World's Biggest Slacker Award...

That award goes go to me! But I've been busy, and then it's overwhelming to catch up, so you have to give me a little slack. It's a large task, but I'm going to try to catch up. I'll just do the short version summary of what's been going on, so that I don't bore you all to much...here it goes.

Life continued on as normal with Tim and I both working until about April of this year when we decided we needed to start a new chapter in our lives. Tim has always loved cooking (and he's good at it!) so we looked into culinary school and decided this was the path for our families future! School started beginning of July so we only had a few short months to work everything out and get ourselves moved to Arizona. Tim is attending Le Cordon Bleu School of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale, AZ and we are living in Phoenix. It is hot, but so far we are really liking it here. We live in a townhouse that has a pool which makes the hot days a lot cooler. And our location is awesome! Everything that we want or need is really within a 15 min drive, and they have some great shopping centers!

They move went really smooth. First Tim and I drove the moving truck on Friday June 15th. We flew back to Utah and spent Father's day there and then we drove our car home with the kids. That drive was a lot longer feeling than the first. But we stopped in Vegas to go to the aquarium so that Daniel and Chloe could get some wiggles out, and that helped. But the last hour or two were pretty rough, and nobody wanted to be in the car anymore. I think I gave the kids more treats than ever before just to try to make it through those last hours. But since we have been here, the kids have really loved it. I think they love having their own space (they each have their own room) and they love the time that mom and dad have both been home. They also love having a pool, which has definitely helped with the adjusting to a new home.

Now that we've been here 2 months, things are getting busier. Tim started class in July, and this week is his last week of the first block. He'll start the second block Monday, and will really start spending a lot of time in the kitchen. :) (I'm looking forward to this, because he'll get to bring home what he makes in class to me!) This week Tim also started his job. He got a job with the Arizona Cardinals with Rojo Hospitality. Rojo Hospitality is in charge of all the food at the University of Phoenix Stadium, and he was hired as a prep cook for the Cardinals season. And he was put in charge of all the desserts, so if you ever get something sweet at a Cardinals game, you can thank him!

Now onto the kids...My baby isn't really a baby at all, and this makes me sad. Chloe is such a cute toddler, but she is as stubborn as her brother. I'm pretty sure her favorite word it no. No, don't help me. No, don't snuggle me. No, don't dress me. Etc, etc. She basically thinks she is independent and doesn't want our help unless her brother is really bugging her. Then she'll call to us to save her. She speaks in sentences, and although it definitely still sounds like baby words (I mean of course her pronunciation isn't perfect) we are still very impressed with her vocabulary and talking. We just had her two month checkup (even though her birthday isn't for a month) and she is 23# 12 oz (17%), 33 1/4" tall (44%), & head circ. is 48 1/2 cm (80%). Her big head just means she's smart right? Maybe that's why there is so much attitude. Some of her favorite things include...playing outside, swimming, eating (she LOVES meat and cheese), reading books, her binki, playing with her brother if he's nice to her, having mom and dad home, Tangled & Muppets are her favorite movies, she loves trying to put on my make up (or she thinks my lip stuff is to paint her nails with),flirting with boys, and she loves compliments especially if you tell her she's cute. She'll look in the mirror and say "Cuuute." We love our adorable, blonde, curly haired, blue eyed girl!

Daniel is such a big kid now. He finished his first year of preschool and did awesome. He was doing speech at the beginning of the year, but by December had passed all of his goals and no longer needed it. They tested his motor skills and he qualified for those services, but the occupational therapist said that she mostly had to fail him because he just wouldn't do some of the activities. (I've mentioned he's stubborn haven't I?) So he still then qualified for an IEP which was great because it makes tuition cheaper and he's watched closer in a small class, so his stubbornness had a few benefits. School ended, and he's even done a lot more growing up since then. He handled the move like a chap, and was really a big help to mom and dad. He's officially out of pull ups...When I had gone back to work he really backtracked in the toilet training, and it was hard to have babysitters try to take care of it, but since we moved we've concurred it, and he's doing awesome. He even earned a darth maul light saber for having no accidents for a week. Oh and yes, he's still a HUGE star wars fan...hense the darth maul light saber. He's also becoming our little fish, and loves the pool. I don't think it'll be long before he won't have a "floatie" to swim. Some of his favorite things include...star wars, swimming, baseball, teasing his sister (I don't know how to get him to stop..HELP), playing XBOX lego games, good food (he usually wants to eat at Los Hermanos or Carrabbas if we ask where to go to eat), and he still love snuggling, giving hugs and kisses, and being a "helper" in any way. His personality can challenge our patience and keep us on our toes, but he is a fun, lovable, gentle boy if you take the time to really get to know him. We love our "miracle" boy and know that there are great things in store for him!

As for me, I'm enjoying being back at home with my kids! I'm still trying to meet new people and adjust to being away from family and friends, but I'm loving life right now. It is different being away from everything I've evere known, but it's a fun adventure as well.

Ok, sorry about this ultra long post, but that sums us up as of now. More posts with picture to come!