Payton's Preschool Field Trip

Payton's Joy School had a little field trip to the Buckeye Fire station. This happened when the packers arrived to pack up our house to move to Iowa. I was able to sneak away for a few minutes so Payton would not miss out. She did not like the field trip very much. She cried, a lot. I think it was a scary, intimidating place for her. I can't say I blame her, I am certain I would have been scared at her age. She managed to dry up the tears when I was about to take a picture of her though.

The field trip was great though. The firefighters taught the kids all about 9-1-1 and how to escape a fire. They showed them how the truck works and also got dressed up in their uniforms so the kids would know not to be afraid of them in case of a fire. The firefighters seem to love having the kids around. They played games with the kids, which Payton refused to do. They were given them high fives, and putting their clothes on them, again, Payton wanting nothing to do with it. The firefighters let them in the truck, which I threw Payton in kicking and screaming. They also sent them all home with firehats and a bag full of goodies.... Payton loved that. It was a hit!

May The Force Be With You

Seeing as how we decided, or more that we were forced, into moving so suddenly, I felt we needed to throw a BD party for Kutter before we moved. He has made so many great friends here and his birthday was just the week after we moved away. I don't know why I do these things to myself. As if moving is not stressful enough but Ryan was already in Iowa so I was alone with the three kids trying to get the house packed and cleaned. Who in that situation thinks to themselves, "self, why not throw a birthday party while you are at it?" Then I thought, well lets make it a going away party for Payton too. I think we invited 36 kids. All but 7 came! That is a big ol party. Luckily I have some amazing friends who came to my rescue. Tisha Bierman deserves all the props in the world. She made the most amazing pinata and made light sabers for all the kids who came. I mean seriously, this life like Darth Vader came equipped with gloves, all the mechanics and even a cape. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. Kutter was inconsolably crying when it got all busted up with a bat. He wanted to keep it forever, I felt bad. But it truly was an amazing creation.

Megan and Bridgette jumped in and helped get food served and cupcakes decorated. Then there is Kelly who stepped in as my knight in shining armour for the party. Kelly is Megan's husband and he became the entertainment portion of the evening. He took on all the kids in a light saber war. It was so funny and such a stress relief for me. He also manned the pinata and figured out all the tricky stuff that came up that evening. It was a sad time for all when he had to duck out early to go to work. Thanks Kelly, you da man! Seriously, I could not have done it without any of you guys. All in all it was a perfect party and a great send off for my kids. I don't regret doing it one bit. I am so grateful for the friends my kids made during our time in Arizona. They will forever have a place in all our hearts.

My First 5K

Since I recently decided I was going to become a runner, my Bridgette dragged my butt out of the house a few times a week to get me started. After Ryan got laid off, it was a great release for me and I cherished every minute I got to spend with Bridgette. She approached me one day about a 5k race that was being held 2 weeks before I moved. My first thought was a loud chuckle followed by a "no way!" But then, as time went on, I thought was a perfect thing for me to get to do with Bridgette before I move. It became very clear it was something I had to do. I just hope I survived!

Well...I survived, barely! I thought it would be a piece of cake because Bridgette and I had been running nearly 2 miles a day anyway so another 1.3 miles was not going to be a big deal. Well, I was wrong. Especially because the last 1.3 miles was uphill, the last half mile or so was straight up a hiking trail up a mountain. What kind of sick person designed that course. I mean really, if you want us to run up a mountain, at least put it at the start of the race, not at the end. I am sad to report that a 60-year-old lady passed me on that trail. Hey, I never said I was a fast runner, I just said I was running.

When I crossed the finish line, however, I was so happy. It was a feeling I have not had in quite some time. It was such an amazing experience for me and I cannot think of anyone I would have rather done it with that Bridgette. I just hope I keep up the running and make her proud.

