Passport to the World!

Oh yeah!!! My new Santa!! I received this gift from Jenni and Justin today and I couldn't be happier with it! Awesome. We are so excited we can't stand it. Thank you Jenni and Justin for such a thoughtful gift! I just thought yesterday, man I won't be able to go and get a Christmas Santa this year! I do collect these and every year I try to buy one that represents what we are facing that year. I'll post pictures of all of them someday. Merry Christmas to all - our hope is that everyone has the best of holidays, remembers your blessings, and enjoy each and every moment you are spending with your families. Love to all. CJ & RD

Disneyland

Here's some pictures!

Thanksgiving!

Even though this is the first year I was without either one of my kids for Thanksgiving, it turned out to be a very nice weekend. We woke up early (enough) on Thursday morning and drove to CA for dinner at the Gonzales house. It was magnificent! We got there around 12:30 and had time to chat, help with cooking and even Skype with Jenni & Justin! Tiff and Kyle called and everyone seemed to be having a very good day. J & J didn't celebrate of course in Poland, but she thinks she'll cook up a turkey in the coming weeks. Tiffany was getting to meet the rest of Kyles family and attending the annual high school football game on Thanksgiving day. It was very generous of Kyle's dad to fly them out there for a surprise to his mom. I taught Brenda how to make homemade gravy and she taught me how to make cranberries- both of which we were taught by Barbara! Barbara doesn't even hardly cook anymore - and she should! She's pretty good at it.

Ok I will try and attach pictures. This is the 10th try! Enjoy!

Well Ok not really!

I just rented her for the night but she's so cute! A true boxer personality too. I just wanted Bob to see it while he was out of town....hahahha

My New Dog!!!

I finally won the argument!!!! Take a look at my new pup!!!!

Happy Voting Day! Here's a picture of Tiffany voting in her first presidential election!

Hello to All!

 The windows are open!!!! Yippee!!! Unless you live in this heat state, you don't understand our excitement. Fresh air pouring in, no air conditioning, cheap electric bills, the sound of birds, the waterfall, the wind....I could go on and on. I love it. Reminds me of springtime in Michigan. You have a little bit more pep in your step during these months. I wish they lasted forever. No complaining about heat though for 8 more months. We made it through one more miserable summer AND we moved all three of us. Shoot.

Well, like everyone else, we are highly awaiting the outcome of the soon to be election. I have never been so glued to CNN as I have these past 3 weeks. It's made me very frustrated with our politicians. I met a boy at school who is the son of a prominent leader in our community. We talked politics for a bit and his young impression, living in a home of a "good name" leader, was that all politicians were crooks. Makes you just sigh and hope the future for our kids and grandkids will be ok. Make sure you vote.

This will be Tiffany's first presidential election. We did not opt for the early ballot  because she wants to go to the polls. So, when you see the lines - think of us - we will be making friends and perhaps serving soda (haha - what a great idea eh?) with all proceeds going to a childrens home I think....hmmmm......I figure we will be there awhile.

The day the stock market took it's first fall, I received an email from the Naval Academy and they cancelled my visit due to "budget cuts". I was very disappointed. Bob did go to Michigan for a week and had a wonderful time with Mike, as always. They golfed alot and he got to spend some great time with his nieces.

Here's a picture of Laurie, ready for the fireworks at an outdoor concert we went to. She's such a crackup, I lost it and still do when I look at this picture. Picture the band stating that the fireworks were starting and she immediately took the sides of her chair and FLEW back to this position. Hilarious!

Hey mom, Mr. Elliott, Diane, and all - you need to update your blogs!!! 

October already!

Wow October. Seems like this summer was very long and HOT. Today it actually sprinkled and the weather stayed in the low 90's. What a relief! We just got back this afternoon after spending a few days up in the red rock country - celebrating 30 years together. Who would have thunk it. I know some that didn't think we'd last too! I think we'll be ok......at this stage we just smile at each other and say "it tis what it tis" and laugh. 

