CATCHIN" UP!

Wow am I behind! Sorry about that ladies and gents. Our end of summer camping trip was a blast! It was hotter than we'd expected it to be up north but we still got ample time to relax and renew before the start of school.

We are well into the end of our first month of school here. Chloe is loving fourth grade. It's her first year with a male teacher which took some adjusting too but Mr. Thalke is great and she's doing well. (of course) Chloe took a chance running for student council president this year. Her slogan was Chloe for President Means Honesty All The Way. Unfortunatly she lost the election (shocker, kids aren't into honesty these days I guess ;) )but took it like a champ. I did get a funny quote out of it though. I'd put a "Chloe for President" sticker on the back window of my car and she said "Mommy you're really going to confuse people because Barak Obama is already president." She may not have won prez. but what makes us so proud is that Chloe was hand picked with some other kids to participate in a new program where she will partner up with a special needs child in the school and be their buddy for PE, reading, and what ever other area they may need an extra friend and some extra help. She's really excited about this. I'm not suprised though, Chloe has a reputation at her school for always befriending the special needs children and taking the time to stop and talk with them in the hall, at lunch, etc.....Something like this makes my pride meter go through the roof.

I wish I could say Aidan was having as good a time in Kindergarten. We are off to a very rough start and I have a very anxious son here. Ernie and I are looking into the possibility that Aidan and this school might not be a good fit. He is having a hard time making friends. The class is way to big for him. Worse of all, he's come home with sad faces on his papers for poor coloring skills. Who gives a 5 year old sad faces?! Needless to say Ernie was enraged. (uh-oh) There is another school near by that runs their curriculum differently. Most of what they do is very hands on, not alot of sit down and writing work. Aidan would be encouraged to do all of the things he is discouraged from doing now ie: standing up and moving around, talking to his neighboor...I have a friend who works at this school and is working on getting him in. Pray and keep your fingers crossed.
These days what makes Aidan happiest is his best friend James. To be a fly on the wall when these two are chatting is hysterical. J-"Dude, you are my BFFFFL. Do you know what that is? My best friend forever for life." A-"Dude, you are totally my BffffL too." J-"Dude, we are totally going to have a best friends for life celebration party. Can your mom make us a cake?" A-"My mom makes the best cakes. Dude, I love you James." J-"Dude, I love you too man."
Tooooo funny.

Ernie is doing great. Work is going well. He is still my incredible shrinking husband. He's down two pants sizes now. We are all so proud of the hard work he's putting into his health and well being.

I'm well. Enjoying my time alone with both kids in school. Loving how my house stays clean all week. Catching up on hobbies...paper crafting, writing, reading. Not lonely yet! Have my BFFFFL, Amanda, to hang with and we have endless things to talk about and do together. (no coidince, she is James' mom, if it weren't for the two of them we would've not met..thanks boys!)

I'll post picts soon. There are so many on my camera right now I need to go through.

Love to you all!
'chell

What a summer...

Our summer is just about coming to an end here in AZ. School starts for the kids on July 29th. I'm still not used to that! There have been alot of changes with all of the Marshall Family members this summer in one way or another.

Chloe who has been plagued with chronic strep and sore throats for years had her tonsils and adenoids taken out on July 10th. She's having a very long and painful recovery and I feel so powerless that I can't help her. She's also pretty ticked that the ice cream rumor didn't quite pan out since she seems to be in too much pain for even that. There's not much that seems to sooth her. (if anyone has any suggestions I'm open and begging) Thank goodness Nana was here these past two weeks to help out with Aidan patrol and cuddling and coddling duty when mom over here had just about had it!

Aidan who started out the summer as a non-swimmer has taught himself to swim this summer. And not just swim. He does front and back flips, cannon balls and dives for rings! (my mini Michael Phelps) He is also rocking in gymnastics. His coach is great with him and Aidan is having a blast. His favorite thing is the even bar and he can already pull himself up and over and do flips on it. Most importantly, we've found something he enjoys and excels at that is not causing him anxiety like bball and tball were. He starts kindergarten this year (full day) and while I will miss having his company I'm looking forward to some me time after being home w/kids for the past 9 years.

This summer I was diagnosed with an idiopathic movement disorder. Basically if you took a little bit of Parkinson's' and a little bit of MS and mixed them up, that's what I have. It didn't come as a shock, I've been dealing w/problems for a few years, it just took drs that long to find a diagnosis. I will be seeing a Movement disorder specialist sometime in the future to discuss treatment. While it can prove painful and disabling at times, you know me...I'm still truckin! I've also started a new hobby thanks to my "sister-friend" Amanda. She's got me into what's called mini-booking. It's sort of like scrapbooking but waaay less kitchy and way more artistic. I'll post a pict soon. Chloe is into it too now and she's really good at it. It's nice b/c its something we can do together.

