2014 School Year

First day of school - 2014

First day of school 2014. While it seems today has been a long time coming, I think I could've waited a little longer. At least for the growth this day is symbolic of. Beginning today, I have two kids in junior high -- two, yes two of them. And now Wyatt will be going back into some sort of childcare situation for three days a week so I can continue to work.

Chloe 6th grade, Nathan 7th grade

It also means I am only weeks away from taking my counseling licensure test (that I should have taken two years ago, but who's counting?) and we are getting closer and closer to Christmas and the start of a new year.
As always, we're busy. Nathan wanted to do cross country but they decided to only open it up to high schoolers this year. Chloe is also taking some time off of gymnastics. She's been very conscious of how beginning both junior high and an honor's program are going to take a lot of her time. Since we've drilled into the kids that school comes first, she's decided to go a few weeks and see what the workload is like and then we can decide. Meanwhile, both of them have enrolled in NJHS - National Junior Honor's Society - a service group that is only for students with good grades. And one that looks great on college applications. (I can't believe I'm already thinking about college for these guys!)

Jillian in her 4th grade classroom

 Jillian decided to do choir again because she loves to sing so much. She also gets to play an instrument this year so now we'll have a saxophone and a violin in the house. Nathan decided to take a year away from the trombone to do art this year. I'm blessed to have children who are multi-talented but it makes choosing electives tricky! :) We'll see what next year holds.


Beautiful girl!

Chloe is interested in trying out for cheerleading as an alternative to gymnastics if we can't make that work and Nathan wants to do track in the spring.
Nathan's field trip this year is to Washington DC while Chloe will be going to AstroCamp and Jillian to the Grand Canyon. I'm excited because parents are allowed to chaperone to the Grand Canyon and I've never been. If I'm able to go, we'll be camping for 3 days in May. :)  Nathan will be going to the Capital in March and Chloe's trip to AstroCamp is in November, I think. I feel so blessed that our kids get to attend a school that gives them these fantastic opportunities to experience their world.
I'm not completely in love with a 7th grade Nathan being on the other side of the country for 5 days but I went to DC in 8th grade... Its just that I felt so much older than he is!!! :) He's going to be working at different venues to earn money for his trip and I'm glad that he'll have ownership in the trip because he's worked to pay for it.
Looking forward to a great year with these kiddos!!

Camping Weekend 2014

                       Payson, AZ
First Weekend in August
We went camping with some friends of Lowell - there were about 30 people total. It was nice to get out of the heat and to see some nature! The kids remarked on how nice it was to see some green and also to climb on rocks, smell the trees and to look for animals. We saw elk tracks and scat and hawks, squirrels and free range cows. We were told there are bald eagles that fly around the lake, but we didn't see any.

  Nathan loved climbing on the rocks and exploring and made some new friends. They caught crawdads, played army, and were just "boys" for the weekend. Also, Lowell bought himself a knife for the trip and then ended up giving it to Nathan. Its a really nice Gerber knife with a flint and sharpener included. Its a "survivor" knife and Nathan absolutely loved it! The boys whittled sticks and practiced making fire.

At the lake, the water was pretty cold and there wasn't a very good place to swim. Lowell jumped in just to enjoy the cool while Chloe, Jillian and Wyatt threw rocks in the water and Nathan caught crawdads.

It rained quite a bit on our trip but our group was very well prepared. While it rained, we played cards and games or read books. The kids ran around and played or hunted for firewood or the perfect s'more stick. One of the other families has a 3 year old little girl who Wyatt played with but he was the entertainment for the whole group. Everyone talked about how cute he is and how silly. Actually, they commented on how good our children are, period. How good they are with each other and how well behaved they are. That makes a mom's heart proud. :) Love them so much.

Independence Day

Finale at Youngker High School

Me and my babies

Thankful for our independence

Love of my ife

 As is our tradition, we spent our 4th of July at the neighborhood family fun day at the high school down the street. The kids played red light/green light in the field, ran around, did gymnastics and played with each other. Nathan saw his girlfriend and got teased about it for the rest of the night and we sang along with the local band. They were actually pretty good! :)
The day before the 4th we had a huge monsoon storm and there were threats on Friday as well but the night turned out beautiful and mild. Wyatt loved the fireworks this year and clapped after each one. The evening was relaxing and fun -- a perfect celebration of our freedom and a reminder of how lucky we are to be Americans.

