Nascar!

My aunt was moving from Scottsdale to VA...and had Nascar tickets that she wasn't going to use so she gave them to US!!!!  So my sisters and my hubby got to go!  We had pit passes and everything so we got to go downt to the track and see the cars!  There was lots of music and fair food...I always love that!!! I know absolutely nothing about nascar but was sweet to go and do something different!!  Thanks Aunt Mel!!!

  Danica Patrick wrecked her car in the middle and we were heart broken!! lol.

InLaws visit from Vegas!

In March, Jerry's brother Josh and his family, along with Jerry's Parents came to visit us here in Mesa!!!  The kids were SOOOOOOO excited...We took them exploring down town.  We took the Light Rail (Pretty much an above ground subway) and the kids loved it!!!

 So fun when besties get to marry brothers!!!!  

We walked around the historic district and got a few fun family photo ops.

 Sure do love this man.

We also found some more cute moments just in passing

Something special about daddies and their kids...and brothers all grown up...and cousins that just love each other...I love this picture!!

We sure love grandma and grandpa!!!

It was a short weekend but we squeezed time for even MORE fun!  We went to Enchanted Island in Phoenix ...which is basically an amusement park for LITTLE kids...ya know the ones that are too short for everything in a normal park? :)  It was fun!

Cohen and Maddie got brave and rode their first roller coaster!!!  

 It was really great to have family make the trip!!!  

Cohen is 5!

This is my handsome 5 year old.  His birthday (Feb. 4th) came while we were in Utah and my siblings threw him a mini surprise party the night we went to my Grandpas to watch Tessa open her mission call.    It was short but cute and he felt special!!!  Wish i got pictures, DANG!!!  but here is the boy I see every day :)  Just when I think it is completely impossible to love him more....another day ...another smile....and boom it happens...more love!!! :)  He loves to climb trees (as you can see) and play with his sister.  He loves to pretend he's a super hero!  His favorite movie is Peter Pan and he loves to eat.....must be a growth spurt but this kid is putting the food down lately!!!!It's a good thing, he is so so skinny...like you see every rib when he takes off his shirt!    He is so caring and mindful of people's emotions.  He is quite energetic (and when I say energetic...it's as if he has a motor...he has an extremely hard time sitting still which has made school and church a challenge).....he understands most of what you say...but struggles to communicate  "Wh" questions....there has been other behavior for quite awhile that make us question if there are things going on...he was tested through the Florida school district last year and at 4 years old he was communicating at the capacity of a 2 1/2 year old.  He qualified for the special needs pre school here in Mesa...and I have seen improvement...but not enough to make me comfortable. His pediatrician recommended him to the Melmed center to meet with a Pediatrician that specializes in mental and physical development....It took us 3 months to get in (finally got in in May) but it turns out he has ADHD which they believe is causing a Language Disorder (both receptive and expressive...MOSTLY expressive)  There were quite a few signs consistent with Autism but believed not ENOUGH of those signs to warrant the label.  They suggested Speech and Occupational Therapy out side of school (believing he wouldn't get the amount that he NEEDS at school)....Cohen starts Kindergarten in August and I was really on the fence on if it was the right time...Cohen struggled in a special needs environment with 12 kids to 4 teachers...It made me a little sick to think of 1 teacher to 25 kids....After his IEP meeting I decided I certainly didn't want to set him up to fail..he knows enough to be in Kindergarten (shapes, letters colors etc.) .So after much prayer, and a long meeting with his future Kindergarten teacher I registered him.  I   decided that I would exhaust the therapy options through the summer along with behavioral counseling, and a couple diet changes....give school 6 weeks ...get another teacher eval. ...have a followup at MELMED and decide if medicating is the right thing or not.  The ADHD is not as much my concern as what it is causing.  So here is to a new adventure :).  He is my sweet boy and I thank god every day that God sent him to ME.   5 years old....man time flies.

Happy 80th Birthday to Grandpa Hamilton!!!

Well my grandpa (my moms dad and the kids GREAT Grandpa)  turned 80. Me and the kids (Jerry had to work :( boo)  cruised up to Utah!!! So there was a big party to be had of course!!! It was so fun to see all of my cousins!!!  My Grandpa is a pretty sweet dude....he still ski's and rides his bike...and runs and gardens....he is the picture of the kind of shape I want to be in at that time of my life.  He has such a strong testimony of Jesus Christ....and it was very fun to sit and listen to all the old stories and look at such fun pictures.  I wish my Grandma (she died when I was 13 of Brain Cancer) could  have been there! Well I'm sure she was :).   It's so fun to see all my cousins becoming adults (I was the 4th grandkid...as you can see there were lots of us..

   But its fun to see the younger ones so grown up and starting families too!!!

There were so many more people there, I'm bummed I didn't get more pictures!!!!!  Anyway

we stayed with my brother and his cute wife and baby :)

Cohen is so sweet with little ones!!!!

My mom was in town (I just now noticed she is not in ANY of these pictures...she hates posing for the camera...she attempted to video tape the sledding...but it didn't work out so well :).....when she THOUGHT she was recording...she wasn't and when she thought she wasn't...she WAS! lol...  Anyway...so the sledding...I thought the kids would be scared it was a pretty steep hill and we have not really been in snow since they've been ALIVE (Vegas , Fl, AZ)....heck no!! Freakin KamiKazis!!!!  

That's a freakin big hill and it was icy!!! Cohen would not let ANYONE ride with him.

 Brinley surprised me...I thought she would totally wuss out....She wouldn't go by herself, but she went with me...and EVERYTIME it was  "Again Again!!!"  lol.  So fun.  And everyone survived, so mom took a chill pill. :)

Then we went to my Grandpas house to watch my cousin Tessa open her mission call!  She is hillarious and it was fun to be apart of that special time.  She got called to Boise Idaho if you are wondering :)  She will do GREAT!!!

It was a great trip!!!!

Happy New Year from the Skinners!

The Skinner side of my family has a special relationship with the town Bisbee :).  It was where my Grandma was raised....and though my dad was a military brat, Bisbee and Sierra Vista were always "Home Base".  Bisbee is a real unique artsy hippee town...actually I saw a bumper sticker that said it best "Bisbee, it's like Mayberry on acid"  lol.  Enjoy the pictures!