Some Sad Good-byes

All the good-byes were sad in Arizona. We've had so many great friends and great experiences. The people there made my life infinitely easier and more enjoyable, so it was nice to have one last "see you later."

Book Club/Workout/Park Gals
We gathered for a quick lunch one of the last days I was there. Krinn, Kim Day, Sariah, Alyson, Me, Tina, Santana, Karen, Debbie, and Kim Nevels.
Work Out: I taught a little workout class a few times a week, and I enjoyed being forced to workout, but more than that, I loved spending 45 minutes twice a week with gals I love! I am really missing their listening ear and great advice.
Book Club: Reading is one of my passions and every book is better when you can discuss it with someone. Each month I so looked forward to sharing thoughts, feelings and great books with my gals. I am really missing them.
Park Gals: Honestly, the park was just an extension of our home in Arizona. We spent more hours there than I can keep track of. I love my park girls. They were there to hear me complain, celebrate and chat on a daily basis. They cared about me and loved me and I'll really miss our every afternoon time together.

Kim, such a fantastic friend. She came over numerous times and said, "I have a free morning, I'm helping you pack." So kind and wonderful. She was there for me anytime I needed anything. I leaned on her so much and owe her more favors that I care to name. Friends like that are hard to come by.

Karen. Oh, she is such a wonderful woman. She was my mentor when I moved in and is still a woman I hope to become just like. She's inspiring, unpretentous, kind and always knows exactly what to say and do. She cares about only what is most important and makes everyone around her feel comfortable, successful and loved. I'm not sure I know anyone who does life better than she does. Her advice and freindship was invaluable to me and I adored her husband and kids too.

CPI (Commercial Properties, Inc.): For the last few years, Mike has worked for the most amazing company. They have been so good to him and to our family. His time there has been absolutely fantastic and we are so gratful to them. They know how to play and I love that they always invite the family along. Here is a picture at their fun family waterslide/picnic. How great to work at a place like this!

The Da Re's: Oh, my heart hurts just thinking about how much we miss our fabulous neighbors. My boys played with Shem, Arianna, and Antonella almost daily for the last 6 years. Our families literally grew up together...they were just babies when we moved in. I loved coming home and having them meet us in the driveway wanting to play. I loved having them hang out in my garage on a hot day. I loved their imagination and the games they introduced to my boys. I loved how they liked our water better than theirs. I loved how they were always more than willing to help anytime we needed it. My boys loved being in their home, especially during their "last" breakfast togehter. There is so much more to say...they were just the best.

School Friends: Jace had the best buddies and the best teacher this year. I felt so lucky that he was able to associate with so many awesome boys. I got teary on the last day of school because we will miss them so much.

(Gattlin, Jace, Ryan, Tate)

(Brandon, Jace, Max)

(Ms. Matthew and Jace with his stellar all A report card)

(Braydon and Jace with their "stars")

A final good-bye.

I've said it a million times, but we had the GREATEST family friends in Arizona. We had a final barbeque at one of our favorite parks with all of our favorite people...it was just one last "see you later," for us and for our kids. I guess that is what makes me the most sad, is seeing our kids leave their friends. I know I can keep in touch through blogs, email, facebook, and phone, but these are kids who have spent hours and hours together and really love each other. Watching my kids leave such good friends was the hardest part of leaving.

