Special Kids

McCormick Stillman Railroad park host an annual event called Special Day for Special Kids. Having missed the event for world DS day and knowing we'd be out of town for the Easter egg hunt we planned to attend this one. I chatted with an old friend from college, Eliza and her husband Nick who now live in Gilbert. Her oldest has autism and given his circumstances, they rarely go out to activities except this one. It was a great opportunity to meet up, however briefly and catch up on old times.



Ethan has grown up so much! I remember him as a tiny baby crawling around our home. Time passes much too quickly!



The kids enjoyed a hot dog lunch, chips, popcorn, snowcones and ice cream. They played on bounce houses, different games and earned all sorts of prizes. My personal favorite was some leather work done by one of the scout troops. Only Elias managed to keep his. It has his name and an eagle on it.

Keila needed coaxing down the slide and there was a lovely volunteer happy to help. I have to laugh at the terror on her face ...

And now her utter relief!

Isaac literally bounced his way down ....

loving every minute like the crazy boy he is!





Unfortunately Kent had to leave a little early for a resident presentation in Mesa and I was a little harried to stay too much longer but it was so worth it in ways I cannot fully explain.

There were lessons taught that I would never have been able to give my son myself. We'd explained earlier what the even was for and issac was observant enough to see other children in wheelchairs or who were blind or had other challenges. He also asked me about autism, a challenge that is less visually obvious and as we talked he said something that made me so proud. It was something to the effect that everyone is different but were all the same, that the other children wanted to play and have fun too, just like him. He also mentioned how he wanted to "stick up" for these other children because we are Heavenly Fathers children.

I am so grateful that the simple act of interacting and playing at such an event gave my son the vision that is lacking too often in society today. As a mother I worry at times that my children will struggle emotionally and socially, especially Elias, but I know that he'll have more than just Kent and I to advocate for him as he gets older- A mother can't have much more assurance than the knowledge they will love and take care of each other!

Another Second Wife!

Alas we mourn the passing of our first DSLR camera, more commonly referred to as the second wife. We were extremely sad she couldn't be fixed from the damaged she sustained while on a hike with Kent. Having had such beautiful pictures all these years we had to replace her before our spring break. She's still a Canon Rebel, but of course the newer and younger model! I guess I can give way to this competition if we can have some great pictures again!

Fun with Joe and Becky!

The kids LOVE Aunt Becky and Uncle Joe!!!! I can't say this enough, in fact when anything comes up that remotely reminds Isaac of them he always groans out, "How I WISH they lived so much closer!" Well they do now, they have officially moved from Conneticut to Arlington TX and on their way up to pick up stuff from Becky's family, they stopped by for a brief visit.


Becky is expecting a little girl in early June, so we were sure to load them up with anything we no longer needed. Given the up coming expansion of family they feel they will be driving much more to visit her mom in NV so the hope is they will pop by often. Otherwise we did little things, like played games, went to the library, rode bikes and chatted. We did a small celebration of Aunt Becky's birthday with a pasta dinner.

A little reading with Becky and 'the Professor'!

We're grateful they make such an effort to see us regularly. Here's to family and the best Uncle Joe and Aunt Becky anyone could have!

Random Updates

We've made some recent changes to help our children becoem more independant. One of these changes has Isaac rather proud of himself. He is learning to 'cook'! By that we mean heating meals in the microwave, while it's not what you call gormet, it does help alot. He is proud to be able to present his own meals when called on.


Keila is a determined soul. Isaac was never one to bike much but Keila saw the neighbor girls at it and she persisted despite it being hard for her little legs. Interestingly enough, Isaac gained inspiration from her and before we knew it, he was begging to ride too. Here's hoping her persistant nature will pay off in the things that matter and we'll see her accomplish more and more each day.


It's official, Elias is out of his helmet and we are thrilled. This is one of the last shots we have of him in it. Unfortunately he can now rip the glasses off his face much easier and will growl at anyone who puts them back on. For some time we wavered between calling him 'the Doctor' or 'little professor'. We opted for the later. Fr anyone who's a fan of Doctor Who you will understand why - that much power is such a darling little being is frightening to say the least. Pure Cutonium!



We have the joy of living in a cul-de-sac and late in the afternoon the neighborhood kids come out to play. Isaac and Keila have been begging me to let them have a picnic dinner. One night Kent was to be kept late at work so I whipped up some grilled cheese sandwiches and apples and clementines completed the meal. They were thrilled! Here's a shot of the 'adopted' big brother and sisters that they always wanted!

Cupcake?!?

So I'm sure you've noticed that our pictures haven't been so hot lately. Our DSL camera, better known as the second wife, was dropped and damaged. As much as I initially resented the thing always being in my face -literally and figuratively speaking- it grew on me and over time I would lug it with me everywhere to capture the moments of life that pass by so quickly with little ones. Thankfully we have our phones and iPad which are handier but don't compare on quality. Until we get the second wife fixed or replaced bare with us. These next few shots are of Elias enjoying a fellow nursery friend's birthday.


"Whoa, whats this pretty thing?"


"Feels funny, smells yummy..."


"Definately tastes yummy!"


"Gotta get me more..."


"man have they been holding out!"


"Yikes, Mama looks like she might be changing her mind about this.."


"Gotta get it now while I can."


"Carpe cupcake!"


"Just wish my mouth was bigger!"