this girl

Guess who started the fist day of her senior year this morning?

Guess who made the volleyball team as a starter?

Guess who pointed out to me that after today, she will have gone to high school more days at this Arizona high school then she did at the Colorado high school? I had to think about that one for a minute. That is hard to believe. It is the first time that she did not go to school with her sister by her side. It is also the first time we only had her, out in the yard, for the first day of school picture!

Guess who is going to rock her senior year?

This girl...that's who.

prom

Oh so pretty. Oh such a great time.

I think you can say... this prom was one they won't forget.

Oh how our little girls have grown up.

kaleidoscope thursday

It is already thursday which means it is kaleidoscope day.

Here is the kaleidoscoped image. Any guesses?

Here it is!
Lovely lavender on a sunny morning.

The bees are loving it too.

A little color coming back to our frozen yard.

the haunted dining room

Homecoming week turned out to be pretty fun. There were some highlights that they shared with enthusiasm and some low points that were shared with... less enthusiasm. Leah had a group come here for the before dance dinner. Like I mentioned before, I decided to stick with the schools theme and do a little haunted house decorating. The menu was simple, as they had requested pizza. I did stretch myself and added a salad and desert. There were a couple of funny comments made by some of the guests. One of her friends, who was the most excited, said, "it looks like a movie!" The best comment though was this... after the pizza had arrived I heard someone say, "it is so nice out we should eat outside!" Okaaay(?).... fortunately, someone replied "that would be rude, she went to a lot of work setting the table."

Before. (which now looks rather plain and a bit boring)

After.
A different view.
And a few details. I have a collection of lace doilies. I have been teased about them a time or two. But this time, my use of them was commended. All spidery and webb-y.
Thirsty?
Let me find the definition for: mummy n. someone well preserved who cooks, cleans, does laundry and loves her children.
Ahh...the relatives.
Recognize anyone?
Grandpa.
The hanging chandelier.
I needed someone to give me a hand with the salad.

A round of applause for the handsome place setting.

I think the skullery maid will need to do some extra cleaning.
Looks like this has been here awhile.
The raven.
Spirited cupcakes.

Is your head spinning yet?
Bwahahahaha...
Inspired?

note: I meant no disrespect to our beloved relatives whose cherished photographs hang on our walls.

not for sissies

Living in the desert of Arizona is not for sissies. I have to be on the lookout, night and day, for creepy, ugly, slimy creatures that invade my being. In some ways it has become almost (I put emphasis on that word for a reason) comical to see what the next gem will be to show it's little beady eyes.

Earlier this week I turned the corner after leaving our driveway and I saw a welcome sight. A familiar pair of eyes and antler[s] to this Colorado homegirl. A young deer was standing in the middle of some cactus. It had only one antler and was looking straight at me. I quickly took out my "always-close-at-hand camera" and slowly rolled down the window. The noise of the window was enough to scare it away. Before I had a chance to get its picture it had bounded off around the back of the house.

Deer=smart animal that runs away when a human is near.

Snakes, bobcats and javelina=not so smart animals that stare at humans, laughing to themselves because of the sissified look of fear they generate on the face of said human.

Now that the temperatures have finally cooled down enough at night, we have been leaving the sliding glass door open in our bedroom to enjoy some of the coolish night air while we sleep. However, I'm finding that I have to get use to the night sounds of the desert. Coyotes, owls, crickets...which reminds me of the cute(?) little machine my sister brought with her to Albuquerque. A noise machine that she dialed to the "cricket chirping" mode. She said it helps her sleep. Helen, you would sleep REALLY well in my bedroom!

So, monday night I was suddenly awakened out of my nice peaceful, cricket-filled sleep by a new sound. You know the sound a dog makes when you have just given him a brand new raw-hide bone to chew? That loud grating teeth on bone sound? That is what I was listening to. My imagination went wild. Is it here in our room? Under the bed? Is it a coyote on the patio feasting on the leg of a rabbit? A javelina chewing its way through the screen door? Reptile Wrangler was quietly making his own noise, so I knew he was sound asleep, oblivious to my frightful state and the annoying noise that was going on outside our screen door. Bravely I slipped out of bed, testing my step, ready at any moment to leap to the safety of the bed if I came into contact with anything other than soft carpet. The grating and crunching led me to the door as I felt for the light switch. I quickly flipped it on, prepared to see some large beady eyes and sharp bloody fangs facing me. Nothing. I scanned the perimeter of the patio and saw nothing. Also, heard nothing. The noise had stopped. So, feeling assured that whatever it was... was safely on the other side of the fence. I checked the lock on the screen door to be sure it was secure, turned out the light and quickly got comfortable back in my bed. The organic noise machine was dialed to "chirping-cricket mode" once again. And the grating chewing started again too. Back out of bed. Patio light back on. Noise stops. Nothing to see. This time I left the light on. Closed the sliding door. Locked it just in case. Pulled the room darkening shade to block the patio light and headed back to bed. I listened to the quietness and happily went back to sleep.

