Grandma and Grandpa Jones!

Grandma and Grandpa Jones showed up, and Naomi barely let Grandpa out of her sight after that. She is definitely a Grandpa's girl! Naomi was thrilled to have someone to always walk with her outside, read countless books with her, and play lots of games! We also put Dad right to work fixing the outdoor slide. Thanks, Dad!

We want them to come back! Naomi informs me occasionally that we need to go to Utah to see Grandma and Grandpa.

Jones's visit the International Wildlife Museum

My parents came to Tucson in January, and we were thrilled to have them here! Our first outing was to the International Wildlife Museum, always a fun place for kids and adults. The highlight of this visit was testing our knowledge of animal scat. We could barely tear Naomi away from that exhibit!

Squeaky chairs and leaves

A couple weeks ago, I discovered that the kitchen chair I was sitting in made a squeaking sound when I shifted my weight. Here's the conversation that ensued:

******************************

Val: Naomi, listen to this squeak!

Naomi: Wow! (She moves around in her chair.) My chair doesn't make that sound.

Val: We'll have to get Daddy to fix the chair.

Naomi: Yes, Daddy will fix my chair so it makes a squeak!

******************************

It's quite literally amazing to watch this little person who is filled with joy by picking up leaves, having a balloon, hearing a squeaky chair. Perhaps I should simplify my requirements for happiness!

Little Critter comes to Tucson!

We love reading books, and Little Critter is a character Naomi loves. And, lucky for us, Little Critter recently made an appearance at the UofA bookstore!

Waiting in line to have one-on-one time with Little Critter!

Giving high fives:

Naomi just can't take her eyes off Little Critter! Gabe, on the other hand, wonders why on earth we are standing next to this large furry blue thing.

Tuesday

Tuesday was a bit odd. Here are the highlights:

• In the morning while driving the van, I ran over a headphones jack. It stuck in the tire.
• When attempting to pull it out to see if it did any damage, it broke.
• When attempting to change the tire, I discovered I had no tire iron/lugnut wrench
• After borrowing one from someone in the parking lot and jacking the van up, I discovered I did not have the tools to get the spare off the bottom of the van
• I took Naomi to McDonald's while the tire store was repairing the tire; dropped her ice cream cone on the floor
• While taking the tray to the table, the water cup spilled and sloshed all over the tray, the food, my shirt, and the floor
• I slipped in the water and dropped Naomi's replacement cone on the table (it was salvageable)

Luckily I had a great friend helping me out in the parking lot (of course, we had 4 kids between the 2 of us, which kept things entertaining!). And things picked up a bit in the late afternoon and evening. :)

I'm just super-friendly!!

I am part of a moms group in Tucson, and at some events they provide us with nametags. Like the lovely nametag I am modeling above. This particular one was given to me at an event Friday morning. Matt pointed it out to me tonight. Yes, tonight is Monday. And I have been wearing this jacket all weekend. I'm sooo glad all those folks in spin class at 5:15 A.M. knew my name while I was warming up...oh, and I spent awhile in WalMart, too!

What is life, if it is not entertaining?