Well, Soccer finally started for Beck!  Oh the talk that had been going around for months about when soccer starts…it was adorable.  The first time we put Beck’s soccer gear on, he lit up!  He’s been cheering Asher on for years now, and this was his time :).

His first game!  He’s #2!  He made a goal!  He was so proud to be out on that field!  This video is not of his first goal…but it’s equally awesome.  The other little boy kicked it into the wrong goal, and Beck took it upon himself to straighten him out, ha!  It was great fun watching him running around on the field :).

The goodbyes’ are usually a little long.  Beck literally doesn’t want to let Asher go to school.

We are blessed with Hope Kids!  They allow our family to have special experiences we would not be able to afford.  We got to go to Odd Squad Live in Phoenix.  The boys love the tv show, Odd Squad, so they were over the moon when we said we were going to see them…except that I guess we were not going to see them.  We didn’t even seen something close to the tv show.  It was hands down the worst show we’ve ever seen, ha!  But, that wasn’t the fault of Hope Kids, they’re still awesome :).  The best part was Beck kept talking about how excited he was that we were in “downtown city!”

The water bottle flipping season hit fast and furious in our home!  I thought we were going to miss the craze…but alas :).  Beck’s attempts are a crack-up!  Asher has some serious skill :).  

Asher did such a great job on his science experiment and presentation!  I couldn’t be there for the real deal, so he gave me my own personal thesis recap :).

President’s day = no school.  Yea!  I love these times with the boys with no school schedule.  I wish I could homeschool…without the school part, ha!  I love enjoying new experiences with the boys!

Asher’s Selfie.

Sometimes the heaviness of how different our family is, and the fight we have that is so different than most families really hits hard.  In February, Jeremy spoke at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Festivale, sharing his heart and pleading with people to buy science for our boys.  We also traveled to D.C. to March on the Hill with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  Really scary proposals were being made by President Trump that would have greatly impacted our current medical care and coverage for the boys, and most certainly would have changed what their futures would have looked like.  We had to go and be a voice for our boys and our community.  Thankfully, it seems as though we should be in the clear of these conversations boiling up again…please Lord.

We have two of them.

Oh you have our hearts, Flagstaff!!!  This is one of our favorites trips we take every year!  What a blessing that for the second year in a row God gave us fresh snow to play in!  We had three storms roll through town on our stay.  It was magical and so so beautiful!  Our snowy-time cups were filled up, and we were ready to come home to no shoveling and a lot less gear to wear :).  It was perfect!!!

There was essentially no snow on the ground when we arrived.  That quickly changed.  It was a sweet treat for the boys to see the land transform.

This year was extra fun, because they boys are old enough that we can let them adventure by themselves a little bit.  It was sweet watching Asher from the window taking care of his little brother, and the two of them having a ball playing in the snow together!  You know they had fun when there was zero complaining about walking up huge hills in the deep snow!

Nothing better than ending some serious playtime with some relaxation by the fire :).

Sledding!

One of our favorite memories…taking a walk at night with a pretty snowfall.

Lots of games, movies, puzzles, ping pong, Asher reading “The Tale of Despereaux” to us and getting us all hooked on the story, being together as a family, and just all around relaxing times.  Can’t wait for next year!

Then God ended our time together with a beautiful sunset to enjoy on the ride home.  Love all the adventure and fun we get to experience in AZ!

Kicked off the New Year with some fireworks!

I love this memory of you Asher.  You were inspired to find a way to make some money, and you threw together a plan in a matter of 15 minutes.  You made a sign that said, “Car Wash $3 Top to Bottom 20 Min” and you enlisted your brother to promote your business.  You had a sweet customer in no time, and she generously gave you $15.  You were so cute about working hard and wanting to honor the 20 minute claim on your sign.  We were so proud of your creativity and hard working mentality!  And, might I add that you have the best little brother!!!

That moment when you’re folding clothes and watching your kids play…and your heart bursts with thanksgiving.

Asher.  January was a big month for you.  You continue to work hard in school.  We rarely have to help you stay on task and finish your homework.  This month, your teacher shared a story with me about how much she loves you and how great of an example you are to the other kids in the classroom.  She said she can, “always count on you to help.”  We could not be more proud.

