Big ol' update time!!

So MUCH has happened since July.  I have had "update the blog" on my list for probably 3 months now.  So....where we left off.  Let's start with Cru--He is LOVING pre-school!  It has been so good for him and Mrs. J (Jenae--same one from camp posts in the past) is the best teacher.  He is learning a ton and is starting to sound out words and has read a couple by himself.  He loves the social aspect of it and had himself a girlfriend a couple weeks ago.  She liked to kiss Cru and he said he only kissed her once.  Needless to say, we had a nice kissing conversation, however; during the Thanksgiving program the thing he was most thankful for was "hugging Paisley".  I haven't had him in any sports because he is so busy with preschool and we play a bunch outside usually every day or so.  He is getting very excited for Christmas and has a list that changes every other day.  Hopefully he will be happy with what he gets.

Zoey girl is still just spitfire-ing it up!  Just when I think she has it figured out, the melt downs come back or she starts biting again.  She is FULL of it but doesn't take any crap from anyone which I am actually glad about.  We went to the children's museum the other day and some bigger boys were trying to take a scarf she had and she went ballistic on them and they slowly backed away from her.  It has been nice to have some one on one time with Zoey now that Cru is in school.  She wants to go to preschool because she see's how much fun Cru is having. I am trying to get her into a dance class and will hopefully figure that one out in the next few months.  She is also very excited for Primary so I hope that continues when she realizes she doesn't get snack time anymore at church.

The big news deals with Zac.  In about four weeks we will be moving to Reno, Nevada for a work assignment!  It is kinda nuts and totally unexpected.  Back in September when we were in Idaho for our annual vacation, a huge work opportunity came up for Zac and he had to go to Reno for two days during vacation to help with a job bid.  It is one of the biggest jobs Rosendin has ever bid so he went to help the team out.  They ended up winning the job and Zac got promoted and is one of the main guys in charge on the assignment.  It has been a whirlwind of choices and change, but I feel calm about it and am very excited for my guy!  I am so very sad to be leaving Arizona but have a good feeling that Reno/Sparks will be good.  Career wise and financially wise we would be STUPID not to do this so we say why the heck not?  It'll be an adventure for sure.

So onto me--I have been living the single mom life off and on since October and I have a new appreciation for those who have to do it full time.  It has been going okay and hasn't been that bad but has further solidified my choice to move to Nevada so we can be together as a family.  The kids need their dad in their lives even if it is only for a few hours at night and I kinda like being around him too!  I have had to rely on others to help me when I have mutual and that is not the easiest thing for me to do.  I have lots of help here in my ward so I am thankful for that.  I am going to miss this ward and area a lot!  I have really come to love Arizona and so glad we decided to take a risk and get out of our comfort zone to move here.  It is such an amazing place that will forever have a place in my heart.  We very well could be back here after this job is over.  Not sure how long the job will last but I decided I am done planning.  If we make it back here that would be fine with me. But who knows!  I never EVER thought I would live in Nevada.  I am excited to explore new places and meet new people!  Glad I have always had an adventurous side so things like this aren't too daunting.  I am really sad to be leaving my calling and the Young Women here in Chandler.  This calling is so demanding and high energy and never ending and sometimes all consuming, but has also been my favorite place to be in our church.  I love working with the youth and glad I have had the chance to share a sliver of these girls' lives.

Here have been some of the highlights over the past five months that I have taken pictures of.  (Zac and I went to NY for our 10 year anniversary but I want to do a whole post on that adventure).

AUGUST

Cru started Mrs. J's preschool in August!  This is his first day of school picture because Zac always got his picture by the mailbox.  A little different from his pictures.  Plus it was probably close to 100 degrees in this pic. 

I also had the chance to FINALLY meet someone who has a boat.  Plus I am friends with her (before I knew she had a boat mind you).  I am so sad I will not be able to hitch a ride with them over this summer since I will be 10 hours away. The time we went was so much fun and Cru wanted to try wake surfing!  Like I wouldn't get him in there and start him young.  It was a BLAST and he loved it. 

I also turned 31 in August and decided we should go to the roller derby for my birthday.  I got a group of friends together and we went to a bout together.  It was a riot! 

These are some of my friends I am going to miss so much.  They are all so much fun! 

