Colten is 8!!!

It is unbelievable how time flies!! Eight years old..... (gasp). You are so handsome and so sweet! You are such a joy to have in my life and your dad and I are so honored to be your parents. You make each and every day special. And like I always tell you, your eyes just have a sparkle to them that brings a smile to my face.



This year, we had a pool party with family and friends. Everyone had a great time despite the heat....116! Can you say SCORCHER??

This was one of Colten's birthday gifts. A basketball hoop for the pool!! How awesome is that? He absolutely loves it!

I decided to make Colten's cake this year, since he L-O-V-E-'S this chocolate cake. We decorated it with some sprinkles and topped it off with some transformers. (His favorite movie of all time!) FYI.

And then of course there was a special request to Nana. Back in March she had made this cake for his cousin Austin, so he told her back then that he specifically wanted this cake on his birthday. You'll notice why.....see those gold things on the cake??? Yep, gold coins. The boy loves money!! lol


And for your viewing pleasure....here are some photos of him opening his gifts......

And of course we had to end it with...what else??? THE MONEY SHOT!!!!!

Thanks everyone, for coming out and celebrating Colten's birthday with him. He had a great birthday!!!

Fathers Day Fun!

Happy Fathers Day Honey! Today was a nice relaxing day. We spent most of it out at the pool. The kids love to hang on dad when he swims with them. Can you tell?? Its been really hot, so the pool is really the best place to be.

Colten is usually in and out of the pool about 100 times jumping in. I managed to get him in mid air.

You can somewhat see Brandy our dog watching Madison. She barks everytime they either go under the water or jump in. We have a plastic turtle that she has adopted and usually plays with that in the water. I'll have to get that on film soon. So it was a good Fathers Day. We took Bryan out to dinner the night before as to avoid the crowds. Thank you Honey for being such a wonderful dad. We all love you!!

Kick-Off to Summer......not so much!

Memorial Day Weekend we went up to the Rim to do some camping in our new "home away from home". We purchased a toyhauler in February and this is the first chance we've had to use it. LOVE IT!!! Anyway, the weather was very strange...COLD for May in Arizona. It had been raining and a cold front had come through, but we decided to "rough" it anyway and go. LOL...


The first day we pretty much had to stay in the trailer the whole time, but the next day we finally saw sun and although it was still a bit nippy, we were able to go on quite a few quad rides.



We built a fire to try and keep us toasty so we could stay outside. It worked for a little bit after having some trouble getting in going due to the wind. Then it was back in the trailer and turn the heat on....lol. I'm not much of a cold weather person. All in all, we had a GREAT time and we're looking forward to going again in a few weeks or so. Atleast then, the cooler weather will be welcomed. :)

School Buses....not so safe!!

Today Madison went on a field trip. This is how it ended. She was one of six students transported to the hospital with injuries. Thank goodness, they were all minor injuries. Madison happened to be sitting at the window that was directly hit by the car. She hit her head and face against the window. She had a pretty bad nosebleed and complained of a headache and dizziness. She was checked at the ER and released. Pretty scary situation for all involved. And let me tell ya, that was NOT a fun phone call to get. Especially since we had to drive all the way to Scottsdale (about 40 minutes) without really knowing how she was. Here is the article from the newspaper.......http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/2008/05/06/20080506sr-busaccident0507.html





It was determined that it was the fault of the bus driver. Seriously don't know how these drivers are given the responsability of driving around kids when they never know where they are going for field trips. Mapquest??? GPS??? TomTom???

Science Project

The last quarter of school, Madison had to do a Science project. This was to be a major part of her science grade. Extra credit would be given to students who visited the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum, so of course we went. We brought along Madison's best friend Alejandra. It was pretty interesting see all the different rocks and such. But, of course their favorite part was the gift shop...lol

The rock she had to do a report on was "Gypsum" So, we looked at a bunch of those. It was amazing how different a "Gypsum" could look, each one we saw looked different then the other.

It was a very educational tour. We had a good time.

Here is the written report that she got an "A" on. Not the best quality after going through the scanner, but cute nonetheless.

One Year

It has been one year since the day Colten was run over. I can still see the scene plain as day in my mind as it plays out in slow motion. I get sick to my stomach when I hear the sound of a helicopter up above and see the same yellow one that transported Colten to the trauma center. I can literally relive the moments in which it occurred. I still have nightmares now and then and I still thank God everyday for allowing our little boy to stay in our lives. April 12, 2007 was THE worst day of my life. One of the images that will forever stay in my mind is when I ran out the door after Colten's friend ran in yelling "Colten got hit by a car!!!" All I could see as I ran out the garage door was the car right in front of my house and could tell that the man was holding him, but I could not see Colten. I thought he was dead. I remember running around the car to get to him and thinking I was going to see that my little boy was gone. I will never forget the feeling of helplessness as I took him from the arms of the man who ran him over and carried him over to the grass with his face bloody and how the hair on the top of his head was gone and there was an indention in his head. He was so calm, yet too calm. I was told later that he was in shock. It was definately a rough couple of days in the hospital and weeks thereafter, but we were so lucky that his major injury was his broken shoulder. Although he did have head trauma, everything checked out okay with that, Thank God!!

Having something like this happen really puts things into perspective. I definatley look at life differently. Look at my kids differently and was forced to look at myself differently. It was an eye opening learning experience for sure. One that I wish never to repeat, but in a sense it put things in our life into perspective. There is nothing more important in life then our children. I would lay down my life for them, but yet in that moment, there was nothing I could do. That was the worst feeling. It is so difficult to see your child in so much pain. But, Colten is a trooper and he came through everything with such strength and courage.

Forgiveness-----As of this day, I cannot say I forgive the person who did this. Although I know it was an "accident", the way things were handled after would make anyone angry. And I still am. I'm still angry!!! For those close to us, you know how and why I feel this way. I'm really not a person to hold a grudge, but this is different. This is my child, my boy, my baby. Someone hurt him.....although not intentional, but not at all remorseful. It breaks my heart.

This changed our family. Our ways of thinking. Our ways of living. Some for the better, I will admit. It made us stronger, made us grateful, made us truthful, made us love unconditionally. I made a deal with God that day. As many of you know, I'm not a religious person by any means, but that frightful day, I spoke with Him. I promised that if He healed Colten, let him stay in our lives that I would be forever grateful and be a changed person. Well, He spoke back. With His healing hands, Colten is here and well and I am a forever changed person. I kept my promise with God.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail......

Easter 2008!!This is the infamous Easter Bunny cake that Great Grandma Burk makes every year. Isn't it so cute???

Great Grandma Burk with all her great-grandkids!!

We had Easter at Dale and Maureen's house (Bryan's parents). They have a HUGE yard. Lots of room to hide eggs in. We make up a bunch of plastic eggs with goodies inside and hide them. It takes us a good 30 minutes or so since we have so many. It used to be easier when they were younger, we just tossed them on the grass and they would run and collect them. But now that they are older they like a challenge.

Do you think they each got enough eggs??? Hmmm.....

Bryan's parents have a big tree out in their front yard that the kids always like to play on. We decided it was a good place for some pictures.....

********* MADISON & COLTEN*********



*COLTEN & RYAN*

*MADISON & TAYLOR*

***TAYLOR & RYAN***