The Johnston-Riebe's

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

Fall Update

2010-09-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

So technically it's changed seasons since our last update, but here in Arizona it definately feels like summer with temps in the 100°s over the weekend still. It's cooling off in the morning and evenings which makes it a perfect time in the desert. (Welcome offer stands open to anyone who wants to visit, especially as we move into the winter time - we have a crib!)

The kids have been really busy with school activities, Mallory has joined her Theatre Speech and Debate club at Desert Vista and it basically consumes all of her time. I didn't have any idea what this was all about until I got to see first hand at a practice tournament this weekend. There are about 5 categories of competion, from traditional debate, to poetry performances, to comedic interactions. Some of these kids prepare debate on serious topics within 30 minutes before presenting. The fact that they can gather key reference facts in such a short window of time is amazing to me. Also, the prepared features they did were really eye-opening. Mallory competes with a partner for a staged bit that is mostly comedy. She cannot look at her partner when performing and the event is timed. It becomes clear that you have to go 'all in' with these performances or you won't score very high, that's for sure. The ability to not care what anyone thinks is a hard thing for a high school kid, but they manage to pull it off. Her performance also includes a charactor with a Russian accent. One of the parents came up to her afterwards to let her know that her accent was great! I had no idea she had a Russian accent in her repertoire, but she does have a flair for the dramatic.

Nick is still doing golf, it's his number 1 activity. He's biding his time really until he can join the high school golf team. In the meantime we need to hook him up with some more tournaments now that the weather is nicer. In the Spring he'll sign up for track so he keeps telling me that he needs to be conditioning now. There is nothing stopping him from taking some laps outside and around the neighborhood. I'll time him, that can be my job. :)

Over the last few weekends, I've been able to take a few trips, one to see my family in PA over the labor day weekend and then a weekend to Austin, Texas for a bacherlorette party. It was fun seeing Kriste and the other girls, we had a great time. Austin is a fun city, we managed to hit Dirty 6th and West 6th for some fun! I'm very glad I got to be a part of the celebration and we can't wait for the wedding in San Diego this coming March!

Mal's also gone to her first homecoming dance. We had made arrangements to be out of town when at the last minute she decided she wanted to go, typical Mal. So, we ran around to find a dress, shoes and since she would be with her dad that weekend, make arrangements to have her hair and makeup done. As it turned out, I had to work so we cancelled plans to go North to the cabin and I got to take her instead. She went with a group of girls and met lots more there. She's thinking next year it would be fun to go with a date. Oh my. A date.

Ah, the Beach...

2010-07-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took off with a group to Rocky Point, Mexico. We stayed in a huge 4bdr, 4bthrm condo that was owned by a couple that one of the girls knew, and they let us rent out for the weekend. It was an amazing place to stay with awesome views of the Sea. We had gorgeous weather, heat and humidity made bearable by a huge, crazy wind. It was awesome to be in the sand and surf! It's been awhile since we took the kids to the beach anywhere and they enjoyed themselves immensly. They are totally pooped today though (day after) and they slept in fairly late which is uncommon for these two early risers.

We had a very relaxing, yet fun time; playing in the waves, having some drinks by the pools, negotiating some good deals with the vendors and Craig even got stung by a jelly fish on the arm. We went with friends who clearly knew all the good places to eat now, which helps a lot since we've only been there a handful of times and places can be hit or miss. Anyway, good times and fun memories.

Growing Up

2010-06-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Nick and his dudes
Is Craig pushing them down somehow?

My boys, dressed as twins and didn't even plan it!

Mallory and her friends and teachers

Mallory and her closest friends.

So late in posting these photos, the kids have been done with their school year for at least 2 weeks already. They both had really good years, Mallory won the President's Award for having a 3.9 GPA and Nick finished out the year with awesome grades. It's been a transition year for them being in a new school and meeting new people, but we're so proud of how they've handled themselves this year and done so well.

As much as Mallory tries to deny it, I think she looks a lot like me!! Sorry, little one! heehee...

Home Stuff

2010-04-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

A post just to update on some things we've been up to since our last post around valentine's day. We've been doing some little things around the house, found the inspiration for some other improvements, and we've been making plans for some cool things to come.

My closet is a never ending project, I only get to work on it when nothing else is going on, so it's slow goings. The latest addition is the chandelier Craig bought me. I have a chandelier in my closet? - someone has to. The walls are gray, the floors are the same tile installation we did in the main bathroom and there are some furry faux sheep rugs on the carpet. Finally all of my hangers are the same color wood too! It's coming along. Instead of the long poles I'm thinking about some shoe racks and drawer system, but that will probably take another year.

The second little transformation was our powder room in the main area of the house. When we moved in it was painted a faux finish; made to look Tuscan or Spanish, not sure which. Craig loved it, I didn't. I'm not a faux finish gal. And of course it had one of the big wrought iron light fixtures that were throughout the house. So, over a weekend, I totally changed it around. We installed new silver towel racks, where previously they were gold, installed a new light fixture (found at a consignment store for $20) and took off the no edge round mirror, in favor of a dark wood framed mirror with a ledge shelf. I don't think I took a before picture, but here's a 'during' and an 'after'. Still not sure about the pedastal sink, we'd like to update that and include an open console with some storage underneath. The room isn't huge, but we could pull something off maybe?

Our next group of projects will be the back yard, since the nice weather is here and maybe we'll get some visitors. The outside is looking a bit tired and we'll need to spruce it up. We've had a patch of grass that refuses to grow since we've moved in. It might be time to stop spending money trying to bring it back and just put the putting green that Craig wants back there. He'll love it, Nick will love it and most of our friends golf and could putt around there when not in the pool anyway. Could be useful and will always be green and nice looking. We're going to have some major trimming back on some trees that come over into our yard from the neighbors. I think they are blocking sun and are crowding the trees that we do have. So some tired rocks and scrubs will go in favor of plants that are more lush. I would love, love to have all of the deck area back there resurfaced too - that will be a big job. I'd better start saving some cash! (Right after I get back from my trip to New York City!)

Early Valentine's Day

2010-02-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

We took advantage of this weekend to head up to Sedona to celebrate Valentine's day early (my favorite holiday!!) and get some relaxation after a stressful couple of weeks. We had an amazing time, there's no way you can't be in Sedona and be happy. It's entirely too beautiful to feel stressed. We got there Sat afternoon in enough time to get settled in and head over to the spa for a couple's massage. Heaven. I think from now on the key is to get a lady to do it. She used just the right amount of pressure on my sensative shoulders and didn't try to be the hero who worked out all the knots that took years to build. It was wonderful. From there we went back to our cottage - yep cottage! - the folks at the resort were nice enough to upgrade us out of a lodge room, which would have been really nice anyway, and into our own cottage, which was super nice and unexpected! Our room was wonderful, awesome bed, living area, flat-screen, jet tub, outdoor shower, heated floor in the bathroom and the list goes on.... Even though the photo on the right is a stock photo, it is of our room - it was exacly like this only now there a big rug under the bed and chairs.

Because it was pouring rain by this time, we had dinner inside the dining room at the famous L'auberge restaurant, where previously we had dinner creekside. The creek was raging with water from the snow melting in Flagstaff and we saw some white caps from our table by the windows. Our dinner was fabulous, as always and I think the creative caesar done as a wedge salad and the amazing lobster bisque was the best part even before the entrees came.

Sunday came too fast and before we knew it it was time to check out. It was very cloudy but nothing too weird when we were walking around the shops, then as we sat down at our favorite scenic bar, Canyon Breeze, the clouds came in across the red rocks and it started to hail, then snow. After some soup and drinks, we hopped in the car and headed back to Phoenix where it was 65deg and sunny. It's so amazing that in an hour and a half you can go from snow and hail to perfectly nice weather. The best of both worlds. I'm sorry I forgot my camera, I could have gotten some amazing photos of the red rocks with the cloudy cover that brought the snow. (These photos were taken from Craig's camera phone)

What a fabulous husband I have to plan this outing as a surprise the weekend of the Superbowl. I know that if he cared one bit about either team, we'd be at home or somewhere watching the game and a Valentine's celebration would escape us. Much needed R&R this weekend, thanks to Craig for booking it and still wanting to go even with the cold I gave him from last week! Love...

Here's a link to the few photos we took with the blackberry camera..Sedona.

Fam Picts & other stuff...

2010-01-18T16:50:00.001-08:00

Geez Nick, can Marcel be in the picture too? :o)

Aah, my doggie digs me...

The one we finally chose! yea...

Since I've been busy switching jobs and learning a new position over the last 5 weeks or so, I didn't have time to schedule a session with the official family photographer, so we set up the tripod and took some shots in the backyard for the greetings this year. It probably worked out for the best anyway, we wanted Marcel in the photo and he's sometimes not the greatest with new environments. So, above you can see the outtakes and then finally the one we chose. Marcel looks very.. professional.

Last Day

2009-12-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my last day on the job and when I arrived, this is what I found in my office. Wall of packing peanuts! It was so great, and I was totally surprised - we only prank those we like and I guess they like me!! :o) It took a little while to clean up but it was well worth it. It was a fitting end to 2 weeks of awkwardness and such. A group of us went to lunch and I got a lovely parting gift from my boss. It was a good day, although I think I might be the only person to stay until 530 on my last day. My boss had to come get me and tell me to get outta there! So, the Hemisphere Chapter is closed for now and a new chapter opens on Monday at the new firm. Although leaving HEM was a bit bittersweet because of the great working relationships I had formed, Im anxious to hit the ground running.

Today starts 3days off and I have a lot planned. Its already 10:16 though and I havent started anything, so well see how far I get. Its interesting to see what happens here at the house each day while I am at work, and as I sit here eating my caviar, (parting gift from my boss!) I have noticed the following:

Marcel loves to bark at anything and everything. That one I kinda already knew. He sleeps in the entryway (something he never does when everyone is home) and barks at anything stirring outside. A leaf blew across the front door and he barked.

Craig and I suspect that Marcel is also slowly moving Craig out of our room one item at a time and into the spare room. If I go to bed early, Marcel comes with me and sleeps on Craigs side. If Craig comes to sit next to me on the couch, Marcel jumps up and sits down next to me first. So, it is confirmed and I will have to take out a restraining order on Marcel, as its a bit unhealthy.

I havent been on the family computer in awhile, and now I noticed that the screen is fading a bit and the apostrophe key doesnt work. Thats why I havent used any (apostrophes) in this post. Maybe well have to get a new one for Christmas.

I have found our neighbors. Since Craig and I moved in over the summer, we havent seen any of our neighbors. No one came over to meet us and no one answered their doors when we knocked. Friends told us that it was because of summer, people were in the back yards enjoying the pool and whatever, well its winter now and still no one is out on weekends or nights. But, they are here and out and about during the week days. This either means that we live in an older retirement age community or we moved into a neighborhood where everyone got rich on a .com and now they dont have to work? I dont know what to think. What do these people do for a living I wonder if they are home during the days? Its everyone, moms, dads, dogs....everyone is out. Its like Who-Ville here during the day and weve been missing out.

Has anyone noticed that the Target Christmas commercial is a little tense? Its a couple opening presents that seem a bit extravegant and they argue about the recession under their breath while smiling. Weird and tense.

I suppose its time for me to get started on my tasks. My cell phone has rung twice with people calling me from the office, maybe they need help? hmmm...

Halloween & Weekend Fun

2009-10-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend was busy for all of us as usual. The family comes and goes from the house while I work on the many projects I still want to get done. (Right now I'm refinishing a night stand and an armoire for Mallory's room ~ Cute!)

Saturday morning, Craig took Nick to a PGA tour event at Scottsdale, Grayhawk Golf Course. The Fry's (Electronics) Open is a more subdued PGA event geared a bit more for families as opposed to the Phoenix Open that normally entails a lot of cocktailing for most, not hating, it's just that I wouldn't take Nick to that particular event. He had a great time, came home beat tired and was happy to see some players up close. He mentioned Fred Couples and Rickie Fowler, who Nick thinks looks a lot like Zac Efron.

