Super Fun Time!

We had a blast with Tammy and the kids! We were so sad to see them go. We look forward to seeing them again soon! Araya loves horses. It was so hot outside, we didn't spend as much time outside with Papa's horse as Araya would have liked. I'm sure she loved every minute outside!
Aunt Tammy bought some play-dough. That is one thing I have never been fond of my kids playing with. I just worry about it getting in the carpet. Good thing we were at Nana's and the Grand kids can do what they want!

Mason was such a hoot! I'd take a picture of us, then show him the picture. He wanted more and more! I have over 10 pictures of me and Mason just messing around.

Nana and Araya got some snuggle time! My mom got Araya that blanket when she was first born or really little. She loves her blanket, and her Nana!

We took walks down to Uncle Will's house! It's really coming along and starting to look like a house. He showed us the cabinets, tile, carpet, and granite he picked out. While we were down the doors and windows were installed. I'm so jealous, my little brother has a better house than me!! He has excellent taste too. He walked us through and gave us the tour. Who ever marries him is going to be so spoiled in this house! The master bedroom has his/her closets! I want that. There are some really super cool features like a two shower head shower, no cabinets on the bottom in the kitchen only pull out drawers in different sizes, just to name a few. Awesome!!

Uncle Will rocks! I was holding Mason and he wanted his Uncle Will. I got the shaft and Will got snuggles from Mason. When ever Will left Araya would get a sad face and say her Will went home. So cute!

It was hot. That calls for more pool time! The kids had a blast, my camera got wet but it's fine, and Papa's garage got flooded. The kids slept great every night because they played hard all day every day!

Mason warmed up to me pretty quick. I was so happy holding and playing with that little guy! I had so much fun. I cannot wait to see him again. I think by the end of the week he was pretty sick of me scooping him up and covering him with kisses and carrying him around. I got my baby fix!

Nana loved, loved, loved seeing the grand kids!

Papa was in heaven. We all missed the Montana Stanley's, I'm so happy they came for a visit!

The girls had such a good time! They keep asking when were going to see their cousins again. We'll get to see Uncle James in July. I'm keeping my eye on plane ticket prices, we need to go visit. Soon!!

The Montana Stanley's have arrived!!

Tammy and the kids came to visit! First they went over to El Paso for a week to visit with James, then they headed to Benson to visit with the rest of us! We're so excited they're here. We left for Benson on Wednesday to go and see them. Alex was up at 5 AM because she was so excited to go and play with Araya . Mason is so cute. He's warming up to me, I love holding him. Tammy always sends him my way. I'm glad she knows how to share what matters most. I love all the snuggle time I get with these kiddos! Papa is in heaven having all his grand kids under one roof with him. Last night Papa was even on the floor on his hands and knees playing with them.

In Montana it's cold and rainy right now and 60 degrees. Here, it's been the hottest week of the year so far. They picked a great time to visit. We've had fun, we just stay inside where it's cool and visit. Then when the sun sets we play outside in the pool in papas garage or we go for walks!

The girls are having a blast with their cousins. I'm having fun visiting with Tammy. She's a great cook and Mom. We came home today to get our laundry done and do some things around the house (yes, blogging is a must). We're headed back to Papas this afternoon to visit until Sunday. We've had so much fun so far. It's going to be hard to say goodbye. I guess that means we'll just have to hop on a plane to Montana and go visit!

Fun in the Summer!

The girls decided that today would be a great day to finger paint. Thanks to Aunt Judy (Aunt Debbie's sister) they have a huge bag of craft things to keep them busy. They were busy for hours! While they painted I worked on the front yard, our storage room, and changed the living room furniture around! It's amazing what I can accomplish when they're busy. Thanks Aunt Judy!
My newest addiction (pillowcases) can also make super cute skirts! Here are a few that I whipped out. The girls wore these to church on Father's Day.

Next to make using this same method.....curtains! Stay tuned for more fun in the summer projects!

Father's Day!

