Life With Sami...

Easter Fun!

 Here you see a very happy little girl -- She had just found her Easter basket and spotted the Barbie Mermaid inside!  Sami has been asking for this particular Barbie for a couple months, so her day was off to a great start!  

If you zoom in, it is also a great picture of the craziness going on with her teeth right now!  She still has yet to actually lose a tooth, but the teeth coming in are moving her previously, perfectly spaced, baby teeth all over the place!  It looks like she is already missing a tooth on top, but that is really just how far over her front tooth has moved!  Oh well, they gotta come out sometime, right?  If all else fails, she does have a dentist checkup scheduled next week..... cue evil plan laugh... bwbhahahaha!

So anyway, back to Easter.  We had a fun morning searching for eggs around the house and checking out all the cool stuff in her basket.  Later in the afternoon, we headed over to my parents' house for a casual family dinner with my sister's family.  Grandpa re-hid the eggs in his backyard for Sami, and then she got to search for them again.  "Big brother" Michael was on hand to help her, and I got a few cute pictures of the search:

 

We had a great time with the family, ate a lot of good food, then went home and crashed into bed!  Yep, a fine time was had by my favorite little girl!

Here's a nice close-up of her fabulous egg-decorating skills.  Have a great week!

The plight.....

of the "only child" to stay entertained.... 

  ...You play BINGO with your stuffed animal friends.

She later informed me the "Pink Team" won.

Have a great week!

Spring Break 2010!

And a good time it was!

I took the week off this year for Sami's Spring Break.  We did not travel anywhere (for once) and just hung around town.  It was a nice break and I got some work done in the backyard because we had some awesome weather!

The first Saturday, we joined the HopeKids for an outing to the Arizona Science Center.  We used to do more activities with them when Sami was sick; but now that she's healthy, I usually don't go in order to leave room for the kids still in treatment.  Well, Friday night, we got a HopeKids email saying there was still lots of room for Saturday's event, so we joined in.  Sami has expressed lots of interest in museums, so this was a great opportunity for some cultural activity!  We were there for a few hours and had alot of fun.  Sami enjoyed trying all the various hands-on activities, and we especially enjoyed the Forces of Nature experience in the weather center. 

HopeKids is terrific, and they provide so many free activities for kids with serious health issues.  Please take the time to check out this great organization and help in anyway you can. 

Here's a few shots from the day.  The one of us together is in black and white because the exposure got screwed up and it only looked usable this way -- I always forget to have people take pictures of us together, so when I get one, I try to use it!

A few days later, we decided it was time for Sami to have her first sleepover!  Naturally, she wanted her best friend Brinn to be the honored guest, and she gladly accepted our invitation.  So things went really well.  We had pizza, made cookies, and the girls drew about twenty pictures.  They would disappear for about an hour every so often, and I would find them in Sam's room with dolls spread out all over the bed, having doll conversations, or in the playroom, doing more artwork.  They were soooo good, and I am thinking "Yeah, this sleepover stuff works out for all of us...."  And them it was bedtime....  It was "bedtime" for a loooong time before they managed to STAY in bed.  But eventually, I believed they were calming down (at about midnight, mind you) and I let down my guard.  They are six, they must be getting sleepy, right?  It seemed they were on their way to the land of nod, So I enjoyed my quiet time reading in bed, then fell asleep.  The next morning, because kids forget about parents when they are blabbering, I discovered there was quite a bit of sneeky activity happening after I dozed off!  They were getting snacks, running around the house, and were up to other harmless hijinks as I dreamed away.  They fell asleep at some point, but I do not think it was before one AM!  They were a little tired the next day, especially after I took them up to the park for some more activity in the morning.  Here are some photos of Sami's first ever sleepover:

No, they were not really asleep - just pretending in this one! 

The rest of the week, Sam and I just hung around the house.  I needed to get some stuff done in the yard and we had alot of fun playtime together.  Tomorrow is back to school for Sami and back to work for me - the party's over, as they say.  In "coming attractions," be sure to STAY TUNED!!!!   We have two very loose teeth in a certain little girl's mouth right now, and are anxiously awaiting their departure!  Photos are sure to come when this milestone event happens!

Until then, have a great week!

What a Difference 5 Years Makes...

Tonight, while putting laundry away, I came into the family room and found my basket had been hijacked!  By whom you ask?  Who else?  Miss Sami was sitting in the basket, yelling, "Push me mommy! Push me! "  I naturally went for my camera, promising a push after a picture.  

A bit later, while cropping the photo for this very blog, it occurred to me I had seen this photo before.... or one very much like it.  A quick search on our old desktop PC and I had it...Voila!

