It's In the Mail - for some!

From our house - to yours, Merry Christmas!
Now - some of you will be getting this card in the mail, but then again, some of you won't!
So here it is for all! (thanks Jo for the family picture and thanks to Cheryl for the card design!)
Here is another family picture - it didn't make it into the card!

It's Official!

It official - Matt and Xyonane (Jo) are engaged! Matt popped the question (officially) last night.

They haven't picked a date yet - we'll let you know about that later. Jo needs to talk to her dad in El Salvador and find out when he is able to come up - along with her older siblings.

We are so excited to be welcoming her in the family.

Here they are after letting us know. Don't they both look happy!

The ring:

Matt went to take Jo to the place where they had their first date to pop the question, but it was closed for a private party. So he took her to the Temple lights, where they walked around, then to Tempe Town Lake. They were sitting, just talking, when he said "Can I ask you a question?" - then he got down on the one knee and popped the big question. Her response "Are you serious?" She hadn't expected the ring quite yet. Then her response was "YES!" - and we are glad it was! (I'm sure Matt was too).

This is a picture of them that was taken after we had our family picture taken for our Christmas card - which will be in the mail shortly to you lucky few!
Congrats Matt and Jo! We are very excited to be welcoming you into the family.

You'll never guess...............

what Jason, Dani and Carson and I saw

.

.

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while we were driving down the street.

.

.

.

guessed yet?

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and I didn't have my camera - forgetting that my phone has one

.

but I probably wouldn't have wanted to take a picture

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it wasn't a pretty sight - but I thought it was funny

(Jason and Dani didn't though)

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.

so - who guessed

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a naked lady - I mean totally naked. About 50 years of age,

a little bigger than me.

which is why

you proably know

it wasn't a pretty sight!

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.

.

Poor policeman who came up behind her on his motorcycle.

She didn't even acknowledge he was there - just kept on walking,

and walking and walking - not even turning her head to look at him or at

all the traffic going by.

Then- just as we got by - a police car - with 2 policeman in it was getting

ready to stop.

Now - watching them try and get her in the car might have been worth

a picture

Poor policeman.

I told Jason - what a nice Merry Christmas sight.

He said - please no more Christmas present sights like that again.

My first real streaker - well - not really streaker -

she was just walking sighting.

How about any of you?

Any of you had such a sighting before?

Another Winner!

I received a phone call from Kristi today from her school. (I don't like getting calls from my kids during school - usually because something is wrong or they forgot something I need to bring to them. I hate that!). However - this was a good phone call. Kristi called to tell me she won 2nd place in a writing contest from last spring. It was sponsored by the Arizona Republic and Tilly's (store). She received a $150 gift card to the store too! Congratulations Kristi. That is so neat. I am very proud of you. Her name was even in the Arizona Republic newspaper. If you would like to read her essay - it is online at this link (just scroll down to the end of the page to find the contest winners)

http://www.nieonline.com/azcentral/index.cfm

(One of these days I'll figure out how to just say "Go here" and it will take you to the link)

Now - she is anxious to spend her money. Imagine that.

Cousins

Yesterday Mikel was getting ready to go to the ASU football game with Kris. She came walking in with a beanie on and it was - hey - I've seen a picture like that before. Not her - but one that looked like her. So tell me what you think........

Mikel

and............Chalyn
Don't they look quite a bit alike - the face,the big blue eyes, hair and both are as skinny as can be (sigh - I remember when people USED to say that about me)! Why shouldn't they look alike you ask - after all they are cousins. Well, for those of you who don't know - Chalyn is the daughter of my older brother Bruce. Well, Bruce is my half-brother - we have different moms. That Pickett gene from my dad must be strong!
What is really interesting about this whole cousins thing with them - is they have such similar taste in clothes (and more things too). Chalyn and Mikel might not see each other for a year or so - but when they do, many times one of them will be wearing something that the other will say "Hey - I have one just like it!" Weird.

Crazy!

Crazy! That's me. I guess I should clarify it and say - I am very tired and exhausted and I deserve it. Today is Black Friday. And I was up and at the stores with Mikel and all of those other crazy people by 4 am. I haven't done that for quite a few years - and now I remember why. As many of you know - Doug is out in the hills hunting today with Jeremy (Matt joins them for Saturday). When Doug isn't home - I can't sleep very well. So not only did I get up just after 3 - I didn't go to sleep until after 1:30. And we didn't get home until 10 am. On the bright side - we did get everything we went out for. Lucky us! We hit Kohl's for the 4 am opening. Was out of there by 4:45 - and over to Best Buy just as they were letting everyone in. Got what we wanted there - and it was off to Target. Waited in line for only 10 minutes before we got in there. Paydirt again. Got all we wanted there too. We hit a few other stores - and finally home. Just in time to get Carson out of bed. (He had woken up earlier - but no one got him out of bed. poor little boy!). I did get an hour nap in. And it is only 1 am and I am still awake - updating my blog. Like I said - Crazy me!

