Christmas decorating

Winter is REALLY here and Christmas is just around the corner!  I'm so excited because I

love

LOVE

LOVE

the holidays! 

AND

This is the FIRST Christmas that we've had a REAL tree!  Every year I break out my little two foot tall tree: 

Don't get me wrong, I love my little tree.  It has wonderful memories.  But I wanted a really big live tree this year!

So....

Mark took me out one Thursday night, and we went to dinner, and then we went to find the perfect tree. 

We went to Home Depot: They didn't have a very good selection.

We went to one of those random tree lots: they were expensive.

We check to see how much fake trees were: I really wanted a real one.

We finally wound up at Red Mountain High School's Christmas tree lot.  There we found him. 

And he is perfect:

Perfect, right?  That's an 8-foot tall fatty-fat.  The next few days we dusted off all our decorations and I set to work making it festive. 

Boy oh boy was I ANNOYED when I got all the lights on and ONE STRAND had QUIT by the time I got it on the tree.  You might ask, why didn't you test them before you put it on? I DID!!  But I must have knocked a light bulb loose. 

After I was done being angry with the lights, I went and bought one strand to put where the bulbs were out.  Here's the final product!

I love it. I couldn't be happier with it.  It just now occurred to me....I still need a star for the top of my tree!

In other news, Michael's had their plain garland wreaths on sale for half off!  So basically I made two wreaths for the price of one.  I just pushed the flowers in, so if I decide I don't like the placement next year, I'll be able to change it. 

We have the best dog.  He has some funny personality quirks.  Like, for example he thinks he needs a pillow for his head when he's laying on the bed...MY pillow.  He's so loyal. 

Last night we went over to Mark's parents house for the annual hanging of the ornaments on the Christmas tree.  We thought Cowboy needed a trip, so we brought him with us, and put him in the back yard.  We went inside to have a nice time.  A couple hours later, we heard a knock at the door.  It was Cowboy!

Ok, it wasn't Cowboy, but it WAS the neighbor across the street who had brought Cowboy back.  He said that he come home and noticed Cowboy hanging out in the Faraoni's front yard. 

Apparently Cowboy had gotten bored with the back yard, let himself out and made himself at home in the front yard.  I'm so glad he didn't run away because he wasn't wearing his tag (shame on me for taking it off). I feel certain if someone else found him, he would win their heart fast, and they'd never give him back.   

I'm glad he's such a good boy.  We like him.  And I think he likes us too.

December 1, 2011 Family Pictures!

I was so excited to get our family pictures from Leavitt!! 

Here's a few of my favorties (there were over 200 to choose from, so I'm NOT going to attempt to upload them all!)

November 28, 2011 Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm totally one of those people who always says "I can't believe it's already....(insert month)." 

 I can't believe Thanksgiving came and went so quickly!  But, Mark, Cowboy and I had a great time! 

Jason, Garrison, and Tyler Turcotte came to stay with us at the dunes!  Cowboy had SO much fun playing with the little kids in camp.  As you can see he's all tuckered out.

This morning I went out to check and see if he had food before I left for work.  He walked over to me and plopped himself at my feet, then rolled over on his back and said "Scratch me." 

Ok...so he didn't say anything, but he was SO tired.

I had really great intentions to get more pictures on this trip, but after my 2nd shot the camera died and I forgot the battery charger.  Thank heavens for my iPhone. 

Mark took a little ride out to the dunes to see if they could help a stranded friend.

Garrison and Tyler enjoyed riding around some tracks on their quads and going out in sand rails. (Aren't they cute back their in their huge goggles and headphones? 

Finally, family pictures are back!  This was our sneak peak photo.  I'm so excited to have some family pictures.  And yes, we had Cowboy in most of the pictures with us. 

We can't help it.

He's part of the family.

November 22, 2011 A Shameless Plug for a friend

A friend of mine is a photographer....

and she's just starting out....

so Cowboy and I were happy to help her get some photos for her portfolio.