Its Been Awhile

To update everyone on our lives from September until now seems a little daunting but I'm going to try to at least hit the highlights. Here goes:

October: Halloween, of course. The three younger kids dressed up and went trick-or-treating and even tried out a neighborhood haunted house. Pumpkinology was a day at school in Jillian's class where the subjects were focused on pumpkins. Science and math, reading stories about pumpkins and, of course, gutting them to prepare them for metamorphosis into jack-o-lanters. I was thrilled to be able to spend the day with her. Unfortunately, October was also when Jillian broke 3 bones in her foot by falling off the balance beam. Chloe was blessed by a 5th grade field trip to Catalina. If you watched GMA during October, you may have seen the story on the giant oar fish that washed up on the beach -- she was there and got to see it as well as all the media coverage. Pretty cool! :)


November: Nathan's turn for an awesome field trip. His class went to Astro Camp outside Palm Springs and had a great time.Chloe and I went to state gymnastics meet to get a feel for competition since she'll soon be Level 3 and asked to be part of the competitive team. She wanted to see what it was like and was encouraged by what she saw. Of course, November ends with Thanksgiving and we spent this year's in our OWN HOME. :) It was quiet and nice. And we continued our tradition of decorating the house for Christmas.

Chloe and her friend Maranda playing the violin

The kids with Santa at SWFAC

December: Christmas, of course and all the things that go along with it: the Buckeye Christmas parade and the kids' concerts. New this year was the Winter Wonderland at the advocacy center where I work - SWFAC. It was a program put on for the children who were victims who came through the center this year. The kids came and volunteered with me; Nathan helped with the cake walk, Chloe worked in the card making room and Jillian helped with making the gingerbread houses. December ended with Lowell's birthday and New Years. Both were days we took full advantage of having my dad here as a willing babysitter and went out together.


January: January was a big month. First was my birthday and we spent the whole day together at the zoo where we had a lot of fun and I got pooped on by a bird. Then, on the 13th I learned I was losing my job. The non-profit I have worked for had decided to close our program and that we would all be out of work by the end of June. I spent most of the last two weeks of the month in shock.




Jillian and her choir teacher

February: And then spent the first weeks of February taking care of a custody case for some kids I'd been seeing. I went to court and testified on their behalf; first time I've done that and it was terrifying but it felt great to know I could help. Jillian had a shopping day at school to learn about sales and I was able to help her man her finger-nail painting station. They were given monopoly money to shop with, sold their products, and then calculated their profit and loss statements.

March: The 15th was Jillian's birthday and since she wanted a pool party, we just had a small family gathering and postponed her actual party until the weather warms up. We also did a Community clean-up that Wyatt still talks about it. We went up to an area previously used for an informal shooting range and picked up trash. The whole family went, even Grandpa and we all had a good time. Spring break happened in March and was pretty uneventful but the talent show was a big adventure. Chloe and Jillian both participated in the event - Chloe doing an original gymnastics routine with her friend and Jillian singing a solo as well as performing with Show Choir. They both did a great job and worked on overcoming their stage fright.

Jordan in the hospital. Day 1

April: April was a very eventful month, especially for Chloe. I chaperoned her field trip to ASU where we went to the planetarium and space exhibit; she was promoted to level 3 in gymnastics and invited to be part of the competitive team, and her cat, Max, had to have surgery due to an infected bite by what was probably another cat. I was also incredibly busy in April. I found a new job with a company called Crisis Preparation and Recovery (CPR) and had my last day at my Glendale location. I started working part time with A New Leaf until the final location closes at the end of June and part time for CPR at the site in Glendale. Easter was a fun family day where we spent time at church and our tradition of hiding eggs here at the house but the most memorable event of April was Jordan's accident. Jordan was driving his motorcycle up one of our roads and a truck turned in front of him. He didn't have time to stop and was thrown over the bed of the truck. He had surgery on his right arm and was in a drug induced coma for a short period of time. All told, he broke his scapula, nose, wrist, and sternum; had a compound fracture on his right arm where they inserted a rod and pins, and a deep gash on his right knee. He currently has had his cast removed and is going to begin physical therapy. The prognosis is that he may have permanently lost the ability to completely rotate his hand - palm up - palm down, but that it shouldn't significantly affect his quality of life. Otherwise, they believe he should be fine.

