Thursday, March 22, 2012

Sky Harbor Picnic

Our Boise cousins, enroute to their Spring Break destination,
 had a three hour layover in Phoenix yesterday.
Lucky for us, it was early release for some of the kids
and we made it a lunch date in the middle of Termnal 4.
Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for the yummy Tia Rosa's burritos!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Echo's First Haircut


Bennett had been reminding harrassing me to make an appointment for Echo to be groomed.
I kept reminding repeating that he was lucky to even have a dog.
 I was beaten down once again and the appointment was made.

Echo BEFORE


and AFTER
I must admit, he does look and smell so much better!


I tease Bennett that in my next life I want to come back as one of his animals.

There is no messing around with THIS boy and HIS dog!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Toro Hoops

The seasons these days are measured not by Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall,
but, rather by the sports seasons:  Basketball, Track, Swimming, Football
and basketball season has officially ended.

Thanks to our awesome neighbor Robert Sirrine for capturing these photos.
He is the photographer I wish I was.
Check out his website http://www.memories4lifeonline.com/ for more images of MV sports.




Love watching this guy play!

Friday, February 24, 2012

A Valentine's Date

I am a planner.
I love to look at the calendar and pencil in those beloved summer family vacations,
squeezing them in between swim meets, scout camp,
girls camp, basketball camp, youth conference, etc.
Those were the good old days!

These days,
as far ahead as I try to plan, I can't seem to get everyone on the same schedule.
Between Haley's full time work schedule,
(and the fact that she has to request her time off over three months in advance),
Cassidy's plan to attend BYU summer school,
and Mountain View sports...(it is a love/hate thing),
we can't seem to get it together.

The stark reality is...the traditional week-long summer family vacation
for us may not be a guarantee this year.

With two adult children and two teenagers at home,
I've had to rethink things a bit.
Instead of weeks spent together travelling,
I've decided to grab a few hours when I can and steal the time from everyone's schedules.

Valentine's Day seemed to be a fitting time to do just that.
I gave everyone a valentine treat with a "save the date" invitation
for a sweet surprise.



I didn't tell them what we were doing,
just that they had to be home on Monday, February 20th at 8:30 sharp
for a Valentine's Date.

They were skeptical, but curious.
Each child tried their best to get the details out of me, but I was determined.

So when the appointed time rolled around, we piled in the car and headed towards
Hollywood Reflexology at Greenfield and Baseline.

When the kids finally saw where we were going, they were pumped!

The first comment from Curt afterwards was, "Has it already been an hour?"
I'm telling you it was heavenly!

There was lots of "Thanks, Mom, that was awesome!" in the car ride home.
I asked Cassidy on a scale of 1 to 10, how was it?
Her reply..."A freakin' 20!"

It was a great Valentine's treat!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

State Stu Co and Sadies 2012

Cassidy had a busy week...
Three days at State Student Council Convention
 in Glendale at Cactus Shadows High School.

They listened to A LOT of motivational speakers,
met A LOT of new friends,
and DID NOT get A LOT of sleep!
But they managed to have a ton of fun!


Representing "Toro Nation"!

Within a few hours of arriving home,
she was off to the Disney themed Sadie Hawkin's Dance.
Cassidy and David


I love that she has such great friends...and cousin!


Clark got in on the Sadie's action, too!
Clark and Chandler


During the late night hours, post dance, on their Scavanger Hunt
Everyone had a great time and most importantly,
returned home safe and sound!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

A Sun Devil, Perhaps?


We were so excited to see this in our mail today...

GO CASSIDY!



Congratulations on your admission into Arizona State University’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation!


As a “direct admission” student to our Traditional Pre-licensure Clinical Nursing Program, you have the honor of being hand selected based on your prior academic and personal achievements leading up to this point. With this type of admission, you will receive a guaranteed space in our nursing program so long as the Continuing Eligibility Criteria is maintained during your time at ASU. We welcome you to our college and are excited for you to begin your journey with us this fall!


SCHOLARSHIP TO ASU....check

ACCEPTED INTO THE NURSING PROGRAM....check

WHAT TO DO?...time will tell, but ASU is looking good!


All of her hard work

and years of dedicated study are defintely paying off!
(this was a rare occurance, thus the picture!)
Can hardly wait to see what the future holds for this girl!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Remembering Grandpa Brown


Nine years ago, January 13, 2003, we lost our Grandpa Brown.
Life has marched on and children have grown,
but the memory of Grandpa Brown will always remain.

We rode our bikes to the cemetary
to pay tribute to him, his life and legacy.