Turkey Craft Anyone...

I Want To See Santa...

While getting some jewelry fixed at the mall today, Rosalia begged to visit Santa.  I didn't expect her to be so excited and willing to walk up to him never mind sit on his lap.  She even smiled a bit for a picture.  Maia wanted nothing to do with Santa but that was no surprise!  She informed Santa she expects lots of toys from the toy store (we happen to have been at toys r us shortly before getting to the mall.  I hope Santa has deep pockets this year!!

Our Visit To Colorado...

A trip to the mountains, the Denver Children's Museum, a local park, and lots of playtime at the Welsh Family's new home in Denver, CO was how Garrison and I got to spend our time visiting.  They were such great hosts and I look forward to returning the favor when they come visit AZ in the spring.  We didn't get pictures of us together while I was there visiting, but Kevin was prepared when they dropped us off at the airport! 

While Away...

This was Maia's reaction to seeing me on the iPhone FaceTime!

First Time Flying...

Garrison and I planned a short trip up to Colorado to see Lexi (his girlfriend).  He had mixes feelings about flying.  He was excited but nervous.  The nerves came from his brother tellin him the plane would crash.  The wait to board the airplane was painful.  He did good waiting but drove me batty with his million and one questions.  Just before boarding he noticed the Southwest Airlines logo which has a heart.  He turned to me and with a serious face says "Mommy you see that heart?  It's cause I love you!"  He's so sweet!  We boarded the plane, the excitement built up even more.  He loved taking off but loved landing even more!  We arrived in Colorado for our visit.  I will post about that once our trip is complete!

Safety First!

Quite The Project...

While visiting Grandma Simpson today, I noticed her favorite recipe book was beyond repair.  I hadn't figured out what gift I would be making her this year and decided a cookbook might fit the bill!  I posted awhile ago about Mandy's cookbook we made for her with family recipes.  I loved the site I used to create her cookbook and thought why not do the same thing for Grandma's recipes. The bonus for me is that I can order myself a copy and have all her original recipes!  The task is quite the undertaking.   The book is filled with over 150 recipes.  It's going to take some time to enter them all (and read them!).  There is equal pressure to ensure her book doesn't get damaged, touched, or messed with!  

ROC Race...

Another 5K!  The ROC Race stands for Ridiculous Obstacle Challenge.  It's a game show inspired 5K with tons of fun!  Originally when I found out about the race, Marc and Liliana wanted to sign up with me.  I knew Liliana would be fine but Marc is not into exercise in any form.  Against my intuition I signed them up.  2 days ago, Marc came home saying he couldn't do it.  He would do it if I really wanted but I could give his spot away.  I know Marc.  I knew that meant give it away.  He would never quit but if given the out he would take it.  Taylor is our neighbor.  She is a year younger than Liliana.  I offered her the spot.  Her mom was excited for her to take the spot.  They were both nervous about the length of the race but I assured them we would walk when needed.  There were over 150,000 people registered to run.  Every 5 minutes they were launching 75 people into the obstacle course.  There were 12 obstacles total.  If you've ever seen the show wipeout you know what the obstacles look like. Huge inflatable slides and balls and foam aisles.  We walked some of it and ran some if it.  We were definitely tired at the end but we finished in just under 40 minutes!  We had so much fun!  The girls were asking if we were going to do it again next year.  My answer...YES!

McCormick Railroad Park...

Today, a friend of mine took a ride with us to Scottsdale to pick up our run or dye 5k running packets.  After grabbing the packets, we took the kids to lunch and then stopped at McCormick Railroad Park.  We took them on the train and then let them play on the playground.  They played so nice together.  Maia is finally approaching the age where she can go up and down the park steps and slides.  So I actually could stand back and watch her instead of walking hunched over behind her worried she would be falling over!  They all fell asleep on the way home which allowed us adults to chat without interruption!