tales from a far-land

Every summer, Phoenicians look forward to the monsoon season. Per the National Weather Service, monsoon season in Phoenix is June 15 through September 30, however, most of the time the storms do not start until late July or early August. This year was no exception. The monsoon rains in August were insane. Some of the craziest storms that we have ever experienced. One such storm occurred during the evening of August 13th at around ten o'clock at night. Here is the storm report from the National Weather Service for this particular evening: Storm Report for August 13-14, 2021  Impacts: Localized wind damage, widespread heavy rains, numerous instances of flash flooding and unfortunately loss of life.>Strong to severe thunderstorms moved through central and southwest Arizona during the late evening hours of August 13, 2021 and into the morning hours of August 14, 2021. An unusually humid airmass was in place, fueling the thunderstorms and allowing them to produce very heavy rainfall....

In March for the kids' spring break, we decided to take an international adventure for the first time in over a eighteen months.  With the travel vouchers we had from a cancelled trip due to COVID-19, we decided to travel to Cancun, Mexico.  Our friends, the Godbeheres, allowed us to use their elite membership at the all-inclusive resort  Moon Palace Sunrise .  We cannot thank them enough for the amazing time we had as a family.  With their membership, we were able to not only visit the Sunrise Resort, but the sister property, The Grand at Moon Palace.  It had everything that we could hope for -- swimming, bowling, a waterpark, an arcade, FlowRider, golf, tennis, a top-notch spa, nightly entertainment, restaurants galore, and plenty of sunshine.  The kids really enjoyed ordering in room service and having some autonomy to roam around the resort without their parents.  Josh and I loved that we were able to have a couple of date nights and some much...

 After playing and enjoying flag football through the CCV Stars program in the fall of 2020, Aiden wanted to continue to play.  CCV Stars did not start their new season until March 2021, so I began to research other leagues that he could join to fulfill his desire.  PrimeTime Athletics has a North Phoenix division that isn't that far from the house and it worked for our schedules.  We spent every Saturday from January 23rd through March 6th watching Aiden play flag football.  He played every position, but really enjoyed being quarterback and defensive line rusher.   With this league, they do a single elimination tournament on the final day.  Prior to this final day, his team had never won one game.  They had improved each week, but had never been able to win a game.  However, on this final day, Aiden's team won their first game and proceeded to move to the next bracket of the tournament.  It was so exciting!  And even though th...

Happy 11th Birthday, Madilyn Rae! Now that you are 11, you're going to start growing up even faster than ever, so just have fun and enjoy every moment along the way. You re officially a tween! These next years will be full of transitions, moodiness, drama, and changes, but you have got this! You are kind, mature, affectionate, a little aloof, hard-working, and fun-loving. We hope this next year around the sun is filled with every desire and aspiration that you dream of. We love you so much! Birthday Wishes Front Yard Birthday Photo Shoot Birthday Greetings from Mina Birthday Gift from Aunt Melinda To celebrate Madilyn's birthday, she had birthday blow-out.  She invited all of her favorite friends to go ice skating with a sleepover following.  She is incredibly loved.  Friends from all areas of her life joined her for this amazingly fun day.  We were so thankful that Peoria AzIce  could accommodate us, even with the pandemic still continuing.  It was a ...

One of Madilyn's true joys right now is cheerleading.  She thoroughly enjoys going to practice each week, even this past year during the pandemic when practices were held outside at night, in the cold.  At the end of January, her cheerleading organization held a virtual competition since they had not been able to do so in the fall.  The participants were dropped off at the competition site already dressed in their outfits with pom-poms and masks.  Parents watched the performance via Zoom and then immediately picked up their child.  I watched the entire performance in my car which I parked in a neighborhood nearby the performance site as there was not enough time to travel home and back in the allotted time.  It embodied all things pandemic, but Madilyn was so excited to finally perform once again.  Maybe sometime in 2021, we will be able to see her perform in-person once again. Madilyn, January 2021 Screenshots I took while watching Zoom Video of the P...

Christmas morning didn't start too early in our household. That is a tradition in itself. Our kids have never once woken up before us on Christmas morning. So funny! The morning was spent opening gifts, drinking coffee and eating bubbleloaf. Santa brought each of the kids a Halo Rover X Hoverboard, so they spent a majority of the morning riding around the neighborhood and testing them out. We spent our afternoon celebrating and eating dinner at the Landers new home in Mesa.  It was a beautiful afternoon.  The kids enjoyed riding their hoverboards over there and petting the horses that live behind the Landers' house.  The evening ended with in a blaze, literally!  The neighbors decided to build a huge bonfire, which then had to be put out by the Mesa Fire Department and Police.  What a 2020 way to end Christmas!