First Day of School Photo
I know it's a little late, but I finally just downloaded my camera. I'll add more pics over the weekend.
Forgot to mention
I've started a new book series, thanks to Theresa, called "The Outlander" series by Diana Gabaldon. The first book "Outlander" was just wonderful and I recommend it to everyone.
Reading has been my stress reliever this summer and I have enjoyed lots of great books that I have started listing here on my blog. Let me know if you enjoy them too!
Reading has been my stress reliever this summer and I have enjoyed lots of great books that I have started listing here on my blog. Let me know if you enjoy them too!
Summer's gone...
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So my last blog in mid-July was about a lazy summer day....now, all the sudden, summer is gone... It's Labor Day Weekend...Riley's been in school for three weeks now and it's time to start thinking about all the fascinating fall activities we have planned.
Riley started school in mid-August and has been doing just wonderful. His 2nd grade teacher, Ms. Hill, seems to be really wonderful. She's caring and sweet, which fits Riley's style just perfect. He has really started off well with great spelling and reading test scores and seems to enjoy going to school each morning, which makes my life a lot easier. He's actually reading to us every night which just thrills us both.
We have gone camping twice in the last month and have really enjoyed the relief of heat that Northern Arizona offers. I'll share some pictures soon. It's been so hot lately, I think we may head north again next weekend so Jim can prepare for his big Mt. Whitney hike by tackling Humphrey's Peak in Flagstaff.
We spent Labor Day weekend in California with Jim's sister, Deborah and her family. It was not quite the relief from AZ heat we were hoping for...100 plus humidity! We had a wonderful time, despite the heat, as we usually do with the family.
I'll share some summer pics soon.
Jessica
Riley started school in mid-August and has been doing just wonderful. His 2nd grade teacher, Ms. Hill, seems to be really wonderful. She's caring and sweet, which fits Riley's style just perfect. He has really started off well with great spelling and reading test scores and seems to enjoy going to school each morning, which makes my life a lot easier. He's actually reading to us every night which just thrills us both.
We have gone camping twice in the last month and have really enjoyed the relief of heat that Northern Arizona offers. I'll share some pictures soon. It's been so hot lately, I think we may head north again next weekend so Jim can prepare for his big Mt. Whitney hike by tackling Humphrey's Peak in Flagstaff.
We spent Labor Day weekend in California with Jim's sister, Deborah and her family. It was not quite the relief from AZ heat we were hoping for...100 plus humidity! We had a wonderful time, despite the heat, as we usually do with the family.
I'll share some summer pics soon.
Jessica
A lazy summer day...
We've spent the morning playing in the pool with our little Iserhott friends and enjoying the summer day. We even had a nice "picnic" lunch up in the treehouse, Corn Dogs and Chips, kids loved and it was easy!
It's been a while since we've blogged. We have been enjoying the summer break. We spent nearly two wonderful weeks on vacation. Half was spent with Theresa, Kevin and the kids in Chicago. We had a fantastic time! The boys all went to Six Flags, measuring in at 54 1/8", just exceeding the 54" requirement to ride the Batman and the Superman. While they were enjoying the coasters, Theresa and I took the girls to the arboretum. We all had fun splashing in the creeks, climbing the rocks and getting lost in the maze of tall bushes.
The other 1/2 of the vacation was spent in Muscatine. We had wonderful weather (for most of the trip) and got to see lots of family and friends. Riley loved all the woods that were available to explore and he enjoyed going to the park.
Riley has been spending his summer days (3 a week) with Ann and the kids. He's been loving the time with Em, Manny and Miranda. It sure didn't take him long to fall back into the rhythm of her house.
For the Fourth of July this year we actually made a conscious effort to see the fireworks. Jim found the perfect spot down in a park near the canal where we could see 4 different cities worth of displays. I think it will be our new spot every year.
I hope you are all enjoying your summer, like we are, and I promise to keep up on this a little more often.
Jessica
It's been a while since we've blogged. We have been enjoying the summer break. We spent nearly two wonderful weeks on vacation. Half was spent with Theresa, Kevin and the kids in Chicago. We had a fantastic time! The boys all went to Six Flags, measuring in at 54 1/8", just exceeding the 54" requirement to ride the Batman and the Superman. While they were enjoying the coasters, Theresa and I took the girls to the arboretum. We all had fun splashing in the creeks, climbing the rocks and getting lost in the maze of tall bushes.
The other 1/2 of the vacation was spent in Muscatine. We had wonderful weather (for most of the trip) and got to see lots of family and friends. Riley loved all the woods that were available to explore and he enjoyed going to the park.
Riley has been spending his summer days (3 a week) with Ann and the kids. He's been loving the time with Em, Manny and Miranda. It sure didn't take him long to fall back into the rhythm of her house.
For the Fourth of July this year we actually made a conscious effort to see the fireworks. Jim found the perfect spot down in a park near the canal where we could see 4 different cities worth of displays. I think it will be our new spot every year.
I hope you are all enjoying your summer, like we are, and I promise to keep up on this a little more often.
