A storm's a brewin'

When you think of Arizona you probably think of "sun"and then "dry heat" but mostly sun, right? And that's usually the case for the majority of the year... but not this week.

We've enjoyed overcast skies all week and are expecting daily rain until the weekend thanks to a storm brewing in the Pacific. It's not normal for large storm clouds to hover around our home, so when they creep by, we take notice! Having grown up in tornado alley, Arizona's "mild" storm climate is rather boring. I guess I became overly excited this afternoon when I looked outside and noticed this gray clump creeping in...

Bring on the rain... let's give our sump pumps a workout this week. :)

Disney on Ice-

Last Friday Shelly and I took Hannah and Lilly to see Disney on Ice...what a treat! We saw pretty fancy ice skating and great entertainment, of course. The lineup included Tinkerbell and the fairies of Pixie Hollow, the gang from Cars, the Lion King, and Ariel and friends. The show lasted two hours- during which Lilly stared in awe the ENTIRE time; she didn't miss a beat.
Here's everyone's favorite: Mater and Lightening McQueen. The literally drove all around the ice with the other crew from Cars.

Best Friends: Lilly and Hannah at intermission. Lilly looks huge in this photo, but it's just the camera angle. Also, notice little Hannah is losing her hair again. Her latest round of chemotherapy is working! Praise God! MRI results this morning showed the brain tumor is responding to the treatment. Please keep praying for Hannah!!

Here's one of Hannah enjoying herself during the show...

On a different day, we went to one of our favorite pizza places for dinner. Hannah accompanied us, of course. Here's the BFF pair cheesing it up for the camera..

And of course little Claire is always up for dinner out-HA! Here she is being a cheeseball just before she decided to pitch a fit in the restaurant. Gotta love trying to eat out with the kiddos!

Typical January Day

Each winter I'm reminded why I love the desert. While the rest of the country tries to stay warm, we bask in the warm sunshine. As I type, the thermometer on my patio reads 77 degrees. Summer is a different story, of course, but let's focus on the positive for now...

We spent quite a bit of time this afternoon playing outside without shoes or jackets... just enjoying the weather and the slightly overcast skies. We had one monster of a rain storm last night, but that didn't dampen the yard by the time we went outside to swing. 

Claire loves to swing on her tummy. Yippee!!

Lilly still loves the baby swing. I personally think she just enjoys the acrobatic moves she uses to climb into the thing. But, just the same, she loves to swing outside, especially when I push the swing "high, high, higher, mom!"

We hope your January days are just as sunny and bright!

Adventure to Disneyland

What better way to celebrate 2010 than with a visit to Disneyland? One advantage of living where we do is the close proximity to California- Disneyland being one huge perk. We took the girls for their first Disney experience, and boy was it a hit! Once we checked in to the Disneyland Hotel, the Magic Kingdom was out first stop... It's a Small World, to be exact. Here we are on the monorail on our way to Tomorrowland...

All decked out for Christmas, the girls were in total awe of the many dolls singing Christmas carols. Here's the pair eagerly awaiting their turn to board the Small World boat...

We had the exciting experience of eating dinner with the Disney Princesses. Each one stopped at our table. Of course Aurora (Lilly) and Belle (Claire) had to wear their princess dresses too...

Almost every ride in Fantasyland was a hit with the girls, especially Dumbo...

Claire was in awe on almost every ride. This photo captures the genuinely magical smile that followed her for most of the weekend...

And of course, what's a trip to Disneyland without a ride in a giant teacup?

The pink one is the best, of course, according to Lilly.

 Pixie Hollow was abound with fairies... here's the most famous one, Tinkerbell:

Princess and the Frog is showing in theaters, so Princess Tiana was everywhere. Since we saw the movie with Hannah a few weeks ago, Lilly was excited to see Tiana and Naveen in person. On the banks of the lake, we had a front row view of Tiana's Showboat Jubilee aboard the paddle boat... what a great show!

We made it home safe and sound. Once we arrived, Lilly quickly expressed she'd like to go back to the hotel, of course.  Hopefully we will return to Disneyland sometime soon... it was fun for all! 

Happy 2010 everyone!