Arizona Trip - Part 5

So, after managing to dodge the nasty respiratory illness going around in AZ, we came back to MS just in time to catch a stomach bug. In the past week, we have all had upset tummies, I had an allergic reaction to something that caused my eyelids to swell and necessitated steroid drops, and now Hunter has a nasty cough - fun, fun, fun. (Note my sarcasm!) On a brighter note, here are some more photos from our AZ trip. Pictured above, my sister, Theresa, w/ Michaela and Steven.

Michaela, our shoe girl. She liked Steven's snow boots.

I guess I should explain that Theresa invited us to their room to watch "Underdog" the night we stayed at Hannagan Meadow Lodge. Everyone put on their PJs.

Michaela also liked Steven's Buzz Lightyear backpack. Hunter's PJs are just for 'show'. They came off as soon as we got back to our room!

Watching Michaela and Steven play, I realized that Hunter has come a long way. He actually spent most of the evening watching the movie!

Of course, my poor little sheepdog might have had an easier time watching if I had put up her hair!

Arizona Trip / Hannagan Meadow Lodge

The kiddos and I have all had a stomach bug this weekend and I got behind on posting the photos from my Arizona trip. Here we stopped at the bottom of the Salt River Canyon on the way to see my sister, Theresa.

My mom, Tina Chavez, Michaela and Hunter. You know it's cold when Hunter is shivering!

We arrived at Hannagan Meadow Lodge where my sister and her husband, Guthrie Burton, are assistant managers and live w/ their little boy, Steven. And yes, there are places in Arizona where it snows!

The store. The lodge is located at 9100 feet elevation and about 22 miles from Alpine, AZ which is near the border to New Mexico.
Steven (26 months), my mom, & Michaela (22 months)

Steven was so excited to see Grandma and didn't want to let her out of his sight, so he joined us for a while in our room.

Michaela was in need of a nap, but the whole time she was sleeping Hunter was hounding me about when could we go out and have a snow ball fight! I just kept thinking while I was bundling them up, "This is going to take longer than the actual time they spend outside!"

Michaela wasn't impressed. She had knit cotton tights on under the pants, and a long sleeve shirt and a sweat shirt underneath that jacket. She just wanted me to pick her up, but I had already fell on my behind into the snow!

My 'little' sis, Theresa, and Steven w/ the resident dog, Anna (?).

Sweet Steven

As I suspected, it didn't take long before Hunter got snow in his gloves and was ready to go back inside! I don't know what this room next to their restaurant was called, but it had a TV and, as you can see by the clothes piled up on the coffee table, Hunter made himself right at home. Fortunately, it is their slow season and there weren't a lot of other guests. And he did manage to keep on his shirt and pants, thank goodness! By the way, if you should ever get up that way, I had one of the best steaks of my life at their restaurant that night!

Michaela wanted to play w/ the resident cat Hanna. (Get it? - Hannagan Meadow, Hanna the cat.) This picture was snapped about 3 seconds before Hanna scratched Michaela's face. Guess Hanna didn't want to play. Michaela was alright, though. Just a superficial wound. She didn't even cry. And it didn't stop her from trying to catch that cat!

Arizona Trip - Part 3

Last Thursday, we took my Grandma, Jennie Greenwall, to the Valley w/ us to have dinner w/ my 'little' brother, Pete Chavez, his girlfriend, Dominique, and her sweet little boy, David (23 months).

David and Pete

A good portion of our trip was spent driving. Here a few shots on the way back to my mom's house in the Globe-Miami area.

Hunter took this picture of me. That's my Grandma up in the front seat. (I swear I have more gray hair than she does!) I realize now I should have taken a picture of her this day w/ her hair done up. She didn't want me taking pictures of her in curlers - and who could blame her!

Michaela in a happy car moment.

We stopped in Superior for a potty break at the home of my great uncle and aunt, Karl & Donna McRae. Hunter kept asking about everyone "What are they to me?" We tried to explain that Uncle Karl was one of Grandma's younger brothers. That made them his great-great aunt and uncle. To which Donna quickly replied, "But you can just call me 'Aunt Donna'!"

While we were there, Hunter and Michaela loved playing w/ their dogs, Val and Itsy. (I think those were their names!) Both had had recent abdominal surgery, then had either chewed or scratched out their stitches, requiring a second trip to the vet for staples. Uncle Karl explained, "They had to put a lamp shade on Val so everyone could see how bright he was!" LOL!

Trip to Arizona - Part 2

If I was worried about my children being cooped up inside and tearing up my mother's house, my cousin Jennifer McAdams helped them burn off some energy last Wednesday! Jenny is the daughter of my mother's younger sister, Sarah. Hunter and Michaela used her as their personal jungle gym as she flipped and jumped them! Incidentally, Jennifer was in D.C. for the inauguration yesterday. What a once in a lifetime opportunity!

