Merry Christmas!!!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas. We definitely are having a great time with our families. If only it wasn't so cold........oh well! Have a great Christmas and I'll post some pictures later!

Santa arrives on a......EC-130?????

Well, maybe you didn't know this but instead of reindeer, Santa uses an airplane. At least he did for us this weekend! For the kids' Christmas party for Aaron's squadron, they brought Santa in on the plane that he flies. It was pretty cool, he came down the runway waving out the top of the plane and when they stopped right out in front of us, they brought Santa into the party. They had all kinds of games and crafts and of course snacks and Brady had a great time!

They took turns and all the kids got to sit on Santa's lap and get a present (we brought it into work the week before to get it into Santa's bag!).

Brady acutally did really well sitting on Santa's lap. I was afraid he was going to freak out like he did with the Easter Bunny this last year! If you can see in his hands, he's still holding the ear plugs they gave us to wear outside because it was so noisy! The kids had a great time and I think it was even more fun than the adult party they had at Aaron's work on Friday night!

Christmas Parties

This past weekend we had several Christmas parties to go to. Our neighborhood had a little party at our park and they rented the coolest little thing for the kids to ride on. It's called the Farm Choo Choo and Brady loved it!

We had to pry Brady off of it to give other kids a turn and he was not happy about it at all. I tried to distract him with some fun crafts but as you can see, he's trying to look over his shoulder to see the train and get back on it.

So of course, he got back on it next time it came back around!

Christmas Decorating

So last week, I finally got my tree up. Brady decided to help me decorate instead of taking a nap. How thoughtful of him! He didn't want to miss out on the action I guess. So as soon as I got the tree up, he was laying under it having a great time.

Then, when the tree was all up and decorated, I found him one morning giving his tiger a lick of an icicle. Aren't his little Christmas pajamas appropriate for this picture?

He's actually spent more time trying to take things off than he did helping me put them on but I guess that's what they all do right?

So yesterday I went to Walmart to pick up a few things and I needed a storage box to put some of my bigger Thanksgiving/Halloween decorations in to finally get those put away. So I found this box and put it standing up (just like it is below) in the back of the cart. Brady immediately wants to sit in the basket of the cart rather than sit up in the front where he should. So being the shopper that I am, and wanting to buy myself some more time in the store, I put him back there. He gets right into the box and shuts the doors. The box part is clear so I could see him just fine. He was laughing and knocking on the side of the box. I was getting some very strange looks from people wondering what I was doing with a toddler shut up in a box in my cart, but my plan worked. Brady played in that box for another 1/2 hour and I got all my shopping done that I needed. And since I did not have my camera with me at Walmart, I took a picture of him playing in it once we got home. And I must also mention, it kept him busy for most of the day closing himself in and popping out!

Weekend in San Diego

This weekend we traveled to San Diego after Thanksgiving for my cousin Kyle's wedding. Kyle and Ann got married in Balboa Park. There are all these buildings there that are restored old mission-style buildings from around the 1900's. They had the wedding in a little courtyard outside and then had their reception inside one of the buildings. It was really beautiful and so was the weather. It was a nice weekend trip and fun to see some of my family that I haven't seen in a couple years.

Isn't that cake pretty? It tasted so good too!

Brady danced the entire reception (sometimes with ladies he didn't even know) and had so much fun with my cousin's little girls and son. My cousin Heather and I are only a month apart and we grew up living near them so until I was 7 we were together a lot.
My cousin got a really cute picture on her camera of Brady giving a giant diamond ring, they used as napkin holders, to her youngest daughter Kennedi sitting next to Brady. So I'll post that once she sends it to me. It was too funny! We really had a great time this weekend.

Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Hill!

Seal Beach in San Diego

While we were in San Diego we of course had to go to the seal beach in La Jolla Cove. The whole cove is beautiful itself, but these cute seals are wild harbor seals and they just congregate on the beach here because of the rocks and the little walkway sticking out to give them a little break from the harder waves.

Like Brady's sweaty hair? He fell asleep in the car on the sunny side!