Cowboy likes to pose for pictures, ya know?

But get this....

She's offering a 2 hour session for $50 right now.

Yep, that's right.  2 HOURS  for $50!! 

Visit her website:

http://leaveittoleavitt.com/

If you're wondering where Mark is in all the pictures....he wasn't avaliable for the "mom and dog" shoot.  But we're getting family pics tonight.  You should call....you'll be hard pressed to find a better deal.

November 7, 2011 Winter's FINALLY HERE!

It is nearly 50 degrees cooler this week than it was last week here in AZ. In other places, winter descends upon you slowly and softly, ushered in nicely by fall.  You have the chance to transition from flip flops and t-shirts through long pants and light jackets. Not here.

In Arizona is hides just around the corner and jumps out on top of you when you least expect it. Last night it rained almost all night. I woke up in the middle of the night and listened to my husband snore the rain fall. It was nice. :) I always have a quick moment of gratitued that I'm not lying on the ground somewhere in the wilderness under a small green tarp tied to a tree, shivering so hard that it counts for my morning work out. Those who know anything about ANASAZI will probably agree - we can't help thinking of those teens and staff and hoping they will be warm and dry in the morning.

I'm delighted about the weather. It puts me in the best mood! 

So, on my last post, it occurred to me that I never put pictures of my finished quilt!  And since it's been such a long time since I've talked about it, we'll start from the beginning. 

Soon after we got married Mark asked me to make him a denim quilt.  I like making things so I agreed.  Sometime after our second anniversary I decided to "get serious" about making this quilt.  I didn't do anything.  Then, after I found out I was pregnant, I decided I better get a move on, or this thing was never going to get made. 

So I went to my mother-in-law's house and found her stash of denim jeans, and started to seam rip all the seams.  I quickly realized that was going to take FOREVER and Mark might have to be buried with it if I went that route.  So I brought the stack of denim home to work on in the evenings.  It sat on the table for another 6 months. 

After we lost Elana, I suddenly had the burning desire to make something....and finish it.  And I had a lot of time to myself, so this seemed the ideal time to embark on this long awaited project.  Originally it was going to be all denim.  But I realized it was going to be REALLY heavy if it was all denim.  So, I called up two dear friends (Heidi and Jenelle) and they devoted an entire day to helping me cut denim squares. I'm positive this project would never have commenced without them. 

We used squares of denim with pockets, rips, fades, different colors, to give the quilt some personality.  Then I took my supplies over to my mom's house and she helped me brainstorm and assemble.  She did most of the iorning, to make sure the seams were flat.  What a life saver.  This is how the first block looked. 

We took our time laying out the squares side by side, making sure we like how they looked, that all of them were oriented the correct way, that none of the colored blocks were repeated in a row.  This is how the quilt top turned out.  By the way, did I mention I decided to make it KING SIZE? 

Again, I went back to my mother-in-law's to find some fabric to add a border all around it.  I found some soft brown material that I really liked. 

Jenelle had an aunt that does quilting, so I took all my materials to her and left my much beloved quilt with her.  This is how it turned out:

(I love the way the quilting makes the fabric look a little puffy - you know what I mean?)

It turned out SO beautiful. Don't get me wrong....I realize you wouldn't see this in some Crate and Barrel magazine, but I couldn't have been happier with it. 

  This quilt is very special to me, maybe because I felt such a sense of accomplishment in finishing a project.  Maybe because so many people I love contributed to making it happen.  Maybe because it gave me a purpose when I felt my purpose had been taken away.

Here's something a little unique about my quilt.

I found some pictures from when Mark and I were dating, our first two years, and some other various things, and printed them on fabric.  Then I cut them out and mounted them on various blocks of denim. 

My idea is that this will become our family history quilt.  So far we've got 3 years on there.  If you look carefully you can see in the top left corner (ove the pillows) of the quilt some pictures.  I know you can't see the pictures, but, personally, I think it's pretty awesome. 

