Happy New Year!

Boy, I really haven't posted for a while. That is very, very bad of me. Part of my excuse is my camera has needed a new rechargable battery so I haven't been able to take many pictures. So let's see if I can catch everyone up a little.

In November for American Thanksgiving we ran away to Vegas for two nights with the kids. Above is a picture of a small Joshua tree. I guess you don't need to go to Joshua Tree National Park in California to see them cause there were tons on the way to Vegas.

This was my very first visit to Vegas, that's really sad considering how close we are. Now that I had so much fun there I don't think Ted will be allowed to go back now without me (he is there constantly for work or conventions). Ted and my big hightlight was seeing David Copperfield from the front row. I TOUCHED DAVID COPPERFIELD. Yeah, just a little exciting. He was so much fun to watch.

All the walking we did there makes me have to ask you all, does your husband walk a mile in front of you? I actually lost Ted a couple of times. Is there something wrong with me or is this a guy thing? Sorry babe, love you tons but that really drives me nuts. I did find when I was dressed up then he was right by my side. Hmmm, might have to keep that in mind.

The kids loved seeing the Lions and the MGM Grand where we stayed and visiting the M&M store as well as the Shark Reef exhibit. Even Isi didn't want to go home when all was said and done.
Can you believe there is actually a place called 'Nothing' on the way up to Vegas? Arizona is full of quirky places like this. My favorite sign still has to be the 'Krusty Kafe' on the way to Flagstaff.
Here I am posing in our hotel in Vegas with my fake hair. I love it! This is my kind of hair, looks fantastic and it only takes two minutes. I thought for sure David Copperfield would call me up on stage and my hair would fall out ( part of the reason his show is so fun is he has a ton of audience participation).
The only picture of something crafty we have done lately is this photo of Hera and her pop tab necklace. Athena made herself a belt. They both turned out really cool and were a big hit at school so they were very busy making many extras for their friends. I have actually completed a few other projects and will try and get some pictures up soon.
Christmas was very quiet here and I really missed everyone. Our big hightlight over the holidays was taking the kids up skiing and sledding in Flagstaff for the day which is just over a two hour drive from here. Going from sea level to 9,000 feet in a couple of hours can definitely make you feel a little weird. It was so sweet of Ted to take us up and let me test out my new skis while he played with Isi. I must have been an extra special girl this year to deserve him going out of the way so much for me for a day.

Now it's back to a regular schedule which included a major chore schedule overhaul cause things around here are getting disgusting. I have all the help I need but am not the best at delegating so I finally put together a weekly sheet of what needs to be done everyday. So far it's working awesome and my house is livable again. If you ever want to make your own window cleaner use 1 pint rubbing alcohol, 1/2 cup sudsy amonia, tsp of dish soap and add water to make a gallon (I rinsed out a milk jug). This concoction works awesome! I got so carried away doing windows I did a good chunk of even the outside ones yesterday in barefeet and a t-shirt. Yup, barefeet and a t-shirt in January, I love it here this time of year!

As nice as it is here this time of year we do really want to move back to Seattle. Still have no idea when we'll be able to make that work but we are working on it.

Sending out lot's of love and looking forward to a New Year,

The Sfikas Family

PS. I won the coin in the New Years cake for the second year in a row! I must be a very lucky girl.

Happy, Happy!

It's a big, big Happy 4th Birthday for Isi. She let's us know everyday that she is a big girl. Now I just need her to understand why she still needs a car seat. We had a small party for her at the house and below is her good friend Harrison from swim class. She was very cute with him holding his hand and showing him all over the house. She even gave him a nice big hug and told him she loved him when it was time to go home. Too cute!
Athena had a few of her girl friends over and they were a great help and also in charge of the video camera. I haven't even viewed what is on the camera yet, hmmm, could be interesting.

