The Hunt for a Good Cannoli!

My favorite part of New York was hanging out with the kids, and while hanging out with the kids Emma and I were on the hunt for a cannoli! I had never had one and she loved them and wanted to make sure I experienced that part of New York! Well, the last day there we found one! We shared it with Morgan and Ashley, and they didn't really care for them. It was a wonderful memory Emma and I shared. And we have been bugging each other about coming back and finding a place here that sells them! Well, we found such a place and the Homecoming game reminded us that we needed to get together and have one. Ashley was back and she wanted to come too! And I thought it would be so much fun if we got Jana to come too! We all had so much fun in band together and I thought it would make of a great time!
And it did! I loved spending time with these fabulous women, even if I was the only one to get a cannoli! We talked, we laughed, we teased! It was a great night!

New pets

What do you do when your sons have watched too much Dooms Day Preppers (besides throw away the TV?) You buy a bunch of chickens!

And those chicks become chickens, which lay eggs. They may not be golden, but they are cute and eggs can be expensive.

So far, so good. We have only lost four. Three died and one went for a walk. Whether it went on it's own or had a little help, we will never know. There has been so sign of her for about a week now, including extra feathers lying about the yard, thank goodness!And the others are getting big and will soon be jumping out of their box and they might get lost too, in the other happier, oooh there is one under my bed and making a mess kind of way. We keep moving them inside because the evenings are still cold for our furry almost feathery friends. And they are obviously not potty trained so they don't smell that great either. And they will probably be nice chickens if they spend a lot of time outside because Joey really loves to hold them!

We are keeping our fingers crossed on this whole adventure! If not, it only cost $50. And it has been kind of fun, minus the loosing of the small little thing.

 Ashley has really came out as a mother hen in this whole experience. They love her and she has kind of taken them under her wing, so to speak. Britt looks at them and walks by. Yeah, poor thing is allergic to eggs and we are not going to try the actual chicks yet.

 They are stinky little things and the best part about this little experiment is that it is not mine!! So that means no cleaning.... Yeah, we will see how long that lasts.

Zach's first Homecoming

Zach went to Homecoming with an old friend from Franklin. She was his best friend in 6th grade. She has just turned 16 and Zach was her first date! Her name is Ashley Brown, a very good name in our family. And, yes, Joey is starting to pray for her too!

In order to go to a dance in this school district you have to turn in an approval form from all of the teachers as well as the principal. And they did it! It was a lot of hoops to jump through and they only stayed at the dance for about 20 minutes! Apparently the fun is after. He met up with some friends and then ended coming back to the house to watch a movie before having her home by 11:30. I totally missed most of it because I was picking up my Ashley from work (after the concert). But Travis said he had a grin the whole time! I think it went pretty well.

 

Meanwhile, a few miles away me and Joey had our own little date. He got some vouchers from Mr. Coughlin to see a free concert with Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center. My little man was so excited! He dressed up with his bow tie, Zach's hat, and he looked sharp! I love jazz music so I was looking forward to it too! He even opened up my door and everything! He is turning into a gentleman, now if we can get him to grow a little!
The concert was beautiful! The second part the Phoenix Symphony joined in and it was wonderful!!!
We saw Mr. Brooks and a few kids from school. It was a wonderful night and I really had a great time! And my date was cuter than ever!!!

Adventures In Breakfast!!!

Brittany turned 19 today! And as we normally do, we took her to breakfast for her birthday! Ashley tagged along too! We went to Denny's because you get part of it free and birthdays are about free, right? Well, when we arrived  two police cars had pulled over a car right inside Denny's parking lot. I watched the driver, a lady, hitting the steering wheel with her hands as we entered the building. I guess she didn't want the ticket. I also noticed two more people in the car, one in the passenger side as well as one in the back.

Anyway, we waited and were seated just as the hostess yelled, 'He's taking off! And we looked out the window and the perp was really running across the busy street and into the parking lot of the closed fabric store with two officers in hot pursuit! We watched and the man tried to turn left too quickly, slammed on his knee and head, and the two officers tackled him the rest of the way down, handcuffed him, and then led him to the shade next to the abandoned building. No one said anything for a few minutes and then the hostess said our waitress would be there in a few minutes. All of us watching from the window were speechless!  And there were a lot watching! The whole restaurant had become quiet!
And then the talking started! We had breakfast and a show! It took as longer than normal to order but we did manage to do it. We watched as more police showed up. A helicopter joined in, for what, I am not sure. And the hostess told us that the other two in the car were also handcuffed.

