flying high.

Matt fulfilled a bucket list item of mine for my birthday -- going on a hot air balloon ride! What a fun 40th birthday gift idea.

We had to get up at 4:30 a.m. to drive to the place where the balloons lift off.
Here is the basket that we rode in. It held 10 people.

Me in front of the balloon as we waited for it to inflate.

It was a big balloon. Good thing they didn't rely on people using their breath to blow it up! They started to inflate it with fans and then start blowing the fire into it...heat rises.

 When the balloon was ready, we quickly loaded ourselves into the basket and off we floated!

Julie & Matt up in the sky!

We enjoyed being up in the air, looking down on the Phoenix area. It was very peaceful, in between the loud bursts of hot air that were blown into the balloon to keep us afloat.

After about an hour in the air, we were ready to land. Apparently it was a bit more windy than the pilots like to see and we ended up with a pretty rough landing. We hit the edge of an embankment and ended up landing on the side of the basket, with our backs to the ground. Kind of a lot for an old lady like me to handle.

My hat flew off during landing, but Matt was able to find it in the field that we landed in.

This is the bush that we took out during landing! 

This is what the basket looked like when we landed.

I survived!

Me, enjoying some post-flight champagne. 

mom is over the hill.

The kids and Matt helped me celebrate the big 4-0 this year -- good times!

Cute daisy garden-themed ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (with my favorite chocolate fudge ice cream). 

Me posing with the gorgeous vase of flowers that my good friend, Jen, sent. 

Talk about being surprised...this guy showed up on my porch a couple of days before my birthday.
My oldest brother, John, flew in from Texas and stayed with us for three nights. What an incredible gift and a huge surprise. I'm not big on surprises, but this is one that I'll take any day. 

My mom, dad, and brother with Lincoln and Cassidy.
Note: my middle brother, Jeff, was in Louisville at this time getting ready to tackle a full Ironman - whew! 

Mom and daughter.

My brother, Jeff, made this fantastic photo book for me, with 40-years worth of memories.
I love it! 

Matt, Julie, John, YiaYia, Papou, Lincoln, and Cassidy out by the orange tree.
Love the family time!

Dragonfly & Butterfly Bash.

I took the kids to this event at a local park on a lazy Sunday morning in September. We went on a nature walk and learned interesting facts about dragonflies and butterflies. We saw quite a few dragonflies. Apparently they can be found year-round around this local lake. The kids were given nets to try to catch some dragonflies. They tried and tried, but never actually caught one. It was fun though!

Cassidy with her bug catcher net.

Lincoln and Cassidy trying to capture some dragonflies.

Almost got one!

Lincoln with his bug catcher net. 

 After the nature walk, we went inside and the kids got to do several bug-related crafts and activities.

Coloring butterfly masks.

My two cuties. 

Rawhide.

Granny came for a visit in September. It was still nice and hot while (actually, annoyingly hot) while she was here. We were able to get out one of the evenings to head to a nearby Old West town aptly named Rawhide.

Granny, Lincoln, Matt, and Cassidy at the entrance to Rawhide.

Granny and Matt watching the kids run down the old dirt road. 

We watched a short theatrical show in the Six Gun Theater. 

Granny, Matt, Linc, and Cass getting ready for the show in the Six Gun Theater. 

The kids in their proper place:  JAIL! 

To the electrical chair, Lincoln!

Now it's your turn, Cassidy. 

For her one activity at Rawhide, Cassidy chose to do a burro ride. She really enjoyed it! 

Lincoln chose to have a go on the mechanical bull. Hilarious. 

student council.

Beginning in 4th grade, students have the opportunity to be selected to be one of two classroom representatives for student council. Lincoln ran...and won! Congrats, bud. Below, he is proudly displaying his Student Council t-shirt.

first day of school 2015.

With us having year-round school here in Chandler, the kids started the new school year in July. Here the are on their first day!

knitting.

While Grandma was here visiting in June, she took some time to begin teaching Lincoln how to knit! There was all sorts of knitting lingo being thrown around. I have no idea what they were talking about, but they really enjoyed themselves.

Lincoln proudly displaying his first finished project: a dish cloth.
Way to go!