Chloe with her 5th grade award

Nathan with his camo birthday cake

Jillian with her teacher

May: Because of the end of school and holidays mainly, May was another extremely busy month. Nathan's birthday was celebrated just with the family because he is also going to celebrate his birthday by going paintballing over the summer. Chloe's birthday was here at home and small because she is going to take some friends to Jump Street. Mother's day was special because the kiddos made me some gifts and I got a card. Events celebrating the end of the school year included the kid's awards ceremonies, concerts, Jillian's Multiplication MathFacts Bee (in which she placed 7th) and Chloe's Amazing Race Day. We also learned both Chloe and Nathan were accepted into the honor's program. Unfortunately, May was also when I learned my friend, Lorraine has bladder cancer. She had surgery last week to remove the tumor and the prognosis is very good; at this point, they don't even think she'll need chemo. Prayers for her are appreciated!

June: As for June, on the 9th Jillian had her tonsils removed and has been recovering ever since. She's anxiously awaiting the day she can eat regular food and sing and swim. We've got a check-up with the doctor on the 25th to get her clean bill of health. Wyatt had his 3rd birthday on the 6th and we had a bar-b-que and swim party with some friends. Since Chloe had such success making Nathan's camo cake that she decided to make a "Bee-do" cake for Wyatt. (Bee-do is what Wyatt calls the minions on Despicable Me). It was adorable and Wyatt loved it. Father's day, our anniversary and Jordan's 21st birthday were all on the same day this year so we had more cake - Chloe made one for Jordan too - and a quiet evening at home. Lowell and I went to the hot springs and out to dinner to celebrate later in the week.


This is by no means an exhaustive narrative of our past 9 months but it basically gets everyone caught up on our lives thus far. :) Thanks for taking the time to catch up with us! Hopefully I'll be better at keeping this thing up to date from now on.

Hollywood Weekend

We went to the beach!!!! All courtesy of a trip I had to take for work, the Trent clan got to experience the majesty of the ocean for the first time in 10 years. The last time I was able to run through the sand or stand in the waves was when Nathan was just a little younger than Wyatt is now. Lowell and I took Moron (Auntie RaRa) to the ocean for her birthday. Obviously then, none of my children have ever been to the beach. Until now!!!

Tuesday I flew to LA with two of my co-workers, Nancy and Mike. Mike's wife Lorraine also traveled with us. We were sent to Holly-wood to attend the annual National Sexual Assault Prevention Convention, The convention was Wednesday, Thursday and half of Friday so I spent Wednesday and Thursday going to workshops and hanging out with my co-workers. Then, Lowell and the kiddos arrived at the hotel on Thursday night. They were pooped from driving all day but I was so excited to see them! And they were thrilled to be staying in a "fancy" hotel. :)
The sleeping arrangements were tight: Lowell took the bed right next to the air conditioner with Nathan next to him; the girls and I took the other bed and Tubbs got his own place on the floor made out of comforters and his blankets. Surprisingly we all slept well!

Our hotel was just down the hill from Universal Studios and CityWalk so we spent Thursday evening walking around and sight-seeing. We explored a fancy candy store, say movie artifacts and drank smoothies. We even found a restaurant and bowling alley named "Jillians". :)  

Friday morning we drove over to the hotel for my last workshop, walked around the Chinese Theater and put our hands in some of the star's handprints, admired some of the Stars on the Walk of Fame and watched some street performers.

