Gordon Chatter

The Annual Christmas Newsletter

2009-12-21T20:32:00.001-08:00

So Christmas somehow really snuck up on me this year and caught me off guard – in spite of thinking I was ready, I’m nowhere close. And now it’s only three days away and I’m fighting a particularly NASTY cold – so I don’t think much more is going to get done. But having directed everyone to this blog for more news on our family from the past year, I thought it might be best to post the family newsletter here instead!

2009 has been the “Year of Adventure” for our family (how fitting that our favorite movie this year was “UP”). The year started off with my big trip to St Thomas, US Virgin Islands!! A FANTASTIC week reconnecting with old friends without kids or husbands was just what the doctor ordered!

A week later, we took a nice little family vacation to Phoenix during Spring Break – actually booked a hotel and stayed the night in order to do some of the things that we just don’t have time for in a day trip. We visited the World Wildlife Zoo and Aquarium out in Avondale (I think – it’s WAAY West Valley…) which was really fun – and also did a little light shopping and swimming and just relaxed and had a good time.

Summer brought two big adventures. First, Randall decided it was time to upgrade the truck he’d been driving as an owner operator for the prior nine months. It was a great starter truck, but after factoring in the tremendous amount of maintenance it required, it made more sense to put that money into payments on something newer and more dependable. Hence our – hopefully – pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

Second was our big trip to finally visit Randall’s Sister Kathy and her family in Lake Oswego, Oregon. (She’s only been there for like 12 years…) What a great time we had there – seeing Portland, Eugene, Tillamook, and of course Mt. Hood! But best of all was getting to spend some time with Kathy and Randy with some visits with Christopher and Heather and getting to meet their significant others, Nicole and Al, as well. We promise not to let so much time pass before our next visit Kathy!

Dallin started second grade in the fall – and is doing rather well. He still seems to be a little chatterbox, but is doing much better at getting all of his “seat work” done on time. He played soccer this fall, and his team did quite well. They were 6-3 and at the end of the season were awarded the “Sportsmanship Award” for their age division. Really a fantastic experience for Dallin this season. I think we may have a sporting gene after all… ha ha! (This is wearing Naani’s sunglasses at one of his games.)

October brought Fall Break, and we took our trip with two other Globe Families to the “Holy Land of AZ” – Sedona, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. We packed quite a bit into those three days. For more details on that trip, see below!

Finally, Randall and I decided that this year, rather than spending money on Christmas Gifts that the kids will enjoy for a small time, then get set aside and outgrown (i.e. somewhat wasted…) we’d put the money into something fun instead. Growing up in San Diego, Randall and his family made many visits to Disneyland, but somehow, Randall had never been there during the holiday season! SO…

That’s where we spent our Christmas money instead! It was an exhausting, fun filled three days. Somehow hectic and relaxing at the same time! And (we hope) one of the Christmas presents that will be remembered for years to come. (I think we’re already on our way to that. Just yesterday, Dallin said to me, “That was the BEST Christmas present EVER!!”)

We truly hope that this year has been as exciting and full of love as ours has! We pray that the coming year brings continued blessings and love to us all!

Merry Christmas with love,

Randall, Amy, Dallin, Emory, and Timmy the cat!

Only Two weeks late…

2009-12-21T19:57:00.001-08:00

But here it is:

Happy Birthday Emory!!!

It’s so hard to believe my baby is already 2 years old! Time flies so fast!! This was then…

and this is now!

I still say that she’s like the little girl in the old poem – when she was good, she was very very good, but when she was bad… well… you get the idea! It’s so fun to see her just exploding with new things every day – she’s at that stage where she says something new and cute every time I turn around. She loves her big brother, “Dawwa” and lights up when Daddy comes in the room. She loves her Naani (my mom) and Papa and Baba (Papa is my dad, Baba is Randall’s). She’s discovered the word, “NO!” and uses it frequently, but also says I love you with “I you” or “you too.” Her favorite things are Elmo, Mickey or Minnie Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. We’re so happy to have our “Buggaboo"!

A “Grand” Adventure!

2009-10-25T21:58:00.001-07:00

***Note: After finishing this, I realized that it’s a really long post! If you don’t want a play by play of the whole trip, just enjoy the pics – but do be sure to read about the time at the Grand Canyon. It'll be worth your while!***

Globe Schools had their Fall break Oct 12-16, and with funds and time off for Randall being a little tight right now, but still wanting to do something memorable with the kids, Randall and I decided it’s time to make a trip to the Holy Land – Northern AZ! Just to make it extra memorable and fun, we invited two other families from Globe – the Voelkers and the Hudsons. Randall joked by saying that we needed a Police Escort! (Dan is an officer with DPS and Brian is a K9 officer with Globe PD…) Made sense to me!

We started with Sedona. (I didn’t think I’d ever been there, but when we came home, my mom informed me that I had… oops…)

From there, it was on to Oak Creek Canyon and Slide Rock State Park. Dallin and Randall kept saying, “Are we back in Oregon?” Talk about beautiful scenery!! The trees overhang the roads and with the fall colors they were just GORGEOUS! Slide Rock was FUN! When we got there, the ranger said that the water was about 55 degrees, so we figured we’d just try it and see. It was definitely COLD, but the kids handled it better than they did with swimming lessons… How? I don’t know… I realized tht most of my pics there were of Voelkers sliding through the creek. We Gordons were a little skittish with the cold, fast water. Dallin did go once, but after screaming so much that he had to be pulled out by a random stranger, he promptly informed me that he “almost drowned…” We really enjoyed ourselves too though – a beautiful place! I can’t recommend it highly enough!