 

I totally remember the day this photo was taken --John was pushing Sami up and down the hallway in this laundry basket.  She was laughing her head off and he was red in the face because she wouldn't let him stop! 

When I checked the date on the old picture, I was surprised to find it was taken almost exactly five years ago on Feb. 28, 2005.  More interestingly (to me at least) is that tomorrow is John's birthday.  I suspect he may have been "hovering" around here today, having a good laugh and reminding me of a great memory!  Still miss you honey.

So to sum it up, I'll just say...

You can take the girl out of the basket, but you can't take the basket out of the girl! 

 

Ah, but what a difference 5 years can make.

Have a great day everyone.

Forgot to post this last week - We had Michael overnight last Saturday while my sis and her hubby were up in Flagstaff visiting Alyssa. Sami LOVES Michael and still refers to him as her "big brother." Here's a shot of them together on the couch, while we all watched Toy Story. Very fun.

Fun and Fright in Flaggstaff...

 

Our good friends Donna and Jerry took Sami and I up to Flagstaff for the day on Saturday.  We set out in the morning, with high hopes of deep snow and Sami's list of what she planned to accomplish in the high country:  #1.  Go sledding; #2. Have a snowball fight; #3 Build a snowman; #4. make a snowbomb (we adults were unable to figure out what this meant...).

So, we drive for a couple hours, and finally get there.  Before heading out to Wing Mountain, a designated sledding and snow play area, we stopped and got into our snow gear.  Above, you see Miss Sami (and Ellie) in her bibs, ready to head out.

We arrive at Wing Mountain just before noon, and it is packed!  We found a nice close parking spot in the lot, got into the rest of our gear, and headed for the hills!

Here you see Sami and Donna, sleds in hand, ready for action.

So here's where the "adventure" really begins....

We were walking up the first hill, (IN the designated walking up the hill area of the hill,) when this idiot, kamakazi sledding guy comes barreling down the hill at high speed, out of control.  I did not see him coming (or going for that matter,) but he and his sled  slammed into me hard enough to knock my feet right out from under me.  I flew up in the air and somehow landed on my right side, HARD.   Hard enough to knock the wind out of me, because I could not get a breath at first and was making some weird honking sound until I could speak...  My sunglasses had dislodged and made a nice gash in my face, just to the side of my right eye-- this cut was literally spurting out blood everywhere... yes, a lovely scene.  My friends saw me clutching my chest (I couldn't breathe) and there was blood on my hands, so they thought something had stabbed me in the chest at first, adding to the panic. 

At many points throughout this ordeal I thanked God and the universe that Sami had not been hit!!!  She was standing right next to me and it could easily have had a more tragic outcome.  I'll take some pain any day if it spares my kid!

When I could finally speak, I had Jerry get  Sami out of there, so he took her to a bunny hill nearby while Donna and the "orange vest guys" got me cleaned up and checked out. Oh, and the man who ran me over?  Never even came over to say he was sorry, or see if I was OK.  Jerk.

With a bandaide and an icepack on my temple, and a throbbing pain in my side, we met back up with Sami and Jerry, and headed over to the snowplay area to check off some items on sami's list.  I know, but we drove over 2 hours to get there and I wasn't leaving until Sam had a bit more fun!  While I sat on a nearby rock, Donna and Jerry had a snowball fight with Sami, while she continued to try and eat snow.  All that snow finally caught up with Sami though - No sooner had she announced she needed to pee, (you now where this is going, right?)  so yes, Sami did not make it 2 steps when she peed in her pants!  Bummer.  Well, I said, "you're already wet, so you may as well play a bit more!"  With our time running shorter now, we comandeered an abandoned snowman, and added the decorations we had brought along.

At this point, I am still in pain and being wet is no longer fun for Sami, so we headed for the car.  Luckily, I had extra pants for both of us, (mine were covered in blood).  We changed and had a nice lunch at Chilis before driving back to Phoenix.

My cut has healed up nicely, and the Dr. at the Urgent Care said I probably have a fractured rib or two.  Ahhh, the life of a mom, huh?  haha

Have a good rest of your week!

PS.  We had a great Valentines day onn Sunday too, but I wasn't moving fast enough to get any good pictures...

 

A Late Holiday Recap.....

OK folks.

I know its February already, and I never posted the big holiday recap I was promising.  I have no idea where the second half of January went!   In an effort to keep it simple, I put together a little photo album with some highlights from the period between Christmas and now.   This time frame also included a 6-day visiting trip to California where we had stops in Moreno Valley (Lynne), Home Gardens (Alicia at work), Santa Monica (The Cummings and The Martins), San Diego (Sea World), and Oceanside (Grandma Jean).  Over 21 hours in the car and some 1200+ miles.  It was a terrific time and great to see everyone. 