I had a wonderful time in Southern California earlier this week with Brenda, Barbara and Amy. Thank you Barbara for putting it together that we actually had time off at the same time! Thanks so much to Amy for allowing us to invade her home too! What's more, thanks to Brenda for not even hesitating to take time off during our visit for her sick daughter. The day hanging out together was just what the doctor ordered. :-)

The next few weeks will be very busy for us. Bob travels for a week, then I travel for a week, then bob travels for a few more days, then before you know it it's Thanksgiving and the festivities begin!

Barbara has posted all the same pictures pretty much that I have so I won't duplicate them. Enjoy the blogging - nice to see so many on board - excellent way to stay in touch! Till next time - chow!

Mid Week Blues

Hi Everyone,

So it's mid-week of a grueling week of work for both of us. Can't wait till Friday is over. Not much new on the homefront - holding on until I get a break from work - next week on Friday it's party time. I am one of the lucky ones - every 9 weeks I get two weeks off. I feel like I am living in Australia sometimes - they do have the best vacation policies I've ever heard of. Before you all think it's a piece of cake - try working with 14-17 year olds everyday and you'll appreciate the time off just as much. I do cherish those two weeks off, it gets me grounded again.

Tiffany and Kyle went to Vegas last weekend - we gotta get her to start blogging! They had a great time and Kyle actually doubled his money at the roulette table (ok so he bet once and won and left - smart man). Them being away, gave Bob and I a weekend alone without the kids - the first at home in many years. We spent it relaxing, still unpacking - I don't think it will ever end - and of course golfing (1/2 of us).

Our weather in Arizona is finally just starting to give us a hint of cooler weather. The days are still hot but the evenings and especially the early mornings are absolutely wonderful. THAT alone is reason for a two week break! Our bike tires are pumped up and ready to be used very soon. Can hardly wait.

Missing Jenni and Justin terribly but excited because we do get to chat very often. It definitely helps. I love hearing their stories - check out their blog if you haven't.  If you have a video cam and want to know how to video conference them, just email me.  

Tiffany has been good - calling me everyday and she even came over for a free dinner last night and her and Kyle are coming over for a free dinner tomorrow night........hmmmmm wait a second......hahaha.

Hope all is well with all of you. Chow for now!

They made it - bags finally made it!

Ok just to update everyone looking at the blog, they made it to Poland after having a 3+ hour delay in their flight and then as Jenni put it "running till you felt like puking" in the airport in Chicago. They barely made their flight-last ones, but they did! Their bags finally caught up with them Sunday - totally destroyed. She said they probably cannot use them again. The bikes came in ok - Justin's box was trashed but hers was ok. He took out all his pieces and it looks like all is there and fine. Here's a picture of what they took. 

We've skyped about 3 times already, and it's like they are in our living room with us. I love it. Thanks goodness for the internet. They already have company too! Their friend they went to school with is in Poland for a few days, on his way to Bosnia to teach at a University there. 

Tiff and Kyle came over for dinner today and pool time. That was nice. Kyle turns 21 this Tuesday and on Friday they are on their way to Las Vegas. His parents from Boston are meeting them there. We will look into it and see if we can go too for one night. 

We've spent the weekend relaxing, finally cleaning the house and trying to feel like we are back on a regular schedule. It seems like such a long time since we've felt that. All I need now to finish things up is a puppy......an ongoing discussion.

Here's a nice picture of all of us  

Final Weekend Fun!

So everything lately has been - yeah yeah take a picture I'll put it on my blog! haha. I'm getting a little carried away but having fun! Here's a nice picture of the four of us going out for Jenni's last yummy margarita. She is assuming they may not quite have her favorite drink down pat in the Motherland! Justin - well he's going to be in his glory with different beers from around the world.

Here's some pictures of our fun evening with the Meyers. People say bob is soooo dark.....hahaha.

Getting Ready to Leave!

For the 4th time in his life (according to Justin) he decided to shave his hair off! Not wanting to deal with haircuts for a bit, he sat in the chair after Bob's haircut yesterday and said DO IT. We had fun with it - choosing different types of styles along the way. He was a trooper with us playing. He's still cute too!