Then Sat. night, we left an exhausted Nick with a sitter, and Mallory with a friend and her family at the AZ State Fair, and headed out to a Halloween party. Some friends of ours invited us to his bosses' all-out Halloween event. They had some serious decorations, a caterer, bartender and a DJ! Not to mention the psychic who told me I was going to have twins this year, and told Craig he would have one more child? Huh? Anyway, it was a great time ~ Thanks Shel and Mike for inviting us!

We originally went in search of "Bunnies" costumes for Halloween this year, and even though we all ended up ordering something from stores on-line, only Shelsea was brave enough to be an actual 'Bunny' and looked great. We settled on the Kitten, the Bunny and the Lion, but I couldn't find a photo of us all together? At least you can see Semi-Pro, Jackie Moon in action as well. (when Craig wears the wig, Marcel goes nuts!!)

Alex

2009-09-28T17:52:00.000-07:00

Popping on to post an updated photo of our nephew Alex with his Mom, my sister Stephanie. We haven't seen him since Feb of this year and he'll be a year old in Nov. We're hoping to see them around Thanksgiving... He's got teeth now and I hear that he's cruising around fairly well.

I love his little cheeks!

Love these jeans!!

2009-09-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

Any woman knows, (or maybe just me and I'm a freak), that you can spend countless hours searching for the right pair of jeans. Each brand has a different way of sizing, so the size that may fit you in one name may not fit you so well in another. ugh. So, it's a process - on and off until you find the right ones. Like I said, it could be just me that goes through this process?

Anyway, I determined last weekend that I needed to find another pair of good fitting, perfect jeans as I'm down to about 2 pairs now. (Craig will tell you that I have a closet full of jeans and I do, it's just that for one reason or another and over time, they are not quite right.) So anyway, I hit Anthroplogie yesterday because I heard about a huge sale on everything and I find odds and end accent pillow cases and cute things for Mal's room there most of the time, but I didn't realize they also have a big selection of jeans?! They have JBrand, Joe's Jeans (which I normally love) and several others to choose from. So I head into the dressing room with no less that 26 pairs - all different, skinny, dark, faded, riped, frayed, boot cut, straight leg - a very random assortment. And wouldn't you know it, the very last pair of jeans I try on are 'the ones'. I settled on a pair of worn looking Adriano Goldshmeid, boyfriend cut, Tomboy jeans. They are a bit of an investment I'll admit, but I love them and I know they will be my go-to jeans for the season as they are classic.

And since this post is already kind of random, I'd like to add that I have Shakira's She Wolf song in my head again today and I like it.

Oops

2009-09-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

Yep, I admit it. I goofed up the colors on the blog and now i don't know how to fix them because I used a service for a custom template. Oops! I'll figure it out, or you could just see something totally different the next time you check in here.

Not a lot to report, busy busy with work and.. um... work. Oh, and the house. We (really me) are not happy with the red kitchen, so we are bringing it back to a lighter color. I am planning to have all of the work done when Craig is gone to Seattle in a couple of weekends. It's for the best this way - hee hee.. There could be a new backsplash installation during that time as well - if we can find one we both like. :o)

Marcel continues to be a source of joy for the family. He's such a good heart to have around, and he is sllowwly getting used to our family and the house he lives in now. It comes with a whole new set of noises that he must get used to. He loves to bark at the pool guy - I found that out this morning.

Here's just a fun summer photo I took of the kids playing in the pool. Happy times!

One more thing...

2009-08-28T08:23:00.001-07:00

Marcel is not allowed on the bed. Heehee...

Our Newest Addition...

2009-08-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

Marcel is the newest furry addition to our family! He's a great cocker spaniel (mix) with the cute little white spot on his nose. He's a rescue dog, so he's a bit skittish, but we can already tell that he has a big heart - he will do just about anything to please! He's such a good doggie!

He loves to swim too, he actually has a rather smooth doggie stroke under the water. If you throw the ball to the edge-ish of the pool he won't jump in for it, instead he'll make little waves with his paw until the ball reaches him and he can bend down and pull it out. If you throw it in the middle of the pool, he'll jump! See progressive photos above! Wish my good camera had a video feature? You'd think it would.

Prayers for Maximus

2009-08-26T03:15:00.000-07:00

A quick note this morning to ask for prayers for my friend Claire, her husband Jordan and their sweet baby Maximus, who is in the fight of his life. Max was born about 3 weeks ago with a condition called CDH, a defect in the diaphragm that allows the abdominal organs (stomach, intestine, liver, bowel, and spleen) to migrate into the chest cavity in utero. Since surgery, his recovery has been steady and progressive until last night when he crashed a bit and is now stable on the heart and lung machine. Hopefully, this machine will do a little work for Max and give him the rest he needs to continue fighting in the coming days, weeks, months...

This family needs all the prayers they can get! You can check out their story at www.clairegriffinsblog.blogspot.

Australia Update

2009-08-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

Just a brief update as Vic's still in Australia, but from the pic she seems to be doing well making friends across the pond... She leaves today (Sunday in Aussie land) on the 22 hour or so trip back. Say hi to Vic's new friend Khole. Animals love Vic; I guess Khole was hugging her like crazy!

For our Golfer Followers....who'd like to visit!

2009-07-27T21:51:00.001-07:00

I apologize I haven't been posting as much lately; been busy with tiling, painting, work, etc....need to get more pics up. But, I do have a quick post for all our golfer followers out there. I played the course we live on (across the street) this past Saturday and I'm extremely glad to report it's a great track (83--driver and short game good, irons awful. FYI: R9 460 TP is $$$). I went in cautiously optimistic but thinking there was a 50/50 chance I'd not be a fan. Well, I can now say I'm really impressed. I'm over the super desert-like courses and this is not one of those. Plenty of grass so you don't feel like every shot is going to go in the desert, even if you miss hit it. I'm sure the Colorado River isn't a fan but I am. Lot of different terrain and two par 3s where you literally tee off on top of mountains overlooking the foothills.

I hope those of you that follow our blog that are golfers will get to experience the course soon. The guest room is furnished and ready to roll so come out and visit. Sure it's hot but the pool is only a minute drive away...

http://www.clubwestgolf.com/

Benny Update

2009-07-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I give up. I didn't get a call back, no emails, and no response to the application I sent in. So... no Benny. Sad :o(

Benny

2009-07-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

This is Benny, he's a cocker spaniel & papillon mix. He's featured on a website called PetFinder.com and he's looking for a home. The more I scanned through the dogs last Thursday, when I was the only one in the office practically, the more he grew on me. I looked at cockers, same as Brittany was and decided that would be too weird, I looked at Bernese Mountain dogs, we looked at Golden retrievers, but I kept coming back to Benny. When you first look at him he has a forgettable quality about him, but the more you look at him, he's really pretty. His fur looks 'cocker' soft and he definately has the cocker snout, without being a cocker. Anyway, he grew on Craig over time too, me sending messages to his blackberry with Benny's pictures that said Hi, probably helped! Here's the thing.

I've called the shelter twice and even sent an email to get an adoption application. No word. Are several people lining up to adopt each dog they have? I can't belive this to be the case since their website is seriously begging for foster families. So, why don't they call us back? If we had a shelter organization with bunch of contacts from a family that wanted to adopt one of our dogs, I would definately be calling back. What if Benny is in the kennel somewhere chillin' alone when he could be with us? ugh.. poor Benny. Or maybe he was already adopted since he's so cool. Who knows I guess. Keep your fingers crossed that it was just the holiday weekend slowing things down, and we get the call to come and pick up the Ben-ster. Doesn't he look like he just wants to give you a high 5?

DLove's Wedding

2009-06-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

Last week Craig was able to take off on Thursday to help DLove start celebrating his wedding weekend. He had a great time, able to play Torrey Pines with the boys. Being that we had the children that weekend at home, I was able to get a sitter for Saturday and flew in around noon. When I got there it was raining and June gloom, but it was so good to be there at the beach and smelling the ocean air!

I know our friends are tired of hearing about it, but I must blog about it anyway. Being that we booked our room on Hotels.com, we thought we were in for another view of the hotel parking lot somewhere, so imagine our huge surprise when they told us we would be in the presidential Suite. This place was an amazing 3 room suite - bedroom, seperate dining room with a table for 10?! and a seperate living room - all with double door access to our own private beach? I seriously thought it was a mistake! This suite would later come in handy as we invited anyone who wanted to keep the party going over for drinks. Even the bride and groom came to our after party, how cool is that?!

Derek and Julie's wedding was amazing and just before the ceremony started, the clouds parted and the sun came out. It was a beautiful ceremony filled with quite a lot of emotion. Julies face when she saw Derek waiting for her is something I'll always remember. I'm a crier at wedding's anyway, but this just caused me to lose it entirely. What a moment? After cocktail hour, Derek and Julie surprised their guests with a choreographed dance to Fly me To the Moon that was amazing! They are very smooth. Such a lovely wedding, thanks so much to the May-Laake families for hosting such a fabulous night! They are on a 2-week honeymoon that includes 1wk at a very nice hotel/resort on an island, and then switching to another island and another lovely hotel for the second week. Nice.

On Sunday, after reluctantly checking out of our awesome suite, we tried to go see a couple of things we always like to see in la Jolla and just spend some time. But instead, I got horrible sick and we ended up missing our flight. Oops. They were seriously overbooked and just gave our seats away, for us to fly standby for the rest of the night. Craig put me on the flight right after ours, so I could get home for the kids and he came home finally around 11pm.

Thanks Babe!

2009-06-14T02:32:00.000-07:00

It's time for me to say thanks to my beautiful wife Victoria. First, she puts up with me daily which is not an easy task as most of you know. Second, she literally has taken our new house from a Grandma palace to a really cool, great house. Finally, we recently had our 1 year anniversary and I can't say enough about how great things are going. Vic, you supported me throughout law school, in taking the Bar and now as a great wife with a beautiful family. Thanks for a great first year of marriage and many more to come. Life is good. We are lucky.

Is anyone still reading this Blog?

2009-06-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

We haven't really been on top of the posts lately. Its not even that we don't have spare time, its just that when we do, we veg out. Literally. I love reading everyone elses posts...

The last few weeks have been just us settling in at home. We've been really happy with some of the things we're getting accomplished. The painting of the common rooms came out really well. Its pretty amazing how talented these guys were. They managed to paint 3 big rooms and a hallway (with ceilings) in 2 days time, while we managed to barely paint, 2 small-ish bedrooms, a halfway finished master bedroom and bathroom in 4 weekends. Huh? Since I am 'the closer' (the girl who does the trim and finishes the connection from wall to ceiling) I asked what they thought of my skills. They were not overly excited to have me on their crew?

Kitchen before, nice shade of apple green - not really our taste though. Doesn't actually look too bad in this photo, maybe you had to see it in person?

Kitchen after - Warmed up a bit, we think. More exciting. Will look good after some darkening of the cabinets with new hardware, new countertops and new floors too. The stuff on every surface has been put away now.

This is the family room, which was a goldenrod, yellow baby poo shade. Can't really tell a difference in this photo. Cannot wait to plaster over those weirdly shaped, useless cubbies next to the fireplace and really make it the focal point. Not a big fan of the old fan either.

After. Kind of looks like we successfully made the room look smaller, but I think it's just the way I shot my photo. Now a nice shade of khaki on 3 walls, with an accent wall on the back. Again, stuff will be moved out of the center of the room.

Formal Living room. Also a yellow-y shade of baby poo. Not horrible, just not us.

Formal Living room after painting. Khaki shade on 3 walls, accent wall in the back.

Perhaps the 'after' photography could be a little better, but I took those shots right after the painting was mostly complete. Now, I can't get new ones uploaded, so....

