The Rainy, Muddy, and AWESOME Quad Ride

 December 15^th

                It has been a really long, long time since we have gone on a good quad ride with my family- way too long  So, this last Saturday when everyone was finally available, we jumped on the opportunity.  AJ and I were anxious all week- Saturday couldn't come fast enough!  Then when Saturday finally did come we were not swayed one bit by the pouring rain.  And while we were on our quads riding out to the Gila River we found this guy.

    He was chillin’ in the middle of the trail and Gina almost made a tarantula pancake out of him.  Gina held him first and then Brent, and just as he was starting to crawl onto AJ’s hand everyone else pulled up and ran over, talking loudly and getting their faces as close as possible.  (This made the tarantula a little uncomfortable and Brent a little worried.)  So AJ didn't get a chance to hold him because it isn't safe to hold an agitated tarantula.  But he was still cool to see.

                We found this amazing patch of trees out in the middle of the desert and built a fire to warm water for hot chocolate and to warm our freezing booties, hands and noses.    

While we were waiting for the water to warm, Mom and the kids were climbing all over in the trees above.

And Samuel was exploring the roots below.

              After hot chocolate and lunch we couldn't wait any longer to get out and ride again!  Here are some pictures of our fun adventures:

Lily helping with lunch.

The "Tree Tunnel"

Samuel and Uncle Brently

Nap time!

Aunt Gina and Samuel know how to have fun.

Samuel and Daddy got MUDDY!

Muddy fun!  On their way to wash off in the cold Gila River.

We were SOAKED!

Look at all those mud babies.

Nasty.

 Pretty much we had a GURR-8 time!  The end.

Welcome Back!

Long time no see, huh?  Yeah, sorry about that, but my little sister got married.  My last post was on December 18^th.  That gave my Mom and I ONE month to prepare everything for the big day on January 19^th, and a whole week and a day for recovery purposes.  I am happy to say, now that centerpieces are no longer dancing in my head, and cake is no longer my main food source, I can blog again!  And if you know me, you know I can't NOT add a picture.  Here are the newly-weds, my little sister Becca and her husband, Steve.

Photo by Sheffield/Shaw Photography, Hair by the one and only me, and Makeup by Marina H.

Okay everyone, you are seriously going to LOVE these next two pictures.  At Becca and Steve’s reception there was a salad bar- table with all the fixings for a really yummy salad.  Anywho, while AJ and I had our backs turned Samuel decided to help himself to the cheese…

Photo by Sheffield/Shaw Photography

Photo by Sheffield/Shaw Photography

Oh yeah!  Get ‘er done Samuel.  That is my kid right there.  Wait, I wonder how many people dished their cheese with those tongs after Samuel got his fill … eek!  Maybe I don't want to own up to this one.

Subject change!  Lily is walking.  Okay, almost walking- as in, walking isn't her main mode of transportation quite yet, but she is sure close.  She always stands up and tries to walk to where ever it is she going to, then she gives up falls and crawls the rest of the way. Yesterday, we counted 14 steps before she fell over and started crawling.  Lily is also the proud owner of four teeth!  I love her little smile with her four tiny teeth just becoming visible- so cute.  My little baby is hardly a baby anymore.

Photo by Impact Photography Group

My friends and the onion.

               My friends came over!  Amanda, AKA Manj, is AJ's older sister, Jake is her husband and Zemri is their precious baby girl.  They have been living on the other side of the country for the last year, for Jake's internship, and now they are back on the correct side of the United Sates.  The side where everyone else, most everyone, lives.  It was a blast to see them again!

Samuel snuck into the kitchen while we were chatting with Manj and Jake and he came back munching on an onion.  So we did what any parent would do … we videoed it.

Last time we saw these two Samuel was a year old and I was almost 20 weeks pregnant, and Manj was 10 weeks behind me.  Look at our little ones now!!

These two are less than 3 months apart.  Can you believe it?!  Lily and Zemri are going to be best of friends.  I just know it.

The best gift ... of all time!!

AJ bought me a gift…

A special gift.

An anniversary gift- for our, you know, anniversary.

And it is the best anniversary gift of all time … like, ever.  Seriously.

Do you want to know what it is?!

Okay, okay, okay!!  I will show her to you.

(Drumroll please …)

TA DA!!  She's a sewing machine!

Ain’t she a beauty?!  I just love her to sewing heaven and back.  What do you think I should call her?

