Thanksgiving 2009!

I have been craving Thanksgiving food for about a month now and must say, my Thanksgiving meal surpassed my expectations! I had an excellent Thanksgiving at my Dad and Ann's house, shared with many of my incredible family members.

I am thankful for so many things...my wonderful husband - someone so inspiring and perfect in my eyes...a blessing I only dreamed to receive; my 4 gorgeous sisters - being able to grow up together, knowing that I could never have handpicked better companions; my Dad and Ann...the consistency in the love they have shown me and everyone in their lives; my Mom - for all the times you literally made me laugh so hard I cried; Nanny - a woman who defines aging gracefully and beautifully; Steve & Ben - oh how you two make me laugh; Glenda - what a gorgeous soul, I am thankful to call you my mother; Matt & Robin - honestly, how lucky did I get?!; Rob & LeAnn - you two are incredible, how blessed I am to have you in my life; Drew & Jenn - also, it's a blessing to have you in my life.

To all my friends and family: I could list names all day and never share just how much you mean to me. Thank you for being such wonderful people.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

My 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Day Classic!

This was the 2nd year I competed in the 10 Miler - ARR Thanksgiving Day Classic! Although I had a lot of fun last year, it was so nice now knowing so many more runners at the race :) I'm 99.9% positive I am the slowest of all the Bandidos but hey, someone has to be last right? Besides, it's excellent motivation to get better and better each year :) Yet again, it was a wonderful way to start Thanksgiving Day....I actually can't think of a better way! (trust me - I wasn't thinking that during the run) ;)

Daniel & Tiffany Visit!

I am a little behind on this entry but it's one that cannot be left out!

Chris and I were lucky enough to have our wonderful...(and hilarious - might I add!) friends, Daniel and Tiffany visit us a couple of weekends ago! They traveled down from the Bay Area and spent the weekend with us visiting, dining, exploring, drinking, and catching up. Unfortunately, Chris and I were not able to convince them to move to Arizona yet but we will continue to try! I refuse to give up on that one!

After a great dinner at La Grande on Friday and an evening filled with chatting and wine, we were hardly ready for our Pink Jeep Tour in Sedona the next day :) We had so much fun on the Broken Arrow tour (thanks to James too for taking Chris' place for the day!) ...it was a blast! And Saturday night was a nice dinner in Scottsdale and a surprise Everclear concert. If only we had planned the weekend to fall into place so nicely.

Daniel & Tiff ~ We love you guys! You were the easiest houseguests ever and are welcome any time! Thank you for spending your trip to Arizona with us!

Post:Op

"Are you okay Daisy?" - Wally

She's okay! ...but she is just a baby! After my anxious day of waiting yesterday, I finally got to pick Daisy up around 6pm. Her ear was completely shaved with a bunch of uncomfortable-looking stitches but fortunately, no longer swollen. It turns out that she has a small infection on her fur just below her ear, which ultimately could have been the cause for the hematoma. Honestly, I hope it was the cause...I feel much more at peace knowing a natural cause sent her to the operating room rather than her younger sister. Ohhhh sibling rivalry. ;)

I made her a very comfy doggy bed, where she spent most of the night relaxing and licking ice cubes.

It's so nice to have her home and on the road to recovery!

Not again?

After 4 and 1/2 years, Daisy finally went to the vet for a medical issue rather than routine check-ups. If having three dogs is not good practice for having kids, I haven't a clue how else you prepare for children?! :)

Daisy and I headed to the vet yesterday afternoon and were quite popular on our way there with passing traffic! I'm not surprised...Daisy is a looker! We had a wonderful visit with Dr. Ryan (the best vet ever - thanks Jackie!). It turns out that she has an Ear Hematoma not from an ear infection but perhaps a dog fight (Lily!!!!!) or hitting it on something. My guess is the dog fight. So it turns out that the most annoying part about Daisy and Lily fighting is not the chaos but the $500 injuries.

Despite the circumstances, Daisy and I have really enjoyed some quality mommy/puppy time! After the vet, we stopped by my work and she was a huge hit...getting pictures taken left and right.

I will keep you all posted :)

I just couldn't help myself!

...btw, Daisy was sleeping during this photoshoot (big surprise!) ;)

Halloween on Wagon Wheel!

Our third Wagon Wheel Halloween and the tradition stands strong! After spending $100 on candy, I was very confident that finally....we would NOT run out of candy! But history repeated itself and yet again, we ran out around 9pm! We do not have the official count yet but at 7pm, we were at 285 kids! I am sure we made it to 500! Glenda did an excellent job again passing out candy and giving extra to those sweet kids that actually said "thank you"! haha! We had an excellent time and loved having Lisa, Mike & Caleb there to celebrate with us :)
This is definitely our favorite day of the year on Wagon Wheel!
More pictures to come!