little safer, thoroughly enjoying seeing how close we could get without actually touching the end of the ramp. We headed back to our resort after to warm up in the hot tubs and saunas, and then enjoyed playing games the rest of the night.

Monday's cold snow storm gave way to perfect blue skies and 8 inches of fresh powder on the slopes for our ski day Tuesday. Not only were the conditions unbelievable, but the resort was practically empty, leaving us to enjoy the day almost undisturbed. PERFECT!!!! Darice (who had never gone skiing before) and I (who had only been twice, quite some time ago) took some ski lessons while the others headed up the mountain to conquer the black diamond slopes. We hear Ryan is quite the daredevil, but it sounded like everyone was able to at least kinda keep up, minus a few face plants. (Just so you know, I only fell once the whole day, and that was only when I had stopped to help another ski class member.) We met for lunch, then I headed to the second level of slopes while Darice practiced her newly-learned skills closer to the lodge and the others ventured back to the top of the mountain to carve their way through the untouched powder above. After we all got back to our resort, we headed back for another dip in the hot tub to soothe our achy bodies. All in all, it couldn't have been a more perfect time!

I just have to say...I love the Roses and the Bosleys! Our trip was so much fun and having them with us just made it all the more AWESOME!!! I can't wait to get all of our pictures posted! We'll just have to start planning for next year!

Shooby Dooby at our 50's Sock Hop!

The one nice thing about being released from Primary is the opportunity to try out some other exciting callings in the ward. With Rebekah and Derek being called as the new Activities Coordinators in the ward, it was a given the Jon and I would be a part of their team. Our first great event? A 50's Sock Hop, complete with a real soda fountain (and my own Jon as a "soda jerk" serving root beer floats and Orange Cremes) and make-your-own ice cream sundaes, and of course, plenty of fun dancing to classic 50's tunes. I got to be the emcee for the events, which included a hula hoop, limbo, and costume contest, and a "drag racing" competition. Even Sarah got into the limbo contest. The event was a huge success and tons of step-back-in-time fun. Stay tuned for the rest of the pics--they're classics, too!

Happy RockStar Birthdays To Us!!

Jon's Costa Vida Birthday!


My Rock Band Birthday Bash!

January and February are always fun months for us because we have both our birthdays to look forward to. It helps ease the post-holiday letdown a little. =) First, we celebrated Jon's birthday in January. It was kind of a low key event this year, but we did go to Jon's favorite restaurant, Costa Vida, with all our friends to celebrate. Maybe we'll have to do a bigger Shin-Dig next year.As for my birthday, it was anything but low key! I told Hilari and Rebekah that I wanted a Rock Band Party for my birthday, and boy did they deliver. Hilari hosted the entire event and we had about 25 people there, all rocking out upstairs to Rock Band or competing downstairs on the Wii. It was a great night filled with delicious food, fun people, cool decorations, and all the celebration a girl could ask for! I LOVED it. I'm sure we'll have to throw another similar party soon, so if you couldn't make my birthday party, make sure you stay tuned for our next big bash! Thanks Hilari for making my birthday the best!!!!

Two Causes/ Two Runs

This year, Jon and I both participated this year in London's Run at Schnepf Farms to support Pediatric Cancer (January 31st) and in the 2 Sisters/1 Heart Run (February 14th) benefiting 2-year old conjoined Bailey twins.

London's Run was super fun because the entire Atkinson family joined us--Mom and Dad; Kristin, Greg, and Emily Moon; and of course, Rebekah and Derek. I ran the 10K with Becky Kleen, who helped keep me motivated enough to beat my time from last year (1 hour 4 min compared to 1 hour 5 min last year!), while Jon and the Atkinson clan, who were all running it for the first time, ran the 2 mile fun run. After the run was over, we headed over to the Roses for some of Bro. Atkinson's famous whole wheat pancakes--mmmmmm..... What a fun morning!