By the way - I hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving Day! We had our family thanksgiving day early - on the 23rd. It was great. We were all there - along with a few extra special guests. We had our family picture taken (thanks Jo - and Kris for being her assistant!). Aren't you all excited thinking about receiving one of those great pictures! Dinner was great - I love spending time around the dinner table with all my family. On Thursday we were all scattered. Doug, Jeremy, Jo and EmmaLee were up in the hills getting ready for the hunt and eating at Jo's grandma's house. I WAS going to go to St. George - but the weather report wasn't good so ended up staying home. I decided to take Kristi, Dani and Carson out to eat that day, but Matt and Xyonane invited us over to eat at her mother's house. It was great meeting her family and enjoying the wonderful meal they fixed. Mikel spent the day with Kris' family - Kendall with Marie's family, and Jason was at a friends house too. Isn't it great to have such great friends helping us out. Thanks to all of you in making Thanksgiving Day so special for all of us!

She's a Winner!

Friday - the 21st - Dani came home from school excited as she could be. She was jumping up and down with excitement! She had won a book at school - out of all the 4th, 5th and 6th grade students she was the only winner. Each student who entered who had to write 5 or more students on "The diary of an Edison Student". And she won! Great job Dani.

Here she is with the book she won

Our Time

Our time - mine and Doug's - alone for - oh- a couple of nights, and not much more! We wanted to do something for our 25th anniversary, but Doug didn't have time to get away from work other than one day. He went online and was able to get us 2 nights at a 4 1/2 star resort in Scottsdale. It was pretty nice! We weren't able to leave until after work on Tuesday (18th) - so didn't actually get to the resort until 8 or so. (I kept saying hotel - Doug kept reminding me it was a resort - not a hotel!) It wasn't "just" a room either - it was 740 sq feet of space. It had it's own living space - partial kitchen, a bedroom and a huge bathroom and a balcony. It was great. You know - it was almost as big as the apartment we lived in when we had 4 kids - and I got pregnant with our 5th (Jason). That apartment was only 900 sq feet!

Anyhow - here is the stairs leading up to our mini-space. Each building had 4 "rooms" for guests. It was nice - especially for this SAHM who isn't used to anything like this!

The resort was so spread out - the "rooms" that is - that they had these golf carts to help take guests to the building their "room" was in! There wasn't enough parking close to many of the "rooms".
Here is my wonderful guy sitting in the living space. We just relaxed the first night - watched some TV, played some games - just winding down.

This is our bedroom. There was also a TV in there and we could close off the room if we wanted to. But why would we need to? We had NO KIDS with us.

Doug thought I was pretty funny to take pictures of the way they had our hand-towels and soaps all set up. Hey - I'm a new kid on the block to these kind of places and thought it was pretty funny that they would take so much time to fix it up like this.
These was the area between the double sinks. More sinks and space than we have in our master bathroom at home!
Well, you get to see that picture again because I accidentally put it in and I don't know how to take it out without deleting all my work so far. I'm not the most blogging savy person!
Now - this is the picture I was going to show. This is the bathroom counter across from the sinks. Another fine decoration of towels and washclothes. This counter was by the big, whirlpool tub. (which is going to be in my next house - my dream bathroom). There was also a TV to watch while you would relax and soak in the tub.

Now - on Wednesday night Doug really surprised me by taking me here....

It was my once in a lifetime to die for steak dinner. Everything is ala carte - and I mean everything! We decided to "share" the porterhouse. Doug asked our waiter if it was really big enough to share. I'll say it was. It was "only" 40 - 44 oz of meat - with the bone of course. I have never had meat so tender and good that it would almost melt in your mouth! We did take some home for our lunch the next day! (good thing our "room" had a fridge!). The baked potatoe was also big enough to share. I don't know about you - but a 1 lb potatoe is too much for me - and I LOVE potatoes! We also shared our veggie (sauteed mushrooms) -but did get our own salads. Because it was our anniversary - the dessert was on the house! I don't think I have ever had a meal so good! Doug really treated me like a queen that night!

It was a very interesting experience. The table next to us must have taken nearly 1/2 an hour discussing the wine list with the waiter, and trying out a couple of bottles of wine. Even after the waiter left the 3 men kept discussing wines - and one of them even called someone on the phone to talk about them. The were very serious about their wines. It was soooo beyond me!

