Here a cousin, there a cousin,

Everywhere a cousin, cousin

(the traditional "all the cousins on the stairs" shot)

There are 30 1st cousins on the Arroyo side ranging in age from 25 down to 5 months which makes for one loud and fun holiday!

(Here they all are minus Jim's 5 kids)

And here is the whole gang!

El Paso Thanksgiving 2009 by the numbers

7 tanks of gas

36 hrs in the car (there & back)

7 days

41 mouths to feed

2 turkeys

1 grandma

1 grandpa

8 uncles

6 aunts

25 cousins

1 dog

from 4 states

10 Homemade Danish Krinkle eaten

279 baptisms done at the Albuquerque Temple

1 trip to Chicos Tacos

3 trips to Taco Cabana

Tons of fun

Lots of laughs and memories

Hope your turkey was this good!

Have a great Day!

Surprise!!!

Addison went all day Saturday wondering if we were doing anything or not for her birthday! And even though she claims Anna Banana spilt the beans and that she knew, it did not stop her from telling tan the man that she was going to forget my birthday on purpose. So I believe we surprised her even though she will never admit it. Still can't believe my babycakes is 15 and almost grown. She is truly a unique girl. I love her and am very proud she is my daughter.

SURPRISE!!

Make a Wish! I Wish for friends & Cash!

Wishes Granted!

New Moon Mania

I hope everyone had a great new moon weekend! As for me and my mom, we loved it. (must admit we saw it Friday and then again on Saturday) Yes we are grown women and as I felt myself swoon like a schoolgirl when Jake took his shirt off, I thought to myself "This just cannot be healthy, I am old enough to be his mother." And while Bella may not be into the "cougar" thing, if I weren't happily married I could be into the Cougar thing if the right werewolf crossed my path. Now my mom on the other hand is 100% devoted to a 109 year old vampire. Nothing weird about that!

And yes we bought the collector's cups. Edward for Carolyn, Jacob for Miriam.

Happy Birthday Addison!

15 and life to go!

Happy New Moon Day!

Happy New Moon Day!

Cheery and Bright

This is what insanity looks like at my house right now.

How did I get myself into glittering and wrapping 50 styrofoam lollipop ornaments for anna banana's first grade class????

I really need to learn to shut my mouth.

(these ornaments really are cute)

fyi anna banana's class painted these for a community christmas tree they are decorating and it will be on display at Ashley's furniture store beginning tomorrow.

(I am thinking about getting my kids to do some for a small tree for my house.)

Missing it already

the cold has arrived,

i will miss

the sun

and the water

for the next few months.

Opposite ends of the Gene Pool

I love both my sons. But I am not sure my 2 boys could be any more different.

First there are the physical differences:

Jono: blond, and tan.

Tan the man: not blond and not so tan.

Then we have personality traits:

Jono is loud, carefree, slightly reckless, sarcastic, athletic. His presence is always known. Jonathan lives for today and deals with consequences as they come.

Then there is Tan the man. Quiet, reserved, serious, literal, studious. He is happy to lay back and let someone else be center stage. Tan the man is a planner. He thinks through everything and makes cautious decisions.

I tell you what, if it weren't for their blue eyes and enthusiasm for video games and reading, I might not ever guess they were related. Although there is that small detail that I birthed both of them that reminds they are brothers.

Jono age 19

Tan the Man age 11.9

Constant Motion

This weekend, I took family pics for a really fun family, the Smith's. These kids put my skills to the test. They were busting at the seams with personality. Addison babysits for them and boy does she earn her $$$ with them. They recently moved here from Kentucky so we did a few pics under the H'Burg sign so their friends and family can remember where they are. Hope they enjoy these.

.

Obessesion

I am going to make a shocking confession right here on the world wide web for everyone to see. I am having a love affair. . .

with my camera that is!

I am obsessed with it. I carry it everywhere in hopes of finding someone to take a picture of. My daughter is fully aware of my obsession and provided me with a group of her friends this weekend for a photo shoot. The girls really had alot of fun. And I got to put my skills to work.(Although when they started climbing on the train cars I was afraid I would get arrested for trespassing)

I am not a professional photographer but I love love love taking pictures and capturing people's personalities. On this particular afternoon they all wanted to look like clothing store models.

I Love these Southern Girls!

How I spend my Sunday's

Ross and I are Sunbeam Teachers. That means each Sunday we get to spend 2 hours with 11 rowdy, rambunctious 4 year olds. We attempt to teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as the cliche goes, we are learning a whole lot more about the Savior's love for us from these little cuties than they are learning from us.

Of coarse the day I bring my camera, half our class is out. So this is half of our happy little bunch. Cute, YES. Happy, YES. Full of non-stop never ending energy, ABSOLUTELY.

(between you and me, I think their parents really sugar them up before they send them to us because they never stop!)

Retro? Already?

I walked into a store the other day, "Claire's Boutique", a store I remember shopping at as a pre-teen for all my cool 80's accessories. I found some of those same cool accessories are still around. I tell the Anna Banana "Oh I used to wear these when I was a little girl. I had one in every color!" Then the sales clerk walks by and says "Isn't our new retro line FUN!"

HUH?. . .

EXCUSE ME?. . .

WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?. . .

At what point did my childhood become RETRO?

Someone please tell me because, clearly, I missed the memo.

Needless to say we bought one in every color