On to the resolutions!

Another Christmas in the books. Christmas Eve is spent with Dave's side of the family. We decided this year that the adults would exchange homemade gifts. (Who needs more stuff?) Exchanged were salsa, cookie dough, cookbooks and calendars! It was so much fun! And of course there were cookies, fudge, cheese/crackers, chips/dip, cookies, and cookies. Did I mention Mom made Cookies? We rolled out of there and made it home before Santa came. Kendra left a note, they left a couple of Morgan's sugar cookies and a glass of egg nog. Off to bed we all went, moaning still from the cookies (remember?)

Christmas morning, Kody was not the guy who wanted to wake up. He just dragged his lazy hiney out to the tree and looked at us like we were crazy. He's not used to all 4 of us getting up at the same time. Usually, it's one at a time so he has some lazy time alone with everyone. But nooo, this time, he was so confused - didn't know who lay on first! But he figured it out - lay in the middle of the floor and watch the goings on.

We passed out the presents and ripped them open. We all got what we wanted, (at least I know I did) and we were feeling the love in our little circle. Of coure that sounds hokey, but in all honesty, we did talk about the love of the season and why we were doing all this for each other. We are glad that our girls know this. We're also glad they understand After-Christmas-Sales, so we can give them an IOU for their 'big' present to get the bestest price! After cinnamon rolls, we got cleaned up and dressed in our Christmas Outfits (Ok just the girls in Outfits) It was off for Maricopa to see Jon, Erika and Angelise. More present ripping - loving - and hanging of the new ceiling fan, it was back to Chandler for Sue's side of the family. Believe it or not, we made it to Chandler by 1. All that in less than 6 hours! Everyone was there - even the transplants to MN - loving the warm weather. The kids got their presents (jewelry, clothes, etc) and the adults exchanged other things - pick a number, pick a present and then trade. I think most of us got something we could use - even it's for a white elephant exchange next year! We both came home with food - so that's good. Food always finds a way to dissappear without hurting anyone's feelings. Again, the love filled the room, and it was sad to say goodbye to the MN folks. However, there's a wedding coming up so we'll see them in a couple of months! And email is such a wonderful thing!

I hope your Christmas celebrations were as loving as ours. He is the reason, after all. And what better way to celebrate than to be with those we love.

May His love stay with you throughout the New Year.

Merry Christmas, everyone

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. And I DO say that to everyone - Merry Christmas. Now for some humor for Friday...but thought I'd share early so we can all sit back after all the baking, shopping, wrapping, addressing, singing, and plain old STRESSING is over, relax and enjoy a good laugh.


The Twelve Days AFTER Christmas
By Frederick Silver

The first day after Christmas, my true love and I had a fight
And so I chopped the pear tree down
and burned it just for spite
Then with a single cartridge,
I shot that blasted partridge
My true love, my true love, my true love gave to me

The second day after Christmas, I pulled on the old rubber gloves
and very gently wrung the necks of both the turtle doves
My true love, my true love, my true love gave to me

The third day after Christmas, my Mother caught the croup
I had to use the three French Hens to make some chicken soup
The four calling birds were a big mistake
for their language was obscene
The five golden rings were completely fake
and they turned my fingers green
The sixth day after Christmas, the six laying geese wouldn't lay
I gave the whole darn gaggle to the A.S.P.C.A

On the seventh day, what a mess I found
All seven of the swimming swans had drowned
My true love, my true love, my true love gave to me

The eighth day after Christmas, before they could suspect
I bundled up the eight maids a milking, nine pipers piping, ten ladies dancing, eleven lords a leaping, twelve drummers drumming

(Spoken: "Well, actually, I kept ONE of the drummers" )

and sent them back collect
I wrote my true love, " We are through, love! "
And I said in so many words,
" Furthermore your Christmas gifts were for the birds! "


Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Year to all!

