Ashlyn's first "mini" band concert. The elementary band performed in front of the entire school at flag ceremony this morning before school started. They played the CLASSIC song "Hot Cross Buns." Ashlyn plays the flute in the elementary band. She is just learning and it is a process for her. It is alot of time and dedication. The band practices every morning from 7:30 - 8:15 a.m. so she has to be up early and ready to go to band. She's a trooper and doesn't complain alot, although we do have those mornings when band is not on her list of things to do. She's enjoying it so far and we're proud of her for sticking with it. (You can't miss Ashlyn in this picture. She's wearing the bright yellow ASU shirt in the front.) Way to go Ashlyn!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Ashlyn's mini band concert
Brynlyn's Pool Time
This is just to attest how much Brynlyn loves being in the pool. It was September 16th on the day they were swimming and the pool was so cold! The kids thought it was "perfect" and they weren't cold at all. Whatever! I think I must be a wimp because even Brynlyn jumped in the water in her clothes and had a ball. 
Camryn's Pool Time
These girls had so much fun swimming, jumping and playing in the pool today. We got some great shots of their jumps off of the edge of the pool!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Ashlyn's Pool Time
Ashlyn was doing some neat tricks off the side of the pool. She was surfing on her surfboard off the side and doing cartwheels off the side. She and her friend Camryn were having a blast. 
Lauryn's Pool Time
Playing on the swingset.
Macey and Lauryn eating snacks
Lauryn and Ashlyn
Macey and Lauryn
Lauryn's cartwheel into the poolMacey's Pool Time
Macey and Camryn
Lauryn and Macey
Macey's cartwheel into the pool
More tricks by Macey...way to go!
Lauryn and Macey having fun on the swingset
Saturday, September 13, 2008
ASU Sun Devils Football Fever!
GO ASU SUN DEVILS! So the football fever has hit our home in a big way. We are lucky to have season tickets to all of the home games and they are marked on the calendar early and everything else in life revolves around these games. Yes, it's true I must say. The games are so much fun to go to and we always have a blast. This game was fun for the kids because the guys decided to take their kids as their dates. They went to dinner at Rubios, then hit the game, and then talked their dads into taking them to Sonic for ice cream. Although I don't think it took too much convincing. =) They all had such a great time! Bring on Georgia next week!
Madison & Hayden, Jim & Tyler, Mike & Ashlyn, Rob & Camryn
Mike & Ashlyn, a fun daddy daughter date!
Madison & Hayden, this is TRUE spirit right here!
Jim & Tyler (thanks for the picture Tyler. I know you were hating every minute of this photo shoot! You're a sport!)
Rob & Camryn, the camera loves you guys! =)
Katelyn
Katelyn went to a birthday party on Saturday night for her best friend Becca. Becca's mom Michelle goes through great lengths to make these the most fantastic birthday parties ever. She made all of these toile tu tu's and the flower headbands. Katelyn had the best time at the party and seh loved her little costume. She just had to show it off for the camera.
Homemade Oreo Cookies
5. Mix margarine, cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla together. Beat well.
6. When the cookies are completely cooled, frost the flat side of one cookie and then sandwich with another cookie.
Makes 36-48 cookies (double sided). Let them sit for just a little bit so they set. Enjoy! (I found this recipe from an internet recipe site.)
Katelyn & Becca
Katelyn and Becca are just the best of friends. They are so much alike and they get along so well. Becca was over playing today and she and Katelyn just had to wear matching outfits. Katelyn is so lucky to have such a fun friend!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
In Honor of Patriot Day: 9-11
To honor Patriot Day today, we all dressed in red, white and blue to show our support for this wonderful country that we are blessed to live in and be a part of. We watched the footage on MSNBC of 9-11-01 and it just sent chills down my spine and brought back all of the feelings of what I was thinking and feeling when that happened to our country.
The girls were really interested and wanted to talk about what happened to our country. Their teachers at school spent alot of time talking about it and answering the kids' questions. The girls were so sad for the people who lost their lives on this day and for their families. It was touching to see them so moved by this tragic event and to see it really begin to hit home at what was really lost on that fateful day.
Of course, none of us will ever forget where we were when we first heard about the hijaking of airplanes and the attack on the The Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Mike and I were on our very first cruise headed to the Mexican Riviera. We were with my brother and sister-in law, Mike and Connie, and our friends, Jared and Kim Hill. We were all headed up to breakfast when one of the ship staff came running down the hall and said, "Your country is on fire!" So we all went back into our room and turned on our TV in our stateroom and watched the news footage from our room. We saw just as the second tower fell. It was so surreal and knew that this could not possibly be happening. We then watched President Bush's speech at the news conference.
When we went up for breakfast, the entire ship was deserted. Most people had stayed in their staterooms and watched the news in their rooms. Every room on the ship had the news conference on. There was no music by the pool, no one was swimming. It was in the middle of the day and there was hardly anyone around. It was a very eerie feeling.
We were sitting on deck on pool chairs and the staff were walking around inspecting and checking out the life boats. So we pulled one of them aside and asked if they ever did that in the middle of a cruise and they said, "We have never done this on a cruise before. But in light of what just happened to America, we are taking precautions just in case." Wow! Talk about chills up your spine. That night, our ship went through a tropical storm and the ship bearings weren't down so the ship tipped so far down that waves crashed onto some of the decks on the top floors of the ship. There were people that stayed up all night in their life jackets on the deck. That certainly added to the surreal feeling of the day.
But I do have to say that the foreign travelers on the ship were so kind and expressed their concerns to us while we were on the ship. And then when we arrived in Mexico, the people there were so nice and everywhere we went, people told us how sorry they were for what had happened to our country.
When the cruise was over, we drove home from LA and our friend Kim Hill called her family to check in. When she spoke with her Mom, she told her that one of Kim's best friends from growing up and High School had been killed in the attack on the Pentagon. It was really sad.
When I think about the events of 9-11, there is such a deep sense of sadness for those that lost their lives and for their families. At the same time, it was comforting to see how the country came together with one purpose and the amount of patriotism that was shown afterwards. It just goes to show how resilient this country is and how it can overcome anything. I love America and we are so blessed to be living in this wonderful country! 
Our Community Patriotism
The Boy Scout troop in our neighborhood puts flags in front of people's homes on patriotic days. It's one of their largest fundraisers of the year. So our community HOA did a really neat thing! They purchased alot of flags from the Boy Scout Troop in our neighborhood to line the main street that runs through the community as well as flags for all of the entrances to the community. It was really neat to see these flags lining the streets of our neighborhood. It just gave me goosebumps and I had to grab my camera to capture this neat moment. It's just such a great show of support for America!
