For most of you, this is our first contact since our move to Flagstaff in August 2010. I apologize, and this is hopefully a way to reconnect. We have been very busy adjusting and settling into our new surroundings. In short, we just love it here, and are taking full advantage of all the area has to offer. Here is a quick (or not-so-quick, depending on who you are) rundown of the past 5 months:
August 2010
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| Packing up and moving out! |
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| One last song on Hampton St. (sniff) |
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Marty drove up Friday the 20th with Marcus and Max in the big truck. Brodie, my mom and I left the next day
in the smaller truck. |
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Here we are! I admit it was quite strange to leave the sunny Tucson
desert at 9am, and arrive in a new house in the forest just 4 hours later. A very fast
and bittersweet transition for sure. |
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My mom stayed for 3 days and really helped with the unpacking.
You're a lifesaver mom! We love you! |
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Getting out and about in Flagstaff and enjoying the amazing August weather.
Hiking at Schultz Pass - endless black-eyed susans! |
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| Max learning to jump! |
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| Marcus in a foot race at Buffalo Park. |
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| School started! Marcus and his fellow third graders. |
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| Brodie on his first day - not a tear yet! |
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| Max started Kindergarten, and all he wanted on his first day was to make a new friend. |
September 2010
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Before we moved we told the boys that we would put up a zipline
in our new backyard. We finally fulfilled our promise!
The neighbor kids are excited about it too. |
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The Coconino County Fair |
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| Hot cocoa and mocha at Late for the Train - yum! |
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| Campfire fun at the Barn Burner mountain bike race (we did not race, next year though!) |
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Max had his first trip to the Flagstaff Medical Center ER when
he was hit in the head with a rock. He was a real trooper and had
all of the nurses under his spell! |
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| LOTS of prescribed burns! FIRE!! (smile) |
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| On top of Mars Hill. |
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Marcus' class is in charge of the animals - 2 goats, 3 huge rabbits, and a slew of chickens.
It is a lot of work, but so worth the experience. |
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| Marcus is learning the violin at school. |
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| Enjoying new friends! |
October 2010
This was a big month for us - Marty celebrated his 45th birthday (wow!) and we celebrated 15 years of marriage!
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| Disc golf is big here, and here we played with Tucson friend Jack. |
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| Rocky Point, Mexico. What can we say? Beach, friends, boats, food, drink, what else is there? |
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| Mr. Muscles |
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| Marcus flew his kite for 3 days straight. |
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| Brodie was happy in this water bowl on the porch. Silly boy! |
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| We live on a great street with lots of kids, we love it. |
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| Halloween is here! |
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| At a harvest festival with friends. |
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| Max |
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| Nama came for a visit on Oct 30 to see Marcus perform in a play. |
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| She painted the boys' faces... |
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| ...and they painted hers! Thanks for the fun Nama! |
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The play "Which Witch is Which?" Marcus is 3rd from left, the ghoul Aerosol.
He said lines from Romeo and Juliet like a seasoned actor, he did an amazing job! |
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| Brodie on school costume day. |
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| We had a party and Marty created a fantastic scavenger hunt. Here we are solving a clue... |
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The boys requested that I dress as a fairy princess. Marcus was a ghoul,
Max a ninja, Brodie a knight, and Marty a wizard. |
November 2010
Marty's company, Motor Excellence, was honored at the 2010 Governor's Celebration of Innovation in Phoenix. They were up for the "Green Innovator of the Year" award. Great job everyone!
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| The excitement builds as we walk to the celebration! |
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| Just a small part of the ME Team. |
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| We enjoyed a nice night out. Thanks Mom and Deb for watching the boys! |
SNOW was the word of the month!! The boys were so anxious for the white stuff to fall!
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| Okay, bring it on, we are ready! |
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| Snow is here! |
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| Marcus was out for hours! I now have a drying rack in front of the fireplace for all of the wet clothes. |
Thanksgiving gave us a great opportunity for a ROAD TRIP!
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| Denver, here we come! |
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| The boys with their beloved Nana - we love you! |
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| The best Auntie and Uncle EVER! |
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| Future foosball champs like their Uncle Robbie. |
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| Self-portaits are a great way to pass the time in a car. |
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| Marcus had some eye trouble on the trip. Two visits to Santa Fe urgent care and one to an eye specialist in Denver topped off the trip. Apparently a scratched cornea is excruciating. |
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| Back home and more snow - hooray! Enjoying it with neighbors.... |
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| Then coming in to warm up with hot cocoa and foosball. This is the life! |
December 2010
This was a big month packed with lots of activities. First of all, a small sampling of Brodie's many costume changes. They occur almost daily.