After that, we met up with the Hudsons in Flagstaff, had a nice dinner (at IHOP – kids ate free from 4-10 – woo hoo!) hung out in the jacuzzi for a bit, then went to bed. We stared off the next morning with a great breakfast at Kristin’s favorite place, Galaxy Diner – I’d highly recommend it now as well! Good stuff! Then on to the Lava Flow Cave – which I’d never even heard of before that. It was a little too sketchy to be able to take Emory in (lots of rock climbing in the complete dark… flashlights only), so I stayed outside with Cecilie Hudson and Emory while Randall went down with Dallin. They were the first to come back, followed a little bit later by Brian and his youngest, Breanne. Her feet were hurting. Everyone came back up saying that it was a great time down there. We all enjoyed seeing another of AZ’s fantastic holes!

From the cave, we went on to the biggest hole of all - The Grand Canyon! Parking at the first lookout was scarce, so we drove on to the next one…

And what a View!!

The last time I was at the Grand Canyon was when I was 10 – and at the time I remember thinking, “wow, it’s pretty, but what’s the big deal…” Well, Big Deal indeed!! Such a different experience as an adult!! It just goes on and on!

Now, I also have to clarify that I discovered about 3 years ago that I’m somewhat acrophobic – didn’t know I was afraid of heights before then! The Grand Canyon with 10 children was a little stressful. We instituted the “Spank Zone” (Dan’s idea – he was as freaked out about it as I was… real honest-to-goodness anxiety…) That was the canyon side of the path. Nothing but a 24 inch rock wall, and that’s only in the places that you might actually fall off the path. Most places didn’t even have that! (Apparently, people die there every year. Last year, I remember on the news about a 4 yr old little girl… *shudder*… it was all I could think about while we were there… Emory never left the stroller until we were safely away from the path.)

So we walked the path for a mile or so, enjoying the sights, then decided to go on to the area where all the old lodges and hotels are.

On the way there, we ran into a big herd of deer with two bucks. One of them was rather huge! Really cool! It was getting close to sunset, so we went up the path to watch the sun go down over the canyon.

The colors that were so pretty before were really VIBRANT in the setting sun – a truly unforgettable experience!

Going… Going… and then it was gone.

We were in front of the historic El Tovar Lodge, so we sat on the porch and just relaxed and enjoyed the colors that were left behind by the setting sun. As fun and exciting and really cool as the rest of the trip was – this was BY FAR the best part of the trip. Brian asked each of us what our favorite part of the day was, and without hearing each other’s answers, we all said “sitting on the porch of the lodge!” He just nodded.

So after dinner in Flagstaff, the Voelkers and the Hudsons drove straight home, and the Gordons went back to the hotel for one more night. The rest of our stay just consisted of brunch, and looking at homes in Flagstaff – one of our favorite pastimes.

But this wasn’t quite the end of our trip. The next day in church, we found out just why Brian nodded so enigmatically when we answered his question about the best part of the day. He was speaking in Sacrament Meeting! And I’ll do my best to paraphrase his talk.

He said that our trip to the Grand Canyon was similar to another journey in the Book of Mormon. There was a path that was clearly marked that would allow us to safely reach our destination – the lodge. There were lots of distractions along the way – a herd of deer, bighorn sheep, a chipmunk that the kids tried to chase. There were also people we saw along the way that chose not to stay on the path. (One guy was sitting – literally! – on a tiny ledge with a 500 ft drop underneath him, his legs swinging in the breeze!) Why? The view from that ledge wasn’t any better than our view from the path! There were a few “casualties” to the Spank Zone, painful reminders to stay where it was safest. But at the end of the day, we were surrounded by friends and family in a beautiful place with an incredible view, able to enjoy the fruits of our day’s labor. What more could we want? And after all that we go through – isn’t that what we really want out of this life?

I have to say… Brian made an already incredible trip just that much more memorable to me.

A Week of Firsts

2009-10-03T20:15:00.001-07:00

In spite of being sick this week, both our kids had some big “first”
milestones. Emory’s hair has been getting really long, but has so many crazy layers, that it really looked more straggly than anything. So after a few weeks of debating, Randall took Emory in for her first “real” haircut. (I didn’t count the little bang trim I gave her last June – it was barely a trim…) She wouldn’t let me get a real “Before” picture, so here’s one from a few weeks ago:

And here’s my baby now:

We went with the “Suri Cruise” bob. It was the best way to explain what it was we were looking for. She loves it – and so do I!

As for Dallin – about two weeks ago, he was complaining about his tooth hurting. It turned out that it was a little loose, so I figured that it must have something to do with that. Well, two days later, he yawned at breakfast, and I realized why it must be hurting. The permanent tooth was coming up behind it. The dentist said it didn’t need to be pulled, and that it was fine if it came out on its own. So today at Dallin’s soccer game, just as he ran out to play goalie, he comes running back and says, “Here Mommy…” and hands me… yep – his tooth!!

So the Tooth Fairy is FINALLY going to be making a visit to the Gordon Household!! Yay!

A Good Day for the Machula Family!

2009-09-26T20:44:00.001-07:00

Thursday was a day of lots of blessings for our family! First, Laurie had her baby – Arianne Mckelle. She arrived at 1:10 in the morning, and was 7lbs 11oz and 21 inches. She’s GORGEOUS!! (I’m not happy to have another niece or anything… tee hee!)

