Kandy

It has been a year since the last time we saw our kitty Kandy.

 
Now, I know in the scheme of things and with so much loss and tragedy in this world the loss of a pet is not a big deal, to most people. To us it was horribly sad and we still miss her a lot.  Kandy became a part of our family in May 2010. We adopted her, along with our other kitty Jade, from some friends of ours who could no longer keep them.  My kids had never had a pet, aside from our chickens, and they were so excited to now have 2 pets to love and help take care of.  They quickly grew attached to them, as did I.  Kandy was not as affectionate and playful as Jade, but there was just something about Kandy that made her special.


When it came time for us to move to Arizona I was really torn about what to do with them. In the end we decided to bring them with us.

Bringing them with us on our move was not an easy task. Cats don't like cars and they were in for a very long car ride. They both fared pretty well and despite Kandy trying to escape at one of our stops we all arrived safe and sound.


Kandy was always a wanderer.  When we first adopted them they were both inside only cats.  We were told that Kandy was an escape artist and we quickly learned why.  She wanted to be outside and when she could manage it, she would sneak outside.  Eventually I decided to stop chasing her every time she ran outside and to just let her go outside.  Of course, Jade soon discovered the great outdoors too and they were both smitten.  Kandy was a curious kitty and loved to explore. On her many adventures she would often return with a "surprise." A bird, a mouse, a baby bunny.  She was a hunter and was very good at it.  Most of the time they were no longer breathing when she presented us with her spoils, but occasionally she brought home something that was still alive. That was always fun. Not!

Arizona brought Kandy new hunting adventures and she started bringing us lizards.  Our cats quickly made themselves at home and Kandy began exploring once again.  We would always make sure to bring the cats inside at night to keep them safe as we lived near the forest and near many creatures that would love nothing more than to "play."  On a couple of occasions Kandy was nowhere to be found in the evening but she was always back in the morning.  So it was on the last night that we saw her.  We all have our different theories as to what happened to her, but this much we know for sure.  As a family we were headed to back-to-school night and we passed Kandy a little ways down the road.  In my mind I thought we should go back and put her inside while she was around but we kept driving.  I never dreamed that we would never see her again.  I have regretted that decision ever since, wishing that I would have followed my first thought.  I finally came to the conclusion that Kandy was a wanderer and if it had not been that night she probably would have disappeared a different night.  She was too curious for her own good.  In our case, curiosity truly killed the cat.

As far as the different theories...my girls have chosen to believe that a lonely old lady found Kandy and took her in as her own and they have been living happily together ever since. Scott and Jordan have concocted their own ideas of what happened to her.  My favorite and most interesting theory that they have presented is that an eagle picked her up and flew off with her subsequently getting hit by an airplane killing them both instantly.  My theory, far less entertaining than Scott and Jordan's and not as happy as the girls, is that she probably went from being the hunter to being the hunted.

Regardless of what happened to her we have all missed her terribly.  My girls all cried themselves to sleep for several nights and they still talk about Kandy.  Megan had a friend from school give her a colored picture of a cat that he drawn and titled it "Kandy."  She obviously had talked about her at school and this boy knew how much Megan missed her.


Luckily we still have Jade.  As you can see she is very much loved and part of the family.

First day of school 2012-13

Today was our kids' first day of school. 

Front view of our new home.

 Jordan (8th grade), Kim and Kay (7th grade) and Megan (3rd grade).

We love the neighborhood that we moved into.  We live within walking distance to the junior high.  Jordan, Kim and Kay love that they can walk to school!

Jordan's Eagle Project

Anybody who has a boy who has participated in the scouting program knows what an accomplishment it is to earn your eagle scout award.  Before we left Rapid City last year Jordan was challenged by his scoutmaster to earn his eagle scout award before he turned 14.  He also received a lot of encouragment from his parents to hurry up and get it done do the same.  It is usually a lot harder for the boys to get it after they 14 because by then they are heavily involved in sports, school and girls other various activities.  He made it, barely.  His project was scheduled for June but had to be rescheduled due to a forest fire near the area where he was to do his project, so it got put off until July.  July 13 and 14.  Jordan turned 14 on July 18. :)

Here are the boys, ready and willing to work.

 Jordan's project I think was pretty cool.  His project was to remodel the Colcord fire lookout tower.  This is the view from the bottom looking up.

This is the view from the bottom looking up.

 That is A LOT of stairs to climb!

From the top looking down.

The forest ranger assigned to help us with the project kindly reminded the boys that if they fell off they would more than likely die.  This managed to scare the mom (me) pretty good, but the boys seemed unfazed.

The view looking out over the rim. Pretty amazing, huh!

Jordan had hoped to get his project done in June, before the start of the Arizona monsoon season which generally runs from June 15 to September 30.  For those not familiar with Arizona weather the monsoon season means it rains, a lot.  The rain is often accompanied by thunder and lightning and wind.  Of course, on the day of Jordan's eagle project rain was in the forecast.  Not long after we began repainting the tower we saw this.