We went to visit with my Dad after sacrament on Sunday. We barbecued some chicken and corn on the cob and had a salad to go with it. Mom made a cake and an apple pie. It was a pretty mellow party for a Stanley shin dig but we had a great time visiting. Like the pin my Dad is wearing? Yeah that came from his favorite daughter! We missed James and Tammy and the kids but I love getting together with my family! Uncle Will wasn't feeling to well so we kept the noise level to a dull roar this go around.
The best part of being at Dad's is of course seeing my baby. Bonzo cat! We've had this cat since 1993 if you can believe that! I wonder who made that super cute kitty blanket she's comfy cozy on?.....Oh yeah, it was me!

We headed home about 5:00 PM and this is what the highway between Tombstone and Bisbee looked like. It was smoke from the Monument Fire. Sunday we had 60 MPH wind gusts and this monster of a fire blew up.

The smoke was unbelievable! I think there were 14 homes lost that day and 3 restaurants that I know of. This has been one heck of a fire fight for the fire fighters.

This is what the fire looked like that night! Out of control and huge! We're prepared to evacuate just in case, hopefully it won't come to that.

I can't wait for the monsoons to start. It may be humid and sticky and hot and miserable, but anything is better than this!

Happy Father's Day to all our Dads. We love you guys and hope you had a terrific day!

Father of the year award winner!

This year, for once, I let the girls pick their own gifts for their Dad. I gave no opinions or input, the only thing I did was take them shopping and pay. So what exactly did Dad get this year? Well, Alex gave him a camo Snuggie (just want he wanted believe me), and Sydney got him a pillow pet, the red ladybug he's laying on. He was very excited when he opened his gifts. The girls really thought he would like these. When we were at Grandma's last time Clay borrowed Sydney's pillow pet two nights in a row for a pillow. Of course he needs his very own! Alex caught her Dad using her snuggie one morning, so once again he should have his own right? He was a real sport when it came to the gratitude department. He gave them both great big hugs and kisses and used his gifts right away. I got him a Go Pro HD video camera but I think he liked the girls gifts more. I hope all Dad's have a great Father's Day, ecspecially ours! We love you Daddy/Husband!!I bet you can't wait to see what the Grandpa's get tomorrow, huh??

My newest addiction...

Yes, it's true. I get highly addicted to certain things very fast. Just yesterday a friend showed me how to sew these amazingly easy pillowcases. This pillowcase is going to match the quilt I'm making for Clay (maybe I'll get it done by Christmas). This pillowcase has a french seam (finished inside seams). I'm also going to make curtains using this pillowcase method. The achievement day girls are coming to my house next week to make skirts using the pillowcase method. I'm hooked. We'll all be sleeping on new pillow cases tonight!

Pray

WE WILL BE
PRAYING

FOR

RAIN.....

like always.

Tennis begins!

One of my favorite things of summer.....GRILLING! We have quickly become hooked on grilling. On this particular day we had grilled chicken, Angus hot dogs, and corn on the cob. We also had a yummy salad to go with it. The kids are hooked as well, they often ask if we can have salad for dinner and they LOVE when Dad cooks on the grill. They always offer to entertain him while he is outside. They do tricks on the trampoline and ride their bikes and catch and hold chickens. I love Clay's shirt, this is his cookout shirt. To me his shirt says Relax and go to the beach. A perfect summer shirt! Today was the first day of Tennis lessons for the girls. They were so excited they couldn't go to sleep. Sydney came in my room last night at close to midnight and said she was having a hard time sleeping. She was a little tired and grouchy this morning but had a great time at tennis.
We got up early, put our hats on, put on our sunscreens and we were out the door. The lessons are free. Everyone that comes gets a racket and a ball to take home for the summer to practise with at home. At the end of the session they have to turn them back in. They also get a canvas bag and a hat to keep.

There was a great turn out today. The lessons are for kids 10 and under. I knew lots of the kids from school. The girls both have lots of friends their age from school on their team. They were split into teams by age.

There was lots of exercising, running, hitting balls, chasing balls, drinking water, bathroom breaks, and sweating. The girls wanted to stay afterwards and practice some more. It was really hot out and I was ready to go home but we stayed!

One of our good friends, Madison, was there along with two of her brothers. Sydney got to be partners with Madison and had a really good time. What a great summer activity for the kids, and it's all free!!

Too Close to home!

