The Christmas After Party

It had to be the hot tub!!!

What better after a busy day, than relaxing in 100F heat with the jet bubbles surrounding you? Well doing it while reading a book, of course.

Brent didn't want to go in so he sat and chatted with the boys about boy stuff while I tried to ignore them and concentrate on my reading.

We had great fun playing footsie and laughing at the farting sound that the jets made when they got too close to you.

Max and Sophie were trying to decide whether they wanted to be a part of the party. They were pretty excited.

The boys were in a merry mood and after I got out they continued messing around, wrestling with each other. I was peeping at them from the living room through the blinds feeling joy that they were having such a good time when all of a sudden Jordan sprang up out of the hot tub...BUTT NAKED!!! There are just some things that a mother shouldn't see and their butt naked adult son is one of them! They were in a "who can pull the shorts off the other" contest and I guess Jordan was the loser.

Happy Days!

Christmas Festivities

I can honestly say it has been one of the nicest Christmas Day's ever! All my children, their spouses and all my grandchildren were able to be with me.

Here's my two babies who still live at home, with a very proud mama.

The gift giving was a riot! Usually I'm known for sitting there with a big black trashbag, but this year I abandoned it and there was wrapping paper everywhere! The kids had such a great time. Chaos reigned!

My sweet grandbabies, then me with all my children and grandchildren.

It can't get much better.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The Gwynn Residence

Well, we've been here since Thanksgiving and are pretty much settled in now. We decided to move out to San Tan Valley to see if we like living out here in the boonies as property is so much cheaper here. We have a whole year to decide.

This is the front of our house. Pretty typical of the area and yes, there's grass in Arizona. Can you see a couple of my candy canes? They light up lovely at night time.

This collage is a view of most of the downstairs, mainly the family room (can you see Michael?), my office (complete with Donny, of course), the kitchen and the restroom (Ahoy Sailors!). There's also the formal room, although we have nothing in it yet except for the Christmas tree. the laundry room and the stairs.

I spared you the upstairs (that's personal private, as one of my kids used to day when they were little), but this is my back yard. Lovely, isn't it? It's so relaxing to be out by the pool and we can't wait to use it, although we have put the spa on a few times now. The orange tree is ripe and I think we'll pick it on Christmas Day. I also like to put the fire on and sit by it just chatting and looking up at the stars.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

It really is a dog's life, isn't it?

Look at these two.

Eight years old.

Big and fat!

Nothing better to do than to sleep the day away!

Max

Sophie

Growth Spurt

I have these two cactus like plants in my front yard. I'm not sure exactly what they are, but after searching on the internet, I believe they're some sort of Century Plant. Anyway, overnight almost, they sprouted this very thick stalk which I have never seen them do before in the two plus years we've lived at this house.
If they are what I think they are, they may just grow that stalk into something that can be between 15 and 40 foot high!!! Then they're supposed to grow cauliflower like buds which will flower into small yellow flowers. Apparantly, this takes up all of the plant's energy and so the plant will then die. Please say it isn't so!
Some recommend digging out the stalk so that the whole process is interuppted, but there is a part of me that wants to see what will happen, and deep inside I'm thinking, "What the heck! We're moving in 2 months anyway, so if the plant dies it won't be my responsibility."
I understand that if you try to prune the plant and get sap on your skin, it burns like the devil and can be very hard to heal, so I think I'll leave it well alone and see what happens. Anyway, I might get some pictures of the pretty blooms as a keepsake.

Trick or Treat!

Here's my 3 Halloween buddies; Buzz Lightyear, Batgirl and Princess Danielle.

Princess Belle or Spooky Girlbat

Yesterday we were to have Katelynn and Christopher for a few hours and so I thought it would be nice to get them both some new clothes...nothing fancy, just some new jeans and a T-shirt. I saw a T-shirt with a picture of Belle on it and as Beauty and the Beast was Olivia's favorite cartoon when she was little, that was what I bought. I always wanted a girly girly princess granddaughter and so this seemed pretty appropriate. Christopher got a Buzz Lightyear one to go with his blue pants and matching Buzz Lightyear shoes. On the way out of the store though, I saw the Halloween shirts and for just $5 each, how could a Grandma resist. I bought Katelynn a really nice white one with pictures of bats on it that said Spooky and Christopher an orange one with spiders on it and the word Crawly. Definitely getting onto the Halloween spirit!

At home, I gave them both the choice of what to wear. Oh my word. Katelynn went straight for the bat Halloween shirt, Belle was abandoned without further ado. Her face lit up, she was so pleased with it. Buzz Lightyear won out for Christopher. So off we went to choose their Halloween costumes.

"Oh look" says Grandma, "Do you want to be Snow White, or a fairy?" "No" says Katelynn as she was trying on a scary mask on the opposite side of the aisle. "How about this princess costume?" "No" she said again. Then she saw the one she wanted. Happy as can be, we left the store, costumes bought.

When they went back home, her Mommy asked her what costume she had bought. "I'm going to be Girlbat!" she said with pride. Girlbat? Oh....Batgirl!

Spooky bat shirt, Batgirl costume. Yep, not a princess in sight!

By the way, Christopher is going to be his hero...Buzz Lightyear...to infinity and beyond!

Happy Birthday Michael!

Devil's Food cake, chocolate frosting, rainbow sprinkles...super yummy!!!

Dinner

Chicken stir fry with rice.

It was soooo good!!!

Boys!

Daniel and Michael.

Daniel has that "Whatever" look on his face. He hates having his picture taken.

They both need a shave.

Michael wearing his birthday present. What young man wants a suit?

Little Princess

Danielle stopped by today with her Daddy. She's growing so big!

Wish I had that wavy hair.

Trying on my Dutch clogs and getting like her Daddy. Stop! I don't want my picture taken!

Clogs away! Time to put her own shoes back on. What a clever girl!

Sweeney Todd

The butcher...sorry I mean the barber.

Daniel came over for a couple of hours today so it was an ideal opportunity for Brent to save a few bucks and get his hair cut.
It was HILARIOUS!!!
Daniel made his dad strip to the waist (not a pretty sight!), and then after he cut his hair he shoved his head under the tap to rinse off.
Squeals and moans!
Arrgh, the water's too hot! I hope you're not taking photos!
Are you taking photos? You better not be!
How could I resist? He doesn't know how to get to the blog anyway. Ha!

Oh, the look of anger as he tries to cover his modesty with a tea towel...too funny!

Danielle is 3!!!!

Danielle turned 3 on Thursday, but today a few of the family went over to her house to help her celebrate. This time it was only the grandparents, cousins and her young aunts and uncle who are less than 10, so it was nice and intimate. There were 2 huge water fights led by her daddy who was more of a little kid than the kids themselves. Grandma stood at a safe distance up the apartment stairs with Christopher who was a little overwhelmed at being in a strange place, but everyone else got absolutely drenched! There were water balloons and water pistols, buckets, cups and anything else that could contain large amounts of water.

Then there was present opening, singing Happy Birthday, which Danielle loved, cheering, cake eating and lots of tired grownups. We all had a great time!