Good-bye my boy!

This is going to be long....so sorry!

It's hard for me to believe that today is actually here. The day I had to say good-bye to Chad again. This time for longer than the others. He still has anywhere between 9-12 months left to serve in Afghanistan. We woke up at 3:00 a.m. so Sandy and I could get him to the airport on time. We both cried as we said our good-byes to him and watched him walk away. My heart is so heavy and sad. It has been this way for the past few days. Yesterday was an especially hard day full of tears. Everything went wrong...from money not coming in that was expected to my suburban losing all gears. It just quit shifting...so there I was, trying to push it around a corner in 105 degree heat to get it off the road so that I wouldn't get hit. Thank heavens there was a long train that came just in the nick of time to stop traffic long enough to get it moved. A very nice man finally stopped and helped me and gave me a ride home. By the time I got home I was in tears. I was already in a bad mood knowing it was Chad's last day. Mark came to pick me up and took me to town to get the other work van so I could finish my errands. Chad and Sandy were already in town running their own errands. I came home and made Chad's special request dinner, but they never made it home until 11:30 last night for reasons I don't want to get into, but my heart aches so much knowing that the family didn't get to spend the last day with him and the boys had fallen asleep without getting a chance to say good-bye at all. I know it's not his fault, but it doesn't change the pain in my heart. Maybe I'll feel better after a good cry and a nap.

Here's a bit of this and that of stuff going on around here since my last post.

***Friday night....graduation party!***

I fed over 60 people hamburgers, hot dogs with all the fixin's, 2 kinds of pasta salad, potato salad, veggie tray, fresh fruit, baked beans, chips, dip, salsa, and of course chocolate fountain with all kinds of yummy things to dip in it. All the kids LOVED the chocolate fountain. I'm pretty sure they all left on a sugar high. I'm still cleaning up chocolate drips here and there. Mark was late from work, so 2 of my brother in laws, David and Fred volunteered to man the grill. I worked for 2 days on food and stuff. The party was a huge success. I'm so glad they decided to make the drive out here. We enjoyed all the company and everyone left with full tummies. Can't beat that! By the time the night was over I could barely move. Bed was a wonderful thing!

***Saturday-bowling***

Chad, me, Cody, Cole and Jeremy (nephew) went to lunch and bowling. We had a pretty good time together. Chad won...I stunk...little boys did pretty good.Chad loaned me a pair of his "way cool" sunglasses while we were driving around town. He has 3 pairs of these. So what do you think? Cool or old woman grasping at straws?Goofy boys in the back seat.

While we were driving home, Chad's friend Chris was riding his motorcycle next to us. I can't believe he was doing this. That is so dangerous! I still couldn't help but take pictures. Dumb boy!

***Sunday in Prescott Valley***

Mark's sister MaryAnn, husband David and their 4 children live in Prescott Valley. They had their baby Owen blessed and their son Jaron baptized, so we woke up at 3:30 in the morning so we could make it to their church by 8:00. The have 2 adorable girls, Adrienne and Katelyn who are in between the boys, but not in this picture. It was a great day to spend with the family. Not to mention about 20 degrees cooler....love that!

I really have no control over my families behavior.Sandy and Chad slept a good chunk of the day.
My handsome Mark tried to get a nap in, but wasn't very successful.


Mark's only sister MaryAnn survived growing up with 6 older brothers. She is one of the best people I know. She is sweet and talented and I love her to pieces. She has decorated her home so beautifully and she was a great hostess that fed all of us lunch and dinner. There is such a great spirit being there. I want to go back just to feel that again.

Kyle surprised me with a song he learned to play. The boys really seemed interested in the piano. Mark knows how to play too. If we had a piano I would let the boys take lessons. Music is such an important thing and developing talents is too.

So now you can see why I am so sleep deprived and emotionally drained. I really need my 8 hours to function properly. I plan to sleep for an hour then head to town to run errands and drop off the rental car. I hope to beg a family member to pick me up and give me a ride back home. If I had extra money sitting around I'd surely rent it longer since the suburban is out of commission, but at least I have a smelly carpet cleaning van to drive for now. :o)

oooohhh....Chad just called. He got to Dallas safely and is waiting for his next flight. It's unreal how much I already miss him. I just really don't know how I can make it a year. The constant worry is hard on my stomach and my heart. Please keep him and all the troops in your thoughts and prayers.

If you made it all the way to the end of this very long post, I'm proud of you and appreciate you willingness to "listen".

Have a wonderful day!

Graduation Day!