I'm pretty sure if the house ever caught on fire, I would rescue this quilt. 

I like this picture below, not only because Cowboy is so cute, but because he is laying on the first quilt I ever made. Now I've made 2. 

I think I'm getting better with each one. 

October 31, 2011 - I have the best dog EVER.

I know, I know.....dog's aren't people.  They're not children, they're not humans. 

BUT...

My dog is awesome.  He's patient, obedient, and just about as adventerous as I am.  A couple of nights ago, it was just me and the three dogs. 

A recipe for disaster? I think not.  

Now, the last time I walked all three dogs by myself, I felt like a 3 ring circus.  Cowboy runs ahead, Bruce Lee is peeing on everything, and Missy lags FAR behind.  I didn't know where their leashes were for a walk (and truthfully, I didn't really look) because I came up with another solution! 

I like to hike with Cowboy, but I do not like to carry his water.  And since he is such a big boy, I figure he can carry his own.  He has a saddlebag back pack.  Turns out the bags are juuuuuust the right size.

It took some serious coaxing  treats, but once everyone was settled in, we had a great walk. I think there's some validity to dogs feeling like they have work to do.  Cowboy loved it. 

But occasionally I think he forgot the dogs were there and would glance over his shoulder and look up at me as if to say "!?!" 

Two weeks ago we had a little girls night.  Savannah and Melanie came over and we had pizza and watched a movie (Inspector Gadget 2). 

For some reason unbeknownst to me, I have a Barros location across town stored in my phone.  So when I went to pick up the pizza I ordered, it wasn't there!  Melanie and Savannah waited patiently with me while they made us a new pizza. 

Savannah looked at the candy machine and...well...Melanie read the paper.

Cute girl.

And even though the day topped out at 100 degrees, we finished off the evening with Hot Cocoa.  That was a fun night!

As you probably already know, I get to work with the primay age children at church.  On Saturday we had the kids come to the church to practice their presentation.  Myself and some of the other leaders wanted to provide them with a treat for doing such a GREAT job.  So, we got together and made cupcakes. 

See these?  They're HOMEMADE.  Don't they look delicious?  My friend makes amazing things....among which I would add frosting. 

You might ask if Cowboy is dressing up for Halloween this year.  Sadly, I lack the creativity to imagine up a costume for my dog.  If anyone has any ideas or good links to tutorials for very large dogs, please feel free to leave a comment.

October 20, 2011 - Some pictures from my iPhone

I decided to go for a change!  I colored my hair.  It's not at all how I expected it to turn out, but I love the color! 

Last night, our ward had a "Fall Festival."  It was at Red Mountain park, so I thought Spencer would have a fun time if he came with us.  He LOVED it.  He played, and played, and played on the play ground.  Then he showed me how FAST he could run, and HIGH he could jump.  He's got like a 1" vertical.  He cracks me up. It's a ten minute drive home, and he fell asleep in about 4 minutes.

This is my definition of heaven.  Right there in the oven. Golden brown on top.  Warm with butter.  Mmmm....and yet somehow these rolls are also my mortal enemy, in so many ways.  

My friend Judy came up from Tucson last weekend, and we did all the things we don't expect our husbands to do with us.  We at sushi, and watched chick flicks, and giggled endlessly about things that are trivial.  It was the BEST.  

October 10, 2011 A Few pictures from the weekend

So, I was feeling crafty this weekend. I had my first experience with Mod Podge. Once it was completely dry it looked pretty cool. I think I'm going to look around the house for some different sized jars to add some variety to the set.

Also, Hobby Lobby had candles for 50% off. Look at this beautiful candle. The picture doesn't do it justice.

September 15, 2011- New iPhone App

I got a new app for my phone. Which is super exciting because I have tons of pictures on my phone that I would love to share!

