Channing’s 10th Birthday and Blake’s Murder Mystery party

Since we had already celebrated Channing’s birthday at Amazing Jake’s with a bunch of friends, we kept it low-key on his actual birthday.  Channing chose to go eat at Olive Garden because that’s where we took him on his 1st Birthday.  He wanted to re-create a picture of himself eating a lemon wedge when he was a baby.  What a funny kid!

After eating dinner the Olive Garden we went to help Blake host his birthday bash at a park by their house.  He invited several friends for a murder mystery evening and Channing and Cameron also attended.  It was a really funny night with teens running around in costumes and snacking on finger foods and drinking sparkling cider/blood orange soda.  It was quite fun and I would dare say everyone had a great time!

Little kids Halloween Party and School Carnival

We hosted a Halloween party for friends and their little kids that weren’t in school.  It was lots of fun and I had won a party pack that had some free stuff like the green bags you see here and some mini flashlights.   Everyone brought a “spooky” dish to share and some candy to hand out to the kids.  It was tons of fun for everyone!

We attended the Broadmor School Carnival and the kids had fun jumping in bounce houses and playing games.

Moving and Piano/Voice Recital

I held a piano/voice recital at home with all my many wonderful students.  It was a wonderful event, but very bittersweet at the same time.  Shortly before this Bob was offered a job in Utah at Ancestry.com and we had decided to take it.  Probably the hardest decision of our lives after being in Phoenix for 12 years.  We agonized over it even after we made the decision.  It was decided that the kids would finish out the semester in December and that I would stay there and pack for 2 months while Bob worked in Utah and flew back on the weekends.

Therefore, this being my last recital in Phoenix, I was so sad to see all my wonderful students finish their time with me and move on to other teachers.  I got to see a lot of growth in them and all became my very dear friends.

Channing’s Birthday at Amazing Jakes

We celebrated Channing’s 10th birthday with lots of good friends and family at Amazing Jakes!  It was so much fun for all!  The kids (and adults sometimes) played laser tag, went miniature golfing, raced cars, went rock climbing and rode some rides.  We ate lots of pizza and salad and cupcakes and then went to have more fun!  We were joined by J’Nett and Chris and family, Matthew Quino, Diana, Cole, Jace and Mason Hillegas, and Thomas and Hayden Murphy.  We were so glad to have everyone join us for a fun celebration!

 

Science Center Oct. 14, 2011

We saw an amazing Pirate exhibit at the Science Center in downtown Phoenix.  Unfortunately we couldn’t take any pictures inside of it, but it was really cool!  The kids loved it and so did I.  We got to see and touch real pirate gold and see all sorts of remnants from a pirate ship.  It was fascinating!  Of course we also played for a while after that and had a great day filled with fun!

Trip to the zoo with Nadine and Rebeka

Here’s a rare trip!  We always go to the zoo, but we rarely get to go with Nadine and Rebeka and Emiliano!  The kids all had time off for Fall break, so we got to play and do some fun things.  One cool thing was getting to see a tiger in a tree!  We watched as he jumped out and it was amazing to watch him stretch!  Super fun!  It was a great day!

Bob’s basketball team at Shops

Bob and some of his co-workers played in a basketball league for fun.  We went to one of the games and they won! (we were good luck charms…what can I say).

Cameron’s ACTUAL birthday 2011

Cameron had such a big blowout party with all his friends that we had a very small family party for him on his birthday.  Here he is with a gift he wanted from us…a Club Penguin membership!

Karate Tournament Oct 2011

The boys did a karate tournament at the of October.  Channing had just earned his 2nd degree, but since it wasn’t recorded yet he could only go as a first belt (which was probably a good thing since it put him in a rank where he had a fair amount of experience).  In the end, both did very well and even earned some trophies for their efforts!