One Down

No pictures, but just the info. We had Thankgiving dinner with Sue's side of the family today. It actually worked out really well - even better than Sunday after T-day. Everyone except Lucy and Daniel were there, including Mom's cousin Carole and her husband Tom, from Casa Grande. My gosh, we're good cooks! Juicy turkey, mashed potatoes and homemade gravy, home made dressing, cranberry fluff salad, cherry and cranberry salad, corn, green bean casserole, fruit salad, and cheesy grits. That was really a nice, different kind of dish. Very tasty. Homemade rolls and bread from two different kitchens - both so good. Of course we topped it all with Mom's pumpin pie and a cherry chocolate cake. We rolled out of there about two hours ago - I still feel stuffed like that turkey! But by Thursday, when we get to do it all over again - I'll be ready!

One More Try

One more Saturday to try to sell the rest of the Girl Scout crafts. Same place - same time - just different day.

Laundry Woes

You know that tube of Chapstick that went through your laundry and then through the dryer!?! Any stain through the dryer is usually permanent. BUT - we had a whole load of laundry that got splattered with chapstick - pink chapstick at that. And through the dryer - twice. We soaked it in vinegar/water. Then again in Spray and Wash. Nope - greasy spots all over Dave's new shirt...and his favorite Barrett Jackson shirt. (Well obviously Daddy wasn't happy) Test for color fastness - then try Spot Shot carpet cleaner! It worked like a champ! I sprayed it all over the clothes, and soaked the spots. All is well in LaundryLand and in the Moke-parent household once again.

Very Good Saturday

Saturday was a Morgan-N-Mom day. It was also a Kendra-N-Dad day. K-n-D went to Good Guys Car show. They called a few times to let us know how much fun they were having, and what cars they were seeing. M-n-M went to a Montlure reunion (church camp). We had Angelise with us as well. We had a blast too. Saturday was a good day! Everyone got time with someone else, and no one fought! Saturday night, since the cars at Good Guys have to leave, where do they go? The Pavillions, of course! So the 5 of us went out there to look at the cars. OMGoodness, they were beautiful, and it was PACKED. One car that made an impression on Angelise was a fixed up, stereo'd up old hearse. Complete with a 'dead guy' in the back seat. (plastic skeleton in a coffin) We also saw an Eclipse with a jet engine in the parking lot. He was doing his show. We were sitting in the truck close enough to feel the heat. We all had our ears plugged the best we could and it was still loud. It was pretty cool - and hundreds and hundreds of people were running over to see the show, just as the cops shut him down. Booo! But hey - we got a show, so it was a really good day!

Some Pics from NASCAR week end

A few pictures from our weekend at NASCAR.

This is the Red Cross Racing Booth

The Colors on Greg Biffle's Car

A few of our closest friends at the Sprint Cup Race

Turn One...

A nice memorial to Dale Earnhardt at PIR

Movie Clip from the Nationwide Series

Here is Carl Edwards, the winner from Saturday night's Nationwide Series race.

NASCAR Weekend

We are exhausted! Dave and I volunteered with the Red Cross to work at the Red Cross Racing booth at the NASCAR race this week-end. Not just one race - 3 races, 3 days. For each day, we got a ticket to the race. Yes - we stayed for the races. That was my first race - and Dave's umpteenth, but he hasn't been in a few years. The booth consisted of promoting blood donations, (and other Red Cross services, like their mobile kitchen where they can serve 30000 meals a day) and RedCrossRacing.com, where you can earn points toward NASCAR merchandise through inviting friends to join, and all your Red Cross blood donations. We stuck stickers on people, registered them for a trip to a race next season, played Plinko, A bean bag toss, and even gave away shirts, hats, lanyards, and 20 autographs from Greg Biffle. He was there signing them - up close and personal. I didn't get one, but I saw him, and took his picture. I'm a fan - and really wanted his autograph, but we weren't allowed. We just had so much fun. I am very hoarse today because of talking over very loud music and very loud cars, trying to tell our guests where to go next. When I get my pictures sorted out, I'll post them. I might even see if I can get one of my movies posted. The start of a race is such a rush! And Carl Edwards won the race Saturday - he does a back flip out his window when he wins - have it on video! It was such an awesome week-end.

Another Girl Scout Craft Show

Thank you H - this time I'm posting BEFORE the craft sale. Our Girl Scout troop is going to try again with the Craft Sale, seeing that we had so much left over from the last one. We need the money! So - the sale will be this Saturday, November 15, starting at 8 am. It will be Granite Reef and Jackrabbit area - across the street from 8325 East Sage Drive. From Granite Reef, turn west on Jackrabbit, then an immediate left on the first street, which will turn into Sage. It'll be on your right. I'm pretty sure there will be signs. Remember - just about everything you see there will have been made by a girl scout - and good chance she was under 14.

