Don't Blink...Life goes faster than you think!

January - June 2011

The last six months seems almost like a blur; too many big things happened almost at the same time.  When we finally had time to download pictures off of our camera we were surprised how many little things we had forgotten about.  We are so glad we have pictures to help us remember! 

We opened the year with Rylie committed to potty training. She worked very hard to earn Olivia; her prized doll. She had to stay dry for 3 months to receive her. We are happy to announce that we are diaper-free; after 12 years of diapers. Good job Rylie!

In February, Jaryn earned his Webelos and took 3rd place in the Pinewood Derby.  Hard to believe he is almost done with Cub Scouts.  The Pinewood Derby was a little sad for him this year; it was his last one.  Darin and Jaryn had a lot of fun building their last car together. 

Our big announcement is that we FINALLY bought our first house!!  After 19 years as renters (5 years in college + 14 years married) we became homeowners.  This little adventure dominated our time and attention for several months.  Moving and unpacking was stressful but it is done.  Tiffany set a ridiculous goal to be moved and unpacked in four weeks; she desperately wanted to be done before she left for Girls Camp.  She made it - the pictures were even up before she left!!  Tiffany really hopes we are done moving for a REALLY long time.

The move was hardest on Josey and Rylie; they lived in the boxes for months.  They were troopers through it all.  They watched a lot of TV but their imaginations also kept them busy. 

 

The girls were super heros, pilots of cardboard airplanes, Josey made an Aang mask (have you seen Avatar?), Josey built herself a doghouse out of a large box (yes, she was a dog for a few days), Josey built an igloo out of ice cubes, the girls put blankets in their pants to pretend they had tails (Quincy joined in the fun), and exhaustion took over too when Rylie laid down on her purse full of toys on the hard tile floor to take a nap while we waited for the carpet cleaner to finish the carpets.

One week after we moved our stuff we had to go get wood!  A previous arrangement had been made for our family to take an old cedar tree in a few months.  Well it ended up being a few days not months.  The tree was down and we went to get the free wood.  It smells really good back by the wood pile and Jaryn had a great time  using his ax!

Josey goes to school in August.  Josey is excited but Mom and Dad are a little sad.  To mark this milestone we let Josey plan the perfect day then we set out to make it happen in a weeks time (her perfect day was too full!)  Her perfect day included eating at Subway, playing in the park, playing with her friend Brooke who also goes to school in August, and going to the zoo.  So, we had a Subway lunch in the park (we picked Darin up from work as a treat for both of them) and we spent a day at the zoo with Brooke.  It was a fabulous way to close this chapter in our life. 

Caitlyn has  really enjoyed orchestra this year.  She advances to the next level, concert orchestra, in August.  She is excited to practice her violin this summer so she doesn't forget how play.

The Lord really does work in mysterious ways.  The Montierth Family came for an unplanned visit to our home.  A glitch in their travel plans brought them to our home for 24 hours while they worked to obtain visas for their children.  Tiffany had just finished unpacking from moving and was working on packing for girls camp - so the timing of their visit was perfect.  It was a much needed break for both families; it was wonderful to spend time together again!   We are friends from Albuquerque and continue to be neighbors in Arizona; Montierths are close by in Phoenix.  Thanks for coming - we need to do this again!! 

Tiffany and Caitlyn spent a week at Girls Camp.  It has been 20 years since Tiffany was last at Girls Camp; not much has changed!  She decided she needed a 20 year break in order to look forward to attending Girls Camp for the next 15 years!  All the girls want Mom to go with them too!!  Tiffany went to lift Caitlyn's burden of diabetes which proved to be a real blessing for Caitlyn.  Tiffany managed diabetes and carried all the gear while Caitlyn spent 5 days feeling "normal".  Caitlyn was so sad when camp was over; she looks forward to next year! 

Shortly after Girls Camp Darin left for scout camp! 

This will be how we spend our summers for the next several years.  Good thing we went on vacation last summer.

Caitlyn is a "pumper".  We finally did it; Caitlyn is now using an insulin pump.  No more 6-8 daily shots for her; she gets one "shot" every 3 days.  She still has to poke her fingers to check her blood but she is okay with that.  She is happier than she has been in a long time and her blood sugars are nearly normal.  She feels great and has renewed energy to take care of herself.  The only regret we have is that we didn't do this sooner!