Belated Holiday Wishes

I am a little late in saying this, but since I was not able to call everyone on the 25th as I may have wished, I just want to say MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to anyone who may be reading this. I hope that you are enjoying the special spirit that this wonderful time of year brings about. We hope that your homes were filled with as much laughter, joy, and love as ours was! Here are some pictures of our holiday festivities...

Making gingerbread houses with the cousins on Christmas Eve (A)

More gingerbread fun (R)

Christmas morning...time to give and open presents! What FUN!!

Happy New Year, everyone! We wish you the best for 2008!

JOY

Tonight was a lot of fun. We got together with all of the cousins in Arizona and had a little family Christmas party. The kids had a blast together, as evidenced by the giggles and laughter that echoed throughout the home. During the festivities, I took a few moments to sit back and quietly watch the kids - their unfeigned excitement and glee helped to remind me of one of the most important parts of the holiday season - JOY.

The joy of giving, the joy of sharing, the joy of being with relatives and loved ones, the joy of hearing from friends and family who do not live near by, and the joy in celebrating the birth of Christ. We have all been blessed in so many ways, and I am thankful for the spirit of this holiday and for the JOY that it brings into my life and my home.

Happy holidays everyone!

Back up and running

So, after not having computer access for a few weeks, we finally have our laptop back up and running. We also found our camera, battery charger, and memory disc, so we can finally get some new pictures of the girls and get them posted for all those inquiring minds (hey, I am okay with the fact that most of you come to this blog page to see AK and Roo, not to read my random thoughts). It might take me a few days to get everything together and posted, but since punctuality has never been my strong point, I am sure that most of you are used to that by now. :0)

Turkey Day

Now that the dishes are done, the table is cleaned off, and the leftover food is put away, I would like to take a quick moment to express my "thanks" for all of the wonderful things with which I have been blessed.

I am thankful for family; for the one in which I was raised, for the one that I married into, and for the one that I am now trying to raise. I am thankful for the many examples of patience, forgiveness, diligence, honesty, independence, and unconditional love that I have to look up to. I am thankful for my faith; for the personal motivation it gives me to be a better and stronger person. I am thankful for education and learning, and for the opportunities that I have to begin teaching my own children. I am thankful for friends who understand my severe handicap in maintaining consistent communication and who accept me anyway. I am thankful for hugs and kisses and the giggles and laughter from my two beautiful girls. I am thankful for a husband who loves me enough to put up with my shortcomings and quick temper, and who can remind me (in his own special way) to loosen up and to look at the lighter side of things. I am thankful to be me.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

On the Road to Utah

We will be leaving - in just a few hours - for Utah. Doug's cousin is getting married, and it will be a great chance to see friends and family who we haven't seen for quite some time. This trip will be interesting...the girls are a little older and much more vocal about their car-riding limits. AK is still on antibiotics and breathing treatments for a sinus infection, and Roo hasn't wanted to sleep for the past few nights. Despite the fact that we have had this trip planned for quite some time, I still managed to leave everything for the last minute...laundry, dishes, packing, cleaning out and then loading the car, housework (I hate coming home to a messy house)....you name it, and I have procrastinated about as long as I can.

The seconds are ticking away, and I am not any closer to getting to bed than I was an hour ago when I first logged into the computer in an attempt to get bills paid and get a headstart on homework. On that note, I should probably log of our blog and get cracking...I'll need to focus all my energy on the drive ahead of us. Let's just hope the lightening and thunder and rain that have been raging in Chandler all day do not navigate towards Utah. I'll keep my fingers crossed we have good weather for our trip up.

Halloween Recap

Halloween was a lot of fun. We had most of Doug's family in town, so it was great for all the cousins to get together and tackle the neighborhood. We had a potluck dinner of chili, Halloween pasta salad (the noodles were in the shape of ghosts and bats - very cute and tasty), homemade salsa, veggies, cupcakes, Mother's famous sugar cookies, and all sorts of delicious goodies.

