He Likes His Present!

I got Darren a 40 calibur gun for his birthday. It was fun to suprise him and keep it a secret for about 3 weeks. I had his friend help me out a little. . He would ask Darren everyday if I had caved in and told him what I got him. I think it was harder for him to keep the secret from Darren than me. Guys and guns, it's a strange thing! This last weekend we had, or generously, went to go pick up Morgan and Jensen from Casa Grande. We stopped on the farm on our way out to do a little target shooting. It was Darren's first time to shoot his new gun. I couldn't believe his shot. He hit this can the very first shot and then hit the milk jug on the first try as well.


I have to mention that I shot the can and jug on my first try too!

Jensen's Soccer Career Has Come to an End

Jensen is done with another soccer year under his belt. I didn't think that he would want to play this year because last year he pooped out towards the end and didn't even want to go to his games. However, when I asked Morgan if she wanted to play this year, Jensen piped up and said he wanted to do it again! I couldn't believe it! The kids don't really get the opportunity to be involved in any activities over the summer so I think this is why they really jump on the chance to do stuff like this. I think it's good for them to learn how to be part of team and to realize that they can't give up when things get hard. Jensen had a hard year this year, but I am so proud of him for sticking with it and being to all of his games, but three. He missed the last game, which he really wanted to play in, to go see his father in Casa Grande. I was disappointed to see him not be able to finish out the season strong and most importantly to be there for his team who counted on him. His coach was a single man without any children who volunteered to coach these young children after work and every Saturday. He will get his trophy tomorrow night at Bashas in the Deli area (I don't know, it is just were the coach said to meet)! He is so excited!

We Have a New Driver in the Family!

Watch Out, Matthew is on the road! It seems like just yesterday our little Matthew was having his dad push him down the road teaching him how to ride a bike. Well, now I am the only one brave enough to let him drive. We kind of broke the law because he didn't quite have his permit yet. Oh well, who needs a license! I would take my brothers car out on joy rides when they were in football practice when I was in seventh grade. We were headed to Nana and Papa's house for Sunday dinner. Garrett was too scared to ride in the car so he went with Darren who was taking back tables we borrowed for the big birthday bash the night before. Rylee, Morgan, and Jensen all braved it with me. He did really good and just needs some more practice. You can count on me Matthew!

AYSO Fun!

Morgan enjoyed her first year playing soccer. Because she was ten years old she was suppose to be in the league that is co ed. I took her to her first practice and just about died when I saw the other kids on her team. They were giants! Ok, so maybe Morgan is just a tad bit short! Anyway, this team was like crazy good because they had been playing since they could walk and poor old Morgan didn't even know what boot the ball meant. So I went home and told Darren and he of course fixed everything. He called someone he knew that used to be in charge of the AYSO program here and they gave him the information he needed to plead Morgan's case. So Darren talked to the commissioner and told him why we thought Morgan needed to go down a level. He said that he would take it to the board, but was worried that they wouldn't let her because of her age and being too aggressive and running over all the 9 year olds. They ended up letting her go down only if she wasn't going to bully the girls on the field. We assured him that he had no problem. I took Morgan to her first "new" practice and she fit in just nicely! In fact, she was probably the smallest one on that team too! She had so much fun and wants to do it again next year. She is going to have to talk me in to that one because she will definitely have to move up and I don't know that I want to give up all of our weekends to soccer again. It lasts FOREVER! I am a softy though, so we will see!She loved to be a defender which is the player the defends the goal before it gets to the goalie. She did wonderful! Her team ended up only losing one game all season and it was the game that Morgan missed. She got her trophy and is just so proud of herself. We love Mogie!

Happy Birthday Darren

Darren's birthday falls on Halloween so it makes it really hard to focus all on him. We try our best though! Someone once told Darren that you start counting backwards once you hit forty, so we are celebrating Darren's 39th birthday this year! Doesn't he look great! He will always be a thirty year old in my eyes no matter what. He is such a blessing in my and Morgan and Jensen's lives. We love him so much and appreciate all that he does to make our lives wonderful and fun. He is my best friend and eternal companion. I love you sweetie! Happy 39th birthday!

Happy Halloween!

This year's Halloween went pretty well considering it is Darren's Birthday, my first classroom party, all the kids being here, and Morgan and Jensen wanting homemade costumes. I love the fact they think by telling me they want me to make their costume this will save me money, but in the long run it always ends up costing something and most importantly my sanity.
Morgan was pretty easy this year. She loves to play dress up at Nana's with April's old Girls Dance dress, so she wanted to wear that and be a "princess". I ended up buying her a tiara at Wal-Mart in the wedding section and some sparkly shoes. She looked cute and we all got a good laugh at Aunt April's dress.
Jensen had his costume in mind for about a month. He told me it was going to be really easy to make. All we needed was a red shirt, white gloves, a hat, and overalls to complete the costume of Mario from Super Mario Brothers. Everything was pretty easy to find except the overalls and the red hat (go figure). They apparently do not make overalls any more. So I thought I would try the good ole thrift store. Well, I didn't find any overalls, but I did find a woman's dress! Now I am no seamstress, but how hard could it be to cut it down the middle and then sew a straight line up the two legs? So that is what we did and I only pulled out half of my hair working with the sewing machine! For the hat I found a white one at the thrift store and dyed it red. Jensen made his own "m" patch and I hot glued it on at school the next morning. He seemed to love his costume. It makes it all worth it to see how happy they are and to think that they are the cat's meow!
Matthew, Garrett, and Rylee came to Thatcher that afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa Evans. Rylee was also a princess, but she said it was the princess from "Pirates of the Caribbean". I did her hair all up and she looked great! We ended up going to the school carnival where we met up with Cambree, Ridge, and Luke. We didn't stay long because we wanted to go see Grannie and Grandpa before they went to bed. So we all made our way over there. Grannie wouldn't let us leave until the kids all had candy. My mom and Aunt LaSchelle were at Wal-Mart trying to buy the candy.
We went over to G.G.'s house next and got our special treat (chocolate rolls and star crunches)! This has been a tradition ever since I could remember. Grandma always has something good to give!
Darren got home early that day because it was his birthday!! He ended up meeting us at Grannie and Grandpa's and then went with us to Nana's to trick-or-treat! We made our way around town a little bit and then ended up at Casa Manana for a birthday dinner for Darren. We met up with Darren's parents, Paul and Nelda. It is always such a pleasure to have them come and visit. We enjoy them so much.
All-in-all it was a great Halloween.

Kate's Baby Blessing

We all had so much fun together at Lan and Sarah's for the blessing of Kate. Lan has done an amazing job with his house. He is so handy. The cousins had a wonderful time getting to play with each other. We love cousins. We love family!

Warning!

This morning, from a cave somewhere in Pakistan, Taliban Minister of Emigration, Mohammed Omar, warned the United States that if military actions against Iraq continue, Taliban authorities intend to cut off America's supply of convenience store managers and possibly Motel 6 managers. And if this action does not yield sufficient results, cab drivers will be next, followed by DELL and AOL customer service reps. Finally, if all else fails, they have threatened to send us no more candidates for President of the United States !

It's gonna get ugly!!!