Jace Daniel Strange's Blog

Sweet, sweet summertime!

2009-05-28T17:00:13.011-07:00

It may not be summer quite yet everywhere else, but it is here in Arizona! School gets out here before Memorial Day and we’ve already had more than a handful of triple digit days! The pool is a wonderful 86-88 degrees which is absolutely perfect! We started the swim season a few weeks ago and Daisy started a few months ago! She swims daily, you can’t keep her out of it! Jace is back to wearing his floaties after missing so many months of swim lessons, I think a little fear crept in. He loves it though as long as they’re on.

Jace graduated from preschool (sniff, sniff) and he’s off to Pre-K in August at a new school. He is getting so big, but still isn’t gaining any weight (36 lbs). He is really into Star Wars now thanks to Brent. He watches the movies, plays it on the Xbox and even has action figures that he uses to play with his pirates, his other favorite thing. :) He can’t leave them lying around though or Cookie (his cat) will steal them and run off. She’s quite the character and he loves playing with her and so does Daisy. We’ve had some friends over lately and now Jace keeps asking when we’re going to have more company over. He loves having people over to our house and doesn’t understand why they can’t come over all the time during the week…so cute.

Let’s see, what else….oh yeah, Jace had scarlet fever a couple of weeks after he had strep throat. I had never even heard of anyone getting scarlet fever, but he caught it from a kid at school (of course). It wasn’t quite as bad as when he had strep because we caught it early, but seriously enough with the sicknesses already! He also finished up his T-ball season and he did good, his favorite part of course being the trophy at the end. :) We haven’t decided what he’s going to try next. I’m not working right now, so it’s been nice to just hang out together during the day.

Don’t forget to check out the latest pictures! Let me know if you can’t view them all and I’ll send you an invite. Well, we’re off to go take a dip! You’re all welcome to come and join us anytime! :)

Hoppy Easter!

2009-04-12T21:01:46.334-07:00

The Easter Bunny left Jace a nice basket this morning. We had to rise bright and early to make it to the 7:30am (yes I said AM) church service. Then we beat the crowds to The Good Egg for breakfast with Bamma and PopPop. We’re going to go to their house for a little dinner tonight after our breakfast has time to digest. We dyed Easter eggs last night and made bunny cookies. We’ve posted some more new pictures in the gallery, so go check them out! We just want to wish you all a blessed Easter Day!

Spring has sprung!

2009-03-22T14:58:22.012-07:00

Here in Arizona the weather is already beautiful, as other parts of the country are still getting snow! It's actually already hit 90 degrees here but has been mostly hovering around the low 80's. And I have to say...Jace looks so darn cute with his little bird legs sticking out of his shorts! So here we are already a quarter of the way through the year. We don't have much to report yet, which could be considered a good thing I think. Just a few quick little notes on the latest...

Jace has had numerous ear infections over the past 6 months so we haven't resumed his swimming lessons. Then the night before my birthday he got super sick with strep throat. I don't think any of the other kids ever had that, nor do I think I've had it, but it was terrible! He had a really high temperature and couldn't even move or keep his eyes open so I rushed him to urgent care. Thankfully the medicine helped quite quickly, but he was still pretty sick for like 4 days. Either he's having a growth spurt now or making up for that week he didn't eat because he is eating like a horse! We signed Jace up for a new preschool next year, Christ Greenfield. It's a Christian one that is a private school serving preschool through 8th grade. We've heard great things about it and are excited to have him going there this coming school year. Jace also started T-ball two weeks ago and so far it's a little slow going, but they are only 4. :o)

Let's see, what else...Umm, some of Jace's latest sayings are "on the money!" and "are you kidding me?". We went to the Renaissance Festival last weekend, where Jace rode an elephant, a camel, and llama along with some regular rides. As Brent and I grow less fond of riding rides it appears Jace is growing more fond of them, go figure. Also last week being Spring Break, my Mom and I took Jace to the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium. Once again he had to ride every ride there, Bamma and I were pooped! There are some pictures of both adventures out on Flickr. Oh yeah, Uncle Paul, Aunt Gayle and Cousin Jennifer who live in Washington came by for dinner. They are from Brent's Dad's side of the family and the first to visit us here from that side. It was a great surprise to see them!

Well, I think that's really about it for now. Jace is just doing good as usual, still going to preschool, church and Bamma's. He's learning and growing so much, it's great to watch the transformation from a toddler to a little boy. He's still enjoying his latest cat "Cookie" who enjoys Jace's fish he has in his room AND picking on our dog Daisy. :o) We hope you all come visit sometime soon and until next time...XOXO!

