A Thankful Weekend.

Yet another holiday with not-your-traditional activities...

But another holiday that was wonderful and enjoyable.

We spent Thanksgiving with Greg's family this year and decided to try some new traditions. The old traditional Thanksgiving dinner seemed to bring about too much heartache with Greg's Dad gone. Why not venture out of the ordinary?

We enjoyed our meal at a restaurant and REALLY enjoyed not cooking or cleaning up afterward. Generally I truly enjoy cooking/baking. But my 8 month pregnant self opted for simplicity this year - and it was an excellent decision.

We followed our Thanksgiving lunch with the movie "Tangled". We were pleasantly surprised at what an entertaining movie it was. Would recommend it to anyone.

Emma was mesmerized. Move on over Ariel, Belle and Cinderella - there is a *NEW* princess that has stolen her heart. She happened to have a purple dress-up gown given to her by cousin Anna, which has been transformed into her Rapunzel dress. Greg is now consistently "Flynn Rider" and I am "Rapunzel's Mother". She even told Greg yesterday that we could take the "other costumes" back to Grammie Lou's because she didn't need them anymore. Ouch. Hope the abandoned princesses don't have depression problems, because Emma's neglect could send them spiraling.

After the movie was over, Emma asked Greg to dance with her in the front of the theater. As we were the only ones left... Greg obliged.

We spent the rest of the weekend enjoying family, friends and Greg's time off work.

We went to the zoo on Saturday where Emma's only request was another stop at the "Mermaid Shell" where she could take yet another picture.

We took some Christmas card pictures. We're having our professional pics done in January after the baby is born - so this year's card comes courtesy of the ever talented Tammy Adams Photography with the good ol' point and shoot. You'll have to wait for the picture we decided to use, but this was one of the rejects. That sweet little smile melts my heart.... most of the time. :)

And NO. Greg and I will not be making an appearance in the Christmas card picture this year. Seriously? Why would I want to be pictured anywhere this pregnant?

One of the all-consuming activities of the weekend was Christmas-tizing our home. We got our real tree at the super sentimental Home Depot parking lot. :) And we love it. Almost 8 feet tall and consumes our living room. Just how it should be. The only benefit to having a small townhome is that the Christmas tree fills the entire home with it's wonderful aroma. Yummy.

Greg does the tree every year, with my "supervision". I think it looks lovely.

We truly have so much to be grateful for and this weekend was just another reminder of our tremendous blessings. Hope you also enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!!

Let's eat turkey in a big brown shoe.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Adam Sandler sings it best...

5th Annual - Adams Fall Festival

I LOVE FALL. Hence the need for a party. DUH. When we moved back to Arizona in 2006, we had our first annual Fall party.

We invite Greg's Elementary/Junior High/High School/College/Adult friends. Don't get confused. It's the same group of people. They've just lasted as friends for awhile. Oh and they happen to be my friends now too, lest you think they ONLY belong to Greg.

In 2006, we hosted 6 adults and 2 children.

In 2010, we hosted 15 adults and 17 children.

My how things change.

My Aunt Sharron generously allowed us to use her ROCKIN' back yard for the second year in a row. The kids love the fort/swings/slides/rock wall/ sand box/ jungle gym equipment/ volleyball net/ trampoline - and the adults love that the kids are occupied.

We did have children hit by swings approximately every 7.54 seconds, but other than that, injuries and crying/whining were kept to a minimum.

I had some music playing during most of the party, but once "Thriller" came on, the kids felt that it was time to DANCE. I'm telling you, Michael Jackson is truly an entertainer for all generations. Brilliant.

And maybe some of the adults got in on the fun...

We always serve soup in bread bowls and everyone else brings sides or treats.

In 2006 I made 1 kind of soup. In 2010 I made 3. It really is so fun making them every year because of the anticipation for the festivities.

