Thank you Monsoon.

Last week it rained here in Kingman, and it rained hard! I love the rain and so I particularly enjoy Monsoon season here in Arizona. One day it rained pretty good on our way home from the gym and Gracey begged to play in the rain when we got home. From my perspective, this was not a good idea. The girls had bathed that same morning and we were only hours away from jumping in the car and heading to St. George. Of course, my first instinct was to reply with a quick "no". As quickly as I almost responded, that little voice in my head that so often makes me feel guilty said "Let them be little!" So I put away my weird, clean-freak tendencies and told the girls that they could play in the rain.

By the time we got home, the pouring rain turned into a slight sprinkle, so I knew our time was limited. We rushed inside, put the girls in their bathing suits, and ran outside to go look for rain puddles. We walked halfway around the block before spotting the perfect one.

This was no easy thing for me. I was biting my tongue with every dirty splash. When they had the fun idea of sitting (SITTING!!) in the puddle, that nearly put me over the edge. I was having an internal panic attack. However, I let them do it and they LOVED it.



I wish I would heed that laid back, inner-voice that is trapped in my head more often. The girls had a great time and I really enjoyed watching them.

On our walk back home, you can see the sun is shining and the roads are nearly dry. Gracey and Emily were playing this silly game where Gracey would be far away, turn around, then run towards Emily saying "I missed you!" They kept this up until we were all the way home. It was so cute!!!

Snowflake, Trailer rides, and Spook. Fruit Loops and Porch Swings. Grandma, Old Grandma, and old jewelery.

A few weeks ago we went to Snowflake, AZ to visit Corky's mother and grandmother. We hadn't been since last spring and so we went for a quick trip. I will admit, Snowflake wasn't the most fun place to go before having kids. We have always enjoyed visits with his family, but unless all the cousins were there as well, there wasn't much entertainment value to it. Then the kiddos came along and it is one of the most fun places to be. Corky took the girls on countless 4-wheeler rides. They loved sitting in the back of the trailer and riding the streets of Snowflake. Of course, the dogs were tagging along. Either the little (big) pup Rascal, or the beefy Spook. Where ever the girls were, the dogs weren't too far behind....even if it meant sitting in the trailer with them.

This is Spook. This old dog is one of the most mild-mannered dogs you will meet. The poor guy fell out of the back of the moving pick-up a few years ago and so his mouth is a little droopy....but he is a sweetie.

This picture of Emily in the sprinkler, you may think it is nothing out of the ordinary, but it cracks me up! Emily is our less outgoing child and so when Corky and I peeked from Old Grandma's back porch and saw her getting wet on purpose, we not only had a proud moment, we got a good laugh!

That afternoon, we had a late lunch of Old Grandma's famous beans with homemade tortillas. (Only the Gibson cousins know the wonderfulness (is that a word?) that are those beans!) Since we had a late lunch and since they are at Grandma's, they had a dinner of Fruit Loops and watermelon!!

Old Grandma Ruby has all sorts of treasures in her guestrooms. She has old letters that were written between her and Granddad, letters to old friends, letters from old friends, old trinkets, and some old jewelery that Corky let Emily wear for a minute.

So as you can see, we had a great time in Snowflake. We loved visiting Grandma Jean (Corky's mom) and Old Grandma Ruby (Corky's grandma).

Greetings World! We finally emerge once again.

I am pretty sure this has been the longest hiatus from the blog that I have taken. Partly intentional, partly because things are crazy! Should I just plan on summers being incredibly busy for the rest of my life? We have put miles and miles on the car and we aren't even done yet. We still have a trip to Phoenix, trip to St. George, and a trip to Snowflake....all in the next 3 weeks!! Let that not come off though as a complaint. We are having a blast and basking in the joys of summer, parenthood, families, and life!

Over the next few days, I am hoping to catch up on what has happened in the last month. Starting with these little gems that had me cracking up when I uploaded them to my computer.

A few weeks ago, Gracey was webcamming with my mom. We don't do it all the time, but when they webcam, it is like having a babysitter. I can get whatever it is done that I need to. For example: cook dinner, vacuum, and catch up on dvr'd show. Kidding, mostly. Apparently Gracey wanted to document the occasion!

Mini-triathlon 2009!

Saturday morning, bright and early, Gracey and I headed to the Wellness Center where they were holding a mini-triathlon for the youngsters. It was so fun to watch, and more fun to see Gracey do so well.

We showed up and picked up her packet and number. She seemed pretty happy.


Then she got all marked up.


Then got distracted by the rocks!! (She is totally Corky's child! Very social and fun, but also loves to putter and do her own thing!)


Finally it was time to get ready for the race and she was already tired of pictures!!

All the rest of the pictures that were taken were taken by two of the awesome young women in my ward. Somehow I manipulated them into waking up at the crack of dawn and take pictures for me since Corky wouldn't be there! I am so appreciative of them because these pictures are priceless. With me having to swim next to Gracey, then helping her with the transitions, there was no way I would have been able to take any good ones.

