Arizona Birthday

The kids and I were able to travel to Arizona for 11 days at the end of September for my cousin's wedding. Mirielle was a beautiful flowergirl and had so much fu geing in the wedding. More details and pictures on my blog here. Jason was able to join us for the weekend of the wedding and we were so thankful to be able to be together.

We arrived on a Friday afternoon (and man was it hot!). Saturday, Jason's brother and his wife took the kids to the zoo and to a splash park while I hit the mall with my parents to try and find something to wear to the wedding. That night we had a party for Kellan with all of the AZ aunts and uncles.

I had grand plans to make a fancy John Deere cake for the birthday party, but after walking through the mall all day I wasn't much in the mood for cake decorating. So I cheated! My parents had bought this scraper for Kellan's birthday party, so I chopped up my chocolate cake and chunked up some Recees peanut butter cups, mixed it all together and made a dirt cake. I guess you can decide for yourself if it was super creative or super lazy! It was pretty delicious and Kellan thought it was great, so I guess in the end my dirt cake was a winner.

Happy 3rd birthday Kellan!

Moody Student and Staff Retreat

Mid September, we had the chance to attend a Moody student and staff retreat at a beautiful camp about an hour away. It was a good reminder that I really am not even close to being a college student any more and I give Jason a pat on the back for working with them every day. Really, I love college students and all of Jason's students I have met are amazing, but get them together in a big group and the are LOUD! There were a couple hundred students from both the Moody Northwest campus and Moody Aviation.

The student retreat was Friday and Saturday and then the staff had a chance to connect Saturday night through Sunday. It was such fun being by the lake and the kids had a blast. We were so glad that we were able to go.

The students during one of the speaking sessions

The aviation staff being introduced

The kids loved being in the water

Jason was the main source of power on the row boats, but the kids took turns too

Jason and Kellan took a go at the canoe. I was a little nervous about Kellan being up in the front, not strapped in, all by himself, but he did a great job
He just sat back and enjoyed the ride

Off to Kindergarten

Tuesday was Mirielle's first day of Kindergarten. Her elementary school is just up the road from us which makes it very convenient and familiar as we go there every once in a while to play on the playground.

Here she is ready to go

The, "MOM---do you have to keep taking pictures of me?" half smile

One with Kellan, who has no idea what is going on

Mirielle did a great job getting to school, finding her desk, and meeting the other kids. All until the girl at her table sat down CRYING her eyes out. I think this is her trying to be brave face.

All settled in at her desk

All is well!
Way to go big girl!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

This year was a big birthday year for me. 30! I think that I am mostly happy to be headed into my 30s and leave the 20s behind.

I started out my birthday by taking a big step - I went and took some pictures for a friend's family reunion. I was a nervous wreck, but I decided that it was a great way to start off a new decade in my life.

Dealing with anxiety issues the last few years has really held me back as far as trying new things in my life and stretching and challenging myself. The anxiety even makes it hard for me to do dumb little things like drive to a new part of town by myself. SO, I have been trying to take steps to do fun new things despite the fear that holds me back. Taking pictures of 40+ people gathered together for a family reunion an hour and a half drive outside of Spokane was definately one of those big steps for me. I thought it was a great way to start year 30!

After that I came home and needed a nap! Then we headed to the south part of town to one of my favorite little places for dinner. Later, my dear sweet friend, Stacey, brought over a wonderful birthday cake. Yum!



Just for laughs, I thought I would include this picture. The photo organizer on our computer has automatic red eye reduction and this was the first picture I saw when I uploaded the pictures of my birthday. I guess it got a little confused!