Le Cookie Galleria

We've flown to Texas for Christmas this year to visit my brother, sister, and the whole clan. It's becoming a tradition for us to make cookies and decorate them for Santa Claus to eat during his nightly excursion. Unfortunately for St. Nick, these cookies do contain trans fats and are not recommended for those who are watching their weight. Anyway, feast you eyes upon these great works of art and have a Merry Christmas!

Le Cookie Galleria

"Home, Sweet Arizona Home"

"Rufus' First Christmas"

"I love you thiiiiis much!"

"Ho, Ho, Hola!"

"O Tannenbaum"

Turkey Coma

It was a pot-luck Thanksgiving with Albert's mom and my mom and dad this year. Rufus even ate some turkey and mashed potatoes on his own! Unfortunately, Thursday morning he started this cough and it's gradually getting worse. We took him to the doctor today and discovered he has an ear infection in his right ear and mild bronchial infection. He's on medicine now and will hopefully recover soon. What a tough kid! Anyway, it's leftover weekend... which means I don't have to cook! Hooray! That's my kind of vacation! We're thankful for y'all and hope you had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends.

Bashas' and Blueberry Muffins

Yesterday, while I was cleaning the kitchen I received a call from Albert's mom. While asking me to go to her house and wait for the Sears repair man to fix her washing machine she casually mentioned she was sitting in the ER. Craving blueberry muffins earlier that morning, she had decided to go to Bashas' on her way to work to avoid the rush at Fry's Marketplace. After paying for her muffins she made her way to the exit, tripping over the edge of the rug near the door, and gracefully landing on the floor. Standing up quickly (thinking she only had bruised her pride) a nearby employee pointed out she was bleeding from her chin. Taking it like a champ she drove to work anyway! She asked a fellow employee to butterfly her wound after which the employee quickly refused and advised her to go to the hospital. Three hours and three stitches later she's as good as new! Just goes to show you when your mother says, "Pick up your feet!" ya better do it! Moral of the story: Do as I say, not as I do.

Shark Bait, Ooo-Ha-Ha!

Since no one invited us to anymore parties [wink], we stayed home and greeted trick-or-treaters while watching "Pan's Labyrinth." Unfortunately, we still have about one-third of our candy... so if you're interested in doing any late trick-or-treating you know where to come. Our friends Evan & Paula handed down a shark costume for Rufus to wear on Halloween. We dressed him up, took a few pictures, and let him crawl around for a while.

I can't say he enjoyed being in costume for very long, but we found it humorous to have a shark swimming around our house.

I dressed as an orange M&M again this year and Albert dressed as a University of Phoenix graduate (he wore a sign that said, "University of... if ya ain't first, your last!"). You'll thank me later for not showing you those pictures! Hope you and yours had a happy and safe Halloween! On to Thanksgiving, yah!

How they grow...

Every month since Rufus was born I've taken a picture of him next to this teddy bear to document his growth. Each month without fail I'd get out my camera, take the picture, upload it, file it, and never bother to look back at the other pictures from previous months. Well... after taking his 8 month picture I took the time to go back and look at his 1 month picture to compare, and this was the result! I can't believe my baby has grown that much! He almost doesn't look like the same kid! Ya know, sometimes I'd just like to stop time and enjoy each stage a little bit longer.

“Robin, to the Bat Cave!”

Monday night we went to a Pumpkin Carving Party at the Davis’ (a family in our ward). They provided tables, chairs, the use of their driveway, front yard, and garage; and those invited brought a treat, pumpkin to carve, and carving tools. There were a lot of families there with kids all dressed in costume, carving pumpkins, and eating treats. Rufus was so tired I didn’t bother to get him dressed up, but I did bake a cake for the event. Albert and I took turns gutting and carving the pumpkin until we molded it into the fabulous masterpiece you see here. Martha Stewart, eat your heart out! Anyway, we had to fix the bat’s tail with a toothpick when we got home as it was amputated in the process of carving. We also spread Vaseline around the cut edges to prevent “puckering” not that it’s really going to last that long anyway. We plan on dressing Rufus up in his shark costume and handing out candy Halloween night. More Halloween pictures to come!

Viva la Mexico!