Then, 2 weeks later, we both did the 5K 2 Sisters/1 Heart Run at Walker Butte Elementary. Half our ward showed up to support this run since a lot of people know the Bailey family, and our friend Jamie Kieta was actually one of the organizers. It was GREAT! Not only was the run super fun (except that my MP3 player died on the last mile! I hate running without music!), but they had a ton of fun activities in addition to the run, including a little train and a petting zoo for the kids. My time on the run wasn't my best (33 minutes), but I still had a great time running and I wasn't too tired to enjoy all the other activities afterward--or my fun Valentine's date with Jon later. =)

Both Jon and I love doing these runs, other than the fact that my knees swell up to the size of an elephant's when I do. I did get new shoes before the 2 Sisters run (my belated Christmas present from Jon), and that did help. I don't get elephant knees when I just run on my own--maybe it's the stress of wanting to beat my time when I do timed or competition runs. But I still love them, so I guess I'll just have to put up with the swollen knees a couple times a year. It's all worth it!

Jon's Update--originally a family email

I find myself in an interesting position today at work. I actually have free time. Hence, the reason I am writing this at noon. I was at first twiddling my thumbs thinking, "what do I do?" Then I realized that I have this window of opportunity to check my email...something I don't do as often as I should.

For those of you who have checked out our blog, you will see that Heather did a great job with updating it with tons of pics of this last holiday season. We sure have a great life...even though we are poor. It just goes to show you that money is not the source of happiness. :-)

Today I filled out the forms and made out the check to the dept. of education and I will send it in to have my Masters in Guidance Counseling added to my certificate! I FINISHED!!! Oh how fun it is to be home on Monday nights to do FHE! ( that was the night I had classes). I had missed that and now that our kids are older it is so much fun. We have our lesson and the kids will pray and sing the primary songs and they love talking about Jesus. We then will play a game or something. A couple of their favorites are: Hi-Ho Cherry-o, Chutes and Ladders, and of course Candy Land. I think that was one of my favorites too.

Heather is not working full time right now. She sadly had to say goodbye to her long term sub position because they felt guilty turning down certificated teachers. She did an amazing job and they didn't want to let go of her. I truly understand their feelings. I feel the same way.. and the beauty of my position...I don't have to. :-) and I won't. So, she is enjoying being home a couple of days a week and playing with the kids and they love it too.

Aaron is amazing and his speech is improving. He slurs all his words. Hmmm ,I wonder where he gets that from. I am trying to enunciate my words better to help him and be a better example. He loves to ride his bike and he constantly asks to play with Colton Howard so he can play Star Wars Legos. Yesterday, he asked to go play with him and Heather said, "oh you want to play the Star Wars movie?" Aaron responded, "Mommy, it's not a movie. Its a game." He said it so seriously that I had to laugh. He is a doll.

Sarah is amazing too. She is the cutest little imp and loves to watch Barbie Mariposa and Tinkerbell. I would write more, but the bell just rang and I have to get to class. I love you all and I hope to be more diligent in reading my emails.

Love, Jon

Requiem for an Identity

Okay, now that I've finished updating you on all of the fun holiday festivities we've been involved with, I guess it's time to update you all on how we're actually doing. The past few months have been crazy ones for us, not just because we've been super busy, like the rest of the world, but it seems like it has really been a time of transition and redefining for us, or at least for me.

You know how you begin to define yourself by what you do? "I am a Mom," or "I am a teacher" or "I am a nuclear physicist", etc. Okay, so I've never defined myself as the latter, but over the course of the last 5 months, I was defined as the "ELD Teacher at Ranch Elementary". I was also my ward's Primary President for the past 2+ years, a weighty calling that certainly kept me busy and on my toes. Well, at the end November, I was finally released from my Primary calling (something I had known was coming since July, so it wasn't a surprise), and then in December, I found out they had found an ELD-endorsed teacher to teach my ELD class and that she would be starting right after the Winter Break. While neither change came as a huge shock, I have to admit, I went through a type of mourning period for my identity. I felt like I had lost a sense of who I was. Of course, I also greatly missed both my calling and my class, but it was more than just that. I no longer got up and got ready to see my students everyday. I no longer felt a sense of urgency on Sunday as I made sure all 17 of my primary classes were running smoothly. I was no longer "needed" in either of these positions. I had been replaced, and I didn't really know who I was. Well, I'm still working on trying to figure it out, but as time has passed, I have moved on to some other ventures, and I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that a few more doors will open up.