Birthday 'Presents', etc.

Morgan turned 14 a couple of weeks ago. Yes - 14. We can't believe it either! I wanted to share with you what Morgan got for her birthday. More often than not, they get to choose birthday dinner. Most of the time it's "what do you want Mom to cook for you?" But this time she got to choose to eat in or out. She chose Oregano's. So we loaded up and off we went. We decided since it was a nice nite, we'd wait the extra 10 minutes for a patio table. It was really nice, and really good food. We had never been there. Well, our table was in the corner, under this beautiful shade tree. Yup - you guessed it. Sleeping birds decided to 'rain' on Morgan for her birthday! Luckilly, nothing got on her directly (or in her food) but 3 times - plop, splat, Ewww! The waiter came over all three times and cleaned it up. Morgan kept scooting closer to Kendra, and soon we were all sitting on the same side of the table. But, with a dinner for 2 coupon I had won at a Fall Festival, our whole meal only cost $24. so we left him a really good tip!

Now the etc. part of the title:

So we were talking about the election and other stuffs. And with Morgan being 14, that means next year she'll be in high school. AND next time we have a presidential election - she can vote! Now that can be pretty scary. Not only will she be 18, but she could have a hopefully educated opinion in our next president. So far what I have found is that you have to be registered 29 days prior to the next general election to be eligible to vote. And as long as you're 18 the day of the election, you can vote. So in September of 2012, Morgan will be registering to vote - so she too can cast her ballot with us at 6 am in the cool weather, with all the other neighbors. And we told her...if it's different from ours, she can't come in the house! (wink wink)

Girl Scout Craft Bazaar

Today we had a G.S. Neighborhood craft bazaar. there were about 5 troops - different ages - who spent the last two months making crafts up the wazoo! There were bath salts, cookies in jars, jewelry, ornaments, tie-dyed shirts and shorts, even antenna balls! But much to our disappointment, not very many people came to buy anything. After 3 hours, the whole thing had only sold $150 worth of stuff, with SOOOOO much stuff left over. We're gonna have to do another one, or combine it with a regular garage sale. Lots of holiday things, so we don't have much time! Anyone have a yard sale coming up? Or other ideas? We really would like to sell all this stuff! It's not things we could use...unless they become gifts for our co-workers, friends, family, and strangers on the corner!

Constitution Day in Scottsdale

On Wednesday, September 17, Kendra's Girl Scout Troop was invited to participate in the Constitution Day celebration - in honor of the signing of the U S constitution in 1787. The Mayors of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Fountain Hills were there and read their city's constitution. It also honored school kids who won first second and third places in art and essay, for each grade level K-12. We were originally invited to be the Color Guard, but at the last minute, the Luke Airforce Base were available to present the colors. So we handed out programs, and assisted people with any questions they had. Our two girls escorted Mayor Manross to her seat on the stage.

We also participated in the booths that were sponsored by different schools in SUSD.

It was an enjoyable evening.

NASCAR Angels

Well, Thursday was the big day! The four of us went out to PIR (Phoenix International Raceway) for their NASCAR/9-11 Blood Drive.

Now, on a normal day, we would not drive to Avondale just to donate blood, especially considering that I coordinate drives at work. However, Morgan was invited to come out to be interviewed by NASCAR Angels - a TV show that highlights NASCAR's involvement in charity organizations. Morgan gave her testimonial at an American Red Cross Blood Drive Coordinator Luncheon last year. When the show contacted ARC about talking to a blood recipient, their media coordinator thought of Morgan. We were very excited.

When we got there, they gave the four of us a personal tour around the track – albeit in a golf cart, but a personal tour none the less. We got out at turn 3 so we could experience the banking, and were greeted by another track Ambassador.

We also got to go up in one of the suites. What a great place to watch a race!

They had sent us some sample interview questions and Morgan came up with some really good answers.

When we got there they also wanted to talk to one of the parents! So, my loving husband, volunteered me.

