Adventures in Life

Things have been busy lately, but we are having fun too. We went to the zoo. Alex had an agenda. He wanted to see the elephants first, then the lion, and then the zebras.

We also went hiking. We have plans to go back this weekend. It is in the mountains so the temperatures as cooler and things are green.

I recently finished Water for Elephants. It was good. I am excited to see the movie in April, but the cast doesn't match the characters I imagined.

Yesterday we went to a local park and attempted to fly a plane (a foam glider). Alex really wanted to slide. The slide trumped the plane.

I am off to work on my to do list. We have a meeting tonight and I would really love to get a few things accomplished.

Posted by at 1:09 PM | Permalink

Gabe had a robotics competition in Phoenix, so Alex and I drove up separately.

Alex had a lot of fun at Sea Life looking at the fish. I think it was a little expensive for what we saw, so we probably won't be going again.

He had a lot of fun watching the robots compete. He also liked playing the games at Peter Piper.

We are almost finished with the Helping Tower. Gabe still has one piece to put in its place. We altered the design slightly.

Alex is napping right now and I would love to read some more of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but I have too many things to do...maybe I can work fast.

Posted by at 12:19 PM | Permalink

Wow! Where has the month of March gone? Gabe and I finally made it to another performance of the symphony early this month. They give away the flowers used for the decorations and my seat number was drawn. We came home with a huge flower arrangement.

The weather is gorgeous here. We have been doing quite a few outside activities.

Big Horn Sheep

Gabe and Alex enjoying the weather.

Overall things have been busy. I am still running. I am up to a little over 3.5 miles. I should be able to run in the 5-k. I have already registered. So I will be there even if I have to walk the entire thing.

The Little Helper Tower is still a work in progress. I don't think it will be finished until sometime next week though. Gabe has a lot of work commitments coming up soon.

Posted by at 2:53 PM | Permalink

Things have been super busy. I am just posting a few of the things that we have been up to lately.

Alex loves to ride his bike. We go on walks to check the mail or to the park frequently. If Gabe is going with us then I can run around the park while they play.

We went to an Arabian Horse show. Alex really enjoyed watching the horses.

We had some friends come and visit for a week. They went to a lot of the local sites. We also enjoyed a couple of park days.

We converted Alex's crib into a toddler bed this week. He is doing great sleeping in it.

We also managed to go to a couple of museums, a birthday party, a hockey game, and a few other places.

Posted by at 9:26 PM | Permalink

Well, the new year is off to a good start. I am way ahead on my Bible reading. If I keep it up at this pace, I will finish in three months. I actually think it will be closer to the year before I finish, but this way I have a little bit of give. I ran today. Go me!

Date night is up in the air. We are season ticket holders to the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, but I am having trouble finding a sitter. So, we may or may not go on Friday.

We had a Grey's Anatomy marathon for New Year's Eve. We are now on season 6 (season 7 is on TV now).

Alex even agreed to wear a party hat.

Gabe's birthday was fun. We stayed home and grilled. I made a yummy and very chocolatey chocolate cake.

I am attempting to participate in the Getting Organized Challenge over at A Bowl Full of Lemons. Day one was organizing your junk drawer. Mine was recently organized, so I tackled the drawers in my nightstand instead. Day two was clean off the top of your desk. Done! She stressed only the top. So I am hoping we will be cleaning out the drawers soon. If not, I guess I can do it anyway.

Posted by at 8:10 PM | Permalink

Life has been busy lately with a lot of unexpected turns. I am going to make an attempt to start blogging more often. I really want to post our daily December activities this year.

We went to the zoo this weekend. The weather was great, but the crowds were not. We chose to go on Saturday and that just happened to be a free day. It was way too crowded. Alex still had a good time.

Alex loved watching the turtle.

I finished reading a book called The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby. He was the editor-in-chief of French Elle. Bauby suffered a stroke that left him completely paralyzed except for his left eye. The book is even more amazing when you realize that he wrote the entire thing with the blinking of his left eye. He wrote the book letter by letter with just a blink. I also watched the movie. I would definitely suggest the book before the movie. The book is a very quick read.

That is it for now. I have a lot to do today and I want to work in a run. I haven't been running consistently since a few things have happened in our lives. So, I still haven't met my goal of running in a race this year. There is one coming up in December. I might give it a try. Otherwise I will just run in my own race...around the block with some friends.

Visit Jimmy's page, say a prayer, and send a card.

Posted by at 9:09 AM | Permalink

The month of July went by fast. In an effort to catch my blogging up, I am going to post some pictures from a couple of events. This post is very picture heavy.

We went to Gabe's office and looked at the trucks. Alex thought the big trucks were a lot fun. Sorry, no pictures.

Alex loves the International Wildlife Museum. He has a blast touching all of the animals.

Running under the giraffe was a lot of fun.

Crawling through the ferret tunnel was fun too!

Alex the lion.

Hanging out with the lion at a neighborhood park.

Sharing a cookie.

The Tucson Children's Museum is a great place to go on a hot day.

Driving a firetruck.

Hanging out with the locals.

I took Alex to Gymboree for the first time. He had a great time crawling all over the equipment. I think this is going to be something that we do once a month.

Alex loves to vacuum with his toy vacuum. So, we bought a Bissell Sweeper and Gabe only attached the first portion of the handle. Now Alex has vacuum cleaner his size that really works!

We also went to the Mini-Time Machine: A Museum of Miniatures and a baseball game. He enjoyed watching all of the action on the field.

Alex picking a peach at Apple Annie's.

Trying out an apple.

We have also been making recipes from the counties we visited on our last vacation.

July was a busy month!

Posted by at 7:08 AM | Permalink

Update: I am behind posting this entry. I am going to dedicate a couple of hours today to getting vacation posts and everyday posts ready to publish. Look for the vacation entries this week.

I am taking a break from the regularly scheduled program of finishing my vacation pictures posts. I am also a little behind.

I bought Alex a Power Wheels vehicle at a city-wide rummage sale. It was only $10 and Alex loves it. They also had two older ones for $5 each, I should have bought those too. I know several people that would have taken them.

We stayed home for Father's Day and ate in. I made Gabe tiramisu for dessert. I was happy when he requested it, because I don't like it and therefore I will not eat it.

Alex painted Gabe a picture.

Gabe lets Alex walk Elsa (with a little help when they are outside).

This Black & Decker Work Bench was also a city-wide rummage find. It was a steal at only $5 and Alex loves working all of the tools.

It is pretty hot here, so we have had a couple of pool days here and there.

After a visit to the doctor we stopped off at the Dairy Queen for a cone.

We enjoyed the free fireworks and festivities at a casino that is nearby. We were prepared to leave once the fireworks started because we thought they would scare Alex. That didn't happen. Instead, he had fun watching them from the back of his dad's car in the parking lot.

The vacation pictures will resume soon...hopefully.

Posted by at 8:41 PM | Permalink

Today everyone in our family was feeling better, so we headed off to Bisbee. We have been wanting to go on the Copper Queen Mine Tour for a while now. You actually go underground in part of the mine that is no longer in use. Alex's favorite part was riding the carts that take you into the mine. The train tracks to the right in first picture are the tracks that the carts use.

Waiting to go in the mine.

Alex refused to wear a hardhat.

After the tour we drove past another mine and had dinner at a restaurant in Bisbee. It was a pretty fun day.

Posted by at 9:23 PM | Permalink

On Friday we went to the Butterfly Exhibit at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. It was really neat. I think we will attempt to go back next year. Alex had a vaccine the same day, but it didn't seem to bother him. We had a babysitter for Friday night and we went out to eat. We were going to see a movie too, but there wasn't anything on that we wanted to see.

Saturday we went to the zoo. Alex had a great time looking at all of the animals. His favorites were the elephants and the giraffes. He really liked them from far away. He didn't like them as much when we tried to get him to feed the giraffes.

I finished the last book in the Percy Jackson Series. It isn't as good as Harry Potter, but the books are worth reading if you are having Harry Potter withdrawal. The last book is Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan.