She looks a lot like her brother, Michael – and has her Great Grandma Machula’s nose!

Second – Dad had his follow up appointment for the radiation treatments. All is well! The Dr. said that the numbers are going down just as they expected, and that they should continue to do so. He’ll have another visit in six months to monitor that they are continuing to go down – but for now, this is the news we wanted to hear!!:)

It’s FAIR time!!!

2009-09-20T21:02:00.001-07:00

Several years ago, Randall and I took Dallin to the Gila County Fair (this was before Emory was born), and were shockingly disappointed. There were hardly ANY exhibits – the hall was practically empty – except for basically the school and 4H stuff, there would have hardly been anything to see. We resolved that we’d always try to enter things in the fair from then on – if nothing else than to make sure that there were at least a few things to look at. Apparently lots of people resolved the same thing, because it’s been a great show since then!

We took a few years off, but we were back on track this year. Randall and Dallin entered some collections (Dallin’s Star Wars toys and Randall’s hot air balloon stuff), I took a few pictures (including the one Laurie’s husband, Matt, took of Dallin holding the rainbow) and baked my spiderweb Halloween cookies. Randall also convinced me at the last minute to enter the Prickly Pear Jelly (see previous post for more about the jelly).

Jeannette Voelker and I went out on Wednesday to volunteer to help for judging day. We were delighted to find out that we were going to be helping in the food entries – especially so, because as it turned out, after the judges taste each item, they allow the volunteers to taste them as well! AND imagine my surprise when the judges awarded Best of Show in the cookies and the jellies to MY entries!! That just made it extra fun! I’m already thinking about what to enter for next year!

Dallin Showing off his and Daddy’s Collections (Randall recieved a 2nd place, Dallin a 3rd):

Dallin with the pic of himself:

My spiderweb cookies before delivering them:

Here’s a better view of the pictures we entered:

Flowers in St. Thomas – Participation

Mt. Hood, Oregon – Third Place:

Matt’s pic of Dallin – First Place

A Prickly Adventure

2009-09-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

For years, I have looked at the lovely prickly pear fruits that come out on the cactus this time of year and thought, “Someday I need to learn to make jelly out of those…” So a few weeks ago, I decided that I’d just jump in and learn by experience!

I made myself an "expert" by reading about it on the internet. (Why it didn't occur to me to ask people that I knew make it, I'm not sure...) So after I picked up Dallin from school that Friday, we went out and picked a peck of prickly pears. We used heavy gloves and tongs of course – no prickles for us, thanks!

Then we took them home and burned all the prickles off with the gas stove. This took well over an hour, since we went a little crazy with the picking. Later, a friend of mine said that when they would make it, they’d use a weed burner before they picked them to burn off the pokies. Yeah, that would have made it easier…

Next, I put them all into my biggest pots and boiled them for about 15 minutes. Then you mash them like masked potatoes and strain the seeds and pulp and any possible stray prickles through cheesecloth. (Didn’t get any pics of the straining. Sorry…) After which I was left with about 18 cups of lovely prickly pear juice!

At this point, I had to take a break for about two weeks due to a round of Flu (we think it was probably the dreaded swine flu…) my son so lovingly brought home from school and shared with us…

But then it was time to make the jelly – and that was about the same as you would do to make any other jelly. Boil the juice with sugar and pectin, bottle it, and seal in a water bath. Voila! Lovely homemade prickly pear jelly! I hope this lovely story has inspired you to look in your own yards or areas and try some little crazy ideas yourselves!

Way to go, Parky!

2009-08-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

My Uncle Parky (Orville Baird) is my dad's brother from his mother's first marriage. Her first husband died of heart failure when Parky was quite young. While he was out fishing one day he met a nice man named Herman and invited him home for dinner. Herman became my grandfather. Parky was about 10 when my dad was born. Dad remembers him as always being a "real AZ cowboy." A neat guy - an incredible artist, and a heck of a banjo player to boot. Sadly, with the real "cowboy" roughness came the smoking and drinking. When he'd finish one, he'd start another, and back again. This was his way of life until a year or so ago. Uncle Parky quit smoking - after 55+ years! And then last year, he quit drinking too. So imagine our delight when last Friday...

He recieved his endowments and he and his wife were sealed in the Snowflake Temple!

Don't ever give up on someone!! Dad knew that he always had a testimony. We always hoped and prayed - loving him just as he was all the while. Don't ever let someone tell you, "it's too late for me - you can't teach an old dog..." blah blah!! Uncle Parky will be 72 (!) on Sept 10th. I can assure you, if he can do it - anyone can!!

Parky in '05:

Parky last Friday (next to Dad) with his wife, Sue, Uncle Myron and a Solomon cousin - with his wife:) - on the right

Just for fun - here's a video of Dad and Parky playing Tennessee Waltz in Oct '05 (some wind noise is in the background...)