I was thinking something classy, like Phyllis or Augusta or Franny or … Eleanor.  Hmmmm.  Maybe Eleanor, because it makes me think of sewing and it makes me think of Merida.  And Merida is awesome.

Okay, I made up my mind.  Everyone.  Meet Eleanor.  She is my very own, personal sewing machine, and I love her.  Check out what Eleanor and I made together.  It was our very first project.  What do you think?

Bonus picture:

My sweet baby Lily couldn't stay out of the way of my picture taking, so I took a picture of us instead.

How old is Arizona?

It was close to midnight and I was riding in the cab of the truck with my parents.  Everyone else had fallen fast asleep in the camper long ago.  Our conversation had been jumping from topics like, the recent election to regulating bowel movements to Becca’s soon-to-be fiancé, for a while.  We were chatting about anything and everything that came to our minds; to keep Dad awake.

An Arizona Centennial sign passed by and I silently questioned, “How much tax money did it take to put up all those darn centennial signs?!  There are millions of them … all over Arizona!”  And since we were voicing whatever thoughts came to our minds, I said it.

                “How much money do you think they spent on those signs?”

Mom and Dad looked at each other with a did-you-see-the-sign? face.

“What signs, Em?” Dad asked me.

“You know, all those signs they put up for Arizona’s 100th birthday this year.  Haven’t you noticed?  They are everywhere!  How much tax money do you think they spent on those?” I answered.

“Too much!”  Mom declared.

After a short rant about taxes and how ridiculous this tax is or that tax is, Dad brought the conversation back to states.

“You know,” he started, “Arizona was one of the very last sates to join the Union- number 48, I think.  Most of the other states had been states for over 220 years or something.  Twice as long as Arizona.”

“WOW!”  Mom and I said incredulously.

There was a short pause in our conversation, for Mom and me to ponder the overly impressive information Dad had just impressed upon our sleepy minds.  “OVER, two hundred and twenty years?!” I thought.  “That is such a long time.  How long has Arizona been a state?”

“So … how old is Arizona then?!” Mom and I wondered aloud to each other.

“Don’t ask me.  I don't know.” I stated, verbalizing my complete cluelessness on the matter.

Dad sat quiet and unbelieving, a skeptical look in his eye, while Mom and I tried to figure out how old Arizona could possibly be?!  We debated for a minute or two before we were interrupted by giggling.

“What are you cackling about, Charlie?” Mom probed.

Dad responded simply, “100.  Arizona is 100 years old.”

Mom and I sheepishly looked at each other and bust out laughing.  We had been talking about Arizona’s CENTENNIAL sign!

Sloganmaker Fun - Date idea

I first heard of Sloganmaker from a friend of mine and I just had to try it out.  So, AJ and I sat down, during the kid’s nap, and spent like TWO HOURS laughing our pants off!!  Everything was just SO witty.  Here are a few of the gems we thought were hysterical.

Don't play with fire, but play with the Smith's.

Pure Smith family.  Pure power.

Smith's forever!

The Smith family, always the same, always good.

The Smith family is GLAMOUR.

Made like, taste like ... Smith family.

The Smith family makes the world go round.

Smith family - radiating elegance and quality.

Good mornings begin with the Smith family.

Okay, so maybe they are just hilarious the first time around, but they still make me giggle.  Go grab your husband or a friend and make a date out of it!

FIVE Generations

Great great Grandma Mae, Great Grandma Glee, Grandpa Charlie, ME, Samuel & Lily

It is a rare thing, for four generations or more to be alive at once.  Very few people now-a-days, live to be great grandparents, let alone great great grandparents.  My children are some of the few who have a great great grandparent- amazing right?!

Check this out!  I thought it was thought provoking. 

1 YOU
2 parents

4 grandparents

8 g grandparents

16 gg grandparents

32 ggg grandparents

64 gggg grandparents

128 ggggg grandparents

265 gggggg grandparents

512 ggggggg grandparents

1,024 gggggggg grandparents

2,048 ggggggggg grandparents

4,096 gggggggggg grandparents

8,192 ggggggggggg grandparents

16,184 gggggggggggg grandparents

32,768 ggggggggggggg grandparents

65,536 gggggggggggggg grandparents

131,072 ggggggggggggggg grandparents

262,144 gggggggggggggggg grandparents

524,288 ggggggggggggggggg grandparents

1,048,576 gggggggggggggggggg grandparents

1,048,576 ggggggggggggggggggg grandparents

(That is 20 generations right there.)