HELLO & GOODBYE 2014

Wow, am I really getting ready to reflect on 2014? Where did the past year go anyways? Are we really ringing in 2015 already? Well the answer is yes yes and yes and as much as I dislike the fact that time just refuses to slow down, it's also exciting to see what new adventures and changes will come with a new year!! Not to mention this is real life!!

If I had to pick just one single word for 2014 it would be GROWTH!

Growth with the kids: their personalities, their independence, their responsibilites

Growth with the garden: more planting space, more fruits & veggies, more lessons learned

Growth in my marriage: being supportive & patient

Growth in myself: starting to admit that I am acutally in my 30's now (eeeeek!!!)

Growth in my career: taking some steps to move up & forward, even if they are baby steps

It was certainly not an easy task narrowing down just 10 of my favorite things/memories/moments from this past year, as I could go on and on and on with favorites and there are so many so I cheated and did my top 11 and even that was nearly impossible!! So here you have it, in no particular order!!!

 

1. Kaintz Farms: our garden has turned into such a hobby for us and boy has it expanded! We built 3 new boxes for planting this past year along with a strawberry patch and have been lucky enough to harvest harvest harvest!! One of my favorite things about the garden is that we can constantly experiment and learn new things. There is so much more to still discover and we are hoping to add a pumpkin/watermelon patch to the mix this next year amongst other things ... like chickens and goats .... ahhhhh did I really just throw that out there!!! Rilyn and I will have to do some SERIOUS sweet talking to daddy for that to happen though!! (and if I'm really being honest, its the hubby that has the green thumb!!)

2. Morning Walks: we live in such a beautiful place in this valley but sometimes being on the go all the time makes you forget to stop, look around and soak in the beauty. So when time permits, one of my favorite things are my morning walks with Bubba Brown Murphy Moose dog (yes he really has all those names) and my coffee on a Saturday/Sunday morning.

3. New Neighbor: my Momma & Normy are officially AZ Homeowners now but not just AZ Homeowners ..... NEW RIVER HOMEOWNERS and only about a quarter mile away!!! You want to talk about one happy chick, I could not be anymore thrilled to have them so close to us. Not to mention that it is a beautiful home with beautiful views and a pool, perfect for our crazy family!!!

4. Daddy Day: well its definitely not any secret that the lake/river is probably my most favorite place to be and my little piece of paradise!! We do sooooo many fun family outings throughout the year that it makes it hard to pick a favorite, but I have to say that our father's day weekend camping trip at Bartlett Lake topped them all for me in 2014. It was a weekend filled with adventures, exploring, relaxing, kite flying and just plain ol family time on a sand bar in the middle of the lake with no electronics and nothing but our imaginations and each other to keep us busy!!! This will definitley be one of those trips that I will remember forever.

5. Mommy/Daddy Date's: every January when we start a new year ... each of our kids draw's 2 months out of a bowl .... 1 month is for a one on one date with Mommy and the other for a one on one date with Daddy. Having 4 kids makes it very hard to get that one on one time with each of them that we all crave and this is a perfect way to make it happen!! I don't know who looks forward to our date's more the kids or me but man do I love them!! I hope they never get to big to hold my hand, call me mommy and tell me they love me!!

6. 4th Of July: the last few years for 4th of July we make a trip up to Munds Park with friends for riding, the parade, to celebrate the 4th and get out of the heat for a few days. It is one of our favorite trips and we look forward to it every year. This year was particularly fun because we had some pretty crazy weather which caused for some really fun riding adventures while we were out on the ranger!! The kids were such troopers and it made for some really good "remember when" stories!! (side note: I absolutely love when my kids get on the "remember when" kick and start talking about things that have happened. Makes you realize how important it is to make memories that count!!)

7. Girl's Trip: I made a trip down to Lake Havasu with some of the favorite ladies in my life to get away and enjoy some adult girl stuff kinda fun and boy o boy did we live it up and have a blast!! Definitely would love to try and make an annual tradition out of this. This trip without a doubt makes my top 10 list!! Can we go back like right now!!! Haaaa!!

8. The Whole Fam Dam: camping anyone? how about the whole fam dam, why not right?!? We made a family camping trip this past year with this big ol crazy group and it was too much fun!! Horseshoes, shooting, eating (why is it that you always eat better when you are camping than you do at home!?!), birthday festivities, fort building, scavenger hunts and everything else that a perfect camping trip should include!!

9. One Stop Drop: this one is a little bittersweet because there are so many things I love about it (which is why it made my top 10) but it also means these 3 cuties are growing up and up and up!! We have officially graduated from daycare with Rilyn starting kindergarten and I am happy to say that the "one stop drop" off in the morning is a-ma-zing along with the fact that I feel like I got a pay raise!! I love watching the boys take such good care of their sister walking her to her gate before they head for the playground with their friends (I have even had a few of the staff from the school come up to me and tell me how sweet it is to watch them every morning hug her at the gate and tell her they love her and to have a good day!! *sure makes me one proud mommy to hear these stories!!) I love to see Rilyn becoming the independant little student that she is, following in her brothers footsteps. Its almost like we have started a new chapter in our story of life!!

