Art Show

Ava did an art class at the Cameron Art Museum and had a little art gallery at the end of the class. It was really awesome to see everything she had done in art class.

I love this picture. She had to make it using utensils. So she used a plastic spoon for the top right and the orange pieces are from a fork.

This is our really good friend Pam Whitman from church. She is always so great with the kids and comes to all their things and supports them. She came to so many of Kael's baseball games in the fall.

She was selling this particular piece. The price was only $78.

I love watching my children work hard and learn new things. I never ever did anything like this as a child and I thoroughly enjoy giving them different opportunities. Thanks to the CAM and to Ms. Georgia (Ava's art teacher). She loves her!

Graduation!

Yes! On December 13th, 2014 I FINALLY graduated!!! This was one of the highlights of my year. The entire semester is kind of a blur to me. I had to work my tail off to get into some last minute classes the school decided I needed after all (what a long story) and I felt like I had jump through hoops to finally get everything to work out. But I am officially (well as soon as the mail brings it anyway) the proud owner of a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in neuroscience.

To be honest my plan was to graduate and then have children but I guess there was another plan in store for me. Even though it has been near impossible at times (especially with Kael getting pneumonia this past semester) I am really happy that I finished and it was really neat that my kids could be there for it. I hope they will always remember their mom graduating and realize how important education is.

There's my name!

My fan club!

I was so happy it was all over that I don't think I took one serious picture that day.

December

Just wanted to post some highlights from the month of December. It seems like a lot happened but since I've been deathly ill with some kind of flu bug like the past 2 weeks it has all escaped my mind.

Enchanted Airlie

Swans on the lake

My kids see a lot of "Santas" at Christmas time. Well Ava insisted this was the real one.

Christmas is such a magical time

We made gingerbread houses! The kids are always very creative with their placement of the people particularly. The grandmother figure usually goes on the roof and the poor dog gets hung from the top of the house.

They were cracking up the whole time.

See that poor grandmother? Lying in the garden.

Thanksgiving

Kyle and his family got sealed together the week of Thanksgiving and I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to go or not but last minute I went! I am so happy I could make it work with my school schedule. It was difficult because I had this huge poster presentation Monday morning that my final grade pretty much depended on so I couldn't miss that. That left me a very small window to leave on Monday afternoon, be there for the sealing on Tuesday, and then leave Wednesday to get back in time to have Thanksgiving with my own family.

They were sealed in the Gilbert Arizona temple which was beautiful! It has this agave theme throughout which was really neat to learn about the life cycle of the agave plant (very symbolic). Chloe & Lana looked so beautiful and it was amazing to be able to spend time with them. It broke my heart to leave. Of course it was good to see Kyle also, I haven't seen him since 2008 before Ava was even born. In typical Kyle fashion he got lost in the airport but we finally found our way to In-N-Out which was my dream.

It was a whirlwind of spiritual moments, seeing my family, and spending time with my grandparents. My grandparents took me shopping for a graduation present and to be able to spend time with just them was incredible. Something I miss terribly. Then we met my aunt and uncle for lunch and then went pretty much straight to the temple. After that we did pictures, then this BBQ restaurant and then that was about it.

I flew from Phoenix to Charlotte and was supposed to fly from Charlotte to Wilmington but then of course my flight was cancelled and so after an insane night in which the ticket counter agent ran away from us, some guy got arrested, and the news came out to do a story on our flight (uhh being interviewed at 2 am?? No thank you) I checked into a hotel at 2:30 and then was back at the airport at 5:30 am to be on standby. Depressing day.

I finally got home early afternoon and just wanted to shower. So I did that for a loooooong time and then we went to Golden Corral. It was disgusting.

After Golden Corral we all went to see Penguins of Madagascar (it was ok) and I'm pretty sure I slept through about 89% of that movie. John was with us and I was just happy to end up with my family on Thanksgiving at all. So next year I think I won't be doing any traveling the night before a major holiday unless it is to the Bahamas.

 

Ava and Kael were pretty good sports about it, well Kael was anyway. Ava was pretty upset with me. I will say that I have never traveled anywhere alone and I missed them fiercely. When I walked out of the gate at ILM they both came running up to me and I crouched down to hug them and neither one of them would let go. Ava started crying and said in my ear, "Mommy, NEVER go on an airplane without us, EVER!!!" I knew they missed me I guess but I didn't realize how much. And Kael said, "Mom, if you don't have enough money for all of us to go then nobody goes."