AK was dressed as a lion, and Roo was dressed as a zebra. Not too original, but we thought the theme was appropriate since AK still enjoys biting everything and everyone - especially her sister. I admit I am biased, but I think my little girls were the cutest pair of jungle animals out there. I will get pictures posted once I receive some from Doug's family - once again, Doug and I were without a camera since our charger is MIA and I completely spaced on going out to buy one. Since Doug's sister is now working in a photo studio, I may even take the girls in and get professional pics in their Halloween digs...we'll see how that goes...maybe I'll just settle for 2-year birthday pictures instead (yes, the days are quickly counting down until my babies turn two...YIKES!)

This week has been a blast, in spite of the flu bug that we have all seemed to contract. I guess I should have heeded my own advice and taken my entire family in for flu shots a few weeks ago. Roo got the bug first, then AK, and now Doug and I are battling the nasty little pest. We are trying to keep our spirits high - hopefully we can conquer this thing early in the flu season, and not be affected by it during the holidays. Again...we'll see how that goes. :0)

I Stand Corrected

I just wanted to clarify something that I previously wrote - in one of the posts I compiled on the Southern California fires, I put that my brother-in-law's brother had lost his home. It turns out I should have been more optimistic. Although homes on the same street were lost, Brandon's brother's home was not touched by the fire. There is a gully that runs behind the house, and if that had caught fire, then a loss of the home would have probably been inevitable. Fortunately, some very brave neighbors ignored that evacuation notice and stayed behind to fight the fires on their street. Thanks to these real-live heroes, many homes were saved.

And Yet Another Update

Thanks to the eye-witness report from Doug's dad and brother, the Hoopes homestead in Fallbrook is currently safe and has been unaffected by the fire. There is still heavy smoke in the area, as a result of the fires that are still going, and the evacuation notice has not been lifted (no comment on how the daring duo managed to get past multiple police roadblocks).

The smoke and ash are heavy throughout all of San Diego county. While my sister and her family are also safe from the fires, they have had to try and stay barricaded inside their home to minimize exposure to the unsafe breathing conditions. The LA and San Bernardino fires have not yet posed a threat to my parents' home, so for right now the Leach homestead is also safe.

We will keep praying for the Santa Ana winds to die down and for the safety and protection of all those combating the nasty fires. My heart goes out to all who have been affected by this devastating inferno.

Excerpt from NCTimes.com:

North County fires: Witch Creek Fire is 164,000 acres and has burned at least 750 homes, many in Escondido and Rancho Bernardo. The fire was bursting into the communities near Lake Hodges and Rancho Santa Fr. Rice Canyon Fire: Burning in Fallbrook toward De Luz since Monday. Has destroyed at leas 250 homes and damaged 30 others, evacuations are ordered for all 40,000 Fallbrook residents and residents in the area of De Luz. Poomacha Fire: Has burned at least 1,000 acres in the La Jolla Indian Reservation in San Diego County and was racing up the side of Palomar Mountain. Pauma and Rincon reservations were asked to evacuate. Rincon, Pauma and Valley View casinos are closed. Thiry or more homes have been damaged, and flames are still out of control. Eight people have reportedly been injured. Coronado Hills Fire burned 200 acres in San Marcos. A wildfire in the Coronado Hills that destroyed some homes and prompted the evacuation of more than 4,000 people and is fully contained. Evacuation orders are still in place. Guejito Fire started in the San Pasqual Valley area and came close to the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. The fire merged Monday with the Witch Creek Fire.

FALLBROOK

FALLBROOK -- Firefighters were battling a 4-mile long front of the Rice Fire in Fallbrook, where 40,000 people have fled under a mandatory evacuation, said John Buchanan, spokesman for the North County Fire Protection District.The fire is zero percent contained and is stretching from north of Mission Road almost to Highway 76 and Gird Road.
"That's where we're trying to make a stand," Buchanan said at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday.
The fire is estimated to have burned 4,000 acres and to have injured two civilians and one firefighter. An estimated 250 structures have been destroyed in Fallbrook and the eastern portion of Pala Mesa Village. Thirty homes have been damaged.An estimated time of containment is not known."We're still dealing with very eradic winds and extreme fire behaviors," Buchanan said. "We're basically at the whim of Mother Nature." - article copied and pasted from nctimes.com

You can also copy and paste the following URL for updates from The Fallbrook Village News: http://www.thevillagenews.com

Firestorm Update

Status of 2007 Firestorm as of 9 a.m.: By: North County Times

More than 300,000 county resident under evacuation ordersRice Canyon fire in Fallbrook:
6,000 acres involved, no containment
More than 500 homes and structures destroyed

Witch Creek fire in Ramona, Escondido, Rancho Bernardo:
164,000 acres involved; 5 percent contained
More than 500 homes and structure destroyedSeven firefighters injured.

