Get away to Tucson

LOEWS VENTANA CANYON RESORT


Vanessa and I are headed off to a couple days of relaxation and self-improvement
{if you must call it that}

This place is beautiful! Can't wait to just sit back and reflect on life
{read a book, take a hike, get a massage- the possibilities are endless...}


I believe coming home we'll both feel a bit more relaxed and refreshed!

Sometimes an Appletini makes it all better... Most often you need at least 3 of these!

other times... you just need a shot of tequila!


Vanessa (friend from school- luv ya girl!) and I met up at half moon yesterday after I got off work. We are both using what we've been learning in school on each other- to work through our issues- it's a wonderful thing {I think} - wonder if we'll be any good at it! Guess time will tell-

Friendship

Night out after Martini Ranch


San Antonio- {0'dark 30} and no make-up


Ok- so I spilled a drink in Corpus


Seriously, I think there was a shark in the ocean and it wanted to eat us!

I miss AJ's and Kona Grill. I miss going to Safeway drunk and almost peeing my pants because we laugh so hard! I miss the beach and thinking there is a shark attacking me and Erika making fun of me {ok, maybe not really} but I miss vacations we spent together. I miss talking about everything and anything and understanding where the other is coming from. I miss the fact that she spits and I swallow {water people, water!}. I miss that we always talk about getting drunk but I order Ice Tea and she gets water with lemon.

Cute Boy!

My friend Nicole called this morning because her babysitter bailed out on her. So- I get to spend the day with her little boy - Brayden -


who I might add is absolutely adorable.

He is so much fun!!

Just thought I'd share a couple pics I took
{getting ready to watch CARS}

Massage- Tomorrow

Ok tomorrow is massage night! NORMA ROCKS!!! I swear she is the best and if you ever need an incredible massage therapist, I'll give you the number. 1-1/2 hours of relaxation- Can't wait!!

WAF

I love these girls

More than 500 thousand billion trillion long necks!

The girls are here-

The girls are spending the night tonight- It's been awhile and well,
there is nothing better than having them here!.

Tomorrow we are off for haircuts then to experience our first Cinco De Mayo festival! We'll soon be found in front of the television watching The Princess Diaries with yummy Pazookie, which was highly suggested by both girls- good thing I knew they'd be asking and picked up the ice cream on the way home!

Freedom Writers

Rent this movie-
You will not regret it!

It just proves that if you
care,
you can
make a difference.

Homework

1 A.M.

I absolutely LOVE school.... NOT!
I am just now finishing my paper that is due tomorrow night and honestly, I did not put it off 'til tonight. Just the majority of the assignment. If I did not procrastinate I think I would enjoy school. Or if I had an extra 24 hours!

- time to sleep...

Good Night!

Prayers needed

As I went through various blogs of scrapbooking friends, I came across a friend whose younger sister has a 3-year-old daughter with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Not only is she facing this, her husband passed away last Oct. with Leukemia.

This is a taste of reality. When we believe our lives are at their worst- we should just be thankful for what we have.

Please, please, keep this little girl, Sami, in your prayers along with her mother and their family.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! Well the girls got their share of baskets, the Easter bunny (of course), Grandma Karen, and myself. I went out to see the girls in the morning and spent most of the afternoon with them. It amazes me how big they are getting. They are really such incredible girls! The above are the baskets I made up for each of them.


This I would have to say is probably one of my favorite photos of Faith... Look at that little wrinkle in her nose!


And Morgan... has a beautiful smile. She is growing up so quickly.



They always seem to refuse to take pictures together but I managed to get one of each with their Easter bunnies.


Finally the 3 of us. We hung out in Morgan's room and seriously trying to get a photo of the three of us is quite impossible. Morgan usually does not like to have her picture taken. Faith would take any camera she could get her hands on and take pictures of anything possible. Me, I hate being in photos so here you have it... the 3 of us taking a picture of ourselves! Someday Faith might kill me because of the lovely nose shot, but hey, she's 7, she doesn't care about those things yet!

Morgan and Faith

I just had to say... I absolutely LOVE these kids- More than 50 billion, trillon longnecks (dinoasaurs for those of you who are questioning that one!)

This photo was taken in October '04 after Race for the Cure. They have grown so much and I have loved every minute of being a part of their lives.

I received this email and it's just a reminder to say a daily prayer for our troops!

'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.'

Wildlife Zoo

Morgan (9), Nikkolina (8), Faith (7), and Haley (10)

I took Morgan, Faith, Haley, and Nik to the Wildlife Zoo clear across the world to Litchfield Park. It is so much fun to take all 4 girls together. They are all really great and get along so well. You would think 4 kids would be crazy but it is pretty simple and fun. We saw all kinds of animals and I think what the girls will remember the most is the fact there was a boa constrictor (yep, a SNAKE) that did not have a class to cage it in. I, of course, told them I would meet them at the exit door as they kept telling me there was no glass. How they even got me into the snake exhibit in the first place is beyond my belief! The girls also had a great time petting Llama's, goats, and baby deer.

After we left the zoo we stopped for pizza. We were all starved by the end of the day and then the long trek back home. The girls each wrote Edward a letter and our last stop was The Sportsman's where we purchased a ton of hand warmers for Edward and the girls picked out treats to send to him. I am looking forward to our next venture together!

President's Day

The girls spent the night last weekend and our BIG plan was to go to the Wildlife Zoo on Monday for President's Day. Well, guess what! It rained!!! Yep, here in beautiful Arizona, it rained. Needless to say, the girls were not happy and told me over and over they did not care. I suggested that they stand outside in the rain for 5 minutes and then let me know. They decided at that point my suggestion of going to the zoo this coming weekend might be a better decision.

So instead of the zoo we went to the mall where they each picked out a stuffed animal from the Disney store and then we headed off to As You Wish to paint little animal figurines. I included a few pictures that I took. It was a great day!

My father in China

My father went to China and Korea for a few weeks and after he came back I realized... I'm a complete idiot! Do you know that you can get a COACH purse in Korea for CHEAP???
ok, ok.. he said he had a great time but is not planning on moving there! YAY!! Here is a photo he sent me of the Great Wall of China.

#204

I stopped at Starbucks on my way to work and read this.... it's a good one!
The Way I See IT #204
Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure. Never forget your Personal Legend. Never forget your dreams. Your silent heart will guide you. Be silent now. It is the possibility of a dream that makes life interesting. You can choose between being a victim of destiny or an adventurer who is fighting for something important.
~~Paulo Coelho

Yo-Yo Champion

So this weekend Morgan and I were having a little discussion. I asked if she ever wanted to run a race. She hesitated at answering and so I continued asking if she thought it would be cool to say she ran a mile. She said "I'd rather be a yo-yo champion or a horse riding champion"!

Someone want to explain to me where she comes up with the yo-yo champion???

It makes me laugh and I remember the time Paula and I were driving past Mesa High School. There was a band competition going on and Paula told me she would go to it if I was not with her. I told her we could stop if she really wanted and she said no. I just laughed!

Ok... Ok... so Morgan is Paula's daughter... hence the yo-yo champion!

I just had to share this with you because it was absolutely adorable.

Oh.. and PS- apparently ask Stac about his past as a yo-yo champion!

Christmas Eve

We celebrated Christmas Eve at the Christensen house. Stac and the girls were there, Karen and Mel, and I brought my mom, and Erika. Stac made chili and Karen made oyster stew. This is their traditional Christmas Eve dinner. The girls got to open a few gifts and we also went to a candle light church service.

Christmas Program

The girls had a Christmas program at church and the both did a fabulous job! Faith actually got up and participated this year! Here are a couple of photos after the concert.