Snow in Southern AZ?

We went to Tucson last weekend for the U of A vs. ASU game - GO CATS!!! (We won). The big boys went to the game with the dads and my sister in law and I took the small ones to the mall to see the "snow". How do they make it "snow" in Tucson we wondered? Turns out, it is some sort of foamy bubble mixture so all the moms in the crowd are yelling at their kids to not catch the "snow" in their mouths! I have seen plenty of snow in my lifetime and never once did I see people wince in pain when the real stuff got in their eyes but I saw that plenty last weekend. One thing is for sure, the kids didn't care one little bit what was shooting out of those "snow" machines, they were just having fun. There was talk of building a snowman, but sadly, there was not enough accumulation of foam!

A New Christmas Song

RJ has come up with his very own Christmas song (sung to We Wish You a Merry Christmas). Really, I think he doesn't know the words so here is his version of happy happy happy happy...

He sings this song with all his might several times a day. On this particular morning, RJ didn't know I was video taping him (or he would have turned into a giant ham!). Notice he is laying on the floor under his ever present dollar store umbrella :-)

A Visit With You Know Who!

Last week we went to see Santa. RJ was a little shy at first but warmed right up when Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas. RJ wants a SpongeBob fishing pole - sweet - $11.89 at Target! Next G Man - he wants a XBox 360 - HA good luck with that one! I think I would rather eat during the month of December than fill that wish. Next D - he wants - ummmmmm....this boy has always clammed up and blanked out for Santa. Even though he is 15, he was unable to come up with a single item to help the old guy out! I told him we would mail a letter and let him know. We only have one believer left in our house so I am trying to treasure these visits to Santa while they last. Do you think I could get the boys to come home from college and sit on Santa's lap???

Bad Dreams and the Dollar Store

In the past few months, RJ has been having a lot of bad dreams. These bad dreams end up being the family's worst nightmares, as RJ ends up in either D's or our bed for the rest of the night and he is the only one that gets any sleep. As a parent, I have always said that I am not above bribery - it seemed to work for potty training, trying new foods and other childhood obstacles so why not for sleeping in your own bed?! So last night I offered RJ a trip to one of his favorite places if he slept in his own bed all night. This morning he came bounding out of his room and triumphantly announced that I owed him a trip to the Dollar store today! That was the promised reward - the Dollar store. After seeing the other brothers off to school we made our way to the dollar store, where, after much deliberation over all of the available treasures, we ended up with this...

Exactly what every child living in a warm, sunny place needs! It was about 74 degrees today - December 2nd!!! In his defense, it did rain last week and the little umbrella does have his favorite color (green) on it so I am sure it seemed like a great purchase to him. At least he can always use it to shade himself from the 110 degree sun in the summer!