One very interesting thing happened before we even went into the restuarant. We had pulled into our parking spot - and since we were a little early we were sitting there talking. In the parking spaces just in front of us - one car pulled in - then another car. A girl got out of her car (she was driving) and went over to the other car. She spoke to someone thru the passent front window - then climbed into the back seat. She was only in there for barely a minute or two - when she got out with something and climbed back into her car. The other car pulled out and left - and then she did. Hmmm- makes you wonder doesn't it!

It was great to spend just the one full day with Doug. We both loved it! We did a little shopping, went to a movie, relaxed and then went to dinner. It just ended all too soon! We had to be out of bed the next morning just after 6 am to get ready to leave because Doug had to be back to work by 8:30 for board meeting. Oh well, I'll take what I can get!

Whose Kid is This?

.,Okay - where did my sweet, mischevious, happy little boy go? Now I have a stubborn, uncooperative, tantrum throwing boy. He looks the same - but this week - there is just a whole different attittude.

I can't believe he hit those "terrible two's" early - but that is exactly what it is. I sure hope he gets out of this stage early too!........................and then there is the big "MINE" - his favorite new word. Everything he sees or wants is "MINE"! Running a close second is "NO". He does say other words, which we can understand most of the time - but those are the two big ones we hear all of the time. Sigh...................this too shall pass soon (I hope).

Then and Now!

Twenty-five years - 25 years of love, laughter, happiness, and joy. And even 30 years of friendship! Here we are - one of the pictures from our engagement session. Don't we look young (and skinny - very skinny!) Doug thought he looked so young he grew a moustache for our wedding day on November 19, 1983.

That was then - this is now (or at least 1 year ago!)
You can hardly tell I am the same person - but Doug sure looks great!

See what love does - a family that means the world to us!

Us with our 8 wonderful, great kids!

And here we are - with the picture with our beautiful daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

Our family is still growing! And we are all one year older than last year's picture!

I have been so blessed these many years. Doug is not only my husband - he's my best friend. There was an article in the paper the other day of a study the said: Romantic love lasts in some long-term relationships. They studied some couples that have been married for over 21 years. They said that the honeymoon doesn't have to be over just because you've been together for years. Some new brain scans of these people who say there are still in love after decades of marriage are the same of those who have just fallen in love. They found that when these couples saw photos of their spouse, their brains reacted. That would be me. Doug has kept me falling in love with him - over and over again. He treats me like a queen. It doesn't matter if we were as poor as can be, or had money in our bank account - his actions always were one of love - honor - and respect. My heart always has a little jump when he walks into a room - just as it did 25 years ago. I love you Doug! Thanks for 25 (even 30) years. I couldn't have asked for more!

I could go on - and on - about our years together - but I won't (which I am sure you are thankful in not having to read). Just know I am looking forward to 25 more years - 50 more years -eternity with him!

Dani's Birthday - continues

Wouldn't it be nice to celebrate your birthday all week long? Well - that is just what Dani did! She had her family party on the 9th - a small celebration on her actual birthday - the 12th - and her friends party on the 16th. Lucky girl! She decided to go with the backwards party theme. It was a lot of fun! The invitations were all written backwards - the kids had to put them up to the mirror to read them! Everyone dressed with their clothes backwards. When they were greeted at the door - the had to walk backwards into the house. We then had a "backwards" fashion show. I wish I would have gotten pictures - but all I did was the video.

We then moved on in our backwards party - starting with - of course - opening presents, then had dessert, then our main dish - and on to the games!

Here are a couple of Dani's friends showing their clothes (and medals they got in the relays!)

The "backwards view"
Opening her presents! Like her bun in the hair - of course in the front!
Dani made out like a bandit this birthday. You already read about all the stuff she got from the family. She has some really nice friends too!

Here they all are - waiting for their cake and ice cream. Notice the girl on the front right corner. She went all out - her backwards ponytail, headband on the back - and even wore her tennis shoes on the wrong feet. Of course Carson had to be involved in the whole thing too.

Dani with her decorated cupcakes and crazy candles!

She just had a difficult time blowing out 9 candles!

I can't believe my little Dani is 9 years old. Dani is so special to our family. She is very loving - always wanting to help and giving everyone hugs. She has the cutest smile and the prettiest brown eyes. Her smile just lights up my day. Our family was very blessed the day she came into our life. I love you Dani! You are my most favorite 9 year old daughter!

