Faux

Cam has been trying to grow out his hair but decided to go short again today. He has been wanting to get a faux hawk but since he hasn't gotten both parents on board (yet), the stylist was sweet enough to give him the illusion that he has a faux hawk. Kind of cute if you ask me. :D

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Fall Break

It's the last weekday of the kids Fall Break and it's safe to say, we enjoyed our week. Dan took three days off of work and we spent some much deserved family time together. We had the kids sports schedules to attend to but we made the best of it. One night, we put the tent up in the backyard and camped out, smores and all. We rounded out the week with a trip to the Arizona Science Museum, one of the nice things of being near a larger city again. Enjoy the following wheelchair race and pulley chair photos from today's outing.

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TGIF

Cameron, Ed, Andrew, Pat, Caitlin, Kathleen, Dan, & Kori

Playing Dominoe's in our Dining Room

Dan, Dani, Pat, Ed, Cameron, & Caitlin

Pink Jeep Tour, Sedona, Arizona

Cameron & Caitlin

First Day of School in Front of our Home

Misty Lou Fay

aka Puppy Luppy

Since my last post on July 11th, a lot has happened around here. Just to name a few ... Dan and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. We had visitors (Kathleen, Andrew, Kori, Ed, & Pat). We spent some time in Sedona with Ed & Pat. The dog is finally potty trained (for the most part). The kids started school. (Cameron is in 1st grade and Caitlin is in 2nd grade.) And, last but not least, football (and fantasy football) season is under way. Needless to say, we are finally getting into the swing of things. The kids activities are going to be starting up over the next couple of weeks - both kids will participate in soccer again and Caitlin has joined a new Girl Scout troop that starts next Wednesday. Before we know it, Dan will be entrenched in peak at Amazon. But before he is, we are hoping to enjoy the next month and a half or so before that comes to fruition. Off to visit my scrap room. Have a great day!

Fun in the Sun & Sunsets

Quick Update

The weather here has gotten hot (106-108) so it seems our life is adjusting with the temperatures somewhat. We have managed to carve out time to visit the clubhouse to do some swimming. The kids have also started swim lessons twice a week and are progressing wonderfully.

Kids Play Area within the Pool

Even though it is hot here, we have learned that the early mornings and late evenings are more tolerable. We have come to enjoy sitting on our back porch at the end of a long day to watch the sunset. The colors are just beautiful.

Sunset from our Back Porch

As mentioned, life here is all about the weather (and the puppy), so we are off to shop for ceiling fans!

Meet Misty

Just as we promised the kids, we have added a puppy to the family. Misty is a 3 month old lab mix that we rescued from the Humane Society. She's a ton of work and Motor is not loving the addition to the family but I think they'll come to tolerate each other over time. I guess I'd better go make sure she isn't chewing on anything or anyone!

Moving

My guys at Cameron's Kindergarten graduation.

My new kitchen (It doesn't look like this anymore, thank goodness!)

I guess it's time that I admit that blogging is not as easy as it seems. I mean ... Who has time? What do you say? and Is anyone even reading anyways? I guess we have had a few things on our plate with buying a home, moving a family, and everything else that comes along with that journey ... so I'll give myself a pass.

So, here's a few updates for you. Cameron graduated from kindergarten. Caitlin finished first grade. We moved to Arizona. Oh, and we bought a house.

We are in our new house and it is starting to feel like home. The cars are registered, the boxes are dwindling, the water softener is in, the blinds are being installed (tomorrow ... and we can't wait to sleep in past 5:30!!!), and the remaining estimates are almost in. Each of us is enjoying the extra space the house offers, the neighbors have all been welcoming, and the weather has been beautiful. All in all a good start (minus the scorpion - God rest his soul.)

Wish I had time to update more but, for now, this will have to suffice. Will post those photos you've been requesting when there's more time.

Please keep Hotel Fay in mind if you are visiting or traveling through. Now that we have a guest room again, we'd love to have it used ... regularly.

A Quick Update

I don't have much spare time on my hands but since I promised you an update when we returned, here's the abbreviated version.