Recipe Group 2008

I was lucky enough to be a part of an incredible group of women here in Buckeye. We got together once a month to swap recipes. Holly Wallin was the one who started the group in January of 2008. We rotated houses and whomever hosted that month picked a theme. We all brought a food item associated with that theme along with enough cutsie recipe cards for everyone to take one home. It was such a perfect thing because we were all able to try out each other's recipes so we would know which ones we would like and want to make for our families. Throughout the year, I have come home with some of the most amazing recipes. I am totally blaming my insane weight gain this year on this recipe group. Nope, it was not the pregnancy, it was the recipe group. It was my turn to host in December, maybe that is why Ryan got laid off so we had to move before I could subject the group to my hosting abilities. I was very sad to leave so many great people behind and I miss the ladies and the food so very much. I am pretty sure they disbanded after I left because they just could not bare to go on without me, at least, that is what I tell myself. : ) Thanks for the book full of recipe cards, the extraordinary memories, and the 15 pounds.

Pictured above are:

Back: Kaci Perkins, Katie Hunter, Cheryl Wellman, Bridgette Jankowski, Charity Rose, Holly Proctor, Kim Rolfe, and Sage Harper.

Front: Brooke Jenkins, Holly Wallin, Tifany Wright, Brianne McKinley, and Tisha Bierman

Halloween 2008

One of my favorite things about living in Arizona is Halloween. It is such great weather this time of year. The kids actually get to show off their costumes instead of covering them up with layers of warm clothing. Most people sit outside in their drive ways to give out candy so they can see all the trick-or-treaters. It is quite the event around these parts.


Our activities for the day started out by me attempted to put Payton's hair in curlers. I really wanted her hair to be perfect. She was Little Bo Peep for Halloween and when I think of Bo Peep, I think of blond hair with big ringlets in it. The day before, I made a trial run at it by using a curling iron. It did not work. So I attempted the curlers, it was quite the step for me. I have to say, not bad for my first time. Her hair was actually quite perfect!

The next adventure of the day happened at Kutter's school. Since I knew it was a possibility we may have to move, I wanted to take special treats to Kutter's class and make Halloween a memorable one. I had way too much fun making goody bags for each of the kids. The bags included such items as pencils, bugs, eyeballs, funny glasses, candy, etc. Ryan came with me when it was time to deliver the goodies. He somehow convinced Kutter's entire class including his teacher to put on the funny glasses and pose for a picture. This was so fantastic!

After school, we got the kids all in their costumes to go trick-or-treating. This turned out to be a bigger challenge than initially anticipated because Maggie's costume did not fit her. The hat was way too small. Go figure! I had to make a few little modifications to get it to sit on long enough for pictures. I was so excited for the girls costumes this year. I found Payton's at TJ Max for $20 and found Maggie's at Wal-mart for $11.88. Sure wish I would have tried on the hat on Maggie earlier. The costume fit fine, just not the hat. But you get the idea. The idea of Payton as Little Bo Peep and Maggie as her sheep was just too good to pass up. It was priceless!
Kutter wanted to go as Spiderman again this year. We found a great "Black Spiderman" costume with the big cushy muscles. I like finding good costumes for the kids because they wear the costume all the time. My kids play dress up nearly every day, several times a day if you are Payton. So it saves me a whole lotta heartache if I can buy one that will last awhile.


We met up with the Zierse's to hit the road for trick-or-treating. It was such a fun night watching the kids run from house to house and the adults just getting to walk and talk. It was a bit of a depressing Halloween on our street, however. There was only about 1 in 10 houses giving out candy. Our town has been hit pretty hard with foreclosures. We then loaded up all the kids and headed to Weinerschnitzel for dinner. Cheap and easy, that is my motto! All in all, it was a pretty terrific Halloween!

Joy School Halloween Party

For Payton's Joy School class, my friend Megan and I were in charge of the Halloween party. Trust me when I say, we did not hold back. We made green punch that had a gummy severed hand in the bottom of it. We froze fake bugs and eyeballs into ice cubes. We had a super fun craft project where the kids got to paint their own Halloween masks. We had some fun games to play and yummy food to eat. We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which we cut into shapes of ghosts and witches. There were, of course, yummy cupcakes in which the kids got to decorate their own. That was just the beginning. It was a very messy but very fun little party. Thanks to Jami Snyder who let us invade and trash her house in the name of good fun.

In this picture are: Kaycie Wellman as a zoo keeper, Cambri Harper as a patriotic dancer, Kennadee Manutai as Wonder Woman, Brittlee Harper as a patriotic dancer, Payton as Little Bo Peep, Carson Zierse as a pirate, Kali Manutai as a kitty, and Colby Snyder as Mr. Incredible. What is it with the boys? They could not seem to keep their costume on.