We also decided we were done with scorching temps and ventures two hours north to Sedona.  What an amazing place.  It is SO beautiful and I am glad we did it!  The rocks are so red and we hiked around and explored.  Even came upon a bunch of hippies laying by a creek while some guy lightly drummed an indian drum and told them to find their inner peace or something.  It was great.

One day at the end of August it rained more in 6 hours than it ever has in Chandler.  It dumped 5.93 inches and flooded everything!  There is about 4 feet of water in the wash right there.  That is usually our park that the kids play in.  

SEPTEMBER

We also took our annual trip to Idaho for a couple weeks.  This is the Drzayich kids throwing rocks in the Boise River.  The kids thought the river was "so giant".

One of my favorite things is a bon fire and s'mores.  If you look closely you can see the Hershey's chocolate on the graham getting nice and smooshy.

My kids helped grandma and grandpa pick some pumpkins in the pumpkin patch with their cousins. They get life lessons at grandpa's house and learn that food doesn't just come from the grocery store! 

Here are some of my most favorite people in the world.  I am so lucky to have siblings that I love and get along with.  Even though I came a little later than the rest of them, I have always felt close to my brothers and sisters.  Plus they are friggin funny and we definitely feed of each other.  Plus we like pizza. 

Little Z turned three this year!  She wanted a scooter and got one.  She is probably better than Cru at it and is fearless riding that thing. 

OCTOBER

Since dad has had to travel with work, I have had to improvise for mutual here and there.  We decided to have mutual at our house and watch The Nightmare Before Christmas since a bunch of the girls hadn't seen it and wanted to.  It was perfect for my kids and another leaders kid to participate in.  We had heaps of fun. 

The kids insisted on carving pumpkins this year and since I was a slacker this year, by the time I went to buy a pumpkin, all that was left were the super small ones.  We (I) still carved like champs though!

This is before the trunk or treat--Zoey is Tinker Bell, Cru is Spiderman, and I am Middle School Me.  What you can't see is that I am wearing my retainer in this picture. 

And this is how you look after trick or treating in Arizona.  When we left it was 90 degrees outside.

Zac and I had the chance to finally see an ASU football game.  It was really fun to be at a college football game and we got to sit with some fun people (Mike and Cindy).

We got the chance to race go carts (ones that go 45 MPH) for one of Zac's work appreciation nights.  It was WAY more fun than I had anticipated and I even got on the podium!  Zac got second and I got third out of all those people.   

NOVEMBER

Cru has really gotten into coloring and is staying in the lines and using more than just one color.  I think he was proud of this picture he colored. :)

We had our YW in Excellence with the theme of girl on fire.  It was pretty cool and I felt like it turned out great!  It is amazing to hear how strong these girls are and how solid they are.  

This is Cru waiting to preform for his Thanksgiving preschool play.  He sang his little heart out and took over the show.  He is such a fun and funny kid.  All of his teachers (school or church) always say how fun he is and how quick he is to obey.  A definite teachers pet but I will take it over the latter.

These two have become the best of friends lately.  They still fight but are probably 75% of the time friends.  I love these pictures of them. 

It makes me so happy to see them like this and I wasn't sure if it would ever get to this point!  I love that they love each other because I love my siblings so much and want the same for them.

DECEMBER

If you look close you can see a tiny scorpion that I killed and the kids are checking it out.  I killed this beast two days before Nick and Jessie came to visit.  SICK! 

Nick and Jessica came with their fam at the beginning of December.  It was SO much fun!  The house was wild and crazy because it is not that big but I feel like we made the best of it!  This is us waiting for the Phoenix train to pick us up after we killed it at the children's museum.

Cove came out dressed like this and Cru immediately went to his closet and picked out the same outfit he had (thanks to Baba for the shirts). 

This picture just makes me laugh.  Zac is on the phone and just holding Jaitz like that.  Goofs. 

This is us at the annual Rosendin Christmas party.  It was really fun!  We danced like fools the whole night and enjoyed every minute of it.  Zac made me laugh really hard a few times with his moves.  He sure does have moves!  

Christmas is in four days and the kids are so excited this year!  We went and saw Santa the other day and there is magic surrounding him.  I love this time of year and I am so thankful we can teach our kids about the Saviors birth which they are catching on to.  Life is good and I am so glad I can say that!  Merry Christmas!

