Parent's Weekend

Back in September we attended parent's weekend at Arizona State where our daughter is a senior. As tradition would have it, we attended the football game on Saturday night. This year instead of a group of us going out to dinner first, our daughter Courtney and her 2 roommates decided to have a "tailgate" party at their apartment. The girls took care of everything and bbq'd hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone. It was so nice to be able to relax, talk, and have a little fun taking pictures before the game...


We also did something different this year by taking the light rail train to the game. The light rail is new and has only been up and running for about a year now. We've watched them build it since Courtney started at ASU so it was fun to be able to take it to the game...


Boy you talk about packed in like sardines. When the light rail pulled up and the doors opened, my daughter said "run run run!" I must not have been moving fast enough because Courtney gave me one big push and I went flying. One minute I was outside on the landing and the next minute I was inside the train. Luckily I landed on my feet!

Do you remember Courtney's best friend's sister Macey who was hit by a car last December? Macey has done so much better than predicted and to look at her you would never know what her poor body has been through in the last 10 months. She looks amazing and is doing fantastic. With all of the surgeries, Macey's head has been shaved so many times but her hair sure looks cute and sassy now! Here is a picture of my daughter's longtime best friend McKenzie, mom Robin, and sister Macey. Such beautiful women aren't they! I think this picture is a Christmas card in the making!


Beautiful and sweet roommate Jordie...


Once we were in the stadium and sitting in our seats, Courtney went up to use the restroom. After a few minutes I saw Courtney walking down the steps, but she passed us by. She had the cutest, most frail woman hanging onto her arm. Courtney had seen an elderly couple trying to maneuver the steep stairs down to their seats and decided to give them a helping hand...


Aren't they the sweetest looking things!

Arizona Bound

We headed to Arizona yesterday and arrived in Phoenix about 9:00ish last night. Our drive was leisurely and unhurried which is the best kind I say. Our daughter and 2 of her roommates are moving into another apartment in July and she wanted mom and dad to check everything out before hand. I'm so glad she values our opinion on so many things. Sure, we're the one's footing the bill while she's in college but still I'm thankful that she includes us and looks to us for advice and guidance.

Arizona is beautiful this time of year. Not scorching hot (like when we've moved her into her dorm and apartment in August) but not cold either. It's perfect.

Although Arizona isn't a state I would want to live in permanently because of the extreme heat, there are things that I enjoy each time I visit. Here are just a few...

Desert scenery...


One of my favorite stores (we don't have these in CA, and maybe that's a good thing!)...


Temperatures like these...


QT gas stations. Drinks are only .69 cents and QT has the biggest variety of soft drinks of any gas station ever. I always feel like a kid in a candy store...


But the best thing in Arizona is this beauty...


Sitting in an Arizona State rocker at Cracker Barrel this morning. ASU's mascot is Sparky the Sundevil. She's showing us Sparky's pitchfork.



It's hard to believe, but my little girl is now officially a college senior!

Zapped Of Energy

It's after 10:00am and I'm still in my pajamas! Do you ever have days like this?

The past 5 days were busy, exciting, and definitely fun-filled so coming home to our quiet house, void of energetic, vibrant, college girls is a tad bit depressing. Plus the fact that we had to say good-by to our sweet Courtney. It'll take me a day or two to get re-adjusted to home.

We arrived in Phoenix late Thursday night and it was HOT. I still think Arizona never gets below 90 degrees, EVER, even though I've been told differently. Friday night a group of us went out to dinner at Oregano's. It's a fun, happening place and a favorite of the girls. Look at these beautiful girls. The nice thing is that they are just as sweet and smart as they are beautiful. They are an absolute pleasure to be around.

Courtney, Macey, Jordie, and Mackenzie

Saturday night was the ASU football game. Howard and I always enjoy going to the football game during parents weekend. I love seeing the kids with their parents and families and I love the support that the community shows to ASU football. Tempe really supports their hometown team. It was a really good game, close, but good. Thankfully ASU won!






Parents weekend is never short on shopping and this trip was no exception. We got some shopping time in on Friday and Saturday and I was even able to visit my favorite store...Hobby Lobby! I picked up a few Fall/Halloween goodies that I'll share with you soon.

Howard and I are lucky in that we were able to stay until Tuesday whereas most parents go home on Sunday. We love spending the extra time with Courtney and her roommates and even managed to get them together for one last dinner on Monday night. They had gone to classes and even worked that day but met us for a good-by dinner at P.F. Changs. Again, P.F. Changs did not disappoint.


I left straight from P.F. Changs and headed to Cheesecake Factory...no lie! More about that tomorrow!

52 Blessings

Today is Sunday...and I am blessed!

We have had a wonderful time here in Arizona with family and friends. We had an early breakfast this morning then had to say goodbye to my parents as they headed back home to Colorado. We will be here in AZ until Tuesday.

With all of us decked out in our ASU gear, we attended a tailgate BBQ and the ASU football game last night. The Oregon Ducks killed the Sun Devils. Last year's football team was unbeatable and such fun to watch...this year's team is awful! Here are a few pictures from last night.