This year, we held the party a little later in November than usual, so we decided to add a fire pit and hot cocoa to increase our warmth. It was a fun element. Something about a fire, always makes a party seem authentic. :) It appears in the picture that it is snowing, but I think it was all the flurries from the fire. We don't get much snow here in Phoenix.

Much thanks to all our awesome friends who come and make the party super fun!

We look forward to it every year and can't wait for the next one...

HAPPY FALL EVERYONE!!

You can take the girl out of Princess-land...

But you can NOT take the Princess-land out of the girl.

I know this may come as a shock to most of you - but I am not a girly girl. Never have been. Never will be. I played with GI Joes when I was little, because that's what my brothers wanted to play. There may be a few slightly true stories floating around of a time long ago when I actually "sacrificed" Barbies belonging to younger play mates. They may or may not have floated down a river tied to sticks. (Dial-A-Kearl to confirm)

I don't care for chick flicks. I really don't like sappy chick books. And I would much rather slip into some comfortable sweats than get all gussied up for a formal dinner or event with the law firm. I'm a low maintenance dresser (read: often frumpy) and I like to spend as LITTLE time as possible getting ready in the morning. Minimal hair up-keep. Minimal make-up. Minimal jewelry.

I'm not a tom boy though, don't get confused. I just am not a girly girl. Maybe it was growing up with 5 brothers and only 1 sister? Maybe my parents just didn't encourage or promote girly girl behavior? Or maybe I'm just genetically predisposed to not liking frilly things?

In any case, I SWORE on my life, that my precious little miracle daughter would not be "girly". I would not encourage it. I would not support it. I would not condone such behavior.

But alas... you can try to take a girl out of Princess-land, but you can not take the Princess-land out of the girl.

It crept in slowly. A Disney movie here and there. A Disney book now and again. A trip to Disneyland. And all the beautiful Disney princess dress-ups at Grammie Lou's house. The Disney princess inside Emma was just SCREAMING to be released.

And finally, we all relented.

There are a few rules that one must follow when entering Emma's Princess-land... should you dare:

1. Although the princess dress-ups were still not purchased with her Mother's dime, whenever she goes to Grammie Lou's house, she MUST try on every. single. princess. dress. in the wardrobe and she MUST wear one home. Her favorites are Ariel, Belle and Angelina Ballerina.

2. Any SECOND she is inside the confines of her "palace walls" she MUST have on "said" princess dress. It is the first thing she asks for in the morning and she will only take it off to sleep (so it doesn't rip) and to go run errands with Mom (so it doesn't get dirty or so other kids don't take it from her).

3. When she is wearing the costume, she can ONLY be addressed as costumed princess. If you say ANYTHING at all to her it must be using the appropriate princess name. And EVERY sentence spoken to her must use her name in the sentence. For example, "Ariel would you like your breakfast?" - "Belle would you please clean up your toys?" - "Angelina Ballerina do you need to go to the bathroom?". If you do not address her as such, she will not respond, or QUICKLY correct you and say, "My name is Ariel - could you say, Ariel would you like your breakfast?" If you even DARE call her Emma, she will shortly retort, "I'm not Emma. I'm Belle."

4. Anyone within the proximity of Miss Princess, must also be in full character at all times. When she is Ariel, Mom is Ariel's Friend and Dad is Flounder. When she is Bell, Mom is Mrs. Potts and Dad is the Beast. When she is Angelina Ballerina, Mom is Alice and Dad is Angelina's Dad. She will ONLY address us with our proper make believe names. Unfortunately for Greg, she is Belle quite often, and he is then the Beast about 98% of his day. She used to tell him that he was the "best Daddy in the whole wide world" - but this weekend she told him that he was the "best Beast in the whole wide world". I don't think he's crazy about his title, but he has slipped easily into his role and dances with her almost every night to the "Beauty and the Beast" theme song.