Then, lo and behold, my iron was good, and I was able to donate too. More camera time! They filmed me donating, with the girls sitting watching the whole process.

The camera man took the opportunity to use Dave’s camera to take the whole family by the Pace car.

Then the storm rolled in. Quite exciting out there, being out in the open and all. The wind set off the fire alarms in the suites.


It was quite an exciting day. We might be on TV! Check back here in a few weeks to see when it’s supposed to air.

UNBELIEVABLE!!!

The tree crew showed up at my sister's at 8:50.

They filled up one truck with logs, and another with all the sawdust from the chipper - and at 10:20 they went to the dump. There were only a few more logs and half a truck of sawdust - 30 minutes more work - and they were done. Holy Cow! They were fast, efficient and cleaned up everything. They used a crane to lift everything off the house and into the street where they could cut it up for either the chipper or the log-truck.

They were amazing to watch - they worked so well together and everyone busted their hineys.

Storm Damage

Thursday night's storm was a lulu! What a light show! And I swear the wind was going over our house - never touched the ground. We only lost about 12 leaves off our little tree. Our vines stayed on the house. But it sure sounded like a train. I talked to the rest of the family - no power in Maricopa, M&D only got rain. Mom said to call my sister in Central Phoenix - Central and Camelback area. OMG! They had a pine tree in their front yard that they planted 32 years ago - their first Christmas tree in that house - snapped off at the base, and fell on the house.

Luckilly the corner of their brick house is holding it up - otherwise, it would have landed on my Brother-in-law while he was sleeping. What a mess! It is about 60 feet tall (long, now) and laying on their house. They are so lucky no one was hurt, especially since one of the branches came into their bedroom, bringing with it glass from a small broken window pane, insulation from the attic, and drywall from the ceiling. All that debris rained down on the bed on top of him. Huge branches have poked holes in their roof. And who knows what is under all those needles.

The tree guys are going to start removing this tree on Sunday. We'll probably be there just to see how and where they are going to start to get this done.

Memories

When we go places - we get a magnet to remember it by. Here are our magnets.

All the ones on the freezer are places we've all been. Maybe one or 2 where the girls weren't born yet, though. Those places, we had Jon with us. The ones on the frig part are places one, or two of us have been. See the animals with red or blue shirts on? Those are Morgan and Kendra's from different places, when we find them. Red for Kendra, Blue for Morgan. We've kept that theme their whole lives.

We also have the State magnets on the side of the frig. We, as a family, have been to 27 states (upper and lower penninsula MI) and the District of Columbia. Since we've been married, Dave has been in 2 additional, I've been in 2 additional, and he and I were in one other. We have those magnets too, but we remember which ones the girls have missed.

Week One Down...

We made it through the first week of school without much issue. Dave's classes are small, and he says the kids are really cool. Only the usual "mommy left me" melt downs, and not for long, at that.

Kendra's opinion - "5th grade Rocks!!!"

Morgan - much more easy going, thinks it's the BEST to be the oldest on campus again.

As for Sue, well, they're trying to make me have more of a role on a project at work, so will be working later nights, and maybe even giving up some of my Friday's off! I'm not so sure I like this new job! Kidding - it really is the direction I want to go, so I'll just have to deal with it and get my work done/caught up before that Friday off, so I can take it.

Until next time...

Back to School

The summer has ended and everyone has gone back to school. Morgan to 8th grade, Kendra to 5th grade, and Dave in PANDA.

The girls both went to Montlure this summer and had a blast! Every time they come home from camp, they immediately start talking about next year, and 'when' they go back, who they want to bunk with. We've been hearing camp stories all summer long - Kendra went right before our Washington trip, and Morgan went right after.
Then just last week, before school started, the girls spent a week in Overgaard with Grandma and Grandpa. Cool weather and rain was a nice break. Also, nice break for us - alone for a week! Kody was so confused, though. He kept looking for them. I went up on Thursday night to pick them up and stayed till Saturday. So nice to get away for a little while.
We've had a full summer of travels and stories. And if you feel the need to hear more, let us know…I'm sure we can fill your ears with all kinds of them!

Some Background

Starting here, the posts for this trip are in order, so you don't have read them backwards.