Jessica
Treehouse
"Everybody loves a treehouse" -some wise guy
I decided one day, about three weeks ago, that our backyard was missing something. We had two large Arizona pine trees eight feet apart no way to really access them. Over the years, I've cut the lower branches as needed to allow room for the mild arc of a nerf football or a wiffle. Recently, I had noticed my ladder to the bottom branches getting longer and not coincidentally, the routine of cutting back the excess becoming more involved. I thought, man, if I only had a nice platform from which I could access the upper branches, then I'd have something. Then I thought a platform might just as well be multi-use. So I started checking out books and websites dedicated to treehouses and decks. I decided to build a hybrid type structure. It's 8x8 and about 8 feet in the air. The squirt guns can reach it from the pool and vise-versa. It's been a blast to build and I'm still looking at it as a work in progress. I'm thinking in the Fall it may be time for storey 2. Riley has been taking his Summer breakfasts up there and the neighborhood kids seem to love it.
Beautiful Baltimore
A few weeks ago, yes I am a little behind, I had a business trip to Baltimore. Just my luck, it allowed me to spend a nice long weekend with my wonderful cousin, Kelli. I had never been to the East Coast. It was beautiful and so historic, you just feel like you are stepping back in time. We spent a Saturday wondering around downtown Baltimore on the Chesapeake Bay. We crossed the huge Bay Bridge and saw all the sailboats on the water. For dinner we headed to Thorin's restaurant, Treaty of Paris, in Annapolis at the Maryland Inn. He made us a custom 5 course dinner that was absolutley fantastic. It was so fun to not have to read the menu and make the decision, instead the food just came plate after plate. It was perfect!
Here are a few pics.
Here are a few pics.
A Work in Progress...
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Two Saturdays ago I came home to find Jim working hard at tearing down that big, huge, old, ugly, metal shed we have had in our backyard forever. Many of you have seen it and you may remember how cramped it made the backyard feel and how restricted the "patio" area was, but not anymore! Here's a pic from standing at the back door. I just love how nice and open it is, no more eye sore to look out at it. We now have a dedicated patio area where you can actually sit at the table and have a fire next to you! It's FANTASTIC. Riley enjoys it so much, he sits out there to do his homework.
I'll send more pictures as we continue the efforts. Jim is now motivated to actually plant some bushes and maybe flowers to add some color to the yard.
Oh, and we still have a shed, a nice new one, that is much smaller and is hidden down at the RV gate area.
Love you all.... Jessica
I'll send more pictures as we continue the efforts. Jim is now motivated to actually plant some bushes and maybe flowers to add some color to the yard.
Oh, and we still have a shed, a nice new one, that is much smaller and is hidden down at the RV gate area.
Love you all.... Jessica
Baseball is in Full Swing
Riley started Baseball last month with Jim as his coach again this year. They both enjoy it so much and I love watching them play.
In this video, Riley is at 3rd base, # 19.
In this video, Riley is at 3rd base, # 19.
When it rains, it pours...
I think that saying is particularly accurate right now at work. The last 6 months have been usual every day stuff, the things that tend to bore you eventually and question why you do the thing you do, then all the sudden, it hits. I am now managing 4 projects that span the nation and trying to prep our teams for new daily business coming in. Lately I work from 8am to 6 or 7pm only getting up to get a glass of water and to get Riley from school. Don't get me wrong, the projects excite me, they are what I love, but why do they all need to happen at once! I'll survive and the lack of lunches will even help me to lose a few pounds, that wouldn't be so bad!
Valentine's Day was nice. Jim and Riley have actually been enjoying V-Day since February 1. I took this wonderful little scrapbooking class where my dear friend, Ann, created the "14 Days of Valentines". Each day they each got a special little treat with a nifty little lovey saying. They loved and looked forward to them each day. Jim brought me home some pretty pink tulips, my favorite, made my day.
So today is Friday and on the way to school this morning Riley says his throat hurts and then a few mins later it's his tummy. Come on Riley you only have 4 hours of school today, early release, remember? You can do it. 2 hours later, the school calls, he has 102 degree temp. Do I feel terrible or what? Jim just happen to be off work today, so he got to enjoy sitting with Riley in urgent care for two hours to find out, it apparently isn't strep throat. I still don't agree, he's had it once already this year and he always has the same symptoms. I just know they'll call back tomorrow or Sunday and say that the more in-depth test is positive, making my sweet little boy suffer for that many more days.... It's a mother's intuitiveness to know what's wrong with her baby, right?
I just hope he feels better by Monday so he can enjoy his day off.
The whole bummer of him coming home early... for the first time all year, he got 100% on his spelling pre-test, which makes him not have to take a Friday test and gets to have "Fun Friday". He's been waiting for this all year, finally gets it, then gets sick. He's kind of bummed about that. He says this week's words were so easy and they will never be that easy again. He doesn't realize it, even though his teacher and I do, he has made leaps and bounds in his reading over the last three weeks. He actually read a book on the way to school Wednesday, without even flinching... this would have never happened just two weeks ago. I think spelling will be much easier for him now!