It is starting to get warm here. Alex and I have been to the pool. When it hits 95, we call it a pool day. He loves splashing in the water. The pool just might be on the agenda for next week too.

Posted by at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have a goal (it is not on my resolutions list) to read 36 books this year. I am well on my way to the goal.

January
I, Alex Cross, by James Patterson
Alex Cross's Trial, by James Patterson and Richard Dilallo

February
Galatians: Breakaway to Freedom (Bible Study), by Sarah Howell
Julie and Julia, by Julie Powell
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

March
Run for Your Life, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief, by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse, by Rick Riordan

April
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth, by Rick Riordan
Worst Case, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Since my last entry, we went to a spice factory and we took advantage of the week of free admission to the National Parks. We also went to the botanical gardens and we are going back on Friday to see the butterfly exhibit.

Some of the grounds at Tumacacori.

The church at Tumacacori.

Saguaro National Park

Tucson Botanical Gardens

We are taking Alex to have his picture taken tonight. I need to have everything ready when Gabe gets home so we can leave right away. I guess I should get started.

Posted by at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This past week was pretty low key. I went to a current events meeting on Tuesday and scrapbooked with Katie (I am still on September 2009). Wednesday Myra and Anya came over for dinner. Thursday was a trip to the dentist for both Gabe and me. Friday I went to a jewelry party with Carrie. Saturday Alex had his first haircut. We went Darryl and Michell's for dinner. Sunday we relaxed. This past week we spent a lot of time outside playing in our yard, taking walks, and going to the park. Alex would spend all day outside if we would let him.

I finished reading Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. It is pretty interesting.

I am almost finished with The Time Traveler's Wife. I like the ending of the movie better than book.

I have a lot to finish today, so I had better get going.

Posted by at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I managed to complete July 2009 in our yearly scrapbook. Only 5 months to go! Friday I went to a local scrapbook store with Johnna. There are several things that I will probably go back and purchase once I start to scrapbook our vacation.

Saturday Alex went to another Easter Egg hunt. He had just as much fun on this hunt as he did the first. He also really enjoyed the slides.

Monday I had lunch with some friends and after dinner, Gabe, Alex, and I went to the park. Alex loves both the swings and the slides. The weather here is great! We have been grilling out and going to various parks a lot. I think we might start eating dinner outside again.

Well, I quite a few more things to accomplish today before Gabe gets home. I guess I am going to add deleting spam from my blog to the list. I have around 600 pieces of spam to delete...fun, fun, fun. After I finish all of my computer work, I am going to move on to something a little more fun than deleting spam. I am going to work on planning our trip. Gabe and I try to plan it in the evenings, but we are both too tired and end up staying up too late. So, if I can get the majority of things figured out today it will be a good thing.

Posted by at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I have been trying to write this entry for a while now. Hopefully this time it will work.

On the seventh, Alex, Gabe, and I went to the Tucson Museum of Art to see the Andy Warhol exhibit. My favorite was the Einstein screen print. Alex loved the fountain outside.

Alex's had fun watching this fountain.

The next day I went out to dinner with my Bible study group. We were celebrating one person's move to another state and another person's new baby.

Random picture of Alex doing a pull-up.

On Tuesday, Alex discovered how to go down the slide backward. This is now his favorite way to go down the slide.

Backward Slide

Last weekend was rough! Gabe was in Phoenix for work from 5:00 a.m. Thursday until 9:00 p.m. Saturday. Gabe usually puts Alex to bed at night and Alex was not happy when I was the one going through the routine. I would get about 2 hours of sleep (not even consecutive) and he would just scream and yell "Da". At one point, when he had been up since 2:00 a.m., I called Gabe at 5:30 a.m. and had him talk to Alex. This helped a little. Next time Gabe goes on a trip, we are going too.

Climbing in the furniture

Sunday was a pretty busy day for us. We went to the St. Patrick's Day parade in Tucson. Gabe and I also managed to finally sit down and work on the puzzle again...we finished it! Alex had his picture made with the Easter Bunny. It was like the Santa Picture. We celebrated Pi Day by eating pizza pie, Pierogies, and blueberry pie. The 14th was Einstein's birthday too, but we didn't manage to eat German Chocolate cake.

Completed puzzle

Easter Bunny

While we were out on Sunday bought Alex a no mess Color Wonder book and markers. These are wonderful! He can color with markers but they only work on the special (and expensive) coloring books. So, he can't get maker on himself, the furniture, the carpet, the walls, etc. Nicolle told me about these and they are awesome. I also bought him the finger paints, but we haven't tried them out yet.

Yesterday, Alex and I met some people at a local park and played for a while. The weather was nice. Today the high is 84. We are having some really nice weather.

The latest book that I read was Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief. The book was good and is serving as a Harry Potter substitute. I am really looking forward to watching the movie.

Posted by at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I really need to catch up my blog. I sat down a few days ago to write an entry, but Alex came in the office and wanted to play. So, I did not get around to the entry, but Alex and I had fun!

Last Friday, I went to an outdoor high end shopping mall with a friend. I had never been there before, but it reminds me a little of a mall we used to go to in Illinois. I bought another knife rack from Williams-Sonoma. We currently have one, but were in desperate need of a second.

We had guests over for dinner on Friday. Mike, Dawn, and their kids all came over for fajitas, rice, beans, chips, salsa, and cupcakes. The idea for the mint cookie cupcakes came from Pleasant Home. To make my clovers, I printed an image of a clover about 12 times on a piece of paper. Then I placed wax paper over the paper and used the images as an outline to pipe the green white chocolate.

Saturday was a lot of fun. We went to the rodeo festivities in our neighborhood. Alex even sat on a mechanical bull. The activities were free, but Alex is still a little small to do most of them. Next year I think I might give the mechanical bull a try.

Alex on the mechanical bull. They even let him borrow a hat for the photo.

Sunday we went over to Kevin's house for lunch. After lunch Gabe, Alex, and I decided to look for snow in the mountains. We know there are certain locations where you can definitely find snow (we can see it from our house on the mountain tops), but we decided to be more adventurous and look near Gabe's work. We didn't find any snow that was accessible for us. We ended up at Target and we bought a 1,000 piece puzzle to work on.

On Monday I took Alex to a couple of playgroups.

Here is our puzzle on Tuesday. We work on it for a little bit in the evenings.

I got my allergy shots on Wednesday and then I picked Alex up from school early. We met Katie and Kimmy for lunch at a 50's style diner. Then we went to the mall to buy Alex some new shoes. While I was there, the sales associate told me that a sale would be starting tomorrow. The shoes would all be buy one pair, get one pair half off. So, I left empty handed with the hopes of returning Friday. I went ahead and had him fit for his shoes so I would know the style and size to buy when I returned. Shoes are expensive, so I will gladly take any sale I can get on them.

Kimmy and Alex.

Yesterday (Friday), Alex and I met Myra and Anya at the zoo. We had fun looking at all of the animals and Alex especially had fun climbing on and off of a rock in the children's play area. Before heading to the zoo we went to the mall and purchased Alex's shoes. I bought one pair for now and one pair for later. Both pair of shoes are cute on, but the "later" pair is extra cute. They look like little hiking shoes.

I think we are going to relax today. I need to run some errands (including picking up a book at the library) and then hopefully just enjoy the weekend. Speaking of books, I finished Run for Your Life. It is part of the Michael Bennett series of books by James Patterson. He is a detective in New York City and it did not disappoint.

Posted by at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

We have been hanging out relaxing the past few days. A couple of days ago, Gabe and I attempted to take the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) tour, but apparently you have to get there at the crack of dawn to get tickets. Okay, not really the crack of dawn, but you do need to be there right when the Pima Air and Space Museum opens. The AMARG tour is a guided tour of the aircraft storage facility on the Army base.