Redecorating

2009-07-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

So it was time to change the background again. I was tired of hearing from Randall and Dallin that they didn't like that our blog was pink. It still has flowers, but at I like them and I'm the one doing this blog, so there!:) Actually, I like that this one is a little easier on the eyes as well...:)

Summer Fun (ha ha)

2009-07-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

So this year, I thought that summer would be a bit quieter than last since Randall wasn't going to be living part time in Safford, and we could stay here all summer long. That's what I get for thinking it out loud! It's been just as busy, and a little more so because of going down to Mesa with my dad every day. (For those of you reading this who are out of the know, Dad has prostate cancer and is having daily radiation treatments in Mesa. The prognosis is very good with the radiation, so it's more about the inconvenience of having to make the nearly two hour trip every day right now. We'll keep you posted on that account as well...) I haven't been taking him as often yet, but I hadn't realized how much I relied on my mom during summer months for being able to have time to do things like go to Curves to work out (especially with our new NO EXCEPTIONS no kid policy... grrr...), run to show an apartment, etc. Randall has also been having lots of truck issues - more on that in a different post soon - and I've had to help him with running to Phoenix to take it to the shops there, blah blah blah. Combine that with swimming lessons for both kids, and not much is working out like I thought. So needless to say, I haven't worked out properly for 6 weeks, the house is in an embarassing state, and we haven't had a home cooked meal more than twice a week since summer started! AWFUL! Is this how our mothers felt about summer when we were little?

Pioneer Pass Fire

2009-06-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

So most of you know that there's been a fire burning on the Pinal Mtns in Pioneer Pass for the last 2 weeks or so. Last Monday, Randall and I took the kiddies out to Cutter Airport (the one across from the Casino) to see the Air Crane tankers they've been using to fight the fire. What a great time it turned out to be! We walked out along the fence just to look, and the guys invited us inside to come and tour the helicopters and all sorts of fun. Dallin got to sit in the cockpits of both copters (Sukorsky - sp?! - Air Cranes, former military choppers the 3rd largest in the world - HUGE), and the guys were great! We came home with stickers and pins and even a couple of hats! Thank you Firefighters!! (We also took out out new digital camcorder, but I haven't taken the time to learn how to pull the video off the camera yet, and most of it's on there. Maybe later... tee hee!)

I've been chastized...

2009-05-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

By mostly myself, but also by Megan about how long my blog has gone neglected. (Thanks, Megan, I needed that!) Suffice it to say that the rest of the trip was just as fun and fantastic as the first three days, and it was great to come home!

In the meantime, we've had three birthdays, one spring break trip, one piano recital, three apartments come vacant, and plently of other stuff that I'll try to be better about catching up on. I'm back in the bloggosphere, hopefully to do a bit better than I have been!

Vacation Report: Day Three - Church & Sightseeing

2009-04-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

Day Three started with getting ready for Church - almost as crazy as getting children ready for church is deciding how to coordinate four women sharing one bathroom. But we were ready in plenty of time, and attended a nice service. It was fast Sunday and many beautiful testimonies were born about Christ and His Church. There were a few interesting notes, however. The electricity went out in the middle of the service (apparently this is a frequent occurence on the island) so we opened the windows. I thought that actually made it a little cooler since the AC had been somewhat on the fritz. However, it did make for a somewhat distracting time. The branch is located on Church Hill, along with several other churches. Part way through Relief Society, a rather loud organ and band started playing. You could hear the preacher (think Black Preacher in long robes with the choir behind him...) shouting, "and Jesus said to them..." and the organ and band got louder. It was kinda fun. Tee Hee

After church and lunch we went for a little downtown sightseeing. We walked up the famous 99 steps of St. Thomas (built in 16 something) and counted 103. We saw Blackbeard's Castle (Pirates of the Caribbean happens in the Carribean... that didn't occur to me until we were there...) and other things. Then Kristin decided to take us out to a nice quiet spot to watch the sunset. We were in flip flops and sandals and the rocks were jagged at an angle. Made for sketchier climbing than we expected, but not too bad, just tricky. There was a lovely view of the ocean and sunset there. After that, home for a lovely home cooked dinner and then we looked at the pics we'd taken, plus several that Kristin had taken with her underwater camera. Very cool. Then bed, and up early again the next day. Stay tuned for a final Vacation Report : Days Three and Four - Pirates, Tents, Coral and Rays

Vacation Report Day Two : Beach, Beach and more Beach!

2009-03-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

So our first real day started nice and easy. Kristin had already been training to run in the 8 Tough Miles race on neighboring St. John. She had to leave at 6:00 AM (That's 3:00 our time...) As much as we wanted to, we knew that we'd be a little worn out from the flights the day before and opted to sleep in a little. So we got up at 8:00, and were finally bright eyed and bushy tailed when she came in at 10:30. We packed to BBQ on the beach and left for the first beach.

Sapphire Beach was where we went snorkeling. Can I just say that if I had access to it, I'd lose a ton of weight like that, because I LOVE SNORKELING! That was the most exciting thing EVER! It took a little while to get my bearings, breathing through the tube and all, but once we got it we had a blast. We saw all sorts of things. Jeannette saw a cuttlefish, we all saw parrotfish and a butterfly fish. All sorts of fun stuff. Kristin thought we might take a shortcut back to the beach. "I'm pretty sure those rocks and stuff end so that we can go in." So we started back. I remember thinking, "I know that this mask makes things look a little closer, but those urchins look like I'm about to kick them... We're not supposed to touch the coral, but it seeems much closer than before... I think I just kicked something... My belly's getting awfully close... where did everyone else go..." By this time I was just barely keeping the panic down and trying to breathe the right way. Then I hear Jeannette yell, "Kristin! Help!" I look up and see that we're swimming in about 6 inches of water and there are sea urchins everywhere! Julie and I start laughing then as we realize that everyone on shore must think that we're total idiot tourists, and Kristin helps us make it out of the water without stepping on anything pokie. We had a good laugh about it that night.

