Happy 30th Birthday Christie!!!! YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND I LOVE YOU

A couple of stops before PC...

First stop: California. MudRun '08 was awesome. This was only our second year doing it but we are hooked: it's a tradition now for sure. My brother Todd started it all- He Rules. We significantly cut our time from last year- ''09 will be even better. Mark your calenders now- all are welcome!! My friend Nicole showed up out of nowhere and was there to cheer us on. What an amazing friend. Next year she will be there with us running- can't wait Nic!!
The boys had a BLAST with their Clarke cousins. There were little boys all over the place. We miss you boys. It's never long enough. See you in one month at the ranch!! Next stop: Guatemala.

AZ Rant

Lest anyone believe I'm getting adjusted to summer in Arizona, let me enlighten you with some information about my life:
- This morning I watched my children attend swimming lessons while sitting in 102 degree heat.
- It's suppose to hit 110 degrees in the next couple of days.
- Everywhere I go there are disgusting bugs: flys, crickets, etc. I saw a dead scorpion in a model home we were looking at last week. In case you are wondering, we will not be buying in THAT neighborhood.
- The rocks on our nearby highway were-are you ready?- spray painted green this week.... in an effort to make it look like grass?!?! I don't get this at all.
We are out of here. We're packing up next week and heading to greener pastures ie: Park City. We'll stay away until we are forced to return for school the first week of August. Call us if you will be in Utah over the next six weeks!

Cousin Swim Party

10 out of 14 Curtis Grandchildren

There was swimming, a pinata, birthday cake, a waterslide and kids having fun with their cousins everywhere you looked. That's my kind of Saturday night.

MEXICO

Best Family Vacation Yet.

Alan and I decided we're moving into a different phase of our life with kids: no more diapers, no more naps, a whole lot less gear to haul, easier to communicate with and please, more and more fun to play with... it was all just so dreamy. A whole week of uninterrupted family time.... can we go back now?

Birthday Boy

A room full of huge blow-up slides and bounce houses, kids everywhere, pizza, cake, and your dad showing up to be a part of it all... what more could a birthday boy want? You're FIVE Alex!! Happy Birthday! (Well, almost. The official day is June 1.)

Our Graduate

Yesterday it was made official... we are moving on from K-Prep to the real deal: kindergarten. Not sure if I'm ready for this step. Doesn't my boy look handsome?

Utah: May '08

The ONLY picture of our trip. I had to edit out cousin Ellie- there was just too much immodesty going on. We ditched the last week of school and went to Park City to take care of my mom, who is home from Guatemala for a few weeks for shoulder surgery. I'm not sure I'm a trustworthy caregiver. The day after her surgery we decided to take a drive to see the old stompin' grounds of Provo. We are packing up kids and snacks and bags and my mom says "I'll drive," to which my sis and I respond Okay. After we drive an hour through the canyon and all over Provo it occurs to us that mom's arm is in a sling and she is acting loopy from the dangerous amounts of percocet we have been giving her throughout the drive. Note to Christie: Don't let mom drive while she's HIGH.

The day finally arrived.

I've been waiting since last fall, and they finally opened the door last week in Scottsdale. I admit I made the 25 minute drive early one morning, ordered my dozen red velvet, came home, sat on my couch with some reading material, and partook. I know there are many naysayers out there, but I don't care. I love 'em.

No Greater Joy

I can't even deal with my feelings for these two. It borders on crazy obsessive. Can't get them out of my mind, crazy, madly, deeply in love with them. Never could have anticipated the highest highs and lowest lows that being their mother would bring to my life. Never would have guessed that I would have two children that are so distinctly different and all that I would learn, how deep I would have to reach to try to meet their individual needs, to be the best mom I could be for each of them. Our journey together is flying by, it's all too fast. Everyday I'm grateful for the chance to start again, to have a clean slate, to have the opportunity to do better. There is nothing in the world I would rather do. They are my little buddies, my partners, my students, my teachers, my best friends, my loves, my boys.

To My Mother

Admire her, Amazed by her, Miss her, Love her.

Alex's Art Gallery

This post is for my friend Jan. Here's your solution to the never-ending artwork your kids bring home: Create an Art Gallery in your garage. Your kids will love it. Every time you pull into the garage they feel special as their masterpieces greet them. We even talked about having an official exhibit opening and inviting the grandparents over for appetizers and drinks but that never happened. I was really great about putting everything up last year, I must admit I have become a slacker and now it all goes in the trash. But Jan, you have me inspired and I hung some recent artwork tonight. We are going to fill the wall!
Note: this was not my brilliant idea, my friend Allison got it from a magazine and I copied her.

Will's birthday party...a few weeks late.

I don't have many great pictures, but it was a success. My boy dug in the sand with his buddies, ate his fill of Chick-fil-a, and felt special. And now he is officially 3 years-old.

My Boy

Will has been going to a weekly music class since September. The big performance was last week. They sang, "If You're Happy And You Know It Clap Your Hands." It was disastrous. Let's just say these kids don't have what some would call Stage Presence. There was a highlight. As they marched onto the "stage," Will caught sight of the microphone and introduced himself to the audience... twice. Here's the quote, "Hi, I'm Will-Guy Curtis." And then once again, in case anyone missed it the first time.

Have I mentioned lately how madly in love I am with this child? It's a bit of a problem because his father gets jealous sometimes.

Playing Catch-up

Brandon's trip to Germany=Sister and Ellie's trip to AZ!! (no pictures of us all, how sad is that?)

Sister's trip to AZ=Sister and I driving to LA to see Mom, Dad, T & Jen (oh and WICKED!)

Mom and Dad in the USA=Boys, Sister, Ellie and I flying together to Utah and having the chance to see Kate, Chan-man and Sommer (there was a highway wave to Steve as well- missed you Steve... let's hang out next time)General Conference weekend= Mom and Dad in Park City for a whole week and finding time to do all of our PC traditions (Kamas pool, Cow's on Main Street, candy store, trolley ride)

Will turning 3=Excuse to buy Huge chocolate cake (can't bake since we we're on vacation)

Having so much fun in Utah with my family= Great Depression upon coming home to the heat in AZ

How will I make it through the summer? I'm seriously having a panic attack almost daily when I think about it. I know I survived last year, but why do I start to cry every time I think about having to do it again?