The Spinker Family

Mexico 2011

2011-11-15T19:16:00.000-08:00

Jesse mixing concrete

This past weekend we had the opportunity to go down to Rocky Point Mexico to build a house for a family in need. It was Pam's first time down and we brought Jesse and Jordan along too. This was such a great experience for us all to work on this together as a family. The kids worked really hard and loved getting dirty and using all the tools. Pam jumped right in and helped wherever she was needed. She got really good at the stucco and I think I'm going to hire her when I build my shed. We all stayed at the 1MISSION base camp just outside of town. We slept in the van which was very warm and comfortable. I hope this will be just the first of many trips that my family joins me on. I loved having them there with me.

Jordan shoveling gravel

Work that stucco Pam

The hammer is mightier than the sword

Team work

Patti Gerrardo and Omar with us.

Rugged Maniac

2011-11-15T19:01:00.000-08:00

Pam participated in the Rugged Maniac a couple weeks ago. It was a 5K run up and down through desert terrain with several muddy obstacles along the way. She did it with a group of friends in celebration of Shelly who recently passed away. They all had a great time. I am proud of Pam as she sucked it up and endured the mud and challenges and finished the race with a mind blowing speed of 1:09 LOL. Congrats to Team Mustang Shelly.

Arizona State Fair

2011-11-14T20:14:00.000-08:00

This month we went to the Arizona State Fair. We have not been in a few years and it was alot of fun. There was so much to do other than rides that we spent a full day without going broke. The kids all loved the livestock building with petting zoo included. They had an amazing butterfly garden that the girls didn't want to leave. Josh, Jesse and I all went in to the Our Body exibit which featured real human cadavers all disected and on display for educational purposes. Gross but awesome! God is truly amazing in how he made us. We did take in some rides and a few games. All of the kids won some type of stuffed animal. They also had a toddler zone so Jacob had some fun too.

Look at the facial expression!

WEEEEEEE!

Big bro, little bro

Playing in the sand

Butterfly queen

Our veterinarian

Halloween

2011-11-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

Well, another halloween has come and gone. We had another great time this year serving our neighbors free hot dogs and drinks. This year we handed out 250 dogs and waters to the trick-or-treaters. We also had many fun carnival style games to play for the kids to win candy. Many of our old friends came over to lend a hand and our new neighbors across the street pitched in too. The kids looked great in their costumes and had a great time going out trick-or-treating with Nana and Bobbo.

Apple picking

2011-09-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

Today we went apple picking at Date Creek Ranch. We had such a wonderful time. It is so fun to get out on the farm and watch the kids run around in the orchard. It is kind of funny how much more fun it is to pick the fruit directly from the trees rather than buy it at the grocery store. God is good. When you can get out in his creation and enjoy a beautiful morning it is so worth it. We finished the day off with a nice picnic lunch and and even got to pet the farm animals.

Nanas cabin

2011-08-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our latest trip to Mormon Lake. We had a great time fishing, exploring and just hanging out in the nice cool weather. The kids all had a blast having a big slumber party in the living room every night.

4th of July

2011-07-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

4th of July was alot of fun this year. Hot, but fun. We went up to 3rd Place Grill and set up our tailgate area. Then we went inside and had a wonderfull meal in the nice cool AC. The kids played in the childcare area for almost two hours. Finally we went outside. We had popcorn and games and sparklers too. We even made some homemade icecream for desert. As it got darkm the kids got excited and couldn't wait until, BOOOOM. The fireworks were great and we all had a great time. Thank you 3rd Place staff for letting us set up there. http://www.3rdplacegrill.com/

Summer fun

2011-07-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well summer is here and things are in full swing. The goal is anything to stay cool. The kids are doing a summer reading program and they go to the library for story time each week. One week the story was about Flip Flap Jack. SOOO we had to make him. Each kid had their own for dinner. Even Josh. He has a pancake head, waffle body, bacon legs, bannana arms, toast feet,blueberry eyes, strawberry nose, sausage mouth and whipcream hair. That was a fun night.

