Thankful for vacation, family, and a day without rain.

Last week, our family was lucky enough to get to spend Thanksgiving week
in the warm sunshine of Arizona.

We do this about every two years and it is so much fun to spend

time with family we rarely get to see!

The first 4 days were spent with Connor's side of the family. His cousin, Lisa, was a fantastic hostess! She let us stay with her and her adorable twin girls- Kennedy and Miranda!

Nicholas and Nolan LOVED being with them. Hardly a moment went by that there wasn't the sound of giggling heard throughout the house.

Connor's aunt Marylou and Uncle Lloyd invited us over for a birthday party for Nicholas! This is a photo of the Javelinas (wild desert pigs) that joined the party on the back of their patio. Their house is on the outskirts of town right on the edge of the desert, so they get lots of wild visitors in their yard! You never know what you'll see....it's so much fun!

Marylou made Nicholas his favorite chocolate cake to celebrate his 11th birthday. I've never met a family that is so good at making their guests feel so welcome. We ate like kings every night while visiting in Scottsdale.





Yup... That is a SCORPION!

Lisa told Connor if he took a black light outside at night he might be able to find scorpions because the black light makes them glow! She was pretty sure they would be hibernating because it's so late in the year and was hoping he wouldn't find any.

BUT... He found four of them in her backyard! She wasn't pleased. :)
He and the boys managed to kill 3 out of the 4, so that made her feel a little better.
They are so prehistoric looking and scary!

Nick and Nolan thought scorpion hunting was pretty cool. Needless to say, I did not.

Miranda, Nolan, and Kennedy hanging out together playing a game. They are such sweet girls!





One day, we headed to his cousin Don's place. He also lives in the desert and has the most beautiful yard of wild desert plants, cactus, and this LOVELY swimming pool. The boys wasted no time and hopped right in... even though the water temperature was only 65 degrees. They are true Washingtonians, not afraid of a little hypothermia!






Connor hopped in too, because it looked so inviting! I thought I'd better be on photographer duty...that was my excuse not to get in the frigid pool.

While at Don and Corinne's house, we were served yet another delicious feast and had a great time visiting with all of Connor's family. They are all so nice and welcoming!!






After four days in Scottsdale... we ventured a little bit south to Sun City to spend the rest of the week with my side of the family.



Nicholas' birthday was actually on Thanksgiving day this year! What a wonderful day it was...






Pocahontas joined us for Thanksgiving dinner!



Would your grandma dress like this for Thanksgiving? Mine did and I absolutely love her! She is a riot and a half. My grandma "salty" Barton is the most jovial, fun-loving, and lively gal in Sun City for sure! I only hope that when I am her age, I will be healthy enough to engage in the level of activity and have as much fun as she does.




My brother Scott, his wife Shelly, and their kids Grace, Kenny, and Hanna drove over from California to spend Thanksgiving with all of us.

We ALWAYS have the best time together.

Nick and Nolan LOVE their California cousins and when they see each other, they immediately get to laughing and having the best time.

We played a lot of games every day. Is it bad if your kids know how to play Texas hold'em before they're ten years old?






Nolan, Grace, and Hanna hamming it up for the camera.

These two are like peas in a pod! Nolan and Hanna are only 2 months apart in age and my goodness, they are so much alike.

Never have you met two kids that love to by goofy around the clock. They were laughing, singing, jump roping, and clowning around the entire time we were together.

CUTE!!

This is Bella, my brother's adorable new puppy. She is a mini Australian shepherd and she is only 3 months old. I really wanted to put her in my suitcase to bring her home. I've never seen a better behaved puppy than Bella. She hung out with all of us at my parents' house and I never once heard her bark.

Grandma and Grandpa with all their grandkiddos! My mom and dad are the best. We had such a fun week with them. My mom is a great cook, and whipped up a tasty Thanksgiving meal. Her cooking always takes me back to my childhood. My dad has become quite famous for his ability to make the most fabulous margaritas. SO GOOD!!

Hanna, Nolan, Grace, Nick, and Kenny

It was a great week all around! Going to Arizona in November is like revisiting summer for a week. It was in the 80's most of the time so we wore our shorts and soaked up as much sun as possible knowing we'd have to come home to nasty, soggy, wet, and cold weather soon.

This Thanksgiving we were so thankful to have the opportunity to spend the holiday week with family members we don't get to see very often. We loved catching up on each other's lives, playing games, going for long walks in the sunshine, cooking together, and just plain glad to be with one another. It was a fabulous vacation!

