Visiting with the Sisters amongst the Canyons

This past week has been a total BLAST!!!! Busy as all get out. But such fun! It all started a week ago today when we went to Phoenix with Max and Ben to see them compete in the Odyssey of the Mind State Finals. Both of their teams had advanced to the next level of competition in Regionals last month. It was such fun to see all the teams do their skits and show off their problem solving skills. Best of all was when they announced that our Ben's team took FIRST PLACE in State Finals and is now heading off to World Competition! So we are heading to Ames, Iowa next month to compete with the finest of the fine and try to dazzle...well...the world!!! Hee hee!

Ben with the team trophy! First Place! Woo Hoo!!!!

The second the awards ceremony drew to a close we hit the road running and racing back to Tucson. We sailed in right about 7:35 p.m. and I was right back out the door again 10 minutes later to the airport to pick up my baby sister, Nikki, and her family! Once I gathered her and her dh and two cutie pie little boys, we visited and caught up and collapsed...exhausted! The next morning, bright and early, my older sister Donna rolled in and our sister trio was complete! We were off and running! We spent most of Sunday out at the Desert Museum checking out all of the native plant and animal life. Nikki's dh, Joe has never been to the desert, nor had her boys...so it was all new to them! We had such a fun time. No real amazing pictures from the museum that day. But here are a couple....
Clara and my sister Donna
My sister's two boys...Drew and Nate
Bird soaring.

After a full day at the Desert Museum, we got ourselves home, ordered pizza for the kiddos and were relieved of duty by Chris' mom who was sweet enough to come watch all the wee ones while the sisters and the hubbys headed off for a sunset horseback ride! Giddyup! It was so much fun riding through the desert beauty and watching the sun get lower and lower and redder and redder and the mountains take on that warm, beautiful evening glow! None of us are horseback riders...Nikki has always loved horses...but the rest of us...not so much. Horses are really big, for one. And strong. And heavy. I don't imagine it would take much for one to decide he just didn't WANT someone on his back and dispose of the situation! I've always had a healthy fear and respect for them. I had a nice, gentle horse for my ride. As did Nikki and Joe. Chris and Donna however had little stubborn spitfires. Chris rode a horse named Bart. He did okay for the most part. He seemed to think the desert trail was one long buffet and kept wanting to stop to graze and snack. Donna's horse, named Max, kept biting Bart in the butt. I mean BITING! That was fine to a point...but toward the end of the ride, Max bit Bart and Bart whipped his head around as if to say "If you bite me in the butt ONE MORE TIME....". Talk about a moment!!!! Shortly after that, Chris showed us his lone ranger/rhinestone cowboy moves as his Bart got sassy at one point and reared up on his hind legs. For a moment we all thought we'd be pulling cactus out of Chris's backside from being tossed into the cholla cactus! But he held on and recovered control of the beast. He didn't seem too fazed at all by the toss attempt...but I was pretty much done with the ride by that point. I had jokingly told the guy at the stables that Donna needed a really nice, slow, barely make it back to the stables kind of horse...and it seemed she had gotten exactly that. Her Max was in NO hurry to get down that trail. Other than the butt biting, he was pretty okay. And I truly was beginning to think he would barely make it home again. But then...as we came in sight of the stables, Max took off! Donna was hanging on for dear life. Shouting WHOA! WHOA!!!! But Max was suddenly deaf and not hearing a word she was saying. It turns out that Max becomes a bit impatient at the end and as soon as he knows he's home he heads for the front of the line to be put away and fed! I don't think Donna found it to be too funny...but for a couple of seconds there...I was laughing so hard I thought I'd pee in my pants! I didn't think I could take pictures and hang on to a horse...so....no pictures of this fun event!

The next morning the sisters and company were off to Sabino Canyon. We rode the tram all the way to the top of the canyon. It was fun to go the whole distance and see the canyon beauty, There was a lot of water in the streams and the boys had a blast playing in it and splashing and climbing on the rocks.
Sabino Canyon

From Sabino Canyon, we went to play in Honeybee Canyon and do some pictures of Nikki's family.
Honeybee Canyon

And after playing in both Sabino Canyon and Honeybee Canyon we decided to head off and play at the

GRAND CANYON!!!!!!!