Harris fire in South and East County:
70,000 acres involved; 5 percent containment
Uncertain number of homes and structures lost

Poomacho fire near Palomar Mountain:
More than 800 acres involved in area of La Jolla Indian Reservation fire at Poomacha Road near state Route 76; no containment
At least one structure destroyed
Eight firefighters injured

So Cal Wild Fires

Growing up as a child in Southern California, my favorite time of the year was October. Why? Because October meant that the Santa Ana winds came in, and I loved the warm, gusty weather conditions. While I still enjoy the winds, what I didn't understand as a child was that Santa Ana winds meants increased fire danger -increased dryness, low-humidity, and hot temperatures all equate to a perfect recipe for fire disaster...and that is exactly what is happening in seven Southern California counties right now. While the majority of my information is centered on the San Diego fires (we have many family and friends who live specifically in these cities), I understand there are also fires in Malibou (Los Angeles), and Lake Arrowhead (San Bernardino).

According to a news article from the North County times, the fires started Sunday night and spread quickly due to wind gusts up to 80 mph. Late Sunday night, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for the following counties: San Diego, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Santa Barbara.

As of Tuesday morning, more than 300,000 Southern California residents have been forced to evacuate their homes. My in-laws, as well as many other close family friends, are included in that number(the entire town of Fallbrook was ordered to evacuate last night). As far as I know, all our family and friends are safe at this point. We don't know about all the homes, but I think most are hoping for the best, but anticipating the worst.

I haven't received an update yet this morning, but here is the most current info I could find online:

• Fire officials also said they were trying to keep the blaze from going south of Highway 76. If the flames were to enter the San Luis Rey River valley, authorities said they were not sure they could stop the fire from heading into Oceanside.
• By late Monday night, roughly 120 firefighters and 25 engines fought the blaze. The fire was being held at Gird Road and Live Oak Park Road to the west, East Mission Avenue to the north and Rice Canyon Road to the east.
• While the number of acres burned stood at around 1,000 Monday night, the so-called Rice fire had become the most devastating in Fallbrook's history in a little over 12 hours, in terms of the number of homes lost.
• Various reports said that an entire park full of mobile homes had burned down, leaving hundreds of residents homeless. Other homes near that park, dubbed "Valley Oaks," had gone down in flames, while a neighborhood of condos attached to the Pala Mesa Resort had also perished.

I am not trying to be the Debbie Downer of the situation - I am merely trying to relay information to keep everyone informed. For anyone who may not be familiar with the severity of So Cal wildfires, please keep reading and keep all those affected in your prayers.

From Ear Infections to Busted Computers

The past two weeks have been rather interesting - we have gone from fevers to normal temperatures to coughs and congestion to throwing up all night to feeling fine and dandy the following morning. Between our two lively girls, we have literally been riding on a nonstop roller coaster. I finally caved in and took the twins to the doctor on Saturday; AK has an infection in her right ear, Roo's is in the left ear. Each has had a night full of fevers and throwing up - not fun for anyone involved, but I am hoping the antibiotics they are now on will start to turn things around. At least I'm not having to fight with the girls to keep their diapers on - they apparently seem to have lost interest in taking them off all the time (thankfully). No-I haven't started the battle of potty-training yet; I just couldn't bring myself to accept the fact that they might be old enough to take such a big step into "big girl-land." Maybe I'll start that quest after the holidays - they'll be two years then and I won't have to worry about traveling and family visitors and all that fun confusion that may muddle the whole "training" attempt.

On a side note, our desktop is reverting back to the OCD tendencies it demonstrated back in California. Even though the virus and system checks continue to come back normal, the computer feels the need to restart itself every 1-2 minutes - making it virtually impossible to do anything on the blasted thing. I am sitting in the library right now, typing away as fast as I can so that no one thinks we've fallen off the face of the earth. The girls patience is quickly running thin, so I am going to sign off and hope we can fix the computer soon. Love to all!

