Let's Ride!

It sure is nice to have generous connections.  Curtis has played early morning basketball with a great group of guys for the last 5 years.  His favorite ball buddy has several horses and he loves to share them with people. Lucky us!

It was so fun to go for a group ride.  Nathan and Bracken shared a horse name Grandma and Marco rode along with Kurt.  Curtis and I had our own horses and I really enjoyed being back in the saddle.  We rode around his property and the surrounding dessert while the sun set.  The air was chilly but the view was breathtaking.

Before heading home Kurt gave us a wagon ride around the neighborhood so we could see come Christmas Lights.  We felt like we were in a horse drawn sleigh, because he added jingle bells to the horses's harness.  Thank you Kurt for a wonderful evening!

Fiesta Lip Sync

Our ward had a Christmas Fiesta complete with a lip sync program and our little family prepared a number for everyone's viewing pleasure.  We had  blast preparing for this act.  We picked a song we love and know so the boys were able to get in on the fun too.  During our practices at home everyone had a part and danced around but when it came to showtime our little Bracky froze with stage fright and refused to leave our table.  He was dressed in his cowboy gear complete with his stick horse and his awesome ,one of a kind moves were greatly missed, maybe next year he'll be game.  Marco went along with us but insisted on being held.  This recording is long and we haven't taken the time to edit it any so feel free to skip to the good parts.  Enjoy!

Tis' The Season

Every year we have missed the downtown Prescott court house lighting for one reason or another and we were determined to make it happen this year.  And we almost did.  We were driving around downtown trying to find a parking spot when they turned the lights on, we missed it by 2 blocks and 5 minutes.  We still made the most of our little excursion since we were already there.  It was C.O.L.D. and snowing so we didn't linger too long but we made our way around the square enjoying the twinkling lights once and then headed back to our car. 

We stopped in at Taco Bell for dinner and for the first time ever we didn't order enough food!  Nathan must be going through a growth spurt because he downed his 2 tacos and a plate of nachos and still needed more. Bracken has developed a love for nacho cheese so he requested his own order of nachos as well.  By the time we had received and eaten our 2 orders more than an hour had passed, so much for fast food.

The Christmas Devotional is always a highlight for us.  We enjoyed it snuggled up in quilts as we ate sandwiches and cookies.

With all the cold weather we have been enjoying the boys have been sporting their winter gear convinced that it will snow any day.  We have had a few light snow falls but nothing has accumulated.  Bracken was so excited for the snow that he slept in his coat and gloves three nights in a row.

Sunday morning we woke up to a few inches on the ground but by the time we were home from church the snow was gone and Bracken was devastated.  Monday we met up with Papi, Grandma and Grandpa at Alfonso's in Prescott and they still had snow.  Bracken was thrilled!  He was wearing his cowboy boots and he soon realized that they didn't keep his feet nearly as warm as his snow boots.

Thanksgiving 2013

A few weeks before Thanksgiving we received a wonderful surprise when Grandma King called to say they were coming down to Arizona to spend Thanksgiving with us.  We were thrilled to welcome them our way.  

We had a little sickness among the crew but nothing that hindered our celebration.  Thanksgiving dinner was delicious but the best part was being together.  Friday afternoon we headed down to Queen Creek to visit Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandma Bluth.  We also enjoyed a trip to the movie theater to see "Frozen".  We all loved it especially Nathan and Bracken who laughed themselves silly.

30 And Proud of It!

Woot woot!  I'm all grown up now!

I always love my birthday because my boys spoil me rotten.  Curtis sent me on a little scavenger hunt to keep me busy while he was at work and a whole bag of dark chocolate Dove's candy was waiting for me at the end of the rainbow.  For dinner we had my favorite pizza from Papa Murphy's followed by 3 flavors of ice cream, one for each decade.  To end our day we watched a horse show competition put on by the boy scouts.  We all enjoyed letting our inner cowboy out for the evening.

Piano Helper

November is a big piano month for me.  I have musical numbers from the ward choir, the stake Christmas concert, and individual numbers coming at me left and right.  It's not rare to find me frantically trying to free up time Sunday morning for one last run through.  

Marco ALWAYS crashes my practicing sessions.  The only way to practice "Marco free" is for Curtis to physically restrain him in some way.  Marco usually insists on sitting next to me or on my lap.  He is not content to just listen he has to play as well and he even thinks it's his job to turn my pages or completely take my music away.  Not a very productive way to practice the piano.

But this particular Sunday morning he was content to stand next to me and patiently listen as I played.  I'm glad Curtis thought to take pictures because it's a sweet moment I want to always remember.

Date with Nate

This year at school Nathan gets to earn Book-It Awards from Pizza Hut.  For one of our Mom & Son dates we put his award to good use.  He loved his personal pan pizza and I loved my pasta and salad.  The most memorable part of our evening for me was observing him as he filled out and completed his activity place mat.  One part had a questionnaire for documenting your favorite and least favorite items in specific categories.  I knew most of Nathan's answers already but he surprised me with a few of them.  But the best part was the way he giggled at each question as if it was the funniest thing ever to consider what your favorite movie or TV show was.  Silly Nene!