10. The Big 10: we celebrated 10 years of marriage this year with a bang!! Between our "Cheers To 10 Years" party with family & friends before we left and our 8 day trip to Seattle it could not have been any more PERFECT!! In some ways its so hard to believe that it has been ten years since we said "I Do" and in other ways its hard to believe that it has only been ten years!! At the party we danced to the song "Love Isn't Something That You Have, Its Something That You Do" by Clint Black and the lyrics are dead on! I say cheer's to continuing to work together, communicate and to many many more years of livin' our love song with this handsome man I am lucky enough to call my husband!!

"We Still Do"

11. Special Visit: Grandpa & Grandma Ingram came to town and we were more than thrilled. We miss them sooooooo very much so this was definitely a huge highlight of our year. The kids loved that they were able to watch them play football while they were here and for me it was wonderful catching up and just chatting about everything and nothing all at the same time. Sure do love these two with all my heart!!

I say thank you to 2014 for the many memories and blessings!!! 

STRAIGHT A'S

Trey has gotten Straight A's two quarters in a row!!! So proud of this handsome boy of mine!! Such an accomplishment!

 

HOME SWEET HOME

The BEST part of my day ..... Home Sweet Home!! Arizona Moonrise (I know this isn't a real word but I am making it one!! Our moonrises are just about as pretty as our sunsets in this beautiful state!!!)

COP DUNKIN'

 

Rilyn and I were back road cruising to Grandma's and she was riding shotgun and said "Momma if we see a cop I gotta dunk right"!! Its way too cute to correct her that it is duck not dunk .... so she will be my little "cop dunker" for life!!! Haaaaa!! I just love this little chick!

A NEW YEAR'S TRADITION

If you spend your new year riding to the top of a mountain, starting a fire and drinking beer ..... you might be a redneck!!!

 

We rang in our New Year mountain top again this year which has become another one of our little family traditions that we love so much. Thankfully this year it was not nearly as cold as the year before and we had an amazing time!! Jamming good tunes around the fire with family ... nothing beats it!!!

 

 

A group selfie!!! Still not sure how we were able to pull this off and actually get everyone in the picture but we did and I LOVE IT!!!

 

We are super excited to see what 2014 has in store for us and are looking forward to another year of blessings, fun times, challenges, growth & many more MEMORIES!!!

MOTHER'S DAY ...

We had another great mothers day at the Tapatio!!! Always so relaxing for mommy & daddy and the kids have sooooo much fun going down the big slide and swimming!! The Penrod Family joined us this year which made it extra fun!! We spent Saturday afternoon at the pool and then went to Aunt Chiladas for dinner .. yumyum ... and then got a whole nother day by the pool on Sunday!! (mommy was in heaven)!

Rilyn & Daddy sun bathin' and chattin' about somethin!!

LOVE these kiddos and feel so lucky & blessed to be their Momma!!

All spiffed up and ready for dinner!!

GRANDMA & GRAMMY DAY!!

We decided to do a Mothers Day picnic at the park with our Momma's to celebrate their special day!! I wanted to do an extra special picnic and not just our normal meet at the park and let the kids run around ... so I decided to do a whole set up with decor and all!!  Lord knows they deserve it .. we don't know what we would do without these two amazing ladies in our life!!

I brought some random crates that I had in my craft stuff along with some scrap pieces of fabric to set up as tables to display the food, plates, etc.. ... and made homemade chicken salad (my grandmas recipe, DA BOMB), pasta salad and some fresh fruit for dinner. We found a shady spot close to the lake and waterfall and walaaaa ... we  had our special picnic!! Rilyn and I were able to get there early and have everything set up prior to their arrival so they were pleasantly surprised!! 

Earlier that week, the kids and I went to "As You Wish" and painted each of them a special platter as part of their gift and then I made them a few things to go with it. Add a homemade card signed by the whole family and some fresh flowers in a mason jar!

So happy with the way the platters turned out!! The outside edge reads "we are lucky as can bee ... the best Grandma/Grammy in the world belongs to me" the kids handprints for flowers, thumbprints for bumble bees, and pinky prints for the caterpillar!!  The best part is the kids pretty much painted them  by themselves - I obviously did the words and helped with the hand & fingerprints but thats about it!! (they LOVED them!!)

We LOVE our Grandma and Grammy so so so much!!!

Of course, Daddy found a fishing pole in the back of the truck and got some fishing in while we were there!!

We brought scooters and Rilyn just rode and rode and rode her little heart out!! She is getting so good on her scooter and was hitting some top speeds coming down the hill!! All we could do was watch and hope for the best with teeth clenched!!! She did eventually have a pretty good bail but jumped up and got back on after some tlc from daddy!!

My Momma got me this awesome sign for my garden and the most beautiful card that of course made me cry!! I am just slightly obsessed with my new garden and this baby is going to add a perfect little touch to it!! Cant wait to hang it up. 

PICTURE PERFECT!!

(I couldn't get my camera and sneak up on them quick enough to steal this shot and I was super stoked when I pulled it off and captured the moment without them even knowing it!!

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A GIRL & HER HAT ...

Miss Rilyn just had to have this hat one day when we were shopping at Kohls so I bought it for her, thinking she would wear it for 5 minutes and that would be the end of it .... buuuuttt I sure was wrong!! It has now become her most favorite accessory that she rocks all the time!! And her Momma is loving it just as much as she is!!