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| Spiderman-Ninja Turtle-King-Cowboy with mittens! |
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| Yes, this is underwear on his head. |
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| Ahh, the beloved Snow White dress. He loves it, so let him be! |
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| Max wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Once was enough for him, however. |
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| Brodie is happiest when making his brothers laugh. |
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| Dressing up for the Winter Spiral at PFS. |
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| There are several skate parks in Flag, where the boys love to ride their bikes. |
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| Max and buddy Noah. |
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| We actually put our tree up early this year and got to enjoy it most of December. Here is Marcus adding the final touch - the angel. |
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Max's best friend Andrew and mom Belinda came up from Tucson, and we had a great time!
We miss you guys! |
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I took the boys down to Tucson the week before Christmas,
and we loved our visit with Great Nana! |
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Just before Christmas we had another beautiful snowfall,
our first white Christmas! |
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| Even the zipline was snow covered. |
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The morning of the snowfall we went down to Phx to see the Nutcracker Ballet.
We have gone every year for over 10 years now, and the boys love it. |
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| It was a long but wonderful day! |
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| Christmas Eve - a great day to build snowmen with Papa! |
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| Christmas morning - legos, legos, and more legos! |
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Our Evee girl got a new bed, but she never uses it, apparently preferring
the hardwood floors. Silly dog! |
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| Brodie is so proud of his snow creation. |
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| Marcus mastering his new stilts. |
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The best present of all was a visit from Uncle Tege!!
We are so glad you came! |
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| The musical Uncle Tege with our budding musician. |
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The day after Christmas we took the short drive to Sedona, our first trip there
since our move to Flag. It was much warmer and we enjoyed a spectacular day! |
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| What a gorgeous place! |
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| After a visit to the Holy Cross Chapel, we went into town for ice cream. |
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Then on the way home we stopped in Oak Creek Canyon for some essential
throwing-rocks-in-the-river time. Boys can do this for hours! |
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Back at home that night, our headlights lit up this surprise, apparently
Brodie had put on this last minute contribution before we left!
The neighbors already knew we were strange, now this! |
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A great visit with Uncle Tege was topped off with a
family Monopoly game. We love you Tege, hope to see
you again soon! |
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On Dec 28, Marty was back at work and I was dying to get back to Sedona.
I took this shot of the Peaks before we left. Our house is up on the right. |
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The best days for me are playing outside with the boys. In Sedona we hiked the West Fork Trail.
Great hikes always start with a bridge crossing... |
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| ...finding big sticks... |
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| ...ruins, cool!... |
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| ...and a cave - awesome!! |
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| We crossed the stream 5 times over 2 hours... |
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...to reach this sunny spot where we stayed for a while.
Marcus didn't fall in here, but about 20 minutes later he did!
He was freezing, the water was so cold and the outside temp was around 45.
He braved the long hike back however with the hopes of getting ice cream at the end! |
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| Brodie got a bit wet himslef, only Max stayed fairly dry. |
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This was one of the best days - hiking in Sedona with my boys.
4 hours of no complaints!! |
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| More snow on the 30th, the biggest snowfall yet! |
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| Lots of activity following the snowfall... |
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| Max enjoying a fast hill across the street. |
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I have learned now to wait to shovel our driveway until after
the snowplow comes through! |
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| New Year's Day!! |
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This is their second time on ice skates,
the first time was 3 days earlier at a birthday party.
Here Max is doing it all by himself! |
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| Brodie got to where he could skate alone with the walker. |
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| Marcus was brave and went for speed right out of the gate! |
January 2011
We came into January with renewed spirits, happy hearts and exciting resolutions after a fantastic
Christmas break. We hope your new year is a great one so far too.
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One Saturday we went out looking for a monster sledding hill, and we found this!
True to form, all boys were daredevils and hiked back up the hill at least 10 times each. |
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| Brodie was amazing and did all the stunts that his brothers did! |
Check out these 3 videos.
Brodie had no fear from the start.
Max on the steepest hill.
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My first trip out on the trails on skis! I'm hooked, and have been back out a few other times.
We have made great friends with the Rainey family (Nicole on left). Marty went out skiing with
Tom when we returned, and he's hooked too! |
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| Chocolate fondue party after our ski adventures. Talk about kid heaven! |
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| I just had to throw in a picture of our beloved cats, Flash and Mittens (front). They are so loved. |
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We had heard there was an ice cave below Mt. Elden, so we went on a hike to investigate.
The boys found this snow fort along the way. |
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| Cool! We made it! |
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| Ahh, sharp pointy things! |
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| On the way back we found this small frozen pond great for sliding on. |
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| Potion-making fun. |
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Marcus has joined a Jr. Nordic Ski Club. We meet each Sunday for 2 hours for 6 weeks.
He loves to be out front on the flats, and to go super fast on the downhills. We are enjoying this sport! |
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| We are proud of you Marcus for all of your hard work on skis! |
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| Ah, the Snow White dress once again. |
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| Marcus has joined Cub Scout Bear Den #210! |
