Hey Granny, Here we come!!

In all of this summer's craziness we still found the time to go visit Granny & Soap (that's his nickname) in the great Sacramento. With me being very pregnant I would do anything to get out of this heat, so come the 4th of July we packed up the kids and headed to California. I wasn't sure what to expect since the kids have never flown before but from start to finish this was a great trip.

We had:

*Picnics in the Park

*Took in a baseball game

*Watched the fireworks

*Sparklers

*Jacuzzi bathtubs at night

*Played at the train museum

*Yummy food

*Great weather

*Good company


The kids were great for the flights considering they took off at 6am, which meant we had to wake up at 3am, so we could leave by 4am. Kids....good Mom&Dad.........Exhausted.



This cute park has wild roosters that roam around trotting as if they own the city. The kids would chase them, feed them, and of course try to pet them. I think the roosters walked away eating more food from our picnic then we did. Soap won Ella's heart by being her swinging buddy and Kimball found a new friend on the playground.

Go Sacramento Rivercats!!

There is no better way to celebrate the 4th of July than a baseball game, hot dogs, ice cream, and fireworks. Granny and Soap treated the kids to foam fingers, baseball hats, team baseballs and whatever else they wanted. It might not have been a D-backs game, however we were cheering our hearts out and loved every moment. When the game was over they lit up the sky right over the outfield with a wonderful display of fireworks. It was AWSOME!

Trains, Trains, and more Trains.
Soap knew one way to Kimball's heart is through trains, so he didn't just show Kimball a small toy train, he took us to the Train museum where you tour old fashion train. It was amazing to actually go inside these old antiques and see how traveling was done back in the old days. It was then off for lunch where we found a variety of food and people. I don't know what I loved more, the endless supply of food vendors or the endless hours of people watching.





This was a great memory for our family. We miss our Granny more and more everyday and it was good for the kids to see where Granny now lives and it was really nice to see her smile. Now if we could just drag Granny and Soap back to AZ life would always be this great.

Let the moving begin!!

This summer is the start of big changes for our family. To start Mark finished school, it's amazing when you don't have papers, essay's and classes to attend that you realize how time consuming school is. Then we have our 3rd child coming, Kimball starting kindergarten, a new job for Mark and then Mark Moving to Snowflake, AZ.
Not in this order but you get the idea.

First things first was moving Mark. Here's the problem, the trailor Mark was going to live in is my parents and they keep it on their ranch down in Willcox, Az. so off to the ranch we go. The second problem was getting the trailor off the ranch property and onto the main road, and of course the 3rd problem was the fact that this trailor is the largest you can pull without a truck driving ahead of you that is sporting a sign saying "Large Load". It took 11 hours to pull this house on wheels from Willcox to Snowflake in a hot truck with a 5 and 3 year old, plus a pregnant woman and then we had to set it up. This would have never worked if it wasn't for my Dad, his truck, and the fact that he's a giving man who will do anything for his children. Did I mention this all happened on Father's Day.....Sorry dad.

Here we are enjoying our time down at the ranch before the long haul begins.

YEA!!!WE MADE IT!

Thanks Grandma for cleaning the trailor and the kids.

Ella's 3rd Birthday Party

After years of planning large b-day parties for my son in his early years and him never remembering them I finally realized a 3 year old only needs pizza and a cake to enjoy their day. Peter Piper Pizza is perfect for this.

Cake, Balloons, Pizza, and games plus absolutely no planning or cleaning up.......I should have done this years ago.

Watch the pictures of Mark and Josh helping their children play the gun game. It started with Kimball and Madeline playing together then, you will notice Josh is letting his daughter play while cheering her on. Mark on the other hand ends up playing for his son so he can win. My favorite is the intense look Mark has on his face. He's such a big kid sometimes.

Kick off to Summer

We started off the summer with the cousin's swim lessons. This was nothing more than a swim party that my sister and I paid for. We were 5 minutes into the first lesson when I realize there was no need for anymore lessons.

My Graduating Boys !!

What a great month May has been for our family. First came Mark's graduation, I was so proud of my man that I actually cried when I saw him in his cap and gown, I of course blamed it on the hormones. Second came my Kimball's preschool graduation, now I have always rolled my eyes at the thought of a ceremony for a bunch of 5 year olds that have no idea what it really means, however when Kimball came out with his little cap on his little head I again cried and then again.... blamed it on the hormones. To top off a great month Mark found a nice job in Snowflake, AZ that has us replanning our future.

Welcome to the Jungle

Mrs. Ranelle is known for going above and beyond for her students however this year took the cake with the "Welcome to the Jungle" presentation. Kimball had one of the lead roles with a lot of lines for him to memorize and he was great at it. Mark and I would practice with him at night and by the time the day came he would not only give his line but he would mouth the line that came right before his and then the one that followed. Man it was ADORABLE.

Cedar Chest

Mark's parents have a tradition that when there sons graduate from college they give a present to there daughter-in-laws. They believe when you are raising a family it takes 2 to be successful at school. One to attend school, and the other to attend the children, house, bills, and do everything in your power to be supportive while you are going farther into debt and all your husband does at night is sit at a computer and ssshhhh you when you want to talk. When Mark told me he wouldn't walk the graduation line because he didn't want to bother everyone on a Saturday and put more pressure on his wife to celebrate it, I simply stuck my finger in his face and said "We both put all of our time and energy into this so if you don't, I will" He simply laughed at the thought of a pregnant woman walking across the stage when the name "Mark Goodman" was announced and then he started hunting down a cap and gown.

A life time of Thank Yous goes to Dale and Nedra for giving me a beautiful Hope Chest that I will cherish forever and will be a family jewel to me for many, many years.