Beautiful Christmas

The sun is shining and the doors and windows are open. I kinda wish it was cold here so we could have a fire in the fireplace. We did our Christmas yesterday on Christmas Eve since Jimmy is working the Cardinals game today. BOO! So I am here all alone watching movies. Matt is supposed to get here but until then, I'm flying solo! Here's some pics to highlight yesterday's events. Ava and Callin made out like bandits. Ava LOVED opening the gifts and was just so adorable! Callin got a bike from Grannaran and Ava got the cutest table and chairs that she just loved. We are excited for NEXT Christmas when Norm, Florence, Marissa, Alex, Phil and babies will be her e in AZ!

To Tamale or Not to Tamale....

Greetings! It is December 4th and I don't want to even blink because December will be over before I know it! There's a lot going on and every year I ask myself, "Am I going to make Tamales this year?" I think the answer is yes. I didn't do it last year because I was sick so I guess that means that this year it's on!!! I just need helpers. I am thinking the week before Christmas I will do it but I really don't want to do it by myself. I am gonna have to recruit some helpers! Are you making tamales this year???

Remembering Mom on Thanksgiving

It was mom's birthday yesterday. I wish she were here to take part in the feast tomorrow. It was one of her fave holidays (because there was glutonous feasting involved). It would fall on her birthday some years. I miss her dearly and think of her daily. Click here for pics and a post I did this time 2 years ago. She was a fun-loving, crazy lady that loved us like no other. I know that she would be proud of Matt and I. I hope I get to see her again someday.

Mel and Jimmy play in Flagstaff!

We trekked up to Flagstaff last Saturday and played till Monday! It started to SNOW on Sunday! It was the first snow of the season. We loved seeing Mark, taking him to Lunch and Dinner and getting him some groceries! Here's some highlights! We got to relax and enjoy each other. Little America has one of the largest fire places that I have ever seen! We got to sit by the fire and read the newspaper Sunday morning!

We also got to meet Mark's new friend Maria. We of course ate at Oreganos and she joined us.

50 Free Holiday cards from Shutterfly!

This is the first time I have ever tried this so here goes! Thank you Charlotte for the info! I am excited to get free cards but now the hard part is trying to decide which design is best. Unfortunately I won't be able to have all the kids together this year for a family portrait so I am going to have to get creative!

If you are a blogger and want to get in on the action, click here. I really like the card pictured here and I toyed with the idea of not doing cards at all. OR maybe doing New Years cards since I will get the opportunity to get all of the kids together for Christmas Eve.

Every card has to have a picture. Check out this link and pick out your favorites. There so many cool things to choose from and I am surprised that the prices are so reasonable! This card is pretty festive and I would be so torn on which pictures to choose. What do you think? Please drop a comment and let me know which design/direction I should do.

Now that I get free cards, not doing cards is not an option right?

Visit with Aunt Wilma!

Aunt Wilma was here visiting and we got to spend some time visiting! Here are some pictures.

A storm like no other

Last Tuesday, there was a severe storm here in the valley that produced winds that had to be atleast 70 mph, golf ball sized hair, quarter sized hail and was over all, unlike any storm I have ever been through. This is the aftermath. I took video and will try and upload it. I wanted to take pictures of Jimmy last night sweeping the roof. We lucked out at the house and the only damage we have is a broken condensation line on the air conditioner and plastic chairs with big holes in them that are now going to chair heaven. The neighbors trees were shredded onto the lawn and into the pool. Jimmy is cleaning up the yard today. Stay tuned for video!

Jimmy and Mel on vacation

We finally got to escape the heat and take a vacation! We drove to Palm Springs to break up the driving and spent the night there, got up then headed to Palmdale, CA to see my Dad and Hanh. We went to the Peach Orchard and picked more fruit than I thought possible. We had a nice visit with Dad and Hanh and even got to play a 3 hour game of Mexican poker.

The next day we set out for San Diego. The traffic gods were on our side and we got there before noon. Just in time for Jimmy to hop on a boat and go sport fishing! He was in hog heaven and so was I. I got to lay by the pool and read a magazine (something I never get to do on vacation).

We also had a beach day. We packed a picnic, our beach chairs, blanket, umbrella and got ourselves a good spot on Mission Beach.