Jesse, Jordan and Julia have also all been attending swim lessons. They are all doing ver well and are having fun too. Jenna likes to come and watch and likes to get wet when we get home by running in the sprinklers.

15th anniversary Aprill 13th 2011

2011-07-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

This year Pam and I celebrated our 15th Anniversary. Wow, has it been that long? We had a great evening. I suprised her with the whole thing. She thought we were going out to Carvers for dinner but I told her I had to run by my friends new restaraunt that I have been helping remodel. It is not open for business yet so she had no clue of what I had set up. Earlier in the week I was very busy planning the night. I had created a DVD slideshow of her and I since we had met unti now.. It was put to music and everything. Then I had arranged a private table in the upstairs mezzanine complete with lace tablecloth, candlelight and a dozen rozes. I had also had her mom pick up dinner for us and deliver it there just before we arrived. Everything was set! When we showed up I ran inside to verify all was good and then called her in. She was so suprised when she saw it. We watched the video while we ate and had a great time. When dinner was over we danced out on the floor to some music that I had also compiled earlier in the week. We were the only ones in the whole place besides a few of the staff. Remember, they weren't open for business yet. We ended with some desert and a night to remember. It's going to be tough to top this one next year. How often can you get an entire restaraunt to yourselves?

Jacob is here

2010-10-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

Jacob is finally here. Actually, he was 4-1/2 weeks early. He and mommy are both doing great. Thanks to all of our friends and family for the support we have recieved.

2010-10-29T12:04:00.000-07:00

We aquired two desert tortises recently. They are the best pets in the world. You don't have to feed them, they just eat the grass. They don't need water, and we don't have to clean up after them. Their names are Jack and Jill. Gee how strange their names start with J.

September Birthdays

2010-10-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

Julia and Jesse both had their birthdays in September.

New water slide

2010-04-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

We got a new waterslide this week. The kids just love it. What a great thing to have in the summer in Phoenix. Thank you Denny and Shelley for donating it to our garage sale and giving us the opportunity to buy it. It will get lots of use.

Easter 2010

2010-04-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

This was our Homeschool Easter day at the park. Not much to say except it was a beautiful day and the kids had a great time.

Ouch that hurts

2010-04-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

Back in early March I got a piece of metal in my eye while working on my room remodel. After visiting Urgent Care and Thunderbird ER I was finally referred to an opthamologist in Paradise Valley who was able to succesfully remove it. After a week and a half of sterods and antibiotic drops in my eye, all is good and my vision is back.

Daddy Daughter Dance 2010

2010-02-20T22:40:00.000-08:00

Thursday night was the daddy daughter dance at CCV. This was Jordan and my 4th year attending the dance, Julia's 3rd year and Jenna's first. It was a great night full of food and dancing. The evening started with the girls getting dressed up like little princesses. They looked so grown up. Then we headed off to the dance. Upon arrival we got our portraits taken (which is always a cherished memory) and were seated at our tables. We got a table right next to the dance floor this year. Since mom wasn't around, we ate our cupcakes (which were already on the tables) before dinner. Than we did a little bit of dancing. Dinner came and that was a treat dishing up all 3 girls at once. Thank you Nancy for helping me! After we ate it was dance, dance, dance. The girls wore me out. At one point I was holding all 3 girls and slow dancing with them. It was a night to remember and I think we all enjoyed it greatly. I hope this remains a tradition for many years to come.

New room

2010-02-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

Well, we have officially started on the expansion of our house. We are enclosing a portion of our garage (still leaving room for my workshop as you can see from the pics) to allow for more elbow room in our palace. It is going to be a play/family fun time room. The kids are all excited and always want to be out helping daddy. Theyn even got involved in a little bit of the demolition of the old toy closet. Jesse is learning alot about tools and how to properly use them. Tomorrow morning Josh gets a lesson in hanging drywall. The girls mostly just hand me stuff and lose my tools. But it is great to have all of them involved. Pam has been GREAT allowing me time to work on it all. This will be a great addition for our family as we have wanted a little extra room for a while. I feel sort of greedy, but 1400 sq ft. for 7 people just gets a little tight sometimes. maybe we just have too much stuff. anyway, it is going good and hope to keep rolling as long as the finances are there.

