I'm continuing part 2 of my series today. Same standards apply... it will be a bit dry...
With our Christmas celebration essentially over on Christmas morning, we immediately switched gears and started the "Allie Birthday Celebration". Allie's birthday was on the 27th and we left Arizona the morning of the 26th, so we celebrated her birthday Christmas night. We had cake, her twin cousins came over, the adults sat on the couches like bumps on logs, it was great. Here she is with her cake...
My parents bought her a dress-up ballerina dress and some ballet slippers. She loves her dress. She wears it whenever she can, she's wearing it now as I type this post. Here she is in her new outfit....
Here she is dancing. Her center of gravity seems a bit off or she's doing the "hokey pokey"... I don't remember which it is...
During the visit to Arizona, her twin cousins were intrigued with the classic Christmas cartoon "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Allie joined them on the couch to watch too....
The next morning we were off. I was not mentally up to driving straight through and wanted to visit my sister in Tulsa, Oklahoma so we drove to Tulsa (starting at 9am in Arizona, arriving at 3:30am in Oklahoma). There was some bad snow in New Mexico that slowed us a little, but there were no major delays.
It was nice to arrive in Tulsa and stretch out in a bed but there were some terrible thunder storms that night that woke me up a few times. When I mentioned them to my sister, I was surprised by how nonchalant she was. She said they "were nothing, no big deal"(!). I guess that's why it's called tornado alley over there.
We spent Allie's birthday at Tam's and the kids had a blast with their cousins. Allie got to dress up and play with Claire who was a perfect hostess, and the big guys got to play with Gilbert, Parker, Abby, and saw Abby's cute puppy (Louise) who was brand new to the family. Tam was nice enough to make another cake for Allie and even indulged her requests (must say "Allie Bear on the cake and have butterflies"). Allie piled up some more gifts at Tam's adding a doll stroller from us and Tam gave her a barbie-sized doll that sang a "High School Musical" song....really loudly. Here's a picture of Allie with her special cake...
Perhaps her favorite gift was a hand-me-down winter hat she received from Claire. She loves to wear it....
Near the end of the visit, the boys had made up a pokemon game that could include four players and they seemed to be having a great time with Gil. Because everyone was having such a nice visit, it was a tough decision to leave that night at 10pm. After calculating our route, we realized that we would be driving through the night no matter what, and it's better to get the night driving over with than to have it looming at the end. Bob also rested a bit during the day and was willing to do a back-to-back driving shift... I couln't refuse that! Here are the kids conked out in the back....
We made it home on Sunday at 3pm. I'd never been so happy to come home to a partially cleaned home. I honestly don't remember what happened in the days to follow. It was a bit of a blur....
Many, many thanks to my parents and my sister who accomodated our family of seven (that's no easy task!) and their willingness to make my little girl's day(s) so very special. Love you guys!!!
Warning- this post will not be witty. As Joe Friday would say.... "Just the facts ma'am". Sam's birthday is tomorrow and I want to be prepared to give a full report. I need to clear my camera and catch my blog up to date before I can do that. Plus, certain people who will not be named are pestering me to do so. So it will be simple and quick...well, relatively quick.
Friday December 19th was so snowy, school was canceled. It was also our scheduled "D-Day" (departure day). Here's what it looked like outside that day...
It was good and bad in that I had less running around because I didn't have to get the kids to and from school, but they were interfering with my packing progress throughout the day. Allie was so excited to go out of town. She kept saying she was getting ready for her Christmas party (she had been to a bunch of her brother's parties and concerts and was ready for her own party in Arizona). Here's a picture of Allie. She dressed herself for the big "party"....
Finally around 4:30pm (only and hour and a half behind schedule- not so bad for us), we hit the road. The kids were so excited. Here they are (already watching a movie) as we are pulling out of the garage....
This is what the weather was like as we left....
