Checking In.....

 We had a busy weekend and that is our excuse this time around for being late.  We sort of had two separate weekends with the boys off having their fun and us ladies having our own good time.
Nana D and Mr. Walker rolled into town on Thursday so Mr. Walker could ride in his 2nd annual 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo Mountain Bike Race with my dad.  He had such a good time last year that he couldn't wait to come back for more!  Dad headed out at the crack of dawn Thursday morning so he could get a primo spot for our new RV.  The boys had a sweet set up this year with plenty of space in the courtyard.  Dad got the carpet set up, the solar panel set up, the satellite dish set up and they were ready for 4 days off the grid.  Oh yeah and then there was the bike race.

Everyone wised up a bit this year and decided to do 2 man teams instead of 6 man teams.  This way, no one got stuck riding a 2AM lap.  Dad and Mr. Walker both got good nights sleep and completed 3 laps each.  That wasn't a record by any means but everyone felt good (except dad who may have caught a cold from me.....)

Mr. Walker- getting ready to sign autographs

This is how most of the weekend was spent



Meanwhile, back in town, Nana spent her Friday relaxing while mom and I were at work and school. 2 guesses as to what she did.  Shopping!  In her defense though, she didn't buy herself anything but did find a sweater for mom.
On Saturday, the three of us headed down to the Gem and Mineral Show.  This is a huge deal here in Tucson and I think the biggest one in the world.  It last for 3 weeks and you can find all sorts of stuff. There are vendors and people from all over the world.  I gave Nana's shopping a run for it's money- I had my wallet and was ready to roll.  I bought a Trilobite fossil, 2 glow in the dark minerals and a slice of a geode.  It was a fabulous day!

That night, we met Ms. Audrey and Madeline for a Valentine's Dinner.  Mr. Mike ( Madeline's dad) was out at the 24 Hour race too and we women weren't going to be denied a nice evening.

On Sunday, we headed to my friend Max and Claire's house to work on our edible car for the Edible Car Contest for school on Monday.  We named it Candy Joe and it was made out of rice crispies and fudge strip cookies.  It even involved Mr. Souveignier using a drill on the rice crispy treats.  It ended up being a pretty good car- we finished in third by just a hair.  That was kind of disappointing but we all survived.

I almost forgot our super fun Valentine's Day party- the parents and a fun photo shoot for all of us crazy third graders.....

Family Reunions of Sorts

So here we are again- two weeks behind.  We have a good excuse (but when do we not).  Last weekend, mom had a continuing education conference up in Phoenix that she had to go to on Saturday.  That would have been bummer enough except she had to drive up and back on the same day.  After sitting on her butt all day.  And we were in the middle of three days of record rain fall.  She is a bit of a white knuckle driver on I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix anyway but add rain, fog and stupid people and it's a whole new level of fun.  Good thing the course was good- she learned all about our vestibular system and got to practice it on Monday.  She left dad and I to fend for ourselves with over 2 inches of rain and a leaky roof.   Mom and dad were relaxing, enjoying their Friday night beer, listening to the rain when they notice water seeping in on the floor.  Then they notice our new paint job with a nice big water bubble half way up the wall.  Dad got up on the roof during a break in the rain on Saturday and thinks he got it fixed.  We sure hope so because otherwise, mom is looking at having to give her bathroom remodel for a stupid roof leak.  We made it through Saturday and woke to a beautiful Sunday morning.  The rain cleared out and we running rivers and fog.  It made for a beautiful run......

The rest of Sunday was spent catching up on Saturday chores- grocery shopping, laundry, all that fun stuff.  In the afternoon, we headed to our friends Brian and Christina's for a Super Bowl party.  We had a good time but left at half time because we are weenies and had to get to bed.  It was probably for the best since everyone at the party was Seahawk fans.  Poor Seahawks.


So, we sent Ginger to boarding school for a month.  Mom didn't tell anyone because she was kind of embarrassed that we  couldn't get our dog under control but it was getting crazy and super stressful and not fun.  So off to board and train for Monkey back on January 3.  I missed her bunches while she was gone and she came home Thursday night.  This is me waiting for her to get here.  At first mom was not so sure that it was worth the money because she still seemed crazy but things are much better now.  Ginger is calmer, doesn't jump all over us, doesn't maul us while sitting on the couch, doesn't constantly jump on the counter and actually listens to correction.  She is still very much a crazy puppy but she is a controllable crazy puppy.  We can manage that.

The second exciting thing over the weekend- we got our new couch delivered!  It is so awesome and we love it!  Our new chair still has a few more weeks before it gets here but we have all spent time sprawled on the couch and it is great.  I have already deposited crumbs between the cushions.  We are still deciding what to do with our old couch but we live in a neighborhood where if we put it out on the curb with a "FREE" sign on it, it will be gone in 20 minutes.

Remember a few weeks ago when we said we went to the RV show but were "just looking".  Well.  You know my dad.  He wasn't loving our current RV.  Not a great layout, no swivel seats, poor gas mileage, loud like the airport shuttle when we drove it.  While at the RV show, he found his dream RV.  And then he spent the next two weeks salivating over it on-line.  And then he found the exact one for sale.  In Sacramento, as in California.  Can you say ROAD TRIP!  He flew up to Sacramento Thursday afternoon, spent the night there and was picked up by the RV people Friday morning.  They then drove to Boom City, Nevada to complete the paperwork.  Apparently, you avoid paying hefty sales tax in California and then again in Arizona when you do it this way.  So, with a huge winter storm chasing him down the two lane highways in backwoods  Nevada, he headed out about 3 PM Friday afternoon.  After a stop at Walmart to wait out the 60 mph winds, he was on his way again.  He spent the night in our new RV in a casino parking lot in Tonopah.  He finally rolled in about 3PM on Saturday, tired but super happy.  He spent the rest of the day and most of Sunday morning organizing and playing with all the new buttons and switches.  We all like it and it is a better lay out.....
Mom's only disappointment is that it's maiden voyage is to the 24 Hour mountain bike race next weekend.  A bunch of stinky, sweaty boys hanging out in our shiny new RV before she gets a chance too.

Have a wonderful weekend!