Class is in session

As much as my daughter can be a handful, and she can, there is so much about her personality that I just adore. I honestly can say that I have laughed more in the last four years because of her than anything else. She was playing with toys today in her favorite spot. When I walked by, this is what I saw....




This is her Dora schoolhouse and up at the front is the teacher that came with it. I love how all the students are in perfect rows and listening attentively. I'm sure that is how she behaves everyday in school (wink wink). I wonder if I need to be concerned about the apparent cliques in this classroom, though. This girl cracks me up!

Build-A-Bunny

The other day, Faith and I went to Build A Bear Workshop. Faith got a gift card for there from my aunt and uncle this past Christmas and this was our first chance to use it. I realized it had been a couple years since we had been. It was a lot of fun, thanks Steve and Peggy! Faith absolutely loved it. It was a big decision for Faith which animal to go with. It seemed like she was going for the Hello Kitty cat, but she decided on a very cute little bunny. I brought the camera with us but, being the dunder-head I am, it wasn't charged. At least I got half way there, oh well. We settled on taking a few pictures of Faith and her new pal, Baby Fluffy, when we got home.




You can see a small dog in a couple of the pictures. Faith loves stuffed poodles and all things tiny. She finally got this little white poodle from McDonald's that she really wanted so she insisted it be in the pictures. She's so funny.

We were at the new San Tan Village. After she made her friend, I let her play at the outdoor play place. It was such a nice day I sipped some coffee while she played. The play area at San Tan is really cute. I recommend checking it out, at least when its not summertime.

Hope everyone is doing wonderful. On a side note, I realized my blog didn't allow people to comment unless they have an account. I fixed it so anyone can comment if they like. Hopefully I'll have some more things to share soon. Bye for now.

Deer Farm Trip

A few weeks ago, we got to go to the Grand Canyon Deer Farm with Will's father. We went once last year and had a good time, so Faith was really excited to go again. We were about the only people there when we arrived. The deer actually roam free so you can walk with them, pet them, and feed them. This also meant that we got mobbed by a at least a dozen deer looking for food when we walked through the gate. It was hilarious and a little yucky because of their dirty little noses. I nearly got knocked over and Faith disappeared in a sea of fur. We followed her giggles to swoop her up and then Will lured most of the deer away with a cup of food so we had some breathing room.

As we walked through the farm we were continually followed by at least a couple deer. Faith loved this because they let her pet them, hug them, and generally hang all over them since they were only concerned with sagging another handful of food. What was really neat was that there were many other animals besides the deer. We saw a camel, a pot-belly pig, miniature ponies, some yaks, miniature donkeys, and even a talking parrot. Faith spent a good long while talking to Mozart the parrot. They said "hello" back in forth a couple dozen times. They discussed how he was a pretty bird and Faith expressed regret that she had no cracker every time Mozart said, "Polly wanna cracker". It was quite entertaining. After we pet every deer and greeted every other animal, we were ready to leave. We did stop to do a little playing in the snow. It was clear that we needed to make some time for this after Faith plopped down to make a snow angel in the not quite so white snow at the deer farm. A good time was had by all and we headed home, thoroughly exhausted. Thanks Pappy!

Our Christmas Festivities

Now that the whirlwind of the holidays has subsided, I thought I'd do a recap of how we celebrated in our family. We had several Christmas gatherings between mine and Will's side of the family. We kicked off the season with a Christmas party with some friends earlier in the month. It was so nice for Will and I to get together with other couples. Faith had a sleep over with my mom and dad while Will and I had a great game night.

On the 21st, we hosted the gathering with Will's brothers and sister, our nephew Caleb (soooo cute!) Byron, and Will's dad came as well. Will did all the cooking which didn't bother me one bit, especially since he is the grill King! It was great to see them because sometimes there is to much time in between visits. Faith opened her presents Christmas morning before we headed out. I think she liked everything because she is hugging her new things in almost every picture we took. :0

Christmas Eve was spent at Will's Aunt Shelly's house. We had a blast playing the white elephant game, the food was delicious, and Santa even showed up with presents for the kids. Christmas day was spent at Mimi and Papa's house. Several families had to juggle the day so it was actually quite mellow, which was kind of nice. We were glad that we all got to see each other the night before.

