Winter Weather Alert!!!

We are experiencing the worst storm to hit our state in 17 years. In fact I just read that a tree was knocked down in Gilbert.
If you aren't careful, this could happen to you.

And you may have to resort to this.

I know this storm has really affected my dog. She has a fear of water. I bet she would like one of these...

Right now I have to leash her up and drag her down the street to do her business.

In all seriousness, I am very happy for all the meteorologists in the state. They never get to report on anything and they are having the time of their lives.

And you! Yes YOU! Don't drive past the barricades into a flooded ravine or canal or street. Because they will put your picture on the news and we will all laugh at you.

Finally....Christmas

We started off the Christmas Eve celebration with our tradition of making gingerbread houses. This year we were brilliant and we bought the kits from Joanns for $7.99. They come with everything you need and it is far cheaper to buy the kit than to do it all on your own. Very fun! I love to see the different ideas that the girls come up with. After the houses we drove around for about an hour to see all the pretty lights.

After Christmas lights we came home and I let the girls open their new Christmas jammies. Finally it was time for bed! Right? MmmmmHmmmm. The girls decided to sleep together in Megan's room and of course the jibber jabber went on and on and on. Nate finally gave up and I told him I would wait up to put out the gifts. It was about 1:30 when they finally fell asleep.


Of course, by the time I got the gifts out, I was deeply engrossed in an episode of 20/20 so I didn't go to bed until about 2:00. No big deal...my kids are both sleepers. We usually don't do gifts until 8 or 9. Until this year. 5:00 people. And I didn't sleep until 2:00

Hence the beauty you are beholding. Thank you Nate for taking my photo. At least he took on of himself. And, of course, the kids look adorable.

Here is Megan as she discover what her grandparents sent down.

Electric scooters! They have been very well used. Every day. Even that morning at 5:30.

New dollies. Chrissa for Megan and a Bitty Baby for Sammy.

Later on I was beginning to suspect that the excitement had gotten to Sammy when I discovered her on the floor.

But the Christmas Season completely wore out Stanley. I don't even know how he copes.

It was a wonderful Christmas. We've had a lot of changes, and ups and downs lately, but in the end we have each other, and that is what matters. Such a blessed family. Seriously.

Visit from Mom and Dad

We've had a fun week around here. I picked up my parents from the airport last week and we've had a great visit. I kept the kids out of school Friday and Tuesday so they had lots of grandma/grandpa love.
Friday we headed down South to Cracker Barrel and the Ostrich Farm. Again. I think this may be the last time I can handle it. My dad had a client he needed to meet with in Tuscon so we had some time to spend at the Tuscon Mall. While we waited I got a massage from the Chinese place. Yes I did. And I am convinced that tiny woman could have snapped me in two with her fingers. She had amazingly strong hands. It hurt good and gave me the oomph I needed to drive home from Tuscon at 9:00 at night. Saturday the kids had a garage sale and we made about $35 and only had three bags of crap left over for Goodwill. PLUS, our neighbor took the bags to Goodwill, so win win.
On Sunday we had the wonderful opportunity to have my dad do a fireside for our youth on patriarchal blessings. He did a fantastic job and I was so happy that he was able to do it.
Monday we all had our pedicures and lunch at Red Robin, Tuesday we went to see Avatar. And here is the best part! About halfway through, the screen went all wonky and they had to re-boot the projector. It took about three minutes. So everyone had time to use the bathroom, AND they gave us all free tickets after the movie! WooHoo! Now Diana and I can go on three dates!
It was a such a great week and I feel very blessed every time we have family come to visit us. It always feels empty around here when they go.

State Capitol Field Trip

I had the great opportunity, (a benefit to being unemployed), to go on the 4th grade field trip. I was able to go with Megan as well, so I feel like both times I have learned a lot about my adopted state. I had a good group of kids. We had a fun scavenger hunt before our tour of the capitol.

This spot was especially awesome because as the whole class was lining up to head over to the capitol building, Sammy announced in her outside voice that this was a boy horse. Thank you for the info.
My favorite nine year old in the WHOLE world!
And being mature kids, they thought it was very cool to go around to all the statues and pick their noses and poke their eyes out.

This is pretty cool. Winged Victory perches atop the Capitol and when the wind blows above 7 mph she rotates. This was her position before we went in and below is a picture of where she was when we were finished. She cost a whopping $150 at the time of construction. In fact, the whole building cost $132,000. Amazing.
And at last...my favorite part of the day! Sheriff Joe's men hard at work keeping our city clean. As I lowered my camera after taking this pictures, literally ALL the parents in the group were staring at me. Then one mom smiled and said, I wanted to do that but I didn't dare!

