Congratulations Troy and family!

Troy was just named as the new Quarterback Coach at University of Arkansas Monticello! Go Boll Weevils! For those of you non-Southerners who don't know what a Boll Weevil is, I cut and pasted the following paragraph off of UA Monticello's website. The Boll Weevil really shaped the history of the South. Read on and you will see why. It forced cotton growers to diversify and start growing peanuts. The South is still a huge exporter of peanuts to this day, and the Southern diet consists largely of peanuts as well. My personal favorite is the boiled peanut - YUMMY!


One of the most frequently asked questions about UAM athletics concerns our mascot. The Boll Weevil is one of the most unusual mascots in college athletics and the subject of much confusion (mostly among Yankees). The Boll Weevil is a small gray insect that can wipe out a cotton crop in the blink of an eye. When UAM was founded in 1909, cotton was still king in Arkansas and the Boll Weevil was the most dreaded pest in the South. UAM’s early students, most of them the sons and daughters of delta cotton planters, selected the Boll Weevil as their mascot in admiration of its toughness and the fear it caused among farmers. It’s been said that the Boll Weevil is the only thing tough enough to ever truly lick the South.

Thank you!

Thanks to all of you who ordered for my Pampered Chef party. Y'all are awesome! I got a new knife set, a small micro cooker, and some citrus peelers. I can't wait until our orders get here next week! Thanks Jeni.

Sibley's 1st Grade Concert

Their theme was the Arizona Desert. It was really cute. Skyler was the cameraman. She did a great job.

Bad Doll

When my parents went on their mission, they cleaned out their playroom and gave us each the dolls we had growing up. I put a few of my old ones in Sibley's room, so that she could play with them. Sunday morning she came into my room and laid on the bed and told me, "That doll that Grandmama gave you is really scaring me. It's eyes follow me wherever I go in my room, and it is freaking me out." So I went in and got it off of her toy shelf and put it in my room.

This is the second time she has made me get rid of one of my old dolls. She said the other one's eyes followed her too. And she did the same thing with the owl by the pool at our old house. Sometimes I would see her swimming toward it and she would flinch and turn her head and say, "Stop looking at me!". She is such a character.

Finally! I got some baby pictures of Bryant!

I can't believe how much Josh and Bryant look like Jack and Jonah respectively, right down to exactly the same eye color. Also, they both look a lot like their Uncle Randall. I always tell people what a soft looking baby Bryant was, with his tow head and baby blue eyes, and they have a hard time believing me because he is such a big, tough looking, manly man now. So, here's my proof. The two other boys in both pictures are the Bingham twins, Justin and Jeremy. And the older lady is Grandma Tasia, Pappy's mother.

Great News!!!

I had the hysterosalpingogram, or whatever you call it where they put the dye in the uterus and see if the fallopian tubes are blocked, done today at the hospital. And they aren't blocked! Now we just have to look at hormone levels. Thanks for your words of encouragement. I especially loved, "Keep your chin up." That meant a lot, Shannon. Thank you.

The Bush Highway

One thing I love about living in Arizona is that you can be in the warm desert in February, then drive two hours and be in a Winter Wonderland. (See previous post.) And, I'm the opposite of Tuareg. Me hate snow. So it's great that we can go and play in it for a couple of hours, and then return back to the sunny Sonoran Desert.

On the way back from the rim today, we decided to take the Bush Highway. We had never taken that route before. Let me tell y'all, it was beautiful. The pictures really don't do it justice. The red cliffs jutted out of the ground, and they were so much taller than they look in the pictures. The desert was really green after getting so much rain lately, and some fishermen were taking advantage of the nice weather and fly fishing. We will definitely be doing some camping around Saguaro Lake. Who wants to come?

After we stopped to lookout over the Salt River, we got back into the van and headed down the highway. All of the sudden about ten wild horses crossed the road just in front of us. They were so pretty. We tried to take their picture, but by the time we got the camera out and the window rolled down, they were gone. It was exciting. It was the first time we had ever seen wild horses in Arizona.

Playing in the Snow at Christopher Creek

I would have more pictures of the snowman, but I only had time to snap a few before Destructo-Sibley knocked it's head off. She just couldn't help herself. I must say, even though I don't like to touch snow, it sure is pretty to look at. It was especially pretty down by the creek, where we saw those cool, giant icicles. Bryant would live in the snow if he could. Just look at him chillin', laying down in it. I think it reminds him of his childhood in the White Mountains. The girls had such a good time. Sibley made the "ice bed" on the picnic table and Skyler and Bryant had fun making the giant snowball. It was a great Valentine's Day.

Sibley and Umba sacked out on the sofa

News

Yesterday I went to my ob/gyn. She said that the reason I am not getting pregnant is more than likely that my fallopian tubes are blocked with scar tissue from my infection. I am going to do a test to see how bad the scarring is. Stupid IUD! First it almost killed me and made me sick as a dog for nearly a year, and now I can't get pregnant! A word to the wise: Don't get an IUD!

On a lighter note, we are headed up to the Mogollon Rim to do some playing in the snow today! We'll have some good snowman pictures to upload to the blog when we get back.

Happy Valentine's Day! We love y'all!

CSI: Towne Meadows

Today for lunch, Skyler, Hattie, and Sibley went on a picnic to a nearby park. They took my cell phone and called me from the park, saying they had seen some smoke in the Towne Meadows area and heard sirens. I went out onto the front porch and saw a small amount of smoke. The girls then called again and asked me to watch the news and call them if I heard anything about the fire. I, of course, didn't hear anything.

About half an hour later, Sibley walked in the front door, pulled a small notebook out of her purse, and said, "This is what we know." She then proceeded to read various facts about the fire. Skyler and Hattie then came in and asked me to take them to find it. It was on the first street we turned down. There was no longer smoke, but the street was blocked off by firefighters, who were still working. Skyler wrote the following email when we returned:

People,


In our old neighborhood there was a FIRE ! Sibley ,My friend hattie , and i were on a picnic and saw smoke . I was saying that there was a fire so my friend called my mom . we finished up and went home . Then a beagle attacked us .

we asked my mom to take us to were we saw it . It turned out to be a real fire . it was right by someone in our ward. The road was blocked off so we're going to check it out later .so we all decided to be C.S.I.of towne meadows.

hope you don't get burned,

skyler, sibley and hattie

They then printed out official "CSI: Towne Meadows" nametags and taped them to their shirts. About that time Jared, Hattie's father, came to pick Hattie up. He was so impressed with the nametags and organization of the CSI: Towne Meadows Trio that he took them over to the scene for further investigation. The CSI team returned a few minutes later with the news that it had been a car fire. Sibley said that while the rear of the car was unharmed, the front of the car was burned and "limpsided." Man, do I love these kids! They sure cheer me up when I am feeling down. Tune in later for another episode of.....CSI: Towne Meadows!

I'm hosting a party.

If any of you need to order anything from Pampered Chef, I am hosting a catalog party throughout this month. Email me if you would like to look at a catalog. Thanks!