Picacho Peak

Cooper by the rifle monument

This plaque talks about the Civil War battle that was fought here

Cooper and Caden found a cave

The Hikers

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We took the boys hiking at Picacho Peak today and had a picnic. I'm not much of a hiker, but I've liked this place since I was a little girl. Unfortunately, the trick to surviving a desert hike is to avoid the Jumping Cactus. (Something Caden had to learn the hard way...) They loved the cave, though, and it was fun.

Some Favorite Pics

ASU Graduation

May 2000

Me with my Dad on Graduation day
(kinda blurry but I love it!)

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I can't believe it will be 10 years since I graduated from college next month. I taught for 5 years after graduating and now I'm having a lot of fun volunteering in Cooper's kindergarten class once a week. It kind of makes me look forward to teaching again someday. I know why my dad loved it so much...

Cake

We had a barbecue with the neighbors last week and I made my first Pineapple Upside Down cake. It turned out really well. It's probably the easiest cake in the world to make but I've only recently started liking it, so I decided to make one. We also had shish kabobs with chicken and steak, which were delicious. I love making those...

Boys...

These are all the things I found in the bottom of the washer after washing a load of Cooper and Caden's clothes. I suspect most of these "precious" items were in Cooper's pockets. I couldn't believe how much stuff there was!

Mike

My brother, Mike, received "excellent" news yesterday from his doctors about the results of his most recent MRI. I'm so relieved and so grateful.

College Vegas Trip

Fun college Las Vegas trip with roommates and my roommate's brother

Mike

My brother, Mike, finished his first 6 week round of daily radiation treatments last Friday. He was so relieved and is so anxious for the side effects to subside. He gets a short break from the chemo as well but will have to go back on it intermittently for a very long time. He's hoping to be able to start working from home again within the next few weeks. It's been unreal and mind-boggling to go through this again...especially with him. Cooper prays at every meal and every night for "Uncle Mike to get better and for his 'owie' to go away." Ironically, Friday was the 5th anniversary of my oldest brother's death. I've since then lost my Dad and another brother. And now Mike's diagnosis...all within less than 5 years...

He's determined to beat the statistics though, and knowing him, I'm pretty sure he will.