Our last week-and-a-half has proven to be busy, productive, and even a little emotional. We spent our Easter weekend loading up Dan's necessities and traveling to Phoenix. On our way, we were fortunate enough to have time to take in the Hoover Dam. It was an amazing area. Photos really don't do it justice but here's a few for you anyways.

Dan & the kids at Hoover Dam

Dani & the kids at Hoover Dam

We arrived at Dan's apartment on the afternoon of Easter and enjoyed a relaxing dinner out before hitting the real estate market. We spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday house hunting. It was absolutely overwhelming how many houses we saw. (Never mind the condition of most of the houses!) Thursday proved to be our big day - the day that we made an offer on a house and had it accepted. If all goes according to plan, we will be able to move in at the end of May. It truly was a relief to have found something before the week was up!

Caitlin at one of the lakes in the development where we are hoping to purchase a home.

The front view of the home that we are hoping to purchase.

The kids and I flew back to Reno this past Saturday. Needless to say, NONE of us wanted to leave Dan behind but Caitlin took the first few days without Dad around pretty tough. Now that school is back in session and they are keeping busy with their respective activities, she is more distracted and therefore handling it a little bit better. Cameron, well ... nothing ever stops him! :-) Here's Caitlin's latest school project. A cow puppet for her school play later this month.

Caitlin & her Cow Puppet

"Dan Says"

Here's a photo from Danny Wanny's Farewell BBQ last weekend. The shirts say it all!

On the Move and Keeping it Normal. Well, Trying Anyways.

Even though Dan is on the move in just a couple of days, we have been trying hard to keep the kids schedules as normal as possible. That's not been the easiest of tasks considering that Caitlin was sick and out of school for four days. She's been back in action since last Friday and has been making the most of it. Cameron has gotten a mild case of it but, so far, it's not stopping him in the least. He just coughs his way through it all like a real trooper.

The move is coming along with all the major and minor details. From purging and donating all those unworn clothes, sorting through hundreds of photos and details of potential homes, scheduling movers, selecting temporary housing; the wheels are in motion. We will be spending a week in Phoenix looking at homes and hoping that we are able to fall in love with one and make an offer.

Along with all the prep comes all the goodbyes. Dan has one final day in the building here which is full of mixed emotions. Just this past Saturday, they held a Farewell BBQ for "Danny Wanny" which brought with it some inside jokes and custom made shirts for the occasion. If one goodbye in a weekend wasn't enough, we shared a final BBQ with the Loves - a wonderful family that we've become friends with in the short time that we've been here. Goodbyes are never easy but we are grateful to have met incredible people here in Nevada during our short stay here.

In the midst of all the move prep, we've been trying to keep up with the day-to-day schedules of the kids. This week, Caitlin's Girl Scout Troop had a Teddy Bear Tea where they went to Isabel's Bakery for finger sandwiches and pastries. They learned about proper dining etiquette and general manners. To add to the excitement, Cameron had his first T-Ball game. The weather turned on a dime and was BRUTAL (windy and very, very cold). After one inning (40 minutes), they called it a game. During the game, I attempted to take photos of Cam but he kept giving me the evil eye and whispering, "NO MOM, NO!!!". Note to self:  It's embarrassing for a 5-year-old boy to have their photo taken while trying to keep his head in the game. Oh well! Even if it's not appropriately captured on film, I can report that he is enjoying the sport and making new friends.

In our spare time, I squeezed in a moment to sit at my scrap space. I was asked to create a page for the school's upcoming Baskets & Bingo Night. Our theme was Family Fun. The pressure to create for other people was a new challenge but hopefully someone will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it. Colleen, I know you wanted to see the finished product so here it is... 

That's all for now but stay tuned since we hope to share some exciting updates on Dan's move and our house-hunting trip in the next blog.

What a bad blogger!

I can't believe it's been a couple of months since I last blogged.  I knew I had let some time lapse but didn't realize just how long it had been.  I guess since I haven't heard any complaints or requests for more information, it is safe to assume that everyone is really patient or nobody is reading it anyways.  ;-)  I'll report on our latest happenings just in case there are a few of you who still check it out.

