Christmas Part III - Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning

Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning were incredibly special this year! The kids had so much fun, and were so well behaved. Christmas experienced through the eye's and facial expressions of little children has to be one of the greatest joys in the world. There was a very special feeling in our home. Having a new convert family (Troy and Terry Mickelson) with us I'm sure contributed greatly. I hope the montage I put together gives you at least a little glimpse of how we felt, and the fun we had.

Joe

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Christmas Part II - The Lights

There is a neighborhood/subdivision in Tucson called Winterhaven (fitting name eh?) where almost all the houses decorate their yards, trees, roofs, etc... with thousands of lights and other decorations. The police "monitor" all entrances to help with traffic and safety, and literally thousands of people go every night and walk or ride in horse drawn hay-wagons around the neighborhood. There are some really spectacular houses - and the pictures below just can't do justice to the real life version.

http://www.winterhavenfestival.org/index.html

We went there on a surprisingly cold rainy evening with the family. Despite the weather, losing a child for a little while (scary feeling by the way), and the drive into Tucson - we all had a fun time. The kids even enjoyed it, and we got a few good pics of the family outing...

As always... click on the pics for a better view

Curious George has some helpers!

In front of Santa's Farm

This time with a few more animals...

Halle in front of the Disney Prince and Princesses yard

Grandma & Grandpa with the Grandchildren (minus Brooke)

Santa under the sea

Away in the Manger

the poor baby is awoken...

Walking and walking and walking and walking...

The grand prise winner... wish the picture could do this house/yard justice

The trees to the left, and all the lights were just BRILLIANT and Beautiful!

THE END!

Christmas Part I - THE SUNS GAME!

Sheri's Sister Sara her husband Jared and her family, and Sheri's parents Cal and Sandra arrived on December 17th and 18th to spend Christmas and New Years with us down here in WARM southern Arizona.

Sara decided to get her husband Jared tickets to an NBA game for Christmas. She wanted to surprise him, so she asked me to help. The best date, and game I could come up with was Suns vs. Denver Nuggets on December 20th. It looked like it would be a great game, against two really strong teams. I started looking for good seats, and good deals back in early November. Since Cal was also going to be here, we all pitched in money to get him a ticket for Christmas too. I ended up getting us three seats kitty corner from the goal post in row five. We were right down there on the floor where we could see the action up close and personal. When we arrived at the arena, and found our seats - I had to call Sheri and tell her that we were so close that I could spit and probably hit the floor (I didn't test my theory, but am still pretty confident that I could have if I had tried).

It was incredible. I was amazed at how HUGE these guys are. Especially Shaq. He is enormous. On TV Steve Nash looks like this tiny little guy - in real life HE'S 6'3". That's four inches taller than me, or the same height as my brother-in-law Steve. But, when Nash stands next to Shaq... he looks TINY.

The other thing that amazed me, is that because of their size and athleticism - a full sized regulation basketball court ends up looking and playing like like those tiny courts we play on at church, where the three point line almost touches half court.

Jared and Cal loved their Christmas presents, and best of all, the Suns pulled out a WIN in a really close game. It was exciting, and intense, and loads of fun. What a great start to our Christmas and New Years Activities!

Click on the pictures to see them up close

BEFORE THE GAME DURING WARM-UPS

DURING THE GAME!

US AT THE GAME

What a Car!!!

Today - January 8th, 2009 at 8:30 in the morning - my little white car drove her 200,000th mile.

Let me tell you a little bit about her.

The Fall of 2002 through the Spring of 2003 was one of the most trying seasons of our life.

On November 5th, 2002, I totalled my little Toyota pick-up truck. I loved that truck, it was a true workhorse. It weathered many golf-ball diving seasons, five years of college, long trips across country(multiple times from Florida to N. Idaho), the hot hot Summers of Florida, and the frigid Winters of Northern Idaho.

Later that same month, during a "Turkey Bowl" football game over Thanksgiving - playing on the frozen grass at the church in Boise - (and against my wife's wise council I might add) I blew out my knee, and had to have my ACL reconstructed.

