They Say That Breaking Up Is Hard To Do . . .

 

I've talked before, as many a Mother has. about what's it's like when your kids start dating. But no one really talks about what it's like when they break up with their Girlfriend/Boyfriend. We've all gone through Breakups in our lifetimes. But like everything, it's different when it's your kids.

My oldest son, Kyle had a few girlfriends through out Jr. High & High School, none lasting more than a few months at the most. Then he met Olivia. 

She was not only our son's Girlfriend, but she was part of our family for over 3 and a half years.

She also worked for me for over a year & a half, when I managed a Clothing store. She's a precious, sweet & fun girl.

 There were Concerts, Proms, Vacations, Graduations.

She was part of the family for so long, she even made it into one of our Family Santa photos! :)

And I have to admit, I cried when they broke up. Since then (It has now been awhile since they broke up and I got both of their permissions to write this Blog post before hand!) :) She has invited our family to see her sing & we all went. The day I sat in line for the Hunger Games Premier, she came by & sat with me for a while so we could catch up on each others lives. She has even brought her new Boyfriend by my store so I could meet him. I had to just keep reminding myself if it's not meant for these two great kids to be together, than God must have someone even better for each of them.

And my other son, Zach now has a pretty serious Girlfriend, Kendra, that we love & are having fun getting to know as well. And my girls, no matter how much they might protest, are not yet dating! :) But as my boys bring girls in & out of their lives, there will always be one girl that's always here. Mom!

Freshmen!!

 

Yes, it's true, my Baby Girls have started High School! I tried to ground them from High School, but unfortunately it didn't work. They were excitedly anticipating what I was dreading.  They chose their classes & put time & effort into choosing just the right first day of school outfits . . . after all they are my daughters! :)

 (Erica)

 (Lexi)

It's a different arrangement this year; Erica took an A hour class, early in the morning so gets dropped off at the school & Lexi takes the bus in the morning. Then Lexi has Marching Band after school & gets picked up & Erica rides the bus home!

They eat lunch together & have one class together, and a few of the same teachers at different hours throughout the day. And one day during the second week of school, they decided to dress alike. It's been a really long time since they have done that! But even at 14 it's still cute! :)

One of them is in Band & the other in Choir. They both take Dance (again, my Daughters! Dance was my favorite class in High School as well!) & they will do some sports throughout the year. It's going to be a great year! Even if I went into it dragging my heels!

Working At The Airport

Working at the Airport is really a lot of fun! Terminal 4 at Phoenix Sky Harbor is literally like working in a Mall, with all she shops & a food court. But there are a few differences . . . in a Mall, for instance, you don't usually see People sleeping, which you do in the Airport. And most of your customers are pulling luggage behind them. My favorite was seeing big, gruff looking guys pulling floral or polka dot suitcases! Too cute!

I was overseeing a couple stores at a time & had to go back & forth through Security. I had been fingerprinted & had a Lanyard that got me through the first part of Security & I got to go through the walk through scanner, as opposed to stand with my arms up & get my x-ray picture taking. :) And unless it beeped, I didn't have to take off my shoes! It got tricky when I had to bring my lunch through Security. Not being able to take any liquids through, I had to buy drinks on the other side & even things like yogurt, dressings or sauces would sometimes get confiscated! I think it depended on how hungry the TSA person deciding was that day. :)

 

I was excited at the possibility of getting to see Celebrities in the Airport. Some of my co-workers had seen Grant Hill, the NBA player, and being from Phoenix & having lived in the Detroit area, we are big fans of his. And Clint Eastwood's wife once shopped in one of our stores. That was before her Reality show. But, as for me, here are my Celebrity Sightings:

 

Charo! Remember her from back in the day? With the "Couchie, Couchie, Coo?" She had an Entourage with her to carry luggage, her Guitar, Etc. And her looks exactly the same as it always has!

Jessica Sanchez, the first runner up on this seasons American Idol. It was the morning after the American Idol Tour Concert here in Phoenix. She was all alone, and even though it was extremely early in the morning & she looked really tired, she would stop in the Airport & take pictures with fans. I though that was nice of her.

And I met Bert. You know from Sesame Street. Well, I met the person who is the Voice of Bert. And believe it or not, it is a Young, Tall, Blond, Girl! Go figure! What a fun job that would be though.

All in all I worked in the Airport for exactly 4 months. Like I said it really is a fun job! I Love People & Travel & I met people from all around the world! Too many Countries to name. It was fun to hear the different accents & languages. I met a woman from back east who every year she & her family choose a different State & would go visit & tour that state. Arizona proved to be one of their favorites! What a fun idea! The only down side to this job was that the Airport is open EVERY day of the year! (And on a side note if you want to travel with no crowds, the 4th of July would be a perfect day for you, there was NOBODY at the Airport!) And with my girls starting back to school, if I were to continue working every weekend & every Holiday, I'd never see them. Hence the career change. But I will always remember my time there fondly, as fun & exciting. But for now must say "Bon Voyage!" :)

Farewell Retail!