We also love how fun and willing you are for a challenge…like the “try and pop this balloon with just your neck” challenge!  Of course you were determined, and did it, ha!

You also started texting us this month with the Kindle you got from Christmas.  This might be my favorite stage, getting sweet little notes from you.  Case in point.  You sent this text to dad with this picture, “Friends Forever”.

And, this text from you cracked me up!  I love your sense of humor!

January was also a huge month for you and our family in regards to cystic fibrosis.  Daddy and I, and your whole crew of family and friends had prayed for an opportunity like this since we first found out you had cystic fibrosis.  You started the new drug developed by Vertex, thanks to the funding by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and everyone who donates to the Foundation.  We’ll need to keep close eye on you to make sure Orkambi is benefiting your body and not harming it.  We are so thankful for the progress that has been made with drugs that are targeting your cells.  We had to celebrate this day with the family, because this was a monumental moment in your life!  We are hopeful, and filled with thanksgiving!

We also chopped off your locks in January.  You’re super cute with whatever style you want to rock!

Beck.  You are a total treat.  You are getting so big, and yet there is still so much snuggly little Punkers in you that tugs at our hearts constantly.  You are still teaching us all about the things you like and dislike every day, and I’m pretty sure you’re still trying to figure these out as much as we are :).  We’re blessed to take care of you!!  Here you are.  You got ready for church all by yourself!

I know you’re not going to sit like this forever, so I had to capture the sweetness :).

Grandma Olimb and I took you to the Pro-Am Golf Tournament, and we enjoyed a beautiful day doing something fun together :).

You made a putt for some steller glasses!

Paxon.  You are always a part of our family and our everyday lives.  There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of you.  Our home and our hearts are covered with memories of your life with us here.  On our way to visit your gravesite this year, God placed a rainbow in the sky for us to admire.  He was so kind to give us a visual reminder that He is always with us.  It was perfect timing.

Just enjoying our backyard…

Random January fun times…

Christmastime!  It’s so fun unraveling all of the boys ornaments, and listening to their memories about each one.  We try to buy a Christmas ornament each year for the boys to symbolize their interests that year.  This year added to the tree a soccer ball for Asher, and Minecraft for Beck, which pretty much sums up the year :).

This we did not expect.  Apparently Beck is so scared of heights, he didn’t want to sit on Daddy’s shoulders to put the star on the tree, ha!

Create your own pastry dessert night!

Lots of shopping with Beck in December.  And, lots of requests for me to take pictures of all the toys he wanted, so we could talk to Daddy about them for Christmas :).

Our Community had a little event with snow, lunch, face painting and sleigh rides!  Asher asked Beck what he was going to build in the snow, and Beck said, “England”.  Ha!

Asher had a cute Christmas performance at school! He had been working for weeks to prepare for this Russian Dance, and he had the sore legs to prove it :).

This is how Asher welcomed all of our guests at our Christmas Party.  Hiding and shouting, “HEY!” when they came to our door.  Oh my, it made him so happy, ha!

Fun date with my boys to the zoo!  We LOVE no school schedule!!!

We just have so many pictures of them like this.  They love each other so much!

Beck has been working so hard on learning his butterfly stroke!  He’s such a little fishy!  He also has the best swim coach, Mr. John.  They’re friends :).

Star Wars!

Forts with Daddy!

I mean, who doesn’t ride a zip line like this, right?!  Ha!

Letters to Santa!

So blessed to have Grandma and Grandpa Necas and Auntie Dana spent Christmas with us!!

Enjoying Christmas gifts!

It’s been a pretty rough winter for the boys, especially Asher.  Lots of sickness, and not super encouraging news with their weight and lung function.  We pray a lot for our boys.  We love them so much!!

Playdates with Grandma Olimb and Grandma Joy Joy are the best!

Beck asked if he could hold my hand while we were riding to our grocery store.  You bet your bottom dollar I was going to take a chance of a crash to capture that moment :).

Our friends hosted an Operation Christmas Child with our community group.  The boys were so jazzed to put together their boxes and notes for the little boys God was going to hand select for them.  I just have to make note of one of Beck’s answers on the questionnaire, “When I have the time I like to…”  He said, “Relax”.  Hahaha!

Decorating our sidewalk!