Storm rolling in - rather quickly!

It was moving fast and was headed right towards us.  Again, the mom (me) panicked slightly.  We are at the top of a METAL tower which is significantly higher (83 feet high to be exact) than anything else around it so they can easily see OVER the trees for signs of forest fires.  Now, I love a good thunder and lightning storm, only I prefer it from the comfort and safety of the ground, far away from anything that might easily get struck by lightning like a big metal tower standing 83 feet into the air!  The forest ranger seemed calm and unworried so I tried not to panic worry.  He assured us that the tower was grounded and that we were perfectly safe, even as the thunder was getting closer and louder.  Sure enough, the rain started and the thunder and lightning grew closer.  I do have to admit it was an awesome sight experiencing an Arizona monsoon storm from 83 feet in the air.

During the rainstorm

After the rain stopped and just when it seemed to move on we were surprised by a very loud crack of lightning that struck too close for comfort.  That was cool and a little freaky at the same time.

The remainder of the afternoon went off without a hitch.  Jordan did well leading the boys and getting them to work together to get the work done.  They stripped the paint on the inside of the tower and repainted the inside and outside.  There was more work to be done, but it would have to wait until the next day

Having dinner before heading home.

I am grateful that I was able to be a part of Jordan's project and to see him in action with these boys.  He did a fine job and i am so proud of him for his accomplishments over the years in the scouting program.  Now we just have to finish up the paperwork and have the court of honor.  Way to go Jordan!

Willow Springs

 We were invited to go swimming at Willow Springs. It was a lot of fun! It reminded me of Sylvan Lake in South Dakota. The kids had a blast swimming and jumping into the water.

  It took some coaxing, but even Kim and Kay eventually jumped in.

 Jordan and our friend Sienna were fearless.

Megan and Tylinn enjoyed some swimming too.

It was a fun day and a great way to cool off! Can't wait to go back again!

Off the charts

Years ago I remember seeing a life stress questionnaire that measured the amount of stress in your life based on the events happening in your life.  Such things as moving, divorce, sick family member, change in job status, etc. were listed on the questionnaire.  For fun, I did an online search to find such a questionnaire.  Now, I don't need to complete a questionnaire to know that our life has been extremely stressful the last 12 months, but I was curious just how stressful.  According to the questionnaire I used, the scoring goes something like this:
Greater than 300, highly significant life stress
200-300, significant life stress
150-200, moderate life stress
Less than 150, low life stress

Any guesses on what my score was? A whopping 395. You can say we have had a significant amount of stress in our lives lately.

A year in review

I have been thinking a lot lately about our life over the past year as July 1 marked our 1 year anniversary of moving to Arizona.  So much has happened in our life over the past year.  To say it has been a year full of change is a major understatement.  Not only did we move our children from the only home they ever remember living in, but we moved them to an entirely different state.  We have spent the last year living in a home that belongs to Scott's sister Twila and her husband, and though we are extremely grateful for their generosity, we are super excited to be moving (again) at the end of this month into a new home.  It still won't be our own home (we will be renting it) but we will be able to finally unload the boxes and furniture that have been sitting in Scott's sister's garage for a year.

With our move to Arizona our family also embarked on a new adventure.  Starting our own business. 

I think Scott and I had a pretty good idea that this would not be an easy undertaking and we were prepared for that, but I can honestly say that it has been WAY more stressful and overwhelming than I imagined.  Scott is loving it and is happier than I have seen him in years.  For him the level of stress has been a little easier in some ways and different in others.  For me I have gone from being a full-time stay-at-home mom to a full-time bookkeeper (something I knew nothing about!), receptionist, office manager, etc. in addition to being a full-time wife and mother.  Some days I have handled the stress more gracefully than others.  I joke that a year ago I could barely balance our checkbook and now I am responsible for managing our business and keeping everything organized and functioning.  Luckily, Scott's sister Debbie has been a HUGE help and has been very patient with me helping me figure out Quickbooks. Scott is great at what he does but I am still a novice and learning lots everyday.  I am grateful that I have been able to "work" with Scott everyday.  Our business is truly a family business.  During the school year the kids would all ride the bus to the shop after school.  Jordan is a great help to Scott and the girls have been good helpers in keeping the shop clean.  We have spent a lot more time together as a couple and as a family and I am grateful for that.

I know that we are far from being done with major stress in our life, but we have passed a major milestone and after a year I think Heber, Arizona is finally starting to feel like home.

It's great to be 8!

I can't believe my baby is 8!

 Megan and her daddy on her baptism day.

Megan had a "few" of her friends over for a birthday party. Megan reminded me that she had "never" had a birthday party before. I think we made up for it. It was a lot of fun!