The next night...same scenario.

Wednesday morning I went into the bathroom. I opened the window a little wider and looked towards the corner where the chewing was coming from. There on the rocks, staring right at me with...yes, large beady eyes... was the biggest, fattest RAT I have ever seen. Really. Sitting back on it's haunches, wiggling it's nose, wringing it's little hands back and forth as if to say..."I'll get you my pretty." (name the movie that line is from). I said, "Holy Ratfink Batman, it's time for Reptile Wrangler to go on duty!"

We have had two quiet nights of sleep since then. A feast of special formula rat food may have contributed to our good sleep. Or, the threat of Reptile Wrangler just lurking around the area may have scared him off. Either way...I commented that I don't know what I will ever do if I see one of those inside the house. I was somewhat use to little bitty field mice in Colorado, but a rat the size of a small rabbit?

No thanks. Not in my house. No rats or mice.

That is what I reminded myself about after I bought these yesterday.

Yep, I paid money to bring rubber mice into my house!

This weekend is homecoming. Leah is having a group of friends over for a pizza party before the dance on Saturday night. They do homecoming a bit differently here. It is casual dress and they have a theme. This year the theme is Scooby Do and the Haunted Halloween. I know, like I said... different. So, I'm going with a Haunted Halloween theme for the dining room decorations. I'm getting started on it today. There will be a few surprises...

we might as well make it memorable.

I wonder if Reptile Wrangler will enjoy wearing the rubber snake around his neck?

spending time in the gym

Late last fall someone asked me what Chuck and I had been doing together for fun. I thought about it for a bit and said, "well, mostly we have just been spending time in the gym."

This person got a look of complete admiration on her face and replied, "wow, it is so great that you guys are working out together. Are you doing weights or the treadmill?"

Umm...

Volleyball season is happening right now and our girl is playing with a new team at the new school. She is striving to reach some pretty high goals and we are proud of her.

And... we are getting to spend some time together... in the gym... working on our bleacher butts.

on making pie

While Grandma was here she took the opportunity to help Leah learn to make a pie. We all love pie and Grandma is really good at making them. The trick is perfecting the crust, learning to work it just enough without over doing it. If done right the result is a flaky, tasty, circle of goodness. As in general baking, the key is accurate measuring of the ingredients and a little bit of practice. And, an experienced coach guiding you through the steps. Choosing the filling is the hard part because, really, there are so many good things to put into a pie crust. In-season fruit is the best. In this particular pie, plump, sweet blueberries were the choice.

They measured and mixed and let the dough chill. Then they rolled and fit the dough in the pie pan. She was taught that working the ball of dough as little as possible is best. They filled it with blueberry goodness and laid the second layer of dough over the top. Experienced hands showed her the proper way to flute the edges, sealing it and insuring that it looked good too. Then into the oven for just the right amount of time to make it golden brown and lightly crispy. The finished product was delicious and she was very proud to have made her first pie. We are hoping she wants to practice a little more.

It is great to have people to teach and guide you through things that only time and experience can perfect. Grandma has made many pie's over the years and now Leah will keep close what was taught to her by skilled hands.

Yesterday, hard work and a lot of practice resulted in Leah having good luck with another kind of ball. The experience and support of another skilled teacher and coach(from Colorado) made an imprint on her that helped her through the process of volleyball try-outs at this new school. Having the ingredients to concentrate and play with confidence resulted in her making the team. In this case, working the ball hard got better results. She made the team and we are very happy for her.

Another sweet victory.

prom 2010

Photos from last nights prom event.

Just the right amount of bling.

Isn't she lovely?

And then her date arrived.