After snorkeling, we went to Smith Bay Beach (formerly known as and still referred to by us as Lindquist Beach) for a BBQ. We just generally goofed around and hung out and played in the sand afterwards, including turning Julie into a Little Mermaid. After playing, we went over to Megen's Bay, which is the most popular and busiest beach, although we were there at the end of the day, so it wasn't so crowded. That's where we saw a stingray in the water, about 5 feet from the water's edge. It's also where we met some interesting locals about to have a fish fry. They teased us about asking if all their fish were real - to a bunch of AZ gals seeing a 25 gallon cooler full of silvery fish, we naievely asked if they were...:) Oh, and we also saw a mongoose, but he was quicker than my camera.

Dinner was at a nice place on the beach also, a part of one of the hotels next to the airport. There was excellent seafood and tiki torches - as well as a cat roaming around being friendly! Then back to Kristin's for bed and up early the next morning for church. Stay tuned for Vacation Report Day Three: Church and Downtown!

Vacation Report: Day One - I Hate Airline Travel!

2009-03-09T13:46:00.001-07:00

Our first day was spent strictly traveling. We left Globe at 6:00 AM - and it was a good thing too, because it was real gridlock from Mesa to the Airport. It would have been nice to say that everything went smoothly from there - but it didn't! We had planned for some hiccups. We checked our bags, knowing that they might not make it on time, we also took a carryon with the basics. We knew that delays might force a possible stayover or something like that. What I wasn't prepared for was a major glitch to happen before we even left Phoenix!!! While booking everything, we were flying US Air (Randall calls it US Scare...) to Tampa, then American the rest of the way - Tampa to Miami, Miami to St. Thomas. When booking, we selected all of our seats, with the exception of that first flight out of Phx, because there was no option to select them on that one. Every other time I've done this, no problem, they give us our seat assignment when we checked in. So while checking in, the guy says to us, "It looks like it's an overbooked flight, so they'll be asking for volunteers to give up their seats." We had a tight connection, so we knew that we couldn't give up our seats. Whatever, no problem. We get to the gate and they're calling for volunteers, and then start boarding. This is when I notice that we don't have a Boarding Group number. So we ask the gate agent, and she tells us that when you fly standby, you may not make that particular flight. "What do you mean, standby?! We got confirmation numbers and everything?!" Apparently, we didn't have seats to give up! That's right kids, WE were the ones on STANDBY!!! So with sinking, helpless feelings and knots in the pits of our stomachs, we watched as everyone boards the plane. In the meantime, the agent is looking up possible alternatives to help us make our connections, mumbling, "Nope, that's not going to work... maybe... no that's not going to... how about?... no..." and shaking her head. Jeannette has burst into tears of frustration at this point, I'm feeling more and more stupid and angry for not knowing that we'd booked standby - which I NEVER would have done knowingly, and she looks at us and says, "We've had one person give up their seat, and we're waiting for one more passenger to come... *pause for 3 seconds*... OK - GO!" YAY!!! So we sprint down the jetway and they close the doors and taxi away! *WHEW*

We make our connection to Tampa just fine, but the outgiong plane is 10 minutes late arriving there, and then 10 minutes late getting into Miami. We know that we had 50 minutes between flights, and start feeling a bit anxious again. They wait another 15 minutes to even get a gate (there was another plane still in the one we were supposed to be in) and it takes us 15 minutes more to even get out of the plane (never sit in the back when you have tight connections!). Julie texts us that they're boarding, so we call her and say "Tell them we're COMING!!!" We start power walking to the next gate (clear over in another terminal - and no quick train thingies between terminals like in the big airports) when we hear announced, "Last Call for American [whatever flight #] to St. Thomas!" ACK!! So we sprinted the rest of the way there (Think Hurley in the Season One Finale - only not quite as sweaty! Ha Ha!) and did another grand "jump on board just at they're closing the doors" move. We were pretty ramped up and giggled and laughed with Julie the rest of the way there - we felt somewhat sorry for the other people around us on the plane - but not that bad! Tee Hee!

All else went smoothly, with the exception of our bags not making it (no suprise there, right?) - but we had planned for that already, and they came just fine the next day. Check in again soon for more of "Amy's Vacation Report - Day Two: Beach, Beach, and more Beach!" Signing out for now!

I'm Back!

2009-03-04T09:33:00.000-08:00

And it was WONDERFUL! Stay tuned for a more detailed report and lots of pics!

One Week left...

2009-02-19T14:54:00.000-08:00

That's right, Kids... Amy's off on Vacation in ONE WEEK! I'll be off to the Virgin Islands to visit with friends - and I'm leaving Randall and the kids behind. I make that sound like I couldn't care less, don't I - far from it! I'm actually rather nervous about leaving... but the tickets are bought, and non-refundable! So I am really excited about it. I'm looking forward to not having someone hanging on me, or screaming, "MOMMY!!!" every few minutes. And I know that I'll come back to a mess, but I'll be glad to have gone, and happy to be clung to again when I'm back. And I'll have had a trip of a lifetime. Beautiful Beaches, gorgeous views, fun with the girls, a relaxing weekend, here I come!

Side note to LOST fans: It occurred to me, only AFTER we bought the tickets that we are sitting in row 23! (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42...) "It's just a show, It's just a show, it's just a show..."

Why buy toys?!

2009-02-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

These are so much cheaper!

