Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Yes, I know I have been very absent for a while. And yes, I know it doesn't sound like much of an excuse, but I HAVE been extremely busy.

I am determined to catch up though, and since this blog is really my journal, I refuse to leave anything important out. That is why I will be going back and filling in the gaps.

In the meantime, I will leave you with this lovely Halloween version of our family photo that Jay created. Amazing what you can do with photo software.

Lazy Summer Days

My sister is here visiting from Georgia with her four children (her husband is in Iraq for a 6 month deployment). My kids have been having a great time playing with their cousins who are all the same ages and genders. (Jack and Sam playing Legos)We have been enjoying the most delicious tomatoes from our garden. We gobble up the tiny cherry tomatoes.... they are like candy!
Jack enjoys helping pick them. With the plum tomatoes I made some fabulous bruschetta. For a great alternative to chips and salsa, combine chopped tomatoes with olive oil, lots of fresh garlic, fresh basil, and kosher salt, and scoop it up with pita chips or toasted french bread slices. Yum! My kids were cautious at first because it was new to them, but when they finally tried it they loved it and gobbled it up.

One more photo..... one of those silly things the kids end up doing on a hot, boring summer day.

Utah Trip - part 2

After spending three days at Brighton for the reunion, we headed south a little to visit my good friend from college. It was so fun to see her and her family.... it had been years. I wish we lived closer to each other. She has kids the same ages and genders as my kids. They had a blast.

Then we were off to Provo to visit Christian and Stephanie. I hadn't seen Stephanie since she was in the hospital here. It was so great to visit with them. Stephanie looks so good, and gets around so well. She really is a miracle!

I wanted to show my kids where I went to college, so we walked around BYU for a while. We took Claire and Jane with us. We would have taken Oliver too, but he had fallen asleep in the middle of playing with Jack at the house. (Claire took this photo. She did a great job!)We went to the Bookstore, and everyone picked out something from the candy counter. Then we walked around campus eating our candy. Then we ate dinner (after the candy) at the Cougareat. What memories! Campus has changed so much, but it is still so beautiful.Collin has several ASU (Jay's alma mater) shirts that Jay has bought him, so I thought it was only appropriate that we get Collin a BYU shirt. Of course, Mary and Jack wanted one too, so I obliged. Then Jay insisted that I get one for myself. I chose this one in pink. Thanks Jay. I wouldn't have gotten one otherwise, and would have had regrets.Since Oliver didn't get to go to BYU with us, and since our hotel this time had 3 beds instead of two, we invited Ollie to spend the night with us. We went swimming in the hotel pool (the first time my kids had been in an indoor pool.... that was a very foreign concept to them) and stayed up late eating BYU Creamery ice cream and watching TV. The next afternoon we headed back to Arizona, but not home yet. We drove through the corners of Colorado and New Mexico (4 states in one day) to the eastern part of Arizona to the cabin, where we stayed for the next week. Lots of my siblings were there with their families, so there were lots of cousins to play with and fun times. We spent the 4th of July in St. Johns, like we usually do, for all the small town festivities, and watched the fireworks in Show Low from the church lawn... the perfect spot.

It was a fun trip, but it was very long (2 weeks, the longest trip our family has ever taken) and we were ready to come home!

Utah Trip - part 1

The day after Mary's musical theatre performance, we started off on our trip to Utah for a family reunion. We decided to just drive half-way the night before, so we stayed at a really cheap (translation: dumpy) motel in Page, AZ. Yuck. The kids were astonished at how old and gross it was.... we had just stayed at a fancy resort the weekend before, so I think they had raised their standards pretty high. They were also pretty disappointed that the three of them had to share a bed. (They are getting kind of big for it, so I don't blame them.) Thankfully it was only one night.

The next day we drove the rest of the way to Brighton sky resort where we stayed with Jay's extended family. His uncle had arranged for wonderful accomodations, but there were LOTS of people, so the kids still had to share a bed. Though it was much better this time. (Mary is going to be pretty embarrassed if she ever sees this photo with her nightgown scrunched up to her waist.)
We had a great time in Brighton, visiting with family we don't see very often, eating lots of good food, taking hikes, and having talent shows. We went on lots of short hikes nearby with the younger kids, but Jay took Collin and an older cousin on a longer hike up to where we could there were patches of snow. Mary and Jack were disappointed that they weren't able to go on that one, so I took them for a walk around the lake. It was beautiful! We saw moose and deer, a family of ducks......... and snow! They were delighted, even though it was disgusting and dirty. (Those little desert rats are easily impressed.)

Mary at MCC

Mary was in musical theatre workshop at MCC the past two weeks. It wasn't as intense as Collin's.... only 2 hours a day, and just one performance... but it was very cute. Mary had a couple of solos and did a great job. She loved it. Here she is with her cousins, who were in it with her.....
.... and her friend Addi who was also in it.

Staycation

We had a fun "staycation" this weekend at the Westin Kierland Resort. (They offer great summer rates for locals, since it's so stinking hot that no one wants to come here in the summer.) We had a blast hanging out by the pool, relaxing on the lazy river, and riding the water slide.
Yes, I had a blast on the slide too, but I'm not going to post that video.

