Wilson Family Reunion

We had such a great time last weekend at the Wilson Family Reunion. This year is was in Flagstaff, AZ. The kids got to play with their cousins and some woodland creatures like these catapillars. The woods were their playground for the weekend and they never stopped finding new experiences. The kids built forts and had pinecone fights, and played soccer, baseball, and they even walked a tight rope and repelled up and down a tree (thanks to uncle Mike).

Lorie had asked me to take pictures of the twins so we decided what better backdrop then the woods. This was just one of my favorites.

The reunion consisted of Mike's Grandma Wilson and her children and their children and grandchildren. About 50+ people showed up and Mike really enjoyed seeing his cousins, some he hadn't seen in many years.

Kassi enjoyed the woods, we did have to tell her she couldnt' wash her hands everytime they had a little dirt on them!

Mike convinced a big group of us to go explore the lava caves in Flagstaff. I thought it was a really easy little hike so I invited alot of the kids to go. We had about 10 children with two as young as three years old.


Below is the entrance to the cave, it was about 60 degrees in there.

The first part of the cave was the most grueling, it went almast straight down, I did alot of scooting from one rock to another on my bum!

The kids didn't have as much problems with it as I did, it wasn't long before there was just a few of us at the back of the pack and most of them were adults!


Scott and Jared had a great idea with the headlamps. It was the only time I ever wished for one of those!

Here's a picture of us inside the cave we had a pretty good sized group and really enjoyed ourselves.

I Get Paid to Write!...Sort of...

I get paid to write! Well technically I get paid to answer phone calls from my home computer for Uhaul. But in between calls I can write...therefore I get paid to do it. So that counts, right? No? Fine then. I also get paid to read books, edit my friend's manuscripts, edit photos on photoshop, check my emails, update my blog, and answer the handwritten notes waved frantically in front of me through the window. It did take me a while to get out my laptop and realize that I get online with it while I work, so that's why the long gap in blog posts. By the time I finish an 8-10 hour shift of the computer I didn't want to get back on.

So since I last wrote, Jessi's tonsil surgery went well. She is doing better at night, no more gasping for air, at least as long as we keep the cat away. Kassi and Noah had a great trip to CA to visit Grammy and Grandpa Costello. They got to go to the beach a couple of times and even went to the Santa Monica Pier. Grandpa Costello's niece, Isabella got to come and play with Kassi for a couple of days. They are the same age and loved getting together.

Sammi went to Girl's Camp for the first time this summer. She had a great time and really enjoyed herself. Just be sure to ask her about the snake that "almost" bit her. I have a feeling it was a lot further away then she thought!! LOL! Now Sammi and Jessi are in Colorado with thier Grandma and Grandpa Wilson and they won't be back until the beginning of August.

We went to the Wilson Family Reunion this past weekend in Flagstaff, AZ. Mike got to see some of his cousin and aunts and uncles. We had a really great time. I will be posting pictures of it soon, but the pictures are on the other computer and I have to wait until after work to access the internet on it. So be sure to yell at me if I don't post them soon!! LOL!

Sammi Updates

Sammi is growing up so fast. She loves attending youth activities at the church. She was just called as the Beehive class president. That means she helps plan the activities for the 12 and 13 yr. old girls. One of her favorite things to do is babysit for her twin cousins, Ali and Spencer. She likes school and continues to try really hard at everything she does. A drawing of hers was recently in a contest at school. It didn't win, but her and I agree it's one of the best she's ever done. To see it, click here. She is looking forward to going to girl's camp this summer and going to Colorado with Grandma and Grandpa Wilson and her sister Jessi. She is growing up so fast. I know I already said that, but I still can't believe that she's twelve. She is very helpful at home and can always make me laugh! Plus she's my favorite babysitter!!

Noah Updates

Noah turned 11 years old this March. He is definately my favorite son! Isn't he so cute? I can't believe how much he is growing up. Recently his school had a poetry reading night and Noah wrote his own poem:

The Life of a Plant

Once there was a plant,
He really liked to chant.
There was too much pollution,
It was after the constitution.

He really wanted to speak,
But all there was was a squeak.
It really was so rude,
It was like they were pulling some attitude.

All he was was a plant,
And they really wouldn't hear his chant.





His school has a link where you can view your child's artwork. To see some of his favorite artworks click here.
He has been working hard in the scouting program too. He earned his Weblos badge and Scouting badge. He also earned the Arrow of Light. He continues to work on badges and hopes to earn 56 in the next 3 or 4 years.

Jessi Updates

Jessi has been loving school this year. She even wrote the most creative story for school. Here's the summary she wrote for her back cover:

Lilly was a girl looking for excitement but some doors are locked for a reason. Lilly was wondering the house and found a door that was locked. What was it? Will she find the key? Will she end up with the same fate as the others? What will she do? Will an old journal help her? Will she ever know what is in that mystic door?

