her prince

In Chrissie's imaginary world we are all delegated characters usually following a story or theme. In this picture, Rick was "her prince." So, she was feeling quite affectionate toward him.
When Chrissie is reenacting the Christmas nativity (her latest): she is Mary, Rick is Joseph, and I'm the "big cow." Lovely. And Matthew is the "little cow."

one lucky dog

Halloween 2009

The Two Cats

the black cat and "whippie."

Rick and I were hippies for Halloween, or as Chrissie liked to call us "whippies." Rick's pants were too tight, which made him walk funny and I wore a shirt that said, "make love not war," and the words were conveniently located on the belly.

"Where are my kisses?!"

A phrase my dad has always said to the grandchildren, simply to tease; Chrissie now refers to him as the "silly papa."
And now I catch myself saying the same thing to my own kids when I see their cute cheeks, I can't help saying "where are my kisses?!" which makes them run and then I tackle them to the floor and smother them with kisses. (I also can't resist patting their cute naked buns, which is why Matthew now chases Chrissie, when she is in the nudity, trying to pinch her buns).
And when I see this picture of Matthew with his cheeks full of food and pink paint in his hair, I just want to tackle him and kiss those cheeks. And in case you are wondering, he is not a girl. (Not that you were. But I thought I would clarify). Despite the comments I get all the time, which I find humorous, however, Rick has yet to see the humor. The other day, Rick came back from a regular Home Depot trip with the two kids and told me to please buy Matthew a football shirt or something because two people commented on his "two girls"....apparently that was the last straw for him. I told him I think its Matthew's hair (which I refuse to buzz, despite the constant pestering of my family), but, you see, Rick is never home long enough or early enough to help me cut Matthew's hair. And Matthew won't hold still for me. So, I only get occasional snips here and there. And his hair grows very fast.

simple pleasures

fresh flowers from the garden

a butterfly joining me for breakfast

picnics

chrissie reading to matthew

gardening

The Vegetable Garden

One of the things I love about Phoenix is being able to plant our winter vegetable garden. And its that time of the year to do so. I was giddy all day. I absolutely love having a vegetable garden. Chrissie will try any vegetable that comes from our yard (Matthew eats anything, it doesn't matter the origin...I still can't get him to stop eating the dog food). Ever since Chrissie was old enough to do so, she would pick handfuls of peas right off the vine and eat them, feeding the remnants to Daisy.
Yesterday, Chrissie did an excellent job planting our vegetables-the tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, strawberries and all the seeds-heirloom carrots, beets, peas, onions, etc. Matthew preferred throwing dirt on everyone and pulling out the vegetables once they were planted.

Matthew is covered in water because he got a hold of the hose and went on a soaking rampage; trying to get chrissie wet and in the process soaking himself. Plus it was a 100degress.

Survival

And this is one way I survive the heat in Arizona, while the mud is another way in which I send my kids out to the back yard in the nudity or with a diaper/underwear (yes I know disgraceful, but, far easier clean up), quickly shut the door, plop on the couch and soak in the air conditioning, while they go to town with water and mud in 115 degree weather. Another survival method is I tempt them with popsicles or "pops" as Matthew prefers to say. I, being pregnant, refuse to venture outside after 10:00am; the heat only intensifies the nausea. My children, however, are tired of being in the house and long to be outside, but, matthew always wants me to go with him. So, I hand them a"pops " (a great distraction for Matthew) and hurry them to the great sufficating outdoors. And cute as they are, the two of them sit side by side at the picnic table and enjoy their ice cold treat, always sharing licks with each other...and the dog.

Our Big Utah Adventure--Kaysville

The Lochhead Family Reunion: Moovin' and Groovin'

Each morning began with a pancake toss by Rick. A tradition taken from Rick's Uncle and continued in our home.
A farm day: complete with outfits and a special visit by some animals such as goats, ponies, chickens, ducks, etc.
Chrissie and Lily enjoying the family talent show.
A Pioneer themed doll party: with handmade dresses (made by Rick's mom) complete with aprons and bloomers, and handmade dolls. The girls got to churn butter and help Grandma make bread. And also got to sit around with their Great Grandma Walker and learn about how things were when she was a little girl.
The Fiesta: not much explanation needed.

Movie Night: Outdoor movie with light up toys and popcorn.
Matthew at the Carnival: with lots of fun games and prizes.

There were lots of other fun activities in between.
And of course we ended the week with a family dance...naturally.
We had so much fun in fact that I'm needing a good week to recover from our vacation.

In training

Ahhhh...how satisfying for Rick to see his son wearing a John Deere shirt on a John Deere tractor (well this is actually a lawn mower, but, it has the same effect), the tractor being something he will invest in (before buying a new car) once out of residency and on our twenty acre farm.
These pictures were taken at my sister's ranch, however, because of Rick's greatest wish to one day own a John Deere tractor, I felt they deserved their own post.

Our Big Utah Adventure--The Ranch

Nothing makes me happier than to get out of the Arizona summer heat, especially, when I am pregnant and the heat is not quite settling to nausea and vomiting. And nothing makes me happier than to be with family. So, I had quite the satisfying two weeks, which began at my sisters ranch in Peoa and ended with Rick's family in Kaysville.

oh sooo delicious

Summer afternoons

Mud, mud, glorious mud,

Nothing quite like it for cooling
the blood!
So follow me, follow
Down to the hollow
And there let us wallow
In glorious mud!
-Flanders and Swann

In the trenches

My friend Amanda coined the phrase and I love it. It fits us perfectly. At the BNI, where Rick works, there are other residents who are married and it is those wives that I find my support. There is an unspoken connection between us all. They understand a part of my life that no one else understands. And that's because they're "in the trenches" with me; they've experienced all that I'm experiencing. We are all making the best of these seven years of being a single mom.
So, as our husbands go on an all expenses paid for trip to NYC to play in some neurosurgery charity softball tournament sponsored by Columbia and the Yankees (the boys have been practicing for this since December because it's not about charity, it's about winning) and their uniforms cost more than my monthly grocery bill, and where their dinners and parties far exceed the PB&J sandwiches the kids and I will enjoy at home, I get together with a couple of the wives for a day of swimming. And frankly we have a wonderful time and we are happy for our husbands who are having a blast together in NYC. How grateful I am for these ladies who are my family here in Phoenix.

Easter Sunday

Easter was wonderful. The bunny came and hid our shoes and even sent us on a little Easter/treasure hunt. For the rest of the day Chrissie hid things.

Matthew's 1st Birthday-March 28th

Happy Birthday to the little boy who is the perfect combination of playfulness,aggressiveness, happiness and sweetness.

And finally the presents.
According to Rick every boy should have these toys (except for the monkey, I made it to go along with the monkey themed birthday)