Thanks guys. I missed you too.

Fast Forward

Let's just jump ahead in time to Halloween! Even though it is now way past Halloween I want to post things in order. Of course I asked the kids many times what they wanted to be this year. Ava knew a long time ago she wanted to be cat woman. I was a little afraid of her looking like, you know, a prostitute. Black leather pants, black boots, and a whip?? But I think it actually turned out ok.

Kael wanted to be outer space for the longest time and I actually had some pretty good ideas rolling. Then out of nowhere he insisted he wanted to be Jack Frost. Our rule is that you can change your mind with your costume until I buy a piece for it then you can no longer change your mind. Kael changed his order just in time.

She makes a pretty good G-rated catwoman right?

Look out! It's Jack Frost!

He forgot his staff

We almost always go trick or treating at the aquarium, it's pretty fun!

This is what I hope I'm doing when I die.

Of course Jack Frost had to get a picture with Elsa!

Well that's it. Happy Halloween everyone!

Summer Fun

I long for the lazy days of summer and wonder what happened to that ideal. I'm torn between the fact that I love being busy and having things to do and that I want to sit in a lawn chair and just watch the kids run through the sprinklers. Whose sprinklers, I have no idea. But I'll sit there until the home owners come and ask me to get my children out of their sprinklers and off their property.

I can hardly believe school is just around the corner. I'm not ready to buy supplies and to go back to school shopping. I'm also not ready for my children to be away from me all day (this feeling has a direct ratio with the quality of their behavior). But time goes on and here we are. I believe I have exactly four white hairs growing in my head which is disgusting.


We got back from Utah and it's been pretty nonstop since. The kids did a Hammerheads soccer camp to help get them ready for soccer season this fall. Kael insisted that he wants to play soccer and I'm really skeptical about it but I'll thought we'll give it one more try and if he still just sits in the grass and picks up bugs and wanders around the field like he hasn't got a care in the world (I mean during a game when most kids are at least trying to get a foot on the ball) then soccer is clearly not his thing.

Anyway at the end of the camp they all got their t shirts signed and then we got tickets to a Hammerhead soccer game! It was super fun and after the game the kids got to go down and meet all the players. They knew a few of them from the camp and the cool thing was they remembered them! All of the players had very vivid memories of Kael. He usually leaves an impression on people.

Andre is way too focused on the game

After soccer camp Ava and Kael went to Marine Science camp (SeaSquirts) for a week. I think this was by far Ava's favorite camp that they did. It was so cool the things they did. They went to Wrightsville Beach almost everyday and they got to go to the aquarium and the Marine Science Center. They learned a lot about sea turtles, crabs, and other sea creatures. They made jellyfish in a bottle, went on a boat float, and went down to Wrightsville Beach pier and went fishing with nets. I wish I could have gotten pictures of all of this but I wasn't there with them. One day I went to pick them up though and Kael says, "Look what I got mom!" as he was waving around a $20 bill. I was in shock (I had not sent them with any money) and I asked him where he got it from. Well it turned out to be this whole ordeal and he ended up very upset. Apparently he had drawn a picture and sold it to a 7 year old girl for twenty bucks. I made him give it back and he never understood why he couldn't keep it. After all he never got his picture back and in his mind it was an even trade.

On Saturday we went to a superhero fun run at the library. We literally woke up and had to head out the door and Kael wanted to be the Hulk which he had on hand but Ava didn't even really want to do it at all so I brought a cape in case she changed her mind. Kael also had his Jack Sparrow sword to run with. Nobody combed their hair or even looked semi put together. So guess who made the front page NEWS??? Of course my children!! It was really neat when I found out but I thought, "Well gee if I knew they'd be in the paper I would have a least combed their hair!"

http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Dato=20140726&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=726009998&Ref=PH&pl=1

(They are picture 10/36).

Hopefully that link will take you to the image. I have some super nice friends (Thevenin & McLeods) that cut out the article and gave it or sent it to me! Which was really awesome because we don't get the paper and I never would have known. Also now I have two copies for them both to have someday.

Getting ready for the race to start!

And they're off!

It was a very very hot day

On the run the kids ran into the Joker and had to get him with sponges!

Crossing the finish line!

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's SuperAndre!

That concludes this session of the Trochez familia. Stay tuned for more.