My side of the family actually got together on the 28th this year. We met at my aunt and uncle's new house in Rimrock. They just (as in four days earlier) finished building the house and it is gorgeous! My uncle Russell is incredibly talented. We actually loved that the celebration was not on Christmas day because we could devote the whole day to each family. It can be frustrating running from place to place and not getting enough time with everyone. Again the food was great and the kids had so much fun together. We had a really nice time and even got a huge card game going with about 12 people, until everyone agreed we picked much too long of a game for that many players. It was a great day!

Here's hoping your Holidays were filled with joy and laughter. May 2009 (wow, already?) be the best year yet!

Five years = Family Vacation

Will and I celebrated our fifth anniversary on November 29th. We were lucky enough to mark the occasion with five days in Sedona, yay! The three of us had so much fun and it was just what we needed. This was actually our first vacation just the three of us, no family to visit or schedule to keep. It was quite exciting. It was so great to get in some real quality family time. We all had such a terrific time. Also, thanks to Mom and Dad letting us use their timeshare, we stayed at a wonderful resort with more space than we knew what to do with. Faith had her own room equipped with a bathroom, kitchenette, and King sized bed! She though it was the coolest thing ever! We mostly took our time, relaxed, and enjoyed the beautiful view around us. We did a lot of sight seeing, played in the resort rec room, did arts and crafts, had some wonderful dinners, met Santa Clause, saw a movie, built a gingerbread house, and saw about every shop on the main strip. We went to a really neat Christmas display called the Red Rock Fantasy light show. We even got to see the lighting of the town Christmas tree and happened to be standing next to the mayor. We also have a list of things we want to be sure to do next time. And oh yes, there will be a next time! Here are just a few of the hundred pictures we took while we were there. There are two really short videos at the end too.


Playing ping pong. She hit a couple!

A bear statue she just had to sit with.




Red Rock Fantasy Light Show

She was so excited to see Wall-E







Don't worry, she's holding Will's cup :)

Our family pics always come out dark!

Look what we made!

What she wanted to do the whole time!

Arts and Crafts time!

Talking to Santa


She made a friend. So cute!


When we were sitting at Starbucks, Faith provided the entertainment. She invented some new dance moves while listening to Will's Ipod. I use the term dance loosely but she had us laughing!

The "Bouncy Dance"


Running in circles

Big Girl Now

This is Faith's first school photo! I had the pleasure of being at the school on picture day since it was on Thursday, the day I volunteer. It was so cute to see all the kids dressed up. They were adorable! I still can't believe our little one is old enough to even have school pictures.

My sentiments

God Bless America! I have mixed emotions right now over last night's election. However, I am so proud to live in a country were the PEOPLE choose, regardless if they choose the way I did. It felt good to be a part of such a significant time for our country. It is amazing how far the civil rights movement has brought us and I love that more people got out to vote. I think voting is a right that every American should cherish and consider a great responsibility. This is what makes America the country that I love. These are the things I will try to focus on as I stand behind our future President, because I feel that to is the American thing to do. I also want to say how impressed I was with John McCain's concession speech. He was so gracious and I was very moved. His true character and love for his country shined brightly. Governor Mike Huckabee (a man I truly admire) summed it all up more eloquently than I.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

We Will Be Back in Strength
by Mike Huckabee

I'm very proud to have supported Senator McCain and the only regret is that more Americans didn't share my conviction that he would have made an outstanding President. I not only recognize, but respect that we are a nation in which the people choose and tonight they have chosen Senator Obama. He was not my choice, but he will be my President and I will pray for him to lead this great nation with God's help and grace. He will face serious challenges to lead our country and he will need all Americans to give him a chance.

The campaign is over and now is the time for governing and leading. The Republican Party must now reassess where it is and where it is going. Our problem is not that our views aren't acceptable, it is that many in our party have abandoned the very principles that once drew Americans to trust us. Our party will be back with strength, but tonight we should all celebrate the historic nature of this election and put our country ahead of our party.

As disappointed as I am that we have lost the election, I can't help but feel that many courageous leaders of the civil rights movement look down from heaven tonight with a smile that the day has come when a man is elected without regard to his color. I salute President-elect Obama for his discipline and tenacity that has given our country the opportunity to witness this significant event.

Politics is not an event but a process. We sometimes lose the events but it never gives us the right to stop being faithful to our principles that enlisted us in the process. We shall live to fight another day.