Dance Girl Dance!

Madelyn experienced her first year in dance this past year. She enjoyed both ballet and jazz, of course jazz being her favorite! I think it was primarily because she danced to music from High School Musical 3! At her dance recital, she looked so adorable and really did an awesome job. She is definatey a natural and beautiful dancer. I was so proud of her and kept thinking to myself, I can't believe how much my baby girl is growing up!

Madelyn with her classmate, Sierra.

Madelyn with her teacher, Ms. Tiffany, who was an awesome teacher!

Making Headlines

Over Memorial Day weekend, we visited for the first time the parade held in Surprise. Of course the kids needed baggies for their candy stash, but we warned them that possibly they wouldn't be throwing candy. Mason's response, "what kind of parade doesn't throw candy!" Fortunately, candy was passed out so it was a good parade after all!

We met two other families there, both of which had 3 kids so with our 3, 9 little ones all sat together on the curb. They looked so cute and were a definate attraction! Their picture (down below) even made the newspaper! But let me also remind you that here in AZ this is not typical. We got so many comments, looks, even head counting and of course the question, "are they all siblings??" They do all look similar and could pass as siblings, but come on, 9 kiddos with the oldest being 7?? Even Sherriff Joe Arapaio was in the parade and after his head counting, he asked, "Are they registered to vote?!" It was quite funny. This will hopefully be a new tradition, attending the Surprise Memorial Day Parade.

Making Headlines

Turner, Ashton, and Cox kiddos

So this was a typical parade, here are the cheerleaders....

Cub Scout group......

Church Organization........

Last but not the least.....and of course what you would only find near Sun City AZ.........

The JAZZY POMS!

That's right! Senior ladies with pom poms, sequens (spelling?), and spandex dresses!

If you really want to see their moves, click here!

Lil' Sluggers

Madelyn and Mason experienced their first year of T-ball. They both had a great time and had fabulous coaches that really made this a fun experience. By their last game, they had made huge improvements and most importantly, they were excited and ready to play again next season!

Go Sidewinders!!

I realize the quality of these pictures isn't very good...but I couldn't help but still post them! Madelyn still looks so cute even if she is a little blurry, especially where she's down and ready on first base! (Confession: I really wish I was better with my camera.)

Mason stopped two grounders. He was more surprised than anyone else! I couldn't believe what confidence this gave him and his sudden interest in the game. He started paying more attention and really getting into the game...instead of waving his arms in the air, playing in the dirt, looking everywhere else but at the game, throwing his mit up into the air instead of wearing it, etc.

I LOVE this pic...such cute boys and good friends, Mason and Ethan Ashton

On the last game they got to play at the Spring Training stadium for the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. Honestly, I couldn't believe what big of a deal was made for them...we're talking T-ball here! They played on a real, professional field, got to see their pictures show up on the jumbo screen and of course received a medal at the end. All the hoopla won them over, especially Mason. He still can't stop talking about earning more medals (and hopefully a trophy) next year!

Ice cream celebration after with the Ashtons' and Hammonds'

What a fun season!! Can't wait for many more to come!

Spring

I have always loved the Springtime and the events that take place...moving activities to and enjoying the outdoors, softball season, Memorial Day weekend, and the excitment and events that come with the end of a school year. Since moving to Phoenix, spring has become my favorite time of year. The weather is so beautiful and if you know me, you know I love Sunshine!! This time of year is great for us because it attracts and encourages our family to come and visit and we love that! We have had lots of fun with our visitors the past month and we want to tell them Thank You and Come Back Soon!!

I got one of the coolest surprises of my life one Friday night. Alan and I had just sat down on the couch to relax after a very busy day. I heard a knock at the door...Alan went to answer it and then yelled, "Jennie, it's one of your friends." So I get up and walk to the door and there at my front door is Jake and Natalie both with cameras capturing my surprised expression!

As I think back, there were plenty of hints that visitors were on there way that I should have clued in on....

Clue #1 Jake called to talk with Alan, but not much chit chat for me

Clue #2 That Friday afternoon as Alan and I drove home from the temple, Alan states, "Our house is a mess! We've got to clean when we get home!" Since when does Alan really care? Besides, our kids had been gone all day and the only thing that was really a mess was the fact that I started painting the boys room, so everything for their room was out in the family room.

Clue #3 After t-ball, Alan starts picking up, vacuuming and moving the mattresses from the family room onto the deck. Even though he hadn't eaten since breakfast, he skipped dinner to clean. This should have been a huge clue

Clue #4 Friday evening, Alan went outside to take a phone call on his cell

Clue #5 After the phone call, Madelyn comes inside and asks, "what does 10 minutes to cotton mean?" I looked at Alan and said, "If someone was planning to come and visit you WOULD tell me, right?" His response, "of course but noone is coming to visit." Yes, this should've not only been a clue, but a dead giveaway!

We all enjoyed a spring training baseball game, especially the warm sunshine. Jake and Nat especially because they had left snow in Cedar City and came to 90 degrees and sunny!

