Halloween 2010

 Cheyanna was Pinky Pie for Halloween (a My Little Pony). 

 Cade was Luigi (from Super Mario Bros.)

 Carson was Barak Obama. 

 We went to Noah Webster's Fright Fest last weekend, and we went to our ward's trunk-or-treat last night. 

Jennie's 60th

Chuck's Mom just celebrated her 60th Birthday!  She is such an incredible person, and I feel so blessed to have her in my life.  Jennie has always been so kind to me and accepting of me.  She has always been there for our family, and has been a huge source of help and support to me during times of stress and trials. She is the best Granny to our kids, and they are crazy about her.  And of course, I give Jennie a lot of credit for raising Chuck and helping him to turn into the great man that he is.  Above is a picture of Jennie with baby Chuck, and below is Jennie with Chuck and his sister, Megan.

For Jennie's 60th Birthday, Chuck's sister Megan planned a big surprise party in Tucson (where Jennie lives).  Meg put so much time and effort into planning this party, and fortunately, we pulled it off and the party went exactly like we hoped it would!  Our family went down to Jennie's on Saturday, and told her we were taking her out to dinner for her birthday.  We asked where she'd like to go, and Jennie actually mentioned the restaurant where the party was being held!  It was almost too easy.  I went ahead with the kids to give everyone a heads-up that the birthday girl was about to arrive.    

Surprise!  Here's her initial reaction.  To our great relief, she was very surprised and hadn't suspected a thing.  :)

  

So much love!! Below is the table with most of Jennie's grandkids.  We all got to enjoy some yummy Mexican food at Casa Del Rio, then there was a slide show that Megan and Joe put together.  Jennie's sister, Dawna, flew in from Washington for the surprise, and Chuck's sister, Lindsey, flew in from Colorado.  Dawna also put together a memory book, and had all of Jennie's friends and relatives submit a letter, picture, or story to include in the book.  It turned out so great, and was really fun to look through.

Megan made some really cute centerpieces for the tables.  Jennie had a lot of candles to blow out!  Chuck was the MC for the party, and he did a great job making announcements and keeping the party going. 

Ashely and Cheyanna

Grace and Cade

I have heels on in this picture.  Notice how much taller Charlie is than me now.  Crazy, huh?

I love this cute picture of Chuck with his mom.  Jennie was so appreciative of the party and all the effort that went into it (mostly Megan's).  We all had a really great time celebrating what a special person she is.  I'm glad she got a chance to see and know how many people love and care about her.  Happy Birthday, Jennie!

Loved this Talk

http://new.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/of-things-that-matter-most?lang=eng
by President Uchtdorf.  I had been trying to figure out what pace to continue with the rest of my school and internship process, and this talk spoke to my heart and was an answer to my prayer.  The two quotes that really hit me were:
"My dear brothers and sisters, we would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most." AND "...we must place high priority on our families... In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home." 

Charlie Basketball

 Charlie has been growing like a weed still!  He averages about 1 inch every two months.  He's now almost 6'1".  Even when I wear my high heels, he's still taller than me now.  CRAZY!!  The bad thing about him growing that fast is that his bones are growing faster than his tendons.  His tendons in his legs are getting stretched, and he has had really bad knee and ankle pain as a result.  His doctor said it is basically tendonitis of the knee.  The good thing about him growing is that his basketball career is looking good.  :)  He made the 8th grade team at Smith Jr. High.  His two friends, Chris and Ryland, made the team too, and they had a lot of fun playing together. 

 Playing basketball has given Charlie an outlet for his energy, a focus for his free time, a confidence in his abilities, and a bond with his dad.  He has had so much fun, and just loves playing basketball.  Chuck loves watching him play, and has gotten so much enjoyment out of tracking the team's success, talking to the coach and other parents, and cheering Charlie on.  The only downside of Charlie playing is that the more he runs on his knees, the sorer they get.  He ices them after every practice and game, and takes ibuprofin when the pain is really bad.  He wears knee and ankle braces when he practices and plays, and that helps a little too.  The doctor said it is just something he'll have to endure until his growth starts to slow down.  For now, he's learning to live with the pain.  I feel bad for Charlie on nights after he's played really hard, and he is hobbling around so sore.  But he thinks playing basketball is worth the pain, so we're sticking with it. 