Yes, it's true. I am saying goodbye to Retail . . .
as a Career, not as a Therapy! :) 

I started working Retail my first job right out of High School! (Just a few years ago, mind you!) I worked for Lerner's (which is now New York & Co. BTW) I've also worked for J.C. Penny's, The Boston Store & Casual Corner. Name a Mall in the Greater Phoenix area & I've worked it! Once I got married I moved to office work for the more consistent hours. Then once I had kids, I chose to stay home with them.

When my kids got older & I wanted to move back into the work force, having enjoyed retail, I went back to it. If you are a reader of my Blog you know, in recent years, I've Managed a Clothing Store, then moving on to Bath & Body Works & now at Specialty shops in the Phoenix Airport.

Working at the Airport is fun! It's different from day to day and you meet people from all over the world. I'll Blog soon about some of what I've witnessed while there! But there are some issues that come with it; living in a major city, the commute to the airport is about 40 to 45 minutes. I park in the garage at Terminal 3 & take a shuttle to Terminal 4. So I leave home an hour before I'm scheduled to be at work. So even if I work a 7 hour shift, I'm gone 9. And the money I spend in gas really adds up. And the major issue for me is the Airport is open EVERY day of the year! Holiday's included. I've worked Memorial Day, Father's Day & the 4th of July! When you have a family that doesn't work so well. With school starting back up soon for my girls, if I work every Weekend & every Holiday, I'd never seen them! That doesn't work for me.

So, I am embarking down a new Career Path. I've gotten a job at Desert Schools Federal Credit Union, starting out as a Teller & working up from there! And I couldn't be more excited! It's close to home, a 15 or 20 minute drive, which means much less gas money & time away. They are not open on Sundays and as a Pastor's wife, you can guess how important that is to me. And 11 paid Holiday's a year! :) It's a good company with great Benefits!

I'm very grateful for this opportunity. It's a good move for me & a great one for my family!

Beaches!!

Though I love the Movie of the same name, this Blog post is not about that. Sorry, Bette Midler fans!  I had to interrupt my Vacation posts to celebrate my sons Birthday, so I'm now returning to Vacation. (And I sure do wish that was meant literally!) 

No trip to California would be complete without a trip to the Beach. I heart the Beach! And though we live in the Arizona Desert, we have instilled in our kids a love of the Beach as well! On this trip to San Diego we tried a new Beach on Coronado Island. It was absolutely Beautiful! 

Beach Baby's:

 

  Lexi

 

 Kyle

 Zach

 Erica

 John

 

 And Yours Truly

 My nephew Justin, his wife Stefaney & son Rylind

 My "baby" Brother Richard, playing with Rylind, his Grandbaby! :)

 Rylind not only loved the Beach, but the sand itself! 

I'm sure he took some of it home with him! :)

 This is how I spent most of the day on the Beach! 

Barefoot in the sand, reading a good Book called Barefoot! 

True Bliss!

And I had the sunburn to prove it! 

 

The kids had a great time catching crabs!

They are braver than I am!

 Kyle took this picture with his iPhone!

After spending an Amazing day on the beach, we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up a little! Everyone jumped in the hotel pool to help get the sand off of us! Then it was off to Mission Beach for dinner & to watch the Sunset on another Beautiful Beach!

 No, that's not Frankie & Annette, it's us! :) 

 Richard & Cindy, just like Danny & Sandy: Summer Lovin! :)

And Gidget: Alarie! :)

(I told you I love the Beach, guess that includes Beach Movies too!)

 

 Erica jumping for Joy to be in one of her favorite places!

 Listen carefully; when the sun hits the water, you can hear it sizzle! :) 

 "Zach & Kendra, sittin on a Beach!"

Oh, I guess that's supposed to be sittin in a tree,

but, you gotta admit, the Beach is way better! :)

 My Beautiful girls! 

 This picture reminds me of the Movie: City Of Angels!

(The Angels watching the sunset, in this case are; Stefaney, Alarie, Lexi, Kyle & Erica)

 Love this picture of Alarie! 

 And this one of Zach & Kendra. 

 Another Cool shot!

 

 God's artwork! 

The next day before we hit the road headed home, we went back to Coronado Island. It's such a cute little town. We walked & shopped & had lunch there. 

 John got a great deal on a bike!

And they shipped it to Arizona for free!

All our kids have & ride bikes, guess this means I'll be next. 

(My legs are sore already!)

 

 You know I love Starfish, and you know, I also love Christmas, 

well, I found a Starfish Christmas Ornament! I love it!

So before we left, we went to say our Goodbye's to the Beach, 

and I had to take a pic of my Starfish on the Sand! :)

Now I'll have a little of Summer for Christmas!

 

 Time spent on the Beach with my Family means

this Beach Bunny's heart is full!