Merry Christmas To Rach :-)

The Before:

During

The After:

I thought her room looked cute before...but now I see how boring it was! :-)

A special thanks to:

1. Rachel-for picking out the paint color. (Yes-after I spent hours with color swatches trying to pick a color-Sam called me at work to say he was going to go buy some paint and he let Rachel pick the color--I tried to sound enthused...but you have to know I was nervous-but it turned out to be perfect ...and I will admit-probably better than the color I picked :-)
2. Sam-for buying supplies-and the paint so I did not have a repeat experience like when I tried to pick out paint for our mantle. Also-for helping Rach to pick out the perfect purple. You are the greatest! Oh and I can't forget-thanks for reminding me to lock our bedroom door where we had stashed everything we own that a todder could terrorize so we could ignore the children while we painted.
3. Heather-for loaning us some painting supplies-definitely came in handy.
4. My Mom and my sister-- for helping with the painting-as part of a service project Christmas present, and for passing on all their painting pointers.
5. My dad -for coming along to supervise the children-and for taking them to McDonalds so we could finish up without any of our little helpers
6. To all of my family...for helping me look for the key to unlock my bedroom door.
7. Again to my sister-for being a good sport about having to go home barefoot...and sporting some hideous maroon corduroy pants (borrowed from me with the assumtion that no one would ever see her in them.) All because her shoes and change of clothes were locked in my room...again-so sorry ;-)
8. And lastly...to the locksmith -who saved the night by coming to my rescue to unlock the bedroom door ...and rekeying the house locks-so I could feel like there was an actual purpose for having him come out-yea, other than me locking myself out ...once again.

*Pop Quiz!* Who can list all of the times I have locked myself out of the house or car??

Temple lights

It is amazing how much fun you can have walking around looking at Christmas lights in december when it isn't below freezing outside. The lights were great-but Rachel's favorite part was the manger. Her favorite song is "Away in the manger" and she requests it every night as one of her bedtime songs. Yesterday while we were out doing some Christmas shopping, she kept singing it over...and over...and over to herself, mind you-while she claims it was to herself--there were many times I had to tell her to stop yelling the words. So cute. Every year she is drawn to the manger. Her baby doll (even though it is a girl with a pony tail of hair) is transformed into baby Jesus-during all of her little playtime--and not just on Christmas Eve. I am glad that He is so important to her.

Getting ready for Christmas

Well we have been busy getting ready for the Big Day! We decided to go for the real Christmas tree this year-here is our proof--we did get it a while ago-I am just finally getting around to posting. It isn't the biggest tree-but it has been nice to have it make our house smell nice and pretty...(even though I think I only smell it if I am breathing in close enough to the tree for the pine needles to go up my nose...or I am vaccuming) :-) But it is been great to have a tree that is above our waist. :-) And check it out-- It isn't even standing on a table! I wanted some pictures of us in front of the tree -so I decided maybe it would be a good time for some family picture practice. (PS-the whole reason we need another family picture taken is because I bought Rachel a Christmas dress for the first time this year--and it is soooo cute :-) So it definitely needs to to be properly and permanantly documented-as I am sure you all agree.) *Pop Quiz* Who do you think got sick of my picture taking first???? Cute idea...But Rachel was doing more choking than gentle hugging

Almost...if we could just get one more shot....

And...we're done. For all of you who said Rachel...you would be wrong. The funny thing is how similar this looks to a family picture when Sam was a kid and he had the same expression on his face. If I hadn't already printed out pictures for the Christmas Cards I would have sent this one.

Merry Christmas! *Arizona Style*

(the before shot)

What kind of tree is that?--you ask--well it is none other than Chandler's 51st Annual Tumbleweed Christmas Tree. The ceremony started out with a light parade-and Rach and I never miss a parade. It had a small town feel to it which was nice. We were able to find a parking spot at 6:54 and walk over to where the parade was starting and be able to have a front row seat sitting on the curb by 7:05 when the parade began. We were all bundled up ...was it necessary? Probably not...but were we cold? Nope! :-) and did we look cute? Yup!

