So Far...

So far this December has been fun.  We have already helped put up many decorations around at family members houses but still need to put up our own.  The kids all love to dress up in their winter clothes (Resa calls her's a costume) but we are still awaiting the elusive snow in the mountains.  We may have to wait awhile still because it is suppose to be 75 today.  We had fun at the Christmas parade this year and made quick friends with the family that was sitting next to us.  I hope everyone is enjoying the pictures posted and I promise more are to come.

Hi

So I decked out the blog a bit early for Christmas this year but just to let you know I did the background and banner myself!  I got all the elements from some great folks online that offer free digital scrap booking supplies.  A good supply if your looking for one is http://www.digiscrapdepot.com/.

The Nutcracker

Mara was in the Nutcracker

Act I: she is a pretty little girl at a party

Act II:  she is a clown













She had a blast

the Wedding

Congrats to Billy and Laura. You guys are awesome.

Quick updates

Let's see here...

Theresa had a birthday. She really likes trains if you don't know.

I had a birthday. Nana made me a cake. you know your jealous.

Mara had her first field trip. It was to a pumpkin patch to get pumpkins.

Timmy learned to crawl and does so on a regular basis.

more updates to come at a later date

The First Day

Well the morning seemed to start out like any other. The girls woke up early and were playing in the living room. Then some fun conversation was had over their morning cereal. But it was not any other morning. All the members of the household had to get out of our P.J.s and into some real clothes much sooner than was the normal routine. But then this now would be the new normal routine.

Theresa picked out one of her yellow dresses from one of the drawers. I think it was the one on top. Mara however did not pick out her dress from one of her drawers. Although her drawers did have a variety of sun-dresses to choose from, those sun-dresses are not in compliance with the school district's dress code (for they do not have sleeves). The dress Mara desired to wear for this special day would come from inside her closet. This dress had been hanging inside Mara's closet for over a week, staring at her. Just waiting to be worn and danced around in. In fact Mara had been begging to wear it, every day, ever since it had first appeared. This was her Special School Dress. That is the dress that Mara got to wear today.

After Mara put on this dress there was immediate singing and dancing involved. "It's my special day today, I get to go to school..." Soon after, the bag were packed and we were almost ready to be off. The children only showed slight impatience at having to wait for their mother to check the camera battery and then take pictures of everybody. Then we began our walk there.

Although the school is in sight of our house the walk seemed long to the smallest walker in our group. Maybe though it was just the sun beating down upon us. Mara looked up at our clear blue skies and wished it would just rain to cool us off a little. Soon after we were there.

It seemed like we had gotten there early and with many swings available both girls were soon well occupied. I personally used this opportunity to photograph this once in a lifetime event. Soon the playground was filled with these little students all laughing a playing. Some of them even hugging and talking about how it had been so long since they had seen one another. Then there was bells ringing, and lines being formed. Teachers were then marching students into various classrooms. One of these students being my little girl. I stayed for a quick peek. To look at Mara in her classroom with all her new school friends. But then it was time to leave.

The walk back home was nice. Theresa and I talked about the flowers and the cloudless sky. And also about her big sister. Who we would not see again until the 1:45 pickup.

Some Updates

Well after hearing some comments about my last post I realized something. My main followers don't just stop at the top to look at all the updated pictures. They scroll down and read all the wordy bits too. That calls for an actual update.

Mara will be starting full time kindergarten in Mrs. Vick's class this Wednesday. I got to talk with her extensively during the 'Jump Start' and I feel very confident that Mara will love it there and will be coming home with a large amount of fridge art on a daily basis. Plenty to share with all the grandparents. Mara will also be in ballet for another season so there will be a nutcracker performance come the Christmas time.

Theresa's only major milestone right now is that she had her first bloody nose today. Poor thing, she face planted right into the asphalt. I told her when she was all better she could have some chocolate milk. She seemed to recover fairly quickly. I'm looking forward to hanging out with her on a more one-on-one basis when Mara's in school.

Timmy is just cute. He smiles, giggles, rolls over and sucks his thumb.

Well that's all the words I can think of for now. I'll try to post more often since I now know that people pay attention to it. Oh, and I got my shirt.

