Just for Fun!

Cole enjoying Rocky Point

Click on this link:  Rocky Point Memories to see a slide show I made 2 years ago on Slide.com about Cole's 1st trip to Rocky Point.  He LOVED the beach!  My cousins Theresa and Han were nice enough to take us along and Cole loved hanging out with his cousin Elisabet!  Here's looking forward to another trip soon.  Its long past due!

A Busy Day

Luke doing his best Superman pose

Cole and T-Rex

Cole enjoying the Scarecrow Knight at State Fair

Watch out for the T-Rex Sonja!

Caitlin and Cole visiting with Caitlin's Dad at his fry bread stand

Today wasn't looking so good last night.  Luke didn't want to try on his costume before bedtime, so I was unsure if he'd even want to put it on for school.  What a difference a day makes!  The little guy not only put it on, but he was flexing his "muscles" and puffing out his chest!  Our Superman continued his theatrics as he was dropped off at school and showed off his costume to everyone.  

All the kids had parties at school to celebrate Halloween.  Cole did crafts and showed off his skeleton mask and gloves.  He's not a costume wearer, but just putting on the mask is a HUGE step for him.  He's so looking forward to Halloween this year.  Sonja decorated her pumpkin at school and is looking forward to being Supergirl.

We went to the State Fair in the evening where Luke rode a ton of rides and Cole saw his beloved dinosaurs.  Sonja always enjoys the lights of the fair, so going in the evenings is always a tradition.  Also a tradition in the last few years is to eat fry bread from Cailtin's family fry bread stand.  Sooo good!  The main reason I even go to the fair!  Not so good was Luke having trouble in the Fun House trying to navigate the glass hall maze.  Poor guy bonked his head more than a few times against the walls of the maze.  He survived to ride the roller coaster at least 6 times though!  

Cousin Ari

Luke and Ari with Cole hanging around (Dec. '09)....

My boys really like their cousin Ari.  They are always asking for him and wanting him to come over to play.  Oh how I wish for they days when Ari was 5 and 6 years old, and Sonja was born.  He really wanted to play with her and couldn't wait for her to get older, start walking, and play with him.  Where did the time go?  He is now a 6'3" tall 15 year old who is more into his computer and Anime.  Not so much into playing with little kids. But... the boys adore him and love when he goes swimming or jumps on the trampoline with them.  

  Ari (12 yrs old) , Luke (4) and Cole (almost 2) - Jan. '08

A favorite photo of mine

Time to Party!

 Cole zeroing in on Luke's cake candles!

Luke in the boxing bouncer

 Having fun going down the slide

Luke and his Chrysalis teacher, Abbie

Mr. Luke turned 7 earlier this month and we celebrated at Pump It Up.  We invited his friends from school this year and everyone had a great time!  Cole and Luke are big time jumpers.  They really had a blast in the boxing bouncer with Juan and Diego, duking it out like no one's business!  Cole actually let his brother blow out his candles so don't let that picture above fool you!  

"You smell like peanuts!"

A version of this line between Willie and Charlie's grandma (go to 7:45 in the You Tube clip)  from the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie is often quoted in our house...It goes something like this:

Luke:  Peanuts.  I like peanuts!

Cole:  Thank you.  You smell like old people.  And soap!

And the boys laugh and repeat the dialogue to each other again.  They laugh as if its the funniest thing they ever heard!  Its neat to see Luke go find his brother, sit right across from him, and start having this conversation.  Its a great milestone for him!

The boys get a kick out of the "Chocolate Movie", as Cole calls it,  and they love to sing and dance along to the music.  I just can't past the one guy who plays all the Oompa Loompas.  He's just strange!

OMG! Why do things have to be so hard?

(Family Photo - Dec. 2009)

What I had to go through to share this family photo with you all!  But I got there and I am very happy about it! Taking the photo above was actually less stressful than trying to access my blogger account recently...But, remember, I promised not to blog about blogging...the good, the bad, and the ugly.  My lips are sealed!

"Talking to you cordless!"

That is what my girlfriend Maria and I used to brag about when we called each other from our cell phones in the early 90's...It was too cool! Now as I blog from our new IPad, I can say, "Blogging to you wireless!", which is really redundant because everything is wireless these days! I'm so not cool in stating the obvious...but to those hooked up to a landline somewhere, still waiting for their dial-up modem to download this page, maybe I'm AWESOME! Cool!

