2013 Highlights

Soooo....Wow!  Too much time has gone by since my last post.  LOL!  Let's see....Whitney is now a Senior at University of AZ.  Nathan is in his Senior year of high school and transitioned from a public HS to an online HS in his junior year and is doing dual enrollement with Paradise Valley Community College.  Nevan transitioned from home education lifestyle to his Freshman year in public high school at Westwood High and is playing baseball for Westwood and Lasorda University (USSSA Club).  Silvio is now in Junior High grade 7...still homeschooling and taking classes and involved in Student Council at Eagleridge Enrichment Program thru Mesa Public Schools.  He is still riding horses and is interested in engineering/robotics. 


We have adopted a few more animals along the way!  We have one more horse...Sunny.  He is a 5 year old beauty and about to be trained under saddle so that Silvio and I can ride.  That makes 3 in total...Monte, Stubby (who belongs to my cousin Pete) and Sunny.  We have one more dog...Master Chief...whom we adopted from Aunt Shawn.  He is frisky Black Lab who falls asleep at your feet.  So sweet.  But can't seem to keep himself out of the drinking water bucket.  Thinks its his personal swimming pool.  LOL.  So that makes 4 total...Thyme (dalmation), Luna (spaniel), Toby and Master Chief (black labs).  We have one more cat...Pickles/Buddy/LS depending on who you talk to.  We adopted him last Thanksgiving after Batman unexpectedly passed away.  Pickles absolutely loves people and is a hugger. : )  That makes 3 in total....LuciFur, Urik (who lives outside) and Pickles.

We experimented with chickens this year and adopted 6 hens from a friend.  We loved having fresh eggs every day, but soon found out that we really need to secure our yard from neighborhood predators...dogs, coyotes, hawks, etc.  We lost all 6 hens in a matter of 4 months.  : (  We are now in the process of landscaping, building fences, installing rolling gates and creating secure, private spaces that can accomodate bringing in more hens and making our horse stall area more user friendly.  We DID create a tree basin area in the front of our home that includes fruit trees and new mailbox structure.  We now have Peach/Nectarine, Anna Apple, Apricots, Goji Berries, Fig, Pomegranate.  We aim to have Avocado, Mango, Persimmon, Grapes, Passionfruit, Lemon, Lime and few more Nut trees plus an herb garden throughout the property.  Hoping to plant some of these this Fall.
 

I have recently re-ignited my love for essential oils and diving into my passion for holistic therapies once again!  : ) Massage, energy work, essential oils, aromatherapy.  Its time to get back to it full time.  Now that the kids are older and more independent...I have more time to develop the vision I have had all these years...a Holistic Living and Learning Center.  This will combine holistic wellness and sustainable living.   : )  Making it happen.