It was a very fun and extremely memorable little party with an amazing group of kids.

Tif is 31 Today, October 6.

Tifany is 31 today and I wanted to post 31 things about Tifany since she is so special to me!!! I am a first time poster so hopefully this works. I love you Tif!!!

1- Tifany is the most Beautiful woman I know, both inside and outside.
2- Tifany has her Masters degree in Business Administration. She completed her bachelors and masters in the time it took me to get a bachelors degree. I think there was one quarter she took 24 credits? I don't know how she did it.
3- I think Tif was an interior decorator in another life. She is very good at decorating painting etc. and she loves it.
4- Tifany took state in Tennis while she was in high school. She still loves to play. She will not pass up a chance to beat any of my friends on the tennis court, especially the one that think it would be easy to beat a girl. She likes to rub it in when she beats the guys. She usually takes it easier on the girls.
5- Tifany likes it when you call her T-funny. She tells great stories and always makes me laugh.
6- Tifany is always up for a challenge. Her newest challenge taken on is the goal of running a marathon. Next summer, Go Tif! I am her biggest fan.
7- Tif loves music. She is always singing along to a song or doing her wave dance.
8- Tifany can make anything on home design shows come to life. Then she usually one-ups it.
9- Tif loves sports. Sports come very easy to her and she gets really good, really fast.
10- Tifany loves photography. She takes casual, scenic and even family photos. I love the personal touch she adds with pictures.
11- Tifany is the most giving person I know. She is always helping!
12- Tifany would die with out Dr. Pepper. She is beyond addicted. I am starting to get really worried.
13- Tifany has been married to me for over 12 years. She must be really patient.
14- Tifany acts tough and will never cry, but has a very tender heart. So take care of her!
15- If you haven't noticed Tifany does not trust your driving. I think she puts it something like this. "I just like to drive, so even though it's your turn to drive, and we are taking your car, do you mind if have your keys and drive?"
16- Tifany is way cooler then me. She is fun to talk to, tells good stories, and I just love her!
17- Tif is a packer. I once watched her pack our entire house inside of our Mazda MPV minivan.
18- Tifany can paint like a pro. She has a special brush she uses to trace in lines. She loves that brush. I am pretty sure it has its own name.
16- Tifany loves being a big sister. She was the baby growing up in her family, but loves being a big sister to my younger brothers and sisters.
17- Tifany has had a baby in every state that she has lived in (3).
18- Tifany has the most beautiful hazel eyes with fire around the edges.
19- Tif is a great cook! She has these chocolate chip cookie that are awesome! Good luck getting the recipe out or her though.
20- Tifany is a good listener. She has great insight and is a good friend!
21- Tifany has intuition about our kids and family. I am really glad for it if she has a sense, I listen.
22- Tifany can hit really hard. I am still waiting to find out how hard, cause she takes it easy on me. But, she tells me she can hit really hard, so watch out.
23- Tifany can not stand an unfinished project. I think they make her twitch. She pushes me and her friends to finish projects. Sometimes she does them by her self it bothers her so much to leave a project unfinished.
24- Tifany is a great mom! Our kids almost always have a great temperament. They have great personalities. She teaches them how to work, learn and get along in society. They are as smart and well behaved because of her. Our kids will always know that their mom loves them.
25- Tifany puked her guts out for the first 5 months of pregnancy with all of our kids. She had severe heart burn for the last 4. She loves the kids with everything she has!
26- Tifany has had the same cat for 16 years. A stray cat had babies in our back yard about 4 weeks ago. It has been fun to get her and the kids all excited about 6 baby cats running around.
27- Loves movies. We have seen almost everything.
28- She has a great laugh and a great smile!
29- Tifany started dabbling in sewing over the last few years. What does she need me for she can do everything?
30- Tifany loves the holidays. She decorates, has the kids help and gets them all worked up. It is good times!
31- Tif is a great wife. She challenges me to be better. She is fun, funny, and a great life friend. Tifany you are my best friend! I am looking forward to spending forever with my best friend! I love you with all of my heart!

Tifany you are Awesome! You make me the happiest man in the entire world! I hope you have a great 31st Birthday!