Just for Stephen

Sabrina and Leslie's christmas present

Sabrina is trying out her new toy, Lightning the spring horse.

Leslie learns how to read

Leslie reading her first book all by herself!

In honor of a special day....

In honor of a very, very special birthday coming up this Thursday, we post pictures of a different, but also very special child.
We miss you, Samuel!

Christmas is coming

We got a lovely fiber optic Christmas tree from Savers and had Leslie and Sabrina decorate it. They did an excellent job.

Captain Sabrina

Sabrina prefers going up the slide, or going down headfirst and backwards.

The house

People have been asking for pictures of our house for awhile, so Sabrina modeled her bedroom and Leslie's for a photo-shoot.

Trick or treating

Here come the Tooth Fairy and the Sweet Tooth Fairy, asking for handouts.

Mad Scientist

This is how Russell went to work on Halloween.

Cookies

We used a sugar cookie recipe to make playdoh cookies. Leslie made some rather beautiful flowers.

Karate Kid

Leslie takes a whack at a karate themed pinata at a school friend's birthday party.
Leslie was quite skeptical about going to a karate studio. "Karate is where they kick and hit people," she said disapprovingly. But in the end she greatly enjoyed the party and came home wanting karate lessons. We don't know what changed her mind--adults weren't allowed in the room where the party was, and could only peek through the doors until the very end.

First rain

The rains poured down, and Sabrina decided to try some mud squelching.
We thought this storm was big....until hours later, when Lake Avondale appeared in our backyard.

"Gingerbread" house

For FHE, Leslie and her Daddy made elaborate "gingerbread" houses out of graham crackers, while Sabrina and her Mother ate all the Andes mints. We had a great time. Russell made really good frosting that hardened into a cement-like consistency and kept the roofs on.

Face painting

Leslie shows off the flower she had painted on her face at a school fundraiser. I've found that when your visiting teacher is also the PTSA president, you tend to get more involved with school activities. :)

Nesting Instinct

Leslie and Sabrina like to make a cozy nest for themselves and a few chosen toys, to protect them from the cold. I think it got clear down to about 72 this week and we've all been shivering and adding extra blankets. Yes, we are officially wimpy Arizonians.

Thanksgiving

Here's our group at Thanksgiving. Richard and Suzanne came and a pharmacy school friend Milyn Gessel, with her husband Ray and their two children. Milyn and Suzanne are both from Beaver, Utah and knew each other previously...What are the odds?
Note the Spanish soup tureen, La Taza, filled with Gazpacho, a traditional Spanish soup--I've been wanting to make that for Thanksgiving ever since I bought that dish at a ceramics fair in Salamanca, Spain, seven years ago. It was a fulfillment of a dream, if nothing else, as no one actually liked the soup except me. But I bet dad will love it if he's here next time I make it. :)

Who needs a swimming pool?

When it rains in Arizona, who says we need to have a swimming pool in our backyard? :)

Famous Wade puppet show

Electric bed

Russ and Richard decided to see what would happen if they had the kids try out Aunt Carol's massage bed. They enjoyed watching Sabrina's face.....and they're both in trouble.

D T & A visit

Have we mentioned we love having visitors? :) We sure had fun when Debbie, Travis & Aria came this weekend.

Inducements to Travel

Here is a snazzy Italian restaurant...

And here is the `Statue of Liberty` in this case two horses, which can be seen on the Scottsdale art walk.
See all the fun you can have if you visit us in Phoenix?

Fun with Sculptures

Sabrina refers to every statue or sculpture she sees as `The statue of Liberty!`

Giddyup!

Another advantage of our Arizona location--pony rides for Halloween under the light of a full moon. Sabrina`s courageous enthusiasm helped Leslie overcome her misgivings, and they both stayed in the saddle for a full lap around the field.

Halloween activities

Leslie`s costume is completely of her own devising. Might be the influence of dentist relatives.

Ward Halloween party

Leslie can throw pennies into jars with a fair degree of accuracy. Sabrina can do it with a high degree of enthusiasm.

The `Yion` Roars

Sabrina really wanted to be a `scary yion` for Halloween, but after 5 minutes in this costume she got too hot and opted for a light princess dress instead.

Dinner with Aunt Carol

Days before leaving on her pre-mission trip to Nauvoo, Aunt Carol came out to see our house. Richard and Suzanne came too even though they were sick. It was quite the party.

An enormous attic

I was feeling adventurous this weekend with Lisa out of town, so I ventured up into the attic of our house. I'm not sure if most attics are this big, but we could put another bedroom or two up there it appears.

Head shots of Leslie

Here's some pictures I took of Leslie.

Beginnings of our Garden

The kids stand protectively by the little herb garden we planted.
Leslie in the sunset.
These are the decorative plants we got, Barbara Karst and purple Bouganvillas and white and pink oleanders. Once established, you only have to water these plants about once a month. I love Arizona plants!
It took us an hour's work with shovel, hose and pickaxe to get far enough through the caliche (the clay substance under the soil that is as hard as cement) to plant these little trees. We planted Arizona sweet orange, tangerine, Marsh and Ruby Red grapefruit, and Lisbon Lemons. Hope they all stay alive.

Faces of Sabrina

Debilore needed a close up head shot of Sabrina. Here's the best I got.

Tooth Fairy Booty

When told the Tooth Fairy would bring her money, Leslie asked if she could bring her something else instead. "Can the Tooth Fairy bring me flowers, like the ones we gave to that lady we didn't buy the house from?" (We gave flowers to the agent for the home we ended up not buying, because she was so helpful to us.) Although her mommy said the Tooth Fairy probably wasn't up for bringing flowers, the Tooth Fairy found a lovely bouquet on sale at the grocery store that night, so Leslie received flowers. Leslie wrote a nice note thanking the Tooth Fairy for the flowers, and asked for money next time. :)

A great day

Today Leslie lost her first tooth, and Sabrina wore panties and stayed dry (only one accident) all day!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!! We are so proud of both of them.

The first resident of our home

Yes, it's dead. :)
This was under our air conditioner. We sure love living in Airzona! :)
(Sabrina is morbidly fascinated by this. I keep it in the garage on a piece of cardboard, and several times a day Sabrina goes out there for a little scorpion viewing. We were singing "Pop Goes the Weasel," and Sabrina sang, "Pop goes the scorpion!")

Take her to the emergency room!

Here is Sabrina energetically dancing on the evening after the extremely unhelpful pediatric clinic told me she needed to be taken to the emergency room. She was breathing, walking, and talking--we just wanted to have her checked, as she had a febrile seizure during the night. We are so blessed that she is alright!