Friday, August 02, 2013

November 2011

Brett got braces this year.  He has a long road, because he has to use an expander for the first 6 months of braces.  It will all be worth it Brett, I promise. 







October 2011 
A quick trip to the city that I can’t get enough of is New York.  I have been a few times now so I know my way around.  But when Andrea is your guide, I realize she knows NY like the back of her hand.  The thing that I have never done before is to experience NY without using the Subway.  I couldn’t believe we only walked everywhere we went.  The trick is that you only stay in Midtown!  We only stayed for 3 days, but it was just the right amount to get my NY fix.  Love this town, and my guide!

We were able to be on the Late Show with David Lettermen, which was pretty much the highlight of the trip.  Not only was it an iconic place to visit, but the guest that night was like getting a lucky lottery ticket…Our guest was George Clooney!  How lucky are we??  We stood in line for stand by tickets, which we were interviewed for.  We were told that they would call us if we made the cut.  As we were walking around, we got the call that told us when to show up and the secret word to ensure our passage.  We stayed in line for about 2 hours before the show, and we didn’t find out who the guest was until we were sitting down in the theatre.  They told us it would be cold, so we brought our jackets.  For stand by seats, we were extra lucky to get middle seats about 3 rows back from the stage.  What a fun experience. 

We also were able to go on the Anderson Cooper show.  It was taped overlooking Columbus Circle.  The view was worth the wait for 2 hours to get seated.  Anderson Cooper was wonderful as expected. 

We tried our luck for a 3rd time at “The View.”  When we arrived we were number 3 and 4 in the stand by line.  After they seated all the ticket holders, they came out and excused everyone in the stand by list that was higher than 5.  We were excited because we were sure they were going to seat us.  Then they broke the news that there weren’t ANY seats left.  We kind of sulked that we spent an hour in line freezing like crazy to only be turned away.  We promised next time we came back, we would make it on The View!

For the rest of the trip we hit up 2 Broadway shows, “Chicago” and the “Adams Family”  both were great, although I was surprised how good the Adams Family was.  Brooke Shields was the star.


Not bad for a few days in NY.  I can’t wait until next time! 

























Sept 2011 

Josh starts club ball with the Arizona Grinders.  Mike found a team out of Chandler that Josh’s cousin Clark had played for.  They were assembling a 7u team and they had the first try outs and Josh made the team.  He loves his Grinders so much that he mostly wears his jersey every day.  They are so cute acting like the big boys!  Go Grinders!  














Aug 2011 
Quick Staycation at Arizona Grand.  We  had dinner at Rustlers Roost, Hike South Mountain and floated in the Lazy River!  We definitely want to make this an annual tradition to celebrate the beginning of school!

At the Arizona Grand golf course

Dinner at Rustlers Roost






Aug 2011 
Ryan and Ryder – Late night lego fest.  They love to come play with Josh!  What great friends they are.  Love the Adair Family :)









Aug 2011

Chevy’s – Our favorite place to go with the family for Mexican food.  Any time we get together with Uncle Jeff and Aunt Pam, we head to Chevy’s.  The kids always love the dough balls!



Rachel and Megan


Josh, RJ and Brett





Aug 2011 


First Day of School at Benjamin Franklin Charter School  Brett is in 6th grade (11 Years) and Josh is starting 2nd Grade (7 years).  Last year for Brett in Elementary School.  Last year of them both going to the same school.  I can't believe it!!  Have fun boys, you will do great!!


July 2011


Pioneer Day in Snowflake is our annual vacation.  Every year we get together with the Ballard family and have a bar b que on Friday with Jalepeno hamburgers!  The Saturday festivities start in the morning.  Brett runs in a 5k marathon, then at 9:00 am we line up for the  pioneer parade, then lunch at the church, then off to the car show and arts and craft fair in the afternoon.  In the evening, we have a Rodeo and fireworks.  What a fun tradition!

RiAnne and Braeden Cardita at the Rodeo in Taylor

Mike collecting Candy at the parade in Snowflake

Brett and Marissa Ballard

Neighbor Luke Cate




Brynn Shults and Jacey Ballard



Skatepark next to Grandma Ballards


Riding horses at the Cates