More "Christmas Island" than "White Christmas"

We had a great time in Arizona hanging out with friends and family during Christmas break. Stetson was a very busy boy during the month we were there. He took care of his Grami, who had knee replacement surgery right after we arrived.
He spent lots of time around his Robles cousins and was ready to be adopted by my sister. Who can blame him? Four (soon to be five!) awesome little boys under one roof!
He also helped me babysit this Santa cutie one morning. Stetson called him "Baby Ho-ho-ho."
He helped clean up by lassoing the Christmas tree after the festivities were over.
And he spent tons of time outside, sometimes without a shirt or shoes! I love winter in AZ. And yes, that is dirt caked on his face. Stetson decided to lie down face first in a very little muddy puddle.
We didn't take nearly enough pictures while we were there, but a great time was had by all.

Cowboy Catch-up

Before we can tell you about all the fun adventures we've been having lately, we have to post these pictures of Stetson's favorite Christmas break activity. Thanks to Grami and Papa for setting up the horseback riding. He was in cowboy heaven!
The weather was perfect -- 70 degrees and sunny -- and I've never seen Stetson so happy. We were amazed that he wasn't afraid at all! He was ready to ride that horse off into the sunset. Unfortunately, the horse didn't make it on the plane to Ohio. Anyone know where I can sign my child up for horseback riding lessons in Cleveland?

Go Gators!!

2008 BCS Champions

NY needs your vote!

My fabulously fashionable friend Kara created a stunning ensemble for Shabby Apple's online contest. Now she's been selected as a finalist and needs your vote! Her ensemble is named "Times Square Countdown." Post a comment in order to vote. But do it soon -- voting ends tomorrow at 10pm!

The outfit is the very essence of party. And perfect for the vacation of my dreams -- a week in NYC.

Found!

I'm a little embarrassed to say that my camera was hiding in the top drawer next to the computer. Although I had searched through it several times, I hadn't seen the camera. Now you can imagine the bottomless pit that is this drawer. But it's not all my fault! I'm going to pass a little blame onto my almost-two-year-old, who loves to pull things out of and cram things into the drawer. So even if I did organize the drawer, it wouldn't stay that way. At least I found my camera! Who knows what else is hiding in there?

My Own Fairy Tale

I'm finally getting around to posting a picture of the three of us dressed up for Halloween. We look a little haggard after trick-or-treating. I think Stetson looks particularly scary with chocolate drool. I borrowed my princess costume from my cousin and sewed Lafe's knight costume. Lafe designed and created the front emblem. A good time was had by all.
It may be some time before I post new pictures. My camera is missing! Cross your fingers that we find it soon.

Happy Halloween

(Yes, this is our jack o'lantern)
We've been Halloween partying for nearly a week now. We kicked it all off with the ward Halloween party. I was pretty busy the whole night, so Stetson spent most of the time playing with Dean.
Then we carved a pumpkin for Family Night. Stetson loved the goopy insides, but was a little frightened by the end result.

The next night we made caramel apples.

And Wednesday we took Stetson trick-or-treating at the dorms of a local university. He didn't quite understand why he didn't get to eat all of the candy right then. You can see, however, that he did enjoy a few pieces of tasty chocolate.Although he wasn't sure of it at first, Stetson now loves his dragon costume. He even wore it to the grocery store this week. I'm glad he's gotten so much use out of it! We're excited to dress up and go trick-or-treating again tonight. We hope your family has a safe and happy Halloween!