So, instead of the AMARG tour, we each went for a much needed haircut and I went for my very fun shots. Speaking of fun stuff, Alex went to the dentist for the first time on the 28th. Everything was fine, but he didn't really enjoy the visit. I guess one good thing about the screaming was the dentist could see all of his teeth.

We decided to go to the AMARG tour on New Year's Eve Day. It was a lot of fun. I really liked the fun facts that the guide gave us about the planes during the tour. There are close to 5,000 planes, so he gave us the spiel about the more interesting planes.

After the tour, we went to Color Me Mine and Alex had a blast painting a plate.

He likes to get his own paint with the paintbrush.

He also likes to paint with a paintbrush in each hand.

Here is his plate before glazing and firing (The "Alex" was done by me). I will post a picture once I pick it up from the studio.

We stayed home for New Year's Eve. Alex went to bed and Gabe and I watched the ball drop in New York. This year we decided to eat a grape with each stroke of the clock. We don't have any clocks that chime, so we just ate the grapes quickly.

Alex a few moments after midnight. You can check out his picture from last year here.

We had Belgium Waffles for breakfast on the first and Gabe opened his presents. The mini-Alex for his desk was my favorite.

Alex enjoying a waffle.

Gabe with Alex and mini-Alex.

Mini-Alex.

I purchased the mini-Alex photo sculpture from Zazzle. I think it will make a cute addition to his desk at work and it is definitely different from a picture in a frame. I also ordered and ornament in the same design. I really love them both. I will definitely order them again once Alex is a little older. A family picture would be cute too.

Posted by at 10:11 PM | Permalink

We went to the Pima Air & Space Museum. It was a lot of fun. The best part was the tram ride. We could have walked and looked at the 150+ planes outside, but the tram ride was great because they told us a little bit about each one. We also walked through the five hangers and two museums. One of the museums had a piece of moon rock. There were also some fun cutouts for a photo op scattered about the grounds.

Cool plane in a hangar.

Alex the Pilot.

I "think" this the plane that hauled the Titan Missile.

Even though it does not look comfortable, I would love to have a Jeep like this (it was made by Ford).

Astronaut Alex.

Posted by at 11:03 PM | Permalink

We have an upcoming trip that will require some winter clothing for Alex. This is a lot harder to accomplish than you would think. We were headed up to Tucson so we decided to stop by Babies R Us. We had no luck. Since Babies R Us doesn't carry mittens and winter hats (I asked), we decided to head to the very busy mall. Babies R Us is still selling swim trunks at full price, so I guess mittens and swim trunks don't mix. I did manage to buy two sweatshirts and a pair of sweatpants for $8.00 total (they were on clearance). We entered the mall through JC Penney. They did not carry mittens and winter hats. Our next stop was Old Navy. They had about 5 winter hat and mitten sets. They were all large with one medium. Alex needed a small. Ugh...I guess that is what you get when it is 70 on December 12. Our next stop was The Children's Place. They had a very small selection of mittens and winter hats. The good news is they were on clearance, $5.00 for the mittens and $7.50 for the hat. So, after several stores and a lot of searching, Alex has mittens and a winter hat. People look at you a little weird when you ask for winter clothing when they are in shorts and flip flops. Next time, I am just going to order them online. Oh, on a side note, he does have a warm coat. I bought it on clearance last year in Illinois. I think he will have enough clothing to stay warm. I am sure my Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois friends are reading this wishing they didn't need their mittens.

Posted by at 11:45 PM | Permalink

Today we purchased some formula to donate to a shelter. They have several new babies and formula is a really big expense for them. Next we went to the Fourth Avenue Winter Street Fair. We walked around the fair and had dinner at Magpies. After dinner we walked to the Parade of Lights route, had a seat, and waited on the parade to begin. The parade was a lot longer than I expected. It was around an hour and a half. Alex liked watching the lights, but he especially liked the trucks. Of course, Santa made an appearance at the end of the parade.

The storm trooper made it to this parade too.

One of the trucks that Alex liked.

Santa

Follow our other daily December activities. December 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.

Posted by at 11:23 PM | Permalink

Tonight we went to Zoo Lights. The animals are all sleeping and away, but the zoo is decorated with a lot of lights and other decorations. There are photo opportunities with a lot of decorations and even a lion Santa. We went tonight because it was one of the members preview nights and admission was free. I was a little disappointed that I didn't bring our Toys for Tots donations with us. I guess I can just drop them off at Toys R Us, but there were two Marines at the entrance collecting toys. I guess I will know to bring the toys with me next year. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and there was live music and hot chocolate. I think it is something that we will do again next year.

Follow our other daily December activities. December 1.

Posted by at 9:34 PM | Permalink

The Friday after Thanksgiving we attempted to do some Black Friday shopping. We went around 7:00 a.m. and needless to say, everything was gone. The lines were still really long though and I do not like waiting in long lines anyway. We almost bought a new table and chairs for our kitchen, but we decided against it. One of our chairs is broken.

On Saturday, we went to Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca. The mall in Sierra Vista has a display of Christmas trees. Alex also had his picture taken with Santa while we were there. He cried the entire time. Oh, and when did it start costing $25 to have your picture made with Santa? For my $25 I received a 5 x 7 and picture CD. After the mall we went to the Fort. It is an active military base, so we had to get clearance to enter. It is also a historical site, so civilians are allowed onto the base. It was fun to drive around and to see some of the training areas. There are also three neat museums (Fort Huachuca Museum, Fort Huachuca Museum Annex, and The U.S. Army Intelligence Museum). My favorite was the Intelligence museum. They have a 12 ft section of the Berlin Wall.

Alex and Santa.

On Sunday we finished putting up Christmas decorations.

To make these hanging ornaments I simply cut out an ornament shape from scrapbook paper. There is patterned paper on both the front and the back. I tied a ribbon through ornament and hung up using command hooks. The ribbon was cut at different lengths. Cheep, easy, and cute!

Closeup of an ornament.

Yesterday was my birthday. Gabe and I went to see New Moon. I think this movie was much better than the first, but I still prefer the books. After the show we went to Red Lobster for lunch and the Cold Stone Creamery. We picked Alex up early from school and headed home to relax. Dinner was pizza and carrot cake...yummy!

Today I am attempting to knock quite a few things off of my list. So far I am doing ok.

Posted by at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Alex and I picked Brandi and Maddex up at the airport on Tuesday. I didn't have time to get everything done before picking them up. Their flight was an hour early, so I did not get a chance to get a balloon for Maddex. Luckily, I was leaving an hour early to run some errands and checked their flights arrival time before I left. I was really surprised to see that they were going to land in 12 minutes. Luckily I don't live too far from the airport. We relaxed most of the day, but we did walk to the park to play.

Alex hanging out in a basket before we left.

On Wednesday, we went to the mission and to the desert museum. We didn't get to walk around the entire museum/zoo since we showed up around lunch time. Maddex was pretty hungry so we at lunch at the cafe.

Thursday we decided to go for a swim. The water felt great. We also went to the Pecan Factory and bought a pecan pie.

Maddex in the pool.

Friday we did not do a whole lot. Alex wasn't feeling well, so we took him to the doctor (he is okay now). We also missed our appointment for pictures. We were going to have photos taken of Maddex and Alex. Unfortunately, the picture appointment was at 10:30 and the doctor was able to fit Alex in at 10:00. We could have rescheduled, but Alex would not have been up to it.

Saturday was their last day here (they actually left in the afternoon). So, we decided to go to The International Wildlife Museum. Maddex had a great time running around and pointing to all of the animals.

We came back home, had a quick lunch, and them dropped them off at the airport. We have spent most of the day getting things in order.

Posted by at 10:11 PM | Permalink

Today we went to the Tucson Museum of Art. We waited to go until now because the first Sunday of the month is free. Other than going to the grocery store, we really haven't done a lot today.

Brandi and Maddex will be coming to see us on Tuesday. That should be a lot of fun. Maddex is 6 months older than Alex.