Happy 2009!

2009-01-04T20:55:56.96-07:00

Gosh, did Christmas even happen? December was such a blur and now it's a new year already! AND...Jace is 4 years old now! Can you believe it? I sure can't. He's getting so big so fast it seems and I hate it. I want my boy to stay little and sweet. The last two weeks have been great since I had to take them off, I got to spend them with Jace. Thankfully soccer is over and we took a break from swimming due to a bad cold and fluid in his ears, so the entire day was ours. So here's the latest from birthday to New Years...

For Jace's birthday he wanted to eat at home so Bamma and PopPop came over. Jace's choice for dinner was pizza and jello. He made his own pizza and had orange jello with mandarin oranges in it and of course whip cream on top! For his cake he just wanted white cupcakes with white frosting so I made little ice cream cone looking ones for him. I think his favorite present was the Hungry Hippo game (personally not my fave, very noisy).

On Christmas Eve we went to our church service which was held outside (bet you Oregonians can't say that!). Afterward they had a bunch of stuff for the kids to enjoy. There was snow brought in to sled on and a petting zoo and a wagon train ride. When we got home we made brownies with Bamma and took them to two of our local fire departments to show our appreciation. I guess Bamma and Jace see them in the store all the time and they are always super nice to Jace. That night was no different...they gave him a fire hat and gave him a tour. He got to sit up on the engines and everything. At one of the stations they even got a call while we were there and had to rush off. He was super excited! Bamma and PopPop stayed the night so they could see Jace's face when he woke up Christmas day to find his presents. All Jace told Santa he wanted for Christmas was the big dinosaur and he sure must have been a good boy this year because Santa delivered! We just hung out at home all Christmas day and enjoyed being with family. Gavin came the next day and got to spend a week with us. They spent a lot of it playing Xbox 360 together (kills me to see Jace play that so well already!).

New Year's Eve was pretty mellow. We ate homemade tamales at Bamma's house for lunch and then went to see the Bedtime Stories movie. We all agreed it was pretty good. We went home and relaxed a little and then Bamma and PopPop came over again to bring in the new year with us. We had some snacks and then staged and early New Year for Jace at 9pm because he can't make it to midnight (I barely can anymore). He slept right through the true New Year and we went to bed pretty quickly ourselves after it was over. On the 2nd Gavin flew home and it was PopPop's big 60 birthday! He didn't want a big shindig though, so we just went to dinner and then to their house for dessert. Jace kept insisting he was going to get PopPop the Hungry Hippo game for his happy birthday (that's how Jace says it). Thankfully we were able to detour that idea at the last minute and he was content to give him a light for the BBQ so he won't use Jace's Wall-E one anymore.

So that sums up the end of 2008 for us as we welcome 2009. May it bring you (and us) all health and joy. It can only get better right?! :o) Oh yeah, and don't forget to check out the new pics in the gallery!

Just a quick side note...Jace's other grandpa Poppy (my Dad) got his double lung transplant after only being on the list for a short time and is having an amazing recovery so far. All I can say is there is a God and he does answer prayers when you least expect it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-12-04T21:43:17.875-07:00

Wow, I can’t believe it’s almost the end of the year already and Jace is almost 4! Holly cow, how time flies as we get older. November was a busy month as usual. I think Jace’s schedule might be the busiest of all 3 year olds. He has soccer on Tues, Thurs and Sat and swimming on Wed. The only days he has off are Mon, Fri and Sun but he has preschool on Mon, Wed & Fri and Sunday school on Sun of course. Needless to say he still naps and goes to bed without too much of a fight. :o)

So this month there was a bit more fishing, but no luck with the trout. I did the 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk and Jace went to one of the cheering stations with Bamma (my Mom) and cheered all the ladies on. He had a little pompom and a jingle bell. One lady thought he was so cute she gave him a little angel pin. There was also a field trip at school and they went to Riparian Preserve to do a Dinosaur Dig. We also went to the Gilbert Days Rodeo which Jace loved. He of course was sporting his boops (cowboy boots) and hat. Other than that Jace has just been playing with his cat and learning how to play the Xbox 360. That’s November in a nutshell, so don’t forget to check the pictures out and we’ll write more after Christmas. Oh yeah, and I'd just like to say I have many things to be thankful for this year. Since this is Jace's blog though I will say the one that pertains to him...I am so very thankful to have such a wonderful behaved boy who is so lovey and makes me so happy. I don't know what I'd do without him!

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

Happy (belated) Halloween!

