Ode to a Cloudy Day

When we woke up this morning and saw a grey sky thick with heavy clouds, I was delighted! Being a true Arizona native, I absolutely LOVE cloudy, rainy days. I suppose if I lived somewhere like Seattle, I would blog "ode to a sunny day," but not here in the Valley of the Sun where we have nearly 300 sunny days a year. We relish the rain.

Not only do I love cloudy days for their potential rain (which we sorely need here in the desert), but also for their beauty. I am seriously a cloud junkie. I always notice clouds, their shape, color and size....the way they spread across the sky and hover over the mountains. AND because I am also a photography fanatic, I love a cloudy day for the landscape photo potential and also for the perfect light it creates for portraits...soft & even...a giant light box in the sky.

Arizona has beautiful wide open skies and absolutely stunning sunsets and when you add a cloudy sky to that combination, it is nothing short of perfection.

When it comes to kids...EXPECT the UNexpected!

So I heard in a talk in church about 6 months ago that part of the way this certain family maintains unity is by taking monthly day trips to explore Arizona. Wow, I thought! How cool is that! AND since Arizona is an amazingly beautiful and interesting place...there are unending opportunities for exciting exploration. I rallied the troops...mainly my hubby...& we really got excited about this idea.

Today we thought we would begin. Since we were taking a day trip to visit family for a holiday party anyway, why not add a little cultural experience to our excursion?!? Just a quick stop of course, but worthwhile none the less!

And so the 7 of us (my sister & her husband joined in on the fun) set about exploring out first location...

Besh Ba Gowah Archaeological Park in Globe (say that 10x fast...sheesh!).

Well, the fun started when before we even entered the park when little Miss B decided to overflow her diaper & I mean REALLY overflow. Not to be put down, we just clean her up, scooped herinto daddy's jacket & set off.
Truly we did have a blast exploring the ancient Indian ruins, checking out the little museum and learning a little about the way the Indians had lived. We were pleasantly enjoying our outing, preparing to head out, when little man L starts the potty dance. Now he had JUST gone no more than 45 minutes previous so I thought he was exaggerating...ummmmm m no. That wasn't just a pee pee dance, that was the BIG poo poo dance! By the time I got to him it was, well, a bit too late, ok A LOT too late. Yep you guessed it folks, two pooped pants that day, all for the bargain price of admission to Besh Ba Gowah Park.

I hope this isn't an omen for our future Arizona adventures. We will persevere!
Gotta love the L man's post clean up dance. :)

C&J: I hope we didn't scare you away from having kids!

Dirty Dishes

The dishes...bane of my existance...the neverending chore. Why oh why does it feel like I am endlessly standing at the kitchen sink??

I suppose that part of the reason is that my children, who are still a bit young to REALLY help out in this particular area, create LOTS of dirty dishes. And my darling husband, who helps out in SO MANY other ways, DOES NOT do dishes. It is by far his least favorite chore, and perhaps becoming mine as well...no wait, scrubbing the hard water stains off the shower is FARRRRR worse (but fortunately that doesn't have to be done every day)!

Seriously, there must be imprints of my feet in the floor in front of that well-worn kitchen sink.

Oh well, since I have a thing for shiny, EMPTY sinks and clear countertops...I will continue my love affair with the dishwasher....

At least I have a REALLY cute assistant.

(no worries concerned parents, it is a BUTTER knife...I'm not THAT bad of a mom! ;))

And yes, tonight, the dishes are done! :)

Kids Say the Darnest Things...

My little L is the chattiest 3-year-old boy I've ever met. He has been quite verbose for a LONG time which, at his age & for his gender, is pretty unusual. It is no surprise, therefore, that he & I have had some great discussions. He cracks me up on a daily basis.

For example, today while perusing the 99 Cent Only store, he says:

L: "Hey Mom, where do stomachs come from?"

Me: "Hmmmmmmm (doing some quick thinking here), they come from Heavenly Father buddy."

L: "Oh, (then he folds his arms & bows his head right there in the shopping cart & says:) Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for my stomach."

Now that's gratitude for ya. He is also always the one to shout out..."we forgot to say the prayer!!" before EVERY meal...at ANY location. We have had lots of blessings on the food in all kinds of places....McDonalds, parks, friends houses...you name it.

Thanks for being an example to me little man & for the record, I'm grateful for my stomach too. :)

Happy Birthday to 2 Very Important Women in My Life

First, wishing a very happy birthday


to one of my very best friends who,


....lucky for me....


also happens to be my sister.


Love ya Jess!


Don't know where I'd be without you!

And lastly,

happy birthday to

my mother-in-law,

Norma.

I miss you everyday.

The Beginning...

Ahhh, new beginnings.....full of possibility, ripe with opportunity....unfettered....unknown. Does that sound eloquent? I'm really not, but feel like on this, my first post, I should be at least a little profound. :)

Here, at the beginning of this new year, I begin the journey of a blogger. To tell about pieces of me, my simple, ordinary, day to day experiences that I feel like I must record or allow to be lost forever.

"I can't forget this"...I often say to myself as I watch my children grow & change and watch myself grow & change along with them. But I know I am forgetting things & will continue to forget things if I don't record them. And so I begin this online journal. I am eager & optimistic, but trying to be realistic too as most of my days are quite hectic & most of my nights are interrupted (3 kids, ages 5 & under will do that to you!).

My fingers are itching to fill up this clean slate with stories, thoughts, opinions & dreams. Stay tuned...who knows what may come. ;)

AND in conclusion I must give homage to the popular ritual of fresh beginnings & resolutions to "get organized"....(which is ALWAYS one of my goals)....with an image of my new planner (thanks Mom). I absolutely LOVE it! It is so fun & soooo how my brain works. It is pretty & clean & ready to be filled up with the dizzying thoughts in my head. I am off to make lists & plans. Ahh, organization does my heart good.