Ernie has taken himself and his health into great consideration these past few months. He's changed some of his habits and as a result lost about 60 pounds so far. He looks fantastic! The problem is that he also looks taller which is something his 4'11" wife could do without! :) But really I'm thrilled for him and for myself that I'll get quite a few more years out of him as a result of this change. He my prince and makes everyday of mine that much better.

I think that's all for now. I hope all of you that I love so much are having a wonderful day today, whatever day it might be when you're reading this. Next blog, probably the first day of school. Until then......."Nothing is worth more than this day." -Goethe

Happy (belated) Fourth!

Good Morning everyone! (at least its morning here in AZ) Hope everyone had a wonderful July Forth! We kept it simple as we always prefer to do here in the Marshall household. We are lucky enough to live behind a farm that hosts the Queen Creek fireworks display every year and can see it from our backyard. We spend the afternoon swimming and hanging out. By the time the fireworks show started Aidan was absolutely spent. He was falling asleep standing but at first refused to go in to bed because he didn't want to miss the "grand salami". I have no idea where he got that one but you know we'll use it for the next few years. I finally convinced him to go to bed though. Everyone is doing well here. Chloe is getting her tonsils out this Friday so say a prayer. She is nervous (as am I) but happy to know that soon enough her chronic sore throats will be history. I'll update you on her progress afterwards. That's about it for now...love to all.
"life is what happens while you're making plans." John Lennon

Happy Birthday Aidan!

Well it's official! My baby is not a baby anymore. Yesterday he turned 5. He has been waiting for this day for months. When he woke up yesterday morning he asked,"is this it? did it happen in the midnight? am I 5 now?" Yesterday we celebrated the day going to see "Up" at the movies with Chloe and Grandpa Jeff. That evening it was all about pizza, cake and presents. Today he had his birthday party with his friends at a bouncie place. It was so much fun. He spent most of the day doting over his "girlfriend" from pre-school Isabella. Holding her hand, bouncing and sliding with her and making sure she was having fun. Too Cute! He is quite the ladies man I tell you. Well its getting towards bedtime here. If I don't get on tomorrow....Happy Fathers' Day to all! xoxo 'chell

Playing Catch-up

This will probably be a long post just to catch everyone up on the past few months. After that I'll write more regularly. I'll work on learning to post picts later...one thing at a time please! :) Oh! and just so you all know, this blog is only open to family and friends so don't worry about posting or who's reading your comments. Okay, school ended for both kids at the end of May. Chloe and Aidan both ended 3rd grade and preschool with straight A's. Of course, Ernie and I are so proud. Unlike their parents, they both love school (God is good!). Chloe is looking forward to going into 4th grade as 4th graders are the head honchos at Queen Creek elementary. She plans on running for Student Council President...I guess my term(s) as PTO pres.have rubbed off on her. Aidan's year at preschool was amazing. He is reading small site words, can count like a champ, writes...it was definitely a year of growth for him. (In stature...not so much, so far he still has his mom's height or lack there of). He is really psyched to go to kindergarten at Chloe's school full day and Ernie and I are confident he is totally ready. We're already 1/2 way into our summer and its been one of firsts for both the kids. Chloe went away to sleep away camp for a week with a bunch of kids from our church. They spent the week up north where it is not the season of 110 degree hell. The kids hiked, played, did arts and crafts, sports and some bible study. She did great...not one phone call to come home, and had a fabulous time. She came back totally happy and way more mature than she left. (scary) Aidan has is first best friend, James, and they are inseparable. Luckily, his mom and I love to hang too so we spend alot of awesome times together. Aidan has also gotten his training wheels off this summer and had his first sleep over. Chloe still rides horses but takes a break during the hot months b/c its too much for the horses. We are looking into getting her into 4H so she can start doing some rodeo type riding. She is really anxious to get into barrel racing and maybe some roping. Aidan just started gymnastics and I think we found his niche. He's been interested since he watched the Olympics with E and I. After his first day his coach came out and asked me where he'd taken gymnastics before. I was like, "uuuuhhh, my living room?" Apparently, he did well. Okay, I think that's everything for now. Aidan is turning 5 tomorrow...he's been counting the days (or the "sleeps" as he calls them) for this day. I've been wishing it never comes! :0 I love you all and have a fab day!

Chloe quote: in the car w/my girlfriend who loves to turn up the radio and sing her heart, with a dead straight face Chloe asks, "What are you doing?" girlfriend-"I'm singing, don't you ever just turn up the radio and sing?" Chloe-"Uh yeah...at HOME, in my ROOM, with the DOOR SHUT!"

Aidan quote: just last night when he was in the tub washing his hair I told him he was pouring too much shampoo into his hand, he only has a little head. His reply? "Yeah mommy, but when I grow up I'm going to have a big head just like my Daddy!"

Welcome Family!

Welcome family! This is something new I'm trying on the reccomendation of a friend. I've never blogged before but its a way to keep you all up to date on what's happening around here on a regular basis. And as you know, Chloe and Aidan are always up to something worth talking about. I'll be sure to write often and that way you all can check out what we're up to on a whim!
'