This is my mom, step-dad Jim, Brandon, and Courtney. My two children are the only grandchildren my mom will ever have and they are her heart! She has always been very involved and interested in their lives. Brandon and Courtney are fortunate to have grandparents that care about and love them so much.


Howard, myself, Brandon, and Courtney as we were heading out to the tailgate BBQ.


This is a picture of Courtney and Mackenzie. Courtney and Mackenzie have known each other since elementary school, been best friends forever, and are now roommates in college. Mackenzie stayed home last year and finished up her first year of college at our local junior college. This is her first year at ASU.


This is Mackenzie's mother Robin and myself. Robin not only sent off Mackenzie to college in August, she sent off her other daughter Macy as well. Talk about being an empty nester.


Like Robin mentioned, this is a picture of my 3 kids! We consider Mackenzie one of our own.


The beautiful grandmothers Rachel and Delores with their beautiful granddaughters.


I love this group shot. Although the food left alot to be desired, the company was excellent. Here are Rachel, Jim, Howard, Linda, Brandon, Courtney, Robin, Delores, and Mackenzie relaxing at dinner before walking to the stadium for the big game.

As you can see, we are ALL proud of our 2 girls. They are good girls who are thriving and becoming independent young women here in AZ. Courtney and Mackenzie, keep up the good work. We love you!

I'm Getting Excited!

Today will be busy, busy, busy in preparation for this upcoming weekend and I've got a to-do list a mile long.

My hubby, handsome son, and I will be flying out early Friday morning to Phoenix for Parent's Weekend at Arizona State. We went last year and had a great time. We are all excited, but especially Courtney! She's excited because this year my parents and her brother are coming too. They've never been to Phoenix and she's excited to show off her new apartment and her school campus to them.

My parents are flying in today from Colorado and will get to spend some alone time with her before we get there on Friday. Saturday I'm sure Courtney will want to give them a campus tour and I know we'll hit up the fabulous bookstore for more t-shirts. Saturday night we'll be going to a tailgate party and then to the ASU football game. These college football games are a blast. I love watching the cute college kids all decked out in their school colors, cheering for their school. Most of all, I love watching Courtney and seeing her in this new adventure. I took loads of pictures last year so be prepared!

I will be working tomorrow so I've only got today to get packed and finish my errands. First things first, pack the Halloween goodie bags...those college girls are waiting for them!

(Bren and Lene...I'll be there until Tuesday. Maybe we can get together Sunday night for dessert or sometime Monday?)

Busy as Bees

We headed off to Ikea today. The other mom cancelled out on me so hubby, Courtney, and I went by ourselves. Since none of the other roommates were with us we just picked up things for Courtney such as pans, cooking utensils, bowls, etc. We were on the lookout for a computer chair and found the perfect one there. Courtney's color scheme for her room is black and white with a touch of red. Take a look at this cute computer chair. Not only does it look good but it's comfortable too.


This is what her bedding looks like.


The bathroom is done in black, white, and red also.


We bought a black bookcase at Ikea, very sleek looking with glass doors. She set her TV on top and then has the shelves for storage. Storage space is extremely limited in this room. As you can see, this room is SMALL but thankfully it's all decorated now and Little Sis is happy with everything, and truly, that's what makes me happy. Now she can just concentrate on the task at hand...starting school on Monday.

Late afternoon the girls and us parents headed out to Target looking for curtains, curtain rods, rugs, and stuff to make the apartment look lived in. We picked up a few things and I'll be hanging up the curtain rods and curtains tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be an emotional day for Mackenzie as her dad, sister, and boyfriend will be heading home early in the morning. Courtney and I both have already had tears over the thought of us leaving. It's not easy on anyone, the student or the parents. Everyone's just a ball of emotions.

Phoenix or Bust

After a long day on the road, we're finally here. Courtney (little sis) is able to move into her apartment at 8:00am tomorrow and you bet we'll be out the door early in order to avoid the heat. At one point today, the gauge in our motorhome said it was 120 degrees outside. I don't know if it was accurate but if you guessed the temp to be at least 110 degrees you'd be pretty close I'm sure, if not on the low side.

We started off the day with a nourishing breakfast...7 of us in all. We then caravaned with hubby, myself, and Jake in our motorhome. Courtney and her best friend Mackenzie driving in Courtney's car and then Mackenzie's dad, her boyfriend Tim, and her sister Macey following in dad's truck which was pulling Mackenzie's car. Mackenzie stayed home last year and went to school at our local community college. Lucky for Courtney, Mackenzie was accepted at ASU also and they will be roommates as of tomorrow. This is a dream come true for them and I'm thrilled.

Here are a few pictures from the day...


Courtney and Mackenzie


Courtney, Mackenzie, and Macey (Macey leaves for Cal State Long Beach in a few short weeks herself)


Tim, Courtney, Macey, Mackenzie, and Chuck


ASU bound...again!

Jake loves the motorhome, or should I say my lap! So this is how we roll...




I finally remembered to bring my iPod so I was good to go. It made the drive quite enjoyable actually.