Posted by at 5:57 PM | Permalink

I missed my book club meeting on Thursday. I was not feeling well. The book was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. The book was okay. In my opinion, it would have been better without the last 20% of the book, but that was the entire point of the book. A girl grows up poor in Brooklyn and it goes through her life and the cycle of poverty. I am currently reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. This is not for the book club. However, I checked out a copy from the library and it is due back in a few days and I am almost half way through the book. I had better get reading.

Thursday I bought tickets to Legally Blonde the musical. Katie and I going to see it. They went on sale Friday, but because we have purchased tickets before, Gabe had a presale code.

On Friday, Gabe, Alex, and I went to Phoenix and stayed in a hotel downtown. We walked around downtown. There is an open air market that was a lot of fun. We had some really good pizza. Before heading to Phoenix, we stopped at a pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin.

Saturday, on the way back home we stopped off at IKEA and a couple of other places. Last night after Alex went to bed we relaxed a little bit. We also watched the movie Adventureland...don't waste your time.

We went to the park today. Alex loves swinging. The picture below if from a couple of weeks ago.

Posted by at 3:22 PM | Permalink

Things have been very busy here. We are doing the last minute preparations for Alex's birthday party tomorrow. I just posted several back entries. Make sure and check them out. You might need to click on both "September 2009" and "October 2009" in the sidebar to access all of them.

I also want to thank Nicolle over at Boyd's Crazy Momma. She sent Alex a lot of cute outfits to help get him through the summer. Yes, it is still summer here (it was 98 in the shade). I still think putting winter coats in stores is crazy this time of year in this location. Anyway, the warm weather is why we will be having Alex's party outside. I will have a lot of pictures later.

Posted by at 8:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Monday we toured another school for Alex. I tend to steer away from calling them day cares, because they are actually run like a pre-school. We both preferred this one over the last one that we toured. We put him on the wait list. He can't attend until he is one anyway. So, it will just be a waiting game until he is old enough and a slot is available.

Wednesday was the meeting for the book club. This time it was at our house. The book was Dixiland Sushi. The book itself was a really easy read, but there wasn't a whole lot of content to discuss. We managed to have a good time anyway. I also read The Alchemist a few weeks ago. It was recommended by a friend about a year or so ago. I was disappointed. It wasn't a bad book, but I think I had built it up in my mind over the past year and there was no way that the book could live up to my expectations...or maybe it just isn't my type of book.

Friday, Gabe and I went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant and then saw Spamalot. Spamalot was funny, but it wasn't my favorite. Wicked takes that honor. J said that Alex didn't cry a lot. He was fine until she took him downstairs to make a bottle (apparently he thought we were downstairs hanging out). After that he cried off and on for an hour and then he went to sleep).

Saturday we went to our town's festival. Gabe's office had a booth. We had a good time walking around. Gabe was at the festival from noon until 9:30 p.m. Alex and I went from around 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Alex loves balloons and the yellow one from the festival was no exception.

Today we went to the Greek Festival. We had some yummy Greek food and bought some pastries to bring back to our house for tonight. We had our neighbors, the V's, over for dinner.

Posted by at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Monday Alex and I met K and her little girl K for some time at the pool. The heated kiddy lagoon was too cold for us to stay in very long. The umbrellas that block the UV also block the water warming rays of the sun. So, we went in the regular pool and it was nice and warm. It is still in the 100's here, so swimming is still a way to cool off and Alex loves splashing in the water.

Wednesday Alex and I met DD and two of her kids for some time at the park in our neighborhood. We have decided to throw a fall party in November. We were going to have a Halloween party, but we figured it just wasn't in the cards this year. They will be taking a vacation near the time that we would have the party and Alex has a birthday around the same time. So we decided to have a fall party in November instead. It should be a lot of fun.

Friday, J came over to play with Alex for a little while. She will be watching him while Gabe and I are watching Spamalot next Friday. Alex seemed to have a good time playing with J. Friday night we went out to dinner with Josh & Amie. We had yummy Mexican.

Saturday, Gabe, Alex, & I went to the University of Arizona's Art Museum. We were surprised when we found out they were currently offering free admission because half of the museum was undergoing an exhibit change. It was fun and hopefully we can make it back sometime once it is fully open again. After the museum we attended a birthday party for KA at MA and DA's.

Alex hanging out with the art.

Today we went to Phoenix in search of a KB Toys. We went to the mall it was supposed to located in and they were no longer there. Someone told us they moved to anther mall, but we were unable to find it. We did manage to find a good deal on some clothes. I found some shorts for $4.00 marked down from about $40. The stores are placing their summer clothes on clearance to make room for their winter collection. Umm...do they realize it is still in the 100's here and we still have months of warm weather left (okay, really we don't get too cold). The sales associate explained to us that people from Canada come down and buy their winter clothes. I was wondering who would actually wear all of the warm thick coats. We still have enough winter clothing from Illinois to suffice if we travel somewhere cool. We had a yummy lunch at Chipotle. After Phoenix, we met up with MD,DD, and their three kids for some bowling. I am much better at Wii bowling. Then we went out to eat at one of the only places that is open late on a Sunday (by late I mean after 5:00 p.m.)

Posted by at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This week was fun. On Tuesday I went for a walk with DD. It is nice to walk in the mornings. Gabe and I also checked out a school for Alex (well, they call themselves an academy). One thing that I am not so sure about is he would have homework every night. Gabe was wondering why a one year old would need homework...me too!

Saturday I took my CPR recertification class. After the class I had a baby shower to attend. The shower ran a little longer than I had anticipated, so we were a little late to our next activity, a party at Kevin's. We had to leave the party a little early since Alex goes to bed at 8:00 p.m. My mint fudge was a hit. It is a good thing too, because I didn't want to bring any of it home.

Posted by at 8:01 PM | Permalink

Today we went to the International Wildlife Museum. It was a lot fun. Alex had a good time touching some of the exhibits. I think that he will have an even better time once he is a little older. It was really neat that everything not behind a barrier had a sign saying "please touch". It was a really interactive museum. We actually had plans to go next Saturday, but there is no way that we would be able to make it. So, we went today.

International Wildlife Museum

Alex and a wild boar.

Alex and a jaguar.

Alex and a giraffe.

I still have a few things I would like to accomplish today. Wish me luck!

Posted by at 3:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tuesday, I went to DA's house and did a little scrapbooking. Wednesday, KG came over and we scrapbooked. Thursday, KG came over for dinner. Friday, I went to DD's and scrapbooked for 3 hours. I finished January and February 2009. Yesterday I ordered the pictures from March and April 2009 so I can scrapbook them once I get the chance. Friday before I went to DD's house, I took a few pictures of Alex.

Alex and pumpkins.

Alex examining a small pumpkin.

Alex throwing a pumpkin.

Alex and spooky Halloween tree.

On Saturday, Gabe, Alex, and I went to Apple Annie's, but not before getting the windows tinted on my car. The tint makes a huge difference. We had lunch at the orchard and then we picked apples and asian pears. We ate our apple pie and ice cream after we picked the fruit. We went to the vegetable garden next. They have pumpkins, but those aren't available until October. We bought bell peppers and some squash.

Stephanie picking apples.

Alex and his pear. He picked it...sort of. Gabe was holding him and picking a pear. Alex hit a pear and it came off the of the tree.

On the way back from the orchard, we stopped off at a vineyard. I really wanted to see the rows of grapes. I tried a grape and they were really sweet.

Coronado Vineyard

Today we ran a few errands. Now we are watching a little TV before heading off to bed.

I also won a giveaway over at An Island Life. I am the proud owner of a Squirt Baby Food Dispensing Spoon from Boon Inc. This spoon will come in handy while we are out and about. The spoon holds baby food and squeezing it dispenses the food. No mess! Thanks to Boon Inc and An Island Life.

Posted by at 10:03 PM | Permalink

Well, I should be watching Dexter right now, but both Gabe and Alex are sleeping. So, I have the Food Network on mute instead. This week was busy.

