Happy, Merry, Happy

Happy Birthday to Me

I know it is hard for all of us to believe that I have finally reached the ripe old age of "30" plus five. Believe it, it is true! For my birthday this year we attended a Temple Sealing and hung out in Mesa for the entire day. Yahooo! There were all of my favorite things, a Temple marriage, free food at a wedding luncheon, a trip to DI thrift store, pizza at Organ Stop Pizza and the Temple lights. It was a fantastic day.

Merry Christmas
Gingerbread houses with Steph's clan

 Christmas Eve with the Mechams

We all love this family tradition and spending a yummy, spiritual, happy time with the Mechams.

Christmas Morning

I love spending Christmas morning at home, just the six of us.

Happy New Year

We brought in the New Year with the Leithead family.  Yummy food, games and a munchkin parade.

I hope your holiday season was happy, merry, happy and brought the spirit of love, giving and peace into your home.

Christmas Beginings

The Holidays are off to a wonderful start. 

• Christmas with the Phoenix Symphony - What an awesome time we had, MY LB was able to come with us and it was by far the best time we have had at the symphony.  Afterwards we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch.  The kids always saw the sign down town and were very curious, they were not disappointed.  They loved it, especially the gigantic touch pad screen.









• Jeremiah played the String Bass in a Christmas Concert.  MY LB is so handsome I love watching him perform.  He performed with the Goodyear Stake Orchestra and Choir at an amazing multi-religious event that our Stake puts on each year.
• Our Christmas shopping is officially complete and we are busily working on a service project for Grandma and Grandpa.  Grandma and Grandpa asked for a service project for Christmas each year, I always wish we would have started earlier but truth be told the service hours during this season of the celebration of our Saviors birth brings a wonderful spirit into our home.
• Bon fire and Christmas Carols with Steph's clan.  We are very excited to live close to our dear friends.  We have spent many nights together hanging out, eating dinner, doing crafts with the kids, and playing at the park.  This particular night we decided to take advantage of the fire pit in our back yard, the cold weather and the music of the season.







• Temple lights and Organ Stop Pizza.  This week I went on a Relief Society activity with our new ward.  I am loving getting to know new people, they are all very kind and fun to hang with.  We had a great time and they introduced me to the goings on of Organ Stop Pizza, I can't believe I have never been there before.  I can't wait to take the kids and introduce them to the sad little alley cats (they will probably want to take one home).

So you see between decorating, shopping, serving and holiday activities we have a great beginning to making great memories this holiday season.

My "piggies" Ate Pie

Thanksgiving 2011

Trying on my new attitude

I had the best be where your piggies are day on Thanksgiving. My piggies were loving all of the family visiting and enjoying our new atmosphere. We are right next to the park and Ashlee's clan came early so we could play, take a walk and we even had a mini picnic.

Sounds easy for my piggies to endure, NO, there were definitely obstacles.

I roasted a turkey that didn't even get carved, I baked a pie that didn't get eaten, the kids and I decorated the table that got undecorated, my kitchen got cramped, dinner was late and I really thought my piggies were going to start dancing around in a manner that looked as if I may be stomping my feet. But, I didn't let them, I kept my cool and enjoyed a very yummy Thanksgiving feast.

The following day we had another Thanksgiving feast as a family and brought out my turkey and pumpkin pie. My kids are my biggest fans, they kept saying, "Man, mom your turkey tastes so good we should have had it yesterday instead." Oh kids, I know grandma is a better cook then me, no need to butter me. Who am I kidding, I enjoyed every minute of it, I sizzled!

Admittedly, I did have a moment of weakness during one conversation but we are all entitled, right?

So despite circumstances my "piggies" made a good day out of what was available to them. NO, It was a great day with; food, family, visiting, playing and the kids had a blast too, because mom let them play....

WII....

WII...

WII...

ALL THE DAY LONG

Fun Food Pictures

Matthew with the never ending Turkey leg.

Spencer bubbling up with Sparkling Cider.
(I am pretty sure he over did it on the
bubbly because he puked)

Maggie and Aunt Kosette with Grandma's yummy rolls.

(She really is this fun!)

Grandpa and Grandma Jones joined us as well. I know MY LB and his grandpa look shiny, it's their Aura's, very righteous angelic men. Kosette snuck into the picture and because of that her Aura is a little darker. But, I guess that's what little sisters do.