He was a good sport being patient while I snapped.."just one more".

Matt and Rachel.

Sweet.

These pictures were taken with Matt's phone. For some reason I can't get them any larger than this. The dance was held at the Phoenix Convention Center and from all accounts, the decorations were amazing. The theme was Super Nova, so large planets hung from the ceiling. They also had acrobats from Las Vegas twirling high above their heads. They thought that was pretty awesome.

And then they did a little James Bond action in front of the spot lights.

She had a great time at the dance. Afterwards, six friends came back to the house and sat outside under the stars watching Avitar on the big screen. They finally crawled into sleeping bags at 5:30 am...waking up at 8:30 for a french toast breakfast.

We are all tired but the smiles made it all worthwhile.

art-full

The husband and I met during our first semester of college. We were in an art class together. We were both fine arts majors creating...art. We painted, sculpted and sketched our way through the beginning of what would be our life together. A few competitive moments shined through during that first art class, he usually came out victorious except for one fine drawing that I still like to remind him of occasionally. Eggs! Plain and simple, my still life of eggs was much better than his. He eventually changed his major and went a completely different route. Although somewhat artistic in nature, he just sculpts life in a different way.

And painting?...he still wins.

We passed along some artistic genes to our kids and certainly love it when they shine too. Moving to a new state and a new school (at semester) during your high school years can be a challenge. But, these two have taken on this new adventure with great gusto. After just a couple of months, Rachel painted and sketched her way to art victory. She was one of a group of students that won art awards at the "Celebration of the Arts" achievement night. They recognized the students on stage in the very nice performing arts auditorium at the high school. The local arts guild members were there to give out "art-filled" gift bags for each of the winners and a nice certificate. Go Rachel!

Her complimentary colors painting. See how she has been influenced by the landscape around us?

As a final project, they were assigned to make yard art out of recycled items. She and a classmate painted this old screen door. They were inspired by the warm spring day and had fun!

First semester back in Montrose, Leah had taken a pottery class which she absolutely loved. She was so inspired in the class and has really taken a love for throwing clay on the wheel. Her Dad had his own wheel that he had built from a kit in high school. He and I both took some pottery lessons from a potter in Montrose about 10 years ago. We use the bowls that we made every day. So, it is no surprise that she developed a real feel for clay. She had one piece that she had worked on before the Christmas break that she was so excited about and proud of. Sadly, it had not gotten fired before we had to leave with the moving truck. She was very heartbroken.

One of the best things about living in a small town is knowing so many people and having those relationships. I happen to be good friends with the mother of her pottery teacher. So, I spoke to her and told her the situation. I asked if she would talk to her son. So she did. And he did. He found her piece...and promised to save it for her.

Not only did he save it for her...he brought it with him when he and his young family came to Phoenix for spring break a few weeks ago. He hand delivered her hand made piece of pottery.

Isn't that the best! Teachers need our praise.

Art is worth celebrating...isn't it?

state playoffs-final edition

We arrived at the stadium this afternoon for the Final Four game. The girls were excited and nervous but ready for the big game. Chuck was able to get away for the afternoon and I signed Leah out early. Woohoo! The best part... we did not have to drive through snow to get there.

It is pretty awesome that they get an opportunity to play in an arena like this.

Jumbo screen and all. Apollo ranked second in the state. Cactus Shadows ranked third. (her team)
They looked pretty good during warm-ups sinking many of their shots.

Number twenty one...Raaaachel Mannnnak!

They started out the first quarter playing great offense and were the first on the scoreboard. They were making many of their shots and playing good help side defense, which was key in this game because Apollo makes the majority of their shots in the paint. They remained ahead until the second quarter and then the other team came on strong. The third quarter, the girls lost their streak and Apollo took it to them. They ended up getting behind by thirty points to start the 4th quarter, but managed to keep their heads in the game. (guest reporting by Rachel)

She went in during the fourth quarter and played good defense and rebounded the ball a couple of times.
She got fouled under the basket and went to the line for two. She wouldn't want me to say how many of those two free throws she made, so I won't.

In the end they closed that 30 point gap to 14 making an admiral attempt to finish on top.

It was a good second-half season for Rachel in unfamiliar surroundings. It was a great opportunity for her to have been able to join the team in the middle of the season and although the road ended for them today...it was a season well played. as they say in their huddle: together!