Bear Down, Arizona

Scotty and I were able to go to the U of A football game vs. Cal on Saturday night. Derrick helps with the home football broadcasts and was given 2 sets of season tickets. We spread the love and gave some to friends and some to family. Scotty and I went to one last month but I didn't get any pictures. Saleem and Palmer were going to come to this game but changed their minds last minute so Scotty and I got to go again!

Scotty loves going to the "Go, Cats, Go" game and LOVES to sit and eat popcorn and drink soda while watching. Even better, he gets a ticket and Scotty LOVES tickets (see pic below.) Scotty started getting fidgety right before half time so that's when we left the game. The Cats were trailing at that point. We went to wander stores until the game was over and it was time to go get Derrick. I turned on the radio to see if I could find out how much time was left and heard the score. We had definately gone to the wrong half of the game. The second half would have been soooo exciting.

The outcome: Arizona 42 - Cal 27!!!!!

YEAH!

My parents get to go to the game against USC this weekend. They get to brave the sold out crowds. Hopefully the Cats won't get killed by the Trojans (yes, we are Trojan fans too but we bleed red and blue!)

Diana

Since we were in Gilbert, Scotty and I drove to Glendale to visit my friend Diana (Cathcart) Thompson. It was fun to see her and let the kids play.

Here is Diana and her little girl Adalyn

Diana and I have been friends for a long time. My family moved to Willcox in 1991 and that is when I first met Diana. I remember the first couple of times that we saw each other. One was at a mother/daughter homemaking night. The next I remember more clearly. There was a dance for YM/YW. I remember sitting with Diana and her telling me about the boy she had a HUGE crush on (J.A.) and then seeing him for the first time. I remember how nice she was to me when most of the LDS kids our age were not. We didn't become really good friends until High School though. We had some really fun times. Freshman volleyball, "cruising" with Beth in her sweet car at lunch time, working together at Bushman Clinic, hiking with friends, weekend get-togethers, making Christmas cards and goodies for the truckers stuck at the truck stop on Christmas Eve, girl talk, sharing crushes, etc. We both went to EAC and were roommates there for the first year. We had some fun and crazy times. I mean CRAZY!!! I haven't always been a great friend and I'm terrible at keeping in contact with people. Diana has called me and contacted me so many times over the years even when I've been so terrible at calling (sorry!) It was so good to see her and to get to spend a couple of hours visiting with her. I wish I had a scanner so I could scan some pictures of us from the good old days. Thanks Diana for all the years of friendship and for putting up with me!

Fun at the Park

Scotty and I were in Gilbert again last week to house and dog sit for Derrick's mom. We met up with Brianne, Rigley and Dalton at the park (San Tan Mall.) Scotty was so excited to see his cousin Rigley and to be able to play at a cool park (since there's not a cool park here!)

Scotty and Rigley

Handsome Cousins
When we first got there, Scotty made fast friends with this little boy (in below pic.) I wish I had a picture of this little boy's face because he was the older boy version of Scotty's little cousin Salem. This little boy looked just like her except he has hair and is bigger!
Scotty loved this Caterpillar

Introducing..................

Simply Sunshine Ray

A Collection of Creations

www.simplysunshineray.blogspot.com

I just want to thank everyone for your input and help. I'm finally getting around to setting up the blog. I haven't had time to do anything with it yet. So, I just put up some pictures of some things I have made. The ones showing right now are not for sale but orders can be made. There is a craft fair at the hospital in Nogales tomorrow. I, along with my friends Sarah and Holly, will be selling our homemade goods there. Sarah makes fleece blankets/quilts, Holly makes adorable hair clips for girls and I will be selling a spread of various homemade items. I'm hoping to sell a lot of stuff tomorrow but if not, fun times sitting around chatting with friends. As soon as the craft fair is over, I will be heading to Gilbert to house sit/dog sit. I will be without Internet until next Thursday. So, I'll post any items that I didn't sell at the craft fair after I get back. And, I'll try to bring some life to the blog as well. So, keep checking in and I'd LOVE it if you happen to want to put the above link on your blog (hint, hint.) Once I get everything set up and going, I'll be having occasional giveaways! I know everyone likes free stuff! So, keep checking in.

