Memories

My niece Maddie just gave me this picture, it brought back so many fun memories. This picture is of me, Maddie & Sam at Sundance, UT. It is about 12 years ago - I think Maddie is not even one, and Sambo is 2 or 3 - probably just a little older than Dilly is now! So cute ~ I love them!

Alex

A couple of weeks ago it was our niece Alex's 18th birthday! (sorry this is so late Al!)
Alex is such a great girl. She has beautiful naturally curly hair and the most gorgeous long legs! I first met Alex when she was about three, and I remember how she was just so cute, really smart & had the cutest little giggle. I have such fond memories of playing Mother-May-I and Red-Light-Green-Light with Alex (& Livi & Nate) outside for hours! She was a flower girl at Brian & I's wedding 14 1/2 years ago!
I can never hear the song "I Can See Clearly Now" without laughing & thinking of little Alex singing - "I can see clearly now the rain is gone, I can see all the bananas in my way"!

Alex is really witty - she is really fun to talk to and she has a contagious laugh. She is a really great baker - it is always so great to go to her house & find she has just whipped up the best batch of chocolate chip cookies or a cheescake!

She is so great with kids. I always love to see how sweet she is to her little brother Nate, and she is so fabulous with my kids - they adore her! She is really patient with them (and she is always so willing to watch them so Brian & I can go out with her parents).

WE LOVE YOU ALEX!(Alex with her cute boyfriend Austin)

Getaway

Last weekend my sister Tash was nice enough to watch Ava & Dilly for a night while Brian & I took a much needed little getaway! (Thank you sooo much Tash!)
We went to the Gold Canyon Golf Resort for just one night and we had the best time! It was the most beautiful place, just nestled back in the Superstition Mountains.

Me & Bri Bri outside our hotel

(we set the timer on our camera & took this ourselves, hence the weird angle)

Bri outside the hotel restaurant (that had the best food!)
Our pretty casita One of the breathtaking views from our casitaMe & Brian at dinner. Actually enjoying our food and having a conversation, not worrying about what the kids are eating, or not eating, or throwing, etc.

Natasha

Today is my sister Natasha's birthday. I find it hard to even know where to start to talk about how great I think my sister is. She is truly one of my best friends!

Tasha is a very passionate person - when she does something, she does it all the way & does it really well, or when she likes something, she really, really loves it!

Thinking back, I realized that Tash included me in so many things as we were growing up & she never made me feel like I was just her little sister tagging along, but that she actually wanted me there! For example: she took me to my first concert when I was 10 (Cory Hart - I wear my sunglasses at night) with all her friends; she let me hang out at her college apartment pool with her & her friends; she would take me over to her boyfriend's house or apartment with her in high school & college; during the college semester that she lived at home she never got mad at me once when I went into her room every morning before school & woke her up asking to borrow her clothes; when she got married & moved to California & Arizona, she let me visit all the time; then when Brian & I decided to move to AZ, she let us live with her for about 9 months!! I could go on & on...


Tasha has supported me through so much - I am not sure that I would really make it as a pilot's wife if I didn't have Tash & her family nearby! She was there when my both of my kids were born and they absolutely adore their Aunt Tasha! She knows them so well and makes them each feel so special.

Tasha is a true sports fan - all sports! She can seriously talk sports with the best of 'em! Tash is such a capable & talented person & she is good at whatever she does, but the thing that I think that she is the very best at is being a Mother. She has raised three wonderful kids, Jake, Sam & Maddie, and she pours her heart & soul into everything she does for them.

One of my very favorite things to do is to just hang out with Tash & her kids - especially playing games & watching American Idol or So You think You Can Dance. We have so much fun together. I admire my sister so much, and I have been so blessed to live near her for the last few years.

Happy Birthday Tash!

I love you!

Before & After

This week we accomplished a couple of projects. Here are some pictures....

Our backyard before... (the dirt pit)

during...

and after.

After #2
(what a difference 3 hours on a Saturday morning & a bunch of money can make!)

My next project was to try to make our lovely green chairs (that we have had since we got married), and our bookshelf (gargage-sale-find) match the beautiful rosewood table that we inherited from Brian's sister Shelly when she recently moved. (Thank you Shelly!)

The chairs before...
The bookshelf before...
And after.
(Still not totally ideal, but better. Until I can afford the furniture I want, this will have to do...)

Lucky

CONGRATULATIONS to my sister Maegan! She just won an all-expense paid trip to Tokyo, Japan & Seoul, South Korea! Holy Cow!! I am so excited for her - she really deserves it!! (ok, so maybe I am just a little bit jealous too!)

This is Maegan & her boyfriend Dylan, who will be accompaning her on her little adventure...

I miss my pilot tonight...

Goodnight Captain Bullard, wherever you are...