Ally turns 10!

Ahhh, my daughter has moved into double digits in her age.  A decade?  Really?  That's how long ago I gave birth to this beautiful girl?  Wow.  They weren't lying when they said time will fly.

So Ally is now officially a "tween".  And is she living up to that label.  She has gotten into all the tween shows on the Disney Channel and Nickeloden.  She talks in her "Valley Girl" accent.  And she is getting sarcastic.  The other day she was really pushing the limits and I sternly said "Alexandra!"  She know when I use her full name that she is pushing it.  Usually, she would stop whatever she was doing to require a her full first name.  Not this time.  As I finished "Alexandra", she said, "Katie Monroy". Yes, she just completed her whole name without a blink of an eye.  I guess she is just prepping me for the soon to be here teen years.

Ally is now in 4th grade.  She is an excellent student who tries her hardest to do well in school.  She is still in AWANA and we are in the process of setting up piano lessons for her.  She has such a funny, giggly personality.  I see her becoming more confident in who she is.  Even though I see the "teen" in here, she is still very much a little girl.  She still loves baby dolls and her American Girl dolls.  She loves to draw.  She has many drawing kits and books.  I hope this is an interest of hers that continues to grow.  She has begun to sew and is trying to learn to knit.

Even at 10 years old she continues to sleep walk (at least once a week).  In the morning we will find her in our bed and when asked when or why she came to our bed, she doesn't remember.  When she is stressed (which she can still obsess regarding change), her sleep walking is as frequent as 5 times per week.  Sometimes Henry and I will be watching TV in the living room and Ally will sleep walk into the room, say something random, then lie on the couch and go back to sleep.  Every morning she climbs into bed with me (Henry is all ready at work) and cuddles with me.  Oh, I just hope she doesn't get too old for this.

Happy Birthday my sweet, beautiful little girl.  I love you to the moon and back.

First Day of School 2012

Well, my Ally has started 4th grade and Ryan is now in 2nd grade.  They are growing up way too fast.

The classic standing in front of the house "First Day of School" photo in front of the house.

And the picture in front of the school.

I was too slow getting a picture of Ryan and his friend hugging.  

Since I didn't post a picture of Ryan hugging his friend it is only right that I don't post the picture of Ally and her friend hugging.  So here they are with big 4th grade thumbs up.

Daniel is One!

My baby Daniel has turned one!  He had a Mickey Mouse birthday party with family.  I'm not saying he's spoiled, but. . .  Oh never mind.  I spoil the heck out of that kid, we all do.

Look, my mom made me a cake shaped like Mickey's Clubhouse.

Yum, Mickey's ear tastes good.

Wow, now my own chocolate cake!

Opening gifts with my aunt Katie.

My family on my dad's side came all the way from Taos to see me.

And so did my grandma, grandpa and great grandma.

And this is what I looked like one year ago.

What Photographer Ally Does as I Sleep

The title says it all.

Summer Getaway 2012

Henry and I had not had a vacation with just us and the kids in over a year (since California in March 2011).  We knew we would be going to Disney World in October, but we wanted to take a little vacation before then.  Some time to spend with just the four of us.  So, we rented a class C RV from Cruise America, and headed to southern Colorado for a week.

We did not have an itinerary, we just wanted to spend sometime together.  We drove up to Durango, found a great campground and saw the sites.  We camped in Durango for three nights then we drove to Fun Valley and camped there for two nights.  During it all we went rafting, horse back riding, sledding down a mountain, rode pedal boats, rented bicycles and cruised Fun Valley, walked downtown Durango, and spent some great family time with just the four of us.  Henry also taught the kids a few card games that we would play every evening.

I would definitely recommend renting one of these to anyone.  It was easy to drive and had plenty of room for all of us.

Me and the kids crossing the bridge over the river.

I love the expression on Ryan's face.

Ally flying high.

Um, side note.  This is not a good idea for a kid, like Ryan, who is afraid of heights.  But hey, he tried it.

Our kids have an awesome father who love us very much.

Little Bear Fire

A couple weeks after church camp, a wild fire started in Ruidoso.  Within a few days, it had spread to over 44,000 acres and burned 254 structures.  We were watching the news, on the progress of the fire, with Henry's parents, who were visiting for Ryan's birthday.  Henry's mom said, "I wonder if mom (who lives in El Paso, but has a cabin in Ruidoso) knows about this fire".  She decided to call her right away and ask.  As soon as she said "Hi mom, did you know there is a fire in Ruidoso?" we quickly heard her say "Oh shit, I'm so sorry mom."  A neighbor of Grandmama's in Ruidoso had just called her and informed her that her cabin had burned to the ground.

We soon found out that the fire, which is called The Little Bear Fire, had also burned many homes around church camp and the gymnasium.  The bathhouse was also destroyed.  This was so difficult to hear partly because we were just there.  We had just climbed the rock walls in that gymnasium.  And now it was gone.

A couple weeks after hearing that news, Henry and I and the kids, met Henry's brother (and his family), Henry's parents, Grandmama (owner of the cabin) and Aunt Irene in Ruidoso.  We went to sift through the rubble and see if there was anything salvageable.

A side view of what was left of the trailer.

The cinder blocks are where the porch, that Grandpapa had built, was.

This is a solidified stream of melted metal that occurred during the fire.

Grandmama holding up a coffee cup we found in the rubble.

A good bye picture of Eileen, Aunt Irene, Grandmama and Saul.

The cabin is where my in-laws, Eileen and Saul, began.  Even though they were both from El Paso, the met each other when he was 16 and she was 15, in Ruidoso.  Grandpapa had built the cabin as a summer getaway for him and his family.  Every summer, Grandmama and Grandpapa would head from El Paso to Ruidoso.  They took the kids there, then their grandkids and Grandmama even took her great grandkids to the cabin.  Lot of memories there.

I had never seen the destruction of a wild fire.  I was surprised to see that the fire would obliterate one house and not touch another house that was 20 feet away.  It all seemed so random.  But as Grandmama said, "thank God no one was hurt".  Amen.

Spending time in Taos

After Ryan's birthday, we spent a few days with Grandma and Grandpa Cookie in Taos.  There is not a whole lot to do in Taos, plus it was hot, plus Taos doesn't believe in air conditioning.  We ended up spending one afternoon in Twining, playing in the river.