My Mom, according to McKinley

1. What is something mom always says to you? McKinley!


2. What makes mom happy? Flowers.


3. What makes mom sad? When mommy and daddy die. (?)


4. How does your mom make you laugh? Tickle me.


5. What was your mom like as a child? I don't know.


6. How old is your mom? 8.


7. How tall is your mom? 9 feet tall.


8. What is her favorite thing to do? Go to the store and buy stuff.


9. What does your mom do when you're not around? She stays with Kendy, and she cooks, and she goes with Ann.


10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? So people can see her.


11. What is your mom really good at? Going shopping.


12. What is your mom not very good at? Going on the horseees.


13. What does your mom do for her job? Help us.


14. What is your mom's favorite food? Veggies and fruits.


15. What makes you proud of your mom? When she wins a trophy.


16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? An elephant.


17. What do you and your mom do together? Play games.


18. How are you and your mom the same? We both have the same color eyes, and the same noses.


19. How are you and your mom different? We don't have the same teeth.


20. How do you know your mom loves you? She packs my lunch.


21. What does your mom like most about your dad? It's her husband.


22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Shopping.

My Mom, according to Regan

1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you.


2. What makes mom happy? When I do the right things.


3. What makes mom sad? When I don't do the right things.


4. How does your mom make you laugh? When she makes silly noises.


5. What was your mom like as a child? She had like this Strawberry Shortcake doll, I think she liked to play with it when she was little.


6. How old is your mom? Is she like 31, maybe?


7. How tall is your mom? 12 feet?


8. What is her favorite thing to do? Work on projects, I guess?


9. What does your mom do when you're not around? I don't know, how am I supposed to know, I'm not there!


10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Crafting.


11. What is your mom really good at? Crafting.


12. What is your mom not very good at? Painting.


13. What does your mom do for her job? Watch the kids.


14. What is your mom's favorite food? Maybe salad?


15. What makes you proud of your mom? That she always takes care of me when my dad's not around.


16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? D.W. (from Arthur on PBS)


17. What do you and your mom do together? We were just looking at stuff for the [play] kitchen we're making in the basement.


18. How are you and your mom the same? We both have brown eyes, we're both girls, and we both like grapes.


19. How are you and your mom different? She doesn't eat candy anymore, and I still eat candy.


20. How do you know your mom loves you? Cause whenever I'm hurt she helps me.


21. What does your mom like most about your dad? That he gives her money every week.


22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Shopping.

Breakfast with Santa

Regan and Kinney didn't waist anytime being shy with Santa, they hopped right up on his lap and got down to business.

Kennedy didn't freak out but she wasn't exactly excited either.
And yes, I know, the bink needs to go.

Fall Colors

I can't help myself, this is the first fall I've ever experienced and I have got to blog some pictures of it. It's absolutely beautiful!

Temple Trip

The primary children in our ward took a trip to the Birmingham temple this past Saturday. They had a picnic on the church lawn next to the temple, then they toured the grounds and were able to go and sit in the foyer and talk to the temple president for a little while. It was a neat experience and I'm glad I was able to share it with them.

Halloween

Regan showing off her Parmelee eyebrows.
ROAR!
'Kinney's pretty convincing.



Our kids came home with three bags full of candy.
We let them have a day or two with it and then
decided to "buy it" from them with a trip to
Target to pick out a small toy.
Definitely cheaper than a dentist bill.

Carving Pumpkins

Our kids are too small to use the mini saw/knife for carving and it takes a bit of time to carve FIVE pumpkins so, we broke out the power tools. We finished in half the time and they looked great.

Tucson phone number

FYI, our old Tucson phone number is now officially dead -- it was finally time. We knew because the ratio of telemarketers and wrong numbers to legitimate "wanted" calls finally passed 10. =)

The new number is 2641959976 less than our old one in Tucson, including area code. If that makes sense, give us a call and lets us know!

Monte Sano 15k

Today was my 15k race day. I use the word race very loosely because finishing was my only goal. The 9.3 mile course was described as a rolling, shady, and scenic. I guess rolling is a nice way of saying never ending hills that will crush your spirit and will to run. Thank goodness I was with a bunch of other runners who were feeling the same exact thing. I know that sounds weird but it was very comforting at the time. And with a little bit of encouragement from them, I was able to finish the race. I also beat my best time for that distance. Considering it was only my third time EVER running that far, I was pretty pleased with myself.

