Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

My SIL scored some tickets to the Diamondbacks/Padres game for Tuesday night. I don't know when was the last time I attended a game down at Dbacks stadium. I think it was before they changed their team colors to Sedona Red. We were in the 14th row out near the 3rd base foul pole. We had so much fun! Dan is a Padres fan and he was thrilled that they won the game 9-5. Thank you, Kelly!

me with the Mark Grace character (sorry it's so dark!)

our view of home plate

ready for a great game!

Happy Independence Day

Happy Birthday, Katie!

Happy 26th, Katie! (Ignore the xstitch mess on the table)

Today is Katie's birthday. Katie was our surprise baby. She was born 12 mos., 2 weeks after JD. She's the best surprise we've ever received! Katie is the child most like me. You would think that would mean we would be at each others' throats. That's not the case with us. As she likes to put it, she has all my good qualities, only better; and none of my bad qualities. Haha... Katie is warm, friendly, cheerful, and fun. She is also pragmatic and practical. You can always count on Katie to be honest about what she's feeling or thinking. She is generous. She is a terrific mom. Happy Birthday, Katie. We are so proud of you and love you!

Family Fun

Jessica told me that there is a Disney Store outlet down at the Arizona Mills Mall. Since that's kind of by where Zach and Ashley live, we arranged to meet them there Saturday. Katie, Thunder, and Sunny went too. We met at the Rain Forest Cafe. Lunch was good, but oh my, VERY expensive! The animals, thunderstorms, and jungle was a little overwhelming for Sunny. Afterward, we walked the mall and made some purchases at the Disney Store.

Zach and Skye

There's just something about Thunder that makes Skye want to hug him every time she sees him!

Big hug...

Skye and Tia Katie

Gramps, Sunny, Grammy, Thunder, Skye

Sunny wanted a photo with the elephant, just not by herself!

Good-bye to June

Can you believe tomorrow is the last day of June? I can't. It seems like each day just passes in a blur right now. The hours at Grammy Daycare are chaotic this summer. Some weeks I have them two days, some weeks one day, this week I had them three days. I am tired. Here's a few pictures of this week's fun!

Tuesday: pretending to be asleep

Wednesday: playing with cars

Friday: I guess they called each other regarding their outfits for the day!

Only 188 Days 'Til Christmas!

Yes, I can hear all those moans and groans out there. Yes, I know it's June. Yes, I know summer officially begins today. Yes, I know that it's 112 degrees here in the desert. Yes, I know we're not even to the 4th of July. Your point is?

Christmas. There, I said it. Christmas is coming. Hobby Lobby has a limited amount of Christmas ornaments and ribbons displayed on their shelves. I have received my annual Christmas cross-stitch book in the mail. I have pre-ordered my Hallmark KOC ornaments and will be picking them up the second weekend in July.

And yes: I HAVE BEGUN CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!

Many of you may think I'm crazy. But let me assure you there is a method to my madness. I want to enjoy a stress-free month of celebrating the holidays in December. To that end, I am totally ready for Christmas by Thanksgiving. Every year. For the past 15 years.

And you can be ready too. Check out my Christmas blog and click on the tab for "Stress-free Christmas Countdown List" at the top. I will be sharing my tips for having a stress-free Christmas. And they are guaranteed to work!

TUSAL Update

This is the sixth TUSAL (totally useless stitch-a-long) update for 2012. I have so many large projects to work on this year that it feels as if I'm making little progress. But I know that I am advancing stitch by stitch!

If you want to learn more about TUSAL, check out this post on Daffycat's blog. It's open to anyone and you can join at any time.