Feed My Starving Children

2010-01-31T17:49:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome opportunity this past year to work with an orginization called Feed My Starving Children. They are a Christian orginization that packages and sends scientifically formulated meals all around the world to poverty stricken people. Our church(CCV) raised $250,000 and packed over 1,000,000 meals for them. This time was a great learning time for our family. In order to feel just a fraction of what some of these people feel, we ate only rice and beans for one week. (breakfast, lunch and dinner). It is amazing how hungry you get when you do not receive all the proper nutrients. We were all humbled by this experience and used the money we saved in groceries that week as a donation to FMSC.

Jesse was able to participate in the actual packing with Pam and I and he had a great time. We will continue to support FMSC in the future in hopefully a bigger way.

2010-01-30T19:10:00.001-08:00

Cabin Christmas 09

2010-01-30T12:25:00.000-08:00

We had a great time at my Dad's cabin again this year. We once again had snow as you can see from the pictures. It was a little easier this year with some of the kids being a little older they could do alot of things on their own. They had plenty to do with all of their cousins around to keep them company. It was good seeing my dad and Colleen. I know they really enjoy having everyone up there at one time.

We are all glad that Angie waited and didn't go into labor while we were up there. Baby Sophia was born just a couple weeks afterwards. We will wait and see how next year goes with yet another member of our family stuffed into the cabin.

AYSO fall soccer

2010-01-30T12:14:00.000-08:00

Jesse played soccer for the first time this Fall. He did so good. We usually had to stop him from scoring so the other kids would have a chance. His team was called the Destroyers. He picked the name due to the fact that , and I quote "We destroy all the other teams". Every time he would score he would run down the field with both arms in the air pumping his fists. It just never got old for him. He liked it so much we bumped him up to the higher age group for the spring season. He just had his first game today and they won 7-5. He held his own out there with the bigger kids.

Jenna Kay

2009-03-06T11:19:00.001-08:00

Well, she is finally here. Jenna Kay was born this week and has already touched my heart and changed it forever. She is just beautiful and her and mom are doing wonderful. All the kids took to her very well and love giving her kisses. She is going to fit in perfect with our family. Be ready Jenna, it is crazy around here!

Daddy daughter dance 09

2009-03-06T10:57:00.001-08:00

Last weekend was the Daddy daughter dance at CCV. The girls and I had a great time together. Lauren and Lindsey were there also so Jordan was in heaven. Julia was all over the place and loved the music and slow dancing with daddy. This is our third year attending the dance and I don't plan on missing one as long as I am able to still dance with my daughters. It is just a wonderful night to show my girls just how much they mean to me. I LOVE YOU GIRLS!!!

Mexico Trip

2009-03-06T10:46:00.000-08:00

Hello all. Sorry I haven't written in a while but I will try and catch up now. I have been very busy as of late with many exciting adventures. On Presidents day weekend I went with CCV and a group of their high school students down to Rocky Point, Mexico on a missions trip to build some houses. It was a very rewarding trip and I made alot of new friends. One Mission is the organization that hosted us and what a great setup they have. I have never felt so comfortable and connected with the Mexican families before. We actually had a "FIESTA" night where the families got to visit the base camp and have dinner with us. It was so much fun interacting with the kids and their parents. I hope to go many more times next season(starts in Oct.) if you would like to join me, just let me know. I would love to get as many as my family and friends as possible to experience the feeling of building a home for a family in such need. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers while I was away.

NFC Champions

2009-01-20T13:04:00.001-08:00

As most of you already know, the Cardinals just won the NFC championship game. I just had to put up this post because I am so excited about this. The Cardinals moved here in 1988 and I have been rooting for them for the past 2o years. It has all payed off and we have one more win in Tampa in two weeks. Go Cardinals, Shock The World!!!

