I know it has been quite a while since I updated my blog! Wasn't sure anyone ever read it........apparently I have friends and family that do! So here goes.
The last 4 months have been great for Tim and I. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with mom and all of our kiddo's. I was able to spend 10 days in Arizona with mom and it was hard to leave. Tim was there for a week and we had all the kids for several days over Thanksgiving. Tim was great helping mom with all sorts of items. We hope we were helpful besides having so much fun driving the golf cart around!
We had some great adventures while we were there with everyone. One was the swap meet. We all had fun trying on hats and shirts that looked like they would fit a baby but expanded to adult size! We went one evening to Organ Stop Pizza. A popular place in the Mesa area. It truly was an experience! The restaurant was known for this huge organ that plays while you are having pizza. There were organ pipes across an entire wall. Very impressive. The highlight of the night was when Tim brought our first pizza to the table and as we were making room for it he set it on top of one of those stainless steel napkin holders. Without any notice the pizza pan slipped and the entire pizza went sailing between Sienna and myself to the floor!!! We just sat there in disbelief! It truly was so funny we couldn't help but laugh about it. Thank heavens we weren't covered in tomato sauce and cheese! We finished the night by arriving at the Mesa Temple just in time for the Christmas lights to be turned on. It was spectacular. The week seemed to go by so fast it was hard to say goodbye to everyone.
Now Christmas was almost as wonderful as Thanksgiving. We had Matthew, Abbey and Stephanie home! It was not quite as wonderful because Scott, Lindsay, Sienna, and Josie were not in Chicago. But we pressed forward to do a lot of the family traditions and enjoy each other. It was a great time because the best present was THE BEATLES ROCK BAND! Truly a HUGE hit. Hours were spent on playing as a band together. We also hit downtown Chicago on a very COLD day! Abbey was thrilled to go to the American Girl store as she had dolls when she was younger. We ate at Cheesecake Factory and strolled up and down Michigan Avenue. Of course I have to talk about all the food we prepared and ate over the holiday. Traditional filet mignon for Christmas Eve dinner. Mexican brunch with chorizo and eggs (Abbey is now in love with chorizo), Mexican pastries, hash browns, sausage, etc. It was so long ago I can't remember what we ate on other days, but I do remember we ate a lot!
January came and it was quiet around here. Tim and I were sad. But we try and make the most of it. We love having a web cam to talk to everyone. It makes us feel like we are together. Our little Josie had her BIRTHDAY! 1 YEAR OLD!! Thanks for sending the darling pictures Lindsay! We wish we could have been there.... :(
In late January Tim was promoted to President of a division at work and we feel so very blessed. We had been tempted for quite some time to join my brothers and their families and mom on a cruise they were taking in early February. So we decided at the last minute to surprise them on the cruise ship! I did tell my brother John who I know now CAN NOT keep a secret. But that is OK I love him any way. But mom was surprised and she was the main reason we wanted to go on the cruise. We wanted to spend time with her. We went on the eastern Caribbean cruise and had a super time.
Now it is March. I have been spending a lot of time sorting things in the basement and finally I am able to accept I do not have kids at home and so I am dejunking every room. Can you believe I have kept 2 cribs all these years? Don't think I am a hoarder!!! If I am I am an organized one! :) So a crib is gone as is many other items I have kept around for keepsakes. But I can take a picture of it all for memories! I am also spending a great deal of time on my calling and preparing for a leadership meeting that I am training at next week and a women's conference that will be in May for all the women in our Stake.
I am hoping Spring has arrived as it has been raining the last couple of days although a friend of mine told me we still have a good snowstorm or two before Spring comes! Darn!
Enjoy the pictures and until next time!
One of our outings -- The Shedd Aquarium -- Downtown Chicago
My family can be weird at times.....
Thanks for coming Stephanie, Scott, Lindsay, Sienna, Josie. 