Here is someone I think is really awesome. Mindy Gledhill's new video...I may just have to download her new video for Sonja to listen to...wirelessly of course...

Slide Rock and Pizza Box

Pictures above of Slide Rock at Oak Creek Canyon and Peter Piper Pizza in Flagstaff

Sonja loves the water and she especially loves it when Dad is holding her and cannonballing off the side of the pool or sliding down the slippery rock of Slide Rock. Thank goodness for my strong husband, he made sure he wasn't going to let her go coming down those rapids! Keep lifting those weights, Hon!

I've found that my boys can eat up to 5 pieces of pizza at one sitting! When did that happen? And where does all that pizza go? The girls and I can get so full with 2 pieces of pizza each, but the boys go to town and can devour a whole pizza on their own! They still will eat their gluten free, dairy free homemade pizza we make for them, but Cole likes his "Pizza Box". This is what he calls the good stuff you go out and buy. Now I know who those $5 pizza specials were meant for! Families with growing boys!

That Was Easy!

Caitlin, Luke, and Cole having fun in the rain (Cole showed us his backside every time the camera was pointed his way.)

Cole taking a sandwich break in the van while avoiding the downpour...

Ok, so my plan to blog everyday has somewhere taken a wrong turn, but I'm going to try to do better! Promise!

Part of blogging I think is having a neat picture to show with your thoughts for the day. That is my problem. The computer with the pictures on it is not the one I am usually on because the boys are usually playing games on that one. So..I've found that in a pinch, I can send pictures from my phone to my email account and, "Viola", I've got pictures to use in an instant! (I've always wanted to use that word, "Viola", don't even know if I spelled it right!)

Now, I've also learned a rule from other bloggers that you should "Never Blog about Blogging". Why? I don't really know, but I am going to adopt that rule so on to other things....

Hey! Above are some pictures from our trip to Flagstaff to beat the heat and see some sights. It was rainy on some of the days, so our hiking plans were cut short here and there, but all around it was a good time. We took the Shumway girls and they really helped us out as usual. The house we rented had a super playroom and the boys loved it. We visited Slide Rock and I will show you pictures soon of Sonja and Troy careening down the slippery rocks. Sonja loved it, she's a thrill seeker, but I was shaking in my sneakers trying to video the thing. Pictures are on the other computer for that adventure. It figures!

Just Because...

These pictures were found on our very 1st family blog that Troy started when the kids were younger. I came across the page still out there and picked a few pics to share. Luke with his reindeer antlers and Sonja making cookies for Christmas 2003. Luke was just 2 and 1/2 months old and Sonja was almost 3 yrs old. Where does the time go?

The Horse Whisperer and Website Wednesday

This is Luke enjoying the horses in our neighborhood. Yes, to those friends and family in North Dakota, horses in the city, its crazy! Luke really loves looking at horses and occasionally will get on one, then he's not so sure. But he is drawn to them as they are to him. As you can see above.

The post below is what I should've posted on Wednesday as promised!

In a few days, it will be the 2 year anniversary of a terrible plane crash that changed the life of a family and added new dimension to a Stephanie Nielson's popular blog, Nienie Dialogues. The local newspaper was where I first heard about this family and started to follow her website. Actually, her sister's blog covered her recovery, and about 6 months later, Steph was finally able to start blogging again. She is an inspiration to anyone who reads her blog. Check it out...

Slip n' Trampoline

The boys jumping and Caitlin swinging them.

The weather has been rainy lately and the boys think its great! We spent one afternoon outside letting the boys go crazy in the rain. Thanks to Caitlin for being the one who stood in the rain pushing the boys on the swings. Sonja and I watched from the porch and stayed nice and dry!

Sneak Preview: I've been lax on updating but my next Wednesday blog will feature another blog that I follow. That gal who writes it is quite the inspiration and I only wish I had a handful of her zest of life because she's got it in spades! Sometimes I think to myself "WWND?" as in "What would Nie do?" as it relates to raising kids, having fun, just not taking things for granted. Looks like I got it right on letting the kids play out in the rain! Check out her blog here.