My handsome graduate boy, Kyle who worked his tail off taking extra classes and a heavy load to graduate a year early. I'm so proud of him! He is such a great young man. So far he has been the easiest teenager. Perhaps he learned from watching his naughty older brothers when they were younger. :o)

I love you Kyle!

Cute Miss Sandy with her diploma and awards. I've already mentioned all the amazing things she's accomplished this year. She's a great girl. We are proud of her too!

My sisters Julie and Coleen with foster baby, Maryella (top of Kaden's head) who came to be a part of our cheer section.

Chad with the graduates

Mark, Chad and Cole

(Cody stayed home...said it was too boring to go. Whatever!)

Proud parents....tired parents! Mark came straight from work. I had my hair up because I had been preparing food all day for the celebration BBQ Friday night. I thought I was being nice to keep my hair out of the potato salad. :o) Neither one of us were looking our best, but we made it in time to get good seats.

My sweet boy loves his mom. :o)

Afterwords, Mark went on a motorcycle ride with the guys. Me Julie, Coleen, and Cole went to Taco bell for a quick bite to eat. Chad, Kyle, Sandy and their friends went out to dinner to celebrate. I bet their having a blast together.

Time for bed. I have to get up early because I have lots more food to make and prepare for the party....oh and the cleaning...ugggg... :o)

Playing catch up...long weekend

Chad rented a suite at the Pointe South Mountain Resort over the weekend. This was the view from his balcony...so pretty! This resort has it's own water park so we took the little boys over to play.


Cole spent most of the day on the water slides. These are way too high for my liking, but he thought they were a blast. He wore a shirt all day and sunblock. Cody didn't...Cody was fried...still is!
This is more my speed Cody getting an autographed poster from the Phoenix cardinal cheerleaders. Such a boy!Cody, Chad, Sandy and Cole in the wave pool.
They had a band there which offered a small amount of shade and good entertainment for me and Mark who were walking around in our street clothes. It was HOT...really hot!


We went to Ted's hot hogs for lunch because it was cheaper than eating at the resort. We always tease Sandy because she always orders big meals but NEVER eats them. She ordered a foot long and we told her there was no way she could eat the whole thing. She had to prove us wrong and she did indeed eat the whole thing. I'm sure she was sick to her stomach, but she did it. :o)Kyle was at his new job training. He got a new job at Fry's grocery store. His trainers were more than happy to let us take pictures of him working. They really liked him. After he was done with work, we bought him a swimsuit and dropped him off at the resort with the rest of them. They played at the water park until it closed, then went back to the room and watched a movie until we picked them up.
While they were playing Mark and I went and took pictures of our friend Nick with his boys (and dog, Shakes). His boys are now grown and beginning to move their separate ways with college and marriage, so he really wanted some pictures of them. I took a bunch, but I'll just share this one. Cute group of guys!
There was lots more that happened this weekend like church, meals, cleaning, yard work, got some squash out of my in laws garden, shopping, napping, motorcycle ride to the mountains, visit to the cemetery, floating down the river, etc. but I don't want to bore you all with a novel. I hope you all enjoyed your long holiday weekend. We sure did! :o)

George happenings...

Tonight I had a crafty class at church. We made these cute flags and I got to meet and visit with some very nice girls that live here in Maricopa. They invited me to go to their monthly late night crop at Recollections too. That will be fun!Cole, Chad and Grandpa PetersChad was playing around with Sandy's hair extensions. He would not be a pretty girl. It's kind of creepy! LOL!

I don't know what it is about boys, but you get them all in a room and they some how get the overwhelming need to wrestle each other. Miss Sandy showing off her muscles by pinning them all.

A little smoochy while watching Jordin win American Idol last night.
I had my family come over for an Italian feast. I made spaghetti, fettuccine alfredo with grilled chicken, salad and garlic bread. My sisters brought dessert. It was all great!
Cole and his teacher Mrs. Witte. I went to his school today because he was getting 2 awards. One for getting on the honor roll and one for perfect attendance. My little guy worked really hard since we moved here. It started out pretty rocky. Not real sure what's up with his smile. He said something about not showing his "real" smile at school. Who knows why a 10 year old thinks the way they do?Of course we had to get a picture of him and his buddies!

Things have been a little stressed with the sharing of Chad (or lack there of). I'm trying hard to bite my tongue, because what's most important to me is that HE is happy, but not everyone is sharing nice and it's making me very sad...sad for me and sad for him. He's feeling very torn. I've made sure that there is not any pressure from my end. I just wish he'd stand up for himself, so that he's not full of regret when it's time to leave. We all love him so much. At what point do you say "this just isn't right" or do you continue to keep the peace, but have a broken heart while doing so?