It's raining, it's pouring

This was the view from my patio door this evening. I never thought this English gal would love the rain, but here in Arizona...I DO!!!

Splish Splash

It's hot and so we got the splash pool out for Katelynn and Christopher. Swim suits on, an assortment of kitchen items out and little bodies in! Colanders became hats, funnels became shoes and Mommy became a target for water throwing practice. Grandma was at a safe distance behind the patio doors!

Friday the Thirteenth

No, it wasn't spooky or Halloween. It was the day that Daniel got his US citizenship. The rest of us got ours in May, but as Daniel lives away from us, he had applied a little later and so he was the last of the Gwynns to go through the ceremony. Better late than never!

Here he is with his naturalization certificate.

England vs. USA

Obviously, a house with divided loyalties. I haven't watched a football game in years, but today we had fun watching this England vs. USA World Cup game. Chips and salsa, chicken enchiladas, beef tacquitos...yum. We had a great family time, but it was a disappointing 1-1 draw. Probably the best result for our house though!

This is what Katelynn was up to while we were watching the game. She decided to help Grandma by cleaning out my cupboards!

Family GT

Here's just a few pics of a family GT we had on Thursday. Good times!

Babysitting Danielle

Yesterday evening, Danielle came over to stay while her mammy and daddy went to a drive in movie. We had lots of fun. We went to the park and Danielle went down the slide so many times that I thought she'd never come home. She had a snack, rode the little red bike and then she went in the big bathtub with Grandma (sorry, no pictures of that!). Let me tell you, the moment I started running the water, she had her clothes off in less than 30 seconds! She also liked putting the bubbles all over Grandma's face and splashing them all over the walls too.
She got over tired but just wouldn't go to sleep. She was really missing her parents and kept going over to the door or looking out the window for them. I felt so bad for her. Finally at about 10.10pm, she went to sleep only to be woken up ten minutes later when Max gave a big WUFF as he wanted to go outside. She just kept pacing the floor until her mammy and daddy arrived and then she cried in relief when she saw them!
She's growing up quickly and her hair is getting so long, but it has a mind of its own. I love her curls as both me, Olivia and Katelynn all have straight, straight hair, so curls are an unusual thing in our family. She got in the car and kept shouting BYE at the top of her voice. Not sure whether she thought an evening at Grandma's was that great...she couldn't wait to get home.

Brent's turn

Today was Brent's turn to take the Oath of Allegiance. He's the original "I hate having my picture taken" guy and so there were no pictures with the judge or under the US seal, but I did go up onto the gallery and took a few pictures from there.

This is the courthouse. A glass building within a glass building and as it was pushing 100F today, it got pretty hot in there.

Can you see Brent?

A view across the gallery. It looks like a UFO is hanging there, but it's just a huge glass structure with lights behind it.

The new citizen. He cheated though. I never saw him sing God Bless the USA, but he did a pretty good job at waving the flag.

Only Daniel to go now!

I'm a US Citizen!

Today me, Olivia, Michael and Jordan became US citizens. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let Brent do his today so we'll have to repeat the whole process again next week when he gets his citizenship and then again when Daniel gets his in a couple of months. There were 101 people from 33 different countries there along with family members at the US Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, so it was a long busy morning, especially because we had to have Olivia's children there with us and a 2 year old really doesn't understand anything other than he's bored and tired. He did really well though.
After checking in and being assigned seats in the courthouse, the judge came in and then the ceremony was really quite quick; we all stood to take the Oath of Allegiance, then we recited the Pledge of Allegiance, sang the national anthem, watched a video of welcome from the President and then all waved out flags along to Lee Greenwood singing God Bless the USA.
We were able to take a couple of photos, but they were a little rushed so they're not the best, but nevertheless, they're a reminder of the day.

I hate my feet, they're fat and puffy, but the Star Spangled Banner looks cute on those toes.

Olivia, Katelynn and Christopher before the event.

Me, Michael and Jordan before the ceremony.

With the judge who made us citizens. Christopher was screaming by this point and wouldn't let go of his mammy.

What a happy bunch we are. That's the problem with only one take, you don't get the best shot possible.

This statue of Sandra Day O'Connor who was the first female member of the Supreme Court and who happens to come from Phoenix, was outside the courtroom and so Michael decided to have his picture taken next to her.

Christopher's 2!!!

Today was Christopher's 2nd birthday. How time flies! We had a nice family barbeque with all his Gwynn family and his Grandma and Grandpa Guthrie also there. Of course, this is Arizona, so it had to be outside, near water and in swimsuits. Here's the birthday boy and his sister enjoying their day.

Dad

This frame is about my Dad. The picture on the right is a pencil drawing of my Dad that was done by one of his fellow prisoner of war comrades while they were in a POW camp in Rimini, Italy during 1947. Of course, I never knew my Dad when he was this age, but it's a pretty good resemblance. The flag on the left is the Ukraine flag and was knitted by my Mom when I was a little girl. For as long as I can remember, these have been hanging separately somewhere in my home. Now they're together. Love you and miss you Dad. XXXXX