Aniah goes to Kindergarten

Our youngest child/daughter has started kindergarten! Alton and I thought we would love having the whole day to ourselves with all 4 children in school, full-time now, but we really miss having a little one at home. Aniah is a leader, very brave, bold, independent, and outgoing, so she was happy to start school full time. On the first day of school we noticed other children crying and not wanting their parents to leave, but not Aniah, she kept saying "bye Mom and Dad!" Alton and I didn't get or take the hint and we lingered around for awhile. Lol! I feel very accomplished as a mother because I've been so blessed to be able to stay home and raise all of my kids. But I must admit, I was very emotional. After finally leaving Aniah with her new teacher and classmates, Alton and I attended the "Boo Hoo Breakfast" hosted by the PTO for parents of kindergarteners. They actually had a raffle for a spa gift card and I won!...I couldn't believe it, because I never win anything, but after a very emotional morning I headed right to the spa. Lol! We feel blessed that Aniah loves school and we pray that Aniah will be a successful student just like her siblings.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

 ~Proverbs 22:6

Our Family Vacay 2012

For our family vacation we headed south...to Mexico! Alton and I honeymooned in Cancun, but the kids had never been to Mexico. Needless to say they had one of the best times of their lives and it was nice to have the resort all to ourselves. Please enjoy the photos of our family "vacay."

                                                        Morning mimosas....

                                                                        *  Island girls*

* Relaxation *

                                                           *  Beach babies *

                                                      * Girls just wanna have fun! *

                                       * The boys clam digging in the ocean. *

                                                     * Daddy and the kids. *

                                                             * Pretty in pink! *

                                                              * AJ watching the sunset. *

                                                        * The little beach diva. *

                                                         *Our boys hanging out in the ocean. *

                                                        * Aniah laying out, poolside. *

                                                      * Ania digging for sea shells. *

                                                       * Sunset, cabanas, and sand...oh my! *

                                                                            * AJ *

                                                                    * Ania *

                                                                  * Mom and Dad *

                                                                   * Ania w/ Mom *

                                                                 * The beach Diva. *

                                                               * Daddy in Ania's hat. *

                                                              * Kids in the cabana. *

                                                                      * Swim up bar. *

                                                             * Oceanside breakfast for the kids. *

The Purple Princess

Aniah turned 5 on March 1st. We celebrated her day with her family birthday dinner at Rainforest Cafe. On Friday we had another celebration with family and friends at Peter Piper. Aniah chose her own theme for her 5th birthday celebration..."The Purple Princess." She loves the color purple and she designed her own cupcakes which were in the shape of the number 5, purple, with white polka dots. As Aniah put it, she had "the best birthday ever!"
We pray that God blesses Aniah with many more birthdays to come.
Please enjoy our "Purple Princess's" photos and videos from her birthday celebrations.

Black History Month- What Color is My World?

For black history month this year we read and studied a book called "What Color is My World." It was written by the famous basketball player, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The book educated us on things that have been invented by African Americans. Our kids were so amazed by the many inventors in this book. Some of the inventors they recognized, but they were mostly amazed that the microphone in our cell phones were invented by an African American male named James West. I don't think they were amazed just because of his ethnicity but also because we fail to realize that something so simple as the mic in our cellphones had to be invented by someone. We really enjoyed this book, it's illustraions, etc. We always look forward to learning something new for Black History Month because Black History isn't taught in many schools in AZ and it wasn't taught in the schools our kids attended in Europe. Although we are constantly educating our kids about their heritage and background, unfortunately the subject and importance of black histroy can be overlooked in our communities.
This book is also refreshing because it shows that professional basketball players possess many other talents. If you and your family enjoy reading and learning new things together, we recommend this book for your collection.
Happy Black History month!

Alston's Birthday continued...

We are happy to report that Alston is happy and healthy again! He is feeling much better and had a blast at his 10th birthday celebration. He skated the day away with his family and friends, played games, ate lots of pizza and basketball cupcakes to top off everything. We can't believe he's 10 already! We pray God blesses him with many more birthdays to come.