Here's one more, not a before/ after yet since it's really still work in progress. The status of the master bedroom is not good right now. There are still boxes everywhere in there, which I'm slllowwwly chipping away at. Even the bed is a bit in disarray as I can't find the bedskirt or the duvet cover? It's odd. But thank goodness the TV's hanging on the wall. Never mind any of that other stuff all over the place...TV is hung. Whew. Thank you Craig.

Painters for hire?

2009-05-11T14:36:00.001-07:00

We've resurfaced briefly for a quick post about what we've been up to. Was it 3 weeks or 4 weeks ago we were sitting in lovely San Diego with friends celebrating a wedding? Our lives of leisure have changed! We've closed officially on our home, that news is probably old to most of you, but we've started making our changes already and with the hope that we can get the painting done before the actual move. The master bedroom that was a fabulous peach color everywhere is now turning into a nice gray/blue. It was seriously everywhere, ceilings and windowsills too. Is that normal?

Its nice having some extra help when the kids are home for the weekend. Even though they spent most of the day in the pool while Craig and I taped, painted and labored in general inside the house - they pulled out some hard labor at the end of the day on Sunday. Nick is all business, he wants to help. And Mallory? - well this is how you paint when you've been outside in the sun all day and are completly exhausted. Its rough playing in the pool...

We're hoping to get the painting all done this weekend, Saturday actually. Then on Sunday our goal will be to purchase the 2 items we deem to be the top priorities. We'll try to purchase a guest bed and bedding, and a really nice outdoor dining table for the patio since we'll be spending most of our summer out there.

We're planning our move for May 22 and haven't packed a box yet. We're more of a box it while you move it family, I think. It's just been a crazy month of major projects coming due, end of year school parties, birthdays coming up and our 1 year anniversary too. To say that I'm overwhelmed is an understatement, but these are all good things. At some point, I'll post some photos from our Chicago trip. The wedding was gorgeous and it was nice to see the Fellows/Riebe side of the family as well as spend time with friends in the downtown area. Mallory is still talking about our 4-mile walk to the (wood)Shedd Aquarium.

Our Honor Student

2009-04-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to our Mallory who was inducted into the National Jr. Honor Society last night. She's worked very hard throughout her school years so far, this accomplishment is her reward. We're extremely proud of our wonderful girl!

Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Harper!

2009-04-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

So over the last few weeks, we've been to 2 different weddings. Each very lovely, and each giving us a chance to see friends and family that we haven't seen since..well, last May when we got married.

Two weeks ago, Craig's friend from high school, Kevin Harper married his girl of a few years, Renee in a very lovely ceremony in downtown San Diego. We had so much fun in the gaslamp district and seeing The Hunts, Rob & Carmen, EA, Chris and his girl Autumn and The Bollig's. So good to see all of them and help Kevin and Renee celebrate their marriage. I imagine right now they are in St. Lucia having a wonderful time! Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Harper! We thank them for a wonderful time & for allowing us to be a part of their special day!

Here are the rest of the photos, I didn't post them all on the facebook account. See them here.

Tiger Time

2009-04-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

Ah, the Masters is back tomorrow. The epitome of golf. The greatest tournament on the most beautiful golf course in the world--especially in HD. Someday soon I hope to get to Augusta, but until then, here's hoping Tiger takes care of business this weekend...

2009-04-07T12:34:00.001-07:00

Photos from Vegas.. Craig was able to meet one of his movie favorites too!

Vegas Baby!

2009-04-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

Did I mention we're going to Vegas this weekend? We're pretty excited to get over there and have a non-stressful time. I completed my project shipping target for Q1 revenue (whew!) and we've finally locked in a mortgage this week too. Looks like that might pull through. On top of that we're celebrating Craig's birthday on the 24th, our friends Kim's & Jill's birthdays on the 26th and on April 1st, and Shel and Mike's 11th wedding Anniversary with them.

We've got a lot of celebrating to do! Maybe we should have booked for more than the weekend!

I'll just have water?

2009-03-27T14:36:00.001-07:00

When Nick was 6yrs I think, we went to the Dr. for his wellness check-up. He distinctly remembers the Dr. telling him, 'abosultely no soda' when I asked a related question about his diet. He has never forgotten this and likes to remind me of it when I open a can, causing me to cringe with guilt. I always tell them - its too late for me, but save yourselves!! Nick is tempted by a Sprite every now and then and Mallory would always rather have milk.

I probably don't need my son's pediatriction to tell me that soda is bad for you, some juices are full of sugar and to drink more water. I get it. I fully realize the power of water and I'm no stranger to it's magic. When I was pregnant with Mallory and not feeling well, water was always the fix. But soda is fun and fizzy, bubbly goodness: I'm addicted. On a stressful day, it's all I drink. I start at 8am and I crack them open as late as 11pm if I have to pull an all-nighter for work. On the weekends, and when I'm too busy to have major qtys of it, I find myself having serious headaches. Headaches of withdraw, you might say. I have heard this happens with coffee drinkers too, but I wonder if its this severe? Sometimes my dull painful headache will last for 3 days!

So, here I am, 6hrs into my no soda rule and on my 6th glass of water. I have a slight headache, but I'm hoping it will wear off. Wish me luck on my soda free journey.

Happy Birthday Craig!

2009-03-24T10:08:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to Craig, who turns 31 today!!!

I love you very much and hope you have a wonderful day today! We're excited to help you celebrate at Z-Tejas tonight.

(You love JoePa)

More house photos...

2009-03-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

Master bedroom, ... very pink and floral!

Combination formal living and dining room.

Casual family room.

Kitchen/ Island. Wish I had a better shot of this.

It's been an interesting week in home buying land. Lots of moving money around so that it's exactly where the bank wants to see it? And it doesn't help that the rules change overnight, literally. So anyway... we think the worst is behind us - there's really nothing else that can change so it looks like we're back on as home buyers at least from where we sit today. We think it will be a long 5 weeks until official closing!

We picked up some paint samples today, meaning that we're actually allowing ourselves to plan for this going well. For the most part we agree on the colors, but beyond that the thought of actually decorating an entire home is quite daunting. I will have to draw on other, wiser home owners for inspiration. Or do what I always do and buy lots of appropriate magazines!

Just added some more photos from the inside of the house, keep in mind that a very sweet, single older woman lives there now and look beyond it! :o) I have big plans for the kitchen, as I believe that's truly the heart of everyone's home. At every gathering I attend 'the girls' spend lots of time near the kitchen chatting and drinking wine. And even now, the kids gather in our kitchen to tell me about their day. So, big plans!

Quick Post

2009-03-13T14:35:00.001-07:00

I will only type a quick blurb about what we've been doing, at the risk of totally jinxing it.... But, it seems as though we may have purchased a house this week. It started last weekend when we went to look at a house with an amazing pool area in the backyard, only to be disappointed by the actual house. We were perfectly willing to just live outside by the pool and outdoor kitchen areas, but our realtor reminded us that sometimes coyotes come down off the mountain and eat things they shouldn't. So, she took us by another property she was doing an open house for later that afternoon and it was really nice. It has all of the things we were looking for, including a pool. Our offer has been accepted and we have the home inspection scheduled for the weekend.

We're a bit far from completing the process on this, but it looks promising and this could be the easiest sale our realtor has ever made! So, more to come - and keep your fingers crossed!

Home to PA

2009-01-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

Over the last week we've been in Pennsylvania celebrating our Christmas, visiting my parents and meeting our new nephew/cousin. We had a great time, very busy the whole time we were there. We always try to pack as much into the week as we can.

We went to brunch at the very nice Hotel Hershey, attended a hockey game for the Hershey Bears, took some family photos with my new camera and even pulled off a trip to see the Penn State campus. As soon as I download all the photos from the big camera and the smaller fun camera I will post them, but for now, I'm pretty proud of this shot of Alex. He's adorable, such a good sweet baby! He's very pleasant, only really cries when he's hungry or when his winter hat covers his eyes. He doesn't like being in the dark.

The kids had fun too, seeing their cousin, aunt and uncle, grandparents and even Great Grandpa. I think they are glad to be home, they were having a little trouble getting the winter checklist down: jackets actually have to be zippered, scarf tied in a fashion to stop the air from hitting your neck - not just look good, wearing gloves and making sure the hat covers your ears. Oh my goodness, I think Nicholas must've taken the fleece lining out of his ski jacket at least 10 times because he didn't want to look 'puffy', only for me to discover it and zip it back in. They just aren't used to the cold weather and all that it entails - that's for sure! It's quite a difference raising kids in a warmer climate, we have it much, much easier.

Christmas, Part II

2009-01-24T05:24:00.000-08:00

The Red Sea

2009-01-11T11:06:00.001-08:00

Finally I've downloaded the photos from the AZ Cardinals game we went to last weekend. It was the first playoff home game the Cardinals have played in something over 20 years and it was quite an event. The kids had a great time getting into the game and being there for our 'historic' win! It was a crazy sea of red in the seats and white towels swirling almost throughout the entire game. Mal and Nick were happy to experience their first NFL game with lots of snacks and it really only takes a foam finger to make me happy.

With their win against the Carolina Panthers on the road this Sat, we're ready for the Red Birds to come back to the valley to play The Eagles. It would be fun to go back to the stadium for another playoff game!

Mamma Mia?

2009-01-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

My huge heavy cold has kept me from truly working on anything this week. I was hoping to skip a few phases of the normal cold, but that was not in the plan for me. Worse, I think Craig has it now. He's not really good with colds. All of this sickness has to clear up in two weeks, when we visit my new nephew. I can't be the aunt who gives him a cold the first time I meet him!?

While I've been resting, we've been watching a few movies. Mallory and I watched Mamma Mia on Tuesday. I was hoping it would be better than what it was? I bet it's a great theatre production maybe, but as a movie, it was overwhelming. They broke into song at least every 8 minutes and I'm not completely sold on Pierce Brosnan as a singer? He's 007 for goodness sake? James Bond doesn't sing does he?

Masquerade Fun

2009-01-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

We spent New Year's Eve with good friends at Barcelona Club in Scottsdale this year. We had so much fun there in May with all of our wedding guests, so when we found out they were having a Masquerade Ball, we knew that was the place to ring in the New Year. The band there is so great, and we were even able to score an unoccupied table right next to the dance floor before midnight. Scoring that table was huge - it gave us our own little party space and we had a good view of Amare Stoudemire's New Year's rap. Thank you to Craig & friends - for always taking the party to the next level! ( We all made all of our masks the night before, and I think they came out beautifully!)

2009-01-02T09:20:00.000-08:00

Wishing all of our dear Friends & Family love & happiness in the New Year!~

Christmas Holiday

2008-12-28T22:13:00.000-08:00

When I was first divorced, the thought of spending Christmas by ourselves (Mal, Nick & Me) in Phoenix was absolutely a bummer, so we made every possible effort to get back 'home'. But, as time went on and I took on increased resposibility at my company, it became a bit harder and harder to always get back to Philly. So, this is how and when a lot of our Christmas traditions were started here at home - Phoenix.

This year - for lots of reasons - we are headed back to celebrate the holidays, and meet my new nephew in Jan, so put our 'Phoenix Christmas Plan' into action. We introduced Craig to the things we like to do as well. Thank goodness he agrees that one of our coolest traditions is a road trip North to find the snow. This year, we trekked to Flagstaff on Christmas Eve to find at least 3-5 ft of snow! It was beautiful white powder that reminded both of us of home! The kids loved it and Craig and Nick had a blast pelting each other with snowballs. We walked around the downtown area, had some hot cocoa and then decided to hit the famous 89A just as the sun was setting. Lots of you know that road as the best way to get to Sedona. It was cool to see all the trees and red rocks in Oak Creek Canyon with snow on them. In Sedona we had dinner at a great restaurant, sitting right next to the fireplace and after seeing the annual Festival of Lights at Los Abrigados, we headed home.

