Cousin Reunion

Our cousin Ed from upstate N.Y. was here for a visit. Actually, he's still here, but he went to Yuma to visit my parents (his uncle and aunt) for the weekend. We'll have one more visit with him before he flies back out to NY on Monday. He's staying at Lynn's house. I have not seen him for 10 years when he was out for Thanksgiving in 1999. My sister sees him sometimes when she has a lay-over in N.Y. and she went back for my aunt's funeral last May. We are trying to plan a bigger reunion with more cousins over Labor Day - in North Carolina where Ed's brother, cousin Craig, lives. It has been neat to reconnect. Even though we're all older - it's never too late to connect with family. I look forward to getting to know my cousins better. In today's world, NY and AZ are not really that far away anymore.

Ben is a Wolf!

Bill and I attended Ben's Cub Scout Blue & Gold Dinner the other night as proud parents. I got to go on stage with Ben while he was awarded his Wolf Badge. He did many things all year to earn the badge. He learned about safety, he collected food for St. Vincent de Paul, he did archery and knot tying. He attended an over-night camp out and participated in weekly den meetings. Ben is in the pack with four friends from his class and several other boys his age. He's really coming out of his shell and I think the scouting has helped. I'm very proud of Ben and he's my little wolf! Oouuu!

Long Weekend

Me and the boys took off for Yuma for the long weekend a few days ago. I did a candle party for Nancy's mom down there and the rest of the time we hung out with Nana, Papa, Chris and Uncle Steve. We had a relaxing time and the kids got to ride on the Quad with Uncle Steve. It doesn't get any better than that for them!

Cookies and Dip

Alex had his cookies and "dip" today..that's what he says when he wants milk with his cookies...can I have some Dip mommy? Sure Alex...here's your dip. . . ENJOY!

Gymnastics

Gymnastics Class is Alex's physical therapy. He loves it so much! Last week Ben had Friday off from school, so he got to come and play too! Here are some photos!

Four Generations

On Sunday Janet and Helen (Bill's mom and 95 year old Grandma) came over for dinner. It was nice. I am glad Bill and the kids got to spend some time with them. Grandma is doing well...but with her age, you just don't know when that could change and her health could decline. It's nice that she was able to come over and it was a very nice evening. I like this photo - Alex, his dad Bill, his mom Janet and her mom Helen. Cool...huh? I lost my last living grandparent, my Nana, when I was a freshman in college, so it is so great that Bill still has his grandma around.

Kindergarten....here we come!

I just love this photo! It says it all about Alex, I think...he is just so playful and funny and he really brings a smile to your face when you see him. We now have our results from the pre-school evaluation of Alex and recommendation of where he should be next year. Bill and I are still discussing it, but it will likely be at a school in the Mesa District where they have a program for mildly delayed kids with cognative disabilities. The classroom is small, with several aides to help the teacher and the ciriculuum (sp?) mirrors the typical kindergarten class. He'll be pulled out for PE, lunch, recess, art and library (media) and go with the typical kids for that. After much soul searching during this process, I've personally come to terms with this outcome and believe it is the best for Alex at this time. Now we just have to hope the State budget situation doesn't pull all-day kindergarten! Either way, I was happy to hear the school psychologist say that Alex is progressing and has a lot of skills! Go Alex - we are so proud of you!

Superbowl Fun

Well..it's been a few days now and I can blog about the Superbowl without getting bummed out that the Cardinals, the home team that was an underdog the entire season, lost the game by ......this much! It was a sad outcome of the game, but it sure was fun watching it! I lost my voice and was literally emotionally drained by the closing seconds when it became clear victory was not going to happen for our team. Here are some photos of the party at Lynn's.

A Fun Day at the Park!

We took advantage of the beautiful day on Saturday and walked over the the neighborhood park. Bill and Ben have been tossing the football, so we took the flags to play flag football. Alex and I played a little bit, but in the end we chose the swings and let the bigger boys take over. The weather was perfect and it was nice to get some fresh air!