Catching up...

I was looking through old posts and realized that I missed a few things this year.  Christopher turned 12 this year.  He is officially a Boy Scout.  He went to scout encampment this year and had a great time.  He did archery, rifle shooting, rode a zip line and hiked. 

Valerie turned 20 in June.  She was living away from our home for a while, but is back now for a few months. Our garage is full of her furniture right now, but I like having everyone home again.  The biggest problem is that we have 4 dogs...they take up A LOT of space in what I thought was a home sufficient for our needs!

This one is Precious...she's 10 months old...she eats everything!  My shoes, the walls, the furniture and she digs really deep holes.

This is Zeus...he is 3 weeks younger than Precious and very smart.  He thinks he's the alpha male, but actually he is third in line behind Toby and Jax.  He doesn't eat as much as Precious...I think he just gets into trouble for lack of other things to do.

This summer we also had a visit from my mom.  We went for sushi...Chris is really the only one who eats actual sushi.  This is my mom's version of using chop sticks.

Gabe got stitches this summer...the day my brother and his wife came to visit.  Four stitches on the back of his leg from a knife carelessly thrown away by his mother :(   He had a great doctor and actually liked the whole experience.

All caught up.  Now we're into school full swing.  Christopher is playing soccer.  Valerie is working a new job learning to be a bartender.  Yvette is making her way through the first weeks of her freshman year and Gabe is happy to have the same teachers and classmates as last year.  And Chris and I are just trying to keep up with it all!

Gabe's Birthday



Gabe at 11




Gabe at 3



And they just keep growing....
Last week Gabriel turned 11.  The picture with the crown was his 3rd birthday.  They made the crown for him at preschool.  I think that was the year Grandma Rosie gave him the mechanical spider.  This year he wanted a remote control helicopter.  Some things never change.  Gabe has had a great year.  He's moved into 11 year old Boy Scouts and is very excited.  He has grown so much this year.  He is 5' tall and wears a size 10 shoe (at last measure).  He is very funny and is really coming into his own.  He loves all things Pokemon and video games.  He also loves science and on the last AIMS test he scored excelled in Math, which I am told is difficult to do.  His brother is still his best friend.  He is a big help to his parents around the house and he loves to tease his dad so he can wrestle with him.  We love you, Gabe!

We went to Kona Grill for his birthday.  Here's a great picture of the kids sharing the red velvet cake they gave him...it's that HUGE white thing in front of Gabe.

Another school year

We made it through another summer.  This year Yvette started high school.  She just got moved into Honors Language and she is very excited about that.  Christopher is in 7th grade and is learning to play the trombone. I'm very excited about that.  Gabe is in 5th grade with the same teachers as last year and he is very excited about that.  Valerie starts school in about a week...We are proud of all our kids.

The Arrow of Light

One of the first Cub Scout meetings Gabe went to was Pack Meeting and someone was getting their Arrow of Light.  Gabe's eyes got so big when he saw all the awards the boy had received.  During Scouts he went after every belt loop and pin he could get and on Wednesday he received his own Arrow of Light Award.  He was so excited as he got on his new uniform.  He said "I can't believe I'm finally a Boy Scout!".  He was very excited and we are very proud of his accomplishment.

Summer 2010

We had a busy summer.  My mom came to visit for a month and them my brother, Billy and his wife, Barbara came out for the weekend.  It was so fun to have family here.  Especially my brother...he didn't really know my kids.  Valerie had spent time with them when she was eight, but they only met the younger kids once for a few hours.  It was great to have them in our home. Barbara and I made sauce and pizza like my grandmother used to make and we got $3 cupcakes at the Coffee Shop (they won on the Cupcake Wars show).  It was really fun and very relaxing just hanging around the house.

but she's lonely,,,

Precious has been driving Toby (14 yr old dog) a little crazy, so Chris thought she needed a playmate. Actually, when we got Precious he wanted to get 2 puppies and I said "no way".

But we found a rottie/lab mix and so now we have Zeus. He's six weeks old and very cute. He has a tail and some white markings, but other than that they look very much alike. They love to wrestle and he is very fiesty. So now we have as many dogs living here as we have kids, but somehow the work load isn't distributed that way...hmmm....some things never change.

New addition...

Chris has always wanted a big dog...so here is his new puppy. Her name is Precious and she's a full bred rottweiler (both parents are 1/2 american rot and 1/2 german rot). She really is cute and is getting along well with all the kids and dogs.

Funny kid...

I took Gabriel Christmas shopping. He bought gifts for everyone, but Dad. He asked me "What would Dad like for Christmas?". I said "Peace and quiet". Gabe responded, " Let's get him duck tape!"

November 09

We finally had the chance for someone to take a picture of all of us together.
One of these days we'll actually get a family picture taken. Until then, this will have to do.

Halloween...a little late

Gabriel as "Snake Eyes"

Valerie (dark hair) and her friend, Jenna

Yvette (right) and her friends

Christopher, the Gatekeeper

With Grandma's passing, I didn't get Halloween pix posted. All the kids dressed up and had a good time. Valerie decorated the house and did a good job. She also did make up for the kids. It was a fun night.