Oh-and make sure to get your flu shots - if our recent illnesses have been an indication of anything, it's going to be a doozy of a season!

Total Score!

So I finally decided to tackle some of the boxes still lurking in our garage, and lo and behold - I discovered two giftcards to Target that I had bought long ago to give as gifts, only to misplace them and spend the last year wondering where I had put them. Go figure. Anyhow - this was a total treat, as I needed to go to Target today anyway to get diapers and milk...you know, the essentials. Isn't it amazing how the tiniest surprise can brighten your day?!

Autumn

Irish poet William Allingham once said "Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt."

If it weren't for the recent (and unexpected) drop in temperatures, I would argue that Mr. Allingham must be referring to autumn in Arizona...the words dead, fire, and melt are all appropriate for describing the hotlands we have moved to :0)

Insomnia

Yes - here I am, on the computer at 1:44 am...another night of not being able to sleep. AK developed a fever today - it could be that she's teething, or maybe she caught cold from the meager 80 degree temperatures we have been blessed with the past few days (Hallelujah!). Either way, I seem to have developed paranoia-related insomnia and find myself unable to go to sleep because I know as soon as I manage to drift off to lullaby land, AK will simultaneously wake up and I will need to tend to my firstborn child. Maybe, if I am lucky, I will be able to get some snuggles from a mid-morning awakening. The girls are growing so independent, cuddle-time is at an all time low. It makes me sad to see my 2 little babies growing so quickly, but yet there is such joy in seeing the many amazing and wonderful ways that they are developing.

Our latest challenge has been to learn names. Aiden can say Reilly, and Reilly can say Aiden, but they have yet been able to master saying their own names. As far as they are concerned "ME" is the only word they need to know to identify themselves.

The girls are following in their Auntie Em's tastes - AristoCats has fast become their favorite movie. The "kikis" (a.k.a kitties) seem to be the current infatuation, with monkies (pronounced "moan-ki" by Roo) and early morning cartoons (mainly Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and The Doodlebops) falling close behind. Doug is already fretting since the girls seem to have inherited not just my liking of dance, but my profound sense of rhythm as well. Dancing and twirling and grooving are great ways to pass the time away! Also, the cooler temperatures have been a welcome invite to spend more time outdoors, so playtime at the park is an almost daily occurrence. It seems that no matter where we go, Roo must place anything that comes into contact with her hands into her mouth. While I no longer enter into a state of instant panic each time I see this happen, I do wonder just how long this habit of taste-testing sand, soil, rocks, litter, grass, and "who knows what else" is going to last.

Catching Up...again

Okay, so I don't have an interesting or amazing excuse for not writing ANYTHING for the past four weeks; all I can say is that I have been enjoying my time with my family. We had a lot of visitors this past month - my sister Valerie came out for a surprise visit one weekend (click here to see pictures from this visit), then Doug's brother Dan came back out with Doug after a UFC weekend in California, and finally my sister Shauna and her family stayed with us during a visit for a friend's wedding. A full house means fun times, and fun times we had! The girls loved all of their visitors - it was probably such a nice break to have people, other than boring ol' mom, to hang out with...and, of course, be adored by.

The girls and I also went to Quartzsite to visit with my friend Casey and her parents. The girls loved playing with their friend Madison, or "Manny" as Roo calls her, and they couldn't get enough of the dirt and rocks and birds. The short visit introduced the girls to the marvel of golf carts; AK loved that the seats were just her height. She climbed up and down to her hearts content, honked the horn, and moved the steering wheel around as if she were cruising full speed down the highway. All in all, this past month has been a blast. Times like these make the more challenging ones completely worth it.

Time Goes Fast

It didn't dawn on me until this morning that we have already entered into the month of September...apparently, my internal calendar failed to update with the passing of the new month. September means that summer is pretty much over - Doug and I started new classes this week. I guess some good news is that AZ temperatures have already started cooling off (we only reached 98 degrees today)...what a relief!