Rachel was the #1 fan -here are some favorite quotes ~

Go Cheerleaders!

Girl scouts! Girls Scouts! Girl Scouts!

Mom! Santa!! He finally came to town!!
We are definitely getting into the holiday spirit. Sam got our Christmas lights put outside this weekend, we unpacked our Snowmen dinner plates, and we will hopefully get the tree up and decorated this week. Hope everyone's december is off to a great start :-)

Brrrrr....

It has been cold the past few days here in Arizona-I just checked the weather and right now (8:30am) the temperature is 45 (but it feels like 42.-much cooler!) The cooler weather is actually welcome here as it is starting to feel like Christmas time..by only problem is I am stuck not knowing what to wear. I just read Sandy's blog-and I totally agree. It just seems wrong to wear all the layers that I would wear in Boston.

When I noticed that it was a little chilly yesterday I tossed my short sleeve shirt back on the shelf and went for a long-sleeve shirt. I was feeling pretty cozy inside -but when I walked out to the car-brrrrr! Still cold. I ran inside and grabbed a sweater for me and I grabbed a sweater and mittens for Rach-after all she is expected to play outside in this weather at school. Then I threw in our jackets just in case-I was still cold-but I knew that it would warm up a little bit later in the day-so I was pretty sure we wouldn't need them-but at the same it seems wrong to feel even the slightest bit of cold here-when it could be avoided by putting on a simple jacket. So today I pulled out our hats and scarves that I thought would be packed away for good. I decided I would embrace them and wear them as much as they are needed-even if it is only for a couple of hours each day-because the difference is-if I layer up here-I can actually feel WARM :-) And after 4 years of constantly feeling cold- that is something i can now fully appreciate. (I didn't have any pictures to post-but as they are always more exciting to look at if there is a picture-I found one of Rach the first time we put her in a snow suit)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope all of you had a Happy Thanksgiving. I was thinking about all of you that I have spent Thanksgiving with the past few years-thanks for becoming part of my family :-)

This year it was my turn to host thanksgiving so the last few days I have been busy cleaning the house, decorating, and making food. Check out my beautiful apple pie-I am quite proud of it-not only was it tasty-but it looks pretty too :-) While I was slaving away...where was Sam?

Oh Right ;-)

In his defense-he did step up and help when it really mattered-to cut the turkey...although maybe it was because he realized we had an electric carving knife.

And proof that I am a fun mom-I let the girls use the real china tea cups at their kids table-I think I heard them say "cheers!" about 12 times.
and it looks like dinner was a success!

6 interesting things about me

Well-I was tagged by Cherise...I think...about 3 weeks ago-my story is I thought there might be another amber...but really I have just been trying to think of 6 things about me that most people don't know-I tend to talk a lot-so -here is what I came up with:

1. My favorite color is yellow-because it is happy
2. I cannot stand anything soggy--cold cereal is the worst! Especially if it is left in the sink and I have to touch it! ew!
3. I like to golf-I played junior golf when I was little-i would even go to little junior golf camps at the local courses. I just wish it was cheaper.
4. I only wash my hair twice a week -sunday and thursday-although some weeks I have to throw in one more day.
5. I wear my favorite pair of jeans for weeks before I wash them. When I first bought them last winter I wore them for over a month before they made it into the wash. --but it was cold and I didn't really sweat, and they were the only pair of jeans I liked-and I was always wearing them on laundry day.
6. I went sky diving in college.

There ya go-I tag Lacie, Jen C, Jennifer S, Missy, Sandy, And Jennie W.

Let me tell you--I will be lookin' good!

We got out of the house today by 8:30 AM and headed out to check out locations to have the family picture taken. (with a secret hope to wear the energetic one out so that I could go shopping later-and have her rest in the stroller)

Location #2 Tempe Town Lake Beach park. This time we brought her bike to really get some exercising in. Too bad the playground was under construction-because she could have played there a while longer

Location #3 We are done checking out places...but she still isnt' tired-and it isn't lunch time yet-so we went to one more park. (of course-after a few more hours...still isn't tired). oh well...it was worth a shot--and we had fun. So we grab some lunch and head to the mall. I got permission from "the boss" to buy some new clothes-and buy some new clothes I did.