Soccer season was fun this year!  Asher met a lot of great buds, and he’s going to continue to play with some of them again this winter because his coach invited him to play on their flag football team.

Asher got to celebrate one of his friend’s birthday’s at Pump It Up!  I have a feeling these two will be friends for quite awhile :).

Cousin time!

Punkie time.

Beck got himself ready to go to some stores.  He even fixed his hair :).  He won some hearts with his too-small suit jacket!

Everyone loves Punkie time :).

Then Asher found this, and made some cute comment about how he was giving me his heart…sweet boy.

I love his strength and fearlessness!

Hot Dog Date with Dad!  He was jazzed…obviously :).

We’ve started to make this a monthly tradition!  Wing night is the best night!

We were blessed to have Lance, Sarah, Micah, Mason & Reid stay with us, and celebrate Thanksgiving with all of them and Auntie Dana too!  It was fantastic!

The only sad part about Thanksgiving was that Asher was really sick.  He didn’t get to even taste Thanksgiving, or spend the last day with his cousins.  Still feel so bad for him.

We were able to have some family pictures taken of the entire Olimb posse!

Gilbert Family Photographer | Summer Montoya Photography

Gilbert Family Photographer | Summer Montoya Photography

Gilbert Family Photographer | Summer Montoya Photography

Gilbert Family Photographer | Summer Montoya Photography

Gilbert Family Photographer | Summer Montoya Photography

Gilbert Family Photographer | Summer Montoya Photography

Gilbert Family Photographer | Summer Montoya Photography

Gilbert Family Photographer | Summer Montoya Photography

Gilbert Family Photographer | Summer Montoya Photography

Gilbert Family Photographer | Summer Montoya Photography

Gilbert Family Photographer | Summer Montoya Photography

We were so blessed to get to go to Cali again this year!  Too many memories to record, but our hearts were super filled up with family time, friends time, beach time, relaxing time.  It was perfect!

And now for a major, photo dump…

This will be remembered as the trip that was Beck’s first time boogie boarding by himself.  He had so much fun!!

Morning run on the beach!

SO THANKFUL!!!

Notoriously the jammy-jammed-packed month of all time for us!  Lots of fun and memories for keeps!

We wrapped up another season of soccer.  We love watching Asher play.  He has major skill, and so much fun!

Goal!  Yea, Number 10!

It was a two goal type of game!

Someone has a little admirer, who doesn’t want to be very far from his hero :).

I have to make mention of this so we don’t forget.  Jeremy let the boys watch a baseball Simpson’s episode where they chant, “Darrell, Darrell…”  I’m guessing this will be a long-standing family joke for whoever is on the field :).  Here’s Asher cutting off our chant :).

No goal, but awesome pass, and evidence of how fun it is to watch him play :).

Minecraft books in tow for half time entertainment :).

Park and splash-pad playdate with Auntie Lori!  And, in case it’s not obvious, Asher loves McKayla!

Beck The Man.  Grandma Olimb, Beck, and I ate until we couldn’t move very fast at a food show.  With our lack of motivation and a desire to have a first with Beck, we asked a sweet bike lady with her carriage to give us a ride to our car.  So fun!

Hope Kids blessed us with a Family Movie Night to watch three Halloween movies with pizza and popcorn and cotton candy!  Such a fun little night together.

Asher and I were able to go and be a part of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Stair Climb.  Asher drew the thank you card that was sent home to all of the firefighters who helped volunteer and participate in the Firefighter Challenge.  He did an awesome job!  So thankful for everyone who helped raise money for the Foundation!!

Asher asked to go back to pack meals for Feed My Starving Children, so what better time to do that then during Fall break with friends :).

When you run into a sweet nurse friend at the hospital, and she says, “let me order dinner for your family…”  What a blessing!!!

Beck in a bag :).

Just hanging out…

Someone turned 9 years old in our house!!!!  I can’t get over it.  Last year before double digits!

Asher had a friends “all things sports” party at church!  He had a blast!

Halloween 2016.  Lots of family meetings, and the final decision was for us to go as Pokemon characters.  Daddy=Ash, the trainer.  Mommy=Evee.  Asher=Charizard.  Beck=Pikachu.  So much fun putting our costumes together!  Jeremy and I, and Grandma Olimb will never forget the 14 hours we spent putting together your paper masterpiece, Asher :).

