Happy 32nd Birthday, Jon!

Jon celebrated his 32nd birthday with a ton of fun and friends all weekend long. Thanks to his new calling in Scouts, Jon went on an overnight campout Friday night to Saturday afternoon and had a ton of fun, although he did come home exhausted. Part of his birthday present was camping gear, so he's getting even more excited about these monthly campouts.

Sunday night (Jon's actual birthday) we went and had a great birthday dinner with the Brown's. Cary made a wonderful BBQ brisket dinner and I made one of Jon's favorite cakes for dessert, then we stayed and enjoyed playing a couple of rounds of Hand and Foot, our group's favorite card game. Cary and Warren were nice enough to let us win both rounds, but that was probably only because it was Jon's birthday. =)

Tonight we extended Jon's birthday (I'm a full believer in milking your birthday for all it's worth) and had a big birthday bash with all our local friends at a nearby park. (One of the perks of living in AZ is having outdoor parties in the middle of January.) We had a huge 6 foot sandwich, tons of other yummy sides, and enough running around the park to get all the kids exhausted and ready for bed. (Yeah, bedtime!) It was a great party, and I think Jon felt truly loved for his whole birthday weekend. (Of course, I think Jon usually feels loved every weekend, we just had a bigger excuse to celebrate it this weekend!) HAPPY BIRTHDAY JON!!

New Year--New Blog!

Another year, another blog. I really wish I could get the hang of keeping up to date with this. 2007 just passed too quickly. Hmmm...maybe this will have to be one of my New Year's Resolutions. Anyway, here's the quick update on what we're up to now:

Heather--I've been busy substitute teaching, serving as Primary president to almost 200 kids (not including the 4 nurseries), and enjoying being a mom to Aaron and Sarah. I love where we live (although if you ask me in August, I might not be so appreciative), I have amazing friends around me (most of whom we brought with us from CA), and I really enjoy all the busy things I've been doing, although it does seem a little overwhelming at times. During the fall, I did a long-term substitute teaching position for a very rambunctious 5th grade class. While it was a really good experience and I really loved a lot of my kids, it was also very stressful, or as my husband liked to put it, "I didn't even recognize my wife! She was like a different woman! I wanted my real wife back!" Needless to say, I don't think Jon (nor my friends, who never saw me) will ever want me to do a long-term sub position again. But now I'm back to regular daily subbing, having fun, and enjoying having a little more time for family, friends, and all the things I never had time to do while working full time!

Jon--Jon, too, has been busy. He teaches a 6/5 schedule of Spanish 2 at Basha high school (which means while normal teachers teach 5 classes, Jon teaches 6 classes), he is over half-way through his Masters program, and he was recently called to be an Assistant Scout Leader in our ward. (Okay, so I think this Scout calling may be more of a trial for me, because it takes Jon away for a full weekend every month for campouts.) While not busy working or studying, Jon has gotten himself addicted to an online game that all his friends play called World of Warcraft. (For those who know WOW, he and his friends are the "More Cowbell" guild.) Even my 3-year old likes watching Daddy play, although Aaron simply calls it "Daddy's Movie". =)

Aaron--Aaron is a big 3-year old now. Actually, I should say, Aaron is a TALL 3-year old now. Aaron is a long, thin bean pole who towers over most of his friends, even those who are much older than him. (Sorry Matthew!) Aaron started both Sunbeams in Primary and preschool this last week. He is going to a special preschool for his speech delay and we're hoping that this really helps Aaron with his language abilities. Aaron loves school so far and we can't wait to see (and hear) how he progresses. Aaron loves watching movies and Playhouse Disney, playing with trains and cars, being outside, going down slides and on swings at the park, running (man, this kid is fast!), and playing with/torturing his younger sister. He is very energetic and is hard to keep still, but he is also the sweetest boy ever and loves to cuddle and hug. This last summer we potty trained Aaron, and my superstar was fully potty-trained in exactly 1 week. (Anyone who has ever potty-trained a toddler knows why I have to blush with pride about that!)

Sarah--Despite having an older brother, Sarah is all girl. She loves shoes, phones, babies, having her hair done, and watching Mommy put on makeup. It's really fun to watch! While Sarah has always been super-easy from Day 1, it's easy to tell that she is going to have much more attitude than her big brother. Her favorite word is already "No", but she says it in such a cute way that Jon and I can't help but simply laugh at her. (Of course, this just usually makes her more stubborn.) Sarah loves playing with Aaron and wants to be a big kid just like him. While this is great in some ways (she's very independent and can do things that Aaron never would have even tried at her age), it can also be very challenging (mainly because she is very independent and does things that Aaron never would have tried at her age.) But when she isn't busy being almost 2, Sarah is one of the cutest, most adorable, most fun little girls anywhere. Wow, we love our kids!

So, that's the wrap-up for us. I'll post some pictures, as well, and try to get on here once a month. We have some fun things coming up, so I'll try to keep you posted!