Doesn't it sound awesome? I think I'll have her write all the summaries for my books from now on!

Starting the first week of April, Jessi began waking up at night gasping for air. The first time it happened I didn't know whether or not to take her to the hospital, but after we got her standing up she was fine. It was really strange. The dr. thought that it could have been asthma attack brought on by a sinus infection so we tried an inhaler and antibotics, a week later when that still wasn't working, we tried a nebulizer, she's on two different allergy medications, we tried upping the dose of one of them. Point and case, nothing worked. She went to see an ear, nose, and throat dr last week. I told him all that has been going on and after looking in her nose and throat he said her problems were caused by swollen adnoids, tonsils, and some ridges in her nose. So she will be having surgery in about two weeks to have her tonsils and adnoids removed, he will also be carterizing the ridges in her nose as well. We are hoping this works because for the past 6 weeks I haven't slept through the night and I pray everyday that she will wake up in the morning. It's been really scary and it has given me a chance to realize how much she means to me. She holds a very special place in my heart and in our family. She is so creative and imaginative. Her thinking is so outside of the box that she never ceases to amaze me. I don't ever want to do without her!

Kassi Updates

Kassi turned 6 years old in April! I can't believe my baby is 6! She is getting so big! She will be in first grade next year. This year in kindergarten she is learning so much. She likes her class and loves it when I come to any of the family BBQ's her school has during lunch time. She had a program at school recently where she sang lots of songs including one called "Three Little Muffins" ask her to sing it for you, it's way cute.

She still loves dressing up and was my most willing model for my photography class. She loves playing with friends and watching movies. She is learning to read and loving it. I love watching her grow up!

Family Craziness

Wow! It's definately time for me to play catch up! Life has been really crazy! I'm going to catch you up on what Mike and I have been up to lately then add posts about each kid later this week. The good news is that I have lots of pictures for my posts (just for you Keyth. I know how annoyed you get when there are only words and no pictures! LOL!)

Mike has been working on trying to find work for his guys in the cabling department. He actually had to let two guys go recently and that was really hard for him to do. In this economy nobody wants to make someone jobless. He's also been working with his young men from church. He works with the boys that are 16-18 yrs old. They also work on scouting too. They keep him fairly busy. He has also been helping an older member in our ward with a remodeling project while trying to finish our remodeling project at home. Back in December we closed in our back patio to make another room. He basically just put up a wall at that point, but now it's time to finish up with more drywall, electrical, texturizing, and painting. Oh, and he has one week to finish this. It will be my computer room and I will be needing it really soon.




I have been pretty busy with school lately as most of you have surmised. I have also been in charge of a few activities at church including a kind of spa day that we put on for the women. We learned exercise tips, healthy cooking recipes, makeup and skin care, stress relieving techniques, homemade beauty product recipes, and how to cut and style our own hair. I actually taught the last class. I think it went ok. It was alot of fun and I was really glad to be involved. My writing has been on the back burner lately. I think it has been nice to take a break from it and give me time before I go back to the story. I did write a short story for a contest that I entered recently but I won't know anything until like Oct. or Nov.




This past Friday night, I graduated from Glendale Community College with a two year Associates in Arts degree. I started this path 16 years ago in 1993. I stopped in 1995 as children began to bless my life. I started again in 2008 and finished the 17 credits I needed to graduate. It was nice to accomplish this goal. Now that I have it though, I'm not sure what to do with it. I will not be continuing on to a university at this point in my life, but it's nice to know that the option is there for me if I want it. I will be starting training for a new job tomorrow, though. I will be taking sales and reservation calls for Uhaul. The best part about this job is that after the week of training I will be working from my computer at home. (Thus the reason Mike only has one week to finish my computer room.) The only bad thing is that I can't take any vacation or time off for the first three months. That means no summer trips. Though the kids won't be neglected they have grandparents willing to make sure their summers are fun!

Speaking of family...I would like to thank all of my family that got to come to my graduation. It meant alot to me to see (and hear!!!) you all there. Thanks to all the family that sent cards and called me even thought they couldn't come. I love my supportive family! You are all so great!

My sister Tiffany is in AZ indefinately at the moment. She is staying in Gilbert (about 45mins away) helping Keyth's Grandma through her health problems. She has been able to come out and visit us on the weekends and it's been nice to see her and Annabella. A special thanks to my in-laws who let her borrow their extra vehicle so she can travel to our side of town to visit. (BTW they are selling that vehicle, it's a GMC Jimmy and really nice. They are selling it for a very good price. Let me know if any of you are interested!!)

Thanks to everyone for waiting so patiently for my next blog posts!! I know they have been few and far between!