Cousins Camp at the Ranch

Papa and I returned to the ranch today, with Audrey, Dan and Lauren, and Claire, David, Emerson, and Colby in tow.  After a late lunch, everyone went down to the corral to check on the horses.  We rode up the hill in the back of the truck.  We drew a village on the patio with sidewalk chalk.  We collected sticks and started a fire to roast marshmallows.  Lots of "firsts" going on at the ranch!

Lauren Arrives

We picked up Audrey and Lauren at the airport this afternoon.  They will spend the weekend with us.  Lauren turned 1 in early December.  We were happy to see them and Lauren had fun with cousins Emerson and Colby.  We played outside with the remote control race car and playhouse.  

The three of them had a bath together before bedtime.  Cousins Camp begins!

Feeding Giraffes at the Zoo

We went to the Tucson Zoo this morning with Claire's family.  Just after we arrived, there was a Giraffe Encounter, so guests could buy carrots to feed the giraffes.  Emerson had a great time!  None of us had ever been so close to giraffes and certainly never knew their tongues were so long!

There were lots of other animals... elephants, birds, lions, and tigers.  We had a good time!

Playing

Since Emerson and Colby arrived, they are generally confused about where they are and the time of day.  We've taken them individually to the park, My Gym, and played inside and outside, where Emerson loves to "chase the race car."  Papa and I read books to them.  We're having fun!

Party

Emerson wanted to have a party yesterday, so we blew up balloons, got out streamers, Claire made party hats, and we sang Happy Birthday to Mr. Lamb, Emerson's favorite stuffed friend.  Note the yellow party hat on Mr. Lamb.  We had ice cream for dessert and sang one more time.

Emerson & Colby Arrive

Claire, David, Emerson and Colby arrived late last night.  Emerson and Colby 

found the rocky horse this morning.  We're having fun!

Blooming Aloe

We have different varieties of aloe growing in our Tucson yard.  We are enjoying the earliest blooms. 

Guitar Orchestra Concert

Papa and I went to a concert this evening on the University of Arizona campus, with the Tucson Guitar Society Orchestra performing.  The Orchestra had 16 guitarists.  The University of Arizona has a renowned Guitar Studies Program with guitarists from all over the world.  Amongst the soloists tonight were Rafael Bernal Covarrubias, from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.  Rafael has been playing the guitar since he was 10.  At 28, he has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and is about to finish his Ph.D.  Valquiria Pomme performed several voice solos and was extraordinary.  She started her musical studies in Brazil, where she received her bachelor's degree in voice performance in Sao Paulo.  She is currently studying at the University of Arizona and sings with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus.  The most magical piece played during the program was Habanera from the musical, Carmen.  What a fun evening!

Happiness Project

Whitney loaned me a book she read a few months ago, The Happiness Project.  I have been reading it over the past few days and am enjoying it.  I identify with the author, Gretchen Rubin, who was happy when she started The Happiness Project, but wanted to be even happier.  Her Twelve Commandments are easy to apply, but she encourages readers to write their own Commandments.  Her Twelve Commandments:
1.  Be myself!
2.  Let it go.
3.  Act the way I want to feel.
4.  Do it now.
5.  Be polite and be fair.
6.  Enjoy the process.
7.  Spend out.
8.  Identify the problem.
9.  Lighten up.
10. Do what ought to be done.
11. No calculation.
12. There is only love.

Winter Storm

The rainy day in our Tucson neighborhood turned into a big winter storm over most of the southwest!  Papa and I went out for lunch and watched the most magical snowfall for over an hour.  The ground temperature was so warm that not a lot of snow was sticking.  Later in the afternoon, we ran errands down in the valley of Tucson.  As we drove back up into the foothills and got closer to home, the whiter everything was.  Winter wonderland!

Rainy Day in the Neighborhood

We are getting rain and snow in Tucson and snow at the ranch!  

Love the precipitation in the desert!

Pink Blooms in the Backyard

We arrived in Tucson yesterday afternoon to find a cactus in bloom, with circles of pink blossoms.  The prickles of cactus juxtaposed with the paper thin delicate petals of their blooms amaze me. 

Antelope on Warbonnet

As I was leaving the ranch yesterday, a small herd of antelope were near Muleshoe Road, close to a dirt tank on Warbonnet Ranch.  Antelope are beautiful graceful animals !

Daily Deer Sightings

Papa and I see deer every day.  We never grow tired of watching them as they graze, run across a ridge, or jump straight up and over a fence. 

A Load of Hay

Papa went to town to pick up a load of hay for the horses.  Back on the ranch, he unloaded the hay into the barn, and stacked the bales.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Birthday, Granny!  Valentine's Day happens to be my Dad's birthday, so both have forever been intertwined in my mind.  We spent a weekend with Granny in Florida in November.  I love this photo of Granny with Whitney, taken on that trip.

White Out

We woke up to a white out.  We have been in the clouds for most of the morning, with clouds lifting, then shifting lower within minutes.  Everything is covered in snow.  It's a beautiful morning!

Seeing Pope Benedict XVI

Upon hearing of Pope Benedict's resignation from the Papacy today, I am reminded of our one sighting of him.  Papa and I, along with our girls, spent the Christmas holidays of 2005 in Italy.  A few months before we went, I got in touch with the US Embassy and got five tickets to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in St. Peter's Basilica.  The girls arrived in Rome a few hours before we did, and they went to the Embassy to pick up the tickets.  Papa and I arrived a few hours later.  We stayed in a hotel that was formerly a convent, in Vatican City.  Within minutes of arrival, we walked directly to St. Peter's Square, where we stood in line about four hours before Mass began.  By the time we were seated inside St. Peter's, we were quite tired.  Our favorite family photo from the trip is of Papa sleeping through Pope Benedict's first Christmas Eve address.

We spent a couple of days in Rome, then drove to Pompeii.  We stayed on the Amalfi Coast, with spectacular views and a trail to a "Barbarian Gate."  The unfortunate part of the trip was the rain.  It rained 9 of the 11 days of our Christmas visit to Italy!  It didn't slow us down.  We bought umbrellas!