We watched as the fire department and an ambulance showed up to check on the young man and then leave. And we then watched the police officers escort the man across the street back to where the whole thing started in the first place! We finished our breakfast a little later than normal and headed out the door. The car was still there, the driver and passenger sitting outside the car with handcuffs and the lone runner in the back of the police vehicle. We got into our car and, I am not sure why, were very excited for the day! Maybe because we had a front row seat to an exciting adventure where the good guys won, and the streets were a little safer that morning or maybe because we had a day we could enjoy ahead of us! Looking back I feel kind of bad that we were so excited about the show, and maybe if the faces meant anything it would be a different story. (I think we watch too much TV!)

The rest of the day, thankfully, was a lot less dramatic. Britt had a great day and I am so glad that kid is in my life!!! She is an angel and I love every bit of her!!!

Happy Birthday, Britt! May the next year bring you much less adventure and much more fun!!!

Ashley is home!!!

What a day! The day started the night before, or super early that morning, however you want to look at it. Already making this too long, I know!

David showed up a little before 1 A.M Apparently I surprised him because I threatened to meet him at the airport even though he was renting a car. Well, I didn't and I think he was a little disappointed. Good to keep him on his toes!!!

 

 

I probably got three hours of sleep but I think even if I had gone to bed earlier I would still have only gotten three hours of sleep. My girl was coming home!!!

 

Everyone was up and we headed to the store to get balloons. David had to go to the store a few times himself.

(Thank goodness for Caroline!)

We had a lot of fun picking out balloons!

We, of course, left for the airport too early. (I blame my dad!) But before that we picked up McKayla. She came along! It was nice having her there. She and Ash have been friends for as long as both of them can remember! Laura came in from Sacramento to be here too and she stayed with Cortney.

 

 

They met us at the airport. It was so good to see her! Tami and her family met us there too! We made posters the night before with the help of our favorite little Whiting boys! They know how to make a poster!!!

 

 

 

We waited, and waited...

and waited!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then the plane landed.

They were remodeling the airport and outside of the security gate was blocked off so we were a sight! Normal crowds would have a hard time gathering at that end but we did it!

 

 

A week before,  Chyrisse told me she would be coming in for the homecoming. And then she told me she was actually coming in on the same flight as Ashley!!!  I have to admit I was really jealous but then I thought how cool it would be for her to be met in Salt Lake by someone who loves her!

Anyway, Chyrisse came out and by the smile on her face I knew it was just a few moments until we would see her! And five minutes later, there she was!

It was so good to have her in my arms again!

How I missed this girl!!!

 

 

WE cried and hugged and then she moved on to everyone else. She was completely shocked to see Laura and then MaKayla! And even David!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had visited and taken pictures so much that by the time we went to retrieve her luggage, it was locked up so we had to get an authority to let it out of the locker. I have never experienced that before!

Britt and Danni went with David and they were kind of pokey so we had to kill some time before we could go home. We got her our polar pop drink that we had joked about her whole mission and then we drove by Mesa High to show her the new bunny and noticed Quamo's car! She had to see him! And yes, we did interrupt his lesson but I don't think it bugged him too much! And as we were leaving, Mr Brooks pulled up! We got two birds with one stone!

 

We headed back to the house and she got to see Grandma and Grandpa. It was great!

 

We later went to the temple and she held my hand through most of the session. We got to be the witness couple, which is what she wanted. It was a wonderful experience.

And then she was released! She gave me her name badge.

 

I am so proud!!! The Lord has his plans and even crazy moms like me can't change what He has planned, thank goodness!!!

  

 

 

Thanks to my photographers! Are they not the best? 

 

This weekend

It has been awhile, thanks to a certain Texan who says I am too sappy, but I am back! Actually, I have been extremely busy with band stuff and other more important items!!

 Ashley is coming home!

 And I finally put a countdown on my phone and it says she lands in 3 days, 6 hours, and a bunch of minutes and seconds that will change as soon as I type them so I won't bother! How cool!!! We have a few surprises awaiting her and I can't wait to see how this weekend plays out! 

I do know for sure she will be sitting in the way back on the way home from the airport with two young, very spirited, and waay too excited younguns while they talk her ears off with nonsensical stuff! She might be deaf before she even enters the house!!! And funny, that is one thing I am most excited about!!!The love and joy that she will experience as well as the animation those two will express sharing with her whatever is on their minds brings tears to my eyes with anticipation. (Sappy enough for you, dear cousin?) It will definitely be a loud and joyful ride home!!!

Now I just need to get to it. And, of course, I can't sleep!!!

And I am sure I will have more wonderful SAPPY things to share in the next few days!!!