Rite of Passage

Luke at Diamondbacks game in 2010 and 2008 (bottom pic)



There are just some things that Dads and sons do that is part of growing up, a milestone really. When Troy started taking Luke to the Diamondbacks games, he was probably older than when most kids start to go. I mean I've seen babies snoozing in their Dad's arms at the game. Actually, that was on TV since I don't go often, but I've seen it! Luke was around 5 when he started going and quickly learned that there are other things besides baseball going on at the games. There are elevators, there is a play area, there are lots of bathrooms, even a swimming pool in centerfield, all kinds of good stuff! Troy learned that his baseball watching time is equal to the amount of time it takes Luke to finish off his popcorn bucket. Then its off for another adventure! Troy is a good sport and does his best to keep Luke happy...That's just what Dads do!

Website Wednesday - Max

Luke in front of Chrysalis Academy

I've decided to share a blog or website with you every Wednesday that has captivated me or at least captured my attention for more than a second.

It has been two months since the passing of Max who was a school buddy of Luke's. Although I barely knew little Max, Luke was able to spend almost a whole school year learning and playing with Max. Max's mom keeps a blog herself and I read it everyday, just because I am drawn to her strength and ability to carry on. She is a lawyer, but authored a book that I am dying to read that combines raising a child with autism with her love of theater and fascination with a Broadway star. The book is titled, "The Unreachable Star: My Unauthorized Travels with Patti Lupone. You can also check out Luke's school , Chrysalis Academy, website.

I was so moved by the terrible accident that took the lives of Max and his Dad that I was compelled to write an article for the local paper.

I hope you look forward to future Website Wednesdays...

I don't have a good photo to post yet, but I hope to put one up soon....

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty at age 3 and 1/2

Today was a day of swimming, dinner with family, and watching fireworks. It was also a day that Sonja suffered another seizure. Lately, she has been having them more frequently, up to 1 or 2 per month. Her seizures are called gran mal and last at least 3 minutes, but sometimes longer. Its the longer ones that we worry the most about. If the seizure doesn't subside within 3 minutes, we pull out her emergency meds and knock it out with that. This keeps us from having to call 911 and have her transported to the ER. Still, if the emergency meds don't work, we will still call the paramedics for support. We've got the routine down pat and never hesistate calling if we need to. The EMTs are very nice.

So this morning, upon entering her room and seeing her in a seizure, the meds are usually given since we don't know when the seizure started. She could've been seizing for 1 minute or 1 hour, that's the hard part about finding her this way. We are always checking on her and have a baby monitor in her room, but outside of sleeping right next to her every night, there are going to be times we miss when she is having them.

When Sonja gets her meds, it takes about 3 minutes to kick in, then she is off to sleep, usually for half a day. The next few days she is tired and doesn't eat well, due to the heavy meds and the prolonged seizure. Sonja is a trooper though and she always bounces back.

The Princess and the Frog

Sometimes you get nostalgic and you go looking at the archives of the photos you took long ago. Who knows if I ever really printed these out or not. I am very bad at putting ANYTHING in an album, unless of course, for other people which I am very good at.

Sonja and Luke were the Princess and the Frog for Halloween of '04. Sonja was 3 and 1/2 and Luke just turned 1. Every year, there is a theme to our costumes. One year it was Toy Story, the next it was the 50's, we've done ASU outfits and last year it was Star Wars.

We may redo the Star Wars theme this year because it still is Cole's favorite movie and we may succeed in getting him into his costume. Last year he refused to put on the Darth Vader costume so he just wore a Star Wars t-shirt. He is actually putting on the mask and breathing heavily through it a la Darth Vader. The light saber fights he has with Luke are epic. And I can safely saw "The Force is with us now!"

That's Just How We Roll! Not!

Caitlin snuggling with Sonja and Dad tubing with the boys

In honor of how HOT (113F) it is where we live right now, I've decided to post pictures of our sledding trip this past March. Oh how cool and cold it was! The boys absolutely loved it, well, at least Cole did the second day. He just needed to understand that if you go sledding, you are gonna have to touch the snow with at least one part of your body at some point. Also, that taking off your shoes and socks during a tantrum from snow-phobia is no es muy bueno. Sonja was ever the thrill seeker as usual. She loves speed whether it be careening down a snowy slope or swishing down Slipper Rock at Oak Creek Canyon, always in the arms of Dad of course.

Luke has found his true calling in sledding. He was so independent, taking up his sled, coming down on his own, and just loving it. We just have to work on him not playing "Dodge Luke" with other sledders coming down the mountain...