Just a little window into shopping with the boys…and their friendship :).

So thankful for this sweet smile.  He started feeling better!  Our family got demolished from whatever it was that was wreaking havoc on us.  Poor little Punkers got it the worst though.  On top of everything a flu (or whatever it was) has to offer, he broke out in horrible hives for about five days.  So so SO thankful to have turned the page on this chapter.

We love biking to our park, then moving on to Geno’s for pizza :).

They are often right here.  Together.

Diamonbacks game with Grandma and Grandpa Olimb!

Beck and Daddy camping!  The long awaited campout finally arrived!  Because of the grossness that hit our family, this little adventure kept getting rescheduled.  Kudos to Punkie having patience and waiting his turn to have a special campout with just his Daddy!

Take your son to work day :).  

Jeremy had been waiting eons for this night, so I needed to document this :)!  Mike Doughty private concert, living room style.  We’ll never forget how cool of an experience this was!

Jeremy and Asher went on a family campout with our church.  Jeremy said Asher was in heaven with all the new friends to play with!  They were all playing football with their head lamps on late at night.

Family Dance Night

Master Chef.

Asher worked really hard on this project!  He needed to invent a cereal based on his favorite book, and make a cereal box and commercial selling his cereal.  He even involved his little brother in the process :).

So proud of him! First time being a narrator. He even memorized his lines :). Beck was a little wiggly, and my phone died, but at least we have some video to document the play. Love him so much!

I just came across these gems from our little day trip to Horton Creek in July. 

We are so thankful for Hope Kids, and all the fun they organize to bless families like ours.  This month, we got to enjoy a private screening of Pete’s Dragon with free popcorn and drinks, unlimited arcade games, two games of laser tag, and bowling.  Such an incredible gift to all of us!

Outdoor fun!

Best Daddy award goes to…

Indoor fun.

I took Asher and his buddy on a dude night to dinner and a movie.  All of the Pokemon conversation was cute to listen to :).

Beck graduated to a dolphin!  He loves the water!!!  Now he’s moving on and working on his butterfly stroke.  We might have a future swim team star :).

Grandma Necas came to visit us, which we absolutely loved, but we need a do over.  Beck got super super sick.  We were so thankful to have Grandma for a few days, but we didn’t get to do much at all together.  Come back, Grandma :).

Thankfully, Beck is feeling better!  The epic 2016 flu bug has continued on through our family, but we’re hopefully near an end!

July 2016.  The month the boys started sharing a room…and a bed.  This is how Jeremy and I find them practically every night.  It’s so sweet.

Asher started 3rd Grade!  Holy cow, that’s insane!  He picked out a Pokemon backpack for this year.  Pokemon is still such a love for him, and now it’s even cuter because Beck has jumped on the bandwagon too.  Lots of Pokemon cards and trading going on in this house :).

We love you, Asher!  So proud of the little man you’re turning out to be!!

I turned around in the store to find these two being boys.  Beck had the helmet on and he was saying, “Asher hit me and see if I can feel it!!”  Lol!!!  It was straight out of a Friends episode.

So much fun with little tiny cups!

We took a trip to visit the headquarters office for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for Arizona.  So neat to bring the boys in there and show them where our friends are working so hard to fight for a cure for them!

Cuddles with Daddy.  Swoon.

We took a candy tour at Cerreta Candy Company.  We’ll be back for sure!  So fun to meet the nice founder of the company, Mr. Cerreta.

Lovin’ a little monsoon rain!

Ohhhhh how we love Punkie. I took him to a musical show at the library, and at the end of the show they invited the kids to come up and participate in the storytelling. This was a first for Beck. Afterwards, I asked him why he didn’t want to jump around with the other kids and he said, “I only like to be silly at home.” What a sweetheart.

Special date at Main Event with our little.

Daddy taught in big church!

We took a day trip Horton Creek.  We love this spot!  It just so happened to rain that day, so instead of the creek being crystal clear, it was chocolately brown from the mountain run off.  But it was still such a pretty walk!

Asher grabbed my phone for some selfies, and I later discovered these gems.

Swimming with Auntie!

Beck said, “look at my traffic jam!”

How lucky are we!!!