Election Day

Here's how we spent our day yesterday - Kirk took the day off to work the phones at the Obama Campaign Headquarters and I did as well. It was a great way to spend election day! Here are some photos - the response of volunteers was amazing - we spent the majority of the time calling people in New Mexico to make sure they knew where they were suppose to vote, and to encourage them to vote if they had not done so yet. I was so impressed with the positive tone of everything. I'm truly thankful for democracy.

Believe in Possibilities

Tonight is one of those moments that will live in our memories forever. A moment that we should discuss with our children about the possibilities of life and that our country has the ability to evolve, change and provide opportunities for all of us. It is THE moment that we are closet to what the architects of the constituion meant by All Men are Created Equal. Tonight I was filled with pride for our country to overcome the boundaries of race to elect a President. The fight against racisim is not over it is all of our responsibility to combat it in ourselves and others, but we should celebrate this amazing milestone.

Next glass ceiling to break...elect a competent and deserving Woman~ Because our daughters deserve to reach for the stars also...

Preschool already started for Hannah, but I wanted to share this picture of her, ready for her first day, because she looks so grown up.

Also, here's a picture of one of four baby bunnies we had early in September thanks to an unintended little get together between two of our pet rabbits. We've sold all but one of the babies so far (thank goodness!)

Here are pictures from Sarah's 8th Birthday, Halloween and her baptism.

I'm not sure why Sarah's not smiling in this next picture, but she looks the part.

And last, but not least, here's another "big fish" picture. Kyle and Nate and Grandpa Hays went fishing at Strawberry Resevoir on Halloween and Nate caught his biggest fish yet.

Halloween & ER Visits

Happy Halloween!

We had a great day yesterday. The weather here right now is absolutely perfect outside - not hot and not cold - just right. I love it when it gets like that.

The kids carved pumpkins outside yesterday - Brennan attempted a cat and Jordan said her pumpkin was suppose to be a hillbilly.

Other than Christmas, I think Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love Halloween in Arizona because it's so nice outside and when the trick-or-treaters come everyone leaves their doors open with just the screen door closed - the air smells good and lots of people have their burning jack-o-lanterns outside on their porches. I don't know, I just like Autumn I guess, but weirdly, I prefer the warm autumn we have here, even if that means that most of our leaves don't actually turn until January (I always think it's funny in January that the leaves turn and fall off the trees in a matter of a couple of week - and then by February we have blossoms again). It's a beautiful time of year.

Brennan did not trick or treat this year - instead he had some friends over and they watched some scary movies, played video games, ate me out of house and home and went tp-ing last night.

Jordan went as a housewife this year - with a lovely mu mu dress, slippers, face mask and curlers. The photo doesn't do the costume justice - I forgot to take a picture before she went to a Halloween party and danced all night - so this photo is post party after much of her hair and make-up was messed up - but you get the idea.

About a week ago I sliced my finger open while cutting lemons at the church - I sat through the baptismal service holding pressure on the cut but realized after 45 minutes it was not going to quit bleeding. We ended up in the ER and I had to get stitches in my finger. Jordan took notes the entire time, asked me more questions than the doctor or the nurse, asked the doctor a million questions and watched the entire procedure while taking more notes. We are not really sure if she'll grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer - right now she vacillates between the two ideas. When she's not all up in people's medical business she's writing contracts left and right. Maybe a Med Mal attorney?

More Football Pictures....

Pictures of Ken and Chase in their last football game. Including Ken having water dumped on him when it was like 30 degrees outside. Also is attached is an article in the newspaper on Chandler's teams win.

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081030/SPORTS02/310301048/-1/sports

Fall in NH

Fall in NH has been beautiful and I being the avid photographer that I am have not taken any non-football related pictures. Luckily my daughter did. This week her class went on a field trip to hike Mount Monadnock and she took a few pictures.