I think I have a picture somewhere where all 3 kids are on the tube with Dad. That was quite a sight! The picture you won't see is of me, all by myself, hitting a bump, catching air, and biting it BIG TIME! I could just hear my back say "See You Later!" and its never been the same. That may have been my last performance on a sled. Apparently, I had badly bruised ribs and as I've been told, it feels as bad as having cracked ribs which is, you guessed it, no es muy bueno.

Where The Wild Things Are

"Wild Thing" Luke up in a tree

Today, Troy bought the book "Where The Wild Things Are" to read to Cole who loves anything monsters and anything scary. Just like his Dad, and so not like his Mom. Cole loved the Bearenstein Bears book "Bears in the Night", but it has since been lost so a new book was in order. Both these books were childhood favorites of Troy so I think he enjoys reading the books to the boys.

The "Where the Wild Things Are" main character is named Max. One day I will tell you about Luke's school buddy Max who recently passed away. I think Luke will enjoy reading this book and remembering his little buddy.

Mr. Sandman

We spent a week in San Diego for our annual Summer vacation. We went to Sea World, the Zoo, the Air and Space Museum and the beach. The kids love the beach the best, but the Polar Bears at Sea World rank up there too! Luke acted like a polar bear swimming in the cool Pacific ocean while the wimpy ones (me) watched. He also loves playing in the sand, actually burrowing in and rolling around in it. Both boys got so covered in sand that at one point you wonder if it will ever all get washed off.

Luke's handwriting has really developed this year. He was never a kiddo to color or scribble anything. He just didn't have any motivation for it. Then he started to spend time with his white board and markers. We started seeing him string letters together like "M" and "Y" and "D" and double "L". We finally figured out he was writing Macy's, Dillards, Nordstrom's, and Sears! These written words were the stores at the mall where he goes often to ride the elevators and escalators that he is so enamored with. And when he doesn't have his white board, he will use his finger to write his words in the air, on the table, wherever. I might add that his great team at Chrysalis Academy had done wonders with Luke in teaching him to write as well as his awesome caregivers Cailtin and Danica (or in Luke-speak "Canica").

So the photo above is Luke at the beach writing the name "Abbie" in the sand. I caught the picture just as he was erasing it. Abbie is his teacher at his school who he asks for ALL the time.

That's Just What Dads Do!

Sonja and her lovely hairstyle compliments of Dad

Mom can't be all places at all times, so sometimes Dad gets to do Sonja's hair. This time it was a cute Pippy Longstockings type hairstyle. This is what it looks like the next morning, but you get the idea. A lot of love went into making that hairstyle. I don't even attempt two pigtails on the side of her head, and Dad dived right in! I have a kindergarten picture of myself with this same hairstyle circa 1972 where my pigtails were crooked, but I was smiling all the same. I think Sonja is very lucky to have a Dad like Troy! Like the saying on her wall says, "My Prince did come. His name is Daddy."

The Gang's All Here!

Luke getting his "people" ready for a swim

Luke loves his people! He has an affinity for figurines of all types and shapes. He loves Disney characters like Mickey and Minnie, but also from Toy Story and shows like Handy Manny. Lately, he's not parted with his Ernie and Bert he got from Sea World. He loves his people and if you cannot find his "people", he will not go to bed until you find them. And when he leaves for school, his Dad makes him leave his people so he puts them in a safe place so he can find them when he returns. Usually, he puts them in the van because he knows Caitlin or me will be coming to get him in the van and they'll be there waiting for him.

The Future Is So Bright!

Cole sitting in the fire engine...

Back in May, Caitlin and Danica took the boys to Cole's school picnic. Fun was had by all and the boys got to get on a firetruck. The loved it of course, and Cole enjoyed wearing Caitlin's shades. There is always something cute about kids wearing adult sunglasses....

Los Suns

Troy, Luke, and Grandpa

It was fun while it lasted... The Suns playoff run this year was exciting to watch both on TV and in person. Troy was his usual generous self and bought tickets to 3 playoff games. The last game was a heartbreaker as the Suns lost to the Lakers, but the memories of a great season will live on for quite some time!

The Start of Something New!

Hi All,

Finally starting the blog I've been thinking about! I figured everyone else has one, why shouldn't I. My life with a husband, two boys, and a princess is just as interesting as the lives of the people whose blogs I read, so there you go. No real justification. Just seems like the thing to do. I hope you check in now and then!