This trip always reminds us that Arizona is truly a beautiful state. Where else can you live 5 hrs from one of the World Wonders, 4 hours to snow, 3hrs to stunning redrocks and sunset and back to 60deg weather in one day. It's truly the best of many worlds. We'll be back up to Flagstaff pretty soon to hit the slopes! You can see all of our photos here. (Santa brought me a new really cool camera that I'm still learning to use. I'll get it eventually, but that could be why some of the photos are blurry or whatever. Better ones will come with time...)

Nick, The Golfer

2008-12-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

Ah finally, the post regarding Nick's golf outings. He's been in two tournaments since the last post and has done fairly well, playing his game - no real mis-hits, just a bit of putting nerves. We found out that there are 3 other 9 year olds who have been in these tournaments for awhile now. They usually score well enough to take the top 3, alternating the winner for each tournament and usually seperated only by a stroke each.

It will be our goal to help Nick break into the top 3 somehow next year. He can do it, he just needs to stabalize that putter. All of this will come with more time and experience. We're really proud of him, he's shown himself to be a great sportsman, introducing himself and shaking hands with competitors at each event. That's what it's really all about and he seems to have a great time out there. And I say, keep the plaid shorts coming Nick. Gotta spice it up out there somehow.

Annual Christmas Party!

2008-12-23T22:08:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday night was Shana & Carlos' Annual Christmas party. Everything was wonderful, Shana went all out with the yummy warm appetizers and the homemade desserts were fabulous! This is a fun party for me for lots of reasons. Seeing special friends as much as possible around the holidays is not always easy and we get to do that (!)and equally important, it's a very thoughtful party because Shana and Carlos ask all of their guests to bring a toy for kids who wouldn't otherwise get anything for Christmas. I'm sure they brought smiles to many this year.

We always have a fabulously loud(ish) time! We played Partini, the game I've been hearing about from others. It was fun, there was even a certain time where you model clay and try to have your teammate guess what you've made. My modeling skills leave a bit to be desired perhaps, they got Gumby, but not my Kermit the Frog? If I had more time, Kermit would have been better. The boys usually manage to sneak into the living room, rearrange the furniture and begin the intense poker game. Craig looks very serious, almost smug, as he plays his hand, doesn't he? ~ Checking things to his right and his left.. very serious stuff!

Long and Busy Weekend..

2008-12-08T16:30:00.001-08:00

Even though Craig lobbed me a softball with the post he made below, we'll start posting everything in chronological order from the weekend. We really had a lot of things going on this weekend - all of us - so lots of juggling. Many photos! It started on Friday night, I had tickets to a really incredible show that's put on in the Valley every year, proceeds go to a charity called Christmas Wish. Jill and I attended Phooson, where no less than 5 acts were performing. It's not normally a concert I would attend - I'd wish to go - but in the end would decide that the place was sure to be swarming with shouting teens and not go. But, the tickets were free, and they were in what we found out was the 5th row?! Pretty Sweet!~ Who wouldn't check that out?

The lineup started with a band that I now know to be Secondhand Serenade. I think I did know one of their songs. Jill was convinced that the guitar player looked like someone she knew, that's the only reason we paid attention to them.

I can't even remember the second group that's how memorable they were? Is that harsh?- but I really can't remember. Gosh, am I so old I can't remember the band names? - It's possible I had no business being there. The third band was Tokio Hotel. They are blowing up apparently, but they were kind of strange. The lead singer wants to be an honorary member of KISS I think, but his guitar player could be just average Joe. He had a white face and all black duds, and moved like a cat. It was strange. And no one could determine if it was a dude or a chic. See video clip. Their song is on the radio all the time and is actually catchy.

Katy Perry was next up and she was crazy cute. She wore a Christmas tree skirt dress and described herself as looking ridiculous. I love that she also made her band dress as Elves with white suits and hats with the Elf ears. Loved it! Very cute I thought, but I'm sort of corney like that? I saw her on the Today show this morning where they announced that she's been nominated for a Grammy. Really? ok.

One of our favorite acts was the Pussycat Dolls. They have songs that you find yourself humming, but you'd never admit it! The whole concert was full of acts like that. They were great, full of energy and delightful on stage. Did I say delightful? Ugh, so square.

We waited what seemed like forever to see Fall Out Boy, but they were worth the wait. I didn't realize that Pete Wentz is not actually the lead singer. Some dude in yellow pants is. So, why then is Pete the popular one? He's certainly the crazy one. At the end of the set, he jumped into the crowd beside us and fans went crazy!!

Finally, finally Rhianna came on around 11:45. What was she doing back there? Why so long to wait? She was actually the one I went to see. I just dig her songs. Upbeat. Who hasn't found themselves singing "um-brella, ella, ella, eh, eh..." She was cool, but by then I was kind of tired of it. So, there you have it. Crazy concert lineup.

Thanks to Craig for sort of postponing his Vegas departure to Sat morning at 6am so that I could attend. It was pretty cool all in all,I wish I'd had more than one extra ticket! I took so many videos of everyone, really close up, it was amazing, but they're in the wrong format I guess cause Blogger won't upload them. Boo!

Nick's Golf Tournament

2008-12-05T20:21:00.000-08:00

Nick is in his first golf tournament tomorrow at Western Skies Golf Course in Gilbert. He's excited for his 11:58 tee time:

Name Rnd 1 Date Rnd 1 Time Rnd 1 Starting Hole

Gresco, J. J. 12/06/2008 11:50 1

Mayer, Cade 12/06/2008 11:50 1

Velarde, Gabriel 12/06/2008 11:50 1

Schulz, Chase 12/06/2008 11:58 1

Johnston, Nicholas 12/06/2008 11:58 1

I think Chase Schulz is in trouble...Good luck Nick!

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Thanksgiving & Weekend

2008-12-01T22:34:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at our friends, Shel and Mike's house. This is the second year we've been invited to celebrate with them and Craig and I are so happy for the invitation. Mallory and Nicholas are with their dad and paternal grandparents every year, so we would be Turkey orphans otherwise I guess. We are truly blessed to have Shel & Mike as wonderful friends.

Friday, we left the house a little later in the afternoon to start some shopping. It was not as crowded as we expected, which was probably for the best. Craig was able to last a little longer at the mall and we got everything on our list for that day. Plenty more gifts to buy, but we got started. And we're done shopping for the kids - that's a huge accomplishment.

We also started decorating the house for Christmas. Craig and I picked out our first tree together and I was happy to break out some of the ornaments I bought last year after the holiday. The tree we chose smells lovely - a nice addition to the house. And, the most important ornament is now on the tree. This will be our first Christmas without B-Dizzle - She loved opening her presents, it will be a little sad without her this year.

Alexander David

2008-12-01T22:26:00.000-08:00

So, the last post was maybe a little confusing. I posted early in the evening that baby had not come and then got the call that he had arrived and updated. Not a lot of details available at the time, but everything's all good now. Here's the first photo of my nephew, Alexander David. I think he looks very wise in this photo! ..and he seriously looks like his mama.

I am dying to see more photos of him and see how he's changed even in the last 2 weeks. I wait anxiously for Papa or Gamma to upload photos from the camera to their desktop and then email them to me.
:o) It would be great if they started a blog?! - yea, let's hope for that!

Weekly Update & Baby Watch - UPDATE: My nephew is here!

2008-11-18T18:18:00.000-08:00

Not much going on around here, no photos really to post. The kids continue to do well in school, I'm getting used to my new car even though it's a lot bigger, and we are currently on Baby Watch. Yesterday my sister's due date came and went with no progress. There's been actually no movement whatsoever, so it seems baby is pretty comfortable right where he's at- she's at - I'm dying to know!! Of course, Steph is beyond ready for baby to come also, the sooner the better! But she is more patient than I remember being when I was pregnant, so she deserves a lot of credit for that!

UPDATE: baby BOY! Nunemacher came tonight around 6:10 via c-section. He doesn't have a name yet, but the list is short and they'll see what he seems like. He weighed in 9lbs 12ozs!! Big boy! - he was never going to come down on his own, huh?

I wish I could be there to see him! - one of the drawbacks to living in Az with family in Philly.

Photo Op

2008-11-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, we had our favorite photographer Kym Ventola take some photos of the kids in the hopes of getting a good one for our Christmas card this year. We think they all turned out really great, and the kids loved working with her. It's not easy to win over a 12 and a 9 year old, but Kym did it! She's such a special, creative person; Craig and I were thinking that it would be fun to see the world through her eyes.

Baby Congrats!

2008-11-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

We want to congratulate Bridget and her husband Russ, and Big Brother Logan on his new baby brother. Bridget is a friend from the old job; we were cube neighbors before she took a position in Quality and eventually moved downstairs to be with the Ops folks. We would work and chat. Good times.

Anyway, congrats to them on the birth of Dominic Tadeusz. Dominic was born on last week at 4:18am and weighed in at 6 lb, 10 oz. Even though it seems he was 3 1/2 weeks early, we are so happy to hear that he and Mom are doing well! God bless the Ernst family and their newest addition!

Weekend Fun

2008-10-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

So, here's the weekend update. Friday night was pretty chill, we took the kids out to dinner and then came back to the house to watch a movie. I was supposed to take Mallory and a friend to see the new HSM3 movie, but all of the showings were sold out or way too late! So, I owe her that for another time.

Saturday night, we helped Mike celebrate his birthday at the somewhat annual now Halloween party. We also took Rob and Carmen with us. It was a lot of fun! We showed up too late to get in on the group photos, but everyone went all out this year again and looked great! We'll have more Halloween photos of the kids after Friday, but here we are as Pilot and Private Flight Captain. And featuring, Rob & Carmen as Romeo and Juliet (she's an English teacher, makes sense, right?) Thank you to our awesome hosts, the Punk Rocker and the Devil, Satan-ish, winged guy?

Saturday night when we got back to the house, we found a very sick Nicholas. Poor little guy! Mallory got her first real test as a babysitter! I went from the car in the garage so quickly to tend to Nick that I forgot to turn my lights off. I didn't notice it until Sunday a.m. around 10, and just turned them off figuring the battery would rejuvenate itself. Oops, apparently the car has to be running to charge the battery back up. Lesson learned, Thanks Mike for coming to bail me out!!

UPDATE: This post looked kind of incomplete, so I'll add the kids halloween photos to it. Mallory has announced that next year she won't be trick or treating but handing out candy. I really doubt Nick will want to go by himself, so could it be that my trick-or-treat days are over? I wish they had gone out with a better bang! We really didn't see a lot of people out this year, and no one hardly came to the house either. We started the night refusing to give teenagers with technically no costume on treats, but by the end of the night, we just wanted to give away the candy, so the brave ones who came back ended up getting a handful. Oh well. I am hoping for a Halloween resurgence next year. I have such fond memories of trick or treating as a kid, I'd hate for it to fade out...

In updating this post, I can't find the photos that were on here. I must've stolen them from someone else's photo gallery originally...

JoePa Rocks!

2008-10-27T20:29:00.001-07:00

There's almost nothing more annoying to a Nittany Lion, than a Buckeye! But after this weekend, they are a non-issue! In the most exciting, gripping game of our season yet, the Lions pulled out a win over the Ohio State Buckeyes, bringing our record to 9-0. It's been a great season, and there's nothing better than seeing JoePa have another successful year! yea, yea, maybe he'll get the hint and go out on top, whatever.. none of that matters at this moment!

Go Blue! See you in Miami?

Smart Kids!

2008-10-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

A post about the kids, the real reason most of you even read this blog!~ Congrats to Mallory and Nicholas who received outstanding report cards for this first quarter of the school year! Mallory has continued her streak of A's through Jr. High, proving that the transition maybe wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. And Nicholas completed this first quarter at his new school, with A's & B's, landing himself on the Honor Roll for the first time! (4th grade is the start of letter grades, thus Honor Roll.)

We are extremely proud of both of our smart little critters and wish them continued success for the remainder of the year!