Random Shirt

Lets see if anyone reads these blogs or if the couple of grandparents that look at this thing ever get past the picture slide show at the top. I like following the shirt contests over at shirt.woot.com. Sometime I even enter the contests but I haven't won yet. Well every once in a while they offer random shirts for sale. It's a really nice discount and we've gotten some real neat ones. It's kinda like gambling but with clothes. Well the other day when I ordered a few it culminated in some interesting correspondence with the customer service person named Riley.

Sent: Friday, July 09, 2010 4:00 PM
To: Woot : Service
Subject: ORDER #30548808

Dear Shirt.Woot.com Person

My random Shirts Came Early. YAY!!

Wait. There were only two of them when I ordered three. BOO!

I received two male 2xl shirts (for my husband). I am still currently missing the WXL shirt (MINE!).

Please send me something cute soon. I still really love you guys but I don't have a shirt to wear and I think I'm not suppose to leave the house topless.

Thank You For Fixing This Really Really Fast.

Amanda

On Fri, Jul 9, 2010 at 2:15 PM, Woot : Service <service@woot.com> wrote:

Hi Amanda,

The order looks like it has two tracking numbers associated with it so it’s likely yours is shipping on it’s own because it’s too cool to be seen with your husband’s shirts. The tracking number is below but it may take 2-3 business days for it to update with valid information. If you don’t see an update to it by Wednesday, please let us know.

http://www.fedex.com/Tracking?tracknumbers=02185456301073786433

Riley

Sent: 07/16/2010
To: Service; service@woot.com; Woot Member Services
Subject: Re: ORDER #30548808, case # W-606406-88OL

Riley (or what ever woot staff person gets this)

well I really didn't see an update on Wednesday, or Thursday, or today (Friday) for that matter. Has my shirt been sent? Is it invisible? Even if it is part of the Emperors New Clothes line the tracking number should works still, right? I recently checked and it is still illegal for me to walk around topless so I could really use my shirt. Unless of course you are willing to pay my legal bill.

Amanda

Amanda,

Sorry that your shirt tracking data has not yet updated. I contacted the shirts department who stated "We make shirts?" to which I rolled my eyes and explained that it's a form of clothing people tend to wear. Of course I was laughed at afterwards and swore I'd get revenge with the help of my two trusty sidekicks, Pinky and the Brain, but that's beside the point.

Basically, the shirts department did say the shirts shipped out later than expected and the last of them did not go out until yesterday. The tracking number should still update within the next few days but if you don't see an update by Tuesday, please let us know. I know that's asking a lot to go an entire weekend without the shirt since there are laws and such...but sadly I'm not able to get the Huffy out of the garage and convince them I can bike the distance before then.

Anyway, if you can just bare with us - oh dear, not exactly the right words - um, if you can just sort of give us a little more time, we'll get a shirt to you shortly!

Riley

My mom has some really pretty wild flowers in her backyard. She wanted me to show them off.

Park Playdate

We had a fun park play date with some other moms today. It turned into a very eventful day because Mara has learned how to swing by herself. (There is a video at the bottom of the page.) She enjoyed the thrill of going higher and higher all by herself. Theresa liked swinging for awhile but then she discovered a couple trees that she could climb. The kids didn't play too much with the others today but that's O.K.

I love spring time in Arizona. On Tim's days off we have been enjoying the beautiful weather outside. Our latest exploits have had us going up to the Coronado National Memorial. The kids really like the cave trail.

Climbing a tree

We have some new neighbors and he was showing Mara how to climb a tree.

Easter

I had a fun easter with my family. Enjoy the new slideshow.

Grass

I have grass growing inside my house. I took a picture.

A busy Saturday

Mara's Birthday Party was this Saturday. It was a fun little gathering at the park. The kids got to play on the slide and run around. Friends and Family came and my sister-in-law made an awesome birthday cake. I was asked by several people if she made cakes for a living. Mara really enjoyed it and all in all felt like it was a very special day just for her.

Well at the end of it Tim and I went off to the hospital and welcomed a new member into our family. Timothy Grant Bethard Jr. was welcomed into this world at 2:39 p.m. on Saturday March the 13th. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long.