And then headed for Santa Monica! The weather was beautiful and calm and the drive over was easy. We parked right on the beach and started the trek to the water. There was a lovely sail boat out on the horizon and the kids kept calling it a pirate ship!
Wyatt wasn't at all thrilled with how warm the sand was, and honestly, it was burning the spaces between my toes too! So, Lowell and I ended up carrying him most of the way to the shore. We threw down the blanket Lowell had packed and I took the bigger kids to the water. The Biggies dove right in. They waded out into the waves, they "surfed" the waves coming in, they tried to swim, I taught them to dig for sand crabs and they looked for sea shells.
Wyatt was a very different story.

He wanted nothing to do with the water. He wanted nothing to do with the sand. He wasn't interested in building sand castles and would not even put his feet on the ground anywhere near the water. What he did want to do was watch the sea gulls, the other children, the boats and the helicopters that were patrolling the beach. So, bless his heart, Lowell stayed on the blanket with Wyatt the entire time we were at the beach and watched the rest of us frolick in the water.
The traffic going out of town was not nearly as accommodating as the drive to the beach. (Everything about LA is about leaving it, right?) So, we rumbled along in traffic with about half a million other people who were leaving LA for the Labor Day weekend. Our original plan was to hit Cabazon on the way home Friday and just get into Buckeye late that night. With the traffic delay however, it turned out that we needed to get a hotel room in California and then hit the dinosaurs Saturday morning. We stayed at a little hole in the wall motel and listened to a rain storm that evening. It was peaceful and relaxing.

Notice how small they look under his belly
and in his toes!

Saturday morning, true to his word, Lowell took the kids to explore the dinosaurs at Cabazon. For those of you not familiar with California tourist attractions, there is a large Tyrannosaurus Rex and a brontosaurs-like dinosaur on the side of the highway between two fast food places. It is nearly the middle of nowhere, but makes for a nice rest stop.


One feature of the dinosaur place is being able to climb up into the TRex and look out into the distance. You can also go inside the brontosaurus where the gift shop is located. Behind the statues, there is a separate area filled with many more dinosaurs, a rock panning area, another gift shop and a couple mechanical dinosaurs the smaller children can ride on.
We all panned for rocks, Lowell took the kids up in the TRex and we walked the nature trails around looking at what it would have been like to see dinosaurs in the "wild". There was also an area filled with sand for the kids to dig for "bones" like archeologists. If they found a rock, they got a small toy from the gift shop. (Chloe found about 6!)
These last few pictures are the kids posing next to their "favorite" dinosaurs. I couldn't even begin to name them, but I think my kiddos are adorable! :)

Kind of cheesy, but fun. :)

As if that wasn't enough to squeeze into a weekend, on the way home we decided to drive around Palm Springs. We drove around and looked at the homes and neighborhoods and then stopped at a park.
I'm used to heat - Buckeye is hot. But Palm Springs was MISERABLE! And it was only about 102 degrees! It was so humid that it was oppressive. The kids were happy to run around, but everyone got tired of the stickiness pretty quickly and then we were back in the van. We drove up to see the aerial tram that takes people to top of the Jacinto mountains -- about 8500 feet at its peak. We would have loved to take that trip, but we hadn't budgeted for that expense for this trip -- next time for sure!
Such a blessing to spend this time with my family. Love these guys!!!

Adventures in the Trent Household

From the past few months:

Jillian was involved in a dance program at the local community center. At the end of the 8 week class, there was a big performance from all the classes in our area. She did a great job and even had a solo part in her dance -- she cartwheeled across the stage! We loved watching her and presenting her with a little bouquet of roses afterward.



The newest member of our family. Echo came home with us unexpectedly after a trip to the mall. My dad decided he wanted a pet to keep him company. She is lovable and completely devoted to him, following him wherever he goes. She loves to fetch and play tug of war and chase the cats. That last part we're still working on... I can't tell you how many times I've had to get a cat out of a tree since Echo came to live with us, lol.



Wearing his favorite shirt -- a monster
face that says "happy" under it.