The Perfect Storm

Well it's all over the news and it was a doozie! The storm of the century - well at least in the last 10 years. Here's some pictures - these are all taken about 3 blocks from Tiffanys apartment. We had lots and lots of rain and lightening struck about 1/2 mile from our house but we came through with no damage. Crazy 100 mph winds did all of this right on ASU's campus.

Me and Laurie - didn't know we were going to dress the same!
Bob and Carol at Justins Going Away Party at work. This was done in the "myspace" format!

They moved back home!

Ok so they do move back home - all my friends warned me about this. haha. Last weekend (8/17) Tiffany moved out of her apartment and into a new one with a new roommate. Luckily for us, her boyfriend and friends moved her. I think she got it (ok maybe we complained a little too much) that moving in 110 degrees EVERY summer has not been fun! We got to help a little but with fun stuff. Jenni and Justin moved last weekend (8/22) and in with us until the big leave. They had a lot of wonderful help and we showed up near the end, in time for Bob to sweat a bit! He should have gotten a later tee time. haha.

Tonight was home made chicken pot pies. Bob and I will be as big as a house in 9 days when they leave if she continues to cook like that every night. Absolutely delicious!!! 

Tiffany started her fourth year of college at ASU today. She was very lucky - she wanted a teacher to do an override on a much needed class for her degree and everyone needed to put their name in the teachers briefcase and hope to be one of 3 out of 10 that got picked. She was very happy to tell me she was picked so she got to take the class. Excellent. MAYBE she could actually graduate a semester early??? No. Oh well, better than a semester later. I'm very proud of her and her hard work lately. She's amazed me at her knowledge of anatomy now. 

I'm happy to hear I am a great aunt again - sharing the special "23" birthday number with me, Jenni, Justin and a TON of other people we know. It's a great day!  We hope and pray for Erika's speedy recovery and the three of them are home soon to start their daily lives together. Hang in there Erika and Andrew - from someone that knows, it's a tough road to cross when your health is in trouble, but there are amazing doctors out there and we just know she will be ok.  We will think only positive thoughts.

I am excited that I have also gotten HOOKED on video conferencing. Jimi Lyon and I were crying we were laughing so hard. Just love my new computer too.

Pictures soon to come!

I took the plunge!

So I've been contemplating a new computer this year. My 4-5 year old desktop has been giving me some grief. I read some articles on laptops, saw what my kids had, friends had, etc. I just kept hearing the same thing - get a mac.

Well I did! I bought a macbook today. It has a video camera built in and seems like a pretty darn simple machine. I love the keyboard, nice touch, love the wireless capabilities too! 

When you purchase a macbook because it's school season, you also get a free printer and a free touch screen ipod! Now thats fun! All these new toys, I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight.

I think I'm going to be saying bye bye to the windows experience. This really is fun.

I'm figuring this out

Ok in the last 30 minutes I've been on plaxo, facebook and blogging. I have determined I like the blogging better. It's very easy. I have added the family blogs that I know of. Easy way to update and read. Amy you can add mine to yours. I just kept looking around for how you did it and finally found it.

School this week has been trecherous. I am not doing my job this week, but instead helping the registrar register new kids. The family stories are unbelievable. There are so many messed up families out there, it blows my mind. If you are reading this and raising children, please make them a priority. It makes all the difference in the world. When you don't, they know it and nothing becomes a priority for them. It's just sad. Oh yeah and yelling at your kids in a huge crowd= not cool. You don't look like an "in control" parent, just like a jerk.

That being said, I'm going to go veg for the night.

Our New House

Hello Everyone!
Here's a video of our new house! Enjoy - we sure are! Know that you are all invited to visit anytime!
Bob & Carol

First Blog

Ok I'm doin it! Looks like a good place to update everyone at once! If my mother can figure this out, I can too! I'm not promising new stuff often, just when needed. So far, this is the best place I can find to update everyone, if an update is needed.