First Day of Kindergarten

I have been dreading this day. Whenever I would think about Emmet going to kindergarten I would get all teary eyed. It's all day kindergarten here. Despite my trepidation, I have been talking it up big all summer and today was the day. I had my whole family praying that it would go smoothly and it did! In fact Emmet was awesome. He was dressed and ready to leave the house by 6:45! He woke up and the first thing he said to me was, "I feel like today is going to be a great day!" That's how I knew he was excited.

He was ready with his Bakugan backpack, Bakugan lunch box, and Bakugan thermos!
We got to school quite early, but he enjoyed playing in the playground and so did Emery. Emmet's teacher is so great she encouraged all of the parents to come inside her classroom and take pictures. Emmet was so confident and he sat down and immediately was talking to the kids at his table.

I wanted to cry watching him only because he looked so grown-up. I was also so relieved that he was happy and excited.
I picked him up from school and he was quite proud that he ate his entire lunch and was even prouder that he ate a chocolate doughnut for his snack. Maybe he'll start eating better. Who knows. All I know is he had a wonderful first day. His favorite part of the day was recesses where he was tackled by three girls. I thought to myself, I'm in trouble!!

Bakugan Tournament

In my attempt to be a fun mom we head to Arizona Mills Saturday to participate in a Bakugan Tournament. I had no idea what we were getting into or if it was legit, but it turned out to be a lot of fun! The place was packed with mom's being dragged by their sons who were carrying their stashes of Bakugan. We stood in line for over an hour waiting for Emmet's turn to battle.

The kids handled the long line well. Of course Emmet loved talking about Bakugan with all the boys in line with us. They were arguing over the finer points of the game. I was entertained by the man standing in line behind me who managed to discuss Star Wars with me for a good amount of time. He feels that his knowledge of Star Wars is so great there is no question you could have that he couldn't answer! I was grateful that Emery was starting to get bored so I could focus my attention on her and not the Star Wars trivia that was being thrown at me.

There were three stations. The first was a demonstration of the game Bakugan given by a "Bakugan Master". I think he was a great actor, but Emmet was convinced he was a "real" Master! I learned all of the rules and was surprised at how much I already knew about Bakugan. So, any moms out there wondering how to play Bakguan, I can definitely help you out with that.

The second station Emmet actually battled! It was done with the help of an adult who assisted the kids during the battle, answering any questions and making sure the game was being played correctly.
The last station Emmet was able to battle unassisted and sit in a really cool chair. He actually won and I could not believe how excited he was! I left so glad we went. It was free and Emmet had a great time. It amazes me how simple an activity can be, but how fun the kids actually have. He wants to have a Bakugan birthday party and set up a tournament. We'll see if I can pull that off.

I have to hand it to Emery. She was such a trooper. She could have battled if she wanted to, but she would rather cheer Emmet on.

Please Someone Remind Me Why I Live In AZ!

I just watched the weather report, which is a novelty because rarely do I watch what I want to watch. Anyway it is suppose to be about 108 degrees give or take for the next two weeks. Some nights the low will be 90 degrees. We went swimming yesterday and the water was so hot it felt better to get wet and sit on the steps and let the breeze cool me off! I have all my curtains drawn and blinds closed to try to keep the heat out. I call my house my little bat cave! Why do I live here? I should become a snowbird!!

Chicago

I would love having my parents living in AZ so we could see them more often, but Chicago is a great alternative! It's been so much fun visiting them each summer and this time was the best visit yet. Chance and Angela live a few blocks from my parents so we were able to see them daily as well. Angela had the "privilege" of spending most days with us!! Thanks Angela for carrying Emmet and Emery, pushing strollers, playing Mario Kart and entertaining kids. What makes the trip to Chicago so exciting for the kids is all of the modes of transportation they took.

First we took the bus, almost daily. There are still very considerate people in the world who would stand up so Emmet and Emery could have a seat, because the bus was always packed!


My parents have a great view of the river and the lake. My kids are constantly watching the boats, so it was pretty exciting when we took a water taxi to Navy Pier. Fortunately it wasn't raining that afternoon.

Emmet has always loved trains so of course we had to take the subway. We took the underground subway and later in the week took the elevated train. The lull of the train almost put Emery to sleep. Emmet and I enjoined being able to look into people's offices because the elevated train travels so close to buildings.


We took taxi's often and my kids loved that they didn't have to be buckled!! Don't worry we never were in them longer than five minutes, but sometimes it was nice to not get wet or our feet were too tired to of walking.
One afternoon we also took a carriage ride down Michigan Avenue, Rush Street and along the Michigan Lake. I enjoyed that ride the most. We went slow enough I could really see what was going on. There is always so much to look at.

I can't forget the airplane ride to and from Phoenix to Chicago. They were awesome and are such seasoned travelers. Such an improvement from even two years ago.

I want to write a quick over view of what we did so that I don't forget. We had so much fun and rarely sat still that it's hard to remember. My parents live right by Millennium and Grant Parks. So we were constantly heading that direction to listen to concerts in the park, visiting the bean, the "spitting" fountain, and they had a great kids area set up under a tent. We went to the Taste of Chicago the first day we got there. We ate the most delicious peach cobbler. We didn't enjoy it as much as we could have because a seagull pooped on my mom twice and it was so gross I was dry heaving as I was trying to clean it off of her!!

