Snow in Arizona???

Well, if you go high enough, you can often find snow. So we did. Up to 75oo ft. We got some more snow at the beginning of the week with the tail end of the storm that walloped California, but it's been melting rather fast. We thought we'd better get up and play in it. I'll post photos and stuff later. Enjoy!

Chicken Rob

Daredevil Amy

12 years ago . . .

I know I should have blogged yesterday and I don't even have a picture, but I now have a Young Man living in my house. Cameron turned 12 yesterday and I was thinking at different times what I was doing twelve years ago. Like getting ready to go to the hospital to be induced, then not having that work and having to have a c-section, stuff like that. He's been so sweet yesterday and today. I'm wondering if something has finally kicked in. But I'll just take it while I can and then wait for his old self to return! I really have enjoyed him lately. We often find ourselves trying to beat each other up (or at least take each other down) since I've been going to my kickboxing classes. Sad will be the day when his mommy can't take him down anymore. I know that by his next birthday he will be taller than me. He's already taller than Grandma Cleda.

We just got back day before yesterday from Utah. It was fun to spend a bunch of time with our old friends the McKnights. They live across the street from where we used to live in Middleton. It's so nice that whenever we get together we just pick up from where we left off -- no having to get reacquainted. They have a daughter, Natalie, that is 4 months younger than Cameron and has loved him since she was born. They also have a son, Michael who is 8 months older than Missy. He has autism, but truly seems to enjoy our visits. We were sad to leave them.

The kids and I go back to school on Monday. Not enough vacation to do anything I wanted to do, just what needed to be done. Well, I better get back to what needs to be done, namely put the Christmas decorations away.

The Fur

Oops! I almost forgot one of the most important gifts -- Missy's faux fur coat! We saw this material and another coat in the fabric section of Wal-mart and Missy wanted it so badly. So Nana bought the material, and I made the coat. She says it's nice and warm and soft!

The Day After. . .

Here's a picture from Cameron's last ball game. He scored another basket and they won rather handily. That's Cameron at the free throw line. The joy of Christmas and being 4! Amy just loves playing kitchen so that's her kitchen to play with at Gamma's. I spent about 2 1/2 hrs putting it together last night.
This is Venus, Cameron's cockatiel. She needed to pay us a visit while we opened our presents. She's quite a fun bird. She's learned to whistle and almost say "Hello Pretty Bird", she can wolf whistle, another whistle Rob taught her, and now she imitates the 7 o'clock bird. We have a bird clock that has 12 different calls, one each hour, that is an integral part of our lives. We do things according to what call we hear, and the most important one is the American Robin call at 7. That lets us know what time to start getting ready for the bus after eating breakfast. I guess Venus figured out that it's an important call (it's the only one she's tried to imitate) and now she does it all the time -- even when it's not 7, and that messes with me!
Here's Cameron opening his Transformers dvd. He and Jeremiah went to see it and loved it. It's actually a pretty good movie, and with our TV Guardian, we don't get any bad words!
Here's PaNana opening their gifts.

We're surviving the Christmas doldrums so far. Fortunately, Jeremiah has not left for Utah yet, and we're leaving tomorrow, so things won't get ugly until about January 4th. Well, I better get back to packing and getting ready for our trip to Utah. Hope you all have a great vacation. Rob, Cam, and Miah are out on the 4-wheeler shooting the gun. Hope they don't freeze -- it's turned cold here since yesterday. Lots of staying inside!

Merry Christmas!

Here's our stocking hanger. I saw it at the house of some friends and Cameron built it for me. I painted it and it looks much better in the photo than in real life! But it's a good place to put your stockings when you don't have a mantle, only a pellet stove!
Too many presents under the tree!

Missy's mushroom chair. Amy has one that's too small for the big kids to sit in, so she got this one and it's purple -- her favorite color!

Santa seems to know what her favorite color is! Here's her new bike which she desperately needed! Thank you, Santa!
Amy loved Christmas this year! Cameron's bow set is in the background. Rob got a Benjamin air rifle, so the two of them are going to go out and shoot things. We should be eating a lot of quail in the coming months! Just kidding! And yes, Ola, Amy's hair isn't blond anymore. But we still like it!. She's been licking her lower lip a lot, so she looks like Angelina Jolie.
More pictures will come, but this is all it would let me download. Becky, I really need your help! Hope everyone's Christmas was great!