Here is a picture of the Monument Fire burning South of Sierra Vista. It's way to close to home. It's very close to the cave that we love to hike to. We were out back tonight watching in the dark and silence as the smoke rose and fire burned. It was very sad.

Relaxation

I'm following my doctors orders. I'm supposed to get plenty of rest, take a vacation from house work and RELAX. So I was on the couch relaxing with my eyes closed when the thought occurred to me, I should make me a new quilt to get cozy with. That way if any visitors come they won't notice my bloody eye or my looks since I can't wear makeup yet, they'll just notice my super cute quilt.
Mission accomplished! I finished it just in time for my afternoon nap!

I'm off to close my eyes for awhile a follow my doctors orders! I can't remember if I mentioned this little fact or not..... but,

I LOVE SUMMER!

The tale of the NOT so crooked eye!

Just a warning, a lot of these pictures are gross (in the ugly sense). I was terrified while at the surgery center. We arrived early because you know me, worry worry worry. I got all checked in and paid for everything. The lady at the front desk sent me back to my seat with a copy of the anesthesia policy to look over. I would sign the real copy going in. Yeah, it was scary. It talked about tubes going down my throat, heart failure, and countless other worries. I wanted to run out the door screaming but Clay was with me so I swallowed my fear and in I went. I cried, I was so scared. Clay hates it when I cry but this time I couldn't help it. They asked a million questions. When was your last period......UM maybe 3 or 4 years ago. WHY? they ask. Good question. I see you're diabetic right because you're taking Metformin........UM no it's for infertility. WHY? Good question. After all the questions I got undressed and hooked up to the I.V. This lady was the best I.V. person ever. I didn't feel a thing. About twenty minutes later they gave me a shot of Valium to relax me and off I went to the O.R. They asked me something but I can't remember what it was, then I was out. As I was waking up I noticed my bed sheets were a wreck, needing to worry about something I asked why. Shannon (the terrific nurse) said I woke up like a boxer and four people had to hold me down. News to me. My throat was sore so I guess I had a tube rammed down it. I was thirsty. There was a really annoying alarm that kept going off and every time it did someone would rush over and tell me to breathe. I wasn't very happy about that. Clay said I kept saying I wasn't a wuss and I wasn't going to cry or I would cry blood. I didn't cry. I did however talk a lot about our chickens and how worried I was that they might be hot according to Clay. Again, news to me!
I slept the majority of the way home. When I got home and took off my sunglasses I was a hot bloody mess. My mom helped me clean up, eat a cracker or two, take some Tylenol with Codeine and helped get into bed. The next day I was hurting. I have no idea what happened when I was under but I couldn't move, breathe, laugh, or cry! I hurt everywhere. My head, my neck, my throat, my chest, my stomach, my ribs. Funny, my eye hasn't really hurt at all. I was in pain but the girls were taken care of, Clay was fed, and my house was clean, and my laundry was done (Thank you Mom) so it wasn't really that bad.

The girls were happy and full. Nana made them awesome breakfasts, took them to the mall, to the bookstore, to the play place, for walks. They were so happy. Since she has been gone they've had no fun a all! One of my good friends from our ward came and got the girls yesterday to play, they were so excited and so ready to get out of the house. I slept the whole time they were gone. Then this amazing lady (Camilee Nelson)brings them home with two nights worth of dinners for the family. Yeah, now I cried. No blood. Then today she picks them up for the summer reading program at the library, brings them home to change their shoes, and as of right now they are still playing at her house. I hate asking for help but this is just what I needed. I'm sick of sitting at home as well, glad the girls are having fun!

I had a follow up appointment in Tucson on Monday morning. Everything looks great he said. I'm grounded to my house if it's windy and I can't lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk for three weeks. Vacuuming and raking are out of the question. I do nothing but sleep. I'm over it, I want to go out and play!

I check every day in the mirror to make sure my eye is still straight. A little bloody but so much better than it was. Compared to how I looked after surgery in fifth grade, this is as bloody as it gets. I'm so thankful for my wonderful doctor, my awesome family, and all the love and support that has been shown to me. The kids at school better watch out. Not only do I know their names but now I can look them straight in the eyes and demand an answer!!

I love my new straight eyeballs!