Before Christmas

Here are some pictures of things happening in Tucson before Christmas.

Christmassy things:

You can make some really fun Christmas decorations in kindergarten.


















Going to Winterhaven to see Christmas lights.















Non-Christmassy things:

Going to the park.















Working on Kevin's bathroom tile project.
















Pavers for the backyard of the new house.
Before















Mid-job





























almost done . . . to be finished after Christmas















Clean up time.
Kids in bathtub.














Christmas and after Christmas pictures coming in next blog.

'Twas the Fright before Christmas . . .

You have to admit, for children under the age of 5 who don't like strangers to begin with, a guy in a red suit with a funny beard and hat can be rather . . . terrifying.

But, for some reason we think it's cute to sit them on Santa's lap and take a picture anyway.

Here's what happened at the church Christmas party Saturday night.

One year old was screaming.


















Even giving her a candy cane did not improve the situation.














Three year old wanted an even quicker getaway.













Five year old was fine with Santa and even smiled and talked to him. Unfortunately, my camera malfunctioned at that moment (grrrr) and I have no picture. However, this post-Santa-visit photo of his reaction to the candy cane is somewhat humorous. I guess he thought he would get something more substantial from Santa.




He didn't say this, but his expression says:

"I sat on Santa's lap and all I got was this little candy cane?"

14 Tons

I know Ryan & Ashley will probably post a blog on this, but I hope they don't mind if I share some photos of today's fun rock shoveling landscaping activity at their house. Yes, it was 14 tons of rock to shovel and move to the backyard and we completed the job in one day! I have to say their yard looks very nice.

Some people shovel rocks and others just climb to the top of the pile and slide down.















The wheel barrow crew.















The back yard crew.















14 tons divided by 6 cubic feet per wheelbarrow load makes how many trips from the driveway to the backyard?

You don't even want to know.
















Before











After











"After" on the other side of the pavers.
















This was good practice for the rock moving I think we will be doing at the new house later this month. Just another reason why it's not a good idea to buy a new house . : )

Thanksgiving and more

Back in Tucson for a nice sunny Thanksgiving Day. I forgot to take a picture of the turkey dinner, but I did get a few pie pictures.

Kevin and Ken cut the pies while Karen and Morgan decide which one looks best. Karen also brought lots of homemade candy and other treats. Thanks Karen!













3 year old liked the whipped cream more than the pie.




















After dinner it was time for games.
5 year old felt very grown up playing Uno at the big table.
















Other Thanksgiving week activities:

Real Bowling with all the Tucson family.
Somehow this is easier on the Wii.






























Some bowlers need more help than others.















Helping dig dirt for the new pavers in the backyard at the new house.
This is like one big sandbox.
















Riding bikes and fixing cars.

















A little car trouble on the way down to Tucson meant Ken had to spend some of the week working on the Jimmy at Kevin's house.


















Reading books and playing games.
5 year old is getting to be a good reader.


















Somehow Yaya can never win this game.











1 year old feeds herself. Most of it actually gets in her mouth.













Washing the car. Notice Ryan's new BMW in the background.































Ryan made 7-layer dip for the BYU v. Utah football game on Saturday.
Yes, we saw it on cable, even in AZ.
An exciting game as BYU wins in overtime!

DIY

Here are some Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects for this weekend.

First, the kitchen faucet has been leaking and the old kitchen sink was looking really . . . OLD!
So, they were replaced.

I really hate to include a picture of the old sink (complete with the dirty, dirty dishrag), it's a bit embarrassing. But without it, you can't appreciate how nice the new one looks.


Before
















After
















On to the second project . . .
The light fixture in the bedroom was looking a bit dated. and the room needed more light with the new, darker paint. So, it was replaced. No before picture for this, just the after.
















We also took out the garden yesterday, since all the tomato, green pepper, and zuccini plants were officially frozen. It's official when they are all black and shriveled up. I guess that's the last of the good BLT sandwiches for this year.

Georgia 2 - Stone Mountain

One of the fun things we did in Georgia was a visit to Stone Mountain. They say this is the largest piece of exposed granite in the world. In the stone is a carving of Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson.

They also say the carving is larger than Mount Rushmore, which I do not believe.





We hiked to the top of Stone Mountain which was nice and shady through the trees and then quite steep as we got up to the top. It was a beautiful day and the view was great!













Claire was happy we made it to the top!
















Afterward, we had a picnic dinner on the lawn facing Stone Mountain and stayed for the laser show and fireworks. It was a celebration of country music with Southern and patriotic themes and was really fun. Just like another 4th of July.



Thanks Suzy and Casey for a fun time. I can't wait to come back and visit again.









Back in Utah now and the weather has turned cool. It's hard to admit that summer is over. Ryan and Ashley arrived here the day we got back from Georgia and it's been really fun to have them visit for a few days.

Georgia

I'm now visiting here at Suzy, Casey and Claire's house in Georgia.






Georgia is very pretty and green. They live in a new area of town with new houses and new shopping. There is also an older part of town. I was looking for a Tara (Gone with the Wind) house and this is about the closest I could find.














There are also armadillos around here, but I've only seen them as road kill along the side of the highway. No picture of that yet, but when I get one I will post it as Collin is interested in Armadillos - why? I really don't know.

We went into Atlanta and saw the Art Museum.















We also went to an Atlanta Braves baseball game. That was fun. They were playing the Marlins, not the Dodgers, which would have been the ultimate, but the Braves won and it was a fun night for all. I've always wanted to do the Tomahawk Chop!!




























But the most fun is just spending time with Suzy and Claire.
Check out this new hairdo - on the baby, not me.