Almost through December

Doesn't it seem like we just started this month? Here we are New Years Eve Eve. Lon and I had a very eventful Christmas. Well, the whole family did. Usually Lon always gets sick on Christmas Day. This year he worked hard to prevent that. What happened instead was funny (not that we are looking back). The family went to Dickens Fair in the City. What fun that was! I will post our pictures once I get a copy. We dressed up and joined in the festivities. When we walked into the fair it literally looked like we were back in the Victorian era of the 1800's. All of Dicken's book character's wandered through the streets acting out their personal stories. What a great birthday Lon had.

Monday night right before bed Lon stated that he wasn't feeling to well. I then noticed that I wasn't either. About an hour and a half later Lon and I were sharing time through the night over the toilet. We thought it was something we ate until we heard the next day that all of Lon's family was sick. Someone had spread the joy onto the family. So instead of Lon getting sick on Christmas Day, he was sick 2 days prior and got the bonus of his wife throwing up with him just to keep him company.

New years is upon us and I am so excited for what 2009 brings :) Lon has started studying for his CPA exam and I am having fun quizzing him with flash cards. He is such a smartie! I love it! He will pass with flying colors.

Until next time.... with pictures.

Just another Monday---

So I was reading my book and getting really into it! I notice that it's raining outside and think nothing of it until it starts raining really hard. I turn and look and see that it's not rain, but HAIL....WaHOO! It looked like this in the parking lot of our apartment complex.


It was fun. It hailed pretty hard for a few minutes and then went back to normal rain.

Lon and I finished out Christmas shopping last Saturday! It was a long, but good day. Lon treated me to Macaroni Grill. YUMMY! Then we hit the stores like mad people. That's the only way to do it because it's a zoo out there! Once we left the mall, I made the comment to Lon "Now I remember why I try to avoid the mall in December, especially on Saturday's. When we got home, we both fell on the couch and just sat. It was great. I think we watched a few episodes of Frasier and laughed. Perfect ending to a busy shopping day.

Lon's Birthday is this Saturday, December 20th. We will be attending Dicken's Fair and get to dress up from that era. FUN FUN FUN! The day will be spent with the family (both sides) and end with Key lime cake (made with love especially by Becca)...at Lon's special request (sort of).

Merry Christmas to all!

Thanksgiving FUN!

We had fun on the road for Thanksgiving. We went to Arizona to visit both of our very best friends and their families. Since we didn't want to do the whole 13 hour trip in one day, we stopped half way in Los Angelos at "Hotel Leininger." It was fun to see family again who we hadn't seen since our wedding.
We listened to book on CD while driving so the trip was more entertaining than I expected it to be. The first one we finished was The Summons by John Grisham. It was good and kept us guessing at the "who did what's" throughout the novel.
We arrived at Agnes and Tim's Wed evening as there was traffic when we got to Pheonix. It added an extra hour to our trip. But no worries! Once we got there it was fun fun fun! Question: What's the first thing you do when you get to Agnes and Tim's? You get your hair done :)

Then you make pie's for the big feast:


Yes...they were VERY good.

Thanksgiving morning the husbands played football in the annual Turkey bowl in Agnes' ward. They came home muddy, wet, and with big smiles on their faces! It was obvious that they had a great time. The rest of the morning everyone chipped in and prepared the food for the big feast.



We ate food until our stomach's felt like they were going to burst! Naps had to be taken...

When Lon started to nap, Mara (Agnes and Tim's 3 year old daughter) started to poke at him. I told her that he was trying to sleep. She immediately left the room and and came back with one of her blankets! She put in on Lon and told me that we had to be quiet. It reminded me about how innocent and thoughtful children are. Their hearts are so full of love and ready to share the joy. Thanks Mara for the reminder of how we all need to act.

We then met up with other good friends who I absolutely wanted to see. Jenn and her husband Conrad. We caught up with our lives and had a great time watching the children play and interact.

I love seeing these wonderful women in my life! They set a great example for what I strive to become and have helped my spread my wings and fly!

Next stop on the list was Vail, Arizona, which is just south of Tuscon. Lance and his wife Wendy live there. Lon grew up with Lance. We met them at the air museum in Tuscon and saw old airplanes and learned much. We played cards that evening and made more pies than I had ever made in my life for their annual pie party. The pie party was tasty and I was able to learn the art of pie making.
Lon (along with the other men who were visiting) helped move a storage shed from one side of he house to the other. It was very entertaining to watch as more than one person would have an idea on "the best way to do something and then watch everyone else share their ideas all at the same time. Eventually (5 hours later) the shed was moved and the work was done. Very good men...now go and eat some PIE!
The drive home was long. We stopped again at our trusty "Hotel Leininger" and went to bed at 9pm and slept soundly and deeply. It was wonderful. We listened to DaVinci Code on the way home and didn't finish it, so we went rented it just so I wouldn't be held in too much suspense.

We had a great time, but are definitely done with long drives for a while.