Gracie, Tabby and Jace

All the cutest kids ever

Life lessons from Tiger Woods

My boys have been golfing a lot since we've been in Utah. They all love it and are WAY better than I am or really ever care to be. I'm amazed that my busy boys enjoy such a slow game. Jace and Parker are taking golf lessons and Jace is in a class with kids quite a bit older than he is. This was our coversation on the way home from golf yesterday:

Jace: Mom, turn the radio down, I need to ask you something really important.
Me: (Oh, no) What buddy?
Jace: Some boys at golf today were talking about Tiger Woods and they said he cheated on his wife. I don't get it.
Me: (Big oh, no) Well, Tiger was married and while he was married, he had a girlfriend. That's not right.
Jace: I still don't get it. He's an adult, so he can have a girlfriend if he wants to, right?
Me: (Oh boy) Well, when you get married, you promise you won't have any more boyfriends or girlfriends, that you will only love your wife. If dad had a girlfriend, that wouldn't be kind to our family, right? That would make us all feel really bad.
Jace: (Understanding it now) No. That would be really sad. (Pause) I just can't believe Tiger would do that. He's such a nice guy. I saw him on TV and he was so nice to the guy carrying his golf bag and he looks really nice when he's golfing and smiles a lot. I can't believe he would do that to his wife. He just lied to her? I bet she was so mad at him.
Me: Yeah. Sometimes nice people still make big mistakes. It's really sad. He made a lot of people feel really bad.
Jace: Wow. He's going to have to say sorry to his wife so many times. And he's going to have to say sorry to Jesus. When I lie, and I used to lie a lot, but I don't lie that much anymore, I have to say sorry to Jesus in my prayers and he just marks it off. But Tiger is going to have to say sorry to Jesus so many times before he will mark it off because his lie was so big and so bad.
Me: (dying by now) You're right. He is going to have to apologize a lot and it will be really hard for people to trust him again.
Jace: (shaking his head) I still can't believe Tiger did that.

Happy Father's Day Babe!

Today is Father's Day and we sure are missing our dad. Since we sold our house and had to be out, but couldn't be in Michigan until the end of August, Mike's working away from us this summer and we are playing in Utah with Grandma and Grandpa and that just simply isn't fair. I was emotional as the kids sang father's day songs in church today and he wasn't there. He is the most fantastic father and I couldn't be more grateful for him. Here are just a few little reasons:

1. He has his priorities straight...God, family, work, self and he lives his life like this. I couldn't ask for a better example for my kids.
2. He embraces change....he doesn't see starting school and a new career as an unfortunate event. On the contrary he can't wait for what this path will bring us. His enthusiasm and optimism is contagious.
3. He can work...he's never too good for any kind of job and he works hard at everything he does. He's the last one at any event helping the organizers put tables away and mop the floor. I am always so proud to be the wife of a man who helps like that.
4. He's fun, boy is he fun. My life is rich because he is in it. He wants to experience everything and he never misses an opportunity to breathe life in and taste everything it has to offer. He's teaching our boys to do the same. He's the life of the party and makes every situation a bit more exciting and a lot more loud.
5. He's a fantastic friend. I'm amazed at the way he keeps in touch with buddies. He sincerely cares about them and would do anything to help them in their life. In turn, we've received that same kind of friendship.
6. He self evaluates...and then changes. He is not afraid to ask how he can do and be better from me, from the kids from his co-workers. He's extremely humble. When people offer suggestions, he tries to put it into practice immediately. In this case, he really is my hero!
7. He loves his boys. Because he loves them, he teaches them right from wrong whenever he gets the chance. He supports them, listens to them, and takes time for them. He's been their coach and their cheerleader. He reads them books before bed and has important conversations on a regular basis. He's just the best.
7. He loves me, a lot. I've said it before, but his love constantly surprises and amazes me. He protects me and takes care of me. When we were on our 7 day driving journey, he never had me take the wheel. When we checked into our hotels, he carried everything. When we were deciding on a new life direction, he made sure I was okay with our decisions. He respects me and cherishes me and tells me so often, I can't believe I got a man like this. Every experience with him is a pleasure. I'm never nervous about where life takes me, because I am with him. I trust him completely and love him more than words can express.

Babe, I know today won't be the greatest father's day, but I hope you at least know how much we love you! We are the luckiest 4 people in the world because we have you.

