Snow in Tucson?

 Can you believe we found snow in Tucson??  OK - yes, there's a catch -- it was really soap bubbles blown from overhead blowers, but it was magical to our kiddos.  Poor things just don't get to experience real snow more than once a year when we venture up to Mt. Lemmon.  A nearby mall -- La Encantada -- turns on their "snow blowers" every Friday and Saturday evening during December.  They call it "Enchanted Snowfall!"  It is a fun addition to our "12 Days of Christmas" countdown.

Countdown Day #4

Today's countdown was "Enjoy E's Treat Trade" . . . and we did!  What a fun group of friends she has!  Several weeks/months ago E decided to host a Christmas "treat trade"(cookie exchange) for her friends.  She's been working all that time to make invitations, decorations, plan and make craft kits, find the "perfect" recipe to share, etc . . . It was scheduled for last Friday and wouldn't you know it Emma came down with a sick tummy that very morning.  Thankfully she has very accommodating friends (and friend moms) who were able to reschedule for today - hurray!  Everyone brought 12 cookies along with the recipe, and went home with 12 different cookies and a great collections of recipes.  They also made a cute paper Christmas tree craft --easy enough to make while gabbing away.

E made these paperlollies for her centerpiece!

E made these adorable and tasty snowman cake pops!

A completed paper Christmas tree

A sampling of the treats -- I forgot to snap the photo before the snacking began.

Fabulous gals all!

Mr. BR's big night!

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" countdown has begun!  "Day 1 - Go watch BR in his First Grade Holiday Concert and drink Stephen's peppermint hot cocoa."  Briant did such a great job singing with gusto and remembering the words!  His favorite song of the night was DeGrazia's school song.

How fun that Aunt Suzanne and Grandma got to be here for the concert! We had a wonderful couple of days with them.  What a treat to see them both and spend some time with them! 

Notice how nice and spiffy BR looks?  Here is a bit of the conversation we had leading up to his wardrobe selection --
Me: "What are you supposed to wear tonight?"
BR:  "NOT my Santa hat!" (said unhappily)
Me:  "So, how about this nice red shirt - that's festive?"
BR:"Mrs. Allen said we have to wear our very best clothes."
Me: "Okay, so church clothes."
BR:"No, these (points to his basketball pants) are MY best clothes."
Me: "I don't think Mrs. Allen meant the clothes you LIKE best." 
Br: scowl, murmur, scowl . . ."Okay."

Sleep Tight

Just a random thought I didn't want to forget . . . When I was growing up my parents would tuck us into bed at night, give hugs and kisses, and as they were leaving the room say "sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."  I always thought it was just a silly way of saying "have a good night's rest."  When I got older I was touring one of many old homes that I've toured in my life (so I can't remember which house it was) and learned the REAL STORY behind this expression.  When people slept on the old hay stuffed mattresses they would often need to TIGHTen the ropes under the mattress for a nice, firm rest AND there were very often BED BUGS in the hay that would bite during the night.  So, yes, this expression was a wish for a good night's rest . . . pretty much.  ANYWAY,  as I am a creature of habit I always tuck my kids in, give them hugs and kisses, and as I'm leaving their rooms I say "sleep tight" (I have omitted the bed bug part in recent years as my children have great imaginations and are susceptible to the power of suggestion -- if you know what I mean).  TONIGHT for the first time from any of my kids came this from my little S, "Mom, what sleep tight mean?"  I saved my explanation for the blog and told her "it just means have a good night's rest." 

Our Rock Star

E has wanted to play the electric bass for the last year and a half.  When she got one of the bass spots in band she was ecstatic!  Last night was her first concert, and it was great! I love how the electric bass really rounds out the sound of the band.  Everyone did a superb job!!  E blogged in detail on her post - so I'll send you there for the details and song samples, but I just had to spotlight her for a minute.  I'm really proud of her -- for her hard work, for facing a challenge, for overcoming nerves . . . it was a great night!  Rock on, E!

Celebrating . . .

Today we celebrated little S's FOURTH birthday!  I can't believe my baby is getting so big and grown up!  She is a lot of fun, full of energy and zest for life.  She's been working so hard in her speech therapy and is really improving. The other day both D and I noticed independent of one another how much better we could understand her speech -- hooray!  It's amazing how much older she seems when we can understand her. 

S has been planning her birthday party for months -- the theme has changed about 106 times.  Finally I put my foot down and declared it a CUPCAKE PARTY!  For me it was the perfect party for a 4 year old girl, and the weather was so delightful we were able to move it outside.  We made little cupcake necklaces, played pin the cherry on the cupcake, and bean bag toss into a muffin tin, etc . . . Everyone decorated their own cupcakes, too, which was a lot of fun. 

I hope S had a fun time.  She seemed a little under the weather and had to be awakened from her nap to get ready for her party.  So she was a little quiet and grumpy at times. BUT once everyone left she seemed to have a wonderful time playing with her new toys.  D was snuggling her tonight as she was getting ready for bed.  He said, "Are you my little Sarah?" to which she responded, "No, I'm the birthday girl!" 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Out of order

I know I'm going backwards here, but I just couldn't pass up the chance to highlight my B.  He was chosen from his class to tell the newspaper what he is thankful for.  The paper was circulated on the day before Thanksgiving, but we just got our copy.  He's such a good guy.  He's so much like his Dad!  I love and cherish them both. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

This is my favorite time of year!   I love everything about it -- the spirit of the season, the colors, the smells, the music, the excited anticipation . . . all of it.  HOWEVER, it can sometimes feel overwhelming with everything a mama must do to prepare for Christmas.  Here are a few things in our home that bring a smile to my face and chase the stress away . . .  I hope it does the same for you!

