Temple lights

Tonight we went to Brooke's house and she made dinner for us. After dinner we went to Circle K for hot cocoa and went to the temple lights. I've been going there for years and still doesn't get old! This time we took my grandma and my Aunt Michelle. Last time they were there was 20 years ago. It was fun. Jack bought Mark these cool sunglasses on their honeymoon and Mark insisted on wearing them! We were walking around and we hear this little voice say "green"...we turn and there's Ava pointing to the green lights. Brooke's been teaching her the colors. Way cute! We took a 5 generation picture. Each generation had a girl as the oldest child...very cool! There is also a picture of my mom and Aunt trying to get my grandma down the stairs in her wheelchair! We saw the Nativities. There were many different nativites from around the world made out of many different things! It was awesome to see. Wish Tony could have been there with us...hopefully next year!

Goodbye Tony!

Last Thursday we had a family Christmas with Tony. I pulled out the nice Christmas dishes, we had an awesome turkey dinner, and we opened a few Christmas presents. Everyone received their traditional pajamas and then something else. We will still have Christmas with all the gifts, but we wanted to have some type of celebration with Tony.

Tony left Friday night. He ran around doing all the last minute errands and making sure everything was good to go for me. At one point he came upstairs and I could see the tears coming. I always hate this part. I stay here and life goes on, but he goes off to a foreign land, in a war zone and misses everything. It also takes him 4-5 days just to get back. We drove him to the airport and that's when the rest of us lost it. There we were, all 4 of us bawling in the airport! I have to say it was much easier this time than the last two times he left. It's hard to not have your spouse, the love of your life, your best friend. Someone to fix things, or take care of the cars, or the toilets! It was so nice to have him here to help get Kendall to cheer or school, or run to the store. I don't think people undestand how hard it is until you go through it. It's hard to explain the loneliness that I feel. I miss him terribly and can't wait for the day he comes home for good!

Disneyland!

On Saturday Dec. 5th Kendall had a cheer competition downtown Phoenix, and we couldn't leave for Disneyland until after the awards. This thing went all day long! We also had Ava with us and that was a nightmare. Brooke and Jack wanted to go to Disneyland with us one day, so they stayed in California after their honeymoon. They went on a cruise. So we had to bring Ava with us to California. Kendall's team, AZ Allstars, took 2nd in their division. WooHoo! We finally headed out of town by 5:00 pm. We got to the hotel around 11:30 pm and we were all exhausted! Our hotel had a hot complimentary breakfast and it was awesome. So after breakfast, we headed to Disneyland! It was awesome to walk in and see the huge Christmas tree and see all the decorations down mainstreet. My two favorite things together....Disneyland and Christmas. What could be better? Our plan of action was to hit Peter Pan first since that seems to be one of the longest lines. After that it was to Adventureland for Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain and Winnie the Pooh. Kendall and her friend took off and we hardly saw them all day. My grandma and Aunt have passes so they go every Sunday and walk round. They met up with us and we hung out for about 3 hours. We took Ava to ToonTown while everyone else went on rides. It was fun having a little one and seeing her get excited. The park closed at midnight but we couldn't make it. We had to drag Kendall and her friend out of there by 10:00. Even Tony fell asleep on one of the benches waiting for them.

Monday was MISERABLE. I've been going to Disneyland for over 30 years, sometimes twice year and have not once been when it rained! It poured all day long, and talking to my mom there was a major storm back home too! We bought ponchos and umbrellas. And we spent alot of money on hot cocoa! Didn't work, it was cold and wet. We walked on all of the rides, but it was bad. We also saw a couple from our ward on Tower of Terror! Mark gained his love for roller coasters on this trip. He went on Space Mountain and California Screamin' twice! Tony got sick from the rollercoasters so he and Mark left for the hotel around 3:00. Mark's pants were wet from the knees down and his shoes were soaked. So Tony went back and put them in the dryer. I went back to Disneyland and looked in the shops. Since I was alone I was able to see more than we usually do. It was quite fun. I met up with Kendall and her friend and we went on rides. They did Splash Mountain and there was no way I was going on that to get more wet so I went on Haunted Mansion alone!!! That's something I would never have done before. About 4:30 the wind kicked up and by this time the rain had stopped. But the wind made it more cold than the rain all day! I had to talk the girls into leaving early again because although I had my heavy winter coat on, I was still shivering.

