Flash Forward 2009

Wow! Time has gotten away from me. As always, we have been very busy. Cameron had a nice four-week break, so we all tried to soak up as much time with him as possible. This was a good break because he did not have any school work to do. So we really enjoyed every moment. The Thursday after his last final we had Callie's Fairy Princess Party. Her little friends Eliza, Ariel, Shalee, and Makayla all came donning their own princess attire. The girls played freeze dance, decorated wands, played Princess Where's Your Crown, and ate pizza and cupcakes. I had fun making invitations and party decorations. I get way too excited for parties. I was forced, by my own enthusiasm for parties and having Cameron to socialize with me, to do our annual Christmas Cookie Exchange on Saturday. So about 8 families came from our vast web of Tucson friends. We had games for the adults and kids. It was fun to have people we love share some Christmas cheer.

Round two started the very next day Papa (my dad), Sherri, and Cooper came to celebrate Callie's Birthday and an early Christmas. It was so nice to have them. Sherri helped me get started on my drapes. Papa put Cameron to work on several of the minor repairs around the house. Cameron was instructed in tile work, plumbing, and electrical work. I think it was fun for them to do some manly stuff. They also took Callie to see Despereaux. She really enjoyed the movie, and kept talking about the "gentleman (who is not a mouse)."

Round three started with the Christmas Eve LaDuke party at Nathan and Mary Kay's house. The kids had a great time decorating trees, pinning the nose on Frosty, and the biannual talent show. Our talents are not the type you can preform so we decided to go the ridiculous route. We danced to the Sugar Plum Fairy with tutus and Cameron wore my work out pants to resemble tights. Sorry there are no pictures of this to show.

Back home, the next day, on Christmas morning there was a bounty of presents from Santa. Callie woke up came in our room and oddly ran to our window to see the back yard. Nothing gets past her. She found Santa's biggest gift first: the trampoline fully assembled in the back yard. Santa sure can work miracles. Oh, Callie and Avery were spoiled beyond need and seemed to relish in the joy. Callie's favorite gift was her "Sleeping Beauty doll." Something she already had. Avery learned to climb to the top of the stairs. She seemed to think that the stairs were the most interesting thing of the day. Cameron and I learned it was a little too much. We will try to curb my enthusiasm for gift giving next year. That afternoon we went up to Phoenix again to have a feast with the LaDukes at Rob and Betina's home. We stayed until Saturday to visit longer with everyone. The cousins never miss a beat when they are together. I really love having them all so close in proximity and age.

We had one weekend back at home and then we were off to St. George to meet up with the Burdett's, our good friends from Yale. Graham, Annie, Lily and Owen were great hosts. Callie and Lily
were "best friends" when they were about 18 months, but had not seen each other since. They had a great time together, playing so well. It helps that they both like Barbie, Tinkerbell, and Princesses. Annie and I attempted some shopping, and we took the older girls to see Bolt. I thought it was a really cute and funny movie. Annie and Graham were the same fun, good people we remember. I wish they still lived within walking distance. We would have so much fun. On our drive back we stopped in Phoenix to see the Berry's new baby, Kate. She is beautiful and fits right into their family. Kiel and Sheri's mom made us a nice meal. It gave us the energy to complete our drive home. Kiel even commented how it was like in Pioneer times when people would stop for a meal while traveling through. We felt a little like that.

Our last week of break we mostly stayed home and watched movies and hung out with Cameron. We did take one jaunt up to Phoenix to see the off-Broadway production of the Lion King. We left Avery with poor Alyssa and Trevor. She screamed for about an hour and then fell asleep. She is having some problems going to anyone but Cameron and me. It would not be so bad if she did not have such a good set of lungs. I am hoping she can develop some singing talent from this skill. Maybe she will be our future talent show representative. Callie was also tired and threw a little fit before we left. There was a moment when she almost did not get to go. Thankfully, she pulled herself together and we made it the show. I think she is glad that she got to go. She loves to tell people about it. Her favorite part was when "Timon almost got eaten by a Crocodile." The costumes and music were great. We had a really good time. Thank you Alyssa and Trevor.

Since Christmas Avery has mastered going up and down the stairs on her own, though we don't let her do it without supervision. Callie has completed enough reading lessons to get the coveted Belle and Beast toy set. Cameron has been working on his first of three note deadlines of the semester. I have started my drapes, finished one pillow, decorated the wall above our bed, cleaned the office, and managed to keep some sanity while all of Cameron's time is tied up.

Our next adventures will be: Callie starting Itty Bitty Sports (Soccer, T-Ball, and Basketball), she is also starting dance, Gigi and Grumpy are coming to visit, Bill and Alica are coming, Avery is turning one, and Sarah is coming (in that order).