Random Thoughts

Father and son. What more can I say...It was so great to watch Bill working with Grant throwing the ball!
Summer has started here, so the kids are going to my friends house for the summer. They have 2 kids and a cat. Billie came home today and said, "Mom, hunter (the cat) is [say this like a 7 year old girl] sooooooo cute. He bit me!" Enough said...that is why I am a dog person.
James really read the whole "Cat and the Hat" last night during reading time! That's my boy!

I think my mom would be proud. I finished the robe this weekend. He loves it...and it even has pockets. He would live in it I would let him. We just call him little Hef!
Practicing with the new skateboard Grant bought with his own allowance/birthday money! We haven't taken a ride to the hospital YET!
My little speed racer. It took James a long time to accept learning to ride his bike with out the wheels, but we finally have it down.

Billie defiantely took after her mom when it comes to bike riding, but now she is our little dare devil. She fell at one point and said, "I hurt myself and didn't even cry!" You go girl!

BooHoo! I definately cried a couple of tears the night before. Everyone tells you how fast time goes by. I have to say that I have really tried to enjoy the little moments this past year and I can't believe how great my kids are. Most times I feel like I have screwed them up, but then they say something or do something and I think that maybe they will make it through growing up. I love you guys! You are amazing!

Shooting with Grandpa

The new cricket!

This is such a good picture. You can see the gun discharging.

Grant's Birthday

I can't believe that I have a 10 year old! I can remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. The nurse brought him into me one time to eat and he was all bundled up in his blanket with a cute little hat on. His eyes were open big and bright. That moment was seared in my memory forever. He was such a darling little baby.

This is Grant's new robe! I couldn't find a robe for him anywhere! So I headed to the fabric store to find a pattern and some fleece. I happen to absolutely LOVE this fleece. I have it all cut out, now I just need to find a couple of hours to sew.
Grant's biggest suprise was Grandma & Grandpa D came to suprise visit. It was so nice to have them here. We went to the Diamondbacks/Mets game, had a bbq and swam in the pool. Oh and we played the Wii! What fun!
Here is Grant opening his present from his dad. A new cricket 22! He loves it. And he is a pretty good shot.
No homemade cake this year. We went to Coldstone Creamery and Grant picked out 4 different flavors of cake and they made petite cakes for us. Yumm-O!

Here she is!

First things first...I have been a bad blogger. We have had so much going on the last 3 weeks that I haven't had a spare moment. To answer v.diva: yes I wrote that little Ode to the Van. I had lots of time while sitting on the interstate twice waiting for the tow truck to compose...:-)

This is my beautiful new Nissan Sentra! I did a lot of research on the kind of car we wanted to get when we replaced the van. We didn't quite plan on replacing the van right now, but it became evident that we were sinking more moola into the van than what we would pay for a car payment. I researched all the options and came down to 3 choices: Mazda 3 sedan, Ford Focus 08 and the Nissan Sentra. They all got around the same mpg 25/33. That is just as good as a hybrid car, with out the extra price tag. I drive 47.8 miles to work each day one way, so I wanted a car with really good gas milage.
After getting in and driving this cute little nissan I was in love. We still test drove my other choices (well, the Ford at least...after looking at it live I didnt' really like the Mazda) but this one has better exceleration, was more spacious and the inside is so fun and sporty!


Two of my favorite features are one: I can plug my ipod right into the stereo and zip down the road jamming away. The other is that it has bluetooth capacity with my cell phone, so I can talk hands free on the road. So much safer! SO here she is! I love it. I would recommend it! :-) And the best part...I did it all by myself. I signed all the lines myself!


PS. We named her..."Mini Me"! She is the exact same color as Bill's truck...just Mini! hahaha!

Ode to a Van!

There once was a van whose color was blue

It drove and it drove all the day through
It drove near and far To the Wal-Mart, To the sea
To the mountains; To Chick filet, and even to school.
From Wyoming to Utah and back again three.
From Wyoming to Arizona where it paid a high fee.
Here in the land of the dust we must part,
Before for we hear another service man singing his lark,
“It’ll be so many dollars to just fix this.
And so many more dollars if you want that fixed too.
But don’t worry, don’t get too blue,
I’ll fix it up right. It’ll be good as new.”
So long little van, good you have been.
To our little family during car seats and boosters.
But the time has come to part our ways.
May the Automobile Goddess grant you more life
As you find a new family with a cute little wife
Or a family of many who need a ride
Down the highway of life with a van by their side.

Sick days...

The week started off crap-tacular! On Friday I was on my way home from filling out all my paperwork and taking my drug test to start my new job (I will be the newest administrative assistant for Mortenson Construction, sayonara TSA.) when as I was cruising along the van completely turns off and I can't get it re-started. Luckily I was in the left hand lane and was able to pull over safely. Bill was only about 10 minutes away, and I had a friend who picked up the kids. We had the battery tested and it was good. So we went back to the car and waited for the tow truck driver. After 3 days in the shop they couldn't find out what was wrong. BUT they did fix my driver window so I can drive through again. Yippee...Then on Monday night I woke up vomitting and then Billie woke up vomiting and then Bill started feeling sick to his stomach. It was not a pleasant rest of the night. Bill was able to take the boys to school and then we all layed on the couch all day sleeping and resting. (I think Bill was even able to work from home a bit.) This morning we all had Chiropractor appointments bright and early and so we got up and were at em bright and early. Billie is definately better. I am feeling better and Bill is getting there. He was able to work from home again today. Here are some pictures of our early dinner at 3:00pm. We had Bear Creek Chicken Noodle soup and french bread. Yummy!

One Reason To Love Living Here

As many of you are well aware, Arizona is not my most favorite place I have ever lived. It does have some perks and I thought I would share one of my favorites.

GRAPEFRUITS!
This is the season for fresh grapefruits here. Bill works with someone who has a tree, so in the last 3 weeks we have had a constant supply of fresh yummy grapefruit. We have enjoyed them for breakfast sliced and sprinkled with a little sugar. Yumm-O! On Monday we received a big bag so Grant helped me juice them into delicious happy juice. I have researched a couple of recipes that use Grapefruit juice so I am going to try out a couple this weekend.
Happy Grapefruit!