Over Fall Break we tagged along with the Cook family on yet another fun filled trip to Rocky Point! It would also be the last opportunity to cross the border without needing passports. After setting up camp in the hot sun we headed for the beach. You can see Rufus enjoyed cooling off in the ocean!

He just enjoyed being outside and around all the new mommies-to-be! On the far left is my friend Sarah (due April 2008) and on the far right is her friend Jamie (due March 2008). Aren't we just a cute bunch of beach bunnies?

We cleaned up Saturday evening for a family picture on the rocks. Sam took a lot more pictures on his camera that turned out equally, if not better, than this one!

We look forward to this trip every year and are sure sad when we have to go home. Now to scrounge up over $200.00 for passports so we can go again in June next year!

Shave and a haircut, two bits!

Well, I felt it was time for Rufus to receive his first haircut. It was long and dark on top but shorter and blonde on the sides. He happily sat on my lap as I made the first cut with the scissors (ha... ha...). After the photo opportunity I used clippers to even it all out. Surprisingly his hair looks lighter! May be that's because there's less of it!

Back to work...

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted. I decided to go ahead and take the part-time teaching position at GPS, and have been teaching for over a month. Most mornings I leave Rufus with my sister-in-law around 8:00am, I do my business, and I'm back to get him around 10:30am. It has been a blessing to work and be a mom. I truly have the best of both worlds.

Rufus is now a speedster on his hands and knees! He's figured out how to pull himself up to standing. He leans against any furniture, wall, leg... pretty much anything he can find that will support him. He loves all different flavors of baby food (haven't found one he won't eat). He has also cut two teeth on the bottom and will eat small bits of banana, apple, Kix, Chex, and cereal stars. Grandpa thinks it's fun to feed him Ranch Dressing and chocolate when I'm not watching. He's already turning the kid against me!

Creepy Crawler

Rufus has officially started crawling as of August 22nd! It's interesting how he gets around, he uses his hands and right knee and pushes off with is left foot. Anyhow, he loves exploring new areas in the house... and has discovered that he has no traction on the kitchen floor! (Hee! Hee!) Now I have to keep at least one eye on him at all times or he'll be gone before I know it!He's almost ready to move from a crawling position to sitting up on his own, but he sticks his arm out to far to do it.
A friend of mine let us borrow a bouncer that fits in a doorway. Rufus could entertain himself for hours jumping around in it!
This means we need to baby proof our house soon! Any suggestions from the veteran parents out there?

Good news... and more good news!

First off, it's taken 6 months but I've finally dropped 5 lbs. since having Rufus! Five down and fifteen to go! Secondly, I've inquired about a part-time teaching position at my previous school district. I'm waiting to hear the details of the job and therefore have not accepted it yet. I don't know how much I'll be making, how much child care will cost, or which school(s) I'll be teaching at... However, I'm excited about the idea of being able to work outside the home and still be a stay-at-home mom a majority of the time.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

This post does not contain any spoilers to the book.
Like the rest of the world, I've finally gotten around to reading the final installment of Harry Potter. I must say it was difficult to wait this long. I lived in fear for weeks that I would accidentally overhear a conversation or a spoiler on TV that would ruin the ending. Thankfully, I didn't! I don't want to spoil the book for those of you out there who haven't gotten around to reading it yet. There are a few readers I've spoken with who were disappointed with the ending. However, I feel that JK Rowling did an excellent job concluding her epic story. It was detailed, but at the same time she left enough to the imagination of the reader. Whether you liked it or not, post a comment and let me know your opinion! Click here for additional details that were not included in the book.

"Oat-Mobile" Update

As we were preparing to leave for the mountains, a puddle resurfaced on the floor in the backseat of our car. We also discovered another puddle on the floor of the passenger seat! You may be asking yourself, "where is all this water coming from?" Well, after a few phone calls we pulled the carpet back on the passenger side and sure enough the tube that drains the condensation from the A/C had disconnected; and instead of dripping on the ground underneath the car it was dripping in our car. We simply reconnected the tube and "TAH DAH!" no more puddles! The carpet is still drying but at least we've solved the mystery.