She did finally manage to sit inside the bowl:

SNOW DAY!!!!

2009-02-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning we woke to the rare and lovely sight of snow-covered Globe. It happens here every so often. Globe school District was smart (or something) enough to cancel school for the day. (Miami and San Carlos were not - Miami attendance was down by half, and San Carlos sent the students home after an hour.) Emory had been up most of the night before with a NASTY cold - but we took her outside enough to look around at it and wonder what all that white stuff was. Dallin only played in it for about 5 minutes, and then decided that it was too cold for him and came inside. We spent the rest of the day playing board games and watching cartoons. Yay for a day off! These pics are from about noon, when it started to melt. As usual for us - it was pretty much all gone by the end of the day.

25 Random Things about Amy

2009-02-02T13:46:00.000-08:00

So I too, spent way too much time coming up with these for my Facebook page, and thought I should post them here as well...

1. My middle name is actually Elizabeth, after my grandmother, Betty Allen. I legally dropped it when I got married.
2. I actually like living in Globe, AZ.
3. I'm somewhat obsessive over the show LOST - my dad comes over and we watch it together every Wednesday. And yes, I do have theories.
4. I'm learning to enjoy doing laundry - something satisfying about putting away clean clothes where they belong.
5. I'm a procrastinator. BIG TIME!
6. I don't think I'm a very creative person - at least on my own.
7. I wish I was a creative person!
8. I love my husband and kids, but I'm really looking forward to my OWN PERSONAL VACATION WITH THE GIRLS!!! (FIVE WHOLE DAYS!!!)
9. I really enjoy cooking - it seems to be one thing I do rather well.
10. I love watching Friends reruns.
11. I hate it when people are intolerant and disprespectful of other people's beliefs. Getting up in arms about anything means that you can't listen rationally to the other side. I think that we can disagree and still be kind about it.
12. I'm somewhat easily annoyed, but very seldom do I actually get angry.
13. I married my high school sweetheart.
14. I'm a Democrat. *GASP*
15. I have conservative values. *GASP*
16. I love to play card games - Phase 10 Baby!
17. I watch too much TV - but I am aware of my problem, and awareness is the first step to change...:)
18. I don't get out much - can you tell?
19. I love stingrays. I got to feed them at Sea World on our last vacation - they are really beautiful creatures!
20. I'm actually a rather private person.
21. I'm terrified of spiders and emus.
22. I'm not very good at corresponding with my friends... but most of you already know that by now...:)
23. I used to want to be in movies - Now I know that I'd be one of the rehab celebrities. I couldn't handle the pressure! I like my boring life, thanks.
24. I don't really like candy. Of course, I don't really consider Chocolate to be candy - it's a whole seperate category!
25. I'm ignoring the cries of my baby to finish this, so I guess I'm a bad mom? LOL

To the Kids who grew up in AZ

2009-02-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

So I found this over on Marisa's blog -

Anyone remember these guys!

The Wallace and Ladmo Show!

I used to make sure I could watch them at 7:00 before we had to go out and catch the school bus.

Check them out on YouTube! Ah... the memories!

Holy Cow! Has it been that long since I posted?!

2009-01-28T09:31:00.001-08:00

Hi all! Just a quick note to say I'm still alive here and so are the rest of us! Things have been crazy around here for the last several weeks - I'll give proper update later. Emory's getting everything out of our desk right now... Tax paperwork included... !!

Happy Birthday Emory!

2008-12-07T12:46:00.001-08:00

Has it already been a year since she came to our family?! It's so hard to believe that! (Emory's actual birthday is tomorrow on the 8th, but tomorrow's full, and she's taking a good nap right now...) Well, the first year has been great - I remember that after we'd had her home a week, Randall and I were talking. We both said that in spite of how short a time we'd had her, it was hard to remember a time when she wasn't with us. She just fit right in, and there was no real "adjustment" for us at all. One year later, it's still the same. She just fits right in - although there has been a little more adjusting since then - mostly for me. Girls are so very different from boys! She reminds me of that nursery rhyme about the little girl with the curl on her forehead. "When she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was awful." That's our little Emory. Nothing done half way for her - she's all in with whatever she's doing! But what a blessing she is for us, and how very happy we are that she's ours!

Whoops

2008-12-07T12:25:00.001-08:00

OK, so something clearly happened while I was posting that last entry. Sorry!

So, Turkey Spaghetti:

1 Onion, chopped
2-3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1-2 Carrots, finely chopped - or grated
1-2 Celery stalks, finely chopped

Sautee all these together in a little olive oil, then add a can or jar (I use Hunts No Sugar Added Spaghetti sauce) of whatever sauce you like - about 24 oz or so - and add the leftover chopped turkey, about 2 Cups worth (I sometimes add a little chicken stock if it looks too thick). Voila! Turkey Bolognese! Even my dad looks forward to this one - and he hates turkey!

Got leftover turkey?

2008-11-28T15:28:00.000-08:00

I have a great way to use up your leftover turkey. Turkey Spaghetti

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-04T14:48:00.001-08:00

As you can see, Dallin wanted to be a Transformer this year. Bumblebee won out over Ironman, although it was close race. Emory just had to be Tinkerbell - at least I thought she had to. I think it was a good choice, don't you?

Halloween festivities this year consisted mainly of the Trunk or Treat at church and then Trick or Treating with friends on Friday. A friend of ours has an annual Halloween party for "grown-ups only." That was the week before. Randall wasn't able to go this year, so I went with a Cheerios box. It had slashes and the scissors still stuck in it. I was a Cereal Killer - ha ha! All in all a fun year. More candy than any person can eat, but that's part of the fun, right?