It's hot

It is officially the crappy part of summer here in AZ....well not super crappy....just crappy.  I say this because now is when it NEVER cools down.  Last night the low was 95 degrees and the high was 116.  It is fine because we don't live in 1920 and have air conditioning and chlorinated pools.  I just know it doesn't let up until October or so.  Beats the opposite!  This summer has been really good so far though.  It has been FAST!  The big kids (not ours) are already back in school which is kinda crazy (they only get an 8 week summer).  Cru starts pre school in a week which I think he will really enjoy.  I am excited for him but not excited to be out that extra cash a month.  Worth it me thinks?  We shall see.  I will be excited to get some more one on one time with Zoey.  Speaking of those two--here are some pics that Michelle took of them trying out some of her photography stuff on them.  I will allow it anytime because she is a photo magician.

I love these pictures!  I can't decide on color or b/w.  I am thinking b/w for some pic frames around the house.  They are seriously so much fun right now.  I was just saying to my mom that I am so content right now.  They are in a good stage and I am way less frazzled than I use to be.  It was so hard having them so close and then Zoey being a beast of a child/toddler-ish age.  Makes me really like where I am now!  And Zoey and I are in such a good place right now.  She is a sweet little girl.

Mack and Ashley are moving to PA for grad school so before they head out to Penn State they came for a visit to the AZ.  It was fun having them and I am excited for their future.

 Touring the Gilbert temple grounds and looking swag while posing for the camera.

Zoey wanted to be just like Uncle Mack.  He was trying to get a panoramic pic of the temple but had to take it through the fence so took drastic measures to get the right picture.

Argentina was in the World Cup final this year so we got all dressed up for it.  They didn't win but it was fun having someone to cheer for.  

Zac's job is going well.  They are slowing down for a little bit (nature of the business) but he is staying busy with team building and special assignments.  This job has been good for him and has let him lead the way he likes to.  He really likes who he works with which for me makes all the difference.  He has really gotten into golf which is fun.  He is way more chill than he use to be so it is fun golfing with him.  He gets to go for work quite often which is also a perk!  He also swims a lot since he can't do much else with a messed up back.

I am doing really good!  Staying busy with church calling, my kiddos, play dates, friends, and the gym time which is some of my favorite time.  I am almost 31 but I still feel like I am 20 at times.  I guess that is good??  I really love life.  All is well here for our little family!

Oh no, I suck again!

Seeing as though my last post was 5 months or so ago and I said in my brain I would update my blog every month, I decided to title this post "I suck again".  I love looking back at some of the highlights of our life so once again, I am going to try and do better at updating more frequently.  The happenings around here haven't been anything too crazy.  Just livin' life and really enjoying it!  My kids are growin' up and I like the stages they are in (for the most part).  Church is good and I get to work with the youth which is a good spot to be.  It has been rather good lately.  Here are some pics to reminisce.

In January for Serbian Christmas, I got the quarter again.  I decided to give it to my 2nd counselor in the YW because she has cancer and needed some more luck than me this year.  At the end of this month we find out if she is cancer free but things are looking good!

Stan and Jen also came down Stan's birthday and the Super Bowl which was fun (not the super bowl though...thanks for blowing it Broncos).  We went golfing one day and had a grand ol time.

The Gilbert Temple finally got done after the 5 year time frame of announcement to open house.  This is us at the open house.  The kids did really good and were very quiet.  I think they knew how important this was and I would waist no time in pinching them if they acted up.  They have talked about the temple since they were able to talk and still point it out when we drive by. 

Which brings me to the next pic of the aftermath of the temple cultural celebration.  So after 60 days or more of drought and in a place where rain comes seldom and only for a few minutes, the skies opened up on the youth of our temple district (12,000+ kids) and they did their long awaited performance for President Monson in a desert monsoon!  It was amazing to be a part of and the rain made it more memorable for sure.  This is my group that I was in charge of.  You can see it was no spring picnic.

We decided to take a hike to Hole in the Rock with the kids since it is an easy hike to do.  The kids had a really good time and we had a great view of the city.

See.

This is one of the pics I got from us going to the Ostrich Festival.  Cru is seriously all about things like this now a days.  The first time we went to the Ostrich Festival I took the same pic of these two.  They are getting harder to shove into the bike trailer. 

And the big guy turned four just a month ago!!  He is such a great kid and I am so glad we get him!  He has turned into a huge tease though and makes Zoey cry on a daily basis.  For the most part, he is such a good help.  He has started going to pre school for a couple days a week and LOVES it.  The teachers love him and say how good he is whenever I pick him up.