Weekend Update

2008-10-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

We've posted so sporatically lately that I find myself combining weekend reports! We spent this weekend officially celebrating Craig's bar passage with dinner and a night out dancing with friends. For a change, we thought we'd try the newest, trendiest restaurant in Scottsdale and I'm not sure it paid off for us? The atmosphere at Roka Akor was very cool upon first entry, but constantly waiting for your family style dinner elements allows you to examine further and I couldn't get past the place smelling like a band-aid? We waited almost 45mins for each course to come out, and when it did, the quality was questionable.

Anyway, we shook that off and headed out to Devil's North for dancing and fun. We had a great time there, of course it was packed, but still plenty of room on the dance floor. Everyone enjoyed the beats. Even Craig's usually shy friend BW, brought his A game and it paid off! Thanks to all those guys who came out to celebrate Craig's success.

It's really rare that I get out to dance twice in one month, but it happened! Last weekend was GNO and we were living it up at Devil's South. That's where we usually hang out in Old Town. I can now attest to the fact that both locations are 'shutting it down' every weekend! Here's a fun photo from GNO, Shelsea, Jill & me. I had the camera this weekend too, but for some reason did not capture any of the fun?

Congratulations!

2008-10-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, we received the good news that Craig passed the Arizona Bar Examination! He is completely thrilled and relieved! The results were to be published on the website at 4:45 and he called me while I was still at the office to let me know he was stuck in traffic at 4:40. So... I couldn't wait. I hung up with him and immediately searched on-line for the results. My heart was pounding as I scrolled through the list of names to get to the R's.

Seeing his name on the list, and telling him he passed the test was one of the most thrilling, exciting moments we've shared together so far. I almost didn't know whether to shout out with glee, or just collapse to the floor and cry for a bit, knowing that this phase was finally complete!

Congratulations to my husband, on your wonderful accomplishment! You will go on to be a successful attorney in any specialty you desire. While I joke with him that his post below resembles a Grammy acceptance speech, it's clearly written with the most genuinely excited emotion of someone who's just realized a dream and for that I admire and adore him! You are extraordinary, counselor.

I Passed!

2008-10-10T23:41:00.000-07:00

Well, this will be a brief update but I found out at 5pm today that I officially passed the Arizona Bar Exam. So, with my Character and Fitness passage last week, I am officially a counselor in AZ.

Thanks to everyone that has been there for me through this process and especially Vic, Mal, Nick, Steph and Robert (and the LSAT cat), my parents, my aunt, and all my family and friends that supported me through this. You know who you are and I greatly appreciate it. And I will return the favor.

I cannot stress enough how much all of you have meant to me getting to where I'm at today. Great news and I hope you all celebrate with me!

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Baby Shower + Man Uggs?

2008-10-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I flew to Pennsylvania to help my family with a co-ed baby party for my sister and brother-in-law. I loved seeing them and her belly with growing baby inside; obviously baby has grown tremendously since month 3 when I saw her at the wedding! She's looks fabulous. I was so excited to share in this event and we had a wonderful turnout of more than 30 people. It was totally worth 10 hrs of plane time! :O) I would do it again in a heart beat! Steph and my dad love the Phillies (and now our AZ family does too, since I brought home all kinds of Phillies and Penn State gear!) and so he made sure baby had it's first Phillie Phanatic outfit! Very cute. Baby will also need a giant stuffed Phanatic, just like the other grandkids have, Papa.

Things would not be normal if Craig did not offer his two cents on the things I purchased for baby! As decoration, we hung some items on the clothesline, and for this Mallory and I picked out the cutest little furry boots for baby. Of course, Craig saw them and immediately described them as Man Uggs. I don't think they look like Man Uggs but even if they do, they are sooo cute! If she has a boy he can still wear these little boots around town. It will be November, he/she needs a nice pair of warm shoes, right? Oh well,they can just put them on him and take his photo to share with Aunt Vic! And, if its a girl, then she has a gorgeous pair of furry boots. I'll keep her fashionable?

I'm so happy Steph's going to have a baby and I get a niece or nephew to spoil! She's got a lot on her plate right now with the baby and some other things, so I want to tell her just to take things as they come. All will work out for the best and enjoy this time! We love you so much and we'll see you (and baby) in January!

Eyes Semi-Open?

2008-10-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

I have lots of cool photos of the baby shower we had for my sister in PA over the weekend (what a whirlwind of flying time that was in 3 days) but I still need to download the photos from the camera. I will do that.

Right now, I just wanted to make mention of the fact that I have not gone to bed from yesterday. Yup, stayed up all night working on a project schedule for a 3:30 meeting today and never got to go to bed. This causes all kinds of issues; however, somehow I've managed to get myself to work. In order to stay awake and alert until my meeting, I have purchased what I consider the essential items: 2 Diet Dr. Peppers, 2 sugar free RockStar drinks, 1 bx of Nerds candy. I have no idea why I bought the sugar-free RockStar, isn't that directly counterintuitive to the concept of the drink? On my way to work, I was trying to remember other times in the past where I've not slept in 24 hours or other such long periods of time. This is what I came up with:

August 9th, 1996 when Mallory was born. I was in labor for 31 hours and didn't sleep for any of that time even though I had the epidural. I was certainly running on adrenaline. Not so much today.

May 18, 1999 when Nicholas was born. Labor = 33 hrs. Again, lots of adrenaline, not so much today.

July 13, 2006 at Syntax-Brillian, my last job. We had a new guy come in to take over our projects and he kept us in meetings for 9hrs a day and then demanded we work on the collateral for the meetings overnight I guess. No adrenaline, lots of bitterness.

I'm thinking the meeting will go over the hour we've alloted. It's with Brisbane and they are just getting into the office, so not really as motivated as we are to leave the office. They could talk all day! I will do my best to cut my presentation as short as I possibly can, after all I sent it to the team in advance right? They should have reviewed it in preparation for our meeting, yes? Short presentation, no questions, that's my strategy. Doesn't that sound like our President's philosophy at press conferences? hahha... Tired Girl's got jokes!

DISCLAIMER: I am not a Democrat nor a Republican. I just think Bush is sort of funny sometimes.

Last Weekend

2008-09-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a special weekend. A bunch of family and friends got together to take Shelsea out for her birthday. It was a fun time. I was even able to score the company car for a DD ride there and back. That may not seem like a big deal I guess, but the restaurant is about 40 mins away in Phoenix. (VIP - that's how we roll) The white Lincoln Towncar went all the way to south Gilbert first to pick up the birthday girl, stopped by our place and we headed off to Bacchanal's Greek restaurant. We've been going there for Shels' birthday for a number of years now. We have tried a couple new places along the way, but eventually we come back to Bacchanal's. Its always fun and this year did not disappoint. I can't say I've ever had the food there actually. We've always just gotten lots of appetizers and that always seems like enough. They've added a couple cool things to freshen up the entertainment. For one, the belly dancer that was there, the owner's wife, finally retired. Whew! - This is good news as she was getting slightly..um.. well... it's a good thing. Trust me. They also added a trio of girls who do the traditional greek dance. And of course, the owner always leads us all in the plate breaking and line dance around the restaurant and out to the parking lot. It's always fun there.

Happy Birthday to Shelsea, one of my favorite people! We hope the night was special for you! Her and her husband Mike are great friends, we love them dearly! :o) More photos from that night.

Another interesting side note about Bacchanal's is that it was the location and occasion of a first date for us. 5 years ago, I took Craig as my date to Shel's birthday event. He sat close to the dance floor which made him an obvious target for the belly dancer. She drug him out to the floor where apparently he performed a very unique interpretive dance. For me. However, I was in the restroom and didn't get to see it. I'm told its for the best, if I had seen it, we might not have had a second date! He won't do it again for me, he says he's retired and sits at the opposite end of the dance floor!

Charlotte, NC

2008-09-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

As you know, last weekend we hopped on a plane and headed East to North Carolina to visit Susan & Geoff Brown, per previous random Memphis post. Perhaps the best summary of our trip is actually on the Gibson's blog - Great job Laura! - but we also wanted to post some of our favorite photos from the weekend. We had lovely weather for the entire time, so I think the Riebe weather curse could be lifting. Maybe this comes with the May addition of a new, sunnier Riebe :o)

Anyway, we had a great time, thanks so much to our hosts who thought of everything. The first day we toured several wineries in the area. We tasted such a lovely Riesling at the second winery; I loved it so much we had some shipped back to Arizona. It has arrived, but UPS has custody of it now, since you need a signature to have it delivered. Wine gets better when it sits in a 200deg warehouse somewhere doesn't it, I think I heard that somewhere.

Day 2 was fun on the Brown's boat! Craig and I really missed just being out on a boat these last couple of years, so it was great to get out on a lake again and their boat is fabulous. To the right is Matt Gibson doing his 'shark'. Just as the sun was setting, we pulled into the dock to find all of Susan's friends there waiting to celebrate her 30th birthday. Geoff did an amazing job planning this special event for her, and she was totally surprised!

One of the many cool things about our trip was the Bears-Panthers game we went to on Sunday. Thanks (again) to Geoff, we had amazing seats! I've never been to a professional football game before, it was so cool to actually be there for it. Very different than watching it on TV, that's for sure - the game seems to go by so quickly when you're there? On TV, and when Craig's watching the games all day long, they seem to never end?

Thanks again to Susan & Geoff for having us at their lovely home. We had a wonderful time, and their puppy, Jasper is adorable! It was also so great to see the Gibsons, and the Hunts too. Good spending time with everyone... when Craig and I finally buy a home, you are all welcome for a visit. Maybe sometime in the winter months! You can see all of our photos from the weekend here.

New Arrival

2008-09-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

This post is a bit overdue! Back In August, Craig's cousins, Aaron and Dena Fellows welcomed their baby girl Zoe Jean. They were kind enough to send some photos and, of course, she's just gorgeous. She seems to have features from Mommy and Daddy. Mom and Baby are doing well, so Congratulations to the Fellows family, we are very happy Zoe is here!

Memphis or Bust!

2008-09-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Didn't someone famous say that? Was it Elvis?

Craig and I are sitting in the Memphis airport waiting for our connection to North Carolina, where we will visit with several friends he went to college with. Should be fun as long as the weather holds. Craig/Matt H./Matt G./Geoff B. are known for bringing the rain though.

Several observations we are making as we sit at the bar. I've seen about 5 people with rolled up sleeping bags. What is this for? Do they hop in the bag whilst on the plane? Craig said maybe they are taking a flight to go camping. Wha? Camping, with no other gear, just the bag? I think not. It's weird.

Additionally, while Vic was heading to the restroom, I observed 2 45 year old men arguing about where one can find the best BBQ, KC or Memphis. Further, the guy behind me was putting 2k on the Tarheels in tonights football game. Matt Hunt summed it up best when he said, "Detroit is dead so I vote Memphis as the nations shadiest town."

NOTE: Clearly there were several contributors to this post. I said Riebe had the rain curse and he added the rest of his crew.

Our Brittany

2008-09-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

I have been dreading this post, seems like it isn't going to be any easier to write anytime soon. So, I'm sure I will drippy, teary cry my way through it. I feel like I should write something about our beloved cocker spaniel Brittany. Last weekend, we took her to the vet after her appetite had gradually waned to nothing in about 5 days. The Vet was not overly concerned with her status, just treated her for a stomach ailment and sent us on our way with two kinds of medicine. But in the days that followed, she got so sick, so quickly. At 5:30am on Monday, as I slept with her on the floor, I could feel that she'd given up. After walking around deleriously from what we now know was a crazy high fever, she eventually came over to me and collapsed. I scooped her up and Craig and I rushed her to the animal hospital while she was gasping for air. We knew she had tumors and possibly any one of many issues related to age. It was very clear that we only had one option and soon the gasping stopped and wrapped up in her creamy colored soft banket, my pretty little girl was asleep.

That moment happened so fast, with minutes to say goodbye.

