It's a QC Christmas!

We are adapting to our new life in Queen Creek or "San Tan Valley" if you want to be precise. And I don't like to be precise on this particular issue, mostly because of the acronym associated with it. "STV" is too easily misheard for my taste, but what the heck. We also live in Pinal County. It's tempting call ourselves Pinal implants, but I'm not crass enough for that. Or am I?

Moving on, the Christmas festivities are in full force. We are quickly finding out about some of the traditions in this neck of the woods. There is an area just south of our little subdivision us that is quite mysterious to my city kids. They go to church and school with  several of the kids that live on these farm/horse property and they are getting quite the education. There are two boys that are Jake and DB's age that live on one of these farm properties. They were invited to come play. It's hard to compete when they have a mile long dirt bike track, a trampoline, four dogs, pigs, goats, horses, at least 25 chickens and I counted two cats while I was dropping them off. One of the pigs was obviously ready to deliver her piglets. She was HUGE. Jake asked his buddy, Gus how he knew that the pig was going to have babies. He gave him this "duh" look as pointed out her swollen vulva and that her milk had come in. It was as if Gus had suddenly started speaking Mandarin Chinese.

It's fun to mock the country life, but it has it's merits for sure. Like fresh goat milk. Did you know that it is supposedly very good for you and there is a black market for it to the tune of $16 bucks a gallon. Who knew?
There is an annual Christmas parade through the affectionately called "Dust Bowl" that we got wind of and decided to join in on.

 Here is the parade in it's entirety, unless you count us and the Haws' bringing up the rear.

 What parade would be complete with out a pre-teen and his infant brother on a dirt bike. Helmets? Don't be ridiculous!

 Lani and Lauren were first to discover the free pony rides.

 Sophie was soon to follow.

 It was an instant hit.

 Dylan

 Jake

 Milan

 Christopher discovered just how loud a baby pig can squeal.

They look cute, don't they? They're not. They are super messy, loud, and mean.

And I nominate the grand marshal of the parade to be this goat, who endured a Santa hat being duct taped to his head.

And that's how they roll in the QC.

I'm Done With This Week

You never know what your going to get from week to week in this life. That's what makes it wonderful and sometimes awful.  Early Sunday morning Sophie woke me up to tell me she was thirsty. I directed her to the full glass of water on my night stand, which is a regular fixture for this very reason. She took a drink, then for whatever reason handed it back to me rather than set it back down. I was half asleep and not expecting it and got cold water dumped all over me. It was an omen for how this week would go.

It was not an hour later when Wes discovered that his truck had disappeared from the driveway. My first reaction was to pray that they find it. The old adage "be careful what you pray for" certainly applied. Some punk kids took it out to the desert and beat the crap out of it. After driving it through bushes and trees over bumps and debris, the grand finale was to crash it into an old abandoned couch.  It had a new battery, brand new registration, four relatively new tires, and a full tank of gas which is about $50-$60 these days if you weren't aware. After 15 years it certainly was not in pristine condition. The blue book on it probably didn't even reach four figures, but it ran, and that made it valuable to us. To add insult to injury, the sheriff who handled it took it upon himself to kick us while we were down by calling a tow truck on our dime. It now sits in an impound yard as we battle it out with them on principal. I've lost count of the number of hours consumed on this drama, but it suffices to say it would have been nice if either of the two thugs had ever thought about the impact of their incredibly selfish act. Two final notes on this.. silver lining if you will. The weeks worth of checks were sifted through but all accounted for, and a shout out to AAA. They have been over the top kind and accommodating.  Farewell, our four-wheeled friend.

And in other sad news, our gerbil and beloved pet of three years finally gave up the ghost tonight. I was beginning to think Sandy was immortal for the things she endured and lived to tell about. I would never tolerate cruelty to animals on purpose,  but we have three small children and stuff happens. I'm pretty sure Sandy had a cancerous growth on her for the past several months and had I known how devastated Sophie would be at her passing, I maybe would have considered chemo for her! The boys were pretty indifferent when I told them. In fact they were excited about getting to dig a hole for her before school tomorrow. So I was taken back by Sophie's sobbing when she saw dead Sandy. She's a tender-hearted sweetie and she made me cry too. Part of the reason I believe pets are good for kids is that it gives you the teaching moments to help them understand that everything dies eventually, and it is sad for us but really great for the one that died. It may be time for a puppy.

Santa Visit And Bubble Snow

Things fell into place for Cheryl and I to take the kids to visit Santa last night. I had Jake and Dylan with me, but they waited in line with us then walked right by Santa like he was the dressed up old guy that he is. They gave him a look of disdain and moved right along. They're on to him, and a frankly a little resentful of his scam. Sophie and Lani however are in the prime time age of Santa magic. Lani was too star struck to speak but Sophie was happy to speak in behalf of Lani about what they wanted for Christmas. She told him they wanted a princess dress, a doll, and everything ever advertised on Nick Jr. Santa listened attentively then like a true entrepreneur was anxious to move onto a kid whose folks were actually going to pay $34.99 for a photo. After going to great lengths to detail her list, Santa had the nerve to hand Sophie a book. She and Lani were perplexed. Did he not hear ANYTHING we just asked for? We don't even read.. Santa is losing it. At least that's what I presume was going through their head based on their expressions. I'd like to post an adorable photo of them, but cameras were strictly prohibited. I was armed with mine, but felt like a criminal if I were to steal a shot.  And because I made it clear this was a freebie visit, they were not even invited on Santa's lap, for fear they would get too comfortable I presume. But I'm a capitalist. I'm not offended.

I did manage to take some other shots of our festive evening.

 Anticipation builds as they inch closer to their turn with the jolly fella.

 The upside of fake bubble snow- you can wear shorts and a t-shirt in it. They down side? If it gets in your eyes, it burns like a mother. Also, it's pretty hard to make a snowman out of it. But nonetheless, it was a nice festive touch.

 Still aglow from their Santa encounter, the girls take in some Christmas caroling on the playground.

Bored with the singing, the boys entertained themselves.

 Cheryl, Lauren, and Bonita enjoy what we originally came for, the choral group from Red Mountain HS performance. It was well worth the trip out. They are very talented. Even if Jake and DB pretended to not listen, I think they even enjoyed it a little bit.

 This has nothing to do with our festive evening, but it does crack me up that Sophie takes pictures of her babies. She takes them very seriously and doesn't want to miss a minute of their childhood. She was ready to punch Jake earlier today when he tried to tell her that "Sassy" is just a toy. So rude.

Awww, her tiny baby feet. They grow up so fast. 

Wanted: A Friend

Most stuff that comes home in the kids' backpacks gets a brief look before being filed...in the local landfill. I'd love to keep it all, but I don't live in a mansion to store it all, so it has to be pretty special to earn a spot in the house. Every so often there is something worth hanging on to.

The teacher had them put together an ad. (I guess to help them later in life when they join eharmony.com)
Dylan's read as follows:


WANTED: A FRIEND
Must have a pet.
Must like to play football.
Must like D.S.
Must be a boy.
Must like to ride bikes.
Must like "lisreds" (lizards)
Call ___________. Ask for Dylan.