Thankfully the weather improved considerably outside of Erie, Pennsylvania and was completely clear by the time we were a little south of Cleveland, Ohio. Bob and I took turns driving. We switched every time we had to refuel. We drove through the night, all day Saturday, and into the night again. I was really wiped out by Saturday night. I had a hard time sleeping during my breaks so Bob had to finish the last hour of driving even though it was technically my turn. We arrived in Phoenix around 2:30am EST Sunday morning (34 hours). Just thinking about the drive makes me want to take a nap...
On Sunday the first order of business (after trying to recover from the drive) was decorating the Christmas tree. My kids were chomping at the bit to decorate the tree after being denied the right to do so at our home (what can I say?.... I'm lazy). When my mom took out the ornaments, they descended on the box like a pack of wolves. Here are some tree photos...
At this point of the trip (the second day in!), I started getting lazy about taking pictures. It always happens. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of Matt jumping into the swimming pool (I really wish I had). He was determined to swim even if it was 58 degrees out. That pool must have been mighty cold, and he jumped in not once but twice.
Although cold for swimming, it was nice walking weather (with a light jacket) and we did that a bit and tossed the football around a bit too (always a treat in December). I did snap a few pictures of our visit to the botanical gardens (I think it was on Monday the 22nd). It was nice, but our kids, determined to embrace the warmth of Arizona, refused to bring jackets. As a result, they were cold the whole time. There was a cool glass exhibit that was intermingled with the flora. I forget the name of the artist, but he has done some famous work worldwide and looks like a fat pirate.... seriously... eye patch and all. Anywho, here are some photos from the gardens....
The next couple of days were just hang out days. We visited with my parents, my grandmother, and spent a bit of time my brother, his wife and twin sons who were also in town visiting. We went to the park with them too. It was great to see the twins, they are so cute and active! They constantly kept the kids quite entertained. I have to say though, only very special people are blessed with twins, and I'm grateful I'm not that special. They kept Matt and Julie on their toes. I really felt for them. I remember feeling like that when my kids were younger and we visited Bob's parent's cottage which is on the water. You can never relax because of impending danger. My parents home, not being baby-proofed, had lots of hazards they could have injured themselves on.... lots of double teaming that week. So while I saw my brother, he was usually addressing the needs of his kids... not much chat time. Oh well, that is just his stage of life. I'm sure he's happy to be home and relax in his baby-proofed home.
Ok, I got a little off topic... sorry. Christmas Eve rolled around and we had a really nice dinner. It was fun because my mom had to work so Bob, my dad, and I had to help prepare dinner. My mom had done a bit of legwork so it was easy, but we had a nice afternoon puttering around the kitchen. That night after a great dinner, Sam was determined to go to bed early so he could be well rested for the big day. Tom and Allie thought that was a great idea and wanted in on the action. The only problem was that they weren't serious about going to bed and Sam was. There were a lot of tears and frustration from Sam and I was saying things to Tom and Allie like... "If you don't quiet down you won't be allowed to go to bed and you will have to stay up later with me and Dad".... it was a first, I assure you. =) Here they are during one of the attempts to fall asleep...
Finally everyone settled down and fell asleep.... for a few hours. Tom woke up at 4:30 and woke up the rest of the crew. They were under strict orders not to get out of the room until 7:30. They followed those orders but were so noisy, they kept waking me up (I think Bob slept through it.... he can sleep through almost anything). Finally, 7:30 rolled around and they were allowed to open gifts. Here they are eating the stocking stuffers of Christmas tree shaped rice krispy treats (I won't go into my rant about how versatile rice krispy treats are...)....
Christmas was a relatively simple affair. Our packing space in the car was limited, budget was limited, and I had signed the handmade pledge to give handmade gifts. All contributed to a simple Christmas, it was nice though. Here's Allie opening up her cabbage patch doll from Santa....
Ok, so maybe Santa did not sign the handmade pledge. Just one gift wouldn't hurt, right? =)
Well that wraps up part one of how I spent my Christmas Vacation, part two focuses more on Allie's birthday celebration(s)...