It rained often and we didn't come prepared for cool weather. Thankfully I brought sweatshirt jackets. Some days it felt colder that it does in AZ during the winter!
This is our first visit to the "spitting" fountain. I know it has another name, but I have no idea what it is.

We returned on a sunnier day, but they were still cold!

Emmet would tell you his favorite part about our visit was going to the Lego store. He had no idea such a store existed. I've kept it a secret from him on purpose. He now thinks there is only one store and it's in Chicago!! He's in love with Lego Star Wars.

Emery would tell you her favorite part of our trip was visiting the American Girl Place. She would've spent hours in there pointing out everything she wants for Christmas. She wanted anything sparkly and pink!

My favorite part was being with family. That was the longest continuous days I've been with Chance since before his mission. I loved playing with Angela. It was the longest amount of time we've ever spent together and I felt like I've known her forever!! But what was really fun was doing the PX90 Yoga! It was a crack-up. It was quite hard. We pushed the furniture back and just laughed.

We ate out a lot and I enjoyed that. One night Chance and Angela watch Emmet and Emery so my parents and I could enjoy a fun dinner together.

But my favorite place we ate at was called The Bongo Room. We had "brunch" there and ate the best pancake ever. It was a pretzel, caramel, and white chocolate pancake. I wished I had taken a picture of it. It sounds weird, but it was delicious!!
Fortunately it was a beautiful sunny day on July 3rd (which is when many cities in the mid-west have their fire work shows!) In the morning we headed to the "beach"! Yes, it was actually a pretty beach and if you didn't know any different by the pictures you would think it was the ocean the lake is huge. But there are no waves and no smell of salt.


This was the first time Emery had ever seen fireworks. We only walked five minutes from my parents apartment. That is the way to go. No fuss fireworks. It was a great show too! Emery had a hard time staying awake during them and Emmet was nervous the entire time. He was afraid they were too close to us. The noise of the fireworks echoed off the building around the lake so you would hear more than one boom. At times it got really loud!

We had such a great time. I loved having adult interaction everyday. That's the hardest about being home, it gets lonely being the only adult in the house. Thanks mom, dad, Chance and Angela for a great and memorable trip.

10th Anniversary

June 24th would have been my 10th Anniversary. I worked hard to make sure it would be a great day, but it turned out it was the opposite!! I simple had a bad day. Which was the opposite of my actual wedding. I absolutely loved every minute of my wedding day. I have always felt that way even before Sam's death. It was perfect, simple and elegant. I even loved standing in line for almost three hours at our reception.
I stumbled upon a quote this week that I simply love and after such a horrible emotional day I believe this quote is becoming my motto. It was written by an American author Thorton Wilder, "The highest tribute to the dead is not grief, but gratitude." I am grateful to have had the opportunity to marry a man who I loved and he loved me equally back and I am thankful to have two beautiful children to raise as his legacy!

Thursday June 17, 1999

What a momentous day this was 10 years ago. I was able to enter the Mesa Temple through the revolving doors for the first time! Sam and I drove together, but not before he gave me a beautiful picture of Christ and white roses. I remember being so surprised by the thoughtful gift. Later in our marriage I learned that the gift of that picture meant more to him than giving me my wedding ring! So that picture has a prized spot in my home. I love looking at it. It was a momentous day in the temple. An Arizona monsoon came through the valley knocking the power out. The back-up generators weren't working for the first time ever. After a significant amount of time the power was restored, but the air conditioning was not. You really can't survive without AC in the summertime here. Eventually we were able to find a room with air conditioning and begin our session. I don't remember much of the ins and outs of that day, but I do remember the sweet feelings I had and how important that day was to Sam and I both.

New Song

Since January Emmet and I have been attending New Song. It is a program for grieving children and their families. Emery isn't old enough to attend yet so she usually hangs out with my brother and his wife for the evening and has a great time. I wasn't sure what to think of the program when I first attended, but I've come to look forward to going as much as Emmet does. Emmet is with a group of 5-8 year old kids whose mom or dad have died. Going has made Emmet realize he's not the only one who has lost a parent. While Emmet is in his group doing different activities related to grief, I am with a group of widows and widowers. I am the youngest by about 10 years, but it's been great talking to others in very similar situations. We discuss how to handle being single parents.

Tonight was a little different. I haven't ever thought the activity of letting balloons off in honor of your loved one really made much since. But...tonight that's just what we did. We each wrote a note to Sam and then as a group let our balloons go. Emmet took this activity very seriously. I just had to write down what he wrote because it was really a window to his feelings, which he doesn't share too often. He wrote, "I love you dad. I wish you were here. I hope you will always love me. I will always love you. Love Emmet." It about broke my heart hearing him tell this to me so I could write it. He wanted to know his dad's favorite color so he could pick the right colored balloon. He told me he knows the balloon will pop before it gets to dad because there is no air in space!! I also wrote a short note and was surprised at what I would actually tell Sam if I could send him a letter. As a group we let our balloons go and it was fun to watch them fly away. I do believe that Sam is near and that he is very aware of me and my kids, but I had never written anything with a purpose like this before. I was touched by the activity.