B-Dizzle was a gift to me on my 19th birthday and she was just that, a precious gift. We'd been through so much together. A first wedding, two pregnacies, two babies, a divorce, broken hearts, job lay-off, new job and finally a happy marriage. She was very used to my tears in her fur, that's for sure. Craig thinks Brittany was able to let go because she knew I would finally be ok now. Maybe that's true.

Brittany was the most beautiful, loyal dog ever. She always seemed to know when I was sick and would stay with me. I feel like I lost a best friend. As much as I knew she wouldn't be around forever, I still wasn't prepared for this overwhelmingly sad feeling. I love her so much. We'll love you forever Brittany.

Banff, Canada

2008-08-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Each time I go to Calgary, I learn new things about the area.I've learned where to stay-where not to stay, where to eat-where not to eat, that sort of thing. One of the good things I learned this time was that there is a great little town named, Banff about 2 hours away. Thursday afternoon, I took to the open road and made the trip. Even though it was pouring down rain, there was an outdoor concert going on and the townspeople were out in full effect! Its was great. Banff is a very exclusive town, they actually charge you ($9 per person) to visit!

It would have been great if my road trip partners were with me (Mal and Nick), they would have loved it! Lots of shopping and eating and general merriment! They like that.

On my way back into town, I saw for the first time Calgary's Olympic Village from back in the day too. I saw all of the ski runs and the louge tracks. Its all there still. That's the closest I've ever been to anything Olympic, even though it was deserted, it was still cool

Greetings from the airport!

2008-08-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

This morning, I'm on my way to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I have packed what seems like the biggest assortment of clothes I've ever taken on a trip. Craig and I looked at the weather forecast last night and found that today it will be 103deg, tomorrow it will be 83deg, and progressively colder until its really cold and rainy with a high of 56deg on Friday. I have a swimsuit, a suit jacket and then a puffy vest for Thursday & Friday. Interesting stuff.

This weekend was errands, dinners out, golf and then a trip to Sunsplash/Golfland to end the summer. Very productive weekend, I would say. So, here's the final boarding call; I've prolonged my entry onto the plane as long as I possibly could, it seems. Every time Craig and I fly, we buy the customary pretzel pizza combos and they were out of them this time. So, I'm smarting a bit from that, but somehow I'll manage with the gummy bears and chocolate covered pretzels I brought from home.

Holy cow, I just heard some Canadian answer his phone, eh? Ugh.

79

2008-08-14T23:31:00.000-07:00

It is my pleasure to state that I finally broke the 80 barrier in golf this past weekend with a 79 from the tips of the beautiful Westin Kierland course in the enchanting city of Scottsdale, AZ. 7000+ yards of fun on the Mesquite 9 and the Acacia 9 (which is probably one of the better 9's in the valley).

Not sure if it was luck or skill considering I only hit about 4 fairways off the tee, but I'll gladly take it. Up next: Round 2 on the TPC Stadium course Saturday. Miceli and I hope to improve upon our last trip there prior to the wedding where we both played rather average. Luckily Kevin Harper was there to keep our score respectable...I won't even mention what Gibson shot... And yes, that is a picture of Kevin feeding a sheep at Whistling Straits, and yes, the sheep does now have a restraining order against Kevin.

On a final note, I start working Monday so I've got 3 final days of freedom. Going to be wierd going to work again, but it's time to start getting paid. I know Vic's ready for that...

Lastly, because I know no one reads this blog to hear about me, Nick and I went golfing last week and on a par 61 he shot an 87 from the red tees. He doesn't hit it very far yet and he needs to keep working on his putting, but he literally didn't have one miss-hit using his driver or irons. He already has a near perfect swing that he can consistently repeat. Really impressive. Nick has tremendous potential.

Another Birthday Girl!

2008-08-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we went out for my birthday celebration. We had a wonderful, low-key night with a few fabulous friends. We started with dinner at Ra, I love sushi and there's a new one near our house. After that I thought it was time for all of us to go bowling! When's the last time you've been bowling - a long time ago right? So, we found some lanes that just opened recently and it seems to be the new(ish) thing? It was a bowling center that was really customized, they had couches and cocktail tables instead of the normal round booths to sit on,lights, music and a full bar! The bowling centers in Palmyra PA don't look like this? The only bummer was how long we waited - almost 2 hours!

Before Sat. night, and when the girls asked me what I wanted to do, I immediately said let's go bowling, guys against the girls! And we should get some kind of t-shirts or something. Well, the girls took this one comment and ran with it. That night they had gotten a 'bowling chicks' t-shirt for all of the girls! I was super excited. Somehow they managed to combine bowling with my favorite thing, chicks?

Let's be honest. These shirts are no one's style really, are they? But the fact that these friends of mine purchased them and had the spirit (of friendship) to wear them as a team all night for me is priceless. What a wonderful group of girls I have and I love them all. I appreciate this so much, it will be a birthday not soon forgotten.

More photos, here.

Birthday Parties!

2008-08-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

After what seemed like a two week-long celebration for Mallory's birthday, we finally wrapped things up on Friday night with a concert. As a present, I took Mallory and Kacie to see Jordin Sparks and Jesse McCartney. I knew right from this start it would be a very specific demographic, MOMs and teenage girls. I was fairly dead on. So, I made sure I had snacks. I always feel like you can get through any situation, as long as you have some good snacks. We had great seats for the fun - the girls had a good time! And, since it was their first concert, we tried to glam it up a bit with makeup, eyeliner and some red streaks in the hair!

Outside of the concert, she also had her first boy-girl party this year. We made a hot pink/lime green palm springs desert theme. Everyone had a good time, it always seems that the group start reallly shy for about the first 2 hours and 45mins, then..... everyone starts to come alive with 15mins left. I am particularly proud of the cupcakes I made this year. They looked pretty, but I guess they tasted good too, cause the kids pretty much snarfed them up! As they get older, it gets harder to fill a loot bag, especially for the dudes. I had no idea. So, I gave them what I thought was funny - Rubber chickens. I love them, I think they are hilarious and it takes me back to rubber chicken shots (of fruit punch Mallory) in the sorority.

Baby Mohawk!

2008-08-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had our good friends, Michael and Shelsea and the kids over for a swim in the pool and a bar-b-que. After we ate, the men had the clever idea to shave Bodey, their 1-year-old's head! They gave him the mohawk you see here. I'm really not sure what I would do if I came home to find Nick's hair like this? I'm a bit undecided on the baby mohawk? It looks like he should have a studded dog collar on and a leather vest. And I wonder how it will grow in eventually too? Its going to be stubbly on the sides for awhile, right? Shelsea has reported that when its not spiked or gel-ed up, it doesn't look so cute. OOhh!

I hope the rest of our friends are not afraid to bring their children near our home for fear that Craig will cut their hair? Their original idea was to give him a mullet! Business in the front, party in the back. Thank goodness we at least talked them out of that!

Lazzzy!

2008-08-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

Hey, thanks for moving the bowl in front of me so I don't have to get up to eat. Awesome.

Love,
The Dog

Birthday Week(s)!

2008-08-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

The end of July always marks the crazy birthday season for me and my family! I think we must set some kind of record for sending the most birthday packages in one week? Here's the rundown;

my dad - July 29th
the kids dad - July 30th
my sister - August 3rd
me :o) - August 5th
Mallory - August 9th

Whew! So, Happy birthday first to my dad! He is exactly 20 years older than me. Its a bummer we can't be with him on his birthday, but we are glad he got the balloons we sent to his office! The kids celebrated their dad's birthday with him on Tuesday night this week and were able to give him the new golf shoes we got him. Sunday is my sister, Steph's birthday. I have no idea what they are planning this year. With our birthday's so close to gether, we usually got the combination party growing up. Maybe we can still blow out the candles simultaneously on the 4th, using the webcam?

And finally, even though there are 4 other family birthdays before hers, Mallory, of course gets the most concentrated effort. Planning for her birthday always starts weeks in advance of any other. This year, she will have her first boy-girl party on Saturday (early because she's with her dad on the 9th). I'm hoping these 7th graders can remain civilized to some degree. Their parents seemed oh-so-eager to drop them off for a few hours? As usual, I am behind on party planning. We will get the party decorations, bake the cupcakes tonight and hope all goes well on Saturday.

Happy Birthday to Dad & Steph! We love you and hope you both had/have fantastic birthdays this year! More to come on my birthday (I hope) and Mallory's, of course.

Quick one!

2008-07-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

We will post more about the weekend (with photos), but for now ~ don't miss the Nordstrom's anniversary sale! I wish I knew if we were going to have a niece or a nephew! Isn't this little girls coat adorable!?

Our Blog Just Got a Facial!

2008-07-21T21:56:00.001-07:00

Our blog just got a facial from www.theblogspa.blogspot.com and yours can too!

Delinquent Bloggers

2008-07-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

Please forgive us for not blogging in over 6 days, but I am excited to say that we are in the process of a blog overhaul! A friend of mine sent me a website for a business that a friend of hers is starting up. Its the BlogSpa and Lisa, the owner, is in the process of giving us a 'Blog Facial'. I love that this mother of 3 children (all under 3 years of age) is going for it, and her work so far is great!

To see a sneaky peek, go to the following link:
www.theblogspa2.blogspot.com

Quick 'Bar' Update

2008-07-10T23:27:00.000-07:00

Good times here in Barland...

Luckily Mallory is such a phenomenal student that she asked for a desk for one of her Christmas presents this past year because I'm keeping it very much alive during these summer months. We, ie, all the other losers that are still actively taking the BarBri study class, had a 'psuedo' exam the last 2 days that mimics the real event taking place in around 2 weeks in the enchanting city of Tucson. I did well enough at this point as things are starting to come together, but I've got a funny or perhaps scary revelation depending on your perspective.

Most everyone in this class just graduated from 3 years of law school, most everyone attended all of the extremely comprehensive review sessions for the past month, most everyone is probably pretty diligent in their studying, and most everyone is likely pretty bright with the exception of your current author. Nonetheless, the average score for our 6 hour multiple choice test that we all labored through today (after our fun day of 12 essays in 6 hours yesterday) is a measley 105 out of 200 questions. I managed a 115 so I'm a little ahead of the game but it's still pretty hard to believe. With the insane amount of time and effort everyone is putting into this, getting 85 wrong and beating the average by 10 is crazy.

Changing topics, not that it effects me currently, but BRLC, Vic's former employer also known as Syntax Brillian Corp, officially went under the other day. RIP BRLC. So much for exercising those stock options...but in another sick ironic twist, so did our 65" BRLC television!! Everything shows up as pink so Mal's happy, but it's not ideal--especially for watching the Cubs. BRLC's demise, although not unexpected, definitely had no relation to the tremendous amount of blood, sweat, and tears that my beautiful wife put into that plagued company. It was good while it lasted but now we're probably going to have to pick up a new television and it's probably not going to be anything remaining under the BRLC umbrella, ie, Olevia. I think we'll end up supporting a nice California company that seems to be able to successfully do everything that BRLC could not, Vizio, with our next purchase.

Lastly, Nick is having a great summer. He's really enjoying his kids camp that he goes to 3 days a week and gets to play ball, swim, and run around with other dudes his age. Played catch with him yesterday night and the boy is going to be a player. He may already have a better arm than me. He's going to be one hell of an athlete if he keeps working at the sports that interest him. And I don't even need to mention his golf swing...

La Jolla Weekend

2008-07-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July weekend! We hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. To escape the heat of the A-Z, the kids and I decided to go west to the beaches of San Diego. Also, this gave Craig some time to finish his outlines for the bar exam. (He has a mock exam Wednesday, Thursday of this week). We left last Thursday morning around 10am and really didn't run into any problems or traffic until we got to the Border Patrol post inside Cali. There, we waited in a long line of cars for probably an hour? Unheard of.