Never judge a day by it's beginning

Yesterday morning I dreaded going to work because of an awful head cold that has been making me feel like I've got cotton balls crammed into my ears surrounded by a think layer of duct tape. Needless to say I can't hear very well and I'm quite astounded at the amount of Kleenex I've had to go through in the past 5 days... Yuck.

But... as I slaved away at work, helping other poor, sickly individuals, my hubby called me to tell me I must check out my friend, Karen's, blog because it would put a smile on my face. After such information I couldn't resist, so I checked it out and was smiling from plugged ear to plugged ear. Feel free to check it out and see why I was so thrilled. www.prpakakjo.blogspot.com

I went about my day feeling much better and kind of enjoyed the fact that I was unable to hear the corny piped in grocery store music that usually drives me batty. After driving home from my busy, sickly, but happy day I walked in the door only to have Connor instruct me to head directly upstairs to my master bathroom. Upon opening the door I noticed my cherished bathtub surrounded by beautiful glowing candles and filled to the brim with warm sudsy bubbles. On the edge of the tub was a newly delivered magazine, a soft towel, and a delicious glass of my favorite Bailey's drink. Perfection! What a wonderful and thoughtful husband I have! I vegged in the bubbles, sipped my yummy brew, and was completely happy and relaxed. Just what I needed! Thanks Con!!

Some days can start out seeming like a lost cause but can transform into one of your best yet.

Now that's what I call a cat nap

Connor snoozin' away on a lazy Sunday afternoon with Sophie. (AKA the sweetest, most lovey kitten in the the whole universe) This is the same kitten that was almost named Joann... Nick has just informed us that her middle name is Alexis. Isn't he sweet? What is it with this kid and names?? He should've been around when cabbage patch kids were all the rage, he would have loved hanging out with Jaqueline Suzanna and Giesla Molly.

Good Times

Ahhhh.... Friday night, good friends, pizza, pumpkin pie, karaoke, hot-tub, movies, happily entertained kiddos, Jenne's punch, and uproarious laughter. It doesn't get much better than that. Big thanks to Bill and Marianne for starting our weekend off right!

Powerhouse Performance

Ok, here's the scenario....

Beautiful Fall evening, kids happy with their newly hired babysitter, and Connor and I are on our way to spend our Friday evening together in Seattle. I love date nights like this! But it gets better...

We get to have Dinner at a beautiful Italian restraunt in Pacific Place called Il Foriano's. It was nice trying out a new place...we've been eating in our little home town way too often. A girl can get sick of Applebees and Quiznos if you're not careful. The Italian food was delicious... you can't go wrong with pasta swimming in sundried tomato vodka sauce, can you? So after we finished the meal off with a little creme brulee, we were on our way to the second portion of our date...

We walked a few blocks to the Paramount theater where we were about to see one of the best concerts we've ever seen.

We walked upstairs to the mezanine to take our seats. The Paramount is fantastic place to see a concert, it has great accoustics and there isn't a bad seat in the place. The opening band, A Fine Frenzy, was on stage wowing the crowd with their lead singer's beautiful voice. She was great, I was impressed. But as soon as the star attraction took the stage, I soon forgot all about the opening act.

Brandi Carlile was the gal we came to see perform and holy cow, she did not dissapoint! She has the most amazing voice and can belt her songs out with such power and feeling. I love her! She even turned off her mic and unplugged the guitars and sang an entire song, it was very cool to see. She's a local gal, she grew up only fifteen minutes from where we live in a small town called Ravensdale. Connor and I have been fans since the first time we heard her the radio earlier this year. Her voice is one of a kind, there is no doubt in my mind that she is going to be HUGELY POPULAR.

We spent the car ride home, singing (trying anyways) her songs and chatting about what a great night it had been. I love date nights-thanks Con!

Check out one of Brandi Carlile's videos by following this link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnG9KEDLPhE

Her most well known song is The Story, check it out here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq-ZmAYLeB8

She's awesome!!!

Halloween Highlights

We had a great Halloween,

Started out with a little pumpkin

carvin'...

Who knew cats like the taste of pumpkin guts?

Nolan was concentrating very hard on his pumpkin carving skills...

You can always tell he's trying hard whenever his tongue makes an appearance!

Nick actually carved his jack o' lantern all my himself...

from start to finish!! I didn't have to remove even one seed, yay!

Scary face guy, and a ghost!!


Here we have Legolas from Lord Of The Rings
and
Nick the outlaw.

They had fun trick or treating around the neighborhood and now they have a giant stash of possible sugar highs ahead of them! ... Nolan even got a whoopie cushion from the Dentist neighbor. I guess that's better than a cavity in his eyes :)