Catching Up

Sorry it's been so long again. I'm really horrible at keeping up with this. Not that I don't think about it, but my uninterrupted time seems so short and precious that I never quite commit myself to sitting down and writing. Well, I'm back to update you on the last couple of months, so here we go!

Well, Sarah, who turned 3 months this week, is certainly living up to her early reputation as an angel baby. She is just so happy and sweet, loves everyone and everyone loves her. And did I mention that she is also just the cutest thing in the world. Her smile alone could knock over a football player. But don't just take my word for it...I'll be posting some pics so you can see for yourself.

Aaron is being a great big brother. He does get a little bothered now and then when he's not getting quite as much attention as he'd like, but on the whole, he's been great with Sarah. Better than I had expected, actually. Unfortunately, with Aaron turning 2 next month, I have seen some signs of the impending "Terrible Two's" already--a little more defiance, a little more aggression, and a lot more independence. If only I could just skip over the next couple of years, but I know that along with the trials, I'm sure there will be a lot of super sweet and special moments as well. Having Aaron look at me with his big eyes and huge smile and say, "Mom!" as he gives me a huge hug is just one such sweet and special moment.

As for what we've been up to, other than the usual fun hanging out and playing with family and friends, which we do A LOT =) , Jon and I also just got back from a week-long trip to Colorado for a family reunion. We took both kids on their first airplane trip and both did remarkably well. Aaron was adorable falling asleep on Jon both ways. (Having Jon home for 6 weeks this summer really helped strengthen his and Aaron's bond. Aaron sure loves his daddy.) We spent the first part of the week in Breckenridge with my mom and sister and their respective families, and then the second part of the week we spent in Estes Park at my huge Carpenter family reunion. (Carpenter is my mom's maiden name, so it was basically my grandma and her descendents--about 50 of us.) Breckenridge is a great touristy mountain resort and we loved going through all the little stores, hiking around the area, and just relaxing with my family. In Estes Park, another cute mountain resort town a little more north, we stayed in this great lodge on the edge of a fishing pond (jumping fish and all!) and had a blast. Lots of card-playing, hanging out, reminiscing, and catching up. Sarah was the belle of the ball--I hardly saw her all weekend except to feed her. Everyone thought it was very nice of me to bring such a cute baby to the reunion. Well, you know me...I do what I can to please. =) It was great to see all my cousins again and catch up--because we all live so far away, we only really get to do this every two years at this reunion. Grandma does a really good job at guilt-tripping everyone into being there--thanks, Grandma!! I really do have a great family, both immediate and extended. And in-laws, too, for that matter. Man, I'm lucky!

Jon started school again this past week and has been loving it this year, although he does come home exhausted every night. The Lord did bless us with the 6th class that Jon was hoping to teach (a 20% increase in salary for us to barely survive on)--and it turned out to be this new experimental Spanish 1/2 transitional class. Jon's really liking it. It does mean that he has 3 different "preps" (subjects) to prepare for now (last year he only had two--Spanish 1 and Spanish 2), but since this is his third full year as a teacher, he seems to have the process down a lot better. Also, this is the first year he has his own classroom, so that will make it a little easier and a lot more fun for him, as well.

As for me, I've been enjoying staying at home with my two beautiful children, playing with my friends quite often, and trying to make our home the haven I hope it to be. It's been a great year for us so far--we can hardly believe it's almost August!--and despite the unbearable heat, we've been loving our life here in Arizona. We welcome any of you to come visit us, although I might recommend waiting until late October!

We sure love all of you! Let us know how you're doing, and hopefully it won't be 2 months before I update this again.