In the meantime, I'm back to regular daily subbing, which I have to admit, I have thoroughly enjoyed. Not only have I had a lot of fun with the work, but it has also allowed me to have a little more time with my family and friends, "Mom" and "friend" being a few of my identities that had been feeling a little neglected with my busy-ness over the last several months. Unfortunately, the loss in pay as a regular sub is substantial and I'm still looking for full-time employment, another identity on hold since most places are letting employees go, not hiring new ones. We had planned for me to start my Masters program this spring, but between finances and the intense time away from my family this move would require, even that pursuit is on hold, at least temporarily. This has been more than a little stressful and challenging, but both Jon and I feel the Lord is watching out for us and the right opportunity will come at the right time.

As for church, while I do still miss being in Primary and the intense ward involvement my calling as president afforded me, my hints and out-right begging paid off, and I managed to get called to my favorite calling--Relief Society 4th Sunday Teacher. I always said, when I was released from Primary President, I wanted to pick my next calling, and, well, I guess I kinda did. (Hmmm...squeaky wheel?)

As for Jon, he has his own identity issues. He did add "Masters Degree" to his personal definition in December, an accomplishment we're both proud of, but as this degree is also opening new doors and opportunities, it is also providing new stresses as Jon has many decisions to make regarding which path to follow--stay as a HS teacher, move to elementary, go into counseling, pursue administration, etc. It's a lot to take in, and since finances are always an issue, every decision is a pull between desire for a position and duty to provide. Sometimes having too many choices can be an even harder place to be in than not enough choices!

So, as we enter the new year, the Coombs family does so with a lot of anticipation (and a little apprehension) for the upcoming opportunities and changes that may come. But while our identities may be in flux, I want to assure you that our foundation has not and will never change--I thank my Heavenly Father daily for the daily constant of who I truly am. I am and will forever be wife to my loving husband, mother to Aaron and Sarah, stalwart and faithful Latter-day Saint, and friend to you all. Stay tuned, however--I'm sure the rest of my identity roller-coaster should be a fun ride!

Coombs Great 8 Christmas!

Christmas Fun 2008

Coombs "Great Eight" Christmas Week

Christmas with the Coombs!

The holidays were super fun and now I have to catch-up with it all! I've posted a slide show showing some of our holiday fun--seeing the lights at the Mesa temple, holiday parties with friends, Ward Christmas party, and just enjoying the festive atmosphere together. Santa was good to my kids, despite his budgetary considerations, and showered them with new games and DVDs, their favorites being Mariposa (a Barbie movie) and Candyland. It's great when they're still so young--kids can be thoroughly overjoyed with just a few simple pleasures. We kept Christmas relatively low-key (at least financially) this year, but it certainly didn't dampen any of the magic. I simply love the holidays!

The day after Christmas, our family headed up to St. George for a giant Coombs Family Great 8 Christmas reunion. Aside for the epidemic sickness that ran rampant through the family (our family amazingly remained unscathed!), the week was simply magical and we LOVED being with all of Jon's siblings. We planned a lot of great activities for the kids (there are 19 kids now!) like a family carnival with every family providing a booth, lots of hikes and park days, and just time to run around with cousins. Of course, there were plenty of activities planned for the adults, too--lazer tag up in the red rocks, family dinners, game nights at the hotel, etc. It made the whole family hungry for more time together, and now we anxiously await our summer reunion up in Park City this June! Enjoy the slide shows of all our family Christmas activities--we hope you all had a great holiday season as well!