Wyatt turned 2! And how did he celebrate his birthday?? With a visit from his great grandma "Grammie" and his great-great grandma "Mamoo"!!!! Mamie turned 90 on the 19th of June and her one wish for her birthday was to come down to Arizona to see us! So, she and Grammie loaded up in the car and drove on down for a few days. It was great to see them and to have the kids get to spend time with their beloved grandmas. I covered that a little in the previous post. One of Mamie's favorite adventures was when we went to the pool so the Biggies could show off their mad swimmin' skills and so Wyatt could scare everyone with how much he loves to throw himself into the water. There's no fear of water with that kid, that's for sure! :)

I love this picture, taken at the bead store.

Grammie and I took advantage of the time together to go through my closet and create outfits for me to wear to work; she knows I can't wrap my head around a "professional" me. She cleaned my sewing machine and gave Chloe her first sewing lesson and also let me use her Costco card for some bulk shopping too! We went to a bead store and then took Chloe to a free session at one of the local gymnastics gyms. Mamie and Grammie loved watching her use her skills and try new things during her trial session. She has such a love for gymnastics!

Since the grandmas left, Chloe has started going to Flame gym 2 hours a week. She began in level 2 and is already working on her skills to be promoted to level 3!
Jillian wants to take the tumbling class Chloe took through the community center so I think we'll start her in that once school starts back up. For now though, she's busy with swimming lessons! While I'm at work, my dad takes the kiddos to the pool for Jillian's lesson and then sometimes stays to let everyone swim. It has been such a blessing having him around this summer.

Lead singer of Everclear

We're even spending some time together just the two of us! Last weekend, for example, he talked me into going to my first rock concert. It was 90s rock -- Sponge, Filter, Live and Everclear and I was surprised as how many of the songs were familiar to me. It was loud and kind of small but we had a good time together. :) And I think I might download some Live from iTunes.....

Sack races

For the 4th of July, we went to the local  Buckeye fireworks at Youngker high school.  It was a quiet, fun afternoon. The kids participated in the sack races, the water balloon toss and played tag and catch in the grass. We ate watermelon provided by the Lions Club and then enjoyed the fireworks. Last year Hubba slept through them and I was looking forward to him enjoying them a little more this year. Instead, he watched about 4 explosions and then turned over on my chest and fell asleep. It was a fun family evening that reminded me of why 4th of July is my second favorite holiday. There is no pressure to cook or buy presents, no frantic running from here to there... There family, and taking time to be thankful for our freedoms and our blessings.



Blessed

Milestone

June 19th, 1923
My great-grandmother was born on this date 90 years ago. A couple weeks ago, she and my grandma drove down to Buckeye to spend a few days with my family. That was her wish - the only present she wanted for her 90th birthday was to spend time with the Trents. We had a glorious 4 days together. We drove around so she could see all the places associated with our family's busy life - the kid's schools, our workplaces, church, the local Walmart... We ate dinner together, the 9 of us and laughed and talked and looked at old pictures. The kids showed off their rooms, their school awards and shared stories about their daily lives.
Many of you know that I was raised by my Great-Grandma - affectionately known as Mamie. Even at 90, Mamie still lives independently, drives herself around and is the head of volunteers at the hospital in San Andreas. She volunteers 2-3 days a week there and is in charge of training all new volunteers. She also works with my grandma making jewelry which they sell at a time share in Angels Camp each Friday evening. While at my house, she insisted on mopping my kitchen floor and helped me with some laundry. She is quite amazing in her ability to flourish even at 90 years old.
Lowell and I marvel thinking about how much she has seen in her 90 years. The birth of indoor plumbing, electricity, and telephones. The progression of buggies to automobiles to airplanes and technology! from cell phones to computers, she has managed to evolve with the times. Admittedly however, she only has a "dumb" cell phone and no real understanding of the Internet.
She was born at the end of the Depression, lived and traveled west during the Dust Bowl, married and lost her husband in World War 2, spent time as a single working mother in the 40s and 50s and then remarried and raised a blended family, helped raise my own mother, took in my father and then raised me.
An accomplished life, a lasting legacy and still more memories to come.
Happy Birthday Mamie! We love you very much and can't wait to see what this coming year brings!