While I'm here in Arizona I'll be getting together with 3, maybe 4 blogging buddies. I've never met any blog friends in real life so I'm very excited. I'll take pictures and let you know all about it...I can't wait!

I'm going to leave you with a picture of my sister Kim, Courtney, and myself from dinner last night. I don't get to see Kim much and it's crazy. We had such an enjoyable time that there's no excuse for us not to see each other more often. I'm definitely going to work on that one.

I'm in a Rut

Haven't blogged much lately...I think I'm in a blogging rut. Nothing new to write about as everything is still the same...still too hot outside and still working hard.

But things will change tomorrow.

Right now I'm feeling overwhelmed and a little depressed. We leave for AZ tomorrow and I have alot to do today. I need to be ready to leave the house by 7:15 am. We're caravaning with another family to AZ and we're meeting for breakfast at 7:30. We're also meeting my sister/brother-in-law for dinner tonight.

I need to get busy but I don't feel like it. I just keep thinking about how I'm gonna miss little sis.

Oh no, here come the tears.

UPDATE: I put on a beautiful CD that Bren sent me and I lit my favorite candle...and then went to work. I've now dusted, decluttered a bit, done some laundry, shined up the kitchen, hosed down the patio/backyard, and have swept and mopped the house. So now I'm happy to report that I'm not feeling so overwhelmed anymore. This is so indicitive of my nature. If my house is in order, life is good. I'm glad that I made myself get busy because now I'm ready to tackle the day.

As I was mopping, my hubby left to go run an errand. He hadn't been gone 10 minutes when he came back home. He'd gone out and bought me a fountain drink Pepsi! My house is in order and I have a fountain drink. Yes, I'm happy now.

The Clock is Ticking

But not fast enough for our daughter...aka Little Sis.

When she goes back to school in Arizona next month, she and 3 other girls will be sharing an apartment. To say that these 4 girls are EXCITED would be a hugh understatement. They're literally counting down the days.

Not counting down the days for school to start, or of leaving family at home, but counting down the days until apartment time. And really, can you blame them!?!

I hope the apartment will turn out to be a good idea. Each girl has her own bedroom and bath with a shared living room, dining room, and kitchen. They have a washer and dryer in the apartment also. Each girl signed her own contract with the apartment complex and is responsible to them for getting their rent in on time. Just this fact alone made it ok with hubby and I. Now they just have to worry about splitting up the utilities which hopefully won't be any big deal.

Did I mention they're EXCITED!

We've been doing a little shopping the last few days. We've purchased everything from silverware to sheets to salt & pepper shakers. Here's a sampling of what we've been storing in our guest room and what we have to haul back to AZ next month...


Speaking of our guest room, I wanted to leave you with this. I bought a picture holder and I use it to hold all of my "good mail" I receive from by blogging friends. If you've ever sent me a note or a card, it's here, in our guest room for all to see. I display them proudly!

Monday Miscellany

We have a full week ahead of us so today was busy with errands and much needed housecleaning.

First off, I started a diet today. This past weekend, every meal looked something like this. This is Joe and Linda and they are holding a pan of carne asada which we had Saturday night for dinner. Let me tell you, every meal cooked by Joe is gourmet and an unbelievable taste sensation!


I finished boxing up some spring good mail goodies and thank you notes to be sent out and took them to the post office today...and waited 50 minutes in line! The line was incredibly long but I still think we have the slowest post office employees around. I swear they move in reverse.


I received a nice thank you card from Andie and her daughter "Boo" thanking me for a good mail package I sent to Boo. Yay, Boo is now completely potty trained! Andie is also the one who gave us the heads up about this candle. Yankee candles have been a favorite of mine for years but this scent is new and we're lovin' it.



Thought I'd show you a picture of my new reading/blogging area. I came up with the idea last week to make a little sitting area on one side of our patio and this is what we came up with. We saw this at Costco on Tuesday and thought it would suit our purpose perfectly. I'm really lovin' this!


Our son took hubby back to Costco to pick it up in his truck. On the way home, on a VERY BUSY STREET, this loveseat slid out of the back of the truck and right into traffic. Luckily, for one, it was very well packaged so no damage was done and secondly, no car ran into it!

I work on Tuesday and Wednesday so I have been busy today getting ready to leave town on Thursday for Arizona because guess who is coming home for 5 weeks???


Our daughter (little sis) is finishing up her freshman year at ASU this week and we go pack her up at the end of the week and bring her home for awhile. It seems like yesterday that I was crying the whole 8 hours home after we dropped her off at college...man that year zoomed by.

Well I guess I'd better get in there and finish cleaning (I'm sitting in my new sitting area outside right now.) My son has a friend from Brazil named Vivianne that is coming to our house for a few days on Thursday. We are sooo sad because we're leaving on Thursday for Phoenix and won't get to spend any time with her. Vivianne is moving back to Brazil permanently from Maui and wanted to see our son before she goes. Maybe it's good that we won't be home because it's going to be a sad good-by. I was hoping someday she was going to be my daughter-in-law! I just keep thinking...YOU NEVER KNOW!