Who do they look like...their Mom...their Dad...???

catching up.........

Rachel is loving high school and we are so proud of all she's accomplishing. She works hard and it's paying off...she's getting great grades. We are equally proud that even though she hasn't had a lot of experience with soccer, she had the courage to try out for the high school team. And although she didn't display the level of ball handling skill as some of her competitors, she certainly has something that can't be taught...speed! She made the JV team and she's usually starts at left forward. Although she's still trying to figure out whether she's left or right footed, she almost always beats her competitor to the ball...and last Wednesday she scored her first goal! She's had so much fun and really wants to take it up a notch so we've signed her up for GYSA (which is co-ed) where I'm sure she'll continue to learn and gain confidence in her abilities. I can't tell you how excited I am to have her playing and enjoying it. Not only because it's so good for her in so many ways, but because I miss those days (nights, weekends...) on the soccer sidelines cheering Ally and Joel (all the way through college) on. I'm so glad that not only Greg gets to experience it, but I get to do it again. Soooo much fun!
Jessica of course likes to go anywhere...especially when there's bleachers to climb up and down and under.
You know how Jessica loves animals. We like to go to the park and bbq with Gabe and Rosie (especially when Rosie's parents come out with carne asada). This day Jessica had a field day feeding the ducks both in and out of the water (yes, she fell in not once, but twice this day).


Jessica loves, loves, loves school and especially her teacher Ms Gras. We are so grateful that Jessica is in her class. Ms Gras loves Jessica for her fun loving spirit...and is so very patient with her. Because of the concerns we had with whether or not we should put Jessica in Kindergarten this year, we've made it a point to have regular communication with her teacher. Altough Jessica loves school, it's also been a struggle in some ways. Wanting to make sure that she is successful and continues to love school, we've taken steps to help us understand how she learns. We'll keep you posted as we discover...

Rachel trying to enjoy sushi...I think she'll stick to the cooked stuff. Jessica on the other hand craves it. We had Joel out for Thanksgiving and Gabe and Rosie's over as well.
Jessica fell asleep on big brother Joel after pigging out.....turkey will do that to us every time.

a quick pic after church on Christmas Sunday.
Greg and Rachel participated in one of the most beautiful ward choir performances that I can remember. Jessica and I enjoyed their performance with our hearts filled with the spirit and tears in our eyes.

This time of year brings lots of joy, but also painful memories. We are grateful for the birth of our savior and for the knowledge of the plan of salvation. We are also grateful for the loving and supportive family that eases the inner
pain that each of struggle with this time of year.

We were invited over to Gabe and Rosie's for Christmas Eve along with Rosie's parents, brother and his fiance...and her Aunt, Uncle and 3 cousins who had come out to spend the holidays. Damian flew in the day before from Utah, Rhyannon flew in that afternoon from New York and Joel drove out and surprised us all. So there was quite a crowd there to enjoy the traditional Mexican feast...3 different types of tamales, menudo, rice, beans, red and green salsa. We brought Texas Sheetcake and home made ice cream.

this was the 3 girls getting ready for the evening.

On Christmas Day, Santa brought Rachel clothes, money and LOTS of earings. We got her ears re pierced a couple months ago and she has taken very good care of them this time (she just needs to remember to take her earings out for soccer games so she doesn't get red carded...yes she got kicked out of a game for forgetting to take them off...ooops...)

Jessica got Leapster 2, some BIG coloring books and a jogging outfit that she'd wear every day if we let her.


















Christmas dinner was at our place. Thank Heavens for the space here, because we needed it. We ended up with everyone from Christmas Eve, plus another 7...27 people total. There was some miscommunication with who was bringing what, and didn't realize it until guests were arriving. We didn't know what we were going to do...we said a blessing on the food and a miracle happened...don't know how, but there was just enough food! And yes...that's Jessica in her uniform (her jogging outfit)....

The day after Christmas we (ALL of us...even Rhyannon and Damian) packed up and headed for California. We went to Grandpa and Grandma Arnolds where we had a (post) Christmas dinner and Amy and her family joined us. After dinner we gathered in the living room for our gift exchange and as you can see....Jessica scored!