If you'd like to check out the race results you can find them at this site.

Here are the only pics we got of the day events. Thank goodness :).

Me before the race with my awesome V.T. partner/friend/reason-why-I'm-running-these-insane-distances: Ann (and one of her friends).

After the race. My face beet red, hair fro'd out and sopping wet with sweat. Ahhh, good times.

And check out the sweet shirt I got for the $12 entry fee:

Fall break, day 4

Here's the last batch of pictures from our trip.

Hooray for a great vacation!

Fall break, day 3

Day 3 pictures here.

Today was a visit to the Tennessee Aquarium -- I was impressed that they had so many types of marine animals that I had never seen before, or even known existed. Ever seen a turtle whose neck is almost as long as its whole body? Or a fish that looks sort-of like a feather standing on end, but that swims sideways? Or a crab the size of a car tire? Me either!

The big surprise of the day was lunch -- some "Mongolian" place called "Genghis Grill". You have to pick out all your own ingredients (including raw meat!) then they grill it for you. But I'm terrible at picking out ingredients to make something taste good, that's why I let others cook for me when I have the choice. Somehow, though, my pick turned out awesome and I left feeling terrific. Kyla and the kids loved theirs too.

Another great vacation day.

Fall break, day 2

Somehow I managed to narrow down 239 pictures down to 36, but a little too many for a blog entry -- so check them out here.

This morning when we left the Choo Choo (which is in downtown Chattanooga), we consulted the TomTom as to how long it would take to get to Lookout Mountain -- the response? 8 minutes. Huh? We can't even see any mountains from here! Sure enough, though -- that's about how long it took. Pretty tight grouping of fun for one day. I drove longer trying to find a binky at 10:30 pm tonight than we did driving to Rock City, Incline Railway, and Ruby Falls!

Tonight we went for dinner to "Mojo Burrito" -- the food was okay, I guess, but I got a kick out of the name. Sure, I know what they were going for, but obviously these people aren't Spanish speakers. The Spanish verb "mojar" means "to wet", so "mojo burrito" means "I wet burrito". I guess mine was a little soggy.

Some great quotes:

McKinley: "Dad, how much is this?"

Me: "13 dollars."

McKinley, realizing she'd asked the wrong question: "Is that a lot?"

That made some old folks in the gift shop crack up laughing.

Kendy, who had just found a cheeseburger hat: "Mom, I'm in a cheeseburger!"

If anybody could do it, sweet girl, you could.

Some girl standing by a slide to Kendy: "Hey little girl, you stay by the blue slide while I climb up on top."

Kendy, who probably didn't understand 2 words of what that girl had said: "O-kaaay. Wa-duh-wa-duh go over 'dere!"

I love these kids, they say the funniest things.

Great times, fun day.

Fall break, day 1

We heard that Chattanooga is a great getaway for Huntsvillians (villians? Huntsvillers? Huntsvillites? Huntsvillicans???) -- so here we are!

We're staying at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, which in most ways seems like an impressive 4-star-ish facility from the 1970s. It's a little run-down now, but still has enough character to be interesting.

And now for the part you've all been waiting for!

	At a rest stop about 20 miles outside of Chattanooga (sorry for the terrible lighting)
	See how happy we are when we're ignoring Kendy? =)
	She found the river, and was so excited to show it to us.
	At the Chattanooga Choo Choo caboose (sitting out in the middle of the parking lot)
	The crew.
	A real crowd of drifters.
	Those cars are actually guest rooms (but we didn't land one, unfortunately).
	Sign overhead at night.

More tomorrow!

The Huntsville Hospital Summer Chase

The Summer Chase is a "fun run" for elementary kids in the Huntsville area. When Regan found out about it she couldn't wait to go. When 'Kinney found out she would get a free t-shirt out of it she decided it was something that she wanted to do too.

The course was a mile long. I thought that was too far for little kids to run but they did it.

Kennedy wasn't as excited to be there.
Regan ran all by herself.
I walked/jogged with 'Kinney.
The parents were only allowed to go most of the way with the participants. Both of my girls ran through the finish line on their own. I was so PROUD of them! I even got a little teary eyed.
Happy to be done.
'Kinney proudly showing her "winner" ribbon.
There was a giant star there hugging the kids. Weird, but the kids seemed to think it was cool.Cute girls.