Happy Holbrook

After the reunion my brother and sister left for Phoenix so they could catch a flight back home Sunday evening. Albert carpooled with them so he could go back to work Monday morning. My sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, Rufus, and I caravaned to Holbrook to spend a few days with my parents. For dinner on Sunday my nephew's helped my dad roast hotdogs over an open fire and we all enjoyed eating them. Monday my dad took my nephew's fishing while the rest of us went swimming at the public pool. Rufus and I forgot our suits so we strolled through the park to visit a friend of mine. Since Rufus didn't get a whole lot of play time while we were camping he had fun rolling around my parents house. Tuesday, my sister-in-law, nieces, and nephews left for home as did we. It rained on us about 80% of the drive but we made it back safe and sound.

"Back to Brady Park..."

Albert and I attended the Smithson Reunion which was held Friday through Sunday this last weekend. It has been over ten years since I last attended this reunion and this year the family celebrated 30 years holding the reunion at Brady Park (near Vernon, AZ). It was good to see those who I haven't seen in a long time and introduce Albert to the family. My brother and his family were able to attend as well, and surprisingly my sister flew in for the occasion! After quite a long drive, we arrived late Friday evening to a campsite drenched in rain. Needless to say we couldn't set up the tents, so we drove back to Vernon to stay at my Grandma's house. Saturday morning we headed back up the mountain and arrived in time for the biscuit and gravy breakfast. After breakfast they set up the tents and we took family pictures. We spent most of the afternoon playing card/dice games (e.g. Canasta, Farkle, Scum) and riding ATVs. My brother's oldest daughter spent most of her time hunting for bugs and frogs in and around the pond. That evening we enjoyed the traditional Navajo Taco Dinner (they just taste better when you're camping)! Albert and I spent the night back at Grandma's house, and drove back to Brady Park Sunday morning. Unfortunately during the night another storm swept through and one of the tents leaked soaking my sister and my nephew's sleeping bags. We spent the morning packing up camp after which we attended the family memory meeting. Rufus really enjoyed being outdoors which is encouraging as Albert and I would like to go camping more often.Again, despite all the rain we were still able to salvage another fantastic weekend!

"Oat-Mobile"

Sunday, Albert and I went to church with the Sullivan's, said our goodbye’s to his sister's family, and headed back to Mesa. When we got to Globe we realized we had a problem. On the floor behind the passenger seat there was a little puddle of water. Sadly there were also two boxes of oatmeal baby cereal on the floor as well. The water had softened the bottom of the cereal boxes; so when Albert picked them up, oatmeal came pouring out mixing with the water on the floor. Now not only were Albert and I completely puzzled at where all this water was coming from, we had a huge mess on our hands. We soaked up as much as we could with Taco Bell napkins and hit the road again. Anyway, to make a long story short, all the rain water that flooded the street in front of his sister's house had entered through a plug underneath our car, and, like a sponge, our carpet soaked it up. We unplugged it, pushed on the carpet, and water came pouring out the bottom of our car! We now lovingly referred to our car as the “oat-mobile.”

Pioneer Day

This weekend we went to visit Albert's sister in Safford for the Pioneer Day celebrations. She had a full house so we stayed with the Sullivan's in Pima. This Saturday they celebrated their grand-daughter's first birthday!

We had so much fun swimming in the pool in the backyard! Albert even dunked Rufus under the water for the first time, even though I was against it.

Come to find out their daughter-in-law is our friends' sister-in-law's sister. (Whew! Congratulations if you followed that!) Anyway, we got to play around in the pool with some cool kids!

So, Albert and I joined in on the festivities and then joined up with the family in Safford later that afternoon. Unfortunately, the parade, barbeque, and a few other small events were rained out but the clouds parted momentarily for the firework show to take place.

Despite all the rain we still managed to have a fun filled weekend. As you may know the last Harry Potter book was released this weekend, and there were 4 copies floating around his sister's house. While some read, the rest of us played games and watched T.V. Thinking the barbeque was rained out, we ordered pizza and breadsticks from R&R Pizza Express. Afterward, everyone drove to a nearby baseball field to watch the firework show. It was a nice break from being cooped up all afternoon.

Welcome!

We've created this blog to keep you updated on our family and share with you some of our adventures along the way. Please keep in touch so that we can do the same with you and yours!