A little while later, my cousin Bethany Greenwall, youngest child of my Uncle Danny (one of my mom's three younger brothers) came over. Michaela liked the view from Bethany's arm and didn't want to let her go home! And watch out boys - this girl can handle a rifle! Bethany recently got her first deer.

At the risk of aging myself - I can hardly believe Bethany and Jennifer are seniors this year! I use to babysit them when I was in high school!

Trip to Arizona - Part 1

So, the kids and I just returned from a whirlwind trip to AZ to visit my family. Last Tuesday we were able to visit the home of my cousins, Chris and Rachel Greenwall, so Hunter and Michaela could play with their children (pictured left to right) Colby (5), Conner (7), Cade (3) and Ryleigh (standing, 19 months). Chris's dad, Kenneth Greenwall, is my mom's older brother. Rachel is my cousin by marriage - didn't want you all to get the wrong idea there about my family! (Does that make our children 3rd cousins, or 2nd cousins, once removed?) I am the oldest grandchild with Chris following 7 months behind. I attended the same high school w/ Chris our last two years and we worked together on the school newspaper w/ 3 other siblings/cousins!

The boys really hit it off and ran right out to the backyard to dig in the dirt and play around. We didn't get any pictures outside. With two little girls trying to chase after and do everything the boys were doing, Rachel and I spent most of our time playing spotter! After we came back in, the boys gave Hunter one of their V-tech games to play with so they could play w/ the V-tech camera he brought. Michaela and Ryleigh swapped dollies. Rachel has some better pictures if you want to check out her blog "Growing Up Greenwall".

Summer Dreamin'

I mentioned in the last post how hot-natured my husband and children are. I'm the exact opposite - extremely cold-natured. So, it's probably no surprise that winter is not my favorite season! But it's a sure thing that come mid-June, when I'm cursing the Mississippi humidity and mosquitoes, Allan will say "And you couldn't wait for summer?!"

It's probably a little harder for me this year because we have a new house and I have a new Christmas gift. Allan asked what I wanted for Christmas and I said "A composter." Allan said "No, seriously." "I am serious." "You are so weird!" (I'll post pictures of the composter later.) So, I'm envisioning piles of rich compost and the yummy veggies I'm hoping to grow come spring - as soon as I get this composting thing down!

In the meantime, here's a flashback of last year's gardening project:

The kids and I found some tomato plants at the Farmer's Market. On-line I found instructions for planting them upside down. I bought paint buckets at Lowe's and Allan drilled holes in the bottom. We fed a few inches of each plant through, then tucked in some newspaper around it. Then we filled with dirt, topped w/ the lid, and hung on the clothesline poles.

Michaela was so little!

Some liquid seaweed, epsom salts, eggshells, water, sunshine and a little patience . . .

Hunter was ready to pick our first tomato.

Look how big!

Yummy!

The Challenge

I absolutely love this picture! This is typical dinner time at our house these days. Michaela is at that stage where she can't sit still for any length of time to eat a meal. By the time everyone else has prepared their plates, she's ready to get down from her booster seat. Then, she circles the table. If she's not mooching something off Daddy's plate, she's sucking the salad dressing off of Mama's lettuce or finishing off what Hunter has left behind. Or as was the case this night, trying to steal Hunter's drink and pick at what he was still trying to eat!

So, the real challenge for me doing this blog is finding pictures of my children wearing clothing! I could blame it on them inheriting Daddy's tendency to be hot-blooded. But I suspect I might have contributed since I stripped them down at mealtimes as soon as they started solids. I try to justify it in my head, saying it's my own little contribution to the environment. You know - less chemicals for stain removal, less water washing dirty laundry. Truth be told, though - I just really hate trying to get stains out of the laundry! And if you keep reading this blog for any length of time, you'll probably see I already spend a fair amount of time trying to get grass and mud stains out of their clothes!

Christmas at Nana & Papa's, Milton, FL

Hunter eagerly waiting in the hallway Christmas morning. We insisted he had to put on shorts for the occasion!

Hunter dove right in!

Michaela was more concerned w/ why we weren't eating breakfast, yet! We got her some cheese crackers.

She was impressed, however, w/ the baby doll from Aunt Charity.

Later that night, she tried on her scrubs from Nana & Papa.

The next day, Hunter visited the Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola w/ Daddy & Papa.

In the afternoon, Mama decided he needed to burn off some energy in the backyard. After falling out of a tree because the limb he was hanging on was too small (it broke), Hunter decided to use the limb to make a fort. And yes, it was warm enough for shorts!

Christmas Eve 2008 - Bellingrath Gardens, Mobile, AL

We spent Christmas Eve looking at the lights at beautiful Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile, AL. At least it's beautiful at night! This was our second Christmas Eve there. We've never been during the day!

2008 Year in Review