DeAndre's first dance

 DeAndre went to his first High School dance this year.  I insisted on being part of picture taking even though he would have preferred I didn't.  Apparently, I have officially entered the phase of "embarrassing parent."  :(  We had to go shopping for a suit coat...um...who knew those things are over $100!!!  I am hoping that he will be able to wear it again before he outgrows it.  His group of friends all went together and had dinner first at The International Country Club.  Very Fancy!  I think it was fancier than any place I've ever been too!  It was so fun to see him all dressed up and with his date, which was his girlfriend at the time.  They have since broken up (I think I was more upset than he was, in fact I know I was)  but are still friends.  There was even an after party!  After confirming that parents would be in home for the party, I agreed to let him stay out until 1 am.  Olivia wasn't happy.  I heard her mumble that being the oldest child "sucks."  :)

                                                            DeAndre and Jaclyn

The corsage.

                                                                  What a cutie!

Welcome Roman Kai

On September 20th we welcomed Roman to the family.  What a little doll he is!  He loves to cuddle and to eat! He is now 2 months old and weighs 13.1 pounds.  He is a little chunk that I love to squeeze...Rocco loves him and gives him kisses freely.  We have to beg Rocco for kisses and call ourselves lucky if we get one.  Sometimes, our little feisty 2 year old gets jealous and screams as loud as he can until all eyes are on him.  Still, he loves little Roman and so do we!  

More Orchard Pictures

Apple Orchard

Virginia is beautiful in the fall.  We took Rocco to an apple orchard with his friend Hartley to pick apples and pumpkins.  He decided he wanted to eat them along the way...dad was pretty useful in getting him tall enough to reach the apples.  Rocco thought it was funny to pick the apples and throw them at his Grandma.  She laughed and laughed and so the apples kept flying at her head!

Where have we been?

It has been way too long since I have updated our blog...so  much has happened and life seemed to spin out of control for awhile.  It all started when Matt was offered a dream job in Washington DC.  Moving a family of five across the country is a HUGE undertaking and we had a ton of things to consider.  In the end, we made the decision to move and had three weeks to do it.  Much was left behind...family, friends, education and OLIVIA!  She was in her senior year of high school and we didn't feel right pulling her out and having her switch schools.  She stayed behind with our great friends, The Schmokers, who took excellent care of her.  She visited at every break and we talked every day.  Still, it was a challenge to have our family split up for almost 9 months.  I dropped out of my final year of grad school at ASU and planned to continue my education at a DC school instead.  Hopefully, that will still happen at some point.  Matt was able to continue his teaching position at ASU by offering his class on-line, but he did say goodbye to the Tempe Police Department.  They were good to him but exciting things were on the horizon.  His job is with a software company that has a contract with the Department of Defense...and that is all I know and so all I can reveal!

Matt flew out to DC early to find us a house.  Scary...but he did a great job and found us the perfect house!

DeAndre missed the first few weeks of 8th grade but we arrived just in time for him to try out for the travel basketball teams.  He made one of the teams and made many new friends right away.  The lifestyle here is  much faster paced but it is also somewhat traditional.  There is a strong sense of community and family in Chantilly.  Chantilly is a suburb of DC...it is beautiful here, especially in the fall.  Still, home is Arizona and I struggled being so far away from my friends and the comfort of knowing what is around the next corner...