It's been a long week of recovery. We came home on Sunday from our trip to Arizona. The kids did great on the drive and it was a nice visit, but since we have been home, it's been hard for me to get off the mat. I guess all the driving caught up with me.
I finally did unpack, do laundry, and put said laundry away, but that is about it. We did have a little New Year's Eve celebration which was nice, but nothing over the top. I have some photos and updates to post, but I'm just not up to it yet.... I'm getting there though.
I also have to prepare for Sam's birthday next week, Tom's the week after, and Bob's the week after that.... I can't think of that now. One day at a time...
We're here! We left on Friday at 4:30 pm est in the middle of a snowstorm and arrived Sunday morning at 2:30 am est (34 hours.... not bad). I'm glad we didn't wait to leave later because the snow just kept coming. School was canceled on Friday and again today. It's sunny and 60 degrees here.... ahhhh. I'm taking pictures and will post everything when we get back. Our computer is acting a little schizophrenic and it's difficult to type anything. Have a Merry Christmas (happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa) everyone!!!
I admit it, I have no life. It's no secret. Zero. Zip. Nada. My form of entertainment is watching the snails in our tank for a few minutes every day. We have a whole new crop of them since I bought some new plants for Bob the crayfish (they were stowaways on the plants). I've learned a bit about them too. For example, I have ramhorn snails. I even have a red ramhorn snail which is considered more rare.
The excitement with the snails, however, never were amongst themselves but rather between Bob and the rest of the group. Bob can pick off the little guys quite easily, but there are now three big ones that are proving to be pesky. Today, I noticed something quite strange. Two of the big snails were all tangled up (the red one "Scarlet" and Gary). I figured they were just looking for some "afternoon delight". Here they are below...
I have to say though, it's shaping up to be a real soap opera! When I came back later Gary was all shriveled, still attached to Scarlet, at the bottom of the tank, and looked to be dead (not a great photo, but trust me... he's looks very dead)!...
Is it possible that Scarlet the temptress has only lured Gary to gain control of the tank? How can it be that Gary, who has weathered so many attacks from Bob, can succumb to the siren call of Scarlet? Is Gary just recovering from a exhausting afternoon? Considering my exciting life, I'll be sure to post an update....
ps- I just walked by the tank and Gary is still lifeless and the other big snail is latched on too. Either there is some gang mentality forming in the tank or a three-way (much better than a soap opera!)
My parents bought her a dress-up ballerina dress and some ballet slippers. She loves her dress. She wears it whenever she can, she's wearing it now as I type this post. Here she is in her new outfit....
Here she is dancing. Her center of gravity seems a bit off or she's doing the "hokey pokey"... I don't remember which it is...
During the visit to Arizona, her twin cousins were intrigued with the classic Christmas cartoon "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Allie joined them on the couch to watch too....
The next morning we were off. I was not mentally up to driving straight through and wanted to visit my sister in Tulsa, Oklahoma so we drove to Tulsa (starting at 9am in Arizona, arriving at 3:30am in Oklahoma). There was some bad snow in New Mexico that slowed us a little, but there were no major delays.
Perhaps her favorite gift was a hand-me-down winter hat she received from Claire. She loves to wear it....
Near the end of the visit, the boys had made up a pokemon game that could include four players and they seemed to be having a great time with Gil. Because everyone was having such a nice visit, it was a tough decision to leave that night at 10pm. After calculating our route, we realized that we would be driving through the night no matter what, and it's better to get the night driving over with than to have it looming at the end. Bob also rested a bit during the day and was willing to do a back-to-back driving shift... I couln't refuse that! Here are the kids conked out in the back....
We made it home on Sunday at 3pm. I'd never been so happy to come home to a partially cleaned home. I honestly don't remember what happened in the days to follow. It was a bit of a blur....