This is my trial run so i have no idea how these pictures will post. Regardless, it turns out Bruce Lee loves my teddy bear as much as I do. I caught Missy snuggling with it one day too... But wasn't fast enough to get a picture.

Olivia is such a big helper. She helped sort the laundry the other day. She's pretty cute.

Jennifer's birthday was on Sunday. She really wanted a surprise party for 10th birthday. We had a princess tea party. It was a frilly blast!

This was before we yelled "SURPRISE!"  That's why the party girl isn't in the picture.

September 1, 2011 What to write

About every other week or so, I go to my blog page and think to myself "I should update this." But then I try to think of three words that describe what has been going on lately in our lives.  Honestly, not much. 

We moved last month.  It went really smooth. We consolidated quite a bit and got rid of a bunch of things that needed to go.  Now we're in the slow and steady process of unpacking and re-arranging.  In my experience, that phase lasts about a year.  I like to get all the pictures hung first, mostly because (like my dad says) you should do all the easy stuff, so in case you die someone else can do the hard stuff.  

I like how the house feels when you have all the necessary pictures up...wedding, temple, and pictures of Christ.  Feels like a home.  And not a model home, but a Christ centered home. 

Then I like to make sure my pantry is in order.  All the spices should be alphebetized.  Not that I've been great at cooking much lately.  But I think it's important to know where the proper items are when it comes time.  I have some steaks to cook tonight, and I know just where the rub, potato pearls (thanks Mom J), and canned corn (thanks Mom F) are! Everything after that usually gets unpacked when I realize I need it.

About this time every year, I start to feel like I can no longer stand the heat.  In my mind, September should start to cool off.  But usually it's October.  Happily, I am not a pioneer, and I can get in my car and turn the air conditoner on, to drive home to my air conditioned house. I feel lucky to be born now, when we have all these luxuries.

We haven't recieved callings yet in our new ward, but I'm looking forward to getting back to work. 

June 20, 2011 - Watermelon, Quilting, Practice

WATERMELON - As soon as it has been over 100 degrees, I start feeling the need to consume massive amounts of watermelon.  I LOVE watermelon . Especially the seedless kind, but I'm not really that picky.  So, summer is officially here.  Neices and nephews are out of school and my siblings and siblings-in-law are busy making plans for "staycations" and friends are wondering what to do with the kids all summer.  It's a task I'm sure I enjoy watching much more than I will enjoy doing since I already have a hard enough time as it is just deciding what to have for dinner every night.  Oh well, my days are numbered I'm sure.

QULITING - Well, since February my quilt has been a work in progress.  But I feel some serious progress coming on, so I'll try to post a picture as soon as it is complete.  I'm particularly excited about this quilt because I'm hoping it will turn into a family history quilt. I have a lot to learn about fabric and color fast-ness...so I totally anticipate this will continue to be a project every year.  Watch out, I'm sure I'll be calling you for help.

PRACTICE-  I love this time of year because of the 4th of July.  For a number of years, I have played some variation of the Battle Hymn of the Republic on or near the 4th of July.  This year the performance will actually fall in June, but the excitement has set in.  I have been practicing hard, and getting ready!  This is my neice Merideth.  As soon as I started playing, she ran to get her piano too.  You should have heard the music we made....

You're absolutely invited to come hear the number. You have two options:


 
8:00am at the Aspen Ward Sacrament Meeting (the building is on the south side of Southern, just east of Greenfield - by Brimhall Jr High).  Megan Villatoro will be playing the organ, I will be playing the piano.

9:00am at Mesa 5th Ward (the building is north of McClellan just west of Country Club - On Date).  Again, I'm playing the piano, there will be an organist, but even more exciting, there is a men's choir of 12 men who will be singing.  I've never played it with singers before.  Listening to them join their voices in this particular song stirs in me the same feelings I have when I read the story of Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty. 

12And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.



13And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land—

Come see for yourself. Hope to see you at one or both!