A Touch Of Tyrell

 One weekend we did a little bit of exploring and ended up in Oro Valley. It's a little less than two hours south of us. The Santa Catalina mountains really pretty (for desert mountains).  We also stopped by the Catalina State Park and "hiked" around a little and ended up playin the in the river-y stream that was running through.  It was a fun weekend adventure and it was nice to be able to enjoy the good weather and pretty scenery!

I don't get on social media very much... but since I get messages about photography on both Facebook and Instagram, I check them every few days just for messages.  A few days after Valentines Day/my Dad's birthday, this was the first thing that I saw when I opened my FB app.   He was so loved. He was so kind and sincere and was an amazing brother, cousin, friend, and father. He left a big impact on people.   He was such a lover of nature and the outdoors. He always told us kids that he didn't want to be buried in a cemetery with a headstone. "Just put me in a pine box and bury me in the woods" is what he always told us.  At his funeral, one of his brothers, my Uncle Doug, asked if he could have some of my dad's ashes to spread out where they grew up. Of course I said he could.  When talking with Wes and Tana, Wes preferred if all of dad's ashes stayed together. Anytime Wes and I talked, he always asked if I still had th...

Everett has loved the rain since he was just a tiny little guy. I think back and feel like I was such a great mom and supported his love for the rain.  It rained the other day. Everett was also waiting out a punishment of "no screens" from Jake.  Jake came home from the gym one night at 10:50 and found Everett on the computer. (I was asleep, we had already tucked Everett in bed around 9:00). Rain + no screens made the perfect afternoon of playin in the rain.   He wanted me to jump with him but I'm too old for that. I try to explain that it jiggles my brain and makes me pee my pants but he just doesn't understand :) Eventually he was completely wet... so he tested out the pool water.  It's still WAY too cold but we both had a good laugh.  He's such a fun kid! For "fun mom" proof: go here or here   here here here , here   here and for sure here   ok, and this one !

Jake is lucky enough to be able to take time off whenever he can. Many of those times he goes dirt biking.  He's been able to really enjoy the good riding weather. He's loved trail riding and the friend's he's been able to ride with.  Usually something happens. It's just how things go. People crash, bikes won't start, they get suck in a river, get splinters, crack things, break things... but luckily he always comes back in one piece!

You can't see them all... but there are 5 extra kids in our back yard. We are really lucky to have such a fun space for all the kids to hang out

Jake has so many friends and groups of friends. He's such a easy guy to hang out with and so everyone wants to hang out with him! Sometimes it can get overwhelming because he always tries to say yes.  But most of the time he ends up with special treatment! He and some friends got invited to watch a hockey game in box seats. They got the royal treatment! Dinner, snacks, drinks, even hot chocolate and dessert.  Jake said it was the coolest game ever. He said hockey is so fun to watch in real life. Everett thought it was amazing Lucky boys!

Roxy got her first Valentines at dance class on Wednesday. She got two more at gymnastics.  She was all set for her Valentines day party at preschool on Thursday. She passed out Frozen valentines with suckers and brought home all kinds of treasures.   She was especially fond of the ring pop... until she saw how it made her face look, lol! But she quickly got over it :) Everett was less than enthused about Valentines day.  Breckie made 28 different crafty cards. I was impressed at some of her designs. She also decorated her valentines box with cute stickers everywhere.  I was feeling really sick the night before so I sent Jake to be the "Valentines fairy". Each kid had a trail of m&m's from their bedroom door to their candy, a book, and a little stuffed animal from us, a valentines card mailed to each kid from the Berner Grandparents with $2 in it, and a seek-and-find coloring book for each kid from Gr...

The week of Valentines day was a rough one. Breckie stayed home Monday because she woke up with a really nasty cough.  Tuesday she went to school. Wednesday she got sent home because at recess she was feeling sick and went to the nurse. She had a fever... which means they can't come back to school the next day.  But Thursday was picture day.  So we went to school just for her class picture and then came home. We stopped by her class to get her make up work and she showed me some crafts that she had made in the hallway.  She went to school on Friday even though she wasn't feeling great. But it was her Valentines party and she had been working on her homemade Valentines for a month! In her mind, everything was good. But it's ME that had a rough week. One of the things I don't handle well is sneezing. The sound of people sneezing irritates me AND the fact that they are spraying spit and germs everywhere when they sneeze just makes a terrible ...

Jake and Breckie went to their first dance together. Breckie picked out her outfit, hair, did her own make-up and was super excited to go dancing with her dad! It TOTALLY wore Jake out! Breckie is a high-energy dancer that likes to jump and hang and dip and twirl! Plus they shared an ice cream sandwich so she was extra dance-y! 

Everett is our reader. He's read the first five Harry Potter books since starting 4th grade. The other day he asked if I had anything good to read. I told him he could check in my nightstand.  Later that night I found him reading Hatchet. The funny thing is that I had checked that out at the library for me to read and he read the whole thing in just a few days.  I love how smart he is. That is the easiest thing about Everett, he is academically smart all on his own. And he's pretty trustworthy and responsible too!

I've heard of Trader Joes for so long but I've never been. So we finally went.  Roxy discovered that they have mini shopping carts and now she is hooked! She was SO happy and shopping her little heart out!

I always wished we lived in a real neighborhood with pavement and sidewalks when I was a kid.  We got a little taste of it in the Summers at Dad's house but I was always envious of my school friends that lived in town and played together in the neighborhoods.  At least our kids get to experience it. And it's pretty fun for me too.  It seems like the neighbor kids are ALWAYS at our house. There is good reason too. We are fun.  I take them to the park, on bike rides, scooter rides, they jump on the trampoline, we have every ball imaginable, they play house, swing, swim, play pickle ball, we have good snacks, and I generally let them do whatever they want (obviously within reason).  This causes me a lot of stress but I think it's worth it. It's fun to see your kids grow up with neighbor friends and its also fun to watch the neighbor kids grow up too!

Roxy has been enjoying dance and it's cute to watch her. Sometimes she doesn't dance and just stands there and a few times she has just sat down 🙈 but as long as she'll go and likes it, I'll continue to take her :) A friend convinced us to try out tumbling too. She's an even bigger fan of tumbling! She's only gone twice but I can tell she thinks it's the coolest thing ever.  She's been super worn out lately. Between preschool, dance, tumbling, running errands and going to the gym with me, it's about all she can handle!

I could probably say that Jake's hobby or interest revolves around dirt biking... but obsession seems like a better fit for now.  He's always been really into it but since he ditched kiteboarding and picked up dirt biking again, that's where he's been and that's what's been on his mind.  It's cool. It's fine. His friends have even flew in from WA to ride with him.  He has like 8 different options of dirt bike trips this year and I'm sure he'll do as many as he can!