Me lounging at the pool

The View from our room

We also got to spend a couple of nights in Huntington Beach. I reminded Jimmy it was basically the exact same trip we took when we got engaged, minus the Palm Springs and Palmdale stops. We got to hang with our good friends Tamara and Pierre and thier little munchkin Sebastian. Looking forward to taking more vacations!

San Diego Swap meet sights

Here's a video I took of a couple of guys and thier homemade instruments. Not sure if you can tell but the guitar, drums and amp are all made out of suit cases. Pretty unique

Walking around San Diego

Jimmy and I took the train to down town and walked around a bit. We went to the new Hyatt property on 5th called Andaz and went up to the roof where they have a bar, pool and amazing views. You can see the view from the roof. The Padres were playing at Petco park and we could see and hear it!

Manager's Outing to Chase Field

Jimmy and I were able to leave work around 1pm, head over to Sliders to enjoy some food, drinks and company of our fellow managers. It was a nice break in the day. We got to go to the D-backs Vs. Padres. It was also the first grandslam that I have been in the park for. Brandon Allen hit a grandslam in the 7th inning and the D-backs won 5-2. It was pretty awesome. Our GM gave each of us an authentic game ball that the Oakland As used for practice. I made James pose for this pic and I also told my brother that he caught the grandslam ball. Too bad we were sitting in left field and the grandslam was hit in right field. After I had him going for a while, I told him the real story!

Ray Lomantagne and David Gray with Matt

Last night Matt and I went to the David Gray concert. It was one of the best I've seen. This video is a portion of his song 'Nemesis'. After watching the video, I wish I would have recorded more. The lights in the front were so bright, it looks like one big light but there were 6 individual bright lights that caused me to wear my sunglasses in an otherwise dark auditorium. David Gray is amazing and Ray Lomantagne was unlike anyone I've ever seen.

My 3rd Natalie Merchant Concert 8/17

I was asked the other day, why I am not updating my blog more frequently (you know who you are). As I looked at some other blogs bookmarked on this page, I noticed that some of them haven't been updated in as much as 11 months. So, that leads me to believe that I am doing okay with the blog. And where I slack off, I have Florence and Norm to add some pics and posts of thier Kauai adventures. It's hard to keep up on the blog when you work from 7a-7p 5 days a week. That leaves little time for much and the time I had, I just wanted to plant myself on the couch.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Shannon and I went to Dodge theatre to see one of my favorite musicians, Natalie Merchant. She was amazing. She adapted childrens poems to music. She was animated, fun and engaged with the crowd. She played so long, it felt like 2 concerts. She played all of our favorites. Her last song was Kind and Generous, which was played at my mom's memorial service. It was a great ending to a most enjoyable show!

Giving back at the Ronald McDonald House

James and I went with

our fellow managers to the Ronald McDonald house to serve dinner to the families and children staying there. It's always rewarding to give back. A fun time was had by all!

Jace's 1st Day of School

Jace started pre-school on Monday and this was his first day. After four days, he is still not real sure about the whole thing but the teachers say he is doing better. This is going to do wonders for his speech issues, etc.

Aranna Visits Kauai

We are very excited to have GranAranna visiting us here on Kauai. Jace and Hayden love having her here.

Happy 80th Uncle Corky!

Uncle Corky turned 80! We had a family birthday celebration for him on Sunday, July 25th. We love you uncle Corky and we look forward to celebrating MANY MORE birthdays with you!

Special time with the Family

Last Friday, the kids were here for dinner and we all went swimming. Had a great time and looking forward to more family time while Sam is here!

Jill and Family visit!

One of my most cherished friends came for a visit last Saturday. It was so good to meet Emma and see Jill and her mom Michelle! I am so lucky to have such a great friend! Here are some pics.

Community Service, feels good!

This is our team at work. We took some time to give back to the community and prepared dinner for the families that are staying at the Ronald McDonald House at the Phoenix Childrens hospital. It was fun to get together and work as a team to help others. There was an older lady who came in to eat dinner who said that she had a horrible day and had just lost her grandson. It broke my heart and also made me thankful for the experience of helping other human beings. I am inspired to continue to give back to the community.