The Black River Man Trip

It's that time of year again where the Robles men take off for their yearly man trip to Black River. Three days of sleeping in the wild, no cell phone service, time to fish all day, and no wives. Michael, Joe, Daniel, Jacob, David and Brent were the lucky men to make it on this year's trip. They went from June 2nd through June 4th. Once the men made it as far as the truck would take them, Daniel started to lead the group in calisthenics so they would be warmed up for the long hike down to the river.

Michael joined in on the warm-up routine.

Everyone else stood around and laughed at them :)

It was a treacherous hike down the canyon. Taking a break in the shade was a must.

No, Joe is not going the bathroom by this tree, it is just the only spot he could find to rest his weary legs.

When they made it to their camping location, a cow was nearby keeping an eye on them.

Finally at the campsite. Brent was happy with his catch. It's a pretty good size fish. This would make a yummy lunch, dinner and breakfast.

After thinking about how much work it would be to clean this big fish, Brent released it back into the river. Brent says it was a great trip and fun to get away for a while. On the hike out, they ran into a rattle snake. Other than that, there wasn't much danger where they were at.

Mitchell's Graduation

Tonight, Thursday, May 26th, 2011, was the most important night of Mitchell's life. Tonight he graduated from Corona del Sol High School! Mitchell has his high school diploma! I am so proud of Mitchell for being determined and committed to graduating high school.

The GRADUATE!

Mitchell is leaving high school and Grant will be entering high school in August.

Grandma & Gramps didn't want to miss their 1st grandchild's graduation. This was a historic evening in the Robles family.

Ahhh...don't you just love my shirt! I love Mitchell and am so proud of him.

All of the graduates lined up before the ceremony started. Mitchell is the 10th person from the left in the row closest to the camera. He is in orange. Be careful as you count the graduates because some of them are standing really close together. Amy said this picture looks like candy corn. She is very observant.

Here is where Mitchell's name is called and he walks across the stage. Sitting in the stand cheering for him are Grandma, Gramps, Julie, Jordan, Amy, Madi, Sarah, Stephen, Andrew, Barrett, Presley, Grant, Brent & myself.

As soon as the ceremony is over, Mitchell is on his phone. Talk, talk, talk!

A big kiss from Grandma. Mitchell is swarmed with excited kids wanting all of his attention.

The proud mama and her boy!

Julie and Mitchell. Later in the evening they reminisce about the times they lived in Kingman together.

Aunt Brenda was the first one to make it onto the football field to congratulate Mitchell. It took us much longer to wade through the crowds to make it to him.

The graduation after party was at our house. Mitchell's good friend Taylor joined us for all of the fun.

We had cake, brownies, chips, salsa, pizza, veggies & dip, plus, fresh lemonade.

Mitchell opened lots of gifts and read lots of cards. Sarah's present came first. She had several commands, or things he had to do before he could get his present. We recorded it but it is like 15 minutes long. When you come over next time, I will show it to you. It is hilarious!!! Here Mitchell is sporting the necklace the McKinley's sent him.

Mitchell received a card from Nana & Popo.

All of Mitchell's cousins wanted to help him not only open gifts but clean up all of the garbage!
It was a super fun party. There were lots and lots of laughs. Dad was laughing so hard he was crying. Congratulations Mitchell! Happy Graduation!

8th Grade Promotion

This evening Grant had his 8th grade promotion ceremony at Pueblo Middle School. Grant is 14 years old and is ready to be out of middle school; although he's not so sure he is ready for high school.
When the ceremony started, Grant was busy talking to his friends. This is normal behavior for Grant. He is usually talking all of the time!

The video clip is of Grant's name being called as a promoted 8th grader.

Grant & Lindsay: buddies for the last three years. (Lindsay lives across the street from us.)
Our two "graduates."
Grant is such a sweet kid. Tonight he presented me with a special letter telling me how much he loves me and how much he enjoys our nightly chats. I'm a lucky lady to have Grant has my son!

EVIT - Completion Ceremony

Mitchell has attended the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) for this last year participating in their Precision Manufacturing program. Mitchell has thoroughly enjoyed the hands on program and would like to pursue a career in that field. Tonight was the Completion Ceremony for all seniors that completed their EVIT program. The special event was held at the Mesa Center for the Arts. Each student involved in the ceremony wore the cap and gown of their home school. Mitchell looks very handsome in his orange cap and gown. He is VERY excited to have done so well in his program.

This is Mitchell with his teacher Mr. Eugene Ward. These two got a long pretty well in the precision manufacturing course.

Mitchell & I. I am very proud of Mitchell's successes this year. He is a fine young man with many talents and ambitions. Congratulations Mitchell!

This is a video clip of Mitchell going across stage as they read his name. AZ State Superintendent of Public Instruction, John Huppenthal, was the keynote speaker for the evening.

Scott & Jennifer's Wedding!

Scott & Jennifer had their wedding in Bullhead, Arizona, at the Amore Wedding Chapel on Saturday, May 21st. The groom & the best man: Scott & Keith.

The Sweeney Family: Scott, Grandma, Keith, & Mom.

The ceremony begins. Jennifer & Scott were all smiles and giggles.

Ahhhh....the love birds!

The wedding party. Mom was the Matron of Honor.

Scott loves his big sister :) And Mom loves to get hugs!

Here comes Mr. & Mrs. Scott Sweeney!

Rose petals were thrown at the newly married couple!

The reception & party was held at Scott & Jennifer's home in Kingman. Here is the wedding party again.

Mom, Scott, Grandma, Keith and me.

The food was yummy. We had pizza, subs, and sodas.

All of the little kids had a blast playing with the dog toys in the backyard. Madison was the ring leader of this group. Payten, Heidi, & Robbie followed her everywhere. When Camber arrived, she joined the group.

Joshua & Justin climb on the BIG dog bridge.

The funniest part of the night was the bouquet toss. Jennifer tossed it the first time but it didn't go very far and Colby picked it up. The second time she tossed it, she gave it a big throw and it went over the fence into the tumble weeds. Once it was retrieved she attempted to toss it again but the flowers fell out of the plastic holder while she was tossing it. The flowers fell in front of her. Finally, she picked the flowers up along with the plastic holder and threw it like a football to the single ladies. It landed near Aunt Brenda and she gathered the prize. Great memories!

Congratulations Jennifer & Scott. We are so happy for the two of you!

Prom

Saturday, May 7th is Corona del Sol High School's Senior Prom. Mitchell got all dressed up for the event. Mitchell looks very handsome in his tuxedo.

His date, Jacqueline, was an expert at pinning on the corsage. Mitchell and Jacqueline are just friends. Both of them have other "love" interests that they weren't able to be with for prom so they went together.

Easter 2011

Our Easter party was held Saturday, April 23rd. The weather was perfect for an outdoor egg hunt. We selected this quiet park within our neighborhood for the hunt. There was a large field, lots of shrubs along the edges and several rocky areas to hide eggs in plain site.

Abram (Grant's friend), Grant, Austin, Bradley, Jack, Madi and Robbie are ready to start the egg hunt.

Julie, Brent, Jordan, Brandon and Grandma waited and watched from the shade. Eventually, almost all of them went and found eggs and ate their contents.

The beginning of our egg hunt.

Bradley found the HUGE egg. There was over 200 eggs hidden in the field. Everyone found lots of eggs filled with treats.