Keep the faith

So much has gone on these past few days, that I've really had to take a step back and get some perspective on things. I suppose tragedies do that to a person. Unfortunately. Sometimes it takes everything you've got - and then some, if you can dig that deep - to believe that some things happen for a reason. Sometimes you will never know that reason. As difficult as it may be, you need to keep the faith. Our hearts go out to extended family for the loss of a loved one. Questions will remain unanswered. Doubt and reservations will surround faith. How could it not? Where do you turn when you feel you've been let down? There will always be memories, however. That won't change or be altered in any way. That's a start in an attempt to try and ease some of the pain now and in the days ahead. I hope and pray that peace and acceptance come sooner than later.

It's a dry heat

Published in our paper:

"So much for sneaking through the summer without a stretch of blast furnace heat. High temperatures approaching, if not exceeding, 115 degrees are expected in the Valley by Friday and continuing into the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Because of the potential danger, the Weather Service anticipates issuing an excessive heat warning effective for two days, perhaps three."

Oh joy. Nothing like getting third degree burns from opening up the front door.

My 3rd Grade Stories

So a while back ... a LONG while back ... I mentioned Cameron came home from his last day of school with a book of stories he had written in class thoroughout the year. Some were poems, others were stories about historical events or science subjects they were studying, and the majority of them were creative writing. Very creative writing. A good number of them had the story started by the teacher, and they had to finish it. I promised I'd post some of my favorites, so here's the first one! Enjoy :)

A Strange Boy

A strange thing happened to me last month. There was loud pounding on my door. I opened it and it was a kid from Africa. He was begging for food. I said come on in. And he did. We made pizza. It was cheese pizza. Then mom came home. She was wondering who the strange boy was. The pizza was good. The boy said thank you 20 times. It was the best pizza ever. Nobody knows how he got here without a passport.

~By Cameron

San Tan Valley, AZ 85140

FYI ... San Tan Valley is the name of Arizona’s newest community ... ours! Just a little bit of background: San Tan Valley is Pinal County’s largest community in terms of overall population (80,000 residents). Prior, we were considered Queen Creek for postal purposes only. We actually live in unincorporated Pinal County and the town of Queen Creek would not incorporate us. So, San Tan Valley is comprised of a large area south of the incorporated area (meaning inside the town limits) of Queen Creek, Arizona. We got this new name because this area is not part of the Queen Creek town limits and there was often confusion about where people live. It was also good timing, as the Post Office needed to implement new zip codes to better serve the nation’s second fastest growing county, Pinal County.

The town/zip code change was effective July 1st ... but for those you who might procrastinate in updating your address book, you have about a year. :)

Happy Fourth of July!

Hi everyone - hopefully you all have plans to enjoy this great holiday. It has been quite the week here ... I took a couple of days off from work and really spent them working around the house. You know ... fun stuff: baseboards, plant shelves, kitchen cupboards, Cam's ROOM, things like that. Pretty much things that have been put off way too long. I also squeezed in a few appointments, so it was pretty busy. It felt like something had been accomplished, so I suppose that is always a good thing. Another week of skate camp is complete. Cam's been having so much fun, and really progressing with his skating. There was a skate contest this morning at one of the local skate parks, but the thought of skating in the heat didn't seem too appealing. Yeah, me either. Now how about an annual New Year's skate contest, or even Memorial Day? Seriously ... Fourth of July is not the holiday to expect a good turnout. The weather has been stifling. And pretty crazy. It's rained off and on the last few days which is great ... when it keeps raining. The few drops here and there suck - all it does is bring the humidity up and it is miserable. Today is clear and not a cloud in the sky. It should be perfect for our BBQ/party we've got planned for today. Looking forward to it! Our week also consisted of heading tot he theater to see Transformers. Loved it. Thought the first one was better, but this was really good. And ... we also watched Gran Torino which was EXCELLENT. Clint Eastwood was amazing in this movie. It was a tear-jerker, so watch out. But in a great way. It also had some great humor in it, which made it a great all-around flick! Honestly that's about all we've been up to. Not too exciting - but I'll take it. Have a great weekend!