I will try to get back on the program here and post more often, even if they are small posts.  In the meantime, enjoy the photos and have a great day!

Hope you are all having a great 2010 so far! 

Sami and I are doing great and life is good.

A Holiday recap is coming soon!

In the meantime, here's a shot of Sami and her American girl doll - all ready for bed in their matching PJs!

Is it here yet???

There's never a dull moment in December around here!

I have a very excited child on my hands today! 

We have been counting the days on FOUR separate advent contraptions since December 1st..  Each morning, we glue a new cotton ball over the appropriate number on Santa's beard, the proceed to the countdown chalkboard in the hallway.  From there, we move a snowflake to the next pocket on the snowman, then later (after she has at least eaten breakfast!) we pop open another door on the little cardboard chocolate-filled thingy.  -Non-stop excitement each and every morning I tell you!

My oh-so-energetic spokesmodel agreed to demonstrate as we finished the countdown this morning:

I know.  You all wished you lived at my house too.  We have lots of fun around here.  Speaking of which, we have been baking maniacs here for the last week!  We made all of our favorites - most of them are recipes from my own childhood!  Here's an example of a cookie tray, one of several to be delivered to the homes of our lucky friends and neighbors later today!

 

Won't you be my neighbor?  haha  We also make homemade dog bones for our friends with canine family members.

Can't forget the annual gingerbread house!  i am not sure where the candy fence or the assorted gumdrops from the walls went....  but I have a theory....

It really has been a fun holiday season.  Sami was in the Nutcracker production done by her dance studio.  She and all the girls in her ballet class were cast as Angels- It is kinda the "lowest rung"/entry level position on the Nutcracker ladder - each year they can audition for more involved parts as their skills progress.  They were all so cute and did a great job.  It was a long day, with and afternoon matinee and an evening show.  but Sami made it through and did well.

 

She did start to fade a bit before the second show..... hee hee

 

Next year, Sami hopes to play a mouse in the show!

I do quite a bit of decorating for the holidays.  It is an uplifting and arduous affliction which runs in my family.  Here's some examples of how we do it up right at our house:

Two Christmas trees, one with all the unique and fun ornaments collected over the years, and the other with all my blown glass (highly breakable!) ornaments on it!  Here's the main one in the family room:

Yes, you are correct, that is a portrait of Ole Saint Nick himself above our fireplace!

Here's our Christmas village.  We add a new building every year.  Kinda hard to photograph with my crappy camera...

This is my entryway hutch, with collection of Sami's Christmas photos !  Most of them are the cards we sent out each year.   Note the lovely Nutcracker Angel portrait showcased on the bottom shelf.

 

Tomorrow morning, I'll call my folks as soon as Sami gets up and they will come over with donuts to watch the stocking and gift madness.  Later on, my family all gathers at mom and dad's for a prime rib feast and more merry-making.  My brother and his family live up in Montana, so we will be missing them!  He just called me a couple minutes ago so we had a nice visit - Love ya baby brother!

 Sunday we head over to California to see Sami's big sisters, Grandma Jean, my pal Lynne and our new friends (we met in Hawaii) the Martins!  After all that, Sami and I will ring in the new year at Sea World.

Well, we have to get going on those cookie deliveries while people are still home!

More photos and commentary to come after the big day tomorrow! 

Merry Christmas everybody!  God bless and have a wonderful day with those you love.

I'll leave you with a Sami and Ellie shot :

 

I just LOVE this kid!!!!!

6th Birthday Bash!

 

Unbelievable!

My BABY is six years old!  She now needs 2 hands to show somebody how old she is...  She is also cancer-free.  Lots to celebrate...big stuff. 

Last Sunday, we invited seven of her little girlfriends over for a "Fancy Nancy" themed party.  If you are not familiar with this Nancy character, just think LOTS of pink, feather boas, pearls and Tera's - you'll get the idea.  A good time was had by all, games were played (pin the sunglasses on Barbie) and Sami got her long awaited, most wished for Barbie Camper! (thanks to the Sprengers and the Florences!)    In case you have trouble imagining just how much a little girl could want a silly ole Barbie Camper?.....

Here you go:

The cake was also a thing of beauty, thanks to my sis Tena and her husband Mike - they make awesome cakes! 

Here's a few more shots of the fun..

 

SO much craziness and fun!  Thanks to the girls for coming and thank you Sami for being my wonderful daughter!

Tonight we're heading out for Sami's second performance in The Nutcracker. (She and the other girls in her ballet class play the angels) This afternoon they did great!  Tonight I am helping out backstage, so once her number is done, I hope we can get out of there!

Long day!

I will try to get together some photos from the show.

Have a great day!