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend,
Jess
Valentine's Day was nice. Jim and Riley have actually been enjoying V-Day since February 1. I took this wonderful little scrapbooking class where my dear friend, Ann, created the "14 Days of Valentines". Each day they each got a special little treat with a nifty little lovey saying. They loved and looked forward to them each day. Jim brought me home some pretty pink tulips, my favorite, made my day.
So today is Friday and on the way to school this morning Riley says his throat hurts and then a few mins later it's his tummy. Come on Riley you only have 4 hours of school today, early release, remember? You can do it. 2 hours later, the school calls, he has 102 degree temp. Do I feel terrible or what? Jim just happen to be off work today, so he got to enjoy sitting with Riley in urgent care for two hours to find out, it apparently isn't strep throat. I still don't agree, he's had it once already this year and he always has the same symptoms. I just know they'll call back tomorrow or Sunday and say that the more in-depth test is positive, making my sweet little boy suffer for that many more days.... It's a mother's intuitiveness to know what's wrong with her baby, right?
I just hope he feels better by Monday so he can enjoy his day off.
The whole bummer of him coming home early... for the first time all year, he got 100% on his spelling pre-test, which makes him not have to take a Friday test and gets to have "Fun Friday". He's been waiting for this all year, finally gets it, then gets sick. He's kind of bummed about that. He says this week's words were so easy and they will never be that easy again. He doesn't realize it, even though his teacher and I do, he has made leaps and bounds in his reading over the last three weeks. He actually read a book on the way to school Wednesday, without even flinching... this would have never happened just two weeks ago. I think spelling will be much easier for him now!
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend,
Jess
Wow, It's been a long time...
Hello, Everyone! Sorry it has been so long.
We went to Flagstaff last weekend to play in the snow, so I'm going to try something new and hope it works. I'm going to attach a video of our fun... the end is a little crazy, Jim and Riley went down the hill together holding the camera.
I hope you enjoy and I will update more a little later.
Love to all,
Jessica
We went to Flagstaff last weekend to play in the snow, so I'm going to try something new and hope it works. I'm going to attach a video of our fun... the end is a little crazy, Jim and Riley went down the hill together holding the camera.
I hope you enjoy and I will update more a little later.
Love to all,
Jessica
Cold and Rainy...
It is a cold, rainy day in Phoenix. I know much of the country has finally been hit with the cold of winter, but we live in Phoenix and there is a reason for that... we don't get cold! Not this year, as everyone else dropped in temps, so did we. We have had a week of 30 degree nights and 50 degree days and today, old mother nature threw rain in the mix... so 45 degrees today with rain... Riley insists it is the most rain he has ever seen in Phoenix! We just don't see rain during the day. When it rains here, usually during monsoon, it always hits us at night. We finally agreed, maybe not the most rain he's seen, but definitely the coldest. There was that time two years ago we got hit with hail and it looked liked it snowed everywhere!
Love you all and hope you are bearing the cold in your neck of the woods.
Jessica
Love you all and hope you are bearing the cold in your neck of the woods.
Jessica
It's been a long time...
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and a lot has happened!
So sorry it's been so long, I know many of you have been loyal viewers just waiting for some updates.
Christmas was fantastic, as always. How could it not be, it's CHRISTMAS!
Riley woke up Christmas morning and wondered to the tree all sleepy eyed and suddenly grinned ear to ear, eyes twinkled and I heard just the faintest "ssswwweeeetttt" come from his lips. I guess Santa did good in bringing the R2D2 robot!
We enjoyed the rest of the day playing with our new toys and just being together.
Mom headed out on the 28th. We really had a fantastic time together and always look forward to her next visit.
The 30th, we packed up our car and headed to Southern California. We left at 7am in order to get there in time to catch the Alamo Bowl on TV. Then that evening, the Hilbrant's made it in! Yeah! We were all so excited to be together and to meet Hadley (now 3 months old). We spent through New Year's day all together in Southern California, all of Jim's sisters and all the cousins together, it was a wonderful time.
Then Theresa and I agreed to switch Riley for Hadley so that Riley could head with them to Knotts Berry Farm and San Diego Zoo. He had so much fun hangin' with Ian, but we really got the better part of the trade being able to cuddle and just bond with Hadley. She really is a beautiful, fantastic, happy little girl.
They all arrived here from San Diego on the 4th! It was so exciting having the house so active with 5 bigger kids running and laughing and just having fun.
It was sad to see them leave on the 7th, but we know we will be together again soon. The boys miss each other already and meet up occasionally in WEBKINZ world.
The 8th was back to School and back to Work. Riley and I had both been off since the 22nd. It was tough getting ourselves together that morning to get back to the "real" world. The work week was spent on a large project working long hours which eventually wore me down as Friday, the 12th, yes, my Birthday, I was miserably sick!! Yuck... I laid around all day taking medicine which got me better enough to enjoy a nice dinner (Outback Steakhouse to go)and cake. Gabe made me a strawberry cake with relay strawberries sliced all around it. It was really wonderful.
So, it's been a crazy couple of weeks and a New Year! I'll keep up on the blogging now. I hope you enjoy the many pictures that have been taken over the last several weeks.
Love to all...
Jessica
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