We rolled into town around 3pm and headed directly for the water. Since Mission Beach was the closest and I knew I wanted to go to World Famous for their awesome lobster bisque, that's where we stayed until about 8pm. The lobster bisque never disappoints and is exactly what I needed after the 5 1/2 hour drive with the kids. :o) Totally worth it!!! By then it was time to get back on the 5N and trek to Del Mar to check into the hotel. There is something to be said for staying right off the freeway and a little north. The hotel was great, reasonably priced and we were only 10 mins. from our favorite cove beach in La Jolla.

We spent all July 4th at the beach and in the La Jolla area. TONS of people were 'camped' out on the event lawn there with grills and tents to avoid the sun. It would be so great to have a tent and grill of our own there, but we did have tons of blankets and a cooler. The fireworks show was amazing! We weren't expecting such an awesome show in a small beach town, but they were fabulous!

The weather was so nice there, we didn't want to leave. We ever went looking for beachfront property, you'll see a photo of the house we found in the gallery. With some work, it could be great and its right on the water, ocean views from every window!! It was a great trip, would have been better if Craig could come, but we will always remember the time we went to see fireworks on the beach! You can see our photos by clicking on the photo below. The photos show such a clear difference between the beaches we went to...

La Jolla Weekend

Haircut - After

2008-07-06T19:39:00.001-07:00

Photo of new haircut. As mentioned previously, jury is still out...

Baby Weekend

2008-06-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a baby weekend! Congratulations to the Hunt's. Ethan John was born on Saturday morning. He was a little early & therefore small, but he seems to be doing so well; its wonderful! God is definately looking after this little Angel on earth and we couldn't be happier for them. This photo is from their website and I just love it. His eyes are fairly wide open for a newborn! ... I'm a huge fan of babies. Makes me wish Mal and Nick weren't growing up so fast.

Also, this weekend we traveled to Tucson to attend a baby shower for Kurt & Jamie Weibel. Jamie is due to have a baby boy, Luke Allan Weibel, sometime in August. I forgot the camera (should just leave it in my purse?) so there aren't any photos, but it was a nice gathering. Jamie's mother and sister made very yummy appetizers and amazing cupcakes with lots of icing on them! Every cupcake should have the prerequisite 2" of icing to even be considered a cupcake. Kurt and Craig have been friends since high school; its so great that they live just 2 short hours away in Tucson and we can be a part of special times like these.

I got my hair cut really short this weekend too and some more highlights made it very blonde. It's still to be determined whether or not I can pull off short hair?! I'll post some before/after photos in the next post.

a KitKat a day...

2008-06-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

So, most of you know by now that I've started a new job. I actually started the week of the wedding and they were kind enough to let me have the 4 days off even though I start with no vacation time whatsoever...

Anyway, I didn't realize how stressful it would be? Before now, I was with the same company for 9 years; I was 23, Mallory was under a year I think and I just had other priorities when I started there. Sad to say, but I was barely paying attention to being the new person. This time though, this means everything to me, I have to find my place within a whole new group of people and run alongside programs for awhile and until I build up enough knowledge to actually lead them. My bosses say I'm waaay too hard on myself, that it will take time and I should chill out. I'm just so used to being the center of project activity though?

So, I have started to eat KitKats. First it was only when I felt stressed out, but the more I get into things, the more stressed I am. So, I've had a KitKat everyday for the last 3 days. I don't know if this is bad or what. I have a real zit now - my first in awhile - I don't think that's directly related to the KitKat because they always say that chocolate doesn't bring it on, but I think the stress does! ha!

mini-congrats to Craig on his first post below! He always tells me I don't update enough, maybe he will bless all of us with the writing skills he's refined in law school? :o)

Ali We're Thinking of YOU!

2008-06-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

This message is to our great friends Matt and Alison back in Chicago. Ali is in the hospital with baby Hunt. We're glad things are going as well as they can be right now. We're excited for Baby Hunt to arrive in two weeks!

Ali we're all thinking of you out here in AZ!!

Love,

Vic, Craig, Mal, & Nick

2008-06-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

I realize no one may care, but I heart these sandals! They come in a couple different colors at JCrew, but cost $325. Why so much? gees... pricing me right out of the game. Its hard to justify cost like that when you've got a family/kiddos. There was a time not long ago when I would own these. Maybe the birthday fairy will see this post and bring them to me?

Sorry, back to the family. I didn't really do a lot this weekend. Still settling out stuff from the wedding?! We went to the pool all day on Sat and started writing all of our Thank You's cards that finally came in! Finished them on Sunday. Also on Sunday the kids hit the party circuit. Birthday parties started at 11:30 and lasted until about 8pm when all was said and done. Nick was t-i-r-e-d! I guess we all were. :o)

Closer...

2008-06-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

Today, the Supreme Court of Arizona, Committee on Character & Fitness has deemed Craig Steven Riebe certified to sit for the Arizona Bar Examination. Woohoo.. we (he) is one step closer to becoming an actual attorney.

It only says that the school has filed Evidence of Graduation, so I don't know if that means all of the character references you've sent in on his behalf have been considered or not, but it seems he's good to go. Thanks to everyone for not mentioning that he disappears for days at a time to gamble at the casino! We owe you one! ;o)

If It's Sunday, it's Meet The Press

2008-06-13T22:50:00.000-07:00

Sad day today, as the moderator of my favorite Sunday political news show was suddenly taken from us. Tim Russert, the moderator from Meet The Press, and the Washington D.C. News Bureau Chief died today of a heart attack.

I've been watching him since he started the hour long version of the show when I was a Sr. in High School. This is a huge loss for the nation, I will miss seeing him on the air. I always wanted to be him. He had such a powerful insight into the political horizon of the country, and I was extremely interested in Journalism when I was in school.

Palm Springs Baby

2008-06-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

I won't bore everyone anymore with the story of how our trip to Maui for a honeymoon got cancelled. (Our airline went under.) I think we just got slapped by the universe for trying to take a huge trip when neither of us had jobs?!

So, while my parents and sister were still in town, we took the chance to get away for a few days to Palm Springs. We thought about San Diego, but SD in May is not very hot and we wanted some pooltime.

We stayed at the Viceroy, Palm Springs which is pretty much in the heart of everything. It was the coolest boutique hotel, very European in style, as evidenced by the God-like, very tan, slender gay men lounging by the pool. Everyone there was super gorgeous and super LA. Very Calvin Klein. Craig likes to tell me that I wasn't cool enough to stay there, which may be true, but then I don't think he was cool enough to stay there either! We had a wonderful, restful stay. We did a couple's massage for the first time and I think Craig is now hooked. He's decided that anytime we go somewhere for vacation, we will book this appt. OK, I won't argue. My therapist was a lovely small-ish man (also very Euro) and so I thought it would be good. The next day though, I felt a little beat up. He was really trying to work out that wedding/job hunt stress, I was pretty sore?

We also did the touristy thing and took the Tramway to the top of the Mountain. From the top, it was a great view and the brisk air up there was a pleasant change. And, it just wouldn't be us if we didn't do a bit of shopping. The Lacoste and Armani Exchange stores were calling our names. We both got some cool things.

All in all a good mini-honeymoon, but we are still planning to go to Hawaii at some point!

Last Wedding Post (Behind the Scenes) - Top 10

2008-06-05T18:43:00.000-07:00

Don't you love those shows on TV that go behind the scenes of your favorite show or events to let you know what was really supposed to happen or what could have gone wrong? I do - love them! So tonight, I thought I would give you all one last post about the wedding mishaps and misc. facts. Not that anyone cares particularly, but if you were there, it might be interesting to you. And if you were not there (sorry, we could only do very very small) maybe you will still find these things of interest... Here we go. Photos included where necessary.

1. The ceremony table with our unity candle on it had less than 1/3 of the contents it was supposed to have. Looked pretty bare and lame right? Before the wedding, I shipped a box of 'ceremony stuff' to the resort for safekeeping. They kept it so safe, no one could remember where they put it. They kept showing me boxes from the bride who was getting married there on Sunday? There should have been a cool wrought iron cross on the table. See photo.

2. There should have also been a huge creme colored candle in the unity vase. A candle that probably would have been easier to light. But, that was in the lost box too. Instead, the tiny red pillar candle is from a Ross store I stopped at on the way back from getting my hair and makeup done. It was the only store I could find when Abbey called to say the box was really missing. The actual candle looks lovely in the giant vase on our dining room table. In case anyone is wondering, we do not light it together at night.

3. I'm really not sure why Abbey, the wedding coordinator, made Craig wait at the 'alter' for what seemed like an eternity, but was really 7 mins. I'm sure it seemed like 7 years. For the record, I was ready and waiting since 4:40 that afternoon. Despite his efforts to flag me down, did anyone see that?, she still wouldn't let us walk. Oy.. (Craig's only comment: "Abbey is an idiot.")

4. Before Wedding Week Thursday, it had not rained in the valley for 98 days. (!!!!) And typical May months have not received more than .005" of rain for the previous 10 consective years.

5. Most of our out-of-town lady guests now all own the same white cardigan sweater from Target.

6. Craig and I arrived at the courthouse to get our marriage license on Friday afternoon at 5:03, the office closes at 5pm. Thank goodness the Court security guards were too busy planning their Beer Fest Happy Hour to notice the time. We got back to Copperwynd at 6:07, leaving me 23 minutes to get ready for the Welcome dinner. That explains why I look the way I do.

7. My dad was a DJ for 7 years. Maybe 8, not sure. Not even in a previous life or back in the day, this was less than 3 years ago, I think. He digs music and likes to host things, so got into it on the side. He does a great job. I think he misses it.

8. The boutennaires we bought were originally Stephanotis, which would have looked wonderful and fit in with the whole white flower variety theme I had going. However, the petals turned brown prematurely and looked horrible. My dad and brother-in-law took roses from my bouquet, leaves from the peonies and made the boutennaires for the dads and Nick on Friday afternoon.

9. The Welcome dinner was actually outside. Even though it seemed like we were inside (I hope), that room had a temporary roof, which explains the gaps in the ceiling and the water on the floor. That one probably wasn't hard to figure out.

And No. 10...

10. Everyone knows that Chris 'Spud' Psihogios was asleep in his room and missed the entire wedding ceremony! He did not attend the very event for which he even came to town. We know you feel horrible Chris, and we still love you! Someday you will laugh about it like we already do. (Second Craig comment: "Thanks for showing up, Spud. Glad you could at least make dinner and the reception.")

All of these things made our day truly unique, to say the least. It's taken me a little while to realize that even with all of the weather and Plan B's, we had exactly the wedding we planned. We planned to celebrate our wedding with all of our family and close friends, and that's exactly what we did!

Nick's Birthday

2008-06-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

In the midst of all the excitement of the last two weeks, Nick had his 9th birthday. Even though our party plans got postponed a bit because his two best friends were not available, we still had lots of celebrations. He went to an Arizona Diamondbacks game with his dad and then had cake with his grandparents on Sunday. Then when he got home on Sunday, we celebrated some more with a party, a few presents and cake, inlcuding a Stoudemire shirt from Craig's parents.

Gamma and Papa also celebrated his birthday last week when they came into town. They took him to his favorite indoor amusement place, Amazing Jakes and they played all day. Aunt Steph and Uncle Robert bought him the Shaquille O'Neal jersey he wanted too. So, even though his birthday was smooshed in the middle of a few crazy weeks, I think he still had special times.

Graduations - Part 2

2008-06-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

So, the last post is entitled Graduations because Mallory also graduated from the 6th grade. I have to brag a bit about my smart daughter, who's made it all the way through Elementary school with all A's and 1B. Getting the first B of her life was pretty hard on her because her expectations for herself are so high, but she worked really hard and the next grading quarter she pulled her math score back to an A. Its that kind of effort that I'm so proud of. Her straight A years are great, but I think its the efforts we make in life to succeed that count the most sometimes. Getting that B brought out her determination and problem solving skills. She really did what she needed to do to get it done. That's our Mal, she gets it done!