We have had a good couple of months.  We have really been trying to make Family Time a focus so we have scheduled activities every month.  Each month, we have a Game Night, a Wii Night, and a One-on-One where Dan takes one child and I take the other child for some quality individual time together.  It's been a lot of fun to see what the kids want to do with us.  They've done everything from scrapbook and toy shopping to wrestling matches and pedicures.  No matter what they choose, it's been great to spend some individualized time with each child.

Both kids are doing well.  Caitlin is still involved with Brownies and loving it.  I even got in on the action and was "Cookie Mom" this year.  What a big undertaking that was.  This is the final week and I can say with certainty that I'm glad cookie season is winding down.  I've had my fair share of cookie booths, spreadsheets, and a dining room that looked like a cookie warehouse.  :-)  The troop did great and I was so proud of all the girls.  Cameron has just started T-Ball and is glad to be back in an organized sport.  Considering that he has never played T-Ball before, he is doing really well and is having a great time learning about the game.

Both kids were off from school during the month of February so we took a much needed trip to San Diego.  I would say it was a vacation but we were exhausted by the time we got home.  We had a great time at the Wild Animal Park, Sea World, San Diego Zoo, beaches, and more.  It had been a long time wish of mine to take the kids to my old stomping grounds so I think I had as much fun as they did.

Happily, the kids have been back in school this month and are two months away from completing the school year.  They have been participating in all sorts of fun activities ... from building Leprechaun traps (those little buggers really tore up the classrooms) to field trips.

Just this last weekend, we made a final trip down to see my Mom and Dad.  It was a quick visit but a really good one.  My Mom was pretty aware for most of the visit and the kids did GREAT with her.  My Mom is a real trooper with 9+ lives and I am always amazed at the dedication my father has when it comes to being her primary caretaker.  It's a big job and I am so proud of him.

If you noticed in my last paragraph I said, "final trip down".  This is because we found out that we will be moving to Phoenix.  Dan will be heading down in April to begin his new position as an Outbound Senior Operations Manager in one of the Amazon warehouses.  The kids will finish out their school year here at the end of May and then we will join him in Phoenix.  We hear that the area is beautiful with lots to see and do.  We invite you all to come on out for a visit.  It would give us a great excuse to go to the Grand Canyon or Sedona or we can stay put and hang out in the pool that we are hoping to find in our new house.

We'll keep you posted as we embark on our new adventure and hope to see you all real soon.  In the meantime, here's a few photos from our trip to California.

La Jolla Cove, CA

La Jolla Cove, CA

Huntington Beach, CA

Happenings over the last month

As if you couldn't guess from the lack of postings, things around here have been busy. I'll do my best to get you up to date without writing a full-length novel.

Christmas was a magical time and we had a wonderful holiday. We celebrated with all of our usual traditions - baking and decorating cookies for Santa; leaving cookies, milk, carrots, and water on the coffee table for Santa and his reindeer; sprinkling potions on the lawn to attract the reindeer to our house; tracking Santa's progress on Norad; the list went on and on ... and on. It's such a great time of year to celebrate together after Dan has worked so hard for months on end helping Santa get presents to all the good boys and girls.

The kids had an incredible Christmas morning and got everything that they hoped for ... and then some. It brings such joy to their faces ... and our hearts. All the new gifts kept the kids busy and playing happily ... for a few weeks anyways.

Even Motor got in on the action.  Dan couldn't get the tags off of his toys fast enough!

This New Year's Eve, we ventured out with the kids to a family friendly party. This was the second straight year in a row that the kids stayed up until midnight to ring in the new year. The hosts provided confetti and encouraged everyone to throw it at the stroke of midnight. You can imagine how much the kids loved it! Dan kept laughing at me and reminding me how I would never allow such a thing in our house. He is right! Jackie truly is the hostest with the mostest ... FUN!!!

Just this past week, Dan gave me the best gift ever - the gift of "me time". He took a few days off from work to watch the kids while I travelled back to Lexington to see the girls. The weekend was a comedy of errors right from the start but I was reminded that it doesn't matter what you do with true friends, you always enjoy their company.

We are confident that you all had incredible holidays and are getting back into the swing of things as well. Here's to an awesome 2009!