Valerie set up a strobe light...looks cool

Happy Birthday Yvette

Today Yvette is 14...it's hard to believe. She was only 5 when she came to live with us. It's a real challenge having 2 teenage girls in the house and certainly never boring! Yvette is very talented. She's artistic and athletic. These things come naturally to her. This year she is doing cheer and is the school mascot. She will start horseback riding in a few weeks. She has a very strong will that will serve her well in the future, but is a real challenge to her parents right now. Yvette didn't have an easy start to her life and it presents challenges to her every day. Her dad and I and her sister and brothers want her to have a happy life and to be able to enjoy the world. But, she is 14 and so what that means to her and what that means to us are vastly divergent. We love you Yvette.

Grandma

December 3, 1921- October 27, 2009

We miss you.

Farewell

The top picture is our new 2010 Prius. The bottom picture is our 2004 Prius. It died this week...the engine seized...couldn't be revived without buying a new engine. It had 146,7oo plus miles on it and we drove it for over 5 years. I was on a mission to drive it until it reached at least 200,000. It drove as well on the last day as it did on the first day(that is until that final moment when the engine seized). I hated to see it go. The new Prius is pretty nice...lots of new technology. I'm so happy I was able to transfer the hybrid plate so I can still drive in the carpool lane. I drive 35 miles each way to work and last week when I had a rental I was very unhappy watching all the cars zip by in the carpool lane while I was stuck with the masses in the regular lanes. Tomorrow will be much more fun going to work...new car and carpool lane. Life will be good.

10 years old already!!!

This is Gabe on his 3rd birthday. His second birthday with us and the first birthday in our new home. He turned 10 on Sept 3. He is such a nice boy. He is very thoughtful and very inquisitive. He loves being a Cub Scout and is very excited to be a Weblo. He loves to work on scouting awards. At Christopher's first pack meeting as a Cub Scout someone was getting their Arrow of Light Award and they were being presented a banner with all their badges and belt loops. Gabe's eyes got so big when he saw all that 'bling'. He wanted to earn all those awards. He is always working on earning a new belt loop. Now that he's in Weblos, he's very exctied to be able to earn pins. He loves to read, play his Ninentendo, learn about science and collect just about anything. He has a really good sense of humor and loves to have fun.

We survived another summer!!!

Here are the boys on their first day of school. Yvette left before I could get her picture.

Gabriel is in fourth grade and has the same teachers that Christopher had for the last 2 years. He is very excited because he gets to change teachers and classroom after lunch. He has moved over to the middle school wing of the school and is across the hall from Christopher's homeroom and the boys see each other throughout the day.

Christopher is in 6th grade and changes classes all day, preparing for junior high next year. He loves his homeroom teacher because he is very funny and Christopher loves anything or anyone who is funny.

The summer went surpisingly fast. We didn't get to do a vacation this year, but no one seemed to mind. The boys were able to stay home with Valerie quite a bit and they liked that. The week before school started I took the boys to the Arizona Science Museum and they really enjoyed that.

Yvette is in 8th grade and spent the summer going to the Boys and Girls Club. They did lots of field trips and activities and she really enjoyed it. Summers are hard when both parents are working, but our kids are great and make it pretty easy for us...they are not complainers and they enjoy being home.

I think they'll all have a great school year.

they just keep growing....

An updated picture of the kids. We were going to a wedding...it was really hot (112 degrees) and the wind was blowing really hard. No more little kids at our house.

Dinner $40...Not so great concert seats $200...hearing your favorite performers LIVE....Priceless!!!

Chris has always loved Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood. The inspiration for Valerie's name came from a Steve Winwood song. Eric Clapton has given concerts in Phoenix before but we couln't afford the hefty ticket price. Well, Clapton and Winwood have been on tour this summer and gave a concert at the Jobing Arena last week and we went to see them. Chris was so excited...Our seats weren't very good but that didn't matter to him. He knew every song by the second or third note of the intro and was really excited by the whole experience. It was fun. Chris doesn't usually ask for things...he lets me buy what I want and never complains about it. I was glad we got to go to the concert...

Boys Scouts and beyond...

At the June Pack Meeting, Gabriel earned his Bear rank and Christopher was awarded his Weblo rank and advanced to Boy Scouts. I was glad that the boys were able to get their advancements together. Gabe has a bearclaw danish hanging around his neck. He had to drink "bear blood" (probably kool-aid). Christopher had to do a challenge with someone and he chose his dad (thank goodness, for me). Here's the video...it's pretty funny.

This is the cabbage that Gabriel grew. He planted the seed at school and brought home the small plant. We transplanted it into our garden and it finally got big enough to eat. Chris cooked it with onions and apples. It was really good. The boys are so excited about the garden they will eat any kind of vegetable now.

Valerie is 19!

Today is Valerie's birthday. We had a fun day. We went to a day spa and for lunch, a little shopping and then a bunch of her friends came over for dinner. Then she was off to a party with her friends. It was great that she wanted to have her friends over for dinner with our family...they are a good bunch of kids. I'd like to post a picture of her when she was little, but that was before digital and they are all in a photo book. How archaic!

When Valerie was little I would decorate the house for her birthday. I couldn't afford to do many parties then and it made the day festive. She has decorated for my birthday and for her sister in the last year, so I finally returned the favor. She liked it... I think the last time I decorated she was 10!