2008-11-04T19:57:00.743-07:00

What a busy month October was! I guess it's just that time of year though, which just happens to be my favorite time of year! I'm happy to say that it actually dropped below 80 degrees today and is only supposed to be 74 tomorrow! It just doesn't get any better than that for November! So here's what we did last month...be sure to check out the pics!

First of all, Jace got a new kitten. We got her from a shelter and her name is Cookie. She was only two months old when we got her and really little with a tiny squeak for a meow. She's grown sooo much already and is crazy as can be! She attacks anything and everything and even nothing. :o) Daisy is very good with her and Cookie isn't afraid of her. Her fear of Daisy pretty much ended after the first day and cats are nothing knew for Daisy so she was just curious. Jace loves Cookie to pieces and always says "Mom, isn't Cookie cute?" and "Mom, Cookie likes me."

In the middle of the month Gavin came to visit and the boys did a lot of fishing at a local pond near our house. Jace out fished Gavin every day! Gavin did good too though and I think they all had fun which is the most important part. We've gone a couple other times and Jace always catches a bunch! His soccer games started now too and Brent's description of it is "It's like herding cats." It's actually pretty cute, but I think it's kind of frustrating for Jace because of all the chaos. He's still doing swimming too and does really well. He's moved up to the next level now. Plus he's still going to Sunday school and really likes that too. He was sick a week ago and was upset he couldn't go.

Then the weekend before Halloween our neighborhood had a block party. Jace had a blast! We all dressed up and they had a bouncy, and food, and a dance floor and games. Jace won the costume contest for 5yrs old and under. He did some bouncing and then danced the night away...seriously. We didn't even really get to meet many people because I could not get him off the dance floor and I couldn't leave him there by himself. It was the cutest thing ever though. I wish I would have got video of that! We also went to the pumpkin patch that weekend and got pumpkins. We went to the same place as last year, Schnepf Farms. Bamma and PopPop went with us and Jace had lots of fun.

Finally we carved pumpkins the night before Halloween. Jace did a Monster Kid, Brent a Werewolf and then Jace did mine as a Cat with those light peg things. Brent of course roasted the pumpkin seeds too. We have three flavors - Ranch, Salt and SUPER hot! On Halloween day Jace had a party at school and got to dress up. I didn't put any make up on him though for that, but I got to go with him and that was nice. Then I came home early, made our special spiked cider for the adults, and got Jace ready. Bamma went with us for a little while, but was still getting over a bad cold so she turned back early. Jace decided we wanted to hand out candy too, so we rushed home at about 7:30pm. I felt really bad because we didn't get a single trick-or-treater! I think it's because we have no one across from us and we live at the far side of the development so it's kind of dark. But Jace had a great time and that's all that matters. That pretty much sums up October for us and now we're off to the month of November and Thanksgiving! Can I just vent for a quick sec though and say....What the heck is up with playing Christmas music in stores and people putting up their lights already?! I mean really people, when did Christmas become a two month holiday?! Sorry, but that just drives me crazy! Don't get me wrong, I totally love Christmas, but I just don't want it to start before Thanksgiving. Anyway, enough of my ranting...I must go put Jace to bed. Sweet dreams to you all!

Oh Fall How I love Thee!

2008-10-08T20:55:10.779-07:00

We have officially dropped below 100 degrees here in AZ and it feels oh so good! Jace has started soccer now and I have to admit he's one of the best on the team! It is with great sadness that I tell you "Kitty", Jace's cat passed away last Saturday night. It was quite sudden and unexpected and he is greatly missed already. It is extremely hard to explain to Jace that his kitty is in heaven and won't be coming back. We can tell he's trying to be strong about it, but there is a sadness looming around him that just isn't usual. My heart is officially broken now, having to tell him his best friend is gone and won't come back. He still asks though pretty much daily where Kitty is. :o( He says he would like another kitty, so we're going to pick out a new one together. We've started up going to church again and Jace is going to Sunday school for the first time. He has only gone once so far, but he says he likes it. They actually do stuff in his class and learn about God and Jesus, it's not just a daycare like some. We went fishing last weekend and had a picnic. Jace loves picnics, but no fish were caught. There are pics out in the gallery and a new video of soccer and swimming, so go check it out! Oh yeah, Jace is going to be a pirate for Halloween and he looks super cute in his costume! Be looking for those pics pretty soon! Happy Fall to you all from our home to yours!

School time!