The coming of September also means that in just two months, my beautiful baby girls will turn two years old. Every day is a new adventure with them. They grow smarter, bolder, and more adventurous with each new hour. I try my best to keep up and to keep them entertained, but I feel that I am continuously falling short. The girls are already showing a strong sense of independence...some may argue that this is common for toddlers their age, that it's evidence they are "finding themselves" and developing their personalities. Keeping that in mind, I also know how independent their mother is...Doug says they inherited it from me, but I wonder - is independence a genetic trait? Probably not, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept or understand. Part of this newly found sense of independence means that the girls are not afraid to tell me what they do and do not want. "NO! No, Mamma" is a phrase that I hear far more often than I would like. It's scary, because sometimes I hear my exact tone and phrase in their words - it's been a wake-up call.

I have learned through their mimicking that I really need to watch just how harshly I may say things. Even though Roo just dumped an entire bowl of applesauce onto the freshly mopped floor to tell me she was done with her lunch, or maybe it was AK who pulled the laptop off the couch (again) because she wanted to look at some pictures, I need to take a few seconds and just breath...let go of the bad feelings, emotions, reactions, and breath in the good, calm, peaceful, and loving words. The latter set of reactions will have a far better impact on teaching my daughters what is right and wrong.

The girls are like sponges - they see, hear, and absorb everything that Doug and I do and say. If I've never had a reason before to act calmly, patiently, respectfully, and lovingly, then I definitely do now...my little babies are almost 2, going on 20, and they are picking up on every little thing they see.

Fun Times

What's worse than 114 degree temperatures?

Having a fickle air conditioner that works one day, but not the next. Apparently, our AC unit can't make up it's mind as to whether it wants to work for us or not. Today was the fourth day where we woke up to 85 degree temperatures in the house - quite a surprise for 6:00 in the morning. By 10am, the temperature in the house was reaching 90 degrees, so the girls and I hopped into the car to take Doug to his dentist appointment. After driving around in the air-conditioned car for over 4 hours, we headed back to the home front. The AC repair guy finally came over a little after 5:00 pm, but by then the darn thing had decided to kick into gear and get the house down to a cool 79 degrees. Go figure. The only thing we can do at this point is hope that the AC unit decides not to work in the morning, that way, the repairman can troubleshoot the situation and try to fix the problem. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Record Breaking Heat

Today's temperature was 110 degrees. Generally, Arizona doesn't see more than 10 days a year that exceed this benchmark - the current record is 28 days of high temperatures. Today's high temperature marked the the 27th day in 2007 on which the temperature in Phoenix was 110 degrees or higher. The seven-day forecast for this week predicts three more days of this extreme heat (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday). So, basically, what I have learned is that we moved to Arizona during one of the hottest, record-breaking summers possible. Go figure.

The Key to Happiness

According to a survey conducted by the Associated Press and MTV, spending time with families was one of the top causes of happiness in people ages 13-24. I thought it was pretty interesting, primarily because family has always been extremely important to me. Nearly three-quarters of the 1,280 people surveyed said that their relationship with their parents makes them happy. Way to go moms and dads! Surprisingly, money was not listed as a top cause of happiness. Another thing I found interesting was that sexual activity within this age group was actually found to cause less happiness (who would have thought?!). Close to half of those surveyed said that religion and spirituality cause happiness. An overwhelming majority thought that marriage and starting a family of their own would also cause happiness. Pretty cool stuff, all-in-all.

The article that appeared on Yahoo New was pretty long, so instead of copying and pasting the whole thing here, I'll just provide the link and allow you to read it if you're interested.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070819/ap_on_re_us/youth_poll_happiness

While I know you can't believe everything you read, this is something I think is very true. Happy reading everybody!

By the way, these pictures of two people who make me VERY happy...oh how I love my beautiful little girls. Reilly is in the first picture, Aiden is in the third. In the middle picture, Aiden is on the couch and Reilly is standing.