5. All music associated with referenced princesses must be played regularly and sung LOUDLY. No surprise to any of us that know Emma well, she quickly learned all of the words to her favorite princess songs and will sing them happily on demand for an audience (and chocolate bribery).

SCORE BOARD:

Emma - 1

Mom - 0

Zoobilee Zoo

You know you watched this show as a kid.

You Tube the opening theme song to refresh your memory.

And no, Zoobilee Zoo has nothing to do with my post, but I was trying to think of a "catchy" blog post title and the theme song kept running through my head.

We have been enjoying the beautiful weather and FINALLY began using our annual zoo passes again.

In all fairness to myself, I did tell Greg that I would not be attending the zoo if the temp went above 90, and he agreed to let me buy the annual pass anyway. Don't judge me. Our zoo has a veritable plethora of horrible hills and LONG walks between exhibits. Pushing a stroller with a 35 pound heavy weight toddler in a temperature over 90 could very well put me into early labor. :)

Believe me, when the weather is nice, with the zoo a mere 10 minutes away, we get our money's worth.

This time - we got to go with cousins!

The kids were so great during the funeral process. While the adults were madly running around trying to secure details, the kids played quite contently at Grammie Lou's house for hours on end.

By the time Monday rolled around, they were all getting restless and we decided a trip to the zoo was in order. It was so fun to go with Anna and Isaac (Jamie's kids) who live in Texas and Taytum (Kurt's daughter).

The kids had a great time together. And Monday is the PERFECT day to go to the zoo, because nobody else is there!

Love this shot. Anna playing hide and seek. Taytum anxiously running to find a place to hide. And Emma standing there looking completely void of excitement for the game and/or the rules.

The goat petting station. It reeks of mammal urine... but the kids love it. What's a Mom to do?

The girls chatting it up with Mr. Horse. Of all the animals at the zoo... they loved the horses the most. WHA? They have koalas, komodo dragons, tigers. Nah. We'll stick with the horse.

And the favorite stop of all? The sea shell that looks suspiciously similar to the one that Ariel is supposed to sing from at the beginning of "Little Mermaid". Each girl had to take a turn pretending to be Ariel and for the rest of the zoo trip, they were all referencing each other as Ariel or Ariel's friend.

All in all, a very successful trip to the zoo. And going with cousins always makes it that much more enjoyable. Thanks for a fun day!!

Not your typical Halloween weekend.

This was not our typical Halloween weekend.

We had pumpkins purchased, but they never got carved.

We had costumes purchased, but they never got finished.

We had candy purchased, but it was never given to trick-or-treaters.

We had parties planned, but they were never attended.

Raymond Arthur Adams (Greg's Father) passed away after a long battle with cancer on Wednesday, October 27th around 6:00am. We had the honor of spending the rest of the weekend surrounded by friends and family celebrating his life.

It was emotionally and physically exhausting, but we were all comforted and uplifted by the Spirit of peace. We know that families will be together forever and this death is but a short separation.

We worked together to plan the entire funeral and burial details in three days. WOW. I had no idea there was so much involved. I kept telling people that it was like planning a wedding (which generally takes 6 months-1 year) in three days. I spent a lot of time scanning old pictures into a digital format for enlargements and a video to capture Ray's life. Thank goodness for so many generous friends and family that lent their helping hands to the cause. We never had to worry about food, because there were always new meals brought into Linda's home. Ray and Linda have served so many people through the years and it was very evident when so many wanted to give back in small and simple ways.

I did not get many pictures, so a second post may come around sometime with additional snapshots from other's cameras.

Below is a picture of the display table that was set-up for the viewing and funeral to capture some elements of Ray's life. He loved all things mechanic - big trucks, sand rails, race cars, quads, etc...

We have had so many tender mercies through his death for which we are grateful.

He was diagnosed with lung cancer (never smoked a day in his life) almost 5 years ago - and the doctor's initially told him he would only live 1-2 years. He fought hard and we had him around 3 years longer than expected.