At the end of every year, awards and medals are given out. She received an award in Math and a medal for being on the Distinguished Principals honor roll. Cheers to Mal and even though you're in Jr. High now, you'll always be my baby girl!

Graduations

2008-06-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Before the wedding weekend, Craig's parents and Anne flew in a bit early to attend his graduation from law school. It was a very hot day, but it went well overall. This graduation ceremony and all of the students with advanced degrees and even international diciplines was a big deal.

We are all so proud of Craig - that's Craig S. Riebe, J.D. now - and it feels like things are going to start to get back to normal. The graduation means that he can move back to Phoenix, which is huge for us, no more commuting between Tucson and Phoenix. Class has begun to help him study for the bar exam, everyday from 9am to 1pm and then studying all day. So, he'll be underground over the next 8 weeks as he prepares for probably the biggest test of his life, so far.

I just think Craig is an extraordinary man. In one week, he's become a law graduate, a dog owner, a husband and a bonus dad to Mal and Nick. (Bonus dad sounds better then step father, so that's what Mal and Nick have decided on.) Most people get to ease into these roles throughout their life, but he's taken them on all at once. Not everyone would be up to doing this, and that's why I love him so much.

Wedding Post

2008-05-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

It's official, we're the Johnston-Riebe crew! A few photos for your viewing pleasure, hopefully! Over the last week, we've been lots of places and lots of things happening, so we'll post more when we get back from our Honeymoon!

Mother's Day

2008-05-12T18:32:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers I know and to mine! Hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday... I spent the day with the kids just goofing around. Nothing crazy. Nicholas' class made wonderful presents for mom's. The teacher gave Nick a questionnaire to fill out about Mom (me) and his answers were hilarious. He thinks my favorite thing to say is 'dude'? what? I'm over my dude phase about 4 years ago? I adore these gifts and I know that we'll look at them again someday and laugh some more, I'm sure. We went out for a great mexican dinner at one of our favorite places as a gift from them too! It was a great day!

Niece or Nephew!

2008-05-07T20:42:00.001-07:00

Wonderful news coming from home (PA) this weekend! My sister and her husband are expecting their first baby! Yippee! I am very excited to be Aunt Victoria and the kids are so excited to finally have a little cousin. The sad part about living here is always the stuff that goes on within the family there. We have a big family too - my mom has 8 brothers and sisters! But, this is the 21st century and we'll have to rely on photos, videochats and visits to keep up to date.

So, congratulations to Steph and Robert, we can't wait to meet baby Nunemacher. I can't wait to plan a baby shower too! Attached is a photo of Steph and I when we were babies. That's her on the left and me on the right. It looks like she's going to eat me.

Look Alike?

2008-04-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

Has anyone ever noticed that Craig looks alot like the lead singer of Rascal Flatts, Gary Lavox? I know people have said this to him before, but he doesn't want to look it up because he's not a big fan of country. That's the understatement of the year, perhaps. Anyway, he definately looks like him! I can't get the photos side by side, but Craig's the one on the left, if you're confused. Very obviously, the hair has a lot to do with it.

Who do you look like, anyone famous? People tell me I look like the girl that was Ally McBeal, Calista Flockhart, but I don't see that one at all. (Isn't she dating the very much older Harrison Ford?) When I was working for Three Five Systems, one of the guys there signed me up to be the president of her fan club. I wonder what ever happened with that? - if there are presidential duties somewhere that I'm not fulfilling? Maybe, this is definately one of the oddest postings we've done, but Mallory is the one who saw Rascal Flatts on TV and said, Hey - That guy looks like Craig!

Aagh, another wedding blog!

2008-04-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

All of our guests will have to forgive us, as the wedding invitations have finally gone out today! When you're doing these things yourself, the task gets overwhelming and I have to have perfection. The paper on the rehearsal cards just wasn't right, so I redid them. That's not what delayed them. The calligrapher took 3 weeks!! 3 weeks for 33 envelopes? wha???

So, if you are a wedding guest and are reading this blog, you're invitation is in the mail! woohoo! We pretty much know who all is coming, its just a matter of what you would like for dinner. Filet Mignon, or Sea Bass. The sea bass is not your common entree I assure you, and do not be afraid of it. It comes with a lovely risotto, which I love (and selected especially for you!) So, please help us and pop those little reply cards in the mail again as soon as you can! Its appreciated!

For the latest in wedding event info, please visit our wedding website at http://www.craigandvictoria.com/

Palm Springs Post

2008-04-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

I rarely blog about the upcoming wedding, but today, I'm going to because its starting to affect our entire family, including Mal and Nick. Yesterday, I took Nicholas to get his suit tailored and he is the cutest little man. (He hates it when I call him my little man) The picture is getting more clear, as we only have 32 more days!

Things that are not yet complete:

1. Playlist for wedding recptn. (Craig) - He wanted to use the iPod, but has not created the list.

2. Flowers - These can only be ordered 2 weeks in advance

3. Favors

4. Welcome baskets

Usually, I prefer to blow off the list and head out of town, like we did this weekend! The girls hit Palm Springs for a bachelorette weekend. Lots of fun had by all, I can tell you that. Its sooo green there right now. We managed the perfect blend of fun, drinks by the pool, sushi dinner, a club at the hotel and shopping at the massive group of outlet stores the next day. My new Armani Exchange jeans are my favorite ones yet!

Something Good! - Kids weekend plan!

2008-04-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend the kids are participating in the Pat Tillman Foundation fun run with their dad. There is a timed race for serious competitors, as well. Most everyone in Arizona, and probably the country know Pat's story, right? In case you don't, he grew up in Arizona where he played football for the ASU SunDevils. After his college career he was then drafted to play for the Arizona Cardinals when the events of September 11th, 2001 occurred. These events compelled him to join the army and a year later he was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan.

His bravery and willingness to serve his country make him (and many others) our hometown heros. The foundation set up in his honor is, among other things, a scholorship program called Leadership through Action, which embodies the very motto by which he lived. http://www.pattillmanfoundation.org/

I think its great that the kids are participating in this event. I want them to learn very early in life to give back to communities in which they live, and to look up to men like Pat and the rest of the troops serving our country. Whether you believe in the war or not, its important to support our troops.

Rats!

2008-04-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

and drat! Somehow I've managed to click on a spam or something from this link and now they've got me. Grrr.... For some reason comments are appearing that say Click Here and Link here. Just don't do it or I think you'll get it too!

Weekend Update

2008-04-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

The children were with their dad this weekend and Craig was on a field trip with one of his classes in Tucson, so it was a girls weekend. Just me and Brittany. We loaded up on movies for Friday night.

The first movie we saw was my absolute favorite movie ever, please do not make fun of me, I know it came out in 1999, but I love it! Thomas Crown Affair will always be my favorite, old and new. Yes, there have been others, but they come and go. Imagine running away to a private island with millions of dollars.. ah, the life.

The second movie we saw was Atonement. Very stunning movie. Due to the amount of coverage the green dress Keira Knightly was wearing in one of the scenes, I spent almost the whole movie looking for it? I should probably watch it again. It's a very passionate movie, that's for sure and the green dress is gorgeous.

Aloha means Hello and Goodbye, right?

2008-04-04T18:41:00.001-07:00

A momentary time-out for a small rant (or whatever it is), if you will.....

ATA is bankrupt. No warning, just bankrupt. Lots of passengers are stranded to Hawaii and at least that's not us, but our honeymoon could be out the window along with our $1000 for airline tickets. We used mostly miles and some cash and now; no miles, cash is gone and no tickets to Hawaii.

What bothers me is how they handle it. I guess when you go bankrupt no one stays around to close things down. Phones aren't answered, refunds won't be given and no one tries to make other arrangements on any other airlines. How could they possibly, no money, right? Maybe poor Mastercard, innocent 3rd party Mastercard, will refund our money? They are our only hope for a trip still. I hope they come through, but there's no real reason why they should, except that Craig is good and nice and charges everything and pays it off on time. oh wait, they probably hate that, huh? no interest accumulation...

It sucks that we possibly might lose our $1k. Hopefully things will work out. If not, at least we will have a beautiful wedding surrounded by all of our great family and friends.

Weekend Update

2008-03-31T20:12:00.000-07:00

With Craig in Vegas for the weekend, it was the 3 Amigos on our own for fun. Friday was fairly low key as we ramped up for the weekend ahead. Sat. am started the next round of tennis lessons for Mallory. There are 11 kids in her session this time and it could be too many. This was further evidenced by one little girl not looking after her swing and hitting another little girl on the bridge of her nose with her raquet. Thank goodness it was not Mallory who did the swinging, as we talk about this exact scenario almost every week. That poor little girl was so distraught for having hit someone else she was virtually inconsoleable. Accidents happen, and with a few stiches everyone will be as good as new!

After that, we hit the party circuit. Mallory went to a birthday picnic in the park for 4 hours and Nicholas went to Amazing Jakes for the same 4 hours! I browsed Michael's Craft store for almost half the time. It was amazing. No one was asking me to buy them random stuff they'll never use, no one was telling me how bored they were after 10 mins, and I was in heaven. A good day! Of course, our weekends with an 11 year old girl would not be complete if there wasn't a sleep over. I can't pick Mallory up from any function any more without her begging to have someone sleep over? I am weak.

Sunday caught us by the pool for some sun. The wind kicked up and the water was waaaayyy too cold for us, but we had snacks and drinks. What else do you need?

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T21:35:00.000-07:00

Mallory & Nick's Easter loot

Madison, The Grand Prize winner!

Sadie on the hunt

Since the holiday fell on a weekend Mallory & Nick were at their Dad's, it was just me and Craig for Easter this year. But the Easter Bunny dropped by our friends house and the children there were so excited to hunt for the eggs. Here are photos from the day, even though none of the kids are actually ours!?

In the evening, when the kids came home they were excited to see that the Bunny had also stopped by our house to leave a little something for them. Nick is in love with his baseball cards, his favorite (and mine) is a really cool white one of Pat Burrell. All black & white, except for his red Phillies batting helmet and his red shoes. It's pretty cool. Maybe, since Papa is pretty tight with Pat, he can get it signed for us?!

Mallory has eaten all of her candy, and has added even more of the posters from her Bop magazine to her bedroom walls! Why would that Easter Bunny bring such a gift?

The Big 3-0!

2008-03-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

Finally, after so many years of waiting, Craig has turned 30. This is a glorious day! The jokes I've endured.. egh. So, please welcome the newest member to the club!

Friday night we celebrated with a few close friends at home, having dinner and birthday cake. The boys went home kind of bitter after getting smoked by the ladies during a game of Scene It. (so competitive?)

Saturday night, I took him to see the Phoenix Suns play the Houston Rockets. In the past, this has been our rivalry team but on this night the Suns led for the whole game by quite a lot. The Suns play an exciting game now that we have Shaq and of course our beloved Steve Nash. We had arena dogs, some cold beer and the Suns won - what a great night!

In times like this you really find out how good your camera is, or isn't. Anyway, this is the closest shot I could get of Shaq. One of his shoes is as big as my torso? He plays really hard, it's amazing that he's only a year older than me. I'm not sure I could run that hard for as long as he does, sometimes a couple nights in a row. Anyway, enough Shaq ramblings...

Happy 30th to Craig! March 24th is a lucky day!

Catch Up Posts

2008-03-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks, I've neglected to post. So, that means I have lots of photos. Probably two weekends ago, Craig and I took a drive to Canyon Lake. He had never been there and we figured that if we could recommend it on our wedding website, we should know how to get there and what it looks like? So, we went on a ROAD TRIP! Anyone in my family or any one of my friends will tell you that I'm no good to anyone on a road trip. After about 15 minutes, the hum of the car will lull me to sleep. This makes me the worst car companion ever. This trip was no different. Craig says I missed a beautiful drive, but I guess I'm more of a final destination girl. Its funny that Mallory and Nicholas are the same way! Here are some of our photos. We got some photos of it when we first arrived, then the camera seized up. Not nice.