He also insisted on a Spiderman birthday.  Thank you Pinterest for making me look like a cake decorator.

This is my buddy Rachael.  She has two kids who are 19 months apart and a little younger than mine.  We share in our "too close of kids" struggles together and then take them on adventures.  We piled in her car and drove to Apache Lake which if any of you AZ-ers haven't been, I highly suggest it just for the drive.  It was BEAUTIFUL!! 

See. 

And last thing to focus on is that I FINALLY ran in a half marathon!  I have been training and attempting to run one over four years but due to a broken leg, two pregnancies and births, a fractured foot, IT-Band syndrome and a dozen colds/sicknesses....I finally did it.  It was much harder than I was expecting but I finished under my goal by one minute (1:58:56) so I was happy!

Other than that some other highlights were that last week I potty trained Zoey and she is doing really well with it!  Not a 100% yet but mostly there (poo is still kinda scary for her but she digs the public restroom unlike Cru).  I have enjoyed getting to know the girls in my ward better being the YW president.  This time in this calling has been much different but better.  I have learned to just let things happen and not worry about making sure everything is getting done.  Magically things get done and when you have amazing leaders around you, things really get done.  It takes a lot more time than other callings I have had but has been the most fun and rewarding.  I have some really good friends here in this area and am so grateful for that.  I am really excited for next week because Mom and Dad are coming!  We have a full docket of fun and I know the kids will be so excited for that.  Things are good and I am grateful for all the fun times me and my family get to have! 

Family, Birthdays, Halloween, and the Stake Fair

Life has been good around these parts.  We've been staying somewhat busy, which I like, and events seem to be more fun now that the kids have more of a clue.  At the beginning of the month of October my sister Stephanie came for a visit (thank you Southwest and your super fantastic sales).  It was SOOOOOO much fun and we really had a grand ol' time.  I was hoping all would go well with the transferring to the car, bed and what not and glad to report it was a success!  We had one sketch transfer from the car to her chair but Zac was there to save the day!  We tooled around town, went to dinner at Joes Farmhouse Grill (which Steph gave a ten for the ambiance), went to the candy store, ate pizza, laughed at YouTube videos, and hung out with Ashley (Hawks) Otteson.  The kids had a great time with Steph,and Cru was constantly talking about how she is in a wheelchair because of cars smashing and no seatbelt.  Needless to say when my kids don't want to buckle I ask them if they'd rather be in a wheelchair like Aunt Steph and now they have a visual clue and they don't argue very long.

Chillin in car.

  Zac's birthday was a few weeks ago and Baba came for a short visit which was really fun (a shout out to the SWA again).  The kids really enjoy when company is here and so do I.  It gives us all a shake up from the norm which we all can appreciate.

He wanted cookies rather than cake.

And then Grandma and Grandpa came at the end of October (ah-thank you SW).  My mom's brother lives in Tucson and had an 80th birthday and so her siblings came into town and surprised him at a lunch.  We rented a van so we could all travel together (since it is about two hours away from me) and had an adventure.  Plus my Aunt Elaine and Uncle Kent (plus spouses) came into town and we got to have a grand old time.   Me, Zac, my dad and my Uncle Eric also got to go golfing on Friday which was REALLY fun.

The van ride.  My dad was teasing Zac about the amazing mini-van the whole time.  If any of you know Zac you will know his distain for the mini-van so it was funny.

I love this picture of my kids and their grandparents!

And then of course was Halloween which was really fun this year.

Cru was Puss in Boots, Zoey was a butterfly, and I was a wacky inflatable tube arm man.  We went to a ward trunk or treat party and then trick or treating in our neighborhood.  

And last in this fun month (well the beginning of November) we had the epic Stake Fair.  It is a riot.  All the wards in our stake have a huge celebration which reminds me of something that would happen back in the 50's--which I love because if I ever have a chance to go back in time I am going to that era.  It was full of carnival games, face painting, tractor rides, zip line, chili cook off, hot dogs, obstacle course, petting zoo and about 3,000 people.  I figured since people went to such a huge deal to put this on, I should at least dress up for it.

I wore my SWEET cowboy boots I got at the thrift store, my pearl button shirt, giant star belt buckle, and of course cowboy hat.  People thought I was serious....I was not. 

Cru had a blast.

Zoey.....not so much.

October was a really good month and we had fun with all of our visitors visiting!  Now bring on the holidays!