Happy New Year (almost)

Well it has been a busy few weeks. Our weather did not warm up until this past Sunday. We finished the last day of school with little drama. On the 20th there was a Christmas light display with hayrides, hot chocolate and caroling in the Hualapais. We decided to take all the kids up to see the snow. We headed up the mountain. When we got within a mile of the caretaker's cottage we were stopped in traffic. Little did we know that we would not see Christmas lights or carolers. They were turning everyone back. They decided that it was a safety hazard with so many people up on the mountain, so the Sheriff's office sent someone to send us home. We were quite bummed, especially since I wasn't able to get a picture. Brad was a good sport, so we were able to stop at a pull out and get a few pictures. Here are Brian, his girlfriend, Visha, Sayre and her friend Tricia:

On Christmas Eve we all dressed and went to the vigil mass at church. Ask me about Father Cranky Pants and his antics during church. He's not a nice man. After church we went to Brent and Karla's house. It was nice being around family.

Christmas Day dawned clear and cold. Brian was up before 8 (the first time since the middle of the week before) and ready to open presents. I resisted and stayed in bed for a little while longer. After presents were opened, we had breakfast together. Gramma was not feeling so well, so we did not go to their house until after noon. Brian was actually patient enough that we did not have open presents right away. We actually were able to talk and snack on all the food we had prepared. Presents were amazing as usual. Gramma and Papa overdo themselves each year. As the day wore on, a storm blew in (and I mean blew in - the winds were at least 45 miles an hour and blowing lots of things down). We were watching Wall-e and listening to the storm. There was wind and rain and sleet. By the time we finally left around 8:30 it was really sleeting. Brad decided that he would give Sayre that white Christmas that she wanted, so we drove up a ways into the mountains. It was really snowing there and was quite beautiful.

On Friday the kids and I headed to Casa Grande to see my family. Friday night was Dawn and Chris's birthday, so we had a family dinner at Eva's in Arizona City. It was fun to see almost everyone. Saturday was our shopping day in Chandler. Sayre quickly went through her Christmas cash. I, on the other hand, was not able to find a single thing to buy, except lunch. Sunday was the family Christmas celebration. Dawn, Megan, Katie, Wendy, Connor, Caitlyn, Mom, Dad, Aunt Harriet, cousin Mikel, Gram and Crappa were there. We were treated to a concert from the kids. Megan (trombone) and Connor (electric guitar) played Ironman first. Brian treated us to a song Connor taught him on the electric guitar. Katie (clarinet) and Sayre (flute) played Frere Jacque. Caitlyn strummed on her new guitar a beautiful tune. Then there were assorted solos. It was a great day. My kids don't realize how lucky they are to have grandparents and great grandparents. I love my family.

Now it's New Year's Eve and the kids (many assorted) are watching a movie in the living room. Brad is up at Brent and Karla's playing Michigan Rummy with Aunt Ginny (from Michigan), Gramma, Karla, Kiersten, Dustin, Bree, and Matt. I came home so Brian's girlfriend could come over. Someone has to be the responsible adult. I guess I won tonight.

Happy New Year everyone (OK, so not really for 55 more minutes, but I don't know if I will still be up). I hope 2009 has many blessings in store for you.

Snowy Day

Well, what a busy two weeks we have had. Reno was a blast! We finished our project. It was so cool. I finally finished it this past weekend.

Over the weekend Sayre got her first scholarship offer! Woo Hoo! She gets the WUE scholarship that takes the tuition down to almost in state rates (and as cheap as Arizona universities).

Now for today. We woke up to snow. There wasn't much on the ground when we left for school, but it didn't stop all day. The school district sent all students home two hours early :) Then at around 4:00 they decided that we would not have school tomorrow. It's a good thing too. I need to work on lots of projects and maybe I won't be interrupted by teachers and students.

