Shyla's Family Birthday Dinner

On her actual birthday we celebrated by having a yummy muffin for breakfast (thanks, Ms. Shari) and then the whole family came over for dinner and dessert.

It was, of course, a great evening that made a little girl feel very special.

It was, also, a giant bummer when she put her fingers in the flame of the candle.

Weekend at Kierland

Kierland Resort with my family is my happy place.  I just love it there and we always get the chance to make so many memories.

Toward the end of May we went up for just a long weekend because Aunt Kirstin, Uncle Jim, and the twins were there for another reason - and we will always take any reason to spend time with them!

I didn't take many pictures and Harper was not being a good girl at night-time, but all-in-all it was a great weekend!

Attempting to get a family picture...

As you are aware, I am always questing after getting a good family picture.  We attempted to get one when the whole family was over at Chelsea and Mike's house.  Not great.  The princess was pouty.

Shyla Turns 5!

Last May, Shyla turned five!  I cannot believe that happened!  We had her party at Get Air Tucson (an indoor trampoline park) and everyone had a great time!

Even Dan and Erin were here (Shyla may or may not have guilted him a little bit - and it also happened to be the same weekend as Nick's wedding!)

It was so nice to see her playing with school friends (Taylor and Gavin) in addition to the friends she gets to see often.  Also, we brought fancy donuts in lieu of cake which turned out to be brilliant!

Community Fair 2014

This picture was taken in May 2014 at my school's annual Community Fair.  This is a PTA event that nearly the whole school comes out for.  There are jumping castles, face painting, food trucks, an auction, book fair, and - apparently, a giant mouse.

The most significant part of this picture is that Shyla wasn't afraid of the mouse!!

Nick got married!!

During the summer months our good friend, Nick, got married.  We were honored to attend the reception at La Paloma and had a great time catching up with old friends.  Nick and Cassidi are expecting their first child in September and are going to be amazing parents!

Kindergarten Safari

Shyla, and all incoming Kindergarten Cougars, were invited for Kindergarten Safari day last April as a way to introduce the students to their new school and new friends.  She was excited and looked way to grown up for my tastes!  Although she cried when it was time to separate from us, and had to be peeled away by Mrs. Edmonds and Mrs. Devlin, by the time we picked her up she was all smiles!

On Getting Caught Up ….

Wow - this year has been ….. crazy!  Since starting my new position of Assistant to the Principal, life over the past 9 months or so has been a blur.  While trying to balance work responsibilities and finishing my master's degree and certification, with real life, I have not been doing a good job of documenting anything!

I know that if I get to the end of 2014 and have no Blog Book to print for our family records, I will be extremely upset and disappointed.

So - here's my plan and my compromise: I am going to get caught-up (because it means a lot to ME) by doing one blog post, albeit likely short, each morning before work.  My compromise is that some of the posts for this year will be out of order and they will be mostly pictures with fewer funny stories than in the past.  Then, come 2015, I will be ready to publish my best blog book yet. 

So, here we go….