We held Isi's party on Sunday since Saturday the girls were trying out for the travel soccer teams. Both made it!! Hera has turned out to be a little soccer pro. She scored two goals her first game ever!! The girls are also in the Drama club at school and will have roles in 'Alice in Wonderland'.
Along with planning Isi's party I made this cake for our shop owner at work since it was also her birthday and she owns four Dachshunds. I am definitely getting better at the whole cake decorating thing.
Isi is posing in her new outfit from Gramma.
I actually wore this outfit to work, Clara stayed home though cause Saturday's are too busy to bring her. My wig matched her much better when she was first colored. I washed her yesterday and she is still pink, I hope I don't have to cut it all off!!

The other big news her is we have been given and accepted another dog. Yes I have lost my mind, although that happened long time ago. His name is Murphy and he is a two year old Wheaten. He fits right in and is a good pup.

That's it for now. Time to go and clean some dogs.

Miss everyone! Time to think of making a trip down, it's beautiful this time of year.

All our love,

The Sfikas Family

We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

We actually had a really crappy day here last Saturday along with a rare Saturday that I do not work so we went to the zoo. We stopped by Walmart on our way to the Phoenix Zoo and grabbed umbrellas along with a really cute pair of bright pink boots for Isi and prepared ourselves to get wet. We couldn't have gone on a better day. The animals were all out because of the cool weather and it only sprinkled for a short time only when we first got there. I feel like zoo pics are so cliche but then I get there and I have to have a picture of everything, especially the lions because they are never out. I plan to post more of our pictures on facebook sometime soon. (See, I have to write that to put pressure on myself to actually do it).

I did actually have a backup plan if the weather didn't let up a little. We were driving in the middle of massive lightning and thunder, thank goodness the storm had already started moving north.
I have finally finished a knitting project!! I refuse to tell any of you how long this tank took me to make. The material is really soft however I might just take out the tie. Because of the yarn adding bulk to my waist on top of being very small busted I look like I have no waist. Maybe I'll try some dark ribbon and a little contrast might work. I was wearing shorts in the photo but I had to chop my legs out otherwise you would have needed sunglasses to look at me, yup, that white.
Clara was also another recent project since I was practicing her haircut and blendin her shorter back into her longer legs. I was thinking of entering a competition coming up in October but I haven't decided fully yet if I am going to chicken out or not. I think I would like to watch one or two more competitions before entering one. We'll see.

I try to keep the girls sewing something now and then and these are lunch bags they made for school out of scrape material we had kicking around. They were a lot of fun and super easy. I added velcro to press the top together along with a strip down the back so they can fold up their bags and keep their lunch from moving around as little as possible.

Isi is becoming such a big girl we decided it was time to move her into a big girl bed. So much for doing this over the weekend because it has become a huge pain in the rear. This all started because we bought a crib that converts to a full size bed. We had to go to Babies R Us for rails which they couldn't get us because they don't make our crib anymore. We were told to hit up the mattress store for something that might work. Ted brought the head board with him to make sure we got what we needed. Well, the mattress store got us a mattress and then we had to special order a small box spring because we didn't want her bed too high. We then had to go back to Babies R Us and show them the head board because they are the only ones that can possibly have rails to fit the slots in the bed. Of course now the rails also have to be special ordered. To top things off I ordered bedding on line and of course some things are backordered!! So, for potentially one to two months Isi will be sleeping on her awesome mattress on the floor in her room. Lesson learned, buy all the stupid pieces of furniture up front even if they seem minor!!

Yasas from all of us,

Charmaine

It's official, I finally have too much on my plate! As long as I can keep everything organized I do love all the activities I have been able to keep the kids busy with over the summer. I still can't believe the whole summer is gone and the kids are starting their second week of school already. Athena started 8th grade and Hera 6th, Hera is also in Sage math.

We started off with Birthday parties and sleepovers galore in June. Of course tons of swimming also not just us but dogs too. Even Clara was getting in the pool. Notice below that Clara when done swimming still has a dry head and no yard debris stuck to her then there is Jackson. The stuff stuck in Jackson also has prickles and I have to remove every tiny bit every time he swims. Why can't he just shake and roll in the grass like a normal dog??