Here are some pictures I took a couple years ago when just Aaron and I were there. We were out on the walkway. We couldn't go out on the walkway on this recent trip because the water was splashing up over it and it was blocked off. And all they were doing this year is laying on the beach and sleeping. Aren't these little guys so cute?

This is seriously how close we were to the seals. I am not zoomed in!

It is amazing to watch these cute little things try to get up on the rocks. Their bodies are more like fish and they have to wait for the water to carry them and hoist themselves up. I could stay there all day and watch them play and lay on the beach.

Happy Thanksgiving

My mom sent me this email and I thought it was cute so I am posting it whilst my bird is roasting in the oven!

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have never a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off of your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Lazy Sunday

So after church yesterday Brady was eating lunch with no pants. And he was happily eating away as I was making lunch for Aaron and I. He was also playing with his little zebra and dipping it in his mashed potatoes because he thought the zebra was hungry for some mashed potatoes too! The next time I turned around and saw him, this is what I saw him doing........sitting and talking to his very messy mashed potato zebra.........legs up, feet crossed, all kicked back and relaxed!

Twilight is almost here.......

So we are all waiting for this movie to finally come out. My book club has decided to see the movie for our book club for the month of November. So anyone else here in town that wants to come for a girls night out and see it with us is invited! We're doing dinner at 6 and the movie at 8 at the mall so let me know if you want to join us! I really do hope it is as good as everyone is saying it is. I think it is with all movies that are made from books, the expectation is great and sometimes the movie doesn't live up. But apparently the author likes it so maybe it will be good. So I'm ready for a nice girls night and a good (hopefully) movie!

And on a side note........our appliances are back in the kitchen and the tile has been done for a week now but I still have to get it clean and sparkling before I post a picture. I know the suspence is killing you but you'll have to wait!!!!

Disheveled house

Have you ever thought of putting your dishwasher and stove in your dining room?

What about your refrigerator in your living room?

I wouldn't recommend it!

We are laying tile in our kitchen so we had to move things around a little bit and they have to stay in these places until the grout is done probably tomorrow and then a day after that. So we've been grilling this weekend and eating out while Aaron and his dad have been working hard on it for us. I can't wait until it is totally done and we can have our house back! It's looking good so far and I can't wait to see what the end result will be once everything is put back into place. I'll post pictures when we're all done. Until then, we will continue to live in our disheveled house!

Excuse me Mom, I'm on the phone!

So I was talking to my Mom the other day on the phone and of course, Brady knew it was Grandma. So I finally let him have the phone after he tried to 1st-pry it from my hand, 2nd-cling to my leg and whine and 3rd-just cry and throw himself on the floor. This is a constant battle we have whenever I am on the phone. So I of course give in because Grandma doesn't mind talking to him either. So this particular conversation.......Brady took the phone, walked outside, pulled his little plastic chair into his slide house thing and started talking. I guess he just wanted his privacy. And he kept looking at me like-don't come near me and take this phone away!

Our Little Halloween Dino

Brady has been loving dinosaurs this year so when I saw this costume, I knew he would love it. I was only partially right! He wouldn't even let me come near him at first, much less put it on him. But after I finally convinced him to put it on, he loved it!

We went to church for the "Trunk or Treat" in the parking lot for Trick or Treating. He dragged that poor little pumpkin bag around the parking lot all night. He was kind of waddling around and his little tail was swishing back and forth! He got so hot though, I had to take his little hood off. But he really did have a lot of fun.

But I don't think the bag had as good of a time as Brady did........ it got quite the beating!

Brady was so excited about his costume by the end of Halloween, he was dressing up everything in our house!

Even Bo had a costume this year. My sister Amanda brought this little doggy outfit back from Korea for him. Now he's "Tae Kwon Bo"! But he didn't really like it that much-he never does!

Halloween Movie Clips

Here are the videos I took on Halloween of Brady. I couldn't get any of him on this camera of him in his costume but I got some on my video camera but can't exactly figure out how to get it on here. So enjoy these couple for now!

Here's Brady trying to practice saying "Trick or Treat". Unfortunately, he did not say it when we were trick or treating. He got shy of course!

