Mani-Pedi

The other day Ava decided that she wanted her fingernails & toenails painted. She is usually not patient enough to let them dry, so we haven't painted them for along time, but she had school pictures coming up and she wanted them done for picture day!

She wanted sparkly blue for her toes...

and then an alternating pattern of pink & white for her hands...

All before her school pictures!

Mom

Today is my Mom's 60th birthday. SIXTY! How is my Mom possibly 60 years old?!?

My Mom is alot of really great things, but a few things stand out to me...

She is a wonderful Grandma! She has 7 grandchildren that she adores and would do anything for. Grandma has a tradition of taking the grandkids on "adventures", which they have all loved over the years. She is extrememly thoughtful when it comes to the kids, and my kids are always so happy when they get to visit 'Grandma Wolsey in Utah'!

My Mom is an incredibly dedicated school teacher. She has been a 4th grade teacher for over 20 years and she really, truly cares about every single one of her students. Over the years, my family has seen the countless hours that she spends marking papers, decorating her classroom, mounting artwork, cutting out laminated projects, etc. It is a familiar sight to walk into my Mom's living room & see her watching TV & marking spelling units until really late at night! We might have all complained a little bit about helping her in the classroom, but now, as parents ourselves, we all know we could only wish for a wonderful teacher like Mrs. Wolsey for our children!

My Mom is the most honest person I know. She always tells the truth - Always. My Mom is also very dedicated to her religion. She has always been so faithful in attending church & performing her church callings to the best of her ability - even when they weren't always easy for her.

Over the years my Mom has made so many sacrifices for her family, and she still does. I am still learning to appreciate all that she has done for me, especially as I am now a mother myself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I LOVE YOU!

Hiking

Last weekend our family and Brian's sister Shelly & her kids (Alex, Livi & Nate) went on a little hike/adventure! We drove behind the Superstition Mountain to Canyon Lake & to Tortilla Flats.

I sometimes complain about living in the hot desert (ok, I complain alot about living in the hot desert) but I forget just how beautiful it is here! Just a 20 minute drive takes us to the most beautiful places! The mountains are red & golden rock and they have huge saguaro cactus popping up all over them. The sky is so blue and it just seems huge and endless. You wind through these beautiful rocks & canyons, and then all of a sudden there is the bluest lake in front of you - truly like an oasis in the desert!

We had alot of fun with Shelly, Alex, Livi & Nate - just driving and then hanging out at Canyon Lake. We also went to Tortilla Flats, a tiny little old town that was a stagecoach stop on the Apache Trail, and a town for all the gold prospectors in the Superstition Mountains in the late 1800's. There is a cool little restaurant there - the walls are plastered with one dollar bills signed by the customers & the bathrooms have bar-girls painted all over them (see photo's below!)

The Hikers ~ Alex & Dillon,Livi,Shelly, Nate, Brian & Ava

Me & Ava

Livi with Dilly & Ava

Ava & Dilly at Canyon Lake

Bri, Shelly & Alex hanging by the lake

Me & Bri Bri

Our Family

Shelly's Family ~ Livi, Shelly, Nate & Alex

Ava at Tortilla Flats (I love this picture!)

Nate, Dilly, Ava, Livi & Alex at Tortilla Flats (I also love this picture!)

Nate, Ava & Dillon at the Tortilla Flats restaurant

Bri Bri at the restaurant in Tortilla Flats (and I really love this picture!)

The bar girls - Livi, Alex, Me & Ava

Memories

My niece Maddie just gave me this picture, it brought back so many fun memories. This picture is of me, Maddie & Sam at Sundance, UT. It is about 12 years ago - I think Maddie is not even one, and Sambo is 2 or 3 - probably just a little older than Dilly is now! So cute ~ I love them!

