Arizona Christmas

A Christmas Day event like this could only happen here in GOOD OL' ARIZONA!!! Chase decided the puddles from the recent rain were just too much to resist! One minute he's innocently strolling down Grandma & Grandpa's nice sidewalk, the next he's soaked from head to toe!!! So what else is there to do but grab the camera???

Just taking a stroll... right???

Moments later...

Forget all the new toys! All a kid really needs is a good puddle!!!

A little mud in the mouth never hurt anybody!

Doesn't this face just sum it all up??? PURE, SOAKING-WET JOY!!!

Making Friends

Shortly after we moved in, while there was still a lot of talk about how the kids were doing making friends, Kaybree came to me one day and told me she had made another new friend. When she told me the little girl's name, I recognized it as one she had mentioned before. I asked her if it was the same girl she had told me about a few days earlier, and she said yes, but then she explained that now they were really friends, because they had asked each other if they wanted to be each other's friend. I realized that each time Kaybree told me that someone was her friend, it was only after an official invitation to be friends had been given. =) A few days later, during another similar conversation, Kaybree asked me, "Mom, how do you make friends?" As we went on talking it was funny to me to think that she thought of me having to go up to other women and ask them to be my friend. So cute!!!

Friends

This is a picture of Kaybree with Ashley and Abby, two of the friends she had to leave behind when we moved. SAD DAYS!!! =(

New House

Over the summer we moved to our new home. It's everything we've ever dreamed of--and more. This picture was taken during the finishing stages, a few weeks before we moved in. Rob was the contractor and did a lot of the work himself, along with the help of awesome family and friends. He wore himself out in the process--we were so happy when we finally got to the end. They say if a marriage can survive what you go through building a home together, it can survive anything. So I guess we passed that test!!! The fact that Rob survived it is amazing as well.

We love living in the "country" now, having so much space for the kids to run and play. The boys take off on their bikes and find jumps in various places nearby, and they can toss the ball in the backyard without it constantly ending up in the neighbors' yards. We have 2 miniature horses that just roam our backyard now, and we've recently planted fruit & citrus trees. Our next big project will probably be putting in a garden, but that can wait til after the Holidays...

Simon Says

The other night the kids & I were jumping on the trampoline, which is a challenge when big kids and little kids are trying to jump at the same time. Chase (our undersized 3 year old) usually ends up on his bum a lot, or landing close to the edge, so I will often just hold him and jump. Well, we were trying to take turns--Chase, then everyone else, back and forth. After a little while, and when frustration had started building because everyone wanted to jump ALL the time, we decided to play "Simon Says." We took turns being Simon, and finally it was Chase's turn. Chase's first command was, "Simon says, everyone sit down." Want to guess his next one? "Simon says, WATCH ME JUMP!" =)

Here's the Deal

Okay, here's the deal...(for those of you who have found it necessary to tease my blog) =)
Ashlee had Fall Break a few weeks back, so I thought that was a perfect time for her to make me a blog (since I would never get started on my own!) Well, she got it up & running, and then I figured I could get going on it when I got around to it. Little did I know the whole world would find it, because Ashlee had a LINK to it from hers!!! I guess I didn't specify to her that it was to be kept top secret until I had it ready! So, tease me all you want--I guess I deserve it! ;-)