And what a GRAND time we all had! We camped there. We spent the day walking around the rim, hiking down the trails and laughing and relaxing. Once the sun set we warmed ourselves by the campfire and stuffed ourselves with hot, gooey marshmallows and chocolate and all sorts of yumminess! We enjoyed steaks on the grill and breakfasts of pancakes and eggs and bacon. It was a magical and fantastic trip to be sure! And the canyon was...as always....well...Grand! Here are some pictures of the fun!

Chris playing King of the World

Us!

The three sisters!

Joe with Nate and Drew checking out the canyon.

My crew enjoying the view!

"oooey, gooey, YUMMY!"

Roasting fun by the fire!

Nate and Ben enjoy the fire!

Drew and Max laugh it up!

The Princess and her Daddy snuggle up by the fire.

A sweet visitor passes by the campsite!

All in all, the week was magically fantastic!!! I can't believe it's already over! We are already thinking about and planning the next sister's weekend! I can't wait!

Just another crazy day...

Crazy days seem to be par for the course in the Roberts house. Today was no exception. It started out calm enough. Harmless. No big deal. I headed in to the gym, thinking my sweat buddy, Jenny wasn't going to make it. So I ducked into the cardio theater for the very first time. I'm not real good with daytime T.V. That one is very tough for me. But I rather liked the cinema! "Bolt" was playing on the big screen this morning, so I grabbed myself an elliptical and set out to work up a sweat. Didn't take very long before I was both sweating and was really, really engaged in the movie. I really enjoyed it. I came in after it was underway..but it didn't take too terribly long for me to get the gist of the story. However...as much as I was enjoying it, by the time I hit the 50 minute mark, I was POOPED! But I couldn't stop! Couldn't bear to leave the theater before the movie was over! So at the 50 minute mark I hopped onto a bike and kept on pushing. I thought that movie would NEVER end! I mean...it was great. Funny, witty, sweet...all that. But my butt was on fire and my calves were screaming. Eventually, it did end. And I dragged my tired, sweaty self out of there. Only to see my friend Skinny...I mean, Jenny...on the treadmill. I asked her if she was planning to lift weights, and she was...so I decided I would do "just a little bit more"...you know...since we're friends and all. I hate working out by myself...so I didn't want to abandon her. I stepped up into "most excellent friend" mode. Well...we started working out. My legs were shaking SOOOO badly as I went down those stairs! They were total TOAST. Havent' been shaky like that in I don't know when. We worked out. Pushing each other as always. When we did shoulder presses I would have GLADLY picked up the 15 pound weights. But Jenny wanted 20. And if Jenny is doing 20, then I'M doing 20! At the point where I THOUGHT we were about done, Jenny decided we should, and could do a couple of sets of legs. I thought to myself..."Ummmm....not so sure about that". But then again...I'm not one to be outdone. And if Jenny was doing legs then by golly, so was I. And so...legs it was. THREE SETS OF LEGS!!!! I still don't know how THAT happened. We don't do three sets of ANYTHING!!! Always only two. But today...three! When it was all said and done it all felt great. Totally worked out. I was SO exhausted, I was practically falling asleep on the way home. The only thing that kept me awake was my loudly, rumbling tummy! In addition to be being exhausted, I was STARVING!!!!! So I hurried home for a sandwhich and shower before I hit the grocery store. In the very short time I was home, I had a client pick up her photo order, showered, ate a sandwich, made a grocery list, and was then right back at it. I sailed through the grocery store...Starbuck's in hand (thank you very much Jenny for that gift card! ). Despite the caffeine jolt