Haircut

Every few months I gird up my loins and take my girls to get their hair trimmed. Always, always it is Sammy that gives me grief. Today she was really cool with it. Megan, however was not. Her bangs lately have been longer than Kate Gosselin's. And I have no problem with that as long as she pulls them back, but she hasn't been doing that and you can't see her face. So I innocently asked her if she was going to grow them out or get them CUT. Well, she was going to get them trimmed up because she likes them either hanging in her face or the ability to pull them back. In fact, she wanted them trimmed a quarter of a centimeter. I didn't like that answer, so I was then subjected to an hour of tears, crying, anger, and pouting. I was pretty frustrated with her. And to be honest...this is how it's been going lately. My always sunshiney girl is getting pretty moody and argumentative. Perfectly normal and very frustrating. I took her to the salon and ask the very nice lady to settle a debate for us. I explain the situation to her and she thinks Megan should cut her bangs. Megan is concerned that she won't be able to pin them back if we cut them and the hairstylist tells her, of course you can! and shows her how to do it. And Megan is instantly agreeable and goes and gets her bangs chopped. And they turn out lovely and she is so glad that she got them cut. Sigh. Just once, I would like my kids to be just as agreeable with me as they are with strangers.

Owee!

Needless to say...yesterday I was not at my best. Understatement. I slept in and wandered out to the front yard to make a phone call and let my dog do her business. My next door neighbor drove up and opened his garage. Sadie, my dog, is completely fascinated by their garage and always runs over there when it is open. Yesterday was no different. I hung up my phone call and chased her down and got her to go home. As I was jogging home after her I tripped over my neighbors decorative brick going around their yard and had a yard sale in my driveway. The yelping, flailing arms kind of fall. After a quick look around to make sure no one saw I hurried inside. I had torn up my knee pretty good, but other than that I was okay. As the day progressed I was starting to feel a little tight in my knees and back. A bad side effect of being a woman who doesn't exercise and being in her mid-30's. Nate and I went on a date last night and had a good time. All was well.
While at the Cheesecake Factory we discovered that the Cowboys were playing last night. We continued our date and when we got home it was the end of the 4th quarter so Nate went to watch in our room. I wandered in there and sat on his lap and when I heard the girls coming down the hall, I hurried and gave him a kiss. You see, it really grosses them out when they see us kiss. So I was exaggerating it and we were all being goofy when all the sudden I couldn't breathe! Or move! And it hurt! I must have twisted funny. So Nate gently got me to lay on the floor, where I stayed for two hours. And he grabbed my laptop for me, which helped. Megan wandered in and saw me languishing on the floor and couldn't stop giggling. I'm sure I looked funny. Still wearing my jacket, surrounded by pillows. Sam wandered in. Started giggling. She disappeared for a minute and came back with two coins and a baby blanket. With Nacho Libre flair, she performed "dead guy duties" on me, put a coin on each eye, and covered my face with a blanket. Because I couldn't move my arms due to pain, this was how Nate found me on the floor.
I'm happy to say that my family has taken really good care of me. They've all announced that they won't help me go to the bathroom, but since I haven't broken both my arms they are in luck ;). I taught the Beehives today and Megan was my good assistant. And my friend Lauri was reading my woes on Facebook and came over and brought the Hunger Games books and some candy for me and grilled Nate to make sure I would be taken care of. So, while I haven't left the Lazy Boy today, I'm lucky enough to be loved!

Casa Grande Ruins

A few weeks ago Nate had a wonderful idea that we should go on a hike. He found a place and we had a lovely lunch and headed out. But the winds were kicking up and the sky was cloudy and it was 63 degrees! Dread! I was fully prepared to tough it out. But when we got there we realized it was a fee area, cash only. Guess what? MmmmHmm. No cash-o-la. So we headed south. And made it to the ruins. And it was also a fee area but they were smart enough to accept debit cards. AND the kids are free! WooHoo!

I'm thinking the Hohokam people had to be dwarfs...all I could think about with this tiny little doorway was the poor mother hunching over a million times a day to get all her stuff done.

Pretty cool! This was THREE stories high! Made of mud! There is a large metal covering over it to keep the elements from melting it. You can't go in...rabid bats live there.


Megan and Sammy in one of the bedrooms. They were all, "these rooms are bigger than ours!" Well I guess if they want to live in a mud house in the middle of nowhere then I will help them pack their bags.
It was a fun day. Not only is there the outdoor area with the "city" but there is a cool little museum as well. This was especially fun for Sam because she had just learned about the Hohokam at school and she was able to share her knowledge with us. And yes. I survived the cold Arizona winter day.