Time is an interesting thing. There are moments that seem to drag on forever, like when you're a kid in school waiting for the end of the day bell to ring or waiting for that return phone call from him/her/them, and then there are long spans of time that seem to pass as quickly as the blink of an eye. When I look back at photos of the kids I am most aware of how quickly life passes and it is bitter sweet. My heart throbs when I look at their precious little faces and remember whatever event was taking place at that moment in time. Then I am jolted into a feeling of shock at how long ago it was which is followed by a sense of sadness when I realize how quickly the next few years will pass by. Of course neither the past or the future that matters as much as the present.
At the end of September Avery had her 8th birthday. We celebrated by hosting a birthday of beauty for 20 little girls at the salon. I was concerned that we wouldn't know enough people to have a party and I could not have been more wrong. Nearly every little girl in Avery's class showed up. We also had family and family friends on the guest roster. It was hectic at first but everyone settled in after a few minutes and the evening was a smashing success thanks to much help from many people. In a 2 hour time frame 20 little girls had their hair done, their finger and toenails polished, we opened presents and ate cupcakes. We topped the evening off with a sleepover and spent most of the following day recovering. It was very fun in a spin me faster kind of way.
Kevin is about 5 inches taller than me now. He spends most of his time listening to music and texting his friends. If I manage to stay up past 9:30 when everyone else has gone to bed then he and I will just hang out discussing the latest and greatest happenings. It is a time that I cherish. He spent his fall break back in Norman running around with the usual suspects and making his rounds. He had a great time. I was a little concerned about getting him back but he managed to make it home. His birthday is on Thanksgiving this year which turns out to be perfect because we will be in Oklahoma for the week. 
Sydnee is in 4th grade this year. It was a bit of a struggle for her at first, mostly because of the move and many changes that took place in such a short period of time but now that things are settling in she seems to be finding her routine. Academically it has been a much more challenging year between the new concepts that are introduced during this time, nightly homework and more overall responsibility. Sometimes growing up can be so hard! She is doing good in spite of it and we are learning to be more disciplined with our time management at home as well. All the 4th grade classes at her school have a day trip to the Catalina State Park coming up where they get to do all kinds of cool activities. Eric and I get to be volunteers at it. I'm super excited.
Sydnee's also been working on growing her hair out. It has gotten pretty long and she looks great in it.
For Labor Day Weekend we took my family's Ranger and quad up the back side of Mt. Lemmon. When we were coming back down the mountain we ran into a little down pour of rain. Eric and Sydnee were on the quad so they got pretty wet and muddy but it only lasted for a few minutes before we were out of it and back into warmer, dryer weather. We cooked out and crawled around in Peppersauce cave. Avery didn't like the cave experience due to the fact that we got a little lost for about 20 minutes. She's not all that outdoorsy to begin with so being lost in a cave only served to reaffirm her belief that there is no reason for her to leave the safety of home. I suspect as an adult her vacations will probably not include climbing around on the side of a mountain or anything else that involves getting dirty or possibly lost.
The views were breathtaking and besides the brief shower
we couldn't have asked for better weather.
On September 28th my sister lost her husband and my nieces lost a father. Scot had type I diabetes and had been ill for a very long time. My aunt, cousin and I came out for the week to join them. Lindsey is an amazing person and has inspired me with her strength and grace though out everything. In spite of the circumstances it was a nice visit and I was glad to get the time with my family.
While I was in town I spent one of my evenings
with a few of my lovely ladies at Blu.
Then I jumped on a plane to head back to the place I now call home.