The kids also got a kick out of the cottontail rabbits hopping all over the resort. They were so cute!

MCC

Collin spent about 5 hours a day for the last two weeks in a musical theatre workshop at MCC (he gets a kick out of being able to tell his friends, "I went to college this summer"). He has been in it for the last four years, but this year he was in the "older" group for the first time, which includes 5th graders up to seniors in high school. He did a great job. Here he is with his cousins who were in it with him.
They worked really hard and did a great job... 3 performances in 2 days. Collin stole the show during one of his solos on the number "There is Nothing Like a Dame" from South Pacific. He can't wait for next year.

We are all enamored with one of the girls' songs from the show, "My Party Dress" from the show Henry & Mudge. It is hilarious. We have been singing it all week.

Collin is going to spend the next few weeks working hard on Webelos badge requirements.

"Up"

We took our kids to see "Up." We all loved it! I laughed and cried.... quite a bit, actually. (You would have to be made of stone to not get choked-up during this film.)

I think it's now my favorite of the Pixar movies, probably because the story is so human.

May "Review"

I know, I know.... June is half over and I'm just finally doing my May "review." Here goes:

School got out just before Memorial Day. Collin and Mary both received the "Perfect Attendance" award, and Mary received the award for best music student for the 2nd grade. They both loved their teachers and were sad for the year to end. Here is Mary and her cute teacher. Jack also "graduated" from preschool. He is very excited to start kindergarten in the fall. Here he is with his buddy, Bryce.We left that afternoon to spend the Memorial Day weekend at the cabin. It rained most of the time, but we had fun. We did lots of reading, worked a 1000 piece puzzle, walked around the lake (and watched an osprey dive in and wrestle out a fish!), and relaxed. Mary and Jack made friends with the neighbor's grandkids. We had a good time.Jack and his instant friend, Timmy.

Bedtime for Frances

Jack asked me to read this to him yesterday. We hadn't read it for a while, and I was happy to oblige.... it is one of my favorites. I love all the "Frances" books (A Baby Sister for Frances, Bread and Jam for Frances, A Birthday for Frances, Best Friends for Frances, and A Bargain for Frances) but this one has special memories.

I used to read "Bedtime for Frances" to my baby brother, Marcus, when he was little. It was definitely one of his favorites. I had it memorized at one point.

However, I made one change whenever I read it to my brother... I substituted "Frances" for "Marcus" and "she" for "he." Marcus loved that.

Another book that I frequently read to Marcus was "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" by Ellen Rudin, A First Little Golden Book version. I have never found another version that I like better. This one is great, and so fun to read aloud. (Yes, I was the "read-aloud queen" in my family, because I do all the voices.) And Jack likes it too.

Marcus is now a college student, so I'm glad that Jack still likes me to read to him. Actually, Collin and Mary still like me to read to them, and I do. I hope that doesn't change any time soon.

And yes, I still do all the voices.

12 Years

Yesterday was our 12th wedding anniversary! Wow, the time has flown by. I am so lucky to be married to my wonderful Jay.

We celebrated on Saturday by going downtown for dinner (we took the Metro "for fun") at the historic Hotel San Carlos, and then to see the hilarious Brian Regan in concert! We had such a blast! Brian Regan is great, and so was his brother, who opened for him. I love laughing with Jay. We were exhausted after so much laughing!

Today was a typical Sunday, but tonight before bed, we looked at our beautiful wedding photo album with the kids, and then watched our wedding video, produced by the amazing and talented Marshall (see his wife's blog here).

Here is a clip from it, below. Holy cow, we look so young!

WARNING: Do not watch this video if you are allergic to "cheese."

Seeing Double

Jay thinks I'm weird for taking these photos, but how many times have YOU ever seen a double banana!
The kids discovered this at my mom's house the other day. We didn't know what it would look like inside, but sure enough... siamese twins.

Weird.

"T"

Jack finished his first season of T-Ball.

He was only in it for the Trophy... and the Treats.

Jack and his buddy, Bryce

Mother's Day

I had a nice Mother's Day weekend. On Friday, I had lunch with the kids at school. Here they are together on the playground.

Collin sure enjoyed showing-off Jack... especially when he realized that he got a great reaction when he approached a group of cute girls with his little brother in tow; "Oh, he's so cute!" "He looks just like you!"

Saturday was a busy day, but Sunday was nice and relaxing. I got to take a nap (!) and Jay made a delicious dinner... with a little help from the kids.

Jay wouldn't let me lift a finger, so I took photos.

We were all impressed with his creation.... his own version of a chef's salad, with blackened chicken. It was delicious, and it was plated beautifully too! The kids were pretty shocked... "Dad, I didn't know you knew how to make dinner!" :)

After dinner we visited my mother, and then with Jay's mother. We both have awesome mothers.

Gettysburg Address

This morning while I was driving the kids to school, one of my nephews (who is in our carpool) was practicing "The Gettysburg Address" in preparation for reciting it in class.

I have heard/read it a number of times, and yet for some reason I felt like I was hearing it for the first time. It touched me profoundly, and I was really choked up. If you aren't familiar with it, or haven't read it for a while, please do.

Image of "The Lincoln Address Memorial" erected at the Gettysburg Battlefield in 1912.