Another Hair Cut

While in Phoenix, I was convinced once again by Kirk and Gina that Sarah was due for a hair cut. So we made the trip to an all kids salon which I thought was neat. Sarah did not and cried her eyes out the entire time but came out cute as a button.

The back with layering to allow the curls to pop out more.

The front

Turkey Day in Phoenix

We had a wonderful trip to Phoenix for the Thanksgiving holiday to visit my oldest brother and his family. The flight over was nice and smooth plus Sarah slept most of the way. We all had a great time with the kids and Daisy the doggie (or fourth kid). My brother fed us like kings and we drank plenty as well. The shopping was very nice....it was good to see our favorites again (Nordstrom and Eddie Bauer). The kids are growing up so fast and we got to see Hayden's second front tooth come out. Amazing how fast time flies!! Sarah and Kyle had a great love/hate relationship which was fun to watch. They especially took to taking each other's baby carriages or handbags. We had a great time helping out the day after Thanksgiving with decorating the house for the Christmas holiday. Plus, we got to go out for an adult only dinner with Danny and Gina to PF Changs (oh so yummy lettuce wraps!) while the kids stayed back with the great babysitter also named Sarah. It was hard to say our goodbyes but being 2 hours away by Cessna makes it easier for future trips. Hopefully we will be out there again in the spring.

Sarah with Daisy, her new best bud.

Jack and his classmates doing the "Tooty Tot" dance at their Harvest Party.

More Harvest Party with Jack showing off his Pilgrim.

Gina and Jack

Hayden at her Harvest Party at school.

Kids having fun at lunch.

Sarah and Kyle having fun with a jump rope.

Happy Thanksgiving with Chef Danny.

Sarah and Kyle enjoying tubby time.

Daisy getting checked out by Kyle.

Sarah loved the little spring horses at the park.

Kyle is one very strong 2 year old. He loved to pull the wagon even with 8 year old boys in it.

Sarah doing what she did the most - harass the dog and play with the doll carriage.

Never too young to start 4-wheeling.

Sarah helping me 'fluff' the Cristofano Christmas tree.

A special holiday "ring around the rosies" (notice Kyle in my Dansko clogs).

Sarah on the flight back to Farmington. The air was a bit turbulent so she didn't nap much. Instead we kept her happy with the Backyardigans.

November...where did it go?

I can't believe it's already time to enjoy another Thanksgiving holiday and of course start thinking about holiday cards, cooking and gift giving. If mother nature is kind to us, Kirk, Sarah and I will be celebrating the holiday with my oldest brother and his family in Phoenix. We can't wait and are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will allow for the quick 2 hour flight in the Cessna lickidy split!

Sarah doing a dance one morning in her new Thanksgiving outfit.

"Cheese"

The month has gone by and we've been busy still trying to get the house settled plus Kirk has been insanely busy at work. We finally have my car in the garage and will soon get Kirk's truck in there as well. We just need to get the bikes on a rack. We tried out our new must have yard tool the other weekend - a leaf blower/vacuum. Who would have thought we would be vacuuming our front and back yard? Sarah joined in on the fun with her personal protection equipment on, of course. Our friend Melissa Simpson would be proud! (that's me in the picture with Sarah in the background)

We also had the brown carpet in the master bath area replaced with tile this week. It's very nice and easy to clean. We found a fun red/brown shag rug to put next to the sinks. Very retro.

We hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We feel blessed to have wonderful, happy and healthy family and friends.

New Words

The word No as defined by Webster's Dictionary: a negative used to express dissent, denial, or refusal, as in response to a question or request.

This is our daughter's new word of the week. No..."no more dada" or "Sarah, did you poopy in your panties" with reply "No". Though at this moment, when she says the new word it's cute, most of the time. But I'm sure there will come a point, most likely in the near future (like tomorrow), when the word isn't so cute. I'm happy to report that she is doing very well with other words and picking up new ones each day. She is also making word combinations. It's great!

We are still fascinated with the bootie and bee-bo (a tiny hippopotamus way of saying Belly Button!). She's also obsessed with Blue Hat Green Hat at the moment. It is requested frequently with a very definite "hat, hat, hat" repeated many times until the book is read to her again and again and again.

Finally, we are trying to patient with the canine teeth attempting their second comeback. I pray they do so we can be done with this round, especially the not so fun rash. You can see the teeth under the gums just waiting to punch through. It's a sick tease for us parents.

What a difference a day makes...

We took Sarah to vote with us yesterday like many other parents in this great nation. It was an historic event. Unfortunately, the candidate our family was supporting did not become the new commander in chief elect. Therefore, we were a bit bummed last night as we sat glued to Fox News for the majority of the time. Like Senator McCain stated in his gracious speech, we will still unite as one to support our new commander while being hopeful that he will deliver on his promise. Let's all be hopeful he will stand as the medium needed between two parties to deliver "the change" and not veer back to his extremely liberal ways, which will only divide this nation further. Now that Palin is back in Alaska, she can focus her efforts on working with the oil companies to deliver the gas pipeline.

Now off the soap box...

We woke up this morning to a very dark cloud lingering to the west which shortly delivered snow/ice along with thunder and lightening. Crazy mix. It was nice to have a taste of old man winter. But unlike Anchorage, the clouds moved by within an hour to then allow the sun to shine through and melt the white stuff. Oh yes, winter in the desert southwest.

I also had to include pictures of Sarah playing the "Where is Sarah...Oh no, Sarah is gone" game she likes to play by pulling her bib up over her face. She will continue to eat with it covering her face which is a hoot to watch. Too cute.

Maybe not good parenting?

OK, I had to do a quick post because we have been experiencing something very funny. Sarah loves her Cabbage Patch doll (actually mine from when I was little). The poor thing is carried around the house the majority of the time with his pants off. So, we point out his bootie, thinking it's funny, along with his bellybutton, etc. Then we talk about the bootie during bath because it's a part that has to be cleaned just like all the other parts. Well tonight Sarah stood up ready to end the bath and proceeded to spank herself and say 'bootie'. Too cute...but bad parenting?

Happy Halloween

BOO!

We had a fun Halloween this year especially with the warmer temperatures. We carved pumpkins Thursday night with Sarah's help. She mostly ran around with a garbage bag and the dust pan/brush. Yesterday we went to the ConocoPhillips Fall Festival. It was neat to see all the costumes and we elected to have Sarah wear her 'Happy Halloween' outfit in lieu of the ladybug getup. She enjoyed the festival for the most part with the exception of a few adults dressed up that scared the bejesus out of her. The candy we collected from the festival was redistributed to our trick or treat visitors. We had several visitors which was very different from a typical Anchorage Halloween.

Sarah the helper. Please note that she put her hat on herself and would object otherwise if we tried to help.

At the ConocoPhillips Fall Festival. For our BP friends, please note the offices in the background. Yes, those are offices with doors and walls. Crazy.

So, Sarah the helper got a hold of some candy I dropped after a round of trick or treat visitors. I wasn't paying enough attention to notice the Twix bar package was successfully opened...quickly. So, I let her have a couple of bites before taking it away.
Saying "cheese" on her airplane Grandpa Len (aka Papa) built. You got to love that it's personalized with her name and the Cessna's end numbers.

I had to take this picture. This is looking out of Sarah's room to the neighborhood. There is a beautiful Aspen in the front yard next to her window that has turned colors to this amazing yellow. The picture doesn't do the color justice.

I also had to post this picture of a quilt my mom made for Sarah. I love it and enjoy looking at it when I rock Sarah after her naps.