The next day we went the Alder Christmas gathering at Aunt Cindy's. We have always done this on Christmas Eve, but decided to change it up so that more of us could make it...and it worked...it was a HUGE crowd. We just ate a great meal and enjoyed each other company. It was rather cold outside...and knowing that the kids would get bored inside...Aunt Cindy had bought a bunch of cheap flash lights...and let the kids have a "party" in her bedroom....music, dancing, lights off and flash lights...they had a blast!

The next day (yah...I know...it was a fast and furious trip, but Rhyannon had to get back to Phx to fly back home)...we headed back to Queen Creek. We made one last stop in Claremont where Joel and Damian were meeting up with old friends...to stop and kiss everyone goodbye for one last time. The girls had a great time, but they were ready to get home to enjoy the rest of their winter break...
Jessica poking through the rail asking us when we were leaving...

FYI...

No...we haven't dropped off the face of the Earth. I've just been so busy with work and the holidays. On top of that, I don't like to post without pictures and I was waiting on Greg to do his magic so that I have some cute pictures to share. We have several things to report on...and I promise when I get back from Tennessee next week, I'll get to work.

Just so you know...Rachel and Jessica are doing GREAT!!!

She can't wait for her first Stake dance...

We decided to take Rachel out to dinner the night before her birthday. She chose Olive Garden because she was in the mood for Chicken Alfredo and it was there that we gave her her birthstone necklace.
The morning of her birthday, a couple of her best friends, scared her half to death by tapping on her window at the crack of dawn. Once she calmed down and let them in, they helped her do her hair so that she could wear the tiara that they brought her, gave her a Care Bear and some Care Bear undies. It was a great way to start out a very special day.

Several weeks in advance we had told her that she could have a party and suggested several ideas (swimming party, small slumber party, game night...)...she ended up deciding on something simple. She invited several of her best friends over for dinner:

For her birthday menu she decided on Shepard's Pie...yah you read right...Shepard's Pie....

with a Cold Stone's ice cream cake for dessert...



Then we took her and her friends to the San Tan Market Place for an hour of shopping where Rachel, feeling oh so grown up, bought some eye shadow and and lip gloss. After that, Greg treated them all to the movies. I think a good time was had by all.

Thank you Grandmas and Grandpas on both sides for the very generous birthday money. Rachel spent part of her birthday money on a new purple nano. She's in heaven!

Practicing her make up application, doing her hair with her new hair products and learning the words to all of the new songs on her nano...she should be well prepared for her first Stake Dance! I hope she has a blast...I know I lived for those nights when I was her age.

Happy Birthday Rachel. We are all so very proud of you!

One starting high school...one starting kindergarten...

Bright and early on Monday July 28th Rachel woke up to get ready for her much awaited first day of high school. Early I say because she chose to take 0 Period which starts at 6:40am. Yeah you read that right...she chose to.

We had taken her to the school and walked her around to all of her classes...she had practiced straightening her hair just right, had rehearsed putting on just the right amount of make up and had her outfit all picked out...and feeling pretty proud of the whole ensemble.

And we were proud too...not just because she looked adorable, but because she bought most of it with her own hard earned money (an accomplishment in its self). She wanted to earn money of her own and couldn't figure out why she wasn't ever getting asked back to babysit. I think our talk about going the extra mile and leaving the house picked up and dishes washed paid off. She had more work than she could fit in these last couple of weeks.

So Rachel's schedule is:
0. English
1. Algebra
2. Dance (PE)
3. Seminary
4. Culinary Arts
5. Choir
6. Science.

Cool thing is...we have access to her grades at any given moment (don't you love the internet)

After only a couple days in to this next phase of her life she announced that she absolutely loves school...hates for the day to end. She seems to have really "come in to her own" the past few months and we hope that this trend continues.








Jessica was so excited to start kindergarten that she was counting down the days. She even agreed to go to bed early the few days prior so that she could get used to getting plenty of rest.

She didn't care so much about the clothes that she would wear or how we would do for hair...she was more interested in what she would pack in her lunch. I was sure that she would ask for her favorite pb&j, but for some reason she decided on the more mature, turkey sandwich and even wanted a little mayo (she hated mayo last week?). But she liked it...she requested it every day this week.