Tuesday was clear skies, but still cold. I realized that as much as I love Disney...3 days was a bit much. We'd been on everything twice or more. It kind of got old - did I really just say that? Because we had more time we did things we normally didn't do like the Tiki Room, Muppet 3D and some of the slower rides. We ended up shutting the park down that night. Not many people in the parks that day so we never had to wait more than 20 minutes. And the tram area wasn't packed like usual.

My grandma got us these awesome 4-day tickets from Costco in Ca. We used 3 of the days so we'll use the last day in March over Spring Break. WooHoo And these were cheaper than buying 3-day park hoppers from Disneyland! We had a great time and it was fun to be with Tony. Mark loved having his dad and so I went solo on many of the rides because he wanted his dad with him. I'm glad we had that time together as a family, and we have so many wonderful memories.

Black Friday

Tony and I got up at 3:30 a.m. and headed straight to Old Navy for our traditional Cristmas pajamas for everyone. The line was wrapped around the store and back at the front door. We got in line at the very back and I stood there for 1 hour. Seriously, was it worth it? I'm not sure, I did get some good deals, but come on...While I was in line there, Tony left to head to Walmart to pick something up for Brooke. It was in the electronics department and luckily the line wasn't very long, but he did end up getting the "gift" before they were sold out! I left Old Navy and headed to Wallyworld...that place was CRAZY! I'm glad we didn't need anything from there. However; our bank, Desert Schools was open. Can you believe that? They were open early for Black Friday. I guess it was a smart move because people have problems, or need to transfer money, or their card isn't working, or something like that. Never thought of that, but I would be grateful if I had an issue and they were open! Next was Target, then Staples, then Ulta, then Sam's Club, Chick-fil-a and then home for a quick nap to rejuvinate to go out again. Later that day, Mark and I ran to JC Penney. Here we are the day before the wedding and Mark still didn't have any clothes. I got him a new shirt, pants, underwear, socks, tie and shoes. And because it was Black Friday, we got everything on sale! WooHoo Later I picked up Kendall and took her to DSW for shoes for the wedding. She needed red since all girls were wearing red. We found the perfect ones and only had to go to one store! Victorious! The rest of the night was loading the Jeep and Excursion with all the wedding stuff so all we had to do the next morning was get to the venue and decorate! We hit the bed exhausted, what a busy day!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving meant more to us this year since we had Tony home! He has seen first hand what the military men and women go through, the sacrifices they make, and the time they spend away from their families. We must all give thanks to those who help to keep us free! We had a great time of all day eating, watching the game, shooting off rockets, and spending time talking. The food was excellent, and there was tons of it. My mom cooked pies the night before, and cooked all morning up until it was time to eat turkey! Tony and I cooked one turkey and Tony of course made his awesome gravey. Jack cooked the other turkey in a smoker with awesome wood chips and a wonderful rub. The traditional rockets were a hit not only with the family but with the neighbor kids on the street. They know what's happening once they see my dad out there with the air compressor and rocket launcher. There were 3 newspapers spread out all over the house with the Black Friday ads, with everyone making their list of places to go and things to get. We got home about 9:00 so we could get everyone in bed so we could get up at 3:30 the next morning for Black Friday! I love Thanksgiving!!!

Welcome Home Tony!

Tony's plane got in Monday night around 7:00 and he didn't get off the plane, to his luggage, and through customs until 7:45! Wow, did he look skinny! Mark and Ava were so excited to see him! We headed straight to Macayo's, his favorite place, where our good friends the Hansens and my brother Sherman were waiting for us. It was a great reunion with great food, great family, and great friends!

Brooke's bridal shower

My mom and Debbie haven't changed a bit. They look the same after all these years!

Brooke's friend Nichole Letner and her mom, Debbie, gave Brooke her bridal shower. It was beautiful! My parents have known Nichole's parents for 30 years! Debbie and I were pregnant at the same time. So the girls played whenever we had family get-togethers. The food was delicious and the friends were great. She received some really great stuff too! Thanks Nikki and Deb!