Dress up

2009-01-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

Pam and the girls played dress up the other night. It was great fun for them and a lot of laughs for us. They really enjoy looking like little princesses. Even though most of the time they are playing with their brothers in the dirt or climbing in the tree house, they are still little ladies at heart. It is amazing how fast these girls seem to be growing up. Eventually I know mom will be dressing them for their weddings but until then I will cherish these times and these images of them will stay in my heart forever. My two little angels Jordan and Julia. And soon my new little angel Jenna!

Cabin Christmas

2009-01-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

Well, it was time again for our annual trip up to the Spinker cabin for our Christmas celebration. It is always a great time filled with lots of wonderful memories. Imagine 15 adults and 15 kids all packed in to 12oo sq. ft. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Food is never scarce up at the cabin. It is like a 24 hour snack bar with three giant meals thrown in throughout the day. This year we took turns preparing meals and it worked out great. It was always exciting to see who was going to make what and how it was going to taste. Everything was wonderful by the way.
This year we built some forts for the kids out of my dad's junk pile. This was a big hit with the kids. It started out with just one for the little boys, then the big boys wanted one and then the girls. They all got what they wanted and had a blast. It also snowed again this year. (The first snow of the season) It wasn't allot but it was enough to have a few snowball fights and try just a little on the sled.(got muddy quick)
All and all it was another chaos filled weekend that none of us will soon forget. Family, friends and food. What a way to spend a weekend. Thank you dad and Colleen for making another special weekend and more memories for my children. I hope that when they get older they will always remember the weekends spent in Arrowbear, California at Papa Mike's cabin. I know that I will.

Christmas cookies

2008-12-09T07:22:00.000-08:00

Pam made cookies with the kids last night. They had such a wonderful time cutting them out and decorating them. The girls always love helping mommy in the kitchen. Jesse just likes to eat them. At one point, while we were decorating, Jordan dumped a whole jar of sprinkles on one cookie. Needless to say, they all wanted to eat that one. Julia tried to be a big helper by sticking her hand in the frosting and eating it. Josh decorated a few, but mostly just wanted to eat them too. Christmas cookies with the kids are not always the prettiest, but they're the most fun to make.

Peoria's old town Christmas

2008-12-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

On Friday night our family went to the City of Peoria's old town Christmas festival. We had such a good time. The kids got to go on a hayride pulled by an antique tractor. They also got to go in the petting zoo and see a live nativity put on by one of the churches. We decorated cookies, got temporary tattoos, watched the juggler and much much more. We try to go every year and the kids just love it. We didn;t go see santa his year. Dad hates long lines. I hope that we can continue to make this a family tradition.

2008-11-29T08:35:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of our girls and my sister's girls. They all stayed the night in a big bed I made for them on the floor in Jordan and Julia's room. They had a great time together and giggled for a long time before they finally fell asleep.

Glendale Glitters

2008-11-29T08:11:00.000-08:00

11/29/08
Hello all,
We went to the opening night of Glendale Glitters last night. It was really crowded but alot of fun. For those of you who don't know, Glendale Glitters is a Christmas tradition in downtown Glendale where they light up all the trees in the historic district and have vendors of all kinds around the square. They have a kids zone with all kinds of bouncers, snow, train rides, etc... You can even take an old fashion carriage ride through the streets. We had some hot chocolate and watched the dancers perform in the amphitheatre. Jordan was dancing right along with them. That girl needs some lessons. Jesse wanted to do just about everything, but Julia was content just looking at all the lights. It gets harder every year to keep track of one more kid, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Pam and I will probably go back by ourselves in a few weeks. We like to look at all the booths in peace. It is a good date night. But, we will take the kids again next year with a new one(Jenna) in tow.

2008-11-23T07:52:00.000-08:00

11/23/08
Hello all,
This is my first time blogging and it will take me a while to get good at this. Especially since I can't type very good anyway. But, I am going to try it as a way to help my family stay in touch with the crazy goings-on in this family. I hope you will all check back periodically as I will try and post new stuff as often as I can.