These pics are of Charlie in his Smith Sidewinders uniforms.  The Smith season is now over, but his coach (who also coaches the JV team at Skyline High School) coaches a competitive league during the off seasons, which has started already.  They practice 3 times a week and play games every Saturday.  So the basketball continues, and Charlie is serious about improving his skills and being a competitive player.  Some of the boys he's playing with have been playing on the league team with his coach for a couple of years now, and they are really great players.  Charlie is aiming to hone his skills and be a great player soon.  As Chuck's dad said the other day, "You can teach skills, but you can't teach height."  Charlie's lucky he has the height (and is still growing), and with hard work, he's determined to improve his skills too.  It is a lot of fun watching him play, and it has been a really good focus for Charlie this fall. 

Charlie's scout trip

 Charlie's new Young Men's/Scout leader, Brother Stan Roberts, is great to take pictures of all the campouts and activities that he takes the Deacon's Quorum on.  They go camping once a month, and get to do lots of fun stuff--fishing, boating, swimming, and hiking.  Here are some pictures that Stan has taken recently of Charlie on campouts.

Ice Cream Social

 Here's Cheyanna on stage at Noah Webster with her class singing at the Ice Cream Social.  Last year, she was too shy to go on stage and sing with her class, so I was glad this year that she went right up with the rest of her class.  She's a big first grader now!

Chuck and Charlie's road trip

Chuck and Charlie took a fun trip over Labor Day weekend, but unfortunately, I forgot to send the camera with them!  They drove up to UT to spend time with an old friend from Richfield, and go to the first BYU football game of the season with him and his son.  Then they drove up to Rigby, Idaho to visit Chuck's Grandma Taylor.  Luckily, his Aunt Claudia took some pics of the visit and e-mailed them to me.  Here are the boys with Chuck's mom's mom: Marie Taylor. 

Charlie made new friend--his Uncle Bryce's dog.  Charlie is an animal lover and animals just seem to sense that and just love to be around him.  The two Charles's had a great trip.  They spent lots of quality time together, and they had fun stopping by the BYU bookstore to stock up on BYU gear (and they even brought me home some chocolate covered cinnamon bears--mmmmm!)

Resources

ASU has a really neat website that is a great resource for lots of different needs.  It's called the virtual counseling center.  Here is the link:
http://vcc.asu.edu/all_tools.shtml
What does it offer?  The main thing I love is the relaxation training.  If you want to learn how to relax, go through the relaxation exercises--they are so great.  There's also stuff about mindfulness, career exploration, conflict management, weight control, a personality test, self-esteem info, and lifestyle calculators.

The other resource I wanted to give you is the phone # for the counseling training center at ASU for all you local AZ folks.  480-965-5067.  If you are in need of counseling (or just want to give it a try), it is super cheap at the CTC.  For non-students, it is $80 for a whole semester of once a week sessions, and there are no insurance issues because they don't take insurance (most counselors charge about $100 per session, so it is a really great deal).  The counselors are graduate students like me, who are working under close supervision of experienced faculty members.  Some of the issues people come to us for are: depression, anxiety, personal problems, marital difficulties, and relationship issues.  We see children, teens, adults, couples, families--you name it.  If you're reading my blog, I know you too well to be able to be your counselor, but there are lots of counselors there, and I know we still have some empty time slots--especially Mondays and Wednesdays.  You can jump in now for the rest of this semester, or even wait until January when the new semester starts (or both).  :)  Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone out there has been thinking about trying counseling, but doesn't know where to start.