I was still exhausted. I made it to the checkout with minutes to spare. I carefully explained to both the checkout man AND the bagger lady that I needed ALL of my cold stuff GROUPED TOGETHER. Reason being I was going to have to boot it out of the car and into the fridge VERY quickly. They both said okay. I felt as though we had an understanding. Just to make sure I ONLY sent my cold stuff down the checkout belt first. Then the other things. So you would THINK that I had set myself up nicely for the results I was after. ONLY...not so much. That crazy bagger woman had cold stuff in every single freaking bag of groceries I had. And it was a LOT of groceries. GRRRRRRRRR. I was NONE too happy and not even a little bit amused. This gal obviously flunked bagging 101. As a grocery checker girl myself at one point in life, I went through bagger training and am quite familiar with the bagger rules and rationale! So poorly bagged groceries is kind of a pet peeve of mine! So I was none too happy as I stood in my garage frantically unpacking every single freaking grocery bag on a hunt for miscellaneous cold things. No sooner than I had them safely stored away, I was out of the driveway again, hurtling up Oracle road toward Max's school. It's a known rule that on the days you are running the latest, those are the days that the D.A.P. will be out in full force. That's the Destination Avoidance Patrol for those of you unfamiliar with that term. And today was no exception. I FINALLY made it up to Coronado, picked up Maxwell, and had exactly ONE minute to get back down the road to meet the lady that was bringing me a sample of a bag tag I am planning to offer my dance studio clients. Got the bag tag....soooo happy with it! Zoomed back into the car and around the corner to Max's 4:00 doctor's appointment. I was a little bit stressed today about this appointment as I had to inform the doctor that NONE of the meds seem to be working on Max for his ADD and that I have now pulled him off of everything. She was great and wholly supportive and agreed that if we had not seen significant results by now, then his problem is one of attitude and low standards and NOT attention deficit. She thought a plan of less talk and more action was called for on the part of Chris and I. As in...less pleading with him and reminding him to get organized and do well and more yanking of priviledges when he fails to get his work turned in. He knows what is expected at this point in the game. He's a bright kid. He simply needs to learn to make the correct choices now. Have I ever mentioned how much I ADORE our pediatrician. The extra awesome kudos is that she used to be a teacher before she flipped into being a pediatrician. How cool is that?! She SO totally gets the teacher side of things and relates so well to the student side of life. She has seen it all and is wonderful the way she talks to the kids. I adore her. So...loong story short...we agreed NOT to medicate Max, she WOULDN'T medicate the mommy...but the door is wide open and it's game on for all sorts of things that will make Max's life miserable while he learns it is best to take care of things that need to be taken care of. Once that visit was all done, we had EXACTLY the right amount of time to get to the school and pick up Ben from Odyssey practice. While I was there, I was told no other parent had stepped up to bring snacks for the kids on Saturday while they compete...despite the fact that the request went out a couple of days ago. And so...of COURSE I volunteered to do it. And so.....it's BACK to the grocery store for me again tomorrow. Sigh. I got to be home for a whole hour and a half before I was out the door AGAIN to pick up Clara and her friend Claire from cheerleading. Two hours later I am sitting here...recapping the day and getting sleepier by the moment! And so...now that you are all caught up on my day...I gotta go catch some Zzzzzzzzzzz's!