Oh yea baby. Can we say Shopping Spree!!! I couldn't have done it without my friend Jen-who transformed into my personal shopper -and was responsible for most of these items. Thanks! It just makes me even more bummed that she is ditching the AZ heat for louisiana in just three weeks. I better make sure we get at least one more shopping trip in before then :-)

I confess...

My life has seemed really crazy the last few weeks and as I try to get my life back to "normal" I have been reflecting on and analyzing my life--how my life is now...and how I want it to be and what the differences are between the two. It has been a long time coming-but I have some confessions to make-with the hope that it will be the first step in changing my real life to match the of so perfect life that apparently only exists in my head --wish me luck! :)

Not so true:

1. I am a morning person
2. I am a multi-tasker
3. I am organized
4. I am in shape
5. I am always an amazingly fun mom
6. I am fun and spontaneous
7. I am a good decision maker

A little closer to the truth:

1. I was a morning person at one time...but I am not anymore (this one is for you Sam) ;-)
2. I am a master of starting many tasks without finishing any of them
3. I am messy. (not a huge slob mind you...but I can't say I am clean/organized)
4. I consider walking around the mall, walking to the park, or heck-walking to the mailbox my exercise for the month
5. My max attention span is about 5 minutes if barbies, play doh, or imaginary play is involved
6. I rarely do something that I haven't been planning for weeks. 19 out of 20 nights I am sitting at home watching tv.
7. I suck at making quick decisions. Maybe this one is just right now - since I have had to make so many decisions I am now on overload-but honestly-i am soooo bad! :-)

Watch out because there are going to be some big changes going on --Wish me luck!

Trick-or-Treat!

Rachel was not up for posing in her cute little Cinderella costume-but her cousin was posing enough for the both of them.


Rach wouldn't pose next the the jack-o-lanterns either-because the one with a spider carved into it was "Too scary." (I think that means that the haunted house is out for her too).

We made the rounds by all the trunks in the parking lot and right when we got back to our car -and were sitting down in our lawn chairs to take a turn handing out candy...we realized that little Buzz Lightyear was pooped out and (shhh...don't tell) but we jumped in the car and headed home with our candy. I felt safe since hardly anyone in the ward knows who I am- so either I will sneak by-or I will become know behind my back as the girl who showed up to trunk or treat-ate all the food, filled my kids bags up with candy, and then took off early before handing any candy out myself. lol! I'll keep you posted.

Perfect Sisters day excursion

Perfect for a sisters day-because our husbands would not have enjoyed this outing-hitting up the grand opening of a new outdoor mall. My big sis Lacie and her kids came out to spend the day with us and after cheering Rachel on at her soccer game we headed out to the mall. It is set up more like an outlet mall in kind of a quincy market/downtown crossing kind of way (except in the suburbs instead of in the happening downtown). Overall the trip was a success-we did not get any shopping done-but sadly enough -it was energizing to just be near all those stores! ha ha!

Views of the walkways & A water play fountain, & two different play grounds

Waited in a really long line to get their faces painted-then tried to watch some STOMP-style street performers-but Rach just complained that it was hurting her ears (party pooper).

Then we got in line for some free updos at this hip little girls clothing store. Apparently-pink and purple sparkly chairs, tv screens for mirrors and TONS of glitter are the secret to getting a child to sit still long enough to attempt any 'do' more ornate than a pony tail. The line was long again-but I knew we would get out use out of it since she was dressing up as Cinderella tonight for Halloween Part I.

Gorgeous!

Definitely think I am going to steal this idea to paint Rachel's room. They even glued rhinestones in the middle of the flowers for some extra girly fun.

How else do you think we kept the little brother entertained while the girls were getting all dolled up?