Giant jingle bells from Real Deals . . .

S's placement of the "baby ball next to the mama ball" (this pattern is repeated several times around our tree). . .

My Willow Tree Nativity -- each piece collected over the years and now complete -- I love that Mary is holding baby Jesus . . .

We have several smaller nativities around the house, and I love seeing what different positions they are in each day as little hands play and interact with them.  . .

I love my new snowman on a bike -- in honor of my hubby and his 109 mile ride last weekend . . .

This year both boys received an "outdoorsy" ornament for the tree.  BR's is a fishing bear and look what he caught -- A GINGERBRI!  . . .

And B's bear is canoeing down the red ribbon river  . . .

E made these adorable bottle cap snowmen for each member of the family . . .

And this crazy upside down photo (sorry about that) makes me smile because S wanted Ariel and the Snowman to dance on the tree!  

 

 

Day of THANKS

 

THANKSGIVING is sometimes hard for me because we generally don't spend it with extended family.  The year that my sister and her family came down is now referred to by the kids as "the best Thanksgiving ever."  But I have to say that this weekend was wonderfully relaxing and a chance to really reflect on how blessed I am to be a part of my little family.  We spent Thursday outside enjoying the 70 degree weather (sorry Utahans!).  We went down to the Desert Museum while the turkey was a-cookin', and came home to a deliciously smelling house.  After we ate the turkey and trimmings our neighbors came over to share pie.  It was wonderful to just be together this weekend -- to work outside, to set up Christmas decor, to go to the temple together . . . we all have so much to be thankful for when we stop and count our blessings!

GOALS!

 Saturday was a day of reaching goals for us.  E played her last game of her first volleyball season.  She has learned so much!  At the end of the 3rd game she earned 5 points off  her serves!!  At the beginning of the season she had trouble getting the ball over the net!  So, this was a great accomplishment.  She LOVES volleyball!  She wants to play again next season and go to the Uof A volleyball summer camp.  GO E!

BR played his last game of his first Coaches Pitch season.  He learned so much, too!  He had trouble batting the ball at the beginning of the season, but now he hits the ball each time he's up to bat!  And he learned so much about how to be part of a team and cover bases for one another, etc . . .  He's looking forward to doing karate with big brother after the Holidays.  B has been waiting so patiently for his turn, and has been great at cheering for E and BR! (Sorry this pic is sideways -- it refuses to turn!)

And D rode 109 MILES in EL TOUR de TUCSON!!  Yes, I wrote that right -- 109 miles -- and he did it in 7 hours and 20 minutes!!  He's wanted to do it for years -- he figures if you live in Tucson you should do it at least once.  I'm so proud of him!  We tried to see him between games, but missed him by 2 minutes or less -- I can't believe that!  The kids had made posters for him and we watched and waited and left sad that we had missed him.  (He had stopped to talk with a member of our stake presidency that was at one of the "watering stations"  and got a little off schedule).  He said the ride was a lot harder than he was expecting -- I'm sure the higher winds contributed to that.  At this point he's glad he did it, but has no desire to ride that far again :).  Sorry, no pics -- by the time he got home he was so tired I didn't make him pose for a photo.  There were some professional photographers along the course that we'll be able to order from (one lying in a gutter that gave him a start).

Things to love about Tucson

My memory isn't great, in fact I rely a lot on my sister to recount a lot of my childhood.  Thank goodness she has an amazing memory!  It may be a sign of early Alzheimer's, but regardless I find it interesting that I have a clear memory of an obscure conversation with my dad when I was about 13 or 14.  He had taken a trip to Tucson, Arizona -- a place I had never heard of. He came back telling us it had been 110 degrees --and I said, "Who would want to live there?!"  I could not fathom someone willingly living in that kind of heat.  And now many moons later I am here raising my little family.  I still miss big lawns and shady trees.  I haven't developed a love for rock yards or cactus, BUT I LOVE November through March in Tucson.  We enjoy 60 to 70 degree weather, sunshine most days and light breezes.  Ahhhh!  I really love it!  Yesterday we were able to participate in a Family Fun Run/Ride to celebrate the opening of a new overpass that has been 6 years in the making -- hurray!  D and B biked the 16K, E and her BFF ran the 5K, and I ran/walked/limped (I developed a bruise on the bottom of my foot the day before the race) the 5K with Br and S in and out of the stroller -- amazingly we still managed the cross the finish line in just 48 minutes.  So maybe this little post will entice some of you to come for a visit -- this is the time of year to come!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween!  Hope you've had a FUN Halloween weekend!  With Halloween falling on a Sunday we're doing things a little differently this year.  We did our "trunk or treating" Thursday and Saturday. Tonight we'll celebrate with "mummy meatloaf" and "ghostie potatoes", cookie decorating, and playing games.

 A Frontiersman . . .

 A nerd . . .

 

A hot wheels driver . . .

 And Minnie who was finally well enough to trick-or-treat yesterday - hurray!

  

Until next time . . .