P.S. That night and early into the next morning MY LB and I kicked Black Friday's Butt. It was the second year that he has joined me, he hates it. But, after year one and now with the goings on of year two he has declared that I can NEVER go alone again, EVER. He made the rule and now he must endure. I love him, he is such a good guy, he honestly would do anything for me. I try hard not to take advantage of it, really I do. But I think he likes doing anything for me, or he pretends really good like. Either way he is amazing and I am the "luckiest".

I call this blog "vomit"

You know what happens when you eat and eat and then you spin and spin and spin. Well it's like that with my stock of memories. Lot's to take in all different varieties; scouts, holidays, moving.... etc. So much that it makes my head spin and spin and spin. The outcome.......

I call this.....
BLOG VOMIT

Matthew is cruising in Boy Scouts! At his last Court of Honor with Troop 894 he earned his Second and First Class. He is aiming to be a Star by January.

***************************************************************
For the month of October we lived in a furnished vacation rental while we waited news about a possible job transfer to Indiana and looked for a rental worth renting here in AZ if we stayed. I really wish I would have gotten pictures of our vacation rental. In Spencer's words it was very luxurious and you could live here during any holiday and it would already be decorated. In my words it was a southwest, country, Victorian explosion with a hint of Christmas, Fall and Easter.

Patience is not one of my virtues. After two weeks in the vacation rental we found out that we would be staying in Arizona and our rental search began.

I can't tell you how absolutely humbling, scary, disgusting and disappointing this process was. We encountered many things I hope to never set eyes on again including.... the most disgusting dish washer imaginable, junk yards I mean back yards, crickets coming out of sinks by the dozens, missing cabinets, hoarding neighbors and the piece de resistance a dead kitty. I am not even going to explain the smells we smelled.

I am so thankful for the vacation rental so we could keep searching and find a rental that would suffice. ONLY, four days before move in our rental fell through do to neighbor issues and landlord issues. So on Monday I went out by myself to find something worth renting in ONE DAY so we could move in on Friday. Alas I found something and it was in the same church ward as our vacation rental. We think someone was praying for us to stay in the ward.

I am my own worst enemy and I do believe I deserved this abuse!

**************************************************************

In the meantime our lives moved on......

MY LB and I went to a Hockey game that was AWESOME. We were in the Toyota Club with free food (can't beat that), seats directly behind the opposing teams bench (no blood) and a good taste of the Hockey life.

**************************************************

We also got a taste of the "rich life"! We received tickets to a benefit ball from MY LB's work. It was very nice, prom night for mom and dad. I bought a new dress and MY LB a new suit and we looked "GOOD". Dinner was great and dancing..... well we left early..... just like prom night, JUST KIDDING!!!

********************************************

Outsmarted4to1; home school has been going great despite our moving set backs. I am indeed thankful for libraries and our new Core Knowledge curriculum. My kiddos are absolutely amazing! We have also been working on Scouts as part of our curriculum which took us on a field trip to the Arizona Capitol building where we took a tour, wrote our own bill and took some great camera phone pictures. Too bad later that day I ran my phone over with the car and our pictures entered a black hole. Not one of my better moments.

*********************************************

Moving was hard work! We are not good at doing things at convenient times for others to be available to help out. So with kids in tow, a very good friend to help and a borrowed trailer we made four very productive trips. Part of the leadership education our family participates in is the value of work and how it is part of being a family member. This week and the next we kicked this value in the butt. The kids were absolutely amazing and blew our minds with their productivity and valiant efforts. Maggie with her wagon full of boxes, Spencer and Matthew with their muscles and Kendal with her whistling tunes made it through two full weeks of moving, unloading and organizing. We were so proud of them!

All of their hard work paid off when they finally go to the box with the WII in it! Happy days at last!

*******************************************

Of course we didn't skip Halloween. At 2:30 the day of the Trunk or Treat Spencer found the box with the Halloween costumes in it. The kids all cheered and gave him high fives and MY LB and I gave a sigh of relief. We were afraid that since the kids didn't like our idea of being moving boxes for Halloween were going to have to buy new costumes. We are definitely finding that things have a way of working themselves out.

The Trunk or Treat was fun for all of us and it was nice to have dinner that didn't come from a fast food restaurant. We celebrated Halloween a few days later with a pizza party with Steph's Clan and Trick or Treating in our new neighborhood. The chocolate has helped me keep my wits about me, yummy!

Oh yeah that felt good!