Joe and Nan in Chicago!

This is a picture of Sicily when she received the "Terrific Kid" award from her school yesterday! I'm so proud of her! We love you Sicily!

What a fun time we are having!! I know I'm skipping ahead a bit on my blog, but I'm having such a wonderful time here in Chicago with Joe! We flew in last night (Friday) after we got the kids on the plane to Arizona. I am having a GREAT time traveling with Joe--he doesn't even make fun of me when I want to press all the buttons! We got on a train at the airport and then transferred to a taxi when we got closer to our hotel. What fun that was! Complete with a Pakistan driver.........Of course Joe enjoyed talking the "talk" with him!

I'm having a wonderful time meeting all Joe's counterparts he works with from California, Atlanta, and Asia. I can't wait to go the Housewares show tomorrow! Here are some pictures taken from our room and around town.

Joe and the Prowler ride

Crazy Joe decided to take kids on a Prowler ride during the small snow storm that came through Thatcher the day after Christmas. He needed something to cover his ears, so Leslie offered her "Goofy" hat! He did look Goofy, but boy did they have FUN! Of course the fun only lasted until Sicily got bounced around in the back and hit her forehead and ended up needing 8 stitches!! I was so proud of Sicily at the doctors office....she was so brave while she was being taken care of! You'll see her lovely picture with the silver band aid....thanks Dr. Kartchner for sewing her up!

Christmas 2008

What a great time we had this past Christmas! Me and the kids travelled from Arkansas to Arizona and spent a week before Christmas with family and friends. These pictures are of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at my mothers house. Thanks to all who made our vacation simply wonderful! We love you all in Arizona!

The Rampinator

John, with a little help from Joe, was able to build a simple machine for his science class. He called it "The Rampinator". He was pretty proud of his accomplishment, and so was I! Good job John! (Notice the "General Lee" I think that was his favorite part.)

Trimming the Tree

I already knew I wasn't going to be nominated "mother of the year" so I sort of went skimpy on the decorations. We had just gotten home from Thanksgiving in Thatcher, and we were leaving for Christmas in Thatcher in a few short weeks.....so there you have it! Anyway, next year, I vow to be better in the decorating catagory. Joe was so sweet to help me get the tree out and up before he left on business for a few days. I was so proud of the kids....they had a good time and we all had fun!

Christmas Parade

Well I'll start here even though it's a month back. These are pictures of the Christmas Parade in downtown Bentonville. We had such a fun time! I sort of imagined it as a mini Macy's Parade--for those of you who know, that's my DREAM! Anyway, what a day we had, the kids even enjoyed riding camels!