BEaUtiFul bEauTiFuL BeAuTifuL, BEAUTIFUL BOY!

This slideshow is only two weeks late, sorry buddy. But our baby is now 2! Tate has brought joy & adventure from day one. We love him so much. It's so fun to look back at how much he has grown. We love you Tater Tot, Happy Birthday!

Why God made little boys-
God made a world out of his dreams,
Of magic mountains, oceans and streams,
Prairies and plains and wooded land.
Then paused and thought, "I need someone to stand,
On top of the mountains, to conquer the seas,
Explore the plains and climb the trees.
Someone to start out small and grow,
Sturdy and strong like a tree" and so
He created boys, full of spirit and fun
To explore and conquer, to romp and run
With dirty faces, and banged up chins
With courageous hearts and boyish grins.
And when He had completed the task He'd begun,
He surely said, "That's a job well done."
- Arthur E. Knight

No place like home

The day after Christmas we left our new toys and headed out to AZ.
Our first day there was a busy one. After spending the night with my Aunt Becky & Uncle David Allen,and playing with Buffy & Chloe, we met up with Mom & David.( Different David, there are too many David's in our family... but we love them). We went to feed the ducks at Freestone park and I underestimated the chill Arizona can have. I thought I was so tough now that I lived with snow, ha! Joke was on me. After feeding the ducks (and Tate). We went to dinner, then to see the Temple Lights. I forgot how beautiful that is. I always took it for granted, Or just used it as an excuse to hang out with my friends on a Sunday. It was fun to share that with the boys.
After some ice cream, we said goodbye to Mom & David and headed up to Payson to stay with Greg's parents for a few days.
His sister Cherly had driven in from Cali. with her kids and his brother's kids came up from Gilbert. It was so fun for Brody & Tate to get to know their Evans cousins a little better. They had lots of fun hiking, playing with the new dogs and just being silly together.
We drove back to Tempe and stayed with my Dad & Ann Marie the rest of the trip. I was so happy to get to visit with the friends we were able to see and a little bummed for the ones we missed. Better luck next time. Two highlights were hanging out with Jacque & Doug on New Years playing "Compatablity". Luckily Greg and I are compatible! And we always have a great time with Mark & Leslie, eating at RA was no different. Even thinking about it makes my mouth water. Oh, and thanks for introducing us to "Rock Band". Finally a way we can do karaoke together- That game is awesome!

We celebrated Tate's 2nd Birthday by going to the Phoenix Zoo. It was great. I've loved our zoo here in Kansas City because it is so beautiful will big mature trees, but I must say the Phoenix zoo has it beat. You can get SO CLOSE to the animals! I couldn't believe I was standing 10 feet from a giraffe! We all had a blast -





The one sad part about Tate's big day was that Greg had to fly home that night. I planned it that the boys and I would stay a few extra days, but when the time came I wished we were all leaving together. Oh, well. We did still have a little bit of fun with out him.


Here is even more from our trip.

My last night in town I got to hang out with Alyssa while she watched our Uncle Matt's kids. It was so fun to be around them, they are such great kids. So here is a girl cousin shot w/Tate.

The one strange thing I found out on this trip was, that as much as I will always love Arizona, It just doesn't feel like home anymore. It has changed so much in the (almost) three years that we've been gone. I kept getting lost, I didn't know where things were, it was weird. I felt so out of place, even in my own home. I couldn't wait to get back to my life and friends in Kansas. I never would have thought I'd say that, but it's true. I miss our great friends and family in Az, but someday when you come out and visit, you'll see what I mean. This city is the best kept secret.
I think that was really hard for me too. No one knows where I am, what it's like or anything. Everyone thinks it's cornfields! I don't blame you, that's what I thought it would be too. But we were wrong.
Here is a link to the Overland Park visitor's bureau, if you're curious.
http://www.opcvb.org/
I do love Arizona. I'm just surprised that after living there all my life,(except a year in Utah which doesn't really count) I could feel more at home someplace else. I guess home is where you make it right? And wherever that may be it think it holds true, There really is no place like home!

Flashback Friday

This flashback is really not that long ago. Last month Brody had his first school Christmas program! He was so cute. The highlight was after the first two songs Brody yelled into the mic, "Mommy clap, You need to clap!" In my defense I was clapping, just with one hand while I was filming.( I'm not a good filmer, sorry. It moves every time I laugh). This song was funny because halfway through they start singing the song in Spanish. You can tell Brody was not too excited about that. He is such a funny kid and I love that he will still sing these songs around the house when he think I'm not listening.
He only sang about half of the songs. The other half he would look around, smile at us and give thumbs up. It was so fun to watch!


Another fun thing from that week was my brother Glenn came to visit us. He and his family are living in Japan for a few years. They were able to come back to states for the Holidays. While Tracey & the kids went to California to see her family, Glenn drove out from Indiana (where there home is) to see us. We had a fun relaxing time. It snowed that weekend which served as a perfect backdrop for our eating, X-box playing, LOST watching and music listening. I love that Glenn always introduces me to great new music. This time around it was Jim Noir & Kings of Convenience. Thanks Glenn for making the trip- We love you! Check out the side bar that has links to his cute girls, Shailey & Emma's, Japanese commercials. As I took these he said, "Oh no, these are going on the blog aren't they?" I couldn't disapoint you.




I just had to add this one because it's so cute. They are such great buddies.

CHRISTMAS DAY

Really- Still Christmas? I know it was so 2 weeks ago, but we've been out of town . We left the day after Christmas and have spent the last two weeks in Az. I'd hoped to get this posted before we left, but it was too crazy getting ready and I didn't get a chance. So here are a few highlights from the Evans family Christmas. It was a very nice, laid back day.
I've promised myself I'll get the laundry done and the house back in order before I update the rest of the blog. So much has happened, for one thing Tate is now 2! But it will come soon.... back to cleaning for now.

This is pretty much how the day went.
Sorry for the cheesiness of Greg and I- I guess we just get really excited too!