The woman who trained me in grooming had her 50th birthday this year so I made her this special t-shirt to wear for the day. When I started I had a hard time doing anal glands and she would have to do it all the time, (didn't help the way she does it I still can't do, I had to finally develop my own technique) so it became a joke the she was Queen BS (Butt Squeezer).
Hera was part of a fantastic cooking camp this summer and came home with the best recipes. Below we are enjoying homemade doughnuts. I have never made homemade doughnuts before and thank goodness they take so long to make otherwise I could get very large off of these. Hera continues to pick a couple of recipes every week to make at home and helps keep everyone fed while I am at work. Have I mentioned how much I love that I have girls??
Athena spent her summer learning to play guitar and has a gorgeous one that was a birthday present from gramps. She really enjoys it and I look forward to looking for more lessons once we get a little more settled in our school routine.
Isi spent her summer taking swimming classes and low and behold the girl swims already only doing one class a week. She would swim every day if she could. We are very proud of her and she is already signed up for classes all the way through December.

We have decided to put dance on the shelf for now due to how expensive it is and to try new stuff so Hera has joined Athena playing soccer. The girls spent their first week back at school also going to soccer camp every night for 2 1/2 hours all five days. They had a blast along with all the blisters, bruises, aches and pains. Hopefully their practices will land on the same nights so I don't have to make too many trips in the evenings.

Athena has taken her soccer skills one step further and is taking a class to be a referee along with some of her friends. I like those friends!

That is most of what we have been up to lately. Ted still is loving his new job at CA and has been traveling to a new city, Salt Lake City to to some work for the Church of Latter Day Saints. As for me I am busy with the same old stuff and am trying to put aside a little time most days for craft projects. With everyone's busy schedule that is what I am missing the most these days.

We'll be in touch sooner,

I miss everyone tons,

Charmaine

June 2009 Recital!

I can't believe we are almost through with June and I am already making plans for July. Our biggest highlight so far this month has been the much anticipated dance recital. This took up two whole days, one for rehearsals, the second for the two shows the kids put on. Hera and Isi both took part in the first show and as for the late show only Hera needed to be there for one of the dances. Below I am starting the loooong process of getting the girls stage makeup on. Thank goodness they just had simple hairdos. Anyone have any secrets to get a 3 year old to hold still for makeup??

I had to catch the moment before anyone wrecked all my hard work.

Ready to go! I dressed the girls once we got there and still Hera managed to put a run in her tights. Thankfully one of the ladies from the dance studio had extras she could sell me.

Isi actually wanted the lime green so she could be like Tinkerbell.

At the recital we were given the pictures the girls had done the month before. I love them!

I think the color was off for Isi's. Doesn't that look like purple instead of pink?

Everyone else is doing great. Athena finished the school year with honor three quarters and principals list last quarter (straight A's ). She is now taking guitar lessons and celebrates her 13th birthday this Saturday. I officially have a teen in the house, yikes!

Isi has started swimming classes and doesn't particularly like them. She can only handle being dunked so many times before she starts to lose it. I'll feel a lot better when she can swim a little on her own since we have the pool so she is just going to have to suffer for a little while.

Hera finished 5th grade with straight A's for the entire year and will be starting advanced math when school starts up again. She starts Art class today for the summer! She is my crafty one and I look forward to posting her creations here pretty quick.

Ted has his cast off already and can now swim. I am sure he is enjoying a cool week in Denver right now. Wish he would have taken us with him.

As for me, I have caught everyone up on dentists, and eye doctors. I am looking forward to a few slower weekends ahead. Hmmmm, might be time for a neighborhood BBQ.

Stay cool,

Love Charmaine and Family

The Story!