2008-10-31T16:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pics from our San Diego Vacation!

We saw all the "usual stops" for us (Randall's old house, school, etc.) and did a few new things this time as well. Point Loma lighthouse, Tidepools (at low tide even!), and of course, Sea World. Apparently when you're actually from San Diego, Sea World is not that cool. I finally talked Randall into going "for the kids." We also spent a day going to some of the museums in Balboa Park. We really had a great time!

Halloween pics to be posted soon. Stay tuned!

We're Going Back to Cali, to Cali, to Cali...

2008-10-10T13:55:00.001-07:00

HOORAY for FALL BREAK!

When the schools first started having Fall Break, I thought it was the silliest idea I'd heard since High school starting at 9:00 AM so that the teens can get more sleep (I'm still rankled about that one). But now that I have one in school, I love it! Traveling is so much easier for us in the fall. Things are cooler, less crowded, not to mention cheaper!

So we're headed to San Diego!

I'm sure there will be plenty to post when we come back. See you all then!

Has it really been that long?!

2008-09-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

So Yesterday was our anniversary. Can you believe that this was our, get ready for this, drum roll please...

TWELFTH ANNIVERSARY!

Yep, folks, that's right, I've been married for twelve years. (That makes me sound really old doesn't it!)

Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm so glad that I found my match (like on Ever After - just saw it again the other day). And Randall is my match in just about every way. Of course, we do have our differences - who doesn't - but I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have him for eternity!

Long Time no post...

2008-09-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are actually reading this, things here have been a little difficult. Emory has gotten to that stage where she can't be apart from me for more than about 5 seconds (that's only a slight exaggeration). And she is still not my napper. Since our computer is in the least baby proof room of the house, I can't just put her on the floor. It seems that I'm lucky to check the email more than once a week this last month or so. Otherwise, things are just plugging along as usual. Actually, we're pretty boring right now - and I guess boring is good in the grand scheme of things, because it means there's no drama. Boring good, Drama bad.

Well, this is a surprise!

2008-08-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

You're Coffee.
Compared to other ice creams, coffee ice cream has a strong flavor, and it's packed with caffeinated sweetness. You're like that, too! You're always busy, and determined to stay focused as you move from one task to the next. You get frustrated when other people slow you down or hold you back, but when you're in control, you can find ways around any obstacle.

Like this quiz? Send it to a friend.

6% of the people who took this quiz got the same evaluation

Had a Bad Day?

2008-08-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

So I had a really bad day on Thursday. The kind where you just want to stick your head out the window and yell at the world. The kind where each moment seems to get worse than the one before. The kind where you can feel the muscles on your neck getting tenser and tenser and surely they'll snap from the tension any second. The kind where you feel like you're going to cry or scream or just laugh hysterically until they "come to take me away, ha ha!" if anything else happens. The kind where you look at the clock every few minutes hoping that it's going to be bedtime soon and you can forget about the whole thing. And when it was bedtime and the kids were FINALLY asleep, that's just what I did...

And Friday morning...

It really was all better! Amazing what a good night's sleep can do. (That and kissing and making up with the ones that you need to...)

I've Been Tagged...

2008-08-11T17:08:00.001-07:00

So I've actually been tagged twice now, but I haven't taken the time to play yet, so here goes...

How to play this game. Post these rules on your blog; List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.

3 Joys:
My sweet husband - Randall really can turn on the charm when I least expect it.
My wonderful kids - Dallin is always exciting and Emory is just a little doll - but geting bigger all the time.

3 Fears:
Spiders
Psychotic drivers - mostly for Randall's sake. Please drive carefully!
That I will turn into my mother (But it wouldn't be as bad as I used to think it would be.)

3 Goals:
Going to Curves again every day (I'm getting habits back into place, we'll talk poundage later...)
Being a more patient and supportive mother/wife
Finishing school someday

3 Current obsessions/collections:
As Always - LOST, you can't watch it too many times
The Olympics - Diving is my favorite!
Reading - A friend lent me Twilight and I was pleasantly suprised. I finished it in a day and a half!

3 Random surprising facts about myself:
I'm not random or surprising...
OK, here's one - I didn't vote for Bush in either election! Ooh, and I was a Gore Supporter!
I used to want to be a lawyer (Can you picture that now?!)

As for who to tag - I don't know anyone else who actually blogs, so if you're reading this and don't blog, consider yourself tagged! Post it in the comments!

More complicated than it sounds...

2008-08-11T13:49:00.001-07:00

So I read in Time magazine that Stephanie Meyer, the author of the Twilight vampire series, typed the first novel one handed with a baby in her lap. Let me just say - she deserves kudos for that! I can barely type this post with the baby in my lap! I'm better at one handed, but it's not that - her reach is further now and I get about twenty extra characters on each line - not to mention that she's about to jump out of my lap! Little squiggle bug!

Aren't kids so sweet!

2008-08-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

So I just had to post about this! This morning before school, I asked Dallin to stay on our big bed with Emory (she was still sleeping) while I jumped in the shower. I heard her wake up and the two of them playing. So I was just getting out of the shower when there was a little knock on the door. Dallin said, "Mommy, can I come in?" Of course, I said, "no son, I'm getting dressed." This was the conversation that followed:

D - "It's just that..." I could hear him sniffling

Me - "Is everything OK?"