Great Imagination

On Saturday night, I had just gotten Scotty ready for bed and let him go play for a little while before we went to read stories. He went into the other room and then ran back in and said in a very excited voice, "Look momma, I'm Buzz Lightyear!" I turned around and saw this: With just a box on his head, he miraculously becomes Buzz Lightyear!

One Heck of a Weekend

Last weekend (19th-21st) Scotty and I went to Gilbert to watch Derrick's little brother and sister while his mom went to a wedding. Scotty's grandma was so nice to him and gave him this "so cool" hat. Scotty had fun dressing up and playing "superheros" with it all weekend. Since the hat is a Trojan hat AND is USC colors, since we've been home, Derrick has taught Scotty to do the USC fight song while making the "V for victory" sign with his fingers. They have a lot of fun with that one. While we were there, Scotty was able to get his dog fix. He LOVES playing with Bella. I'm sure Bella was glad to have a break when we left. Scotty loved tackling and wrestling her, lining up all the toys around her, and his favorite...............making her get in her cage and then crawling in with her. Scotty and Bella spent a lot of time either playing in the cage or snuggling on Bella's doggy bed.
Scotty also got to spend time with Cierra and Kerry. They were off playing with friends or doing chores a lot of the time but Scotty did get to play with them a little. Cierra and Kerry are both really good about playing with Scotty and trying to entertain him. Here's a pic of Cierra and Scotty having some pre-bedtime fun!
Over the weekend, I had a few close calls with anxiety attacks. While I was there, I was doing a lot of sewing. The tension on my sewing machine kept messing up. I was making the below apron and I kept having to re-do things over and over because of my machine. It probably took me AT LEAST 3 times the amount of time it should have taken. So, between being pissed at my machine, the kids sneaking, lying, etc, and Scotty constantly going out the doggy door and throwing the dog food all over the kitchen, I was on the verge of a break down.
So, to make it all better, on my way out of town, I stopped and purchased this:
A new sewing machine............AND it's an electronic one with a drop in bobbin. I'm so excited and so far, it has treated me perfectly!! If I hadn't had the problems with my machine, it would have been so much easier to deal with all of those other things (at least, that's what I keep telling my self!)

Once again, I'm asking for your help

A few posts ago, I wrote about starting a mini sew from home business selling bags/diaper bags, burp cloths, aprons, nursing covers, hooded bath towels, etc. I haven't yet started a blog or decided on a name for said "mini" business. I have been working hard on some custom orders and have sold a few items (I fall in love with each one and then I'm sad to see them go when they do.) I still have two more orders to complete and then I'll be ready to really set everything up. I'm excited to post pictures of the items I have all ready finished and introduce everyone to my new blog. The help that I need is..............I can't decide on a name. I didn't want to go with something that has my name in it, so I was thinking of old nicknames. One of my faves is Sunshine-Ray. It has a fun story to go with it. Another (abbreviated) is L.B.P. So, I'm going to add a poll on my blog so that you can vote for your favorite name. OR......if you have another suggestion, I'd love to hear it in my comments. If you are reading this and I don't know you very well or I don't know that you occasionally check my postings, please still vote or let me know what you think. I've been trying to decide for way too long!

Now, quickly I'll tell how I received the nickname Sunshine-ray. I was living in an apartment in Gilbert with 3 other girls. We invited some guys over to our place for a get together. They showed up..................with some other girls. AND, girls we didn't even know. We were slightly irritated that these girls were in our apt. and even more irritated that the guys we invited thought it would be okay to spring more guests (yes, competition) on us without telling us. So we were pretty much ignoring these girls and acting like terrible hostess'. One of the girls asked me my name and I told her. She said in her nasally voice, "If I were your friend, I'd call you Sunshine-ray!" My roomie Hootie and I looked at each other and then went to talk trash about the girl. Hootie started calling me by that name as a joke and then it just stuck.

Okay, stupid story but please, go vote NOW!!!