California!

At the beginning of August Jared had two weeks off before his rotations began. One of those weekends we decided to head to California to visit Jared's sister, Stephanie and her family.  We really enjoyed spending a few days with them.  We had so many yummy meals made by Steph and got to go to the beach twice!  We all had such a great time!

Jared buried us and made us mermaids...Kyson wasn't sure what to think of that:)

Caleb turns FIVE

I now have a big five year old which is pretty crazy to me. On Caleb's birthday we had a pretty crazy day. In the morning I had to take Kyson to see his cardiologist so Caleb got to go play with friends. In the afternoon we had his birthday party with all of his primary class (church) friends. It was a little chaotic but I think the kids had fun so I guess that would mean it was a success.
As you can see from the pictures we had a "baseball" party.  Caleb really loves any kind of sport and so we went with baseball and ran with it.

 This is the cake I made for the party.  Sorry this picture is sideways...I'm too lazy to upload it again:) 

We had a bit of trouble getting the pinata to work...our rope kept breaking and we couldn't find a better one.  Oh well, the boys all had fun taking a good whack at it!

 Caleb always means serious business when he is hitting a pinata!

 By the way, I took some cute pictures with all the kids but I didn't want to post them on my blog since it's not private and I wasn't sure if all the parents would want me doing that!
Overall it was fun and between the pinata and ice cream and cake, we were all full of sugar by the time it was over!
Later that night Caleb's Aunt Wendy invited us over to have a barbeque with them.  Caleb shares a birthday with his cousin so they got to celebrate together.  It was a really fun evening with family.  Aunt Wendy made the super cute cakes in the pictures...

It was such a busy day, I was glad to have it over with but I am grateful to be able to celebrate with my little boy!  I feel so blessed to have Caleb.  With all we have been through this past year especially I am so lucky to have such a kind, loving helper in our family.  A couple weeks ago he started pre-school and he has been really enjoying that.  He is really growing up and maturing and I am enjoying watching it happen.  Happy Birthday Caleb...I love you!!!

Pinning Ceremony

Time to play some catch-up with blogging. I have been soooo un-motivated to blog. Hopefully I can get caught up sooner than later. (how many times have you heard that in this blog-o-shere? everyone says that but I guess I am in the same boat as "everyone":)

Back in July Jared had what is called a pinning ceremony. When you begin PA school there is a white coat ceremony where you get a white coat. Then when you complete your first year and all your course work you get pinned meaning you can begin rotations.

Here are some pictures of my "educated" husband!

The most exciting part of this night was knowing that class work was almost over and rotations were beginning soon. One year from now we will be attending a graduation which is so very exciting.

Jared began his first rotation in cardiovascular surgery on Aug. 22nd. He has been very happy with it so far. He said the doctor he is with is very patient which is great for his first rotation. He is going to learn so much this year and experience some pretty cool things and I am excited to be along for the ride with him.

Gunnell family reunion

The second weekend of July we had a very fun and entertaining weekend planned for us by Grandpa Gunnell. He invited all of his kids and grand kids to stay at the Arizona Grand Resort Thurs-Sunday. It was so much fun to have everyone there. I know we all had a wonderful time and feel blessed to be part of such a great family. I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked but we were swimming a lot and I didn't want to ruin my camera so I left it in the room. Here's a few of the pictures I did take.

The view




I didn't get many pictures of them together but Caleb loves his cousin Matthew. He was so excited to see him when we were driving to the resort he said, "Mommy my tummy feels funny I'm so excited!" So cute!


We had dinner at Rustler's Roost one night and it was so fun. Caleb sat at the table with all of the cousins and he loved that. In the restaurant they have a slide the kids loved going down.



Here's a few fun pictures of Jared and our boys and then me and our boys...





Grandma Gunnell passed away just over a year ago. We all went to her grave to enjoy a morning of reminiscing about Grandma and all she did for us. She is an incredible woman that is missed!


and last but not least, Grandpa Gunnell with all of his great grand kids. I think it's impossible to get a great picture of them all together but this was the best I got!


A huge Thank You goes to Grandpa Gunnell for all his hard work in making the weekend a lot of fun and a huge success. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! We love you!

More 4th of July pictures

Here's the pictures from our 4th of July weekend. Our boys just had a great time. Here's a list of all the fun things we all enjoyed!

1. Tether ball



2. Can't remember the name of this game...but Caleb loved it!


3. Swinging


4. What could be more fun than a pinata?

The crazier the face...the harder you hit it:)



5. Lots of yummy food and treats (some from above pinata:)



6. Playing with Grandma and Grandpa Great!

I just couldn't get Kyson to stop making this cheesy face. Silly kid!


7. Jumping on the trampoline with cousins



8. Blowing bubbles


9. And a quick attempt at a family picture...

Kyson's letter

We just got this letter in the mail...

We are so excited for Kyson to make a wish! I was told we could expect wish granters to come to our house sometime in the next two months to help Kyson decide what his wish will be. I've talked to him a little bit about it and read him a book they sent to help him decide on a wish and he is very excited about it. He keeps asking me to read him that book again:) Some of Kyson's heart friends have been in the process of fulfilling wishes and they are doing things like Disneyland, Disneyworld, and a Disney Cruise. I'm not sure what Kyson will choose but I am sure no matter what it will be an amazing experience for him and all of us. Yay for Kyson!!!

Celebrating the 4th of July

We spent the weekend away from the crazy heat of the valley and it was wonderful! I have many pictures and memories to share but first I wanted to share the festive pictures I took for the 4th of July...

Caleb


Kyson


Anna


Claire


Happy 4th of July!!!