On Tuesday I went to the book club meeting. We discussed The 19th Wife. As I said in a previous entry, the topic was plural marriage. It made for some interesting conversation. Next month the book is Dixiland Sushi by Cara Lockwood. After I left the book club meeting, I headed over to DD's house and we went out to lunch. It was a Mexican restaurant that I had not been to before and they had yummy cheese enchiladas.

Wednesday I headed over to K's house to scrapbook. Actually, she scrapbooked and I worked on some other crafty things.

Friday night, Gabe, Alex, & I went to a baseball game. We watched the Tucson Toros play the St. George Roadrunners. The Toros won. We ended up leaving before the game was over. Alex was getting sleepy and it was still pretty hot out even at 9:30 p.m. We missed the fireworks, but Alex would have most likely screamed through them anyway.

The field.

Yesterday we went to the Tucson Children's Museum. Alex is still a bit too young to fully enjoy the museum but he still had a good time. Saturday evening we went to GT's house for a party. It was a lot of fun. We left around 8:30 p.m. and Alex was pretty much asleep once his head hit the car seat.

Alex manning the submarine

Cruising on the police chopper.

I made a pillow for one of my Grandma's for Grandparent's Day. It has a picture of Alex on it. I hope she likes it.

Alex in his new car seat. He is too long for his infant carrier.

Posted by at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Gabe's car

The weekend is almost over I have have not accomplished everything that I had hoped I would get done. Gabe and I finished Moonlight. It is about a vampire that is a private investigator. He goes around solving mysteries and murders. Since there was only one season, we also finished the series.

I am currently reading The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. It is the selection for the book club this month. The topic of the book is plural marriage. It reminds me a little of Big Love. The meeting is on Tuesday and I have only read 300 pages of the 500. I will get it done in time. It is really starting to get more interesting.

Friday, Alex and I met DD at the pool. Alex had a great time splashing in the water. We didn't stay for a picnic lunch since Alex decided to get up at 5:00 a.m. By the time we left around 11:00 a.m. he fell asleep in the car.

We started watching the third season of Dexter. We saw a preview for the fourth season after the episode was over. I am not sure how I feel about where they are going with the series. Dexter as husband and a dad...hmm.

I watched Melissa d'Arabian's show on the Food Network last week. It is pretty good. Overall, I am glad that she won the Next Food Network Star.

We have stainless steel appliances in our kitchen. You can't use a magnet to hold up a picture. This isn't all that bad since I really do prefer a clean and uncluttered refrigerator with nothing on the front. However, when Walgreens was running their free item everyday last week I bought the clings. Now I have a few pictures of Alex up the refrigerator. They are perfect for displaying a picture on a stainless steel appliance. I am going to keep them up for a little while.

Alex cling on the refrigerator.

Posted by at 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Whew! I just finished posting all of the entries from Alaska. There were quite a few. I published so many that they are not all visible from my sidebar. So, if you would like to read about all of our adventures in Alaska (you know you want to), just click on "May 2009" under "Archives" on the right sidebar. You will be able to access all of the Alaska entries from there. You should be able to see the new posts from June, but in case you can't you can always click on "June 2009" under "Archives".

This is going to be a random post. Gabe, Alex, and I all went to the drive-in to see Angels and Demons. I like the book better. The drive-in is definitely somewhere we will be going again. It is only $5 a person, you can take your own food, and it is a great way to watch a movie with Alex.

When I came back from our vacation I had two wonderful swap packages waiting on me. They will each get their own entry (hopefully tonight, but maybe tomorrow).

I have all of the pictures for the "house tour", but since I have already posted so many things today, I might wait and put it together tomorrow.

I will be posting Alex's 6 month pictures soon (probably tomorrow).

While on vacation I read James Patterson's next installment in the Women's Murder Club: 8th Confession. It was a really good book about a killer that goes after the wealthy. Currently I am reading Why Do Men Have Nipples? Both Alex and I joined the summer reading program at the local library. Maybe the extra encouragement will help me with the Spring Reading Thing Challenge as well.

My Google Reader had 1000+ entries in it when we returned from vacation. It is going to be a while before I am caught up. Which reminds me, Nicole, does our beach house have WiFi?

I have been reading where quite a few people are participating in No Spending Challenges. I am going to do my own and feel free to join me. For the next two months we are going to give ourselves a monthly budget: $160 for food, $40 for entertainment, and $200 for Alex's food (formula is expensive). We will still pay for gas and bills, but we are going to attempt to curb excess spending. I will let you know how it goes.

Posted by at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Today was our first full day back at our house. We (Gabe's parents, Gabe, Alex, and I) went out to eat at a restaurant that is supposed to have the best Mexican food in Tucson...sorry, I don't remember the name. Cooking their meat is a three day process. It was pretty good.

Gabe & Stephanie at the Mexican Restaurant.

After lunch, we went to Biosphere 2. Two groups of people lived in it while sealed in. The first group was for 2 years and the second group was for 6 months. It was pretty interesting.

Biosphere 2

Biosphere 2

Inside of the Biosphere

Now we are back home relaxing. Gabe's parents have to leave really early for the airport.

Posted by at 9:03 PM | Permalink

Amy came over to watch the American Idol singing competition between Adam and Kris on Tuesday. It was a lot of fun. She had to work late on Wednesday, so she was unable to make it for the final episode of the season. I must say, though I like Kris, I still think that Adam should have won. I also wanted Gilles to win Dancing with the Stars. I guess Shawn was pretty good too.

Gabe's parents arrived on Wednesday. They are taking a vacation of their own while staying in our house while we are gone on vacation. It should work well for everyone.

Alex helping me pack. He had his own suitcase, half of mine, and part of Gabe's. All of this was in addition to a large diaper bag and half of the carry on.

Picture of a snake that was in the desert behind our house.

I managed to get my hair cut on Friday. Gabe had his hair cut as well. His didn't take quite as long as mine. We drove to Tucson and they dropped me off for my hair cut. While I was there, they went to Sam's, World Market, and Gabe managed to get his hair cut. They came back to pick me up and they were just starting to wash my hair (the girl was really running behind). It usually takes about an hour, but this time I think it took over two. We were all starving and went to Jason's Deli for dinner. Every time that Gabe and I go, I always say I am going to get the salad bar, but I never do. This time I did and it was yummy. Off to Canada tomorrow.

Posted by at 11:18 PM | Permalink

Last Saturday morning Gabe took Aaron to his workplace to look around. It is a really cool facility. Alex and I stayed home for a couple of reasons. The primary reason is that Alex cannot go because he is too young. It isn't a big deal though, I have already been back in November.

When they returned we went to the copper mine. We watched a video and went through the museum. We didn't take him on the tour though. We were on a tight schedule to get a lot of things in that day.

Next, we went to a Spanish mission, San Xavier del Bac. We walked around the area, but unfortunately we were unable to go into the church. There was a wedding going on while we were there. Gabe and I have been inside the church before and as expected, it looks like it was transported over from Spain.

Mission from the outside.

After the mission, we headed out to the Colossal Cave. This was the first time that Gabe and I had been as well. We went on the cave tour and headed back home to get ready for a party.

Colossal Cave Entrance

Here we are inside of the Colossal Cave.

Alex about half way through the cave tour.

We all went over to Kevin's house for his party. We decided to walk since he doesn't live too far away. The only problem was neither Gabe nor I printed out the address. We finally figured out where he lived and had a good time.

Alex, ready to go to the party!

Aside from eating and talking to everyone, I joined in on a game of Texas Hold 'em. We were going to leave in time to watch the movie Bolt, but that just didn't happen. Our community has free showings of movies outside. You bring a blanket or lawn chair and they supply the movie and popcorn. We basically tried to do the most things we could during the time that Aaron was out here.

Posted by at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here is a fun idea that you can do when you have visitors. Go to your visitor center and pick up a bunch of brochures and maps. Place them in a binder with some additional information (non-emergency police number, grocery stores, favorite restaurants, etc.). I placed my information in plastic sleeve protectors. Keep the binder around and when guests come they can look through the binder the figure out what they would like to do. You can keep adding additional information to the binder for future guests to use. So, if you ever come out here to visit I will have a binder full of information for you to look through.