Jason's Early Present

I'm sure none of you would have guessed that Jason loves sports - playing and watching! He has been wanting to go to an NFL game - but with the games on Sunday he hasn't had any luck. Welllllllllll- this week the Arizona Cardinals were playing Monday Night Football (which hasn't happened for years!). Even though his birthday isn't until January - he really wanted an early present of being taken to the football game. So - Doug got online and was able to get 2 tickets that wouldn't break the bank - plus a parking pass. Off they went. The stadium is clear on the other side of the valley - an hour drive. It actually took much longer - it was during rush hour and with 70,000 people trying to get to the game - wasn't fun. But - the game was. The Cardinals were playing the 49'ers. The Cardinals actually have a pretty good football team this year - and a winning record. (If you follow pro football - you know that's a rarity!). They were suppose to beat the 49er's easily - but it didn't turn out that way. The Cardinals did win - 29-24 - but only by stopping the 49'ers on the goal-line with the last play of the game. Jason loved it! He and Doug didn't love the ride home though - took them just over 2 hours, which got them home after midnight. Good thing there was no school or work for Veteran's day!

No -they didn't take these pictures - they forgot the camera! The Stadium is pretty interesting. It is a big dome - with real grass. The grass field can be pulled outside to let it grow. Interesting - wouldn't you say!

Candid shots At Dani's party

I love Sunday afternoons/evenings! It is a time when my family is all together. We have a big family dinner and whoever can come - does. Jeremy and Jo are almost always there. Matt and Mikel are sometimes at our house - and sometimes at their friends (hmmm) house. Kendall usually comes too. It's great. We eat dinner and play games - great family time! It is even more fun when we have birthdays to celebrate - which is why I had my camera so handy that night. Here are some candid shots I got. Enjoy!

EmmaLee would not let go of the water bottle. She got so mad if anyone took it away - even when she was spilling it all down her shirt!
Dani in her new pj's and looking and checking out her other presents.
Carson and EmmaLee hanging out with Jo.

I just had to get a picture of EmmaLee's cute hair that Jo had done that day. You can't see much of it from the front - but........

Here's the back shot. She was adorable!

EmmaLee and Carson totally into watching "Three Little Pigs" on the computer.

Aren't those two so cute sitting there!

Imaginve that - Kristi reading her book while eating her cake and ice cream. She started the series "The Work and The Glory" and is really enjoying it. She is already in book 5.

Jason having fun just being with the family. He loves us!

Many of you have been asking - and here it is - Matt with Xyonane. Is it serious? Guess we're all waiting to hear. We all really like her and he does too!

What would a family night together be without playing video games? I don't think my boys would survive without them. Here's Jeremy and Kendall knocking each other out in boxing on the Xbox 360.

By the time I started taking pictures - Mikel had gone back in her room to do homework. I'll be sure and get her picture next time!

Of course - there are plenty of dishes and messes to clean up after they all leave - but it is so worth it! I love our family time. Someone once said to Doug that they didn't know how they were going to fix thanksgiving dinner for such a large group of people. There were going to be 8 of them. He laughed and said that is a normal night at our house. Well, Sundays it is getting to be dinner for 12-14. I don't know how much longer we will all fit in the dining area and able to sit down together for dinner. Wouldn't matter if we have to sit in the family room to eat too - just that we are all there! I am so blessed to have such a great husband and wonderful kids -grandkids- daughter-in-law - and my kids friends(?) who are all there too!

She's 9 - almost anyway!

Sunday night we celebrated Dani's 9th birthday - a few days early, but she sure didn't complain! Her birthday is actually on the 12th.

It is great for the younger kids to have such loving, big brothers and sisters. They are so generous with what they give each other for gifts. Dani was so excited with her presents. You know they are good when she comes home from school the next day telling me how all her friends couldn't believe what great presents she got. That made her day!

Here she is with Carson before the big gift opening. Look at all those presents!

This is a sticker maker she got from Kendall and his friend Marie.

With the Hannah Montana purse (plus a Hannah Montana bath set) from Matt's friend - Xyonane (we call her Jo)

With her new Hannah Montana pajamas! (Get the idea she likes Hannah Montana?)

Her birthday present cake. It turned out really cute - and I even found these cute balloon candles at Wallymart!

The smilin' girl!

Trying to blow out all her candles (she didn't quite make it!)

Little Miss EmmaLee after eating her cake and ice cream!

Since EmmaLee was in his chair - Carson tried eating his in a regular chair. He didn't want anything to help him sit up higher either!

Dani eathing some of the mmm-delicious homemade ice cream!

Let's see now - what else did she get for her birthday (besides what you saw above)? From Jeremy and Jo - a trip to the movies to see High School Musical 3 (which I haven't had time to take her to yet!) Matt and Mikel went in together to get tickets to the Cheetah Girls concert. (Mikel is taking her). Dani is so excited to go - her first concert and she is on the floor on the 16th row! Wow! She also got the High School Musical 3 cd, another cd for tweens from Deseret Book, ear phones for her CD player, a 24 pack box of popcorn, a littlest pet shop toy, and a trip to Build a Bear for her own stuffed animal! How's that for a great birthday. She won't even need any presents for Christmas!

Happy Birthday Dani.