About 6 months ago we started thinking about summer vacation. With the budget we had, and my vacation time, we came up with two things. Washington DC (since we spent the 4th of July last year at Mt Rushmore, we were still in a patriotic mood) or Disneyworld (I'm not going to 'splain that one) We presented these options to Morgan and Kendra. Well, we very pleased with their response...Washington DC. I started counting vacation days, and camp schedules and came up with two weeks, that included the Fourth of July. We were so excited...The Fourth of July in our Nation's Capitol. So the plans were made...plane reservations, requesting tours from our Congressman, then the hotel. We had quite a time finding one. They were either too far from a Metro station (which were told to use as much as possible) or way too expensive. After all - we needed a room for 14 nights. We finally found one that was reasonable, and close, and we made our reservations. So from here on (eventually) will be our day by day adventure. I'm hoping I can figure out how to post some pictures along with each day. Pretend the following posts were written each night of our trip...that's how I wrote them in my journal, and that's how I intend to put them here as well. I hope you enjoy this. It ought to be interesting! At least for me, it will be.

Friday June 20

10:30 pm scheduled departure...12 midnight actual departure. My seat wouldn't recline, so it was hard to sleep. Not that sleep came easy for any one else, but at least they could lay back. I 'got' to lean on the window. At least I had that! I think overall we managed a couple of hours. Kendra was so exhausted - and Morgan was a real trooper too. We're Pooped!

Saturday June 21

Finally arrived in DC at 11 am. The plane from Newark was delayed too. We rented a car to drive around and just look. We could see the Washington Monument and the Capital from the air. Found them on the ground, too, as well as Lincoln, Jefferson and the WW II Memorials.

In our driving around, we happened upon the Washington Cathedral. That was breathtaking! So beautiful. We did stop to see it...inside and out. Double click on the pictures throughout to see them bigger.

We made a turn into a park, and had a spectacular view of Jefferson. Behind us was the Washington Monument and framed in the trees was the White House.

We are staying at the Channel Inn, right on the Channel on the Potomac River. It's a really nice place. Decent sized rooms, not big, but good enough. Our room is on the river side of the hotel - 2nd floor balcony looks out over the channel. Off to the right a bit is the dome of the Jefferson Memorial. Tonight will be an early one - we haven't decided what to do tomorrow yet, while we still have the car. Then come Monday, we walk and walk and walk.

Oh - I almost forgot...Arlington...that little corner we saw was so moving, I almost cried. So Kleenex will be in order when we go tour it.

Sunday June 22

Slept in! Boy were we exhausted. I don't know about the others, but I slept like a rock. We had a great breakfast - the coffee shop's food is so good. I had grits. The potatoes were fried potatoes with onions.
We drove to Williamsburg. Cute place. Walked around a bit. Too bad we didn't start out earlier. They were tourable, but closed.

We did go down to Jamestown and saw the ships.








On the way back we stopped at President's Park. They have 16' statues of every president. Also an Air Force One from Nixon's era. The statues were very much like Mt. Rushmore. There were also First Lady dresses and an Oval Office. Really cool place.







At midnight, we were at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument reflecting in the pool with the Capitol behind. I almost cried - again - when I first saw Lincoln. That was so spectacular. There just are no words to describe how beautiful that was.

Monday June 23

Returned the car. Figured out the Metro. Took the blue line back from the airport - "more scenic". Well, it's underground! So quickest will be next time. But we made it to the Smithsonian station anyway. We spent a few hours at the Holocaust Museum. "Daniel's Story" was very well presented, from children's point of view. Then we went to the Olympic exhibit. I didn't know about all that. Quite amazing. We then went to the Bureau of Printing for our tour. That was very fascinating. We saw the four stages of printing money from the 'blank' paper to the final seals being applied. We saw a pile of $10 bills that equalled $1M and $100s stacked up - $32M. Wow! That was a very cool tour.

After that we started walking to the Jefferson Memorial. We went up to it as well. So beautiful - the monument and the view from there.

Oh - I almost forgot - we stood at the base of the Washington Monument and looked back toward the Lincoln Memorial down the reflecting pool. Before the reflecting pool is the WWII memorial. So beautiful - weaths hanging at each state pillar with a fountain in the middle and stars going along one side to represent the lost soldiers.