April 1, 2009

Talk about one crazy day! WOW! I got all of the kids out the door and off to school. The drop off line was just obnoxiously slow this morning. No idea what the heck the hold up was. But it was a real pain! Then I came on back up the hill, popped an english muffin in the toaster because I forgot to eat breakfast, and set myself to the task of speed washing my car! And I managed to accomplish it in record time AND I stayed dry! Woo hoo! Washing the car and devouring the english muffin took a grand total of 21 minutes and then I was right back in the car and headed to body combat. I have to say that I was not overly excited to get there today because I knew my dear friend Jenny was ditching! It's never as much fun to sweat all alone. I screeched into the gym, got all signed in and headed down to class. I had a couple of extra minutes to thrown down my things and make a super quick potty stop before class started. As I headed to "MY SACRED CORNER" in the studio I came to a VERY abrupt stop. WHO was standing there...in my happy and safe corner of the world...but STING!!!!!! I call him Sting for short. I dubbed him "Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee" many moons ago. But Sting is just easier to say! And type! STing is an older gentleman who is...well...uncoordinated and wild out there on the gym floor. And I don't mean wild like he's whooping it up and letting it go and having a blast. I mean wild...like he's gonna hurt somebody one of these days. The room tends to part around Sting. He generally has an entire full quarter of the room all to himself. REGARDLESS of how packed a class is! He throws all sorts of wild punches and kicks so hard that more than once I have expected to see him land on his wild backside! He manages to stay on his feet...but I imagine it's just barely. He's something to take in...that's for sure. I decided a long time ago that me and my space issues were not compatible with Sting and his "all over the floor crazy kung fu moves" self. Which is how I found my way back to the far right corner. It's such a lovely and safe space. The people that tend to congregate in that corner are all highly coordinated. They move when you are supposed to move, are usually on the right foot with the right arm flying...those things are important when there's a great deal of punching and kicking and what not going on. All in all...it's a GOOD corner. Or it was. Until today when I arrived to find Sting in it! It was a total " Oh Shit" moment. Another lady there who is approved for my corner and is also more than a little familiar with Sting and his moves was practically quaking in fear and was quick to flag me down and give me the warning that he was THERE. So I quickly backpedaled and made the instant decision to change locations for the day. I mean...it was the only safe thing to do. And so I moved...center back row...and ended up....in the Fart Zone. That's right. The Fart Zone. Someone in that center zone had some SERIOUS gastrointestinal challenges going on this morning as that class warmed up. I mean... WHEW!!!! I thought to myself....I can hold my breath for good long periods during the warm ups here...but once things get to cooking I am going to be sucking some wind and it REALLY needs to be MUCH fresher wind than what is circulating around here right now. Fortunately, by the time we hit the third track, the noxious fumes seemed to be letting up a bit. The one bright spot in the time at the gym was that we got to do the kick butt awesome leg workout that I just adore. I mean I LOVE it! So that helped to make up for Sting and the re-lo to the Fart Zone!

After the gym I ran home for a super quick shower, then was out the door to drop off my car for an oil change and to meet my friend Gillian for lunch. We went to Rubios and had THE BEST salads ever. I mean...absolutely amazing, wonderful, delicious, left you just a hankering for the next one kind of good! They were SO totally yummy. Accompanying Gillian today was Miss Sarah Gracie...who has got to be my very most favorite two year old in the world. I ADORE her! She cracks me up and is so sweet with her endless chatter and musings. She's at that age where everything is SO exciting and neat and fun. I could just eat her up! Lunch was a fun and lively event.

Once we were done with lunch and Gillian had gone on to put Miss Sarah down for a nap, I set off to wander through Pier One and Target. I found the PERFECT flowers for my scarlett macaw bathroom. They look SO bright and beautiful! And my parrot head picture arrived this past week and looks so great there framed by the huge picture of the feathers. It has come together really nicely! Anyway...I found gorgeous, bright hibiscus flowers that match the bathroom PERFECTLY. Then it was off to Target. I LOVE to amble my way through Target. Nice and slow and steady. $250 later it was time to get the heck OUT of that store! I really only popped in there for four things....3 small plastic baskets to organize a couple of things, toilet bowl cleaner, a red sangria wine cube (it's my little sister's FAVORITE!!!!) and a pop up laundry hamper for the camper. 4 things. I came out with....well...more than 4!!! While i was there, I decided to go ahead and take care of Mr. EASter Bunny...because I really don't have any time for that between now and then. Bunny is always rather practical in our house. He's bringing swimsuits, beach towels, and a limited assortment of candies. Then the hand soaps were on sale...so i picked up 4 of those. Then...when I got to the toilet bowl cleaners, they had TWO packs on sale for just $2.50. So I HAD to get two of those. Gladys, the housekeeper, likes a good toilet bowl cleaner. I think. Then there was the body wash. And the shampoo. And the conditioner. And the hangers. I HATE running out of hangers! Oh...and then there was the MiniMove...which is like a little portable battery operated boom box for your iPod. I wanted this for camping. We have great inside and outside speakers on the 5th wheel. Surround sound inside and nice exterior speakers too. But sometimes...if it's windy...or if the campfire is far away from the camper, it's hard to hear the Satellite Radio. So this way, we can still have some music. And we know it will music we like...because it's our iPod. See?! Makes sense, right? I'm quite sure there were a couple of other things too...anyway....by the time it was all said and done and totaled up....well, it wasn't cheap! That's all I have to say about that!