D - "Yes, it's just that... (Muffle, Muffle) ... Emory."

Me - "What?"

D - "(Muffle, Muffle)... Emory."

By now I had my clothes on, so I peeked out.

Me - " Are you ok?"

D - "Yes... it's just that I'm so glad that we have Emory in our family. (Sniffle, sniffle)"

I kissed him and said, "Me too. So these are happy tears?"

Dallin nodded.

Everyone chime in now - AAAWWWW!

Moms of Globe are dancing!

2008-08-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of School! Can I tell you how excited I am?! I think that I was more happy than Dallin to be sure! Back to school for kids means back to sanity and predictability for Moms. Emory actually napped for more than 30 minutes this morning! Hooray!

We're Back!

2008-08-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

Well it's decided. We're not moving to Safford - at least for now. The kids and I spent most of July in Safford with Randall (or at least what felt like most of the month...) to keep him company. We kept things rather simple there, although I did finally say that I had to have something to sit on and went and rented a couch.

It was really nice to catch up with friends there and see how they're all doing and be amazed at how the kids have grown! We had a great time - but it is good to be back home now. It's crazy how much happens when you're gone. I hardly even had a chance to check my email! And how in the world does an empty house get so dirty?!

Swimming Lessons

2008-07-03T20:26:00.000-07:00

One week to go still, but - Oh, what progress this year!

After three years of lessons, Dallin is finally enjoying the water. Our first year, he wouldn't go near the pool at all - screamed bloody murder the whole time. That really suprised me - I had no idea where it came from! Last summer, he got into the pool, but as soon as he had to try and swim, it was more of the same. This year I said, "all three sessions, please!" (The lessons are for two weeks each session) And now, nearing the end of the last session, he is really having a great time!

He's able to float on his back for 10 seconds (then he gets scared and moves...), he can kick with his arms stretched in front of him, he will even go into the "deep end" (the 5 feet), and when they do life jacket day, he can't wait to jump off the diving board! I'm not exactly calling him an Olympic hopeful, but this is progress I can be happy about!:)

A side note for those who have noticed - those are Jeannette Voelker's kids, along with Crystal Slaughter's (I can't remember her married name... ack!) son in the pics as well!

Weekend Husband

2008-06-28T13:57:00.001-07:00

So I'm going back to having a weekend husband. There's a lot of trucking work to be done in the Mines in Morenci, AZ (that's about 60 miles further east of Safford - for those of you not familiar with AZ), and Randall is being put on a truck there. This is good, because the pay is "supposed" to be much better. I say that with "s because the numbers don't always work out the way "they" tell you. So we decided to work out an interim situation. Rather than moving us all to Safford right away, Randall is renting a house in Sunrise Village (the trailer park that we lived in before) to see just how well it actually works out. If the numbers do work out the way that we've been led to believe, then we will consider moving. In the meantime, Randall will be living in Safford during the week and come home on the weekends. We don't know his exact schedule yet, but it's looking like he'll be driving nights with Sun and Mon off. (Although that's not definite till his boss gets back from vacation on Monday...) As you can tell, there's a lot about this that's up in the air, and that's a little scary for both of us. And of course, that's why we aren't moving the family yet. We did that the last time we moved to Safford, and it didn't work out so well - not that it's Safford's fault of course!:) We just want to have our feet a little wet before we jump in the deep end. So for now, it's the "wait and see" game we're getting so good at playing, and I have a weekend husband again.:(

How cute this is!

2008-06-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

So I just read about this one on Mela's Blog (thanks, Mela!). Emory won't have enough hair for at least a little while yet, but I had to post something about it for those of you with daughters or nieces or whatever - that do.

http://shedoeshair.blogspot.com/

Check it out! They are the cutest hairstyles I've ever seen - especially the Lattice Ponytails. It makes me want Emory to have long hair soon!

It starts...

2008-06-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

So I was just playing with Dallin and Emory in their bedroom. Emory's getting good at sitting up and "floor swimming" (on her tummy with all fours in the air). Saturday, she finally got up on all fours. And today - she has pretty much mastered it. Next it'll be walking, then running, then asking for the car keys and going on dates. Ok, let's not get ahead of ourselves or anything! Tee Hee!

Visit with Naani

2008-06-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

She went back home last Tuesday, but I'm finally posting about it now....

My grandmother, Betty Allen, flew out from Connecticut to see us for about two weeks. What a great time we had! Dallin enjoyed getting to spend time with two Naanis. (Naani, by the way is the Hindi word for Mother of the Mother. So to Dallin she is Naani Jii.)

Hyla and Nathan came down from Utah for the occasion, as did my mother's cousin, Bruce Converse, and his family - from Scottsdale, not Utah :). Of course there was time with Laurie and Matt and their kids as well.

Four Generations of Women!

We love Naani - I only hope that I can be doing as well as she when I'm 83!

Wow! My first real post!!!

2008-06-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

So I think I finally have things situated enough to feel good about posting - and here I am! Now, what do I write?!

It'll be nice to have somewhere I can write those cute things about the kids, share in the excitement of my day (only a little sarcasm there... honest!), vent about annoying things, and all the great stuff I love reading on other blogs.

And on that note, the baby's awake again - I got a whole 15 minutes to myself this afternoon! Yeah!

Under Construction

2008-04-28T15:33:00.001-07:00

We're finally here! Keep checking back for more excitement!