Check out my other fun visitor idea here. I recently added a mini lint brush.

Posted by at 11:38 AM | Permalink

Last Friday Aaron, Alex, and I all went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. We walked around half of the zoo, but the temperature kept rising and we left. It was just too hot for Alex...even if it was a dry heat. The animals were all in hiding/sleeping.

Gray Fox

It has consistently been reaching around 105. The high is always listed as 99, but it gets about 104/105. It isn't too bad if you are in the shade, but Alex overheats easily, so we don't do a lot when it is really warm. The only problem is the temperature rises until around 5:00 p.m. So we do a lot in the evenings. Back to Friday.

We relaxed for a while and Gabe came back home. We drove up Mt. Lemmon and had a great time. It was nice outside and the sun was setting, so it wasn't beating down on us.

Hanging out on a rock at Mt. Lemmon. The pictures just don't do Mt. Lemmon justice. It was a lot of fun walking around.

We had plans to eat at the restaurant on the top of the mountain but this is the off season and they are only for breakfast from 9:00-11:30 a.m.

Moon rising over mountain.

We didn't make it. Instead, we drove back down the mountain and ate the Arizona Pizza Company. The pizza was pretty good.

Posted by at 9:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On Saturday (April 4) I decided we were cleaning out the garage. We got a head start by working on it a few hours on Friday night. We finished it Saturday! We had a ton of recyclables, some trash, and a truck full of items that we donated to the local thrift store. Gabe had to wait until trash/recycle day to be able to park his truck in the garage, but it is there now!

My parents flew in on Tuesday evening. Wednesday we went to the mall and did some shopping while Gabe was at work.

Friday morning Gabe and my Dad dropped Elsa and Clara off to get their teeth cleaned and we all headed to Tombstone. We walked around the downtown area and had dinner at a local restaurant.

Tombstone Sign

Tombstone Carriage Ride Tour

Bird Cage Theatre

We were stopped by the border police on the way back. I think that was my parents first border check. We came back and picked up the dogs. They have a follow up appointment in a couple of weeks. When we came back from Tombstone our yard was mostly finished. There are a few finishing touches here and there that should be completed this week. So, I am going to hold off on posting pictures of our yard until it is completely done.

We went out to dinner at Solaris on Friday night.

"Air Alex". He likes to stick his tongue out when he "flies" through the air.

Gabe & Alex at Solaris

Stephanie & Alex at Solaris

Saturday night was a lot of fun. We played Wii and had prime rib. Yummy! They left bright and early on Sunday morning.

We worked on organizing things in our house Sunday. Gabe managed to hang one of our two outdoor ceiling fans and we rearranged our patio furniture. We had some leftover prime rib, so we had it for Easter dinner. If things weren't so busy, we might have invited some of the other people from Illinois that are living in Arizona over for Easter dinner. Maybe next year.

We didn't take Alex to have his picture made with the Easter Bunny this year. So, I snapped a picture of Alex with one of our decorations.

Alex and bunny.

Yesterday we dropped my car off at the dealer. I need a new fan belt. I received a phone call this morning and they informed me that they don't have the part they need. So, I will be without a car until Wednesday evening. I was going to the post office, grocery store, drug store, and Wal-Mart today, but it is a little difficult without a car. I guess we will be running a few errands once Gabe gets home from work. At some point I will post some pictures of our house. Most likely it will be sometime next week. We are getting ready for our party this Saturday (the one we previously canceled due to illness).

I have recently started using Google Reader and I love it. Instead of having to look at all of the blogs I read, I can quickly go to the blogs that have new posts. An added plus, I can post to blogs that only allow individuals with blogger accounts to comment.

I hope everyone had a great Easter!

Posted by at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I finished my Yahoo! bracket. I am doing okay. I am a sucker for U of I every year. I am not going to be a sucker for them next year...I say that every year.

I finished reading Breaking Dawn last Tuesday. It was a decent way to end the Twilight Series (I am assuming it is the last book). I won't say anything else just in case someone out there isn't finished with the book yet. The new James Patterson book Run for Your Life is next on my list. It is the second book in the Michael Bennett series.

Gabe went to Phoenix last Thursday for the First Robotics Competition. He has been working with a local high school to help them prepare a robot for the competition. The bus left at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. So, Alex and I drove up separately. We stopped at Ikea on the way up and arrived at the competition around 4:00 p.m. Thursday was a practice day. Around 8:00 p.m. we all went out to eat at The Old Spaghetti Factory.

Friday was the first day of competition. Alex and I waited until 1:00 p.m. to go to the competition. Before heading to watch the robots, we went to the Irish Culture Center and went on the guided tour. The competition was a lot of fun to watch. We went out to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and I had Twisted Mac and Cheese...yummy!

Irish Culture Center

Saturday Alex and I headed back in the morning and everyone else went to the competition. We stopped off at Target and bought Twilight. I was hoping to watch it Saturday night, but we never got around to it. Gabe's team made it to the next round of competition that was on Saturday. Unfortunately they didn't win, but they did get a bronze medal. I think they all did a great job!

Alex Picture

Last night around 9:00 p.m. we sat down to watch Twilight. We didn't actually make it through the movie. We both fell asleep and went to bed at 10:30 p.m. I am hoping to watch it tonight. I will make a comment that the actors in the movie do not look like the characters in my mind. The closest is Victoria, but in the movie her hair is not nearly red enough.

Posted by at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It has been a while since I have updated, so here I go.

Below are the pictures of Alex rolling over for the first time.

Starting out during tummy time.

Midway through the roll.

Completed roll.

Apparently he wasn't finished!

I used to be a fan of Anoop, however I did not like his American Idol performance last week. Now I have started to wonder if he can actually sing, or if he can only sing My Prerogative. Anyway, even though I was not a Jasmine or Jorge fan, I still believe that based on the performance, Anoop should have been sent home. I guess we will see what happens this week. It should be interesting since the judges have a "get of jail free" card. Right now I think they will only use it to save Danny, Adam, or Lil.

Saturday I went to a Pampered Chef party. I ordered the bread mix. I really want to see if it is as good as Tastefully Simple. I also ordered the Sun-Dried Tomato Herb Oil Dipping Seasoning.

On Sunday Gabe, Alex, and I went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival in Tucson. The parade was a lot longer and much more interesting than I had anticipated. We will most likely go back again next year. It is an added bonus that it was in the 70's.

Alex sporting his "Kiss Me I'm Irish" shirt. He didn't wear this to the festival. Since everyone seems to like touching him we didn't want to give them an excuse to kiss him.

Waiting for the parade to begin.

Green Man Group

Apparently Star Wars characters enjoy St. Patrick's Day.

Darth Vader even made an appearance...though he wasn't wearing green.

Alex showing off his green beads.

Fire Truck

The festival was also a lot of fun. The type of craft booths reminded me a lot of the festival in my hometown. We had Irish Stew for lunch and it was really good.

We had our St. Patrick's day dinner on Sunday. It was a lot easier to cook the meal while Gabe was home to watch Alex and help me. So, we decided Sunday would be a better day than Tuesday. I pulled out a cookbook that we purchased while we were in Ireland. We had Carrot Soup, Chicken Cobbler, Mashed Roots, and Apple Nut Tart. I will post the recipes to each menu item as I get a chance.

I was really disappointed that Steve-O was not able to dance last night on Dancing With the Stars. As much as he is not one of my favorites, he is pretty entertaining to watch. Gilles is still my favorite guy. I just hope people vote for him. Maybe the judges need a "save" like the American Idol judges. Ty was a thousand times better last night. I actually smiled through his entire performance. As far as the girls go, I liked both Melissa and Shawn's performances.

