Ella, the Rock Climber

So one of the things that the kids LOVED to do while we were in Arizona was to play outside and go WILD on the play structure! The AZ Huffakers have a really cool one that includes a rock climbing wall. I was amazed at how quickly Ella figured out how to climb up! Here is a clip of her showing me her newest trick. Please try to remember that the camera adds 10 pounds, so when you see me in the back ground you will know how much better I look in real life. Heh, heh, heh! The kids loved that so much that we are thinking of getting a rock wall for our strucure...
maybe a joint birthday present for the two kids!

First Tooth

Gavin lost his very first tooth on our first night in Arizona. It had been VERY wiggly and he worked on it during the drive out. That night I could really see how loose it was and I suggested that he pull it, handing him a tissue. He popped it right out, with hardly a tug! He was shocked and immediately wanted to check out the "hole" and the tooth. His adult tooth is already up and moving in quickly. The teeth to the right AND left of this one are both loose too, so he may be a toothless wonder in no time! The tooth fairy had to manuever carefully through the maze of bodies to get to Gavin's pillow because all of the kids were sleeping together. It is a really good thing that she can fly! One dollar in quarters was his reward, we will see if that amount continues or if that was just a bonus because it was his first tooth! I cannot beleive that my "baby" boy has a hole in his grin...time keeps on tickin', tickin', tickin'...into the future......

On The Road Again

Andy and I met on a trip...in India...and we have been "trippin" ever since!

We sing that song...a lot... sometimes we mean it, sometimes, we don't! You know the part about, "just can't wait to get on the road again"... when you are looking at a 7 hour drive with two kids, ages 7 and 3, sometimes you really want to wait!

**o.k. Ella just sat in her chair and poured her milk in her lap... why?... "BECAUSE!" was her answer, now she is crying because she is wet and her "kii-kii" (blanket) is also soaked. Kids are the real, trip!

Anyway... we decided to hit the road 3 days after Christmas. The first day after Christmas, I spent on the couch. The second day was spent cleaning out toys and reorganizing our limited storage space and I am not finished with that project yet! The third day was all about the 10 loads of laundry and getting packed. We headed out at 5 a.m. on Saturday, ate granola bars on the road and only stopped for a couple of potty breaks. When we made our first stop in the morning, we quickly got the kids changed out of their pj's only to discover that I had not packed any panties for Ella. Luckily she was wearing a pull up and we stopped in Chandler to buy some (I even got a deal on a second pack in the next size up for 1/2 price!). We joined up with the Huffakers at their home around 2:00 their time.

After unloading our van we headed to a local eatery for Sam's soccer pizza party and awards. We spent that evening relaxing over some homemade hot cocoa and cookies. Most of our time was spent just hanging out. We walked to several of the local parks, we ate yummy food, we watched some movies, I played with my blog, we slept, and we played games. The kids got to play a lot of Wii and Game Boy, but they also played outside on the awesome play structure that Matt and Rebecca put up in their backyard!

New Year's Eve was spent eating homemade pizza, having a dance party and ringing in the New Year with noise makers, poppers and glow bracelets at about 9 p.m. I think that everyone was asleep by 10 p.m. and that was just fine with me! On New Year's Day we went out to Casa Grande which is a National Monument and checked out the grounds. We saw a film about the Hohokam people who are now gone from the area and walked around the remains of pit houses and a giant structure that was most likely used for worship or food storage. It was pretty windy, but we managed a picnic and the boys got to do the Jr. Ranger program.

We headed home the next day and had a fairly un-eventful drive. We stopped at Krispy Kreme on the way home and picked up Chinese take out for dinner. We unpacked and collapsed into bed. A fun and wonderful trip, a great visit with family, and more memories to cherish. It is nice to "Get on the road again", but it is always nice to come HOME, too.

My Christmas List

I usually make a list, or rip out pages from ads and catalogs for my husband. I do this, so that he will not wonder whether or not I really want candle wax remover (which I really did, but he didn't beleive me) or new vacuum cleaner bags (which I did not, but they were on sale!). Everyone says that I am really hard to shop for, but I don't think so! There are so many things that I would enjoy having. I get my fair share of soaps, lotions, candles and other trinkets at the holidays (all of which I really do love!) but it seems that the things that I want most, get over looked.

This year... Andy did not get any pages or lists or anything. The best part of that, was that I had no expectations! I got so much good stuff this year, and I think the coolest part of all of it, was that people really got me what they thought that I would like and they were right! There is something so great about knowing that people "get" you!

Our roommate Afton got me the napkin rings that I had been eyeing, but didn't want to spend the money on. She also got me a set of simple white china plates with a gold rim. The GREAT thing about those, is that they allowed me to mix them with the 6 place settings of my good china (that I have never gotten to use) and set a beautiful table for Christmas. It looked SO great! Andy and I refininshed the table during the summer and have been working on the chairs all fall! They got stained and re-apholstered right before Christmas and with all of that done...it was AWESOME. Unfortunately, because I was sick, I did not take a picture of my pretty table. But here is one of the finished chairs!

Andy bought me a new pair of Crocs! They are red and fleece lined, how wickedly cool is that?! I LOVE them (of course) and really would prefer to wear nothing but! Alas, they really don't match my dress slacks! He also sprung for a box of Pepermint Jo-Jo's and a REALLY dark chocolate bar. The Jo-Jo's are like Oreo's (but better...) with a vanilla and peppermint filling. They have them at Trader Joe's, but only at Christmas time! He got me a Yoga mat and some Yoga videos too! I really scored!My brother gave us a new camera (which we needed really badly) , my mom gave me cash which I went out and spent on new and improved "mom clothes". Mostly some "sweat pants" and cozy shirts that look cute...and all of the other gifts for the kids were fabulous too! Lots of games that we can play as a family, which we love!

It was a wonderful holiday season with lots of family celebrations and lots of food and lots of fun. There was a lot of love going around and I feel so blessed by all of the presents, but more blessed by the Presence.

Starting A Happy New Year

So much fun stuff has been going on, I don't know where to start!

We went to San Diego to celebrate with my family and had a wonderful time! We even went on our traditional walk on the beach... just the 4 of us! The kids got to feed the seagulls and we got some peace and time to enjoy nature.

Unfortunately, I got sick...REALLY SICK... and spent Christmas Eve in bed and on the couch. My family came over and Andy handled everything. It was kind of nice not to stress out and just sit back and enjoy the party. AND...it is certainly a way to not gain any weight...not eating, that is. I nibbled at dinner and we opened presents for what seemed like an eternity.

Christmas morning was wonderful and the kids had a great time! Ella kept saying, "Is this from you? I love you guys!". Gavin got a Game Boy from Santa, so his Christmas wishes all came true. I made out well myself, but that is another entry! I took a nap on my mother-in-law's couch and had dinner with Andy's parents.

The day after Christmas I laid on the couch.... ALL DAY...... I only moved to flip over to my other side...it was a combination of getting over my icky-ness and Christmas coma.

We needed to decide whether we were still going to head to Arizona, and finally came to the conclusion, that we should. So, our adventures continue!