He died relatively quickly and with little pain - which is not always the case with cancer. He never became completely confined to his bed or unconscious.

Only three days before he passed away, we enjoyed a steak dinner from "Outback" take-out style in their kitchen. Ray and Linda always treat their pregnant children to a steak dinner to celebrate the upcoming baby arrival. Ray sat with us at the table and although he knew he couldn't eat a steak, he ordered one anyway, just because.

For the last 10 weeks I have taught an evening class at South Mountain Community College on Tuesday evenings. And for the last 10 weeks, Greg has taken Emma over to his parents home to visit while I teach. Last Tuesday (October 26) was my last class and last Tuesday Greg and Emma went over for their visit. Ray died the following morning. What a blessing that they enjoyed special time together for the last 10 weeks of his life, and most especially that they were able to see him the night before he passed away.

When Greg and Emma went to leave on Tuesday evening, Ray was asleep. Not wanting to wake him up, Greg told his Mom that they would sneak out. Stubborn Miss Emma looked up at her Daddy and said, "I can not leave until I give Grandpa Ray a kiss and hug". So she promptly jumped up onto his bed, which woke him up, and then gave him a kiss and hug goodbye. Ray was appreciative that she did so and lovingly gave her a kiss and hug in return. Greg was then able to also say goodbye to his Dad for the last time in mortality. Although Emma's insistent personality is bothersome at times, Greg will forever be grateful that she pushed her agenda that Tuesday evening.

Of course the greatest tender mercy is the peace that we have felt through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been our constant companion. Prayers have been felt as we have been lifted up and blessed tremendously.

The viewing was Friday evening and so many people came to pay their respects. The funeral was Saturday morning and the church was packed through the entire cultural hall with hundreds.

Below is a picture of the funeral luncheon that Linda's ward generously hosted. I would say there were easily 100+ people in attendance and the food was remarkable.

The four sons comprised the funeral program and they did an outstanding job. Jamie gave the life sketch, Greg and Kurt shared short memories, and Jeff talked about Ray and his beliefs in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They each did such an incredibly accurate job of describing Ray as a man, with all of his various attributes. The four boys also sang, "Nearer My God To Thee" and Jamie and Greg each sang separate solos. Amazingly, Jamie and Greg each sang their solos without breaking down once. It was a really beautiful service.

Even had you never known Ray, you could tell that he was a wonderful man by his four boys.

At the luncheon, Jamie told a great story about his Dad requesting a "nice hat" from a car race to be held in Singapore while Jamie was visiting on a business trip. Jamie attended the car race and purchased a hat for Ray and for Kurt and Jeff (who also love car racing). He never got to deliver the hat to Ray in person because he lives in Texas, but he passed along the hats to his brothers and gave Greg the hat that was intended for Ray.

Here is Greg with his Dad's hat and little Missy.

Emma loved her Grandpa Ray and he loved her so much. It breaks my heart to think that she will have to grow up without him. The boys all said through the funeral, that Ray was a great Dad, but an even better Grandpa. He definitely kept Emma smiling and happy. She will miss him and so will we.

Although Saturday was exceptionally long and exceptionally tiring, we decided that the kids needed a little bit of "Halloween Fun". We threw on Emma's giraffe costume. Greg and I were supposed to be trees that she could eat. I was intending to sew the leaves all along our green shirts, but that never happened. So, Greg threw on on a green shirt and just wrapped the leaves around his neck. Emma was pleased as punch. I just went as the picture taker. No costume this year for me.

Here is Emma the giraffe with Greg's grandparents, which was the only home to which we trick-or-treated. Luckily, Emma is still so young, she never knew the difference. We also went to a Halloween Haunted House that Linda's friend invited us to.

Emma with Isaac/Blue (Jamie's little boy). Must be cousins, huh?

It was not our typical Halloween weekend.

But we truly enjoyed being together as a family to mourn, and celebrate the legacy that Ray has left behind.