Ethan - Kindergarten (2 photos), by Ryan Rodriquez

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Happy Halloween 2009!

Hi Everyone!

We hope everyone had a safe and FUN Halloween! We sure had a lot of fun! Andy and Maya came over so we could all carve pumpkins together and then Julie showed up a while later. Once every pumpkin was carved, we got all dressed up in costumes. Ethan was Bumblebee from "Transformers", Declan was Buzz Lightyear and Ari was Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz". They looked great. Ari felt the need to eat every piece of candy as it was handed to her, needless to say, she was VERY sticky by the time the night was over. Our cousins Jack (Hercules) and Isaac (Darth Vader) met up with us at our house and we walked the neighborhood with them. We had a great time! Here are some pics to prove it. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of Ari post-hairdo. Maybe I'll have to dress her up again. He he.

Fall Carnival Fun!

We took the kiddos to a Fall carnival put on by Ethan's school. They had a blast and got totally worn out. Poor Ari kept climbing through the mini inflatable obstacle course and got to the point where she was so tired she couldn't climb anymore and started crying. She didn't give up though.

Ethan and Declan stuck to the obstacle courses too. They hardly left each others' side. Good brothers.
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Gilbert, AZ Temple!

This concept of the proposed Gilbert Temple was unveiled last Wednesday at the town Planning Commission meeting. The Temple is to be built at the southeastern corner of Pecos and Greenfield roads which is only a block away from our house! SWEET!!! The large plot of land will also be developed into a subdivision. The Church hasn't yet submitted plans to Gilbert's Design Review Board, the first step toward construction. Project officials are taking longer than normal to submit a design because the Church must approve all architectural details. Below is a picture of the Draper, UT Temple that was used as a stand in on preliminary plans.

It's going to be SO AWESOME to have a temple in Gilbert! This will be the fourth of three new temples in AZ which will bring the total to 5 in the state (Mesa, Snowflake, Gila Valley, Gilbert, Phoenix). The same firm that has been contracted to build the temple also built the Tempe Center for the Arts and the Institute of Religion at ASU. We'll be sure to let everyone know when they will be having the Open House so everyone can have an opportunity to go through it and see the beauty that's inside.

GOLFLAND!!!

Took the kiddos to Golfland a week ago. Had a great time!

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Ethan gets his Library Card!

Here we are at the Gilbert public library getting Ethan his first library card. Yay for books!

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Ethan's First Day of Kindergarten!

I can't believe my baby boy started kindergarten today! Ethan was SO excited! I took the first half of my shift off today so I could walk him to and from school. Poor guy, his backpack was so full of stuff for the first day of shool thta it was almost as big as he is. We got about halfway to school when I asked him if he wanted me to carry it for him. He told me, "No, it makes me feel like I'm hiking." Then, about 5 minutes away from the school he turned to me and said, "you'd better take my backpack now." Once there, he couldn't get to the toys fast enough. With about 5 minutes left before the bell, I found a good picture-taking spot. After the bell rang, they all lined up and got ready to go into the building. I stood there with Declan in my arms and waved to Ethan saying, "bye Ethan, have a good day, love you!" It was pretty easy holding back the tears up to that point because then Declan said, "bye Eeefan! Have a good day! Wuv you!" I've got such awesome kids...

Once we picked him up from school, he couldn't tell us about everything fast enough. He told us all about recess and what he had for lunch (cheeseburger and chocolate milk) and how "everyone in [his] class is [his] friend." I'm SO glad that he loves it and can't wait for him to finish out the week and tell us all about it.

Please leave him a message if you stop by. Thanks and enjoy the pics!

Ethan's Looking good...

Ladies...here I come...

He couldn't get on the toys fast enough...

A moment of "zoning out" right before he went in. Ha!

Coming Soon

Hello everyone!

Rebecca is in the process of selecting some pics from her Spain trip to post and comment on. Keep checking in.

Ryan
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The best of Craigslist

You HAVE to click this link!

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/phx/1181323797.html

Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Enjoy our pics!

Testing from my new blackberry storm

Ethan to Start Kindergarten

I can't believe that my baby boy is going to start Kindergarten next year. Wow! Time flies. Ethan was SO excited to register for Kindergarten. He is really eager to go to "big boy school". He has learning activity books that he LOVES working through at home with us. Here are some pictures of him when we registered him at San Tan Elementary School (Home of the Scorpions!)

Public Safety Sculpture

Hi everyone! I wanted to make it a point to let everyone know about my friend's website. His name is Tyson Snow and he is an AMAZING artist! I had the opportunity to pose for a life size public safety sculpture he'll be creating that will stand in Richmond, VA. I was in my fire gear and I was holding a little girl (his daughter) in my arms. He'll be sending me photos of his mock-up real soon and I'll post them when I get them. In the meantime, check out his website (I've added it to the links to the right). Let me know what you think of his work.

Testing...1..2..3

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Easter '09

Hi everyone! Easter '09 didn't come without it's moments of cuteness...and grossness. We had fun coloring eggs and Declan thought the combination of water, vinegar and egg coloring (particularly BLUE) would taste great. He was wrong...or maybe he was right because he went back for seconds. YUCK!

Camping at Pinal Peak

Camping at Pinal Peak!

Hey everyone! Beck and I took the kidd-os camping earlier this month. We went to the top of Pinal Peak and it was SUPER windy. It was a bit cold, mainly due to the wind. We only stayed one night, and it's a good thing too because the Tonto National Forest agency was going to start a controlled burn. Wind + Fire = disaster. Here's some great pics from our trip! Enjoy!

Pearls Before Swine

Pearls Before Swine

I am continually amazed at our society. Sometimes I find myself being proud to be a part of it and other times...not so much. Here's an example of the latter. When I saw this, my mind immediately thought of Jesus and Him teaching in parables. Only a few stopped to listen, apply their minds to what was said and appreciate the beauty, and they were blessed for it. As unbelievable as this sounds, it really happened. I've included the link to the actual video from the metro station below.

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold, December morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition save for one woman who knew who he was and gave him personal recognition of his talent and her appreciation.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.00 each.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the best music ever written, on one of the most expensive violins ever made, how many other things are we missing?