Today was a good day

Today was a good day. I got to spend the morning with my girls; Aiden and Reilly helped me bake some cookies for my Sunday School Lesson. After singing in Sacrament meeting with the Relief Society, the lesson today gave me new insight as well as some gentle reminders of things forgotten. Dinner was quick and easy - a little pot of spaghetti can last a long time for us. After bathtime, playtime, and getting the girls down for bed, I was able to hang out and spend a little time with my hubby. Pretty simple and easy-going, but it was a good day nonetheless. :0)

Scorpions...I hate scorpions

I don't actually think hate is a strong enough word to describe my feelings towards scorpions. We found two more last night - large ones, about 2-3 inches each. I was taking out the trash when I noticed a large spider just outside the side door to the garage. I went inside, got the Raid can, and returned to take care of the spider. As I was spraying the spider, I noticed a little shadow moving underneath the door jam. A few seconds later, I realized that little shadow was a scorpion - an evil, nasty, disgusting, creepy scorpion, trying to sneak away. Needless to say, the second it dawned on me that I was looking at a scorpion I took my sandal off and started smashing the sucker. A few seconds later, scorpion #2 started sneaking away in the opposite direction. Doug was quick to smoosh that one with his shoe...the buggers never had a chance. I don't think my heart has ever beat as fast as it did last night with those scorpions. It took a while before I got over the heeby-jeebies those nasty things cause. What can I say? I really hate scorpions.

And Yet We Move...Again

As most of you probably know by now, our family has successfully relocated to the scorching deserts of Arizona. We are very excited to be together as a family again - the month and a half prior to the move that we were separated was the longest month and a half of our lives. Doug secured a wonderful home for us - the girls and I are definitely loving all the space we have now. Seriously, our old home could have fit into the area of the dining room, kitchen, and garage (and yet, we were so happy there :0) The landscaping doesn’t match what we had back in Oceanside, but since we weren’t really able to enjoy it much before, we’ve been able to cope with the numerous cactus, aloe plants, and sun-scorched palm trees.


Doug is happy to be back at work with a manager who respects him and teaches him skills that will help him advance. His commute now is 20 minutes - much better than the hour or more he was driving to Costa Mesa. With Doug working so close to home, the girls and I havebeen able to meet up with him for lunch a few times. I am amazed at everything there is to do now that I don’t have work distracting me from my domestic duties. It still seems that I can never keep up on the laundry or dishes, but I have been able to unpack most of the boxes in our garage, which is more than I ever accomplished back in Oceanside. Aiden and Reilly are extremely active and curious - about anything and everything that crosses their path. I am much busier now than I ever was before - trying to keep up with the two of them is the best workout I can think of. Aiden has proven to be quite the little fish - she loves anything and everything water, which means that we spend a lot of time outside in our little blow-up pools or at one of the many local splash parks. Reilly loves playgrounds and has proven she did not inherit her mother’s fear of heights. Anytime we go to the park, I have to keep a watchful eye on her because she usually tries to find the tallest slide or structure she can and starts climbing away. Both girls seems to be fearless, which is great and scary at the same time.

We are looking forward to our vacation to California this next week. Doug’s younger sister Bethany will be getting married on the 26th of July, so we’ve decided to take some time away for the family. Doug has made plans to spend lots of catch-up time at the beach, as well as a day at Wild Rivers, so we will make sure to take lots of pictures and post them on here later.

I know this is a rather long update, and I apologize for taking so long to catch everyone up to speed. As always, we hope things are going well for you and your loved ones. I appreciate all of the recent emails and updates on everyone’s lives. Hopefully, I will be much better at blogging with the extra free time I have had bestowed upon me!!

Love you all!!

March Rolled in Like a Lion...

So, it is hard to believe but we are already into the third month of this year. Yikes!! Already, this new year has brought lots of fun and exciting changes, mainly a new nephew and a new niece. Keegan Anthony was born on Thursday, January 25th. He weighed in at a healthy 9 lbs. 1 oz., and was 20 1/2 inches long. Berlin Isabella was born on Tuesday, February 13. The little beauty weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz. and was 21 inches long. Finley is adjusting well to having a new little sister around; he is definitely stepping up to the plate as the big brother.


Work and school continue to keep Doug and me busy. We have tried taking some time off together so that we can all hang out as a little family. Today the girls and I got to hang out with their cousins (Avery, Kemry, and Keegan) at the Carlsbad Outlet Mall….we had a blast. The girls loved having so many people around to show off their walking and signing skills to, but Reilly did get a little jealous when her mama was holding Keegan for a little bit. No worries Roo, you’re still my little baby girl.