2008-09-04T12:37:49.321-07:00

Well, here it is September already and we all know what that means....school starts! Actually, Jake started the beginning of August, but most other places start after Labor Day. It is with mixed emotion that I tell you Jace started preschool! He is going to a part-time in-home preschool 3 days a week for 3 hours a day. There are only 4 other kids in his class and his teacher's name is Mrs. Jeanne. He absolutely loves it! He has a backpack and even got a couple new things to wear to school. I thought he'd be worried on the first day, but I was so wrong. He was totally fine and on his second day he wouldn't even hold my hand on the way to the door. He looks so grown up dragging his little backpack up the walkway. My baby is a big boy now. :o( I know it's a good thing for him and we believe this will be a good stepping stone for him to go a bigger school eventually or even kindergarten. That still doesn't make it any easy to watch my little one growing up so quickly! I even just had to buy him a bigger car seat for Grandma's car. He's still taking swimming lessons and doing great! A couple of weeks ago he was swimming the length of the pool on his back. It was amazing! Of course we didn't have our camera with us and the next couple of times when we did he was with other instructors (make up classes) and he didn't seem to be getting it. However, last week he was back on track and of course...no camera again! So, I've posted another little snip it video of him doing it, but the best one is yet to come. Jace will be starting soccer next month, so I'm sure I'll have a better video by then when I post about him playing soccer. Anyway, go check out his first day of school pics and the little video of him swimming. Speaking of swimming, our pool has dropped in temperature to the low 80's. I know that doesn't sound too cold, but believe me it is compared to what we're used to! The temperature outside dropping is the cause, but we're not complaining. This time of year is why we love living in Arizona! We hope you all are well...until next time!

Summertime!

2008-07-21T19:34:27.87-07:00

Happy late 4th of July everyone! We had a mellow time around the house this year. Brent's b-day was the 2nd and we just went to dinner. Then the 4th we went and saw Wall-E which Jace was dying to see. He kept saying Wall-E and Eve (which is Wall-E's girlfriend). I think Jace liked it, but not so sure about the rest of us. Bamma (which is now what Jace calls Grandma Burlingame) & PopPop came over for a swim and BBQ later. Then we sat out front and watched fireworks at a restaurant a couple roads over. Fireworks are illegal in AZ, so we weren't able to do any of our own. We had a great view from the front yard though and Mother Nature did some of her own as well. The next morning Jace and I went out to feed the horses. He giggles when they take the carrots out of his hand. :o) It amazes me how fearless he is with them.

The weekend prior was a busy weekend! We went on vacation to San Diego...just a short 6 hour drive from here. We visited the zoo, then Sea World and finally the beach. Jace was a trooper the whole time and didn't even nap until the end of each day! He loved every minute of it all! Well, except getting soaked at the dolphin show....I mean SOAKED! He was worried after that about Shamu splashing us, but we were out of the danger zone that show. Jake and Gavin however opted to sit super low and get soaked again. :o) I'm pretty sure that is a trip we'll have to take again!

No new injury's to report...knock on wood. Jace is doing really good, growing like a weed. His pronunciation is still not the best, but it's getting better. He's such a silly little guy. He loves playing Rockband with Jake and sings and dances around all the time. When we were in Sea World we got a pic of him singing into his thumb on Bamma's lap. If you ask him what he's going to be when he grows up he'll tell you a rockstar. He's still doing swimming lessons and improving all the time. He can actually even snorkel now! I bought a cheap little kids set mostly for the mask. I figured we'd teach him how to use the snorkel later, but he insisted I show him right away. So I explained to him how to do it and he just got in our pool and did it as if he'd known how his whole life! It was crazy amazing and he loves it! Hopefully the little video works for you so you can see him (at least on my computer, I noticed that if I keep clicking on the countdown clock on the video it will keep it going). Jace still loves his kitty and Kitty loves Jace. He's got to be the coolest cat for a kid ever. He's so good with Jace no matter what Jace does to him. Jace has started dressing and undressing himself. He thinks he's quite the big boy! Well, the boys are bugging me to get off MY computer now so I gotta run. Be sure to check out the new pics in the gallery!

Christmas In June

2008-06-02T03:47:38-07:00

Back in December the family went on the Polar Express train ride and on that ride Jace received a Christmas bell from Santa. To this day, June 1st, Jace does his best to remember to put that bell under his pillow every night. When he sees the bell he gets a big smile on his face and a sparkle in his eye as he remembers Santa. It's a truly beautiful thing to see how Santa impacts his life, even 5 months since his visit. When he does this it reminds me that we as grown-ups need to let go more and believe more in the things we can't see (Santa, Love, God).