Once the car was done with the oil change...nearly 3 hours later (good grief!), I had JUST enough time to very quickly dart into Fry's and grab the milk my family was out of, the creamer for my coffee and some soup for my sick neighbor. Now...I love this neighbor and her totally sweet kiddos...if I were one who actually whipped up pots of homemade soup...I SO totally would have! But I SO totally don't do that. I'm pretty sure it involves a lot of shopping for ingredients, cutting, chopping, and cooking for a long time sorts of activities. And that's not so much my strong point. It must be a real disappointment to my mother who cooks everything from scratch and whips up delicious home cooked, full on from scratch, full dinners. From scratch biscuits and all!!! I'm definitely more of a Bisquick girl...and even that is pretty scary most of the time. So I really did my neighbor a HUGE favor by NOT attempting to make soup and simply picked it up at Fry's. Boo me. But then again...I'm guessing said neighbor is still very much alive and well tonight! Anyway...the one minor detail I forgot....was that Wednesdays are SENIOR DAYS at Fry's! HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!! Talk about a nightmare obstacle course! Fry's is like the old people social event of the week. I believe they go to see and to be seen. They stand around in great aisle blocking groups and comment on who died this week. They manage to block aisles in ways that would boggle the mind. They move at practically no speed at all....It was a grocery store nightmare. I felt like an Olympic sprinter and I dodged carts and electric scooters and leaped from aisle to aisle, passing every moment I could to gain a little free and clear ground ahead. There was a gentleman ahead of me at the milk cooler. He opened the cooler and I KNOW, proceeded to touch at least 8 milks looking for an acceptable date. When I finally got my turn, I thought...Dude...if you haven't drunk your milk by 10 days from now....you should REALLY consider buying a HALF GALLON......not a gallon. Because that gallon is going to start to taste a bit wonky ten days from now, ya know?! Anyway. I was having to call on my inner, calm self just to get out of that store sane. THEN it was a major life threatening event just to cross the parking lot with all the incoming senior drivers. I don't know WHERE the heck they are looking...but it is SO not straight ahead! It is No small feat to got across that parking lot safely on senior days...I'll tell ya that!

What with senior days and all, I barely made it to school to pick up my kiddos on time. Once we picked them up we dropped off the soup, ran into an old church friend who has gotten SO wildly skinny! WOW!!!!! I asked her about it and she said it's just from taking care of the foster twins they have right now. I asked her on the spot if I could rent them. I wasn't kidding. Where do I sign? I NEED some twins! That MUST be my problem!

Once home, there were dozens and dozens of projects to tackle. Max stayed at school until 8:30 tonight working with his team on their Odyssey of the Mind project for this weekend's upcoming competition. That group is really awesome at procrastinating. I don't know if i will whoop with joy or break down and cry if they make it to the World competitions! Ben's team is doing a great job. VERY organized. VERY methodical. I think they have a really, really good shot at going on the World competition this year!

And finally....I sit here typing this from my brand new desk chair! I am SOOOOO excited to have this chair. To be sitting in something besides my kitchen chair right now....amazing. To be able to LEAN BACK on soft, but firm supportiveness...HEAVENLY!!!! To have armrests....I feel like I have died and gone to Heaven! I have to give Chris all the credit because it was him who really recognized the need and authorized the purchase. It's soooooo lovely. Ahhhh. Bliss! Buying the chair was just one other detail I took care of tonight!

And now...it is late Wednesday. I am tired. I need to sleep. But as i sit here typing this I hear Chris snoring SOOOOOO loudly. I doubt I would find sleep easily were I to head off to bed right this moment. I shall wait just a bit...then head in when it seems to have hit a quiet streak! And that's April 1 in the Robert's house!

I need to aim for bed at a reasobab