Chase Football

Sorry to make you go someplace else to see Chase but this is a better picture of him then I have taken.

http://ricklopezphotography.zenfolio.com/p2792862/e39a64dd2

Chase completed his first year of football. It was a tough year for the team since it consisted mainly of 8th grade students playing in a division that included up to Sophmores in high-school. If the high school didn't have freshman or JV teams then the town team was where those kids played. Often the kids were almost twice the size of our kids! Ken was one of the assistant coaches of the team.

Chase did have a fumble recovery in one of the games and he has learned a lot. This is Chase's 5th sport this year and all of which he hadn't played before on teams. It shows a lot of hard work and dedicaiton on his part. He played football, basketball, baseball, La Crosse and Volleyball. And he made the school La Crosse and Volleyball teams. I think La Crosse is his favorite sport to play and he was very good at it, he is looking forward to playing it again this year.

We're proud of him!!

Wayne & Vicki Visit Us In Arizona

On Friday we drove to Flagstaff to meet Wayne & Vicki (and David & Normandie) for dinner - they were planning to head to Phoenix on Saturday but since we had not seen them for the past year and 1/2 we thought it was worth a short drive to see them one day early. We had a nice dinner at the Little America and on Saturday morning we drove back to Phoenix.

Jordan was dancing at the Arizona State Fair and so we all stayed and hung out at the fair for awhile after Jordan was finished. Wayne & Vicki rode some of the rides with Jordan and we all hopped in a large ferris wheel. It was fun. Jordan had a great time with her grandparents since she got them all to herself (Brennan was on a scout trip). Kirk found a Highland Cow at the petting zoo and it made him miss Scotland.

The next day we took them to Brio Fine Arts to see Kirk's art exhibit while it is still hanging. Afterwards we drove to Camp Verde to visit the Out of Africa Wild Animal Life Park. We all had a great time! Out of Africa is very cool - you get to see the animals in a very different way than the usual zoo experience. The kids got to feed the tigers and we all fed the Giraffe and Camel who stick their head right into the safari vehicle to beg for food. Very cool!

We had a short visit with Wayne & Vicki but spent our time wisely and had a great weekend!

The new and improved Chandler...

Chandler has worked so hard to be able to play football this season. As I think all of you know Chandler had to loose 23 pounds in just over 5 weeks to be able to play football. He did that and more! He has now lost 30 pounds, which means he can even eat on the day before football. (they weigh the kids before each game in their pads and if they are over weight they can't play, so the kids who are really close usually don't get to eat before the game). His team is doing well, they were tied for second place going into today's game. They have already qualified for the playoffs which start in a few weeks. Chandler has found some good friends on the team, even though most are 2 years older then him. Here Chandler is with his friend Josh Coffey on the team. Chandler is #64.

What do these things have in common? Skirt, Stick, Goggles, Shin Gaurds

Victoria! Tori made the field hockey team this year. And did excellent in her first season. She even became a starter in her second game playing ever. The coach has asked her to come back next season and try playing goalie. She looks adorable in her outfit but is vicious on the field. And for all of you who have never seen a field hockey game, it is a site to see. Somewhere between hockey, soccer and la crosse. They say it takes about 3 years before you understand all of the rules.

And the winner is...

Ok, so it isn't one that you guys got to vote on. When we went to buy one of the original rings we found one that was perfect for me, kind of a mix between #1 and #4. It is an absolutely amazing beautiful ring, quite like the person who gets to wear it for the rest of her life! (ok, I am not that sappy but Ken is!) I feel very lucky to be able to wear it and very lucky that I have found a man as wonderful as Ken.

They finished our rock wall in the backyard. On Friday our landscaper started.

This is what our front yard looked like this morning. We sure hope it warms up enough to get the landscaping done before spring 2009.
Saturday night Michael makes a snowman.
Jessica told me it was going to snow on Saturday, I wasn't too worried- even if it snowed a bit, it would only be an inch or two. I made sure to take some pictures of the first snow, I thought it would be gone by the next afternoon.
Sunday morning we woke up to Christmas outside. And it is still snowing.