More catching up

Here's a common sight at our house on the weekends. It's not always all three of them, but this particular time it was. The boy on the left is Tevin Hincha, another of Cameron's very good friends and Jeremiah (see previous blog) is on the right. They are such nice boys and excellent friends and examples for Cameron. The first time we ever visited here for Rob to interview with the mortuary I knew we were coming here for Cameron. Missy could have grown up anywhere and made good friends, but this is exactly where Cameron needs to be. And the neighborhood we live in is great (for Missy because she has lots of friends that she can ride her bike to -- all of Cameron's friends live a couple of miles away, but that's okay). It's safe and friendly, we love our ward and really don't like the thought of building a new house and moving to Central. But I would like a new house!


Every semester the college puts on a children's theater that Missy has been involved with twice. This semester, though, Amy was old enough to be in it. It was called "Babes in Toyland" (but nothing like the show with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon). Missy was Contrary Mary (from the nursery rhyme) and Amy was one of Bo Peep's lost sheep. She was the lead sheep and would run out and stand right on the mark whenever the sheep made their appearance! She was the littlest sheep (of course) and the cutest (of course). Even parents of the other sheep would tell me how cute she was! We went out and gleaned cotton off of the plants that had been harvested and then I sewed the bolls together and then sewed them to her sweats. Everytime she wore her costume I had to keep sewing the bolls back on -- she was often trailing cotton behind her. But she was the fluffiest sheep!




Here's another shot with her new hairdo. She also has some of her new Missy handmedowns that make her look older than she is. She also has Missy's old cowboy boots on. She looked great!

It rained here yesterday, which means it showed on the mountain, which also means the kids want to go up and play in it. So I guess we'll go later today. Cameron has a basketball game this morning. I'm home with the girls because they're not up yet. I sent the camera with Rob so my next post should include some pictures of him playing ball. I hope they win! They've won 2 and lost 1. He scored a basket in the last game! He was really proud! So was I! Later, gators.

Tired of Cleaning . . .

I'm going to try to go back and catch up on some of the things that our family has done since I last posted! Here is one of my favorite pictures of all of my children. Two of them you may not recognize, but they are definitely my children! The boy in the blue shirt is Cameron's best friend, Jeremiah Ward. The two are almost inseparable. He's a year older than Cameron, and unfortunately, is in junior high while Cameron is still in elementary school. But there's always after school, weekends, etc. We took Jeremiah with us Labor Day weekend to the White Mountains of Arizona to visit the little boy in yellow, Kaiden. He and Cameron have the same birthday and are 10 years apart. He's the son of two of my students who are very special to us. Kaiden's mom (Karen) used to be Cameron's piano teacher until Kaiden's dad (Rand) got a teaching job in Eagar and they had to move from Thatcher. We were very sad, but it gives us an excuse to go visit and one day we'd like to build a cabin there.


Since my blog is the "Furry Menagerie", I thought I'd better give you a sampling every now and again of our furry friends. This is Creamy. We raise rats to sell to the pet store as pets and reptile food, but we decided that we wanted a couple of rats as pets for us. I know what you're thinking. . . but rats really do make great pets. We take them from their mommies as soon as they get hair (even before their eyes are open) and then bottlefeed them so they will be tame. We have another one named Butterscotch and they live together to keep each other company. Amy and Cameron absolutely love them. Missy likes them, but she's not as interested in them as the others are.


This is Creamy before her eyes were open! She's much bigger, now!

Everything seems to get put on hold during the semester, so lots of work piles up for when I'm home. So now I have to tackle it, but I'm tired of it, so I guess I'll post some more. Two more days until Christmas vacation! Missy is VERY excited for it this year. She's been my present scout this year -- checking everything under the tree, keeping track of how many presents everyone gets, especially her. I finished her fur coat yesterday. We saw a coat that someone made in the fabric section of WalMart one day, and she wanted that so desperately! She kept talking about it until finally, Nana gave in, and gave me the money to buy the pattern and fabric. But she was too scared to make it! So I had to. But it was really pretty easy and I'll post a picture of her modeling it after Christmas. It was fun to make for her and I can't wait to see her face when she opens it!

Well, back to work! Make it a great day!