Jake and Natalie were so good to entertain and play with the kids. They played cards, took them on walks and to the park. They are so much fun and some of coolest people we know! Thanks for coming...you can surprise us anytime!

The Squire family was our next visitors who came a couple weeks later over Easter weekend. Alan's sister Annette her husband Ralph and their cute four kids, Tyler, Amie, Nate and Russell. Our kids were so excited to have some of their Cox cousins come to visit! They asked for days, how many more days until the Squire's are coming??

The first day, we hiked the Waterfall Trail at the White Tank Mountains. The kids all loved hiking in the outdoors, looking for rattlesnakes and lizards. They especially loved the ponds of water at the end and like all boys do, they had to throw a couple of rocks in!

The second day, we all woke up to drizzling rain and disappointed kids...the big Easter Egg Hunt at the Surprise Stadium was on the agenda. To our surprise, after loading everyone up and arriving at the stadium, the big egg hunt was canceled due to a little rain! The kids were so sad, and what made it worse was them knowing all their cousins in Utah still participated in the traditional egg hunt despite Snow!! But we made up for it with our own Easter egg hunt and the kids had just as much fun!

At the end of the treasure hunt, the discovered eggs were being tallied up, making sure they were all found. When the numbers came back and we knew one was missing, Uncle Ralph informed the kids that one had fallen into a deep hole. All the kids took a turn reaching their arms way down into this hole but all came up empty handed. However, Mason was determined to find it and sure enough, after several attempts, he came up with the last egg! He was thrilled!!

Of course, a highlight for Easter is decorating and coloring the eggs...

We also took the kids to Cabela's, a favorite for our kids!

We love our family and are so grateful when they come to visit! Hopefully they all know they are welcome anytime!!

Easter Sunday...what beautiful children!

Motherhood

When I was a little girl, I loved playing "house". My sisters and I had the whole set up, a real playhouse in the backyard with furniture, kitchen set, dolls and all the accessories. We spent hours and hours pretending to be moms: taking care of our babies, talking on the phone, fixing dinner (usually with water, mud and weeds), and writing out checks (when we were really lucky with old check blanks!) I couldn't wait to be a mom and get to do all these things for real. Now that I am mom of 3 and living that life I always dreamed of doing, it sometimes doesn't always fit what I had imagined it to be. To understand where I am coming from, you'll have to read the following email. I came across it while cleaning out my email account. It was an email I sent to my brothers over a year ago while they were in Iraq.


"Jake and Trav, you're always wondering what we've been up to and what's going on at our house. So here is an example of how my day went yesterday:

3:00am--Mason wet the bed, so we had to strip him and his sheets, started laundry, got him settled back down and back into my bed by 3:30.


4:00--Jalen wakes up to come into bed with me too. He never sleeps all night in his bed and once he's in bed with me, he hogs my side of the bed and I get very little sleep. Alan is in San Diego right now, so at least all three of us did fit in my bed.


6:00--Kids all up and ready for breakfast. (I will be glad when they are old enough that early mornings without much sleep during the night, they can pour their own bowls of cereal and watch cartoons! Unfortunately we're not at that point yet!)


8:30--Off to pick up two other kindergarteners and take them all to school


9:00--Back home, fighting with Mason, trying to get him excited for preschool


9:15--School bus honking for Mason, but I can't find him. He had hidden under his bed. I get him on the bus only by saying that I will promise to pick him up afterwards and he won't have to ride the bus


9:20--Get a call from the school nurse, stating Madelyn is there and says her tummy really hurts; so I hurry to go back to the school and pick her up.


9:30-Get 5 other little boys at my house for play group while their moms go run errands and do shopping. Find out that Madelyn's "tummy hurts" because she had to change her card from green to yellow at school yesterday and she is upset and nervous about going back. But she decides she wants to go to school and my friend takes her back to school.


11:55--Play group should be over so that I can hurry and pick up Mason from school but I got two phone calls from moms stating that they were running late.


12:00-- Load up Jalen and two extras to pick up Mason--but first have to change a poopy diaper on one of the boys whose Mom should have been there.


12:15--Trying to maintain 4 little boys in a very hectic, crowded preschool parking lot and school. Not an ideal situation. Yes I did look like the crazy mom without any parental control


12:45--One Mom says she has to take her husband to the ER--so wanting me to keep her son for awhile.


1:30-- I walk by the bathroom and see poop all over the toilet. My friends little boy had gone potty about 20-30 min. before, so I knew that he probably did not wipe very good. I go get him to see if he needs some help and find he had an accident in his underwear, had it all down his legs and it was now dry and very stinky and very very messy to clean up. (Hope I haven't grossed you out...but boys this is what motherhood is all about!)


2:00--Jalen not feeling good, has a fever and just wants me to hold and rock him


3:30--Get the boys in the car to go and pick up Madelyn and the other two that I carpool with at school. We have to park about 1 block away and then walk because the traffic getting in and out of the school parking lot is herendous. Keep in mind I have 3 little boys and now 3 kindergarteners during this walk


3:45--Get a phone call from my friend who is with her husband at the ER and needs me to keep her daughter who I just picked up from school at my house until they get home.


