A few highlights from the past weeks...

Well, I'm hesitant to call this a Thanksgiving post, since we're so close to Christmas now. But I never posted anything about it, and I have some borrowed pictures I could share (my camera is still broken -- hoping Santa brings me one for Christmas!)

So, I'll just share what's been going on these past few weeks starting with Thanksgiving:

We got to spend it this year with my family in Buckeye. My sister, Cristeen and her husband, Rob, were there and also my sister, Sandy and her family. It was fun! Roy brought his motorbike, and we took some turns riding it. I rode with Jim the first time, and was kind of nervous -- all I kept thinking was if we crashed, it would really hurt. I tried it on my own once after Cristeen did, and afterwards decided not to do that again. I was driving on a dirt road, but slowed down as a car was coming in the opposite direction, and got a little too slow and fishtailed a bit or something -- anyway, it scared me; I was done. I guess I'm a big chicken -- oh well.

Anyway, we played lots of board games -- well, mostly Settlers, for me. I kept trying to win a game, and ended up playing 6 games in 2 days with no win -- pretty pathetic.

Here's some pics I took with my dad's camera:


Kate & Brynna asked my mom to teach them how to crochet, so she did. Kate learned after a frustrating hour or so, and can still crochet a chain even now. Brynna didn't quite catch on yet, but I told them that I still can't do it, and I think I've been taught a few times over the years... So here's Grandma with the kids showing them how to crochet.


Kira with Grandma's homemade playdough: she said she made "snakes eating cookies together". I thought it was cute -- that's just what it looks like!


Lissy in the toy corner.


A cute picture of Cristeen and Rob.


Jaron on the motorbike, and various kids milling around. It was a lovely evening.


Kids playing in the irrigation ditch with Uncle Rob watching.


Kids out in the field by Grandma's house playing.


The week after Thanksgiving, Jim had knee replacement surgery in Flagstaff. He just had his hip done this past March, and so he's back on crutches again, but doing really well. He doesn't complain much, and was up walking around (with crutches) by the next day. He's been an easier patient to nurse this time :) -- well, I haven't had to do much; he tries hard to not be a burden for me -- which he's not -- it's been a lot easier this time around. (Well, for me anyway -- of course, Jim has to deal with a lot of pain and uncomfortableness, but like I said, he really doesn't complain a whole lot -- which is nice :) ).

Let's see: oh yeah, Kira's birthday is tomorrow! 5 years old! We actually let her open her presents today, thinking we were going to celebrate it with cake & ice cream tonight at Grandma's. But then I remembered that I forgot to buy ice cream yesterday, and so we rescheduled it for Monday, then remembered again that we have something going on Monday night that we can't get out of, and so will celebrate it with cake & ice cream on Tuesday night. So bad, but Kira didn't complain -- I guess the presents are the most important part anyway...

Here's some cute pics of Kira over the years -- I just love her baby pictures, because she had so much dark hair, and these big bright blue eyes. She was my earliest talker -- by 20 months she was talking in sentences and even dressing herself. And she has never stopped talking! She was my first not shy girl who just chatters all day long. I am not a talker, so sometimes I find it a bit much, but she's a bright spot in our family, and we love her! Happy Birthday Kira!!


Here she is just a few days old.


2 months old


4 months old


At 8 months. I love this picture -- her eyes are so bright and sparkly. Which reminds me: she was my most alert newborn also, just staring at me that first day I held her, like she was memorizing my face. I just fell in love with her. :)


11 months old -- I love this picture, too.


20 months old


She's almost 3 in this picture, but I think she looks a lot like she does now, except with longer hair. Doesn't she have the best smile?