Christmas decorating

As soon as Halloween is over its far game to decorate for Christmas at my house! This year we waited a few days then got started o the weekend.

Of course I had to wear something Christmasy while decorating! 

The faux brick wall from Maeley's birthday party re-purposed! We loved the extra warmth it gave the room during the holidays. It was tempting to leave it up. 

Zoe spent some of her own money to buy this year. Don't worry we added more lights and a tree skirt as well. 

I hardly took any pictures of all the Christmas decorations this year. Each year its slightly different. 

Christmas is my favorite. I could listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies all year long.

Shun the Sun- Gilbert's half marathon

The best part about this race was that it started 2 miles away from my house. My family wouldn't be able to see me at the finish line so luckily they could be see me pass our neighborhood.  Zoe had a soccer game and Maeley a volleyball game that morning.

Running with my friends Menolly and Marlane

Before the race

After

This race didn't go as well as I'd hoped. Training had been going really well. I was improving my time and we excited about this race. About a month before I injured my leg upper left leg. I was forced to not run for 15 days. When I was healed enough to start running my pace wasn't like it was prior to my injury and I was still having issues with my feet going numb. At mile 4 of this race my feet began to go numb. By mile 7 I was in so much pain. There were a few times during the race I had stepped on a rock and the pain shot up my leg. It was unbearable. I wanted to quit but I am no quitter! I endured 9 miles with numb feet and finished 4.5 minutes slower than my first half marathon. While I may not have beat my time I was proud of myself to completing the race.  

November 18, 2017

Zoe's 1st season of soccer

Zoe was so excited to start a season of soccer with her good friends Sydney and Katelyn.

Sure she has a lot more to learn but she had a great time.

It's fun to watch her try new things and grow. 

Maeley's 3 different volleyball teams

Maeley joined her school's volleyball team. Its a short 5-6 week season but she did it last year which got her excited about the sport.

Zoe and Derek helped keep score at a few games. 

At the tail end of her school season she started practicing for the NYS league team. A few girls from school were on her team and one of my friends was the coach. Having the 2 teams going on at once meant 4 days a week playing volleyball for Maeley which she loved.

The team started with 12 girls but by the time the season ended there were some girls sick and couldn't make it. 

Altitude Club volleyball tryouts

Coach Mariana from her NYS team had looked into club teams to get her daughter ready for middle school. She suggested Maeley come to one of the open gyms to see what we thought. Maeley was so excited which surprised me because they were having her do things she hadn't spent much time and effort on before. After a lot of thought we decided to let her try out.

She made a team! She's so excited about it. Again the tail end of one volleyball team the practices for this team began. Back to volleyball 4 days a week. Our schedule was insane during the fall. We love watching her work hard and see improvement. We don't get to watch the practices for this team so I can't wait for games to start in January! 

A different Halloween

Halloween was spent a bit different this year. We pretty much skipped it entirely. Not only did we not participate in trunk or treats but they chose not to go trick or treating. The end of October for our family is inundated with sweets. With Zoe and Maeley's birthdays just days before Halloween every year all the sweets become way too much. For the past 4 years we kept only a small amount of Halloween candy and donated the rest to a nearby orthodontist. 

By the end of September the kids were talking about what they wanted to be for Halloween. We suggested that if we skip Halloween we'd do something fun. I was surprised when there wasn't much hesitation and they said okay. Throughout the month of October I kept asking and they were still on board. We went to dinner at Smash Burger then went shopping at the Chandler mall and they each got some money to spend. We had a great time as a family. They even said the liked it better than trick or treating! I never had to deal with the sugar coma that happens after they eat way too much candy. I love spending time with my family. 

Awards ceremony

Awards ceremony at school for the first quarter of the school year.

Primary program

Maeley turned 12 the day before the Primary Program so she choose not to participate. Zoe and Chase did a great job as usual. Love watching them recite their parts and sing all the songs. 

Maeley moved up to Young Women's so she was thrilled about that! 

Maeley's Birthday Party

Maeley turned 12! I'm still processing that because it just doesn't seem possible. She's so happy to be in Young Women's now at church and primary behind her. She is eager to grow up.

Maeley's birthday was on a Saturday this year which meant that it was crazy busy. Zoe had a soccer game, Maeley a volleyball game then getting ready for Maeley's friend birthday party.

Laurel did another amazing job on the sugar cookies. Maeley absolutely loved them.

Derek built this faux brick wall as a back drop for selfies. 

(This wall has been put to good use since then)

The kids played some fun games out back.

She looks so grown up

She got some great gifts from her friends. 

Then back to plying more games. 

We under estimated how loud a bunch of 11 and 12 years old can get. Wow! They have a lot of energy. Maeley loved her birthday party so that's really all that matters.