The Best/Worst Good-bye Ever

Over the last 6 years we have been so fortunate to have better friends than we ever imagined we would have. You know when couples just click? It happened to us over and over again in Gilbert...especially in our Gardens neighborhood. To make sure we went out with a bang Kelli and Sally put on a unforgettable shin dig.
A picture backdrop we got great use out of...
Plus signs, food and decor for what we will miss most about Arizona...our neighborhood, The Gardens. We love everything about it: the 6 parks, 3 pools, walking trails, basketball courts, but most of all the friendly atmosphere there. You could be at any park, any time and a friend would drive or walk by and stop with their kids. I can't think of a better place to have little ones.

The Weather...self explanatory, right, since we're moving to Michigan? Let me just say, a place where you can be outside almost everyday of the year really is the ideal spot to raise 3 little boys.

The culture...maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but we really will miss all the great Mexican food. I find that almost every recipe I cook now involves a tortilla.

The friends...hands down, the hardest thing to leave. These people have become like family for us. I have counted on them more times than I should have and they have always been there for me. They are the types of friends that just stop by my house the week we are packing and dig in or take my kids away, they are the types of friends you want to have a girls' night with or get together with for Sunday dinner, they are the kinds of friends you can talk to for hours on the phone or just shoot the breeze with at the park, the guys are like high schoolers together and it's so fun to watch them. The men were out our house helping pack the truck, stuffing the last items in even when Mike was still at work. We love them all so much! The ones who had to miss the party (darn babies!) we love too!

We're hopeing this sign means they are all caravaning to "The Big House" to see us!

The guys...(and, yes, my husband came to the party in Michigan attire. At first I wanted to make him change, but I saw how proud he was of himself for coming up with such a clever idea, so I let him keep it on.)

The girls...

It was definitely a night to remember. Thank you all! We miss you already!

They don't mind this babysitter

Not only did Marci come for all the festivities, but she came to watch the boys while Mike and I scouted out Ann Arbor, Michigan. We loved it and would love some visitors to keep us company...how does January sound :)!

While we were gone she was more than helpful and the boys had a blast galavanting all over town, buying things, eating ice cream and having a Mimi at their beck and call. She was a serious trooper, especially since Jace threw up all night the first night and James decided that 5 am was a great time to wake up! Oh how we love our grandparents!

Preschool Graduation
Parker has officially finished preschool. He is such a cutie and so smart. He amazes me daily with all he knows and the questions he asks. He has become an amazing reader, surprising me with every new word he figures out. He is SO ready for kindergarten!

Ice Cream Trips and oh so many more fun things. The boys had a blast!

End of Season and a Fun Visit

The end of the school year is such a whirl, it's almost impossible to capture it all. Rick and Marci made an opportune visit and caught almost all of our final moments in Arizona.
Let's Play Music Recital
Parker and Jace have been taking a music class called Let's Play Music. http://www.letsplaymusicsite.com My family is not musical, but Mike's is extrememly musical, so I'm hoping to harness and develop a little of that in our home. It was the best experience! I was amazed at all my boys learned and all I learned about music. The best part about it was that it was so fun, they hardly realized they were learning. They have the program in lots of states, so check it out...oh, and if you are in Arizona, I HIGHLY suggst Rosalyn Ellsworth (Miss Ros). She was incredible!

The last baseball game of the season. Thanks Coach Mike!

Last soccer game for our little super star!

We love when grandparents come. Parents never buy snowcones.

Baseball Boy

I grew up in a baseball family...it seems many of our favorite family memories revolve around a baseball field. I LOVE that my boys are old enough to play baseball now. In Arizona it's during a perfect time of year with warm spring nights and darling boys being boys. Jace was a GREAT player. He works hard and likes to practice and always wants to do his best. I love that about him. He had multiple home runs and fly ball catches and was crazy about playing first base. Mike was his coach and was incredible for those boys. He has the perfect perspective for youth sports and I was so impressed with how much each boy improved this year.

Classic baseball player right, even at 7.