Posted by at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The weather was nice on Thursday, so Laura, Alex, and I headed out to the zoo. It was a lot of fun to walk around outside and see the animals. We explored a part of the zoo that Gabe and I never found. It is a pretty big area and we usually go to the right when we enter. Next time we go, we are going to start with the left. In the evening we caught up on Ugly Betty episodes. We went to Spanky's diner for dinner. It is a pretty fun place that is reminiscent of Greece. I kept waiting for John Travolta and Olivia Newton John to jump out and start singing.

Coyote

We had dinner at the Cow Palace tonight. They have pretty good steaks. Across the street is the Long Horn. My goal is to Gabe to eat there with me at some point. He always wants to go to the Cow Palace.

I am making pretty good progress on my quilt. I have been working on it in the evenings while we watch T.V. I would say I am about 3/4 of the way through with quilting. After that I just need to sew on the binding and then I will be finished. I probably have around 3 or 4 days left at a minimum.

I have been reading while feeding Alex. It takes him 20-30 minutes to eat a bottle, so I have been reading and I am almost finished with Eclipse. Breaking Dawn is next in line.

Posted by at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I finished the pillows for the couch in our bedroom, but I don't have picture to post right now. Laura, Gabe's sister, arrived in Arizona Friday night. It was pretty late when she arrived, so we didn't do anything Friday.

Saturday we got up and headed to Tubac. It is an artsy community that was having their annual craft fair. We walked around the fair and looked at the booths. We didn't purchase anything other than food. We had Gyros and a funnel cake. We headed home for a little while before heading back out again.

Next we headed to the ASARCO copper mine and we went on the copper mine tour. It was really interesting to see how copper is mined. My favorite part was the copper bubbles.

Copper Mine

Alex, Gabe, & tire used on the 240 ton haul trucks. The tire weighs 7,600 pounds.

Copper bubbles

After the copper mine we went to Sushi Cho for sushi. Yummy!

Yum...sushi!

Sunday we went to the San Xavier del Bac Mission. It was really interesting and a great place to take visitors. I think Gabe and I might go back and watch the 25 minute video when we have more time. After the mission, we went to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. We purchased a couple of things. I am starting a rock collection for Alex. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant Gabe and I both like, La Placita. I have discovered that the single taco dinner is more than enough food for me.

San Xavier del Bac Mission
"The White Dove of the Desert"

We rented a few movies on Monday using the Red Box at Wal-Mart. I will give you more details about renting free movies next Monday. We watched Pineapple Express Monday night and it was bad. I did not realize it was a movie about drugs. I don't recommend it.

Tuesday Laura, Alex, and I stayed home and worked on a project. I am currently making a quilt for one of my Grandmas for Christmas. We also watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and The Good Student. Umm...the second Sisterhood movie was not as good as the first and The Good Student was not my favorite movie, but it did hold my interest. The Good Student is about a "relationship" with a student and a teacher. The student goes missing and the rest of the movie is spent trying to find her and it is also spent exploring the odd relationships between various members of the community.

American Idol was on last night and of course I watched. I was very disappointed when Tatiana was not sent home. I was pretty sure she was going home when she was switched from her original holding room to another one. As of now, my two favorites are Danny and Jamar. The only problem is I don't know who I would root for if they both make it to the final. I am looking forward to tonight's episode.

Today has been another "at home" day. We watched December Boys. I recorded it on our DVR because I like Harry Potter and Daniel Radcliff was in the movie. His nickname was Maps even though I kept calling him Harry Potter. It is about a group of boys in an orphanage and they were called the December Boys because they were all born in December. The orphanage received a large donation from a benefactor and the boys were sent on a holiday. The December boys were sent first since it was December. So, the movie is about their adventures on holiday at the ocean. I feel pretty neutral about this movie. I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it.

Other than American Idol, I am not sure what we are going to do tonight. I am hoping that the weather warms up so we can go to the zoo during the day soon. The high today was only 66, so we didn't make it.

Posted by at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have a new camera! Gabe ordered one for me. I still miss my old camera.

We are still working on our house. Today the furniture repairman came today. He stayed from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. repairing the damage to most of our furniture. Quite a few items were deemed non-repairable and we were given cash for them. I even helped repair a few pieces. The pieces I worked on were items that were not damaged by the movers and so he did not have to repair them. He gave me the supplies and showed me how to do it. So, I worked on a rocking chair and ottoman as well as a table and chairs set. He is out of Phoenix. If anyone is looking for a great furniture repair guy in the state of Arizona I can help you out. He actually covers the entire state and he is very reasonable.

Alex in his swing.

Elsa

This is off of the prickly pear cactus from our front yard. It was broken and apparently you can just plant it and it will grow. We will have to wait and see.

We used a gift container from Christmas to serve as our time capsule. We will open it on January 1, 2010.

Posted by at 10:26 PM | Permalink

We had our Christmas in Arizona tonight.

Alex "talking" on his phone book.

Me and my collection of books from Gabe.

We have to take the dogs to the kennel tomorrow. Unfortunately, we can't bring them with us to Illinois. The weather there is too cold for the dogs to transported in the winter and the summers in Arizona are too warm for them to fly out of Tucson. So, it looks like they will primarily be staying in the sunny state of Arizona.

We still aren't packed. I guess we will do it tomorrow. Our flight leaves on Saturday morning.

Posted by at 10:12 PM | Permalink

We had the 30 day walk through on our house last week. Technically we haven't lived here for 30 days, but they wanted to get it in before January. Basically, we have spent every free moment working on the house and it is looking much better. I wanted to have it completed by January, but that isn't going to happen. Maybe by March 1st.

Gabe and I watched The Dark Knight last night. Christian Bale was an okay Bruce Wayne (I like Michael Keaton better) but I did not like his Batman. Heath Ledger did a good job acting, but I think he was better in A Knight's Tale, The Brothers Grimm, and Casanova. While watching the movie I worked on finishing up Alex's quilt. I started it while we still lived in Illinois and I hadn't worked on it since living in our house. So, instead of checking my email or writing a blog entry while watching the movie, I finished his quilt. It is just in time to take it to Illinois.

Alex's dog quilt

Alex hanging out with the quilt

1. Catch up on email. Check!
2. Make a Menu Check! (I even made January's menu)
3. Grocery Shop Check!
4. Mail USPS Packages Check!
5. Update Magazine Addresses...umm I have a couple left. Darn time zone differences.
6. Send my mom her recipes Check!
7. Kohl's Cash (I apparently have $20) Check! Well sort of...it expired.
8. Order Wedding present for a friend Check!

My Goals for Tomorrow
1. Start packing. I have a feeling this will be a multiple day process
2. Work on room downstairs. If we ever get our house together I will post pictures.

Posted by at 8:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I was a little overzealous in what I was going to accomplish yesterday. I did finish the baby announcements, but our bedroom is still a mess, the Christmas cards have yet to be touched, and the packages that need to be mailed and their contents are spread all over the floor. Maybe today I will get the packages done. I really need to get them mailed. Some of them are already going to be late. Basically, look for your baby announcement in the mail. They should be on their way today (a mere 5 weeks after his birth).

For anyone keeping track, the high today is in the 70's. Ahh, the benefits of living in the middle of the desert in December. Talk to me in August and I might not be so accepting of the desert climate.

Posted by at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I should be picking up the bedroom, finishing up the birth announcements, working on Christmas cards, or one of the other million things I need to do since Alex is sleeping. Instead, I am writing an entry to update everyone...what dedication.

Friday my mom wanted to go shopping. Now, just in case you are wondering I am not the "get up and go out at 4:00 a.m. type" and I did manage to order my shower curtain at Kohl's online at 11:00 p.m. (actually Gabe did it for me because I kept falling asleep). We went to the mall around noon thinking the die-hard shoppers would have returned home or at least stopped for lunch. We were wrong. Cops were directing traffic at the mall. It was ridiculous and finding a parking space (note: just a space not necessarily a good space) was nearly impossible. We did however luck out and found a space at Dillard's. Little did we know Dillard's is located at the opposite end as Macy's, which just happens to be the store that my mom wanted to shop. Stores had cue lines set up and shoppers were only allowed in when another shopper had left the store...crazy!