Anyway, so onto the race. It began in the water. The kids had to wear flotation devices AND have a parent next to them. A little overkill if you ask me, but better to be safe than sorry. I wanted her to do everything she could on her own so I didn't touch her in the water.


After the water, I did help her with her shoes and helmet. She was freezing but didn't want to waste any time putting clothes on! She was off to do the bike loops.




After she did the bicycle portion, she went straight to the run. She took off!!! We could barely keep up to take pictures!! When Corky saw these pictures, all he could say was "good form! That's my little runner!" (side note- did you know Corky ran cross country in college?)


As all the parents there were, I was quite proud. I was so impressed with her memory and ability to follow directions, not to mention the athleticism she showed at such a young age. Before the race started, we walked through the course. Of course there were a lot of volunteers to help guide the racers, but she never once seemed confused or nervous!


And not an entire minute went by before she was jumping in the bounce house!!



If only I had that kind of energy!!

It was such a fun time. Hopefully next year both girls will be able to participate!

Camping and movies.

This wasn't the first time that Corky and I have to divide to conquer, and I doubt it will be the last. All I can say is that is was a SUCCESS!!

Corky had one more night of going to the mountains for scout camp but the next morning Gracey was racing in a mini-triathlon. I had to be in the pool next to Gracey (so lame!) and wasn't sure what to do with Emily. It was Corky's idea to take Emily with him camping. We were nervous about how we would present this to Gracey because I was sure she would rather go camping.

I told her that her and I could go to a movie that night while daddy took Emily. Surprisingly, Gracey was ecstatic!!! We drove Corky's truck all night long because Corky had to take our car so he could drive some of the stinky scouts home in it. According to Corky, Emily had fun. She is a pretty mellow kid when she is in a new environment. She ate soup, cheese and crackers, and lots and lots of gummy bears!


Gracey and I loaded up on popcorn, red vines, and snicker bars while we watched movie "Up"!! It was great!

There is always next year I suppose.

Mine and Corky's anniversary is this Saturday. It will be 6 years. I love this man of mine and have loved being married to him. Last year he totally surprised me with an anniversary band. He had heard me say once (maybe twice) that I would love a band to wear every single day on my wedding finger. It wouldn't snag or catch or injure anybody else. (which it had, I sliced a kid's head once when I flung my hand around!) Not that it is a competition or that I am trying to "one-up" him, but I wanted to get him something really great this year. He is usually the one giving the well thought out, well planned, and meaningful gifts that I absolutely love. I figured it could be his turn to receive one.

As much as I try, I can never surprise him! He always has a clue. Somehow he always knows what I am getting him. This year I wanted it to be a surprise. I looked up the traditional 6 year gift and was excited to see I had options. Traditionally it is something wood, or a candy of some sort. More modern gifts though include something iron. I was pumped. If you know Corky at all, you know he is obsessed with golf. I contemplated purchasing a new golf club (wood/iron, get it?) But then decided against it because there was no way I could get that one right. I also didn't want to be so typical of me and say "Here honey, go get yourself a new golf club!" That would be so predictable.

This is turning into a long story. It's almost over.

So I have the BRILLIANT idea of buying my husband private golf lessons. That way he has to use his irons and woods! Make sense? So I make some phone calls to Butch Harmon School of Golf and purchase him some private lessons with the pros. And when I say pros, I mean PROS!!!

So the lady tells me she will mail me the gift certificates but not to expect it before this Saturday. So I go through a process and have her fax a copy to my friend's husband's work. It was going to be perfect!

Until today......

Corky gets the mail while I am cooking dinner. He walks in, places a large envelope on the counter with "Butch Harmon School of Golf" in HUGE letters and says "This is interesting!" I swear I blacked out for a minute. I totally panicked! There was just no getting around this one. So after stewing about it for 10 minutes or so, I decided that he gets his present early!

I was SO CLOSE to finally surprising him. He didn't have a clue.



But he loves it, and now we have a funny story!

Love you so much, Corky!!

A little more productive in the treat department!

Don't get me wrong, last night's treat was delightful. I thought about it throughout the day today and it still was making me smile. Tonight though, I wanted to be a little more productive in my food creations while Corky was away again.

I had a big bowl of apricots from the my neighbor's tree (she gave them to me...I didn't steal) that were ripening nicely, and I was also out of bread! So while I waited for my bread dough to rise, I made a batch of apricot jam. It still sort of felt experimental since I had never made apricot jam before.

My house smelled so good. There was a hint of the vinegar smell from the small amount I add to my bread dough, but that cooks off quickly. The combo of the baking bread and boiling jam were just too much for me. I knew I would be up late so I could enjoy them both fresh and most importantly, together.

My midnight (almost literally) snack did not disappoint. Even though the jam wasn't set up yet, it was still divine! I also feel so much less guilty after eating it. After all, it is %100 whole wheat, and real sugar....that's totally healthy! :)

Is your mouth watering yet?