Happy Birthday, Warren Brown!

Thanksgiving weekend also marked Warren Brown's "Surprise" 30th Birthday Party that Cary had spent the better part of a year planning. With all of his family and friends in town, Cary planned several amazing activities, from activities at a park, a concert of Warren's Band, and a morning of ATV/Quad riding up in the hills. Unfortunately, Jon spent the better part of the weekend being sick in bed, so the kids and I made it to what we could. It was all a lot of fun. Happy 30th Birthday, Warren Brown!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! Jon and I hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner at our house this year, with the Howards, Browns, Huffmans, and Kathermans--that's 10 adults and 15 kids, for those who are counting. The whole dinner was delicious and fun, and we ended by heading to the Howard's home for dessert and a little Rock Band. What a perfect Thanksgiving!!


Jon and our beautiful bird--man, I love turkey!


The Howards and their amazing turkey--lovingly tended to by Paul himself. That guy is truly a master when it comes to the kitchen!


Cami Brown entertained us all with her mud-antics in my back yard. It was all well and good until she decided that the other kids should be involved as well and started hucking mud balls at them. Sarah, the girly-girl that she is, was devastated when she got nailed in the center of her pretty pink dress by Cami's mud slinging two minutes after she went outside. After that, an abrupt end was put to all mud activities. My home took several days to truly recover from all the mud that we found tracked throughout the house.

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot

On Thanksgiving morning, Jon and I, along with several of the Brown family, participated in the Annual Queen Creek Turkey Trot 5K Run. This year was even more special to me because the proceeds went to benefit my favorite principal, Eric Samuels, who was diagnosed with a rather advanced cancer very unexpectedly in the middle of this last semester. It was a huge blow to our school, but he's doing quite a bit better now and should even be able to return to Ranch Elementary this January. Anyway, the Turkey Trot was a lot of fun, and Jon and I finished the 3.2 miles together in 32 minutes. Not too bad! Also, it made us feel a lot less guilty when we started stuffing ourselves later that day!


Jon and Cary before the race began.


Jon and I right after we finished.


My pricipal, Eric Samuels. This was the first time he had been out of the hospital in over 6 weeks. It was really great to see him there! His wife, Beth, actually pushed him the whole route, so he could finish his own Turkey Trot!

Halloween Night--the Kids!

Halloween night was a lot of fun for all of us. Cary and Warren brought their 4 cuties down to our area, where we combined with the Howards, the Roses, the Dunns, and for a while the Harmons, to make our our trek through our neighborhood. We actually didn't hit quite as many homes this year as we did last year, but it was still fun and the kids still managed to come home with a load of sweet stuff--which we have been carefully portioning out in small, controlled amounts since. =) Our last stop was at the Dunn's, where we all hung out and talked outside while enjoying some homemade rootbeer (and a few pilfered treats--shhhh!) Aaah, and it's only the start of the holiday season. =)


Aaron "fighting the bad guys" on Halloween night as a firefighter.


Princess Sarah waving to her fans.


Aaron loved the Howard's red wagon and insisted that he hop in between every house, even though the next house was only a few steps away! I guess this was his version of the red firetruck!

Sarah and Spencer sat down and examined their finds once we got down to our final destination--the Dunn's home.

Halloween Night--the Big Kids!

The adults had almost as much fun as the kids, which is usually the case. Peep decided to wax nostalgic and go as a younger version of herself--an award-winning gymnast (hence the medal around her neck), and I decided to wax prophetic and go as a queen. Oh, wait, maybe that's getting ahead of myself. =)


This picture was supposed to be of the three girls, but our picture got crashed by Jamie in the back. Oh, well, it's a good thing we like him!

Me and Cary--no picture crashers this time.

The boys--don't ask me what Jon was doing in this picture!

The girls outside of Tami and Jamie's house.