Alex

A couple of weeks ago it was our niece Alex's 18th birthday! (sorry this is so late Al!)
Alex is such a great girl. She has beautiful naturally curly hair and the most gorgeous long legs! I first met Alex when she was about three, and I remember how she was just so cute, really smart & had the cutest little giggle. I have such fond memories of playing Mother-May-I and Red-Light-Green-Light with Alex (& Livi & Nate) outside for hours! She was a flower girl at Brian & I's wedding 14 1/2 years ago!
I can never hear the song "I Can See Clearly Now" without laughing & thinking of little Alex singing - "I can see clearly now the rain is gone, I can see all the bananas in my way"!

Alex is really witty - she is really fun to talk to and she has a contagious laugh. She is a really great baker - it is always so great to go to her house & find she has just whipped up the best batch of chocolate chip cookies or a cheescake!

She is so great with kids. I always love to see how sweet she is to her little brother Nate, and she is so fabulous with my kids - they adore her! She is really patient with them (and she is always so willing to watch them so Brian & I can go out with her parents).

WE LOVE YOU ALEX!(Alex with her cute boyfriend Austin)

Getaway

Last weekend my sister Tash was nice enough to watch Ava & Dilly for a night while Brian & I took a much needed little getaway! (Thank you sooo much Tash!)
We went to the Gold Canyon Golf Resort for just one night and we had the best time! It was the most beautiful place, just nestled back in the Superstition Mountains.

Me & Bri Bri outside our hotel

(we set the timer on our camera & took this ourselves, hence the weird angle)

Bri outside the hotel restaurant (that had the best food!)
Our pretty casita One of the breathtaking views from our casitaMe & Brian at dinner. Actually enjoying our food and having a conversation, not worrying about what the kids are eating, or not eating, or throwing, etc.

Natasha

Today is my sister Natasha's birthday. I find it hard to even know where to start to talk about how great I think my sister is. She is truly one of my best friends!

Tasha is a very passionate person - when she does something, she does it all the way & does it really well, or when she likes something, she really, really loves it!

Thinking back, I realized that Tash included me in so many things as we were growing up & she never made me feel like I was just her little sister tagging along, but that she actually wanted me there! For example: she took me to my first concert when I was 10 (Cory Hart - I wear my sunglasses at night) with all her friends; she let me hang out at her college apartment pool with her & her friends; she would take me over to her boyfriend's house or apartment with her in high school & college; during the college semester that she lived at home she never got mad at me once when I went into her room every morning before school & woke her up asking to borrow her clothes; when she got married & moved to California & Arizona, she let me visit all the time; then when Brian & I decided to move to AZ, she let us live with her for about 9 months!! I could go on & on...


Tasha has supported me through so much - I am not sure that I would really make it as a pilot's wife if I didn't have Tash & her family nearby! She was there when my both of my kids were born and they absolutely adore their Aunt Tasha! She knows them so well and makes them each feel so special.

Tasha is a true sports fan - all sports! She can seriously talk sports with the best of 'em! Tash is such a capable & talented person & she is good at whatever she does, but the thing that I think that she is the very best at is being a Mother. She has raised three wonderful kids, Jake, Sam & Maddie, and she pours her heart & soul into everything she does for them.

One of my very favorite things to do is to just hang out with Tash & her kids - especially playing games & watching American Idol or So You think You Can Dance. We have so much fun together. I admire my sister so much, and I have been so blessed to live near her for the last few years.

Happy Birthday Tash!

I love you!

Before & After

This week we accomplished a couple of projects. Here are some pictures....

Our backyard before... (the dirt pit)

during...

and after.

After #2
(what a difference 3 hours on a Saturday morning & a bunch of money can make!)

My next project was to try to make our lovely green chairs (that we have had since we got married), and our bookshelf (gargage-sale-find) match the beautiful rosewood table that we inherited from Brian's sister Shelly when she recently moved. (Thank you Shelly!)

The chairs before...
The bookshelf before...
And after.
(Still not totally ideal, but better. Until I can afford the furniture I want, this will have to do...)