I found Alex a couple of cute outfits and my mom purchased my birthday present, Gabe's birthday present and his Christmas present, and a few things for Alex. She also found Alex an ornament.

Alex's ornament

My Dad and I managed to get our tree up.

Alex helping us clean.

On the way home I stopped by Home Depot and picked up a ceiling fan that the Home Depot near us didn't have. Actually they had one, but it was a return item and it was missing the blades.

Gabe's parents arrived Friday evening. Saturday my parent's watched Alex while Anna, Duane, Gabe, and I went to his office. This time I was able to take the tour and see what Gabe works on. My mom also made spaghetti and meatballs while we were gone. Duane, Anna, Gabe, and my Dad all attempted to go to the pecan factory on Saturday, but they missed the store being open by 3 minutes.

Sunday was my birthday and we had our Thanksgiving dinner. We were supposed to have the meatballs on my birthday and the turkey on Saturday, but the turkey was still a little frozen. My mom made a very yummy carrot cake. I couldn't find the candles, so I had one taper candle in the middle of the cake to blow out. My Dad was also our "professional photographer". He took several pictures of us so we could pick one out for our Christmas card. Gabe and I decided it would just be easier to take our pictures at home instead of taking two dogs and a baby to a photo studio.

Alex in a Santa hat.

Very early Monday morning Gabe dropped my parents off at the airport. Their flight was delayed due to the weather in Chicago. Luckily, they had a four hour layover so they did not miss their connecting flight. Monday morning we applied for a passport for Alex. Monday afternoon we went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum with Gabe's parents. Alex slept through the majority of the zoo.

Alex enjoying the Desert Museum.

Alex hanging out with the javelina.

The three of us with a cactus on an 80 degree day in December! Maybe I should throw this picture in our Christmas cards too.

We went to Sam's on the way home and received our Christmas present from his parents a little early. We picked out a mini-fridge for the upstairs of our house. This way we can store the pre-made bottles upstairs instead of having to go downstairs at 3 a.m. We put it to use for the first time last night and it was wonderful.

Mini-Fridge

Tuesday morning we had lunch at Agave and then went to the copper mine gift shop and museum. They offer a tour of the mine, but there just wasn't time (they had to catch a plane home). I came back with Alex and Gabe dropped his parents off at the airport. When he came back we worked on the house a little more.

Entrance gate to mine property.

Gabe is at work right now, but he will be coming home in a few hours. Alex has his one month appointment today and he is getting a shot. I am not looking forward to the shot.

I think that wraps up the update. I am going to pick up our bedroom and then get back to cards, packages, and wrapping Christmas presents.

Posted by at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is going to be a short post...I need to get to bed. The upside to the 115 degree weather we experience in the summer is the 80 degree weather on December 2. It was gorgeous!

I will try to post an update with pictures sometime this week (I am shooting for tomorrow).

Posted by at 1:31 AM | Permalink

Gabe picked my parents up from the airport last night around 10:40 p.m. Alex and I stayed home. After wading through the maze of boxes, we finally made it to bed sometime after midnight.

This morning we headed out to have lunch at a Mexican restaurant that we really like. Unfortunately, they were closed for Thanksgiving. I guess you can't really blame them for wanting to spend time with their families. We ended up going to Arizona Family Restaurant. It was our first time there and it was pretty good. Gabe and my Dad ordered breakfast and my mom and I ordered lunch.

After eating we headed out to Gabe's office. He gave us a tour of the facilities. Alex and I hung out in the car for part of the tour (safety glasses were required).

We came back home and worked on clearing out some boxes. Now, before you think I forced my parents to unpack boxes, my mom really wanted us to get things organized so we would all have somewhere to sit (and I think she knows the lack of organization really bothers me). Gabe and my Dad managed to install of the ceiling fans. We still have three more to purchase since Home Depot was out of the fan that I wanted for the kitchen area.

We took a break and went to eat Thanksgiving dinner at a buffet. We have a turkey in our refrigerator, but it is currently thawing. We will have it in a few days when Gabe's mom and dad arrive.

We came back and finished the room we were working on downstairs. Then my Dad and I came upstairs and began working on another room that was box city. It isn't any where near completion, but it is looking better. Maybe tomorrow we will be able to finish it. I need to throw some towels in the dryer and maybe start another load of clothes. I am so tired right now I would fall over if I wasn't reclining in a chair with arms. There are a few Kohl's deals that I would like to purchase online, but I don't think that I am going to be able to stay away (Alex may have a different plan).

Alex in his "gobble 'til you wobble" outfit. There is a turkey on the onesie.
I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving.

Posted by at 11:03 PM | Permalink

Wow! It has been a while since I have updated. If you could take a look at our house right now you would tell me to get off of the computer and get back to work unpacking.

We received the keys for our house last Tuesday. There was a little confusion about how the keys were going to make it to us, but it all worked out in the end. We were hoping that the movers would be here 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, but their scheduled arrival time was 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Since our stuff wasn't here yet we moved out of the rental house on Tuesday. We were at our house around 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday. When the movers weren't here by 8:30 a.m. Gabe called to see if they needed directions. Turns out they weren't going to make it until 3:00 p.m.! So, we went back to the rental house to finish packing and cleaning. The movers finally made it...at 4:15 p.m. They stayed and unpacked until 1 or 2 a.m. I am not sure how long they stayed because Alex and I found a couch and went to sleep (the bed wasn't together yet). They came back the next morning to finish up. They were supposed to be here at 8:00 a.m. and be gone by 10:00 a.m. They didn't get here until 9:15 and I am not sure what time they left.

Gabe and I have been slowly unpacking. It took me three days to unpack my closet. I don't really have that much stuff, it is just a lot more difficult when there is a baby that needs attention. So, for the first three days my closet was all I worked on unpacking.

We still have a lot to work on before we are finished. We have people coming out for Thanksgiving and I had hoped to have the house completed. Umm...that isn't going happen. Thanksgiving pictures might have a lot of boxes in them. I wanted to have our tree up for pictures, but that would require me to know where the box is that the tree is actually packed in. It would also require the box marked tree to contain a tree (long story, but the boxes don't contain what is marked on them...the pots and pans box didn't contain a single pot or pan or even a single kitchen related item).

We looked out our kitchen window and saw several cows grazing in the desert. Most of the desert land is open range for cattle. They didn't really seem to mink our staring.

After the house is all together I will work on posting pictures. I need to get back to work...we have guests coming tonight and the guest room isn't together yet.

P.S. Gabe found my camera!

Posted by at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We had our orientation session to our house yesterday. I say yesterday because it is past midnight here. After our orientation Alex and I came back and Gabe had a meeting to attend. I started going through things on the desk in an attempt to organize them. I have things down to a small pile (I made a lot of progress). I also managed to catch up on writing thank you cards. I was just a little behind. Heck, I am behind on a lot. My Christmas cards are usually stamped and ready to go by now, but I haven't even ordered the picture yet. To be honest, we haven't even taken the picture yet.

I finished Twilight a couple of days ago, actually it was the day I posted that I found the book. I am looking forward to seeing the movie. It is going to be released November 21, but I am not sure when we will make it to the theater to watch the movie. We have to go to Tucson tomorrow to do some stuff for the house. We are going to stop by the bookstore so I can purchase New Moon, the next book in the series. I am a little behind in the series (there are four books), but as long as I stay ahead of the movies I will be okay. I am assuming that they will make another movie, but I really don't know.

I am looking forward to tomorrow, well today, being Friday. Things just seem more manageable on the weekends. We should probably start packing/cleaning this weekend. If everything goes like it should, we will have the keys to our house at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday. I am not 100% sure when our stuff will be here, but that is another story. I am going to attempt to get some sleep.

Oh, before I head off to enjoy my nightly slumber, I am considering making the majority of the Christmas presents for next year. instead of buying them. I know this is a little early, but anyone else want to join me?

Posted by at 4:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)