Sunday Rituals

Once we get home from church, we try to relax on Sunday.

Wilson has decided his new ritual will be to change back into his Mario Pajamas the moment he gets home from church.  "It's a MING TRADITION!" he exclaimed to me (which is true, but I'm wondering who told him that.)

Maisy's new ritual for Sunday afternoon is to make us all something "delicious" in her Easy Bake Oven.  Last time she made brownies and trust me folks when I say--they are by faaaar the most edible thing she has made in her Easy Bake Oven. 

And well, Ace just likes to hang around with us (in his onesie.)  Ace and I are the true and faithful family members that still take a nap on Sunday.  That's our ritual and it's wonderful!  Sometimes Brett will take a short nap or sometimes we nap and relax while waiting for him to come home.

Hooray for Sundays (most of the time!) 

Snow, puzzles, and food

After Christmas we decided to head over to Arkansas for a visit with Grammy and Grandpa.  Aunt Channa had flown in from California and we were excited to see her.

We were also surprised to see SNOW as well.  We actually had a White Christmas at home, but because we had misplaced our camera, we have no pictures of Christmas morning.  (no worries, we found our camera obviously.)

It got pretty cold while we were visiting in Arkansas, but we enjoyed relaxing inside by the fire.  We did participate in some outdoor activities too.  We all enjoyed Pop's gift from Aunt Channa and roasted some delicious hot dogs.  Brett was very excited (refer to picture.)  Wilson accidentally burned his marshmellows, but then enjoyed scorching them to ashes with Pop.

Of course a puzzle was part of the festivities!  It always is.

And here we all are.  Happy New Year!

Trip to Arizona...

...right before Christmas!!  Little Bro Mark was graduating from ASU on Dec. 17th and we could NOT miss this momentous occasion.

Mark is going to be a biology teacher.  Pretty awesome.  You are awesome Mark and we are so proud--you are all grown up!

We also had some great adult bonding time because we didn't bring the kids! Gasp!  I know, I know--I can't believe I left my children right before Christmas.  But honestly, they barely gave a 2nd look as we left the house because their Grammy was taking care of them.  She is major fun--what can I say?

We hiked Camelback Mountain in Paradise Valley (where Stephenie Meyer lives--I was tempted many times to hunt down her place of establishment and still can't believe I was right there and didn't try harder to meet her!)  NOTICE: I am wearing flip-flops.  No one told me to bring hiking shoes!  If you know me at all, you know that I wear flip-flops everywhere.  This was no exception.  I hiked a mountain, up one side and down the other, in my flip-flops.

I must confess that the best Christmas present I received this year was The Whipples!  Our kindred spirit friends from Las Vegas meet us in Arizona for some ultimate good times.

Like Brett going down the slide at the restaurant.  He was the only adult I saw doing that.  Hey Brett, I think that is for the kids!

And getting really messy with b-b-que sauce and such.

We also stopped by the Mesa, AZ temple grounds--twice! because the first night we got there right as they turned the lights off.  So we tried again the next night.  Very festive.

Okay so another one of my favorite parts of our trip was getting to see some of our oldest friends, Dustin and Maddy!  Boy, they are doing great as you can see.  It was so good to see them.  Their children are adorable and so full of personality.  I often tell myself, as I read Maddy's blog, that I wish we lived closer to them because they are so much fun!  I wish we could hang out with them all the time, but we will have to settle for every so often; unless we have to suddenly leave for the wilderness, right Maddy?  It was also funny how comfortable I felt calling Dustin, D-Rog, just like old times.  Thanks Guys!  Love you guys (and that delicious french toast breakfast dish you made, Dustin--YUM!)

Christmas Activities

Here's a little synopsis of what we have been doing this Holiday Season:

Wilson had a solo this year in his Holiday Musical Program!  He was the best soloist and sang with perfect pitch and articulation (no bias here.)  We all learned something new about Hanakuh when Wilson conquered his role as a confused, pre-conceived Latka.  What is Latka?  We wondered the same thing.  It's a Yiddish potato pancake.  Sounds delicious, right?

A visit with Santa was on our schedule; however Wilson informed me this year that he was not sitting on the FAKE Santa's lap.  He found it pointless.

One of our most time consuming activities this season was helping with the open house of our new church building.  I get emotional just thinking about having a chapel in our lil' ol' town.  What a blessing!  We were happy to be involved.  We even got to ride in the parade on the church's float.  Next time you see Maisy, ask her to show you her *parade wave.*  It's scary how perfect it is.

Mostly we've just been enjoying everything about the Christmas festivities.  Maisy is always reminding us why we celebrate and give presents.  She's been saying in her prayers things like, "Please help us to remember that Christmas is not about getting toys, but about sharing our hearts."  And, "Please help to see that special star and remember that Jesus loves us." Love that girl.

Merry Christmas Everyone!  We love YOU!

TACO TOTE

Where is the best place to dine in Laredo, Texas?  TACO TOTE (Pronounced "To-tay" for you gringos out there) So why do we like Taco Tote?

Because you can meet a cool fake guy in a tuxedo-te.

Unlimited chips, limes, salsa, and cilantro-te.

"Panchos--" Nachos with beef, chicken, beans, and queso-te.

Authentic tortillas and shredded beef make a perfect taco-te.

It's everybody's favorite place to go-te.

You can eat and eat and eat 'til there ain't no mo'-te.

Taco Tote, Taco Tote, food so good that you can't say no-te!

New Moon Fiesta!

Ahhhh!  New Moon! Awesome!  Okay, I got that out.  This past weekend I had a GIRLS WEEKEND with my family for the opening premier of New Moon: The Twilight Saga.  My mother flew in from Arkansas and my SILS flew in from California and Laredo.  We had a most luscious vampire-lovin' weekend!

The most exciting part of the weekend was our surprise guest!  On the dawn of our weekend fiesta--I got a knock on my front door.  When I answered the door, I was in utter swooning shock as I stood before Edward.  Seriously, my fellow devoted Edward-aficionados, when I unexpectedly encountered this life-size stand up--my heart started to pitter-pat and my palms got sweaty until I realized it wasn't really him.

So, I decided everyone should have the same experience that I did.  Edward upexpectedly greeted everyone that entered the house that weekend.  He even showed up in inconspicuous spots like the shower.  The best was waking up to him staring at you--just like Bella!! 

Don't judge my sister-in-law!  You know you were thinking the same thing!

Brett is such a trooper!  Our anniversary was the day before the movie opened.  He was very understanding that I spent our anniversary with Edward.  He only had a little animosity.

It was a very awesome weekend and thank you Mom and Sisters for making it so!