While I was recovering from the surgery hobbling around on crutches (after surgery I had to go eight weeks non weight bearing) - both Sheri and Cade had some serious health problems that were unbelievably frightening for all of us.

One of the few bright spots that came out of this stressful chapter of our life was our acquisition of a little white 1991 Toyota Corolla with 84,000 miles on it for just over $2,000. It was intended to "temporarily" replace my truck until I could get a new one. Six years, three states, two countries, and 116,000 miles later that little white temporary replacement is still with us, and I just can't find any reason to get rid of her... As I've said probably a thousand times now... SHE JUST WON'T DIE.

Don't get me wrong, we've had our close calls... but through it all she just keeps on kicking.

In July of 2003 I changed jobs, and moved from Boise to Phoenix - I was there by myself for a while before Motorola decided to close that office and move us to Chicago. I thought for sure that those 117 degree summer days would kill that car - or at least kill her A/C... but nope - during her Phoenix days she blew cold cold A/C, and only needed new tires.

In November of 2003, the car and I moved to Chicago - Sheri and the kids stayed behind in Idaho while our house in Chicago was being built. I thought for sure that first Winter with temperatures WAY below zero would kill her, but nope - and her heater blew hot as could be and kept me nice and comfy. If not the cold weather, for sure the 95 mile round trip commute each day would do her in right? Nope - she took me there and back every day for two and a half years, only requiring oil changes, a new thermostat, and a muffler repair... simply amazing.

November of 2005 I landed the new job in Nogales Mexico. Once again, I moved on ahead of the family so the kids could finish school and we could get our housing in AZ squared away. I traveled back and forth from Arizona to Chicago every few weeks until the family could join me. Once we found our house in Sahuarita, I saddled that little car with an even bigger challenge that I thought for sure would kill her. She would have to carry me almost 70 miles miles each way down across the border into Mexico and endure the all the CRAZY driving, potholes, stray animals, and vandals one encounters on that side of the border. Even that 140 mile/day commute and all that craziness that came along with it didn't do her in.

Now, I have an easy 20 mile commute all on nice American roads through Tucson. With this alleviated workload, I'm worried that my little car might feel like she's out to pasture. Although, who knows - maybe with a lighter load she can even keep this up for another 100K.

Whenever she decides her time is right - I won't curse her at all... I might shed a few tears (ala - Marley and Me), but that $2000 invested in her way back in 2003 has been paid back a hundred times over.

On this special occasion, I think I'll treat her to a nice oil change, a car wash, and a vacuum. (I think the last time she was washed was at a cub scout car wash, and I remember that when they rinsed the soap off - the water rolled down the parking lot white because a lot of her paint washed off with the soap...)

Well Done Little White Car! Well Done Indeed! And Congratulations!

Trying to catch up...

I haven't done a very good job lately of keeping you all informed of how things are going in our lives... my last few posts have even been lazy piggy back posts using montages my Dad created to show you what we've been up to. I will shamelessly borrow the Thanksgiving montage below from my Dad as well - so I don't have to re-invent the wheel so to speak.

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful this year - as it is every year I suppose. We had Thanksgiving dinner here at our house, and invited some newly baptized members of our ward to eat with us. We ate pretty early, and the meal was amazing. Sheri did a superb job as usual (with help from Steve, Jessica, and me). We used a "Turkey Cannon" for the first time ever, and cooked up one really tender and flavorful bird... you can learn more about the Turkey Cannon here:

http://www.campchef.com/catalog/item/2/24/0/TKYC/155/Infusion+Roaster+(Turkey+Cannon).html

After our meal, and a few hours of packing and running last minute errands, we set off for Las Cruces to spend the rest of the Holiday with my parents, brother, and sisters. Everyone but Camille and her family was able to be there. Here is the montage my Dad put together of all we did while in Cruces. As always... my favorite was golf with my dad, brother, nephew, and brother-in-law, the sand dunes, and just relaxing (watching football and catching up with everyone).

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

TEASER ALERT!!!

My next two blogs will be... Christmas! and...

My little white 1991 Corolla - that you might recall from here and here - is less than 100 miles from hitting the 200,000 mark... I'll have a special post to honor her in the next few days...