So dad and I walked her in to the kindergarten play yard where she was greeted by her teacher, Ms. Gras (a brand new transplant from Michigan...boy does she have a rude awakening coming...in more ways than one)


With out hesitation, Jessica put her backpack and lunch box down and barely bid goodbye as she ran off to play with her new friends. We hung around for a little while as we watched kids crying and mothers crying with separation anxiety. We turned towards the gate to leave feeling proud of our "well adjusted" Jessie, turned around for one last look....
and burst out laughing as we watched her chasing boys (oh man...what are we in for?)

This first week (much to our surprise) we've had no battles going to bed on time to get plenty of rest, we've had no issues with getting dressed in a timely manner...and even a helpful hand getting lunch packed. We have however had a bit of an issue with her getting her card turned over to another color already. Apparently Jessie likes to talk to her neighbors when she's supposed to be listening (not so surprising).

All in all...it's been a successful week and we couldn't be prouder of both of them.

My how she's grown.....

Jessica and Rachel are about as different as their hair color. Jessica is very independent, has an opinion in every situation and the leader of the pack where ever she goes. She's had some difficulties transitioning from toddler tantrums, but making great strides as she tries so hard to be a "big girl". Some of the events of this past year have been:









got to take a bus 3 days a week to Little Coyotes Pre School at Queen Creek Elementary School this year. One of her many accomplishments was learning to read and sound out all of her letters, learned her numbers and learned how to write her name.


Believe it or not...this was the scenery while out one afternoon riding ATV's with Gabe, Rosie and Mia. Yes this is the Arizona desert after lots of rain this winter! Jessica is a dare devil and screams for her dad to go faster as they climb up and down the hills.

Jessica had an exciting 5th birthday party with a 18 foot blowup water slide and wading pool and plenty of friends to share the fun with. She slid and waded in the water ALL afternoon!

This is Jessica on the day she graduated from Happy Daze Pre School/Day care. Miss Amy was a God send when Suzette passed away. Jessica struggled with engaging in activities with her classmates, transitioning from any situation to the next and controlling her anger. Even after I was able to work from Arizona we didn't dare take Jessica away from Miss Amy's. The love and patience working through this period was at the very least amazing. She will always hold a very special place in our hearts.

Every year, the end of May, the Cox cousins head down to Showlo for a week long visit. We have headed up the past two years and plan to continue the 2 hour trek because we have such a good time. We get out of the heat, jump on the trampoline, swing on the zip line, play with a couple of great labs and eat good food.



Jessica LOVE, LOVES, LOVES the water. This was her first day of swimming lessons. She learned how to "pick the cherries", float on her back and jump off the edge. Jessica is always the very first to jump in and the unhappy last person to be dragged out.

Jessica is very excited to start her Kindergarten career in 3 weeks. I'm sure with the all she's accomplished this year, she's well prepared.

Jessica has grown by leaps and bounds this year. For someone who has been through so much in her short life...we are very proud of the accomplishments that she continues to make.

Surviving the first year as a teenager...

A little less than 11 months ago the family took Rachel out for a special dinner to celebrate her 13 birthday. As a parent we fear the teenage years, but surviving this first year with a teenager has been a breeze. Rachel is kind, loving and respectful to everyone. She puts her all in to everything she does and with a smile on her face. Some of the events of the past year have been:


We went to a Diamond Backs game








A much awaited visit from Uncle Clint in November. We hung out, played paint ball, visited and had a fun dinner at the local steak house. We look forward to future visits!


We spent Christmas in California with Grandpa and Grandma Arnold. Her main gift was a trip to California during Spring Break and while there she saw Wicked with Grandma Arnold and Aunt Amy.



And while she was in California she got to spend a couple of fun filled days with her cousins Sabrina and Jake. They hung out, went to the beach and shopping. She had a memorable week (thank you Terry and Leanna)













Among continuing to participate in the school choir and trying out for soccer, Rachel thoroughly enjoyed being on the track team where she was most successful in the long jump. She made us very proud as she diligently practiced every day and as usual, put 100% in to it. Gabe, Rosie and Mia moved out to Arizona....and one of our favorite family past times is heading up to the lake and riding their ATV's.

Rachel worked really hard this year to get good grades and it paid off. We couldn't have been prouder of her accomplishments.



She just returned from girls camp where for the third year in a row had a great time. She made some new friends, came back closer to her old friends and church leaders.

It's hard to believe, but we have 3 weeks to get ready for high school and seminary. We are very proud of the choices that Rachel makes and look forward to a rewarding and successful high school career