This is how it all went down....
Friday night was the planned business/friend/date night and we were having a couple pick us up to meet another couple at this very trendy place in Scottsdale called Saporos for Sushi (I'll admit it, there were actually a few things I almost liked). After getting home from work I held everyone up cause I was late! I hate being late! As we finally left the house we merged onto the major freeway here ( 101 ) only to land behind a mini van that was swerving back and forth across three lanes of traffic. This made me yell at Ted to phone the cops before she killed someone. We honked the horn and were having heart attacks every time she almost hit someone or a cement barricade but she wouldn't pull over. Well of course Ted is saying things like 'there she goes, she's gonna crash', then she somehow swerved at the last second saving herself. Apparently this is not what dispatchers like to hear and told Ted very, very firmly, ' Sir, please keep it to new relevant information please'. We then follow the woman off the freeway and she actually stopped at the red light where we discovered her temporary license plate was very expired. Ted asks the dispatcher, 'Should I jump into her car and stop her?? Can I make a citizens arrest??'. (Of course not!!!! Heaven only knows what she keeps trying to dig for under the seat). I think part of Ted was really liking our little chase. As soon as the light turned green, crazy lady was speeding down the street and made it two blocks before finally rear ending someone. My nurse friend and I checked on everyone and Ted reaches into crazy lady's car and takes her keys. Finally police show up and we tell them the whole story. Thank goodness the woman of the car hit was fine, just shaken up cause someone very easily could have died. The crazy lady kept reaching for something on the floor which we later saw was a crack pipe. She also had prescription drugs all over the passenger seat and had been drinking. She also had several different peoples identities and had no clue where she even was.
Crazy or what!?
Needless to say this made us very late for diner but we had a wonderful evening with friends along with a very needed extra drink for those of us not driving.

Drive safe and please, no citizen arrests.
Love Charmaine

The Heat Is On!

It is 110 degrees today, 43 degrees Celsius, yuck!! It's too early to be this hot already. At least it means we can swim and I look forward to doing just that a little later on today.

I don't have a lot of pictures to share but the ones above are of Athena's and my little trip to Durango, Colorado for her last soccer tournament of the season. What a beautiful little place. It was an 8 hour drive that we shared with another mom and the teams awesome goalie, I never could have made it on my own. The girls played awesome and tied for first place taking home second place medals due to the team they tied was the only team they lost to. It was pretty exciting, the girls can be pretty rough. Athena had forgot her cleats at home so we had to buy her new, expensive ones and everyone teased her all weekend that she must have played so well due to them.

A few days before we left for Durango Ted decided to break his arm in his first real hockey game. The poor guy calls me on his way to the hospital and I was already in bed. By the second time he called I thought I better check what was up. Being so sweet I left him a message on his phone and went back to bed, am I a nice wife or what?? We were worried he may have to have surgery because the bone broke in two places but in the end things were going to heal just fine on there own. The really crazy thing is that the guy he hit (hit him??) met up with Ted in the hospital emergency room with a broken arm of his own! Ted's coach can't believe it, he has never seen anything like that. Ted should be able to have the cast removed in about a month. He is the first one to break a bone in our household and hopefully the only one.

Hera and Isi are doing great. They had dance pictures the other day which required an hour of makeup and hair before I went to work. Hera even was required to wear fake eyelashes, first time I did that and actually was pretty easy. Also doing a three year olds makeup is not easy especially since she wants to be done after about five minutes. Can't wait to see how there pictures turned out. You can't imagine how bad I wish I had a chance to take a few of my own. I'll at least have another chance at the recital next month.

This is the girls last week of school already. Athena is having her birthday party next weekend since some of her friends won't be around this summer. Do you think I have anything ready yet?? Better start some lists. I have also procrastinated big time on some summer camps. Hopefully I can still get the girls in their chosen activities. Hera wants to do art and take some cooking classes, Athena wants to play guitar and Isi I want to put into swimming. We'll find out soon enough what I get done.

Chat more soon!

Love The Sfikas Family