Here's Brady and his beloved Pumpy. I just painted the face on this year so I could make it look like the pumpkin face Lucy and Violet make on the back of Charlie Brown's head in "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" movie. (Which he loves this year!)

Brady's "mimi"

I've been meaning to post this for a week now but I kept forgetting.........So Brady likes little baby dolls. But he can't really say "baby" all the time so he says "mimi". Anytime we are anywhere and he hears a baby, or just a kid sometimes, he says "mimi". We live really close to Big Lots and I go in there from time to time to see what deals are lurking in the aisles screaming "Buy me! Buy me! I'm only $1.50!" And of course I can't resist! I find some cute toys and other such things in there all the time!

Anyway, the last 3 times we have been there, I've had Brady with me. In the toy section, there is a whole end of the aisle display of little baby dolls.The first time he saw them, he of course said "mimi" and took one off the shelf. There were little doll strollers right there as well that he loaded the baby in and took it for a stroll down the aisle. The second trip there he got the baby off the shelf and took it about 5 rows over to the back corner and put it in a chair and said "nigh nigh". (He actually did this 3 times I think before I said enough is enough and we had to get going!) So finally the third time as he announced "mimi" as we went past the aisle, I let him pick it up and put it in the cart. He played with it the rest of the time in the store and I bought it for him. I had been debating whether or not to just buy it for him all 3 of those times, and I finally just bought it for him.

Coincidentally, Aaron was out of town for 4 days while this purchase happened. And when I told him that I bought the doll for Brady, he playfully acused me (I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt here) of waiting until he went out of town to buy him a baby doll. You judge for yourself how well he loves this baby doll and if I bought it only to buy him a "girl toy":

Putting his "mimi" in his little booster chair and giving it the juice.



We let a friend from church borrow the exersaucer while family was in town visiting and we haven't put it away yet and Brady likes to climb in it. We tried to tell him it was only for babies and this was his solution!



Brady also likes to bring the baby to bed with him and make sure he is wrapped in one of his baby blankets. The baby has a blue outfit with a bear on it so it is a boy baby doll. Doesn't that make it better???? I think now Aaron sees how much Brady loves it but I don't think he is still totally 100% comfortable with him having it! Oh well-too bad!

Why did the chicken cross the road???

I saw this on my friend Melissa's blog and had to steal it from her and post it here because it was so funny! Enjoy and thanks Melissa!


BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road...ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

SARAH PALIN: BECAUSE, PRAISE JESUS, I WAS GONNA SHOOT HIS SORRY LIBERAL (BUTT) FOR BLOCKING MY VIEW OF RUSSIA !

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken.

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine... all the chickens in the world... crossing roads together...in peace.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?


Have I mentioned that I can't wait until this election is over??? I'm so tired of it!

Columbus Day

In the spirit of Columbus Day we decided to take a hike/walk together since Aaron had the day off. So actually I didn't decide it was in honor of Columbus Day until right now but still......
We hiked/walked on the tram path into Sabino Canyon and it was a gorgeous day. It's been a little cooler the last couple days and so we decided to take full advantage of this beautiful fall AZ weather (I think by the weekend it is supposed to be back to 90 again). We walked a total of 6 miles up and down and around into Sabino Canyon and back out.





The little creek was flowing somewhat from the top of Mt Lemmon all the way down into the canyon.

Luckily, we didn't see any mountain lions......

Besides the birds, lizards, a deer and a couple little fish in the creek this was the only type of wildlife we saw a lot of - but it was pretty big even though you can't tell the scale of this picture........ (we've seen some big tarantulas there before and some people have seen some rattlesnakes, mountain lions and javelinas too!)

But it is amazing what will grow in the strangest places!

And it's a good thing we weren't on bikes or this could have been us! (Some of the bridges have smaller passage ways and the trams have to go over them too.)

So we had a very productive Columbus Day and a really fun time together. Maybe when Brady gets a little older, we'll brave it out on the hiking trails but until then we'll have fun pushing the stroller on the roads!