A Thanksgiving to remember...

Thanksgiving 2009 was a great one... great company, great food and a great weekend relaxing with our family. We welcomed Hannah's family for the big meal this year. She is still undergoing chemotherapy and was in town receiving treatment all week, so what better way to celebrate all we're thankful for than with Hannah and her incredible family? It was great fun, as it is always with them. We have lots in common and always enjoy time with them. Before the big meal began, Rob brined and smoked a turkey on our grill. Here's the beautiful result:

What's an Arizona Thanksgiving without the meal on the patio? Here's the "kiddie table" -
Lilly, Hannah, Sam (Hannah's cousin) and Claire.

Belle wanted to be part of the meal also. Whenever anyone returned to the kitchen to refill their plate, Belle hopped in their chair. Here's the sneaky pup trying to pilfer a morsel or two...

And of course, what Thanksgiving weekend isn't complete without decorating the house for Christmas? On Thanksgiving morning, Lilly asked Rob if it was time to put up the tree- a girl after my own heart. She was very excited when the Christmas decor was hauled out of the many storage places throughout the house. Before she went to bed she asked if Santa was coming already. We'll have to wait on that, Lilly. Patience, my dear. Here's Lilly just after we finished the tree.

Rob was thrilled, of course, to hang lights on the house. Lilly and Claire thought it was cool to see Dad on the roof. Here's the crew just after the process began...

Since the weather was so nice, the girls took turns taking rides with Hannah in her Escalade. Here's Hannah and Claire. For some reason the girls always tune to mariachi music when riding in the Escalade. Who knows.

Saturday we enjoyed an evening with the Michie family. Lilly calls the twins "the boys," but Claire was more than eager to have her photo with them instead. Here's Tyson, Claire and Trent.

We ended the weekend with a lazy Sunday... stayed home for most of the day and played, watched football, read books and played some more. Here's the girls and Rob as they watched themselves dance in the elf video (see older post) over and over and over and over again. At the conclusion of each dance Lilly quickly proclaimed, "Again!"

We hope your Thanksgiving was a wonderful time spent with those you love most.

And now, let the Christmas season begin!!!

November highlights

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and before we know it December will be here. With the excitement of turkey day and the looming "holiday" of black Friday, I though I'd better post more photos before the month ends. I have just finished baking a multitude of goodies for the "big meal" tomorrow and have a few minutes to spare.  

First- Lilly and Hannah once again find fun in everything they do. On this day oranges made the lunch menu. The girls had play time in mind instead. Say, "orange?"

The weather has been absolutely beautiful outside- 70's and sunny. This makes great play weather and a good opportunity for Claire to practice her swinging skills. In this photo, Claire tries to perfect Superman's flight, with the support of the swing, of course.

Lilly still loves to help in the kitchen. Every time I use the stove she climbs in the pantry and hauls out her little step-stool. She knows touching the stove could lead to burns which could lead to a trip to the hospital- or at least she is trying to learn these concepts. During this cooking session Lilly utilized her problem solving skills. Instead of worrying about touching a hot stove, she simply went to her room and put on her mittens. That way, she could stir the noodles. Smart girl. You can see her pink mitten behind her back if you look closely.

Lilly's preschool held a Thanksgiving feast this week. Here's pilgrim Lilly-

A local tradition is to visit Zoo Lights at the Phoenix Zoo each Christmas season. Since the lights officially "turn on" for the public Thanksgiving evening, those who have zoo memberships were able to take a sneak peek all this week. Of course we took advantage of fewer crowds and free carousel rides. Did someone say carousel?

And here's another one just because it's cute...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Food Drive - a good start

This year I tried something for the first time with some of my students. All semester they have pleaded for extra credit, so we began a food drive as a way  to earn extra points. In my main online class there are approximately 150 students. With one week's notice, more than half of the class donated 1147 pounds of food to local food banks... simply amazing!

Here's a photo of one eager student just as the class finished filling my car with food. This was donation #1 which equaled 749 pounds...

Here's a photo of the same food on the scales at the food bank in Mesa:

It's amazing how much of a difference a small group can make. The food bank estimated we provided enough food for almost 840 meals. Next semester... let's double it!

All done!

It was a monumental day, one I've been working for for over 3 1/2 years. The long process of my doctoral degree pretty much ended yesterday at my doctoral defense. For almost 3 hours, I presented my research and answered questions to my committee. It reminded me of my Master's thesis defense, but it was more intense. Rob and my dear friend Natalie were there for support, and I very much appreciated it. Throughout this entire process I was sincerely blessed to have the most amazing advisor who eventually became my dissertation chair, Dr. Luna. She reminds me lots of Dr. Canter from my undergrad program and Dr. Penner my Master's major professor- all strong women who are gifts to their profession. My defense was a success and was invigorating for me to once again become excited about the research that has been at the forefront of my life for the past year. At the end of the day, my chair told me my dissertation was being nominated for a state-wide award. She also asked me if I would be interested in teaching for the university part-time in the fall. What a great honor to top off an already unbelievable day. The entire experience was more than I could have hoped for. Thank you especially to Rob and Natalie for being there for me. I know that many of you were there in spirit, and I thank you. 

Here's a photo of Dr. Luna and me..

So now what? Hmmm... let me get my list.

Holiday Spirit... Already

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Giraffe Encounter

This morning we had an interesting encounter- a giraffe encounter at the zoo. We took advantage of the beautiful 65 degree weather to visit our animal friends.  The purpose of going early was to take part in the giraffe feeding. Here's our family photo with the giraffe- he looks like he's about to eat Claire for breakfast.

They ate romaine lettuce and special pellet nuggets right from Lilly and Claire's hands. Here's a close-up with Mr. Giraffe and Lilly:

What a neat experience! We will have to try that again.

The girls also had a great time watching the tiger and lions. Here's a view of the girls trying to take a peek at Mr. Tiger while he cruised his enclosure.

As always, the zoo adventure ends with a spin around the carousel. This always brings the best smiles from both girls. Today Lilly chose to ride the zebra, and Claire defaulted to the jackrabbit.

We hope you had a great weekend too!

Park Day

Today we (Claire and I) accompanied Lilly to the park for a preschool field trip. 

Claire agrees it was a great time. I thought you'd enjoy seeing a few photos of the girls playing.

The weather was beautiful today- overcast and 75 degrees - perfection.

The hours at the park equated to a long nap for each of the girls this afternoon; which means I was able to get lots of work done. Keep in mind my dissertation defense is next week... oh my... the end is near.

What's a trip to the park without a visit with the ducks? Lilly is in the striped shirt- the only student whose mom forgot to dress them in their blue field trip shirt. Oops.

Come on Claire... down you go! Claire gets a little push from Sister.

And here's one more of Claire just because it's cute. 

Have a great weekend!!