We now live in Arizona and we are loving it. I say now because we couldn't make up our minds between Arizona and Florida...and trying both TWICE we have decided that Arizona is the place for us to be! We love the mountains, sunsets, family, new friends, the job, etc. We miss the rain, green grass, REAL trees, beach, family and old friends. (We have to admit it's hard to break in new friends when you love and miss the old ones so much!)
We have been blessed from the moment we moved here. The day after Sean drove into town, he got a job with a great company. After a rough few years, we are so grateful for this! He works on the HUGE tank farms that provide all of the gas out here. (Don't you think we should get free gas? I do!...but unfortunately they don't.) I will let Sean post some pictures and tell you about what he is doing later. He is also an assistant Scout Master at church. He loves this and gets along well with the boys. He's a busy guy, but somehow manages to stay sweet!
Carly is doing great. Much to my delight (or dismay) she is still growing taller everyday. She is easily the tallest 1st grader in her school. (I am constantly reminding myself she's only 6!) She's such a happy person and is filled with personality. She has learned to ride her bike this year and we recently rode all the way to my sister's house and back. Carly loved it and has been reminiscing ever since... She sigh's thoughtfully, and asks if I remember the fun time we had and suggests that we do it again sometime soon! (Did I mention that we just did this Friday night?) I guess I need to get a trailer to keep the boys in tow! Carly really wants to get into a dance class, but we missed sign ups this year...so she's in soccer instead. She and Ridge are on the same team. It's quite a height difference, and thankfully we know at least 1 or 2 people on each team, so they can vouch for her age. I consider us very lucky though...it's really easy to find her in the traveling bee-hive! Ridge, on the other hand, gets blocked by the wall of kids.
Ridge is a such a sweet boy. Don't get me wrong...he's still a red head, but he has a really kind heart. Ty riles him up and takes toys from him and hits and teases him, and of course Ridge will do what every other boy in the same situation would do...he takes a swing at his little brother. But right away, he gives him a hug and tells him sorry! I tell you, it really warms a mother's heart! I feel bad for him though, because Ty is a fire cracker. I do expect Ridge to have more self control...and I feel guilty for admitting it, but sometimes I am just rooting for him to take a little swing at Ty...because there are some things that a mom just can't teach a 2 year old...like, you don't pick on kids twice your size, because one of these days, they're going to pound ya! Ridge is loving soccer and HATES taking his turn to sit out during the games. He complains very loudly that he is there to play soccer and does not want to sit out! Ahhh, none of my coaches would believe he came from me...he's very vocal and very passionate! Took me years to get to where he is! We still have great sword fights. He's gotten very elaborate in his moves, adding rolls, jumps, obstacles, dives, and he even throws his sword now and then. My favorites are the slow motion moves. I especially like it when he let's me watch the replay of them, just in case I blinked and missed the really cool parts!
I don't know where Ty came from. He is so different from Carly and Ridge at this age. I don't want to call him a disagreeable child, but if the shoe fits... He seems to like to disagree, even if he agrees! If he wants a drink of water, and you ask him if he wants a drink of water, he'll tell you no, until you give him several more options, and then he'll impatiently and loudly let you know that he wanted water! He's such a ham though, and I have so much fun with him. He's starting to imagine and role play, and really likes to be spiderman. We have been having great sword fights as well, and he likes to be captain hook. We have great chases around the house and he loves to ride Ridge's bike around (much to the dismay of Ridge...and yes, he does have his own bike, and it's really cool!) He really likes to cook with me and needs to be right in the middle of the action. His specialty is taste testing though he could use a little practice on his aim when adding ingredients. Today, we were making cupcakes for my sister's birthday, and Ty decided to open the cake mix for me and dumped 1/2 of it on the ground. Of course he insisted on helping clean it up (responsible child that he is) and then dumped it a second time down the side of the garbage can! For some reason, I can repeat this with a grin on my face! Maybe it's because I am raising 3 little kids who like to cook...a challenge that I have to work on daily!
Picture 1: Ok, so we bought some ocean-front property in Arizona...from our front porch we can see the sea! We live in that middle house. We had one of very few rain storms this summer, and the park (considered a retention pond in Florida) fills up with the run off water. It only stays for a couple of days, so for the majority of the year, we have a huge front yard to play on. It's nice...and we don't even have to mow it!