Now to find our way back to the hotel - that was interesting. We finally found the channel and walked to the hotel in the drizzle. We didn't find anywhere else, so we ate at Pier 7 here at the hotel. Kinda pricey, and OK food. Our one nice dinner. Our feet hurt - we're ready for bed.

Tuesday June 24

Got going late - finally ate breakfast at 10:30. Took the Metro to the National Archives. First, though we spent some time at the Navy Memorial.

Kendra briefly talked to a retiring Navy man.

Took his picture and asked a couple of questions. We walked around a bit then watched rehearsal for an evening performace.

We walked around the block to wait in line for the National Archives.

About 30 or so minutes later, we went in. Directly to the Rotunda to see the Charters of Freedom - Declaration, Constitution, Emancipation Proclamation and others. Very awesome. The room was beautiful too. We also saw some political cartoons and the Public Vault. That place was really cool too. When we left there we found out the Museum of Natural History was open till 7:30. Good thing, cuz it was 5!

We saw mammals, bones, dinosaurs, skeletons, rocks - and the Hope Diamond. And some emeralds - oh so beautiful! After than we spent an hour and a half listening to the Navy Band and chorus. They were soooo good. The chorus sang songs from Hairspray and the 60s. Then they sang each service branch's theme, as veterans and families of veterans from each branch stood. We stopped and talked to the conductor as well as one of the Navy Memorial commanders. This was what we watched them rehearse for. Earlier in the day, All in all, my feet don't hurt as bad as yesterday. Good day!

Wednesday June 25

Wandered down to the Metro. Spent most of the day at the Air and Space Museum. They have so many planes hanging from the ceiling - a 747 front end, Spirit of St. Louis,

lots of space flight -
Gemini, Apollo
lots of hands on stuff to do with all kinds of different things like specturms and telescopes. Then we walked down to the Mall. They were having a festival. We caught the end of it. That's about all we would have wanted.

We went in to the Smithsonian Castle.

It was really pretty. We walked back to the hotel then on down to the dock to ask about the Mt. Vernon cruise.

Thursday June 26

Got up early and went down the way and got on a ship to Mt. Vernon. This morning was very nice and on top of the ship there was a little breeze. The water was very calm. We saw the Fort Washington and the really pretty area of Alexandria. We rounded a bend and the red roof of Mt. Vernon mansion was coming into view. So beautiful.

We pulled in and went to the new tomb, where both George and Martha are buried. Then up to the house. The line was short so we jumped in to tour the mansion.

We were able to peek in other houses - slave quarters, etc. - in the house the rooms were still as they were in the 1700s - when Washington lived there. After that we walked around some more. The grounds we saw were so beautiful.

The ship ride back was hot - it's very humid today. On the ship there was a chamber orchestra from Oregon who played for us. They were really good. Now we're resting and are eating pizza for dinner. We're beat!

Friday June 27

Today was tour day. In the morning we went to the Old Post Office and looked out over DC - over 300' up.

We went up the clock tower and saw the clock faces from the back side and all the bells. They were from 600 to 2000 lbs. So neat to see from the inside of the tower.

We could see far and there were maps pointing at where the buildings are.

We also stopped in at the Peterson House - where Lincoln died.

The Ford Theater was closed, so we couldn't go in there.
Then we went over to Mitchell's office. He was there too. We met him and had pictures taken with him. We also had the girls' pics with him behind his desk. He seemed really nice.
Then we went on our tour of the Capitol. There were tons of people there! We walked around and looked at as much as we could. Our tour guide was new, but pretty good. We were inside the rotunda looking up.

The architecture and art work was beautiful.

She also took us to the sculpture room, where congress used to be held.

The feeling of being in the same place as those men 200+ years ago was just awesome. Then we went to the congressional floor. They weren't in session, but we were able to get a good look.
Then we went to the Supreme Court.

It was all marble inside.

There was a spiral staircase that was absolutely beautiful.
We went over for our tour of the Library of Congress. That building is really ornate - art work every square inch.

Lots of art history on the tour. Millions of items in there. It would be a fun place to go back ust to look around.