Birthday Season

In our family, spring is more accurately referred to as birthday season. It kicks off with Scott's birthday on March 18. Ashtyn is March 28th. I posted pics of that previously. Avery's birthday is May 2, but we celebrated the last week in April this year. We had a Strawberry Shortcake party for her at the house. We had lots of daycare friends and a bounce house. Ryann's turn was next. She turned 6 on the 16th of May. On the 18th, we had a party at Build-a-Bear Workshop. She had 4 friends and Avery join her in making furry friends. It was really a great time.

In addition to our family birthdays, we have several friends with birthdays around the same time. So, in conjunction with party planning, we shop for gifts and attend other parties. It's a busy (and expensive) time of year. Once Ryann's birthday was done, I took a big sigh of relief. Birthday season is exhausting. Somehow, I do love it, though.

Career News

For the past eight years I've been at a school that I have really liked. I've met some awesome friends and had some great experiences. I taught special education resource for 2 years, then third grade for 6 years. These last 2 years, I've been a Mentor Teacher and a coordinator for our after school program. I've really enjoyed each role, but doing so much has burned me out. My time with family has definitely suffered. I've decided to make a career move.

I've just been hired to be a Master Teacher at another school in our district, starting next school year. It'll be good because it'll be much more focused. I'll be doing a lot of the same things I did as a Mentor, but without a classroom of kids to be responsible for. I'm looking forward to a new challenge, but I'll really miss my peeps at my old school.

I haven't decided if Ryann will go with me or continue at the school she's known since birth. I guess we'll figure that out before August.

Our Baby is One!

I guess she's technically not a baby anymore. Ashtyn turned one year old on March 28th. We had her first birthday party on the 23rd. It was nice because her Uncle Keelan, Aunt Kirsten, and cousin Kaida Mai were in town to celebrate with us. We also had some great friends, our Arizona family, come as well.

Since it was so close to Easter, we decided on a bunny birthday. It was cute. She's our little snuggle bunny. I even tried my hand at making cake pops. They were suppose to be carrots, but Scott said they looked like orange strawberries. Oh well.
Ashtyn clearly loved the cake. She was happy to eat the frosting at first, but she soon made light work of a huge carrot cake cupcake. She smelled like cream cheese icing all evening.

She is such a big girl now. She walks pretty well, although she did take a tumble the day before her first birthday pictures. She has a big scratch on her head. Most of the time, she's a very happy girl. She's giggly and smiley, especially when she's into mischief, like I said, most of the time.

Long Time No Post

I was reminded today of what a slacker I have been with the blog. I haven't posted anything since November. Ugh! Where does the time go?!
A few highlights from the last couple of months include Ashtyn's first Christmas, my National Board Certification, and Scott finishing another marathon. Here are some pictures of our last couple of months.

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a wide range of artful designs and embellishments to choose from.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a very nice holiday today. We had our friends come over. We each made some things for dinner. We ate a lot and just had a relaxing day.
Ashtyn got to wear the same Thanksgiving outfit her sisters wore. She seemed to like it. She's our little turkey.

Fall Has Arrived in AZ

This morning was the first morning that my feet were cold on the bathroom tiles. I guess fall has finally found AZ. It was still in the 90s at the beginning of the week, but the temperature now is 43! That's a big difference.
I thought I'd share some fall photos for the occasion. It's great to be outside in the fall in AZ. We went to the zoo. Avery and Ryann rode the camel together this year. They also like riding bikes and playing in the park behind our house.
Halloween was fun. It was Ashtyn's first one. We crammed her into the same pea pod suit that her sisters wore, even though she's more than a month older than they were at Halloween. :0) Grandma was here for Halloween this year. After trick-or-treating, Ryann & Avery helped her pass out candy. They seem to have eaten quite a bit too.
Ashtyn's fall news includes 4 teeth and being able to pull herself up and stand. She's become a cruiser. She loves to get into trouble. She can crawl, but it's new to her so she prefers to drag her belly on the floor and go as fast as she can to the nearest thing she shouldn't have. It keeps her sisters' messes in check. They're always trying to keep their stuff away from Baby.