4:45--Trying to help kids with their homework (remind me why kindergartners should have homework every night?? We didn't and we turned out just fine, right?!), start dinner, talking on my cell with Kera as I get many interruptions on my home phone. One of which was the missionaries saying that they need a place to eat dinner in 30 minutes. SO for the next half hour I made probably 10-15 phone calls trying to find someone that was home, whose husband could be home, didn't have plans, and could provide a dinner that had no MSG in it (one of the Elders is allergic to MSG which is a preservative and found in SO much food). Finally I told the Elders that I wasn't having any luck. They finally decided that they could stay home and have something there. (Duh! Hello! I can't believe they didn't think of that in the first place! I know my brothers would never be like those clueless Elders!!)


6:00-My friend came to get her kids---and the rest of the evening was pretty normal bedtime routine stuff. But by this time of the day, something as simple as brushing the boys teeth was a huge endevor and required patience, of which I didn't have anymore!!! Today I am at work and although it was a rush to get everyone out the door by 7:15, I can say that my day has been much more relaxing and less stressful. This is why I work...for that 1 day a week that my sanity returns!"

Although this was not a typical day and did have a little more drama than usual...these days do happen. One thing for sure, these kinds of days were never part of my pretend world of motherhood!

Families Are Forever

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one principle that I have always felt very connected to and extremely grateful for is knowing that Families Are Forever...that we can see and live with one another even after life here has ended. As a young girl, this knowledge made me feel very peaceful and happy. It helped me see the importance of family and my own relationships I made with them. When I married Alan in the temple, and now with our own little family,this principle has stirred much deeper feelings in my heart. Three years ago, my aunt Michelle, who was someone I was very close to and loved almost like my mom, passed away. I felt an even greater appreciation for "Forever Families". She was so young to die and leave her young family...especially when she was doing so much good and inspired so many people, both within our family, neighborhood, ward, and the entire community. The knowledge that the gospel gives, gave me peace and hope for her sweet family.

I have again learned on a new and different level about the concept of Eternal Families. This past weekend, I had an amazing experience with some very good friends, Phil and Shannon Biancamano. Just over one year ago, this couple was baptized and became members of our ward.

Last Friday, Alan and I were able to attend with them in the temple and be part of them receiving their endowments and then watching their family be sealed together. This was a new experience for me and all I can say was that it touched my heart so deeply. Watching Phil and Shannon this past year take all the steps in preparing for this day has been inspiring and has strengthened my own belief and testimony of our church. And then to observe their temple marriage and then the sealing of their beautiful children was absolutely amazing. I can't really describe the feelings, other than I felt so warm and happy and fulfilled. I saw another piece of what it means to have your family forever. I am so grateful for this experience and for Phil and Shannon...they are great examples to me and I cherish our friendship.

As I think back on the circumstances that brought me to know Shannon, I can't help but feel that there was a hand that put us just at the right places and at the right time. About 3 years ago, I took a job that I wasn't too excited about. As a new nurse, I needed a position in the hospital where I could really learn and keep up with my skills. However, due to several obstacles and for the best thing for my family, I took a job in an outpatient facility. This is where I met a girl named Pam who was also LDS. Because I didn't work at this job very often, I didn't see or talk to Pam much. Then one Sunday, I saw Pam in my ward and went to talk to her. She was visitng my ward and bringing her good friend Shannon, who lived in my ward boundaries and who was interested in taking the lessons from the missionaries. This became such an easy transition...I was a ward missionary and a friend of Pam's, so this gave Shannon an immediate connection to our ward. I feel so grateful that I have experienced watching her and Phil choose to join the church. Their dedication, faith and love for the Gospel has truly touched me and strengthened my own testimony. So thank you Phil and Shannon...you are both amazing!

The Biancamano's...Phil, Shannon, Hannah and Gavin

Ahoy, there Matey's!

Captain Mason and the rest of his shipmates had great pirate fun for his Birthday Party! The treasure hunt was the favorite game because of course...there was a treasure chest full of loot! They had lots of fun saying pirate talk like "Ahoy me Matey" and "Shiver me timbers" and "Aaarrggh!" Mason has such fun friends that are all great kids, too. Thanks for celebrating with us and making his birthday a swash bucklin blast!

Captain Mason with his deckmates

Mason and Maggie Mecham

Jalen, Caviston Herbert, Brody Matson, and Mason

Brock Hammond in pirate action...Aarrgh!

I love this picture...catching the kids redhanded...stealing candy off the cake!

Mason with his Pirate ship

Happy Birthday To Mason!

Happy Birthday to you!

Mason was so excited to open his presents. He went through them so fast...quickest present opener I have ever seen!

Of course when the last one was opened, his response was "Is that all?!" But he had a wonderful day and has loved all his presents...so THANK YOU to everyone!