Reno tomorrow

I am busy getting ready to head to Reno, NV tomorrow to meet Trish. We have been planning this trip for more than a month. We are going to work on a project and just hang out. Our flights actually meet in San Francisco and then we fly to Reno. We'll be there until Sunday afternoon when we fly to San Francisco, again together. Then we must part and head to our own airports. It should be a great weekend. It is hard to pack up the whole scrapbook room, but we are giving it our best shot.

It was a busy week with meetings, work, the gym, soccer games, movies on tv, practice, etc. It will be nice to have a few days to wind down and be silly. I'll upload pictures of our adventure next week.

Well after a filling Thanksgiving meal, we have time to wind down. Brad and Brian are watching Tiger Woods on tv and Sayre is at Heather's house. Me, I am in the scrapcave.

Before Jim and Judy came over I finished a project that I had planned since the summer time. Brad helped me hang my family picture frame and then figured out where to put the wall rub-on. I think it turned out great. It is exactly how I wanted it. Now if we can just finish the outside of the house (stucco and paint) everything will be great.

Brian and I are off to Prescott tomorrow for his pitcher's camp. I'll drop him off and then head to some serious shopping. I have my ads and my wish lists and think I am prepared. Hopefully I will get lots of good deals and cross lots of things off of my list. I sure will give it a try.

Success! Today we went to the Hualapais to take family pictures. Jennie, Roger and Zack went too. We traded off taking pictures of each other's families. The weather was gorgeous, in the 60's. We pulled off the side of the road and hiked up a wash and took lots of pictures. Everyone was cooperative and we ended up with some good pics that we'll be able to use for Christmas projects.

Now I only have to decide on what my Christmas cards will look like and I'll be set. Well, after making them too. Hey, I have a week and a half before I need to have them done. No sweat, right?

Well, so much for a quiet evening at home in the scrapcave. Teenagers have invaded my home and the brought the "Rock Band" with them. The noise level from the living room is quite loud. Sayre and many of her friends have come over to enjoy some noisy time together. It's kind of funny. They are really getting into it. Good thing I'm not tired and ready for bed. Here is what my living room looks like right now:

Oh, well there are years to have quiet evenings. I'll take the noise and the kids.

We just had the best day. My side of the family met in Wickenburg for a family picnic. We wanted to do family pictures of the (great) grandkids for my parents and grandparents since the last time we did them Caitlin and Seth weren't even born. The weather was gorgeous at around 80 degrees. Who says fall isn't nice in Arizona? My mom (with help from us girls) convinced my grandparents to come. My dad's sister, Aunt Harriet, also was able to come. The only missing member of the family was Dawn's husband Brian. It's cotton season and he has to work 7 days a week. The kids played. The adults talked. We all ate our lunches and then we got down to business. There were logistics to deal with: where to take the picture, who to go first, how to arrange each family, which camera to look at, how to get everyone in the picture, etc. Well after many tries, some good, some bad, some ugly, we were able to get some good pictures. We'll have to print them up and post them around our houses. Here is the grand total of us:

In the back are Chris, Barbara, Brad, Joan, and Dawn. Next are Wendy, Crappa, Landon, Tristan, Seth, Sayre, Megan, Katie, and Dad. In the front are Connor, Caitlin, Gram, Mom, Aunt Harriet, and Brian. We are so lucky that we have a close family that can get along with each other. We have so much to be thankful for.

Well, I'm back home after a whirlwind trip to the desert valley. Brian traveled with the band to the Arizona State Marching Band competition on Saturday and I met him there. Dawn and Wendy and their kids came to watch. The band did a great job and earned a superior with one caption for visual.

After they announced the results, we went to dinner. We had a nice time and everyone got to catch up. I followed the girls to Casa Grande and stayed with Wendy at her house. We played Rock Band with the boys. I didn't do so bad for it being my first time. Then Wendy and I watched What Happens in Vegas. This morning all of us went out to Gram and Crap's house to see them. They both seemed good and happy to see all of us. It was reassuring that they were ok.

While we were at the band competition, Sayre called with the news that she had been accepted at Southern Utah University. The school is in Cedar City, Utah. It meets her requirements that not everyone from Kingman goes there. It is colder than home, and it works for Mom because it is not too far away. We'll see if that is where she ends up but it is still exciting!

This coming week looks to be another whirlwind, but at least we have Tuesday off. I'll be baking cranberry bread for the fourth graders and having lunch with Jennie and BK. It should be fun.

Well I've done well so far on my gratitude journey for November. I have things written each day. Sunday I was just grateful for time to spend in the scrapcave. I even have a project to show for it.

Monday was Brian getting math finally and only doing a moderate amount of whining about how much there was. Then it didn't even take him as long as he thought. Tonight I am thankful that my book fair was able to do almost $5000 in sales. I was not very optomistic last week because we were barely over $3000. I guess the last two days were good after all. That makes all the hard work worth the effort. Plus I get more money to spend on books. Yay!

Another Saturday

OK, I'm getting in the Thanksgiving spirit. I have decided that I will journal one thing every day that I am thankful for in the month of November.

For today I am thankful for time spent with Sayre. We went to Bullhead to do some Christmas shopping (I am planning ahead). We separated for a while in Kohls but got back together and looked at all sorts of things. We heard Christmas music and argued over which ones to listen to. It put us in the mood to put some Christmas decorations out early. (I did suggest a few Thanksgiving items to be interspersed.) We went to Target and then to Sam's Club. We spent a lot of time laughing too. Later we went to church together. I have to remember these moments when she's gone next year.

My Saturday

I've had a busy day today. Brian had to be at school to practice for band at 9:00 this morning. After dropping him off, I headed in to school to take care of some stuff for the Grand Canyon Reader's Award intermediate committee. I intended to head to good ole Wally-world after that but came home instead. After checking my email, I got seriously sidetracked by a bag of pictures I'd taken from my parent's house. I laughed, shared with Sayre, and cried at the pictures I found. Then I decided they needed to be sorted so I could make sure they were in the right spot for future projects. In the pile I found the picture of my parents, brother, sister and me at Kitt Peak in the 70's. It reminded me of the family picture we took when we all took the kids to Kitt Peak in 2005. Of course, I had to find it. Then they were both scanned and sent to Walgreens to print pictures for a project. I made 4 copies that I'll share with Mom and Dad, Dawn and Chris. After that Sayre and I went to lunch at Senor Taco (a long time favorite that finally returned to Kingman). Then it was off to JCPenney's, Hallmark and Wal-mart with Sayre and Heather. We picked up the pictures at Walgreens and then came home. After doing a little surfing on the internet I ended up here updating my blog. I know there's a scrapbook page waiting to be done, I just can't figure out which one it is.

Columbus Day - Today

This is my first blog entry on my own blog. I am taking the Baker's Dozen class through Pima County Library and this was one of the lessons that I needed to work on. I also frequent blogs by Lisa Bearnson, Becky Higgins, Cathy Zielske, Ali Edwards, and Heidi Swapp. I can spend hours there reading about their lives and their scrapbooking. As I sat at the computer today on my extra day off, I decided that it was about time that I created one of my own.



Today I was inspired by Stacy Julian's challenge to take ten pictures of things that mean something to me today or that I was involved in. Then I'm to put them in a mini album that I keep in my purse and look at whenever I see it or take it out. I'll do that for one year and then at this time next year I am to make a scrapbook layout about the experience. I'm not done yet (taking pictures or creating the book), but I have pictures of me reading blogs on the computer, the laundry that is never-ending, and my Year in the Life mini album that is officially caught up. I'm going to look funny going to the gym with my camera, but hey for a scrapbook project I'll do anything!



We had an exciting weekend. It was homecoming at Kingman High School and both kids went to the dance. Sayre went with Austin Bangma. He is the drum major with the band and an all around funny guy. Brian went with Dara Richhart, a girl he's known since elementary school. They all looked great! They had lots of fun at the dance, even though Tricia made the girls cry with her realization that it was their last homecoming! OK